“Aren’t we the feisty one?” Amanda remarked.
For some reason, this was nothing like the verbal sparring Tria and Yolanda had done in the past, and I didn’t find the scene the least bit amusing or comfortable. Ryan stepped a little closer and put his arm around Amanda’s waist to hold her against him, and I stood to move between the two women.
“Mandi, give it a rest,” Ryan said softly.
She shrugged him off.
“Well, you certainly found your voice,” Amanda remarked. “But I wonder just how much you know!”
Tria glared, and I could see her shoulders rising and falling with her breaths.
“You know why he doesn’t want to go?” Amanda snapped at Tria.
“Shut up.” I growled in her direction.
“How about I explain what his mother went through—”
“I said, shut up!” I yelled.
People at other tables were looking at us at this point. I pulled Tria a little closer to me, completely blocking her from Amanda. I could tell by the look in the blonde’s eyes that she had no intention of letting this go and would probably tell Tria and the world everything if I didn’t do something drastic.
“I’ll fucking go, all right?”
“Great!” Amanda’s face lit up in a bright smile. “I’ll put you down with a guest.”
Ryan gave me a remorseful look and a shrug. He never did have any control over her, and I suppose that was one of the reasons he liked her.
Tria looked up at me with a confused expression as Amanda continued to babble.
“It’s definitely going to be the talk of…well, everyone! There are eight hundred guests, and the reception will be at Sophie’s, and you just wouldn’t believe some of the names who are going to be in attendance…”
“You’re insane,” I mouthed at Ryan. He just shrugged again as he pulled Mandi a little closer.
“Come on, babe,” he said. “Let’s leave them to it.”
“See you there!” Amanda waved with her fingers as Ryan dragged her out the door of the restaurant.
I closed my eyes for a moment to refocus myself. I couldn’t believe what I had just agreed to do.
“Fuck a duck,” I muttered.
I was never one to give into Amanda’s demands, but I had to shut her up.
Chapter 10—Savor the Moment
Tria huffed.
“That was…interesting,” Tria said.
“Yeah, I’m sorry.” I sat back in my chair and sighed. “Amanda and I have never completely gotten along. I thought she was a golddigger from day one, and I still think she is. Dad warned me off of chicks like that from the time I stopped thinking girls had cooties. Ryan didn’t grow up with money, and I don’t think Michael ever taught him to look for the signs.”
I took her hand and moved her back toward her chair before I sat down again.
“So…you know Amanda, huh?” I said as Tria relaxed back into her seat and got herself back together.
“I wouldn’t say that,” she replied. “I mean, we’re talking about fifteen years ago, for starters. We were kids.”
“She was the older one, right?” I asked, remembering some of the details of Tria’s time at the group home. “The one you thought wouldn’t get adopted before you.”
Tria nodded. With the tines of the fork, she poked at the frosting from the cake and then set it off to the side without taking another bite. We sat in silence for a couple more minutes until the server dropped off the bill.
“Can I get you anything else?” she asked with a smile.
I declined, and Tria didn’t seem to have anything to add. I took the last gulp of my drink and played around with the straw for a minute.
“Ready to go?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah,” she said.
I paid the bill and took her hand as we walked back to the car.
The mood had changed, and I wasn’t happy about it at all. Tria seemed lost in her own thoughts, and I was just dreading the whole wedding thing now. If I knew Mandi at all, it was going to be ridiculous and swimming with all the high society this city could muster. I also didn’t have the slightest idea what Tria would find to wear, but I wasn’t going to ask and add to the anxiety.
Then I thought of the perfect idea to change the tone and quickly took the next exit going back up north.
“Where are we going?” Tria asked.
“I thought we’d go check out the river.”
I drove to the North Side the long way, making sure I kept my distance from anywhere I might have been seen or even recognized. As I moved farther away from town, the only people around the area were my family and people employed by them. Maybe the employees wouldn’t have recognized me anyway, but the beat-up car in the area would arouse suspicion.
Turning onto a dirt road, I hoped Yolanda’s Civic was up for the challenge. We bounced and bumped for a half mile, and the sky was starting to darken as I parked at the end of the road in a gravel lot.
“This way,” I said. I took Tria’s hand as she got out of the car and led her down the familiar path to the water. Part way there, another path headed off toward the east, and I couldn’t help but glance in that direction as we continued on. Once we got to the river’s edge, Tria gasped.
“It’s beautiful!” she said as she looked out over the water. The sun was dipping below the horizon and covering the rippled water with bright reds and oranges.
“The best view is over here,” I told her as I tugged at her hand. I took her to the base of a large hedge-apple tree and quickly lifted her into the space between its split trunk.
“Are you serious?” Tria asked as she looked over her shoulder.
“Go that way.” I pointed toward one of the sides of the trunk. “Just about six feet—it’s easy to sit there, and the branch above you is good to hang on to.”
Tria shook her head but followed my instructions. I climbed up after her and settled on the branch beside her, and we both looked out over the slowly moving water.
