Chapter 11

 

Brie sighed as she slid into the steamy tub. Bubbles quickly covered her, leaving only her neck up exposed to the air. She deserved some pampering on her vacation, and a bubble bath topped the list.

Resting her head back, she closed her eyes, soaking in the warmth. The slight lavender scent tickled her nose. She must remember to thank her aunt for the bath beads she'd sent last month. This was the first chance she had to use them and so far they were a blessing.

Her mind turned to Rye. Although he frustrated her to no end, she couldn't claim his stay had been a huge burden. In fact, he helped her more times than not. The planting wrapped up in record time with the both of them getting all grimy and gritty. He even made sure to clean up the table after each meal. Somehow they had fallen into a comfortable routine. Team. The term flashed in her head. Who would have known they could make a formidable team, at least where landscaping was concerned?

Sinking a bit lower into the foamy tub, her thoughts drifted back to other run-ins with Rye.

 

* * * *

 

They had been teenagers. The family had gathered together for another of its colossal reunions, a weeklong vacation at the lake where they caught up, played, and ate. Everyone made an appearance. Friends were welcome, family was expected.

Brie had opted for a stroll through one of the various trails near their campsite. Deer, squirrels, and even foxes could be glimpsed fairly frequently, especially if you managed to tread quietly. The peace and solitude of the woody area called to her, promising tranquility in her observation of nature at its basic level.

She continued down the trail slowly, taking in the chatter of the birds, the crunch of the mulch covered trail under her feet. A small twig twirled in her fingers as she peered among the many trees.

A soft sigh sounded from up ahead. Puzzled, Brie slowed. As far as she knew, not many other family members took advantage of the trails like she did. However, her grandparents and their friends had been known to make the trek, pointing out local bird varieties. Another muffled sound drew her closer. Curiosity grabbed her, refusing to let her turn away. Instead, she crept closer, sticking close to the brush. Carefully, she shifted, craned her neck in order to peer through a couple of limbs.

Ahead was a deep-brown stained wooden bench, placed for walkers to take a break or for couples to simply sit and enjoy the scenery.

Sure enough, a couple had taken advantage of the isolated seating. Yet, not the couple she would have ever expected.

Rye occupied the far side of the bench, his arm wrapped around Jenny Hanks, the blonde captain of the cheerleading squad. Brie knew her from school. They had third period history together. Certainly, they didn't travel in the same social classes. Rye, though, one of the football team captains, definitely moved with Jenny in the same circles of popularity.

Jenny gasped, drawing Brie's attention once more. The cheerleader arched her neck back, hands bracketed against Rye's head as she pulled him against her chest. Her T-shirt lay beside her on the bench, with her floral pink bra unfastened and hanging loosely from shoulders. Pale skin shone in the sunlight, reflecting the moistened areas wet from his ardent kisses.

Twisting, Jenny managed to run her hands down Rye's bare chest, pausing when she reached the buttons on his jeans. Like a skilled pro, she flipped each one open, pushed the material aside, then pulled his erection free. He groaned, obviously enjoying her touch on his shaft. Leaning forward, he pressed her back, stretching her out on the bench beneath him.

Brie stared, unable to take her eyes away from the lewd scene. By all means, she should back away, leaving the lovers to their privacy. Yet, her feet refused the command to move. Locked in place, Brie could only watch.

Rye pulled back from Jenny's swollen breasts, just enough to work the zipper on her shorts. In seconds, they pooled around her ankles, and her pink panties followed. One hand slipped in between her legs. Jenny tossed her head back, moaning at his touch even as she continued to pet him in return. Shifting, Rye changed angles. His eyes opened.

Gasping, Brie jerked. One hand flew to cover her mouth as her eyes met his. Embarrassed, she inched back, lowering her gaze. Heat flashed into her face. A throaty sound of pleasure compelled her to look once more.

Rye hadn't paused in his endeavors—instead, he plowed onward. His eyes captured Brie's, refusing to let her look away while he nipped Jenny's neck, shoving his hand farther between her legs.

Jenny's whimpers and wiggling increased as did the speed of her hand on his flesh. Dropping his head, he took a nipple in his mouth, his cheeks hollowed as he sucked. A few seconds later, she spasmed under him, jerking and keening. Her body contorted upward. The breast popped out of his mouth as his head lashed back, a low grunt erupted from his throat. He grimaced. Muscles bulged in his arms and neck. A red flush splashed over his features as a guttural sound escaped once more.

Chewing one nail, Brie stood transfixed. As long as Rye kept their gazes locked, she couldn't turn back. He held her rooted to the spot. Chest heaving, Rye's gaze dropped, head lowering as he fought to regain his breath. Only then could Brie find the will to move away.

First one tentative step back, watching the pair the whole time, lest she be discovered by Jenny. Too late when it came to Rye. Her face flamed at the memory of his expression upon catching her watching. Taunting. Almost as if he dared her to continue. Shame reared its head, reminding her that despite the shock, she stayed for the duration. Nothing held her in place. No. That wasn't quite right. Rye's eyes kept her there for whatever reason. Maybe he wanted blackmail material for later? Maybe he thought she'd run like a rabbit discovered by a coyote?

Rumor mill in high school held that Jenny tended to be without clothing more often than not. Guess there must be some truth in that. But Rye? She knew he never lacked for attention from the opposite sex. Yet, she never expected to be witness to his sexual prowess. Never cared to. But, now? Something deep inside had twisted painfully upon seeing him with Jenny.

 

* * * *

 

The quick tap on the bathroom door jerked her back to reality. Water sloshed with her movement, nearly splashing over the edge of the tub. Heart pounding, she swallowed.

"Brie? Did you drown?" His voice lowered, taking on a teasing quality. "Need me to come in to make sure?"

Her eyes widened as she worked the words up through her closed throat. "No!" Chastising herself for the abrupt response, she ignored her racing heart. "Ummm. I'm fine. Just soaking." What had brought up that uncomfortable memory, anyway?

A soft chuckle sounded. "Did I mention I'm an excellent lock pick?"

Sliding deeper into the slowly disappearing bubbles, she shook off the remnants of the memory. Of course, he would do just that. The heathen.

"Ever hear of the Bobbitt