Infinite Ties (All That Remains #3) (2 page)

“Do you want to do this, Abby?” Joseph
murmurs.

“Yes,” she breathes. “I want you.” All of
Joseph’s trepidation fades away at her words and a wolfish grin appears on his
face. She’s in for it now. I’ve seen how Joseph can be when he takes control,
and it’s hot as hell.

He grips her face and thrusts his tongue
into her mouth, kissing her as though she holds the only oxygen in the room.
She moans and reaches between his legs, but he quickly pins her hand to the bed
and slips his fingers inside her, resting his thumb against her clit. Grinding
against his hand, she groans with frustration while he glides slowly in and
out, flexing his fingers and kissing the sensitive spot on her neck that always
makes her lose it.

“Joseph,” she groans. “Faster.”

“Look at me, baby.” Her dark chocolate
eyes gaze into his. “You want me to make you come?”

“Yes!” She tries again to grind against
his palm, so he removes his fingers. I almost laugh at the shock on her face,
quickly followed by her stubborn expression. Joseph isn’t giving in. She isn’t
getting her way. Ha, this is going to be a show to remember.

“I’ll make you come until you see stars,
but only if you do what I say.” His voice is stern while he strokes lightly
between her legs again, just enough to keep her on edge. “Understand?”

She hesitates. There it is. That issue
with authority that keeps her from truly letting go. Her dislike of being told
what to do. We got past it, and they will too. Joseph slows his hand again when
she doesn’t respond. “Your choice, Abigail.”

“I understand!”

“My good girl,” he murmurs. The pleasure
she feels at his praise is apparent on her face, visible for only a fleeting
second before she pulls the shutters closed. “Keep your eyes on mine, baby.
Tell me what I’m doing to you.” He’s tapped into one of her biggest
vulnerabilities. Abby loves when we talk dirty to her, but she’s easily
embarrassed when the table is turned.

“No,” she moans, burying her face in his
neck.

“Yes, Abby. You can’t hide. I want you in
this moment with me. Besides, I love to see you blush,” he teases. “I love how
it sweeps down your neck to your breasts. Now show me those pretty eyes.” Her
cheeks are flushed when she obeys. “What am I doing to you?” Her moan fills the
room as Joseph thrusts his fingers into her harder and circles firmly with his
thumb. “Answer me, or I’ll stop.” His voice is hard.

“Touching me,” she whispers.

“You can do better than that.” He starts
to slow.

“Fingering me! You’re fingering me.” Her
eyes flash with a mixture of anger and lust.

“Is it good, baby?”

“Yes! Joseph,” she groans, her voice
desperate.

“Tell me what you want.” His eyes are
heated jade as their gazes lock.

“Please.”

“Please what?”

“Make me come.”

He grins at her scarcely audible plea.
“Only once? We can do better than that.” He adjusts the pace of his fingers and
whispers something in her ear. Her fingers dig into his flexing bicep as she
cries out, her body shuddering through her orgasm. Before she can recover, he
pushes her thighs apart, and wraps his arms around them, burying his face
between her legs. I can’t help but chuckle when she squeals and thrashes
wildly, pulling his hair. He knows better. Abby’s so sensitive after she comes
the first time, she needs a minute before continuing. He’s torturing her.

“Joseph! Stop! I can’t!” she cries,
squirming and twisting. Ignoring her pleas, he eats her ravenously, quenching a
voracious thirst for her unique taste. Just as she gains a modicum of self
control, he seals his mouth just above her opening and sucks steadily.

I can’t even begin to describe the sound
that escapes her trembling lips. Somewhere between a sob and a scream. Ecstasy
and agony. It does them both in. With her loss of control comes his. In half a
second, she’s rolled to her side and he’s behind her, hiking her leg up and
plunging deep with one long stroke. When she cries out, he stills for a moment,
letting her adjust. It’s taking every ounce of restraint he can muster. His
teeth are gritted, his jaw clenched. The thick lines of concentration across
his brow are dripping with sweat.

“Please…no more…I can’t come anymore,”
Abby begs, groaning when he grinds against her, as deep as he can get. “I can’t
take it.”

“You want me to stop, Abigail?” He rears
back, pulling all the way out of her before burying himself again, displaying
the poise and control of an experienced lover.

“Oh God.”

He plunges into her again, faster and
harder, gliding through swollen, tender flesh. “Answer me, my girl. Do you want
me to stop?” It’s a threat, not a question.

“No!” she screams, reaching back to claw
his hip while he fucks her faster.

I can’t take my eyes off of them. I’ve
watched them make love, but this isn’t the sweet, slow lovemaking I’ve
witnessed so many times between them. This is fucking. Raw and dirty and
fantastic. I’ve never seen them like this. They’ve never been like this.

“Oh, please…Joseph…Airen,” Abby cries out,
overwhelmed.