“I used to come here all the time,” I said softly. “It’s always been one of my favorite places.”
I pointed out a spot below us where the water from the river escaped from the bank for a few feet and then trickled back into the main flow.
“I used to bring plastic boats and float them around there.”
“How far is this from your parents’ house?” Tria asked.
Far too intuitive.
“It’s just up a little ways,” I said as I nodded toward the east. “I think technically this is part of their land though it would be the far edge. Not sure. The stables are just a few minutes’ walk down that trail we passed.”
I shifted a little on the branch to move myself close enough to touch her and still grip the branch above me. I circled her waist with my free arm as we both looked out over the water. I glanced at her repeatedly, watching her face glow in the falling sun’s rays. I felt a smile creep over my face as I looked down below us and saw a ring of toadstools under the trees.
“When I was a kid, I thought this place was magic,” I said with a laugh. “I thought faeries lived here.”
She laughed with me as I pointed out the ring and told her about faerie circles.
“I was always afraid to touch them because they might come and get me.”
“Did your friends play here, too?” Tria asked.
“I didn’t have too many,” I said, shrugging. “I don’t have any siblings, and there isn’t exactly a neighborhood around here. It was mostly just me. Sometimes the staff would bring their kids around, and I would play with them, but mostly it was just me. That is, until Ryan arrived on the scene, but we were too old to play games like that when he came into the family.”
“How old were you then?”
“Thirteen,” I said. “Ryan’s a year older than me. Michael is my dad’s younger brother, and Ryan’s mom is a lot older than he is. He doesn’t remember much about his real father.”
“What happened to him??
??
“Heart attack,” I said simply. “Ryan was only five or six when it happened. He only remembers bits and pieces of the time when his dad was around.”
“So, I guess we’re going to a wedding?”
“Yeah.”
“You know I’m going.”
My gaze flicked over to hers, and I knew there was no point in even starting the fight. I could probably have made the argument for her, and I wouldn’t have had much defense. I sighed loudly through my nose and shook my head a little.
Tria turned her head toward mine, and our lips met. I could still taste a hint of chocolate on her tongue as I gripped her with one hand and the branch with the other. The angle was awkward, and I had to tighten my grip around her waist to keep her from falling backwards.
More giggling. The sound went straight to my cock.
We broke away, and Tria’s eyes glistened in the fading light. She reached out and grazed her hand over my cheek.
“Time to go home?” she asked quietly.
I hoped that meant what I thought it meant.
I nodded, leaned in to press my lips against hers once more and then helped her out of the tree. I pulled her against me with my arm around her shoulders as we walked back up the trail to the car. Once inside, we held hands between the seats while I drove in silence.
We didn’t speak when I parked the car or when we walked up the stairs. I opened the door for her, and Tria walked in quietly with me at her heels. She stopped a few feet in, turned, and looked at me. I couldn’t read her expression, but I stopped and took a step back. It seemed as if I needed to give her some room.
As weird as it was, I didn’t know what to do next.
I hadn’t brought too many girls back to my place in the past. I usually got them to take me to theirs. Even when I had brought someone back here, we were usually practically fucking in the hallway before the door opened, and none of them ever actually made it to the bedroom.
This was different.
With the others, I really didn’t give a shit how it was going to turn out. We made sure we got each other off, and that was it. There wasn’t any pressure because I didn’t really plan on seeing any of them ever again.
I swallowed hard and tried to figure out my next step.
Thankfully, Tria’s next revelation removed the need for any strategy on my part.
“Liam?” she asked quietly. She clasped her hands behind her back as she stared down at the floor and shuffled her feet.
“Yeah?”
“I’m…uh…I’m not wearing any underwear.”
My throat went dry.
“None at all?”
“None at all.”
“Fuck me,” I whispered. I tried to swallow a few times as my eyes danced over the tight dress, and I realized it was true. The dress was too formfitting not to be showing some kind of panty lines. She was totally fucking bare under it. “All night?”
She giggled.
“Well, they aren’t in my purse!”
I wasn’t about to go looking for them. Actually, I couldn’t even really consider what may or may not have been in the Duffle of Doom—I was far too focused on Tria’s revelation.
I took a step toward her, and she took a step back.
“Don’t move,” I commanded with narrowed eyes, and she stopped. I stepped closer until I was only an inch away from her and then let my eyes travel all the way down her body—closely checking out the curves of the dress. Now that I knew what I was looking for—or rather, looking not to find—it was obvious.
Not knowing about it all night pissed me off a bit. It also made the moody little bastard about as ready to roll as he could be.
I leaned forward, eyes narrowed, as I brought my face right up to hers. Our noses were almost touching.
“Did you say that just to drive me crazy?”
Tria’s throat bobbed as she swallowed.
“Yes,” she admitted.
I moved my head around to her ear, exhaling warm breath down her neck.
“Oh…Tria…” I whispered in her ear, “you are definitely going to pay for that.”