“He can’t help you, baby. Right now you’re
all mine. I’m going to make you come until your body aches from it.” His words
do her in, and she screams as another nerve scorching orgasm rips through her.
“Fuck yeah, Abby. Scream for me.” Never missing a stroke, he continues to fuck
her with ruthless skill and incomparable stamina.

“Joseph,” she wails, pleading for mercy.

“One more, ladybug. Give me one more.” His
voice is soft, cajoling, and compassionate.

“I can’t,” she sobs. He reaches between
her legs and with a light stroke of his fingertip, proves her wrong. They cry
out in unison, climaxing together. The final orgasm smashes Abby’s emotional
wall, cuts her open, bleeds her dry. I’ve never seen her so shattered, so wrung
out. She’s a sweaty, tear streaked mess. It’s everything I can do not to go to
her, but I need to stay out of it and let Joseph be the one to comfort her.

When she rolls to face him, he embraces
her, cuddling her sweat soaked body against his. She burrows her head into his
neck as if she can’t get close enough to him, and he squeezes her tighter,
wrapping his leg around hers. “I’ve got you, sweetheart.” After a few seconds,
he tugs her head away, his misty green eyes gazing into hers while he brushes
her tears from her face. “Did I hurt you?”

“Jesus, Joseph. I don’t want to know how
you learned to fuck like that,” she says with a shaky laugh.

He grins. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I don’t know why I’m…it was just
overwhelming…mind blowing,” she mumbles, ashamed of the crying. Her body is
still trembling when Joseph hugs her again.

“Don’t be embarrassed, my sweet girl. Sex
is supposed to be emotional, and that was…intense.”

She laughs. “All this from a man who says
he can’t top.”

“I didn’t say I
couldn’t
. I can top
you anytime.”

“Right now, you could cuddle me,” she
murmurs with a shy smile.

“I’ll cuddle the fuck out of you.”

She giggles and glances toward me.

“Still here,” I quip, climbing in bed
beside her. It’s a good thing I yanked one out while I watched them. They’re done
for the night.

“You had one night to get anything you
wanted, and you didn’t even get off,” Abby observes, running her fingers
through my hair. “Why?”

Because you needed to let him see you
stripped bare of all your defenses. Because you needed to see the power and
strength he possesses, and how strongly he truly lusts after you. He needed to
be shown that you aren’t as fragile or breakable as he fears. You needed to see
each other. Those are the true reasons.

“You two are sexy when you get so worked
up.” I shrug. “Besides, I can easily win that bet again.”

“Captain Cornhole.” Joseph chuckles.

“Go to sleep or I’ll board your vessel
right now.”

“I can’t move.”

“That’s not a requirement.” Abby giggles
and cuddles between us. “No worries, anyway.” I kiss her cheek. “I got mine
while I was watching. I’m afraid your panties paid the price.”

“Airen!”

“They may be pregnant.” It’s the most
beautiful sound in the world, Abby’s laughter.

Joseph

The first thing I see when I open my eyes
is Abby’s sweet face resting on my chest. She’s wrapped around me like a vine,
her soft hair spread over my shoulder. It’s a lovely sight to awaken to, even
though she’s drooling on me. The events of the night before come flooding back.
Her screams, her pleas, her body shaking and pulsing beneath me as our sweat
mixed with her tears.

Normally, I hate to see her cry. It
shatters me. But they weren’t tears of pain or heartache, just a reaction to
the intensity of our connection. I know just how she felt. Defenseless, exposed,
and vulnerable, her carefully hidden emotions on display. My only thought was
to gather her to me and never let go. She clung to me with an equal amount of
fervor until we succumbed to our exhaustion.

Airen comes from the bathroom, a towel
tucked around his waist. Fuck. I swear he’s more muscular every time I see him.
That cut chest and rippling abs that taper to his narrow waist have managed to
set my brain to stupid before I’ve even left the bed. His smirk when he sees my
reaction still isn’t enough to unglue my tongue.

“Are you going to lie there and gawk at my
ass all day? Don’t we have shit to do?” Abby stretches and moans, saving me
from a reply that would have fallen far short of witty. Shit, he can fry my
synapses. Her arms embrace my middle and she cuddles closer.

Her temple is warm beneath my lips. “Time
to get up, ladybug.”

She nuzzles her nose in my chest hair. “No.”

Airen shakes his head and stares at her
fondly. “Don’t make me come over there.”

“Joseph has my back,” she mumbles.

“See there. Rock her world one time and
now you’re her hero, not the sweet one.” His grin is equal parts satisfaction
and sarcasm.

“To be fair, it was more like four
times…at least.”

“Stop it,” Abby warns. “Besides, what’s
wrong with being the sweet one?” She kisses my neck. “You are sweet.”

“Not how a guy wants to be thought of
between the sheets, darlin’.”

“Shut it, Airen.” I could knock that grin
off his face.

Abby props her head on her elbow, gazing
at me. “What’s he talking about?”

“Nothing, baby. He’s just trying to start
shit.”

“Joseph didn’t like hearing he was the
sweet, gentle one in bed.”

“You have a big damn mouth, Airen. I’m
going to have to stuff something in it.”

“Hey, ignore him. Look at me.” Her smooth
hand cups my cheek. “I didn’t mean for you to hear that. I was just…gossiping
with Lexi.”

“I know, don’t worry about it. He’s made a
big deal out of nothing.”

“It bothered you enough to tell him. I
didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” Her gaze is soft and compassionate. “I
wasn’t complaining. I love how you treat me when we make love. You always make
me feel special and loved.”

“How did you feel after last night?” I ask
softly. Maybe she didn’t like it like that. Maybe it was too much for her.

“I still felt that way, just add sore and
exhausted.”

Airen chuckles. “My work here is done. I’m
heading to the barn.”

“Don’t let the door hit you,” I grumble,
making Abby giggle before she snuggles into me again. She’s so affectionate
this morning. I love it.

“Tell me a secret.”

“Hmm?”

“Tell me something about you that no one
else knows.”

“I went to a NKOTB concert when I was a
kid.”

“Joseph!” She smacks me playfully.
“Something that matters.”

I can’t believe what I’m about to confess,
but I think she needs to hear it. She’s searching for reciprocation, a way to
even the emotional playing field after last night. “Okay.” My fingers run
through her long hair. “I was nervous about being too rough with you because I
have…limited experience with women.”

Her expression is curious as she looks up
at me through her lashes. “How much is limited?”

“You’re the second.”

“You’ve only slept with one woman before
me?” she asks incredulously.

“I was young when I fell in love with Tim,
and we married right out of college. I had a high school girlfriend for a few
months, and we slept together a couple times. That’s it.”

She smiles from ear to ear. “You haven’t
slept with a girl since you were a teenager?”

“Does it show?”

“No! You’re fantastic, Joseph! God, with
that handsome face and big heart I just assumed you had plenty of practice…like
Airen,” she says sourly. “I never dreamed my only competition was a teenage
girl fifteen years ago.” She laughs. “I can’t believe I’m the only woman you’ve
had as an adult. I love it.”

“There’s no competition, ladybug, and we’ve
had more firsts than you might think.”

Her eyes are bright and excited when she
asks, “Like?”

I trail my fingers lightly across her
thigh. “I’ve never tasted a woman before you. I love your taste, Abigail. I
can’t get enough of it.”

Her mouth forms a perfect O. “I’m the only
one you’ve ever gone down on?”

“And the only woman to ever go down on
me.” Her shock and obvious joy at my admission is amusing.

“You’re kidding.”

“Baby, it was a few times with a high
school girl. Pretty straight forward sex. Fumbling around in the dark.”

“But, you’re so good at it. Have you ever
kissed another girl, apart from her?”

“Emma kissed me.”

Her eyes darken. “Voluntarily,” she
growls.

“Just you.” Her soft lips take mine in a
passionate kiss.

“You made my day. Please, don’t worry
about hurting me. Last night was amazing. I loved it. We can do that again
anytime. But I need the sweet, slow way you take me, as well. I can’t even
explain the way you make me feel when you treat me like I’m...” She hesitates.

“Treasured?” I interject. “Cherished?
Admired and held dear? The softest, sweetest thing in my life? You’re all those
things, Abigail.”

Her arms slide around my neck as she
kisses my jaw. “Please don’t stop being that way with me. I love being with
you. I love you, so much.”

God, this woman can wrap around my heart
and squeeze it until it bleeds. “I love you, and I’ll never miss an opportunity
to show you how precious you are to me, or neglect a chance to worship every
inch of that beautiful little body. You don’t know what it means to me, that I
can make you feel that way.”

“Stop. You’ll make me cry again.”

“You started it,” I tease. “Now tell me
something. Last night, was it really four?”

She blushes. “Keep it between us?”

“Mmm Hmm.”

“I sort of…dreamed about you last night.
You touched me and told me to come, and I did. For real. It woke me up.” She presses
her pink face to my chest. “So, really, I’d have to say it was five, not
counting, you know...multiples.”

* * * *

It’s been a lazy day. The heat wave has
been broken by a line of violent thunderstorms. Abby cringes and presses closer
to Airen when another bone rattling clap of thunder shakes the house. A fond
smile touches his lips, and she’s pulled tighter against his body. “I’ve got
you, scaredy cat.”

“Shut up,” she replies good naturedly,
pulling her legs up onto the couch and burrowing into his side. We’re all taken
by surprise by a knock at the door.