She shivered as I ran my hands over her from her hips to just underneath her arms and then back again. My mouth covered hers as I pressed my body up against her, pushing her back to the wall between the kitchen and the living room. She moaned into my mouth as I pushed my hips against her, making her feel exactly what she was doing to me.
I moved my hand back to her hip, then lowered it until it was at the edge of her dress. I used my fingers to duck underneath the tight fabric and moved up just enough to leave no doubt about her lack of panties.
Smooth, creamy skin filled my hand.
Breaking our kiss, I placed a hand on each side of her face and looked deeply into her eyes. Tria stared back at me, and I could feel her fingers tightening on the fabric of my shirt.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked her as I watched her eyes for any doubt.
“I’m sure,” she replied.
“I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
“I don’t.” She reached up to the back of my head and pulled me close to her.
With a groan, I reached down and picked her up. I tried not to actually run to the bedroom, but it was difficult. I set her back down on her feet at the edge of the bed and looked down at the dress covering her body.
“I’ve wanted to do this all night,” I said quietly as I reached down to the bottom of her dress and started to lift it up.
Tria stood still as I pulled the garment up and off of her, revealing her naked body an inch at a time. Those beautiful, long legs beckoned me. Her hips were curved, feminine, and enticing. Her skin tinged slightly pink with the cool air of the room, which also made her nipples harden deliciously.
“God, you’re beautiful.” I gasped.
Tria reached up and pulled the pins from her hair, which made it all fall over her shoulders in the way that always drove me crazy. I dropped the dress to the floor and reached out to run my fingers through her hair, spreading it out over her back.
Her hands came up to cross in front of her as she glanced away, but I caught them.
“Please…don’t cover yourself. Not at all…God, Tria…never do that…” I couldn’t even form real words. Her skin was flawless, her breasts spectacular, and the little triangle of hair right above the promised land just begged to be fondled and teased.
My cock tried to jump right off my body and between her legs.
Taking her hand in mine, I led her to the bed and lay her on her back. As I looked down at her, I slowly began to unbutton my shirt. I watched her eyes as they watched my fingers, and I noticed her breathing increase as her eyes dilated.
I dropped the shirt to the floor behind me and then flipped the buttons on my pants open as I kicked off my shoes. Tria’s lip disappeared behind her teeth as I lowered my pants and boxers to the ground, stepped out of them, and then crawled slowly over her.
As much as I wanted to, I kept myself from just dropping on top of her. I wanted to feel her skin all over mine, but I also wanted to make sure my attention to her needs was my priority—as it should be—and that meant serious orgasms for her before the moody little bastard got a taste.
I kissed her side, just to the right of her bellybutton. Moving a little farther up, I pressed my lips to a spot just beneath her left breast and then made a trail of kisses over her collarbone. As much as I wanted to just stare at her and feel her up all over the place, I knew what she needed.
“I don’t know what to do,” Tria said quietly.
“I owe you, like, a dozen orgasms,” I reminded her. “For now, you just lay your head on that pillow and start collecting debt.”
That’s when I started teasing.
While barely touching her skin, my fingers danced over her body. I moved from her shoulder, down her arm to her hip, across her belly, and then up the other side. She shivered a bit with the light touch as I circled her breasts, coming close to—but not qui
te touching—her nipples.
“You are driving me crazy,” she whispered into the dimly sit room.
“Turnabout, baby,” I said. “It’s all fair play.”
I rubbed my palm across her stomach, and my little finger just barely grazed the line of her pubic hair. With one finger extended, I lightly stroked her skin with the back of my nail around the edge. I continued over the inside of one thigh, and then the other one.
Tria squirmed.
“Be still!” I commanded, and she quieted her body. “That’s it…”
Very, very lightly, I teased over the top of her clit—almost touching but never quite getting there. Around and around I circled, like a bird waiting for just the right current to ride, until Tria was hardly able to contain herself.
“Spread your legs,” I told her, and she complied by moving her knees apart to give me better access. “There ya go, baby…that’s it.”
Still barely touching her skin, my fingers ran lightly between her legs, over her labia, across her clit, and then back down again. With two fingers, I spread her open.
“Fucking gorgeous,” I mumbled. “So fucking perfect.”
The tip of my finger entered her, and Tria gasped a little. Though she was wet, she was also already gripping my finger tightly. She was going to be a tight fit, and I was glad I had a modicum of foresight for once. I kissed her shoulder, then down her arm as I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the bottle there.
“What’s that?” Tria asked as she eyed my hand.
“Lube,” I said. I turned the little bottle so she could see Astroglide on the side of it.
“Why do we need it?” she asked as her cheeks turned red.
“Tria, I’m, uh…” I wasn’t really sure what to say without sounding like a prick, so I decided to just get it out there. “I’m a big guy, and you’re a virgin. This is going to make it easier and more comfortable for both of us.”
She looked off to the side, so I grabbed her chin and made her face me.
“There is nothing wrong with you!” I told her sternly. “They make this shit for a reason, you know.”
She seemed to consider that for a moment, then looked back to me as her hand came up and touched my face.