“Who the hell is out in this weather?” I exclaim.

“Eric was supposed to come over for a game
of chess, but I figured he’d changed his mind,” Airen remarks as Abby opens the
door. She gasps and staggers back in shock. Airen jumps to his feet when a tall
red headed man steps through the door.

“Nice to see you again, Gail,” he says
with a sardonic smile. My first thought is that he has the wrong person, or he’s
mentally disturbed, but Abby obviously knows him, and Gail
is
short for
Abigail.

She takes another step back. All the blood
has drained from her face and I can feel her body trembling when I wrap my arm
around her waist. She looks like she may pass out. “Who are you?” I demand.

“I’m Jon Needham. Carson’s father.” Oh
holy shit. No wonder she looks like she’s seen a ghost. He regards me with a
smirk. “Are you her boyfriend?”

“That’s right.” My arms tighten around
Abby.

“You the one that left me the letter?”
Now, I’m really confused, but before I can ask him what he’s talking about,
Airen intercedes.

“No, that was me.”

“And you are?”

“My husband,” Abby blurts, stepping
between us.

Jon stares at me like I just tried to
trick him. “You said you’re the boyfriend.”

“He is, and Airen’s my husband,” she
replies, raising her chin defiantly, daring him to comment.

Laughing, he obliges. “Oh Gail, some
things never change.” I don’t know what the hell he meant by that, but the look
on Abby’s face tells me he struck a nerve.

She glares at him. “What are you doing
here?”

Jon produces two folded sheets of paper
from his back pocket and hands them to her. “I got a letter telling me my son
was alive. I want to see him.”

“He’s not your son.” She unfolds the
paper, and after recognizing Airen’s neat script, regards him with a
heartbreaking expression of betrayal and disbelief.

He sighs. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I
left a note at his house when we went to Indianapolis. To tell him Carson
survived the plague.”

“I appreciate it, man. Your directions
suck, though. Took forever to find the place,” Jon complains.

“Get out,” Abby demands, her voice flat.
“I don’t want you here.”

Airen runs a hand through his hair, torn
over what to do next. “Abby…” he says hesitantly.

When her head whips around violently to
face him, her voice is vitriolic. “How could you do this to me? You know what
he did to us!”

“I thought Carson deserved to know whether
his father survived.”

“That isn’t your fucking decision to
make!” She’s trying to keep her voice down so she doesn’t wake the kids. Her
eyes are desperate when she turns to me. “Joseph, please get rid of him. Make
him leave.
Please
.”

That settles it. I don’t care what her
reasons are, I need to get him out of here. I don’t know the whole story or exactly
what’s going on, but it’s clear she’s terrified of him. Before I can drag his
ass to the door, Airen pulls him into the hall so they can speak out of
earshot.

Abby’s back stiffens and the pain
reflected on her face is devastating. Not only did Airen invite him without
telling her, he’s talking calmly with him and ignoring her desperate pleas to
throw him out. Her protector, the man she counts on to always take her side, is
acting like she’s the problem.

“Abigail.” My hands fall to her shoulders.
“I’m sure he’s just trying to get him to go without a struggle.” She shrugs out
of my grasp. “Abby! Listen. He’s leaving no matter what either of them say.
I’ll make sure of it.”

Airen recoils from Abby’s venomous glare
when they return to the living room. Jon regards her with a look very near
disgust, and I can see the shame in her face, though she tries to hide it.
“I’ll give you a couple of days to get used to the idea, and tell Carson what’s
up, but I’m not leaving without meeting him.”

The deadbolt clicks as Abby moves quickly
to lock it behind him. Fuck. She’s terrified. Why can’t Airen see that?

He faces her uncertainly, unsure how to
deal with his enraged wife. “Gail?” he asks, wondering why Jon used that name.

“Don’t fucking call me that!” she screams,
darting down the hall. The door to the guest room slams, rattling the pictures
on the walls.

“What the fuck were you thinking, Airen?
Did you see the look on her face? She’s scared shitless!”

“Carson should know who his father is,” he
insists. He’s so damn obstinate.

“You should’ve asked her, or at least told
her what you did.”

His hands drag through his hair in
frustration. “Christ, Joey. I thought he was dead. I didn’t think he’d actually
show up.”

“Well, he did, and she’s devastated. What
the fuck did he do to her?”

“All I know is he left her.”

“There’s obviously more to it than that.
You have to make this right. You broke her heart.”

“I’ll talk to her.” He sighs and sits on
the edge of the couch.

“She was so afraid and ashamed,” I
whisper, hoping she can’t hear us discussing her. “Of our relationship, do you
think?”

“I don’t think so. She announced it. Used
it like a shield to protect herself.” He glances up at me and anger burns in
his dark eyes. “I hate the way she cowered under his gaze.”

“Worse was the way he seemed to relish it.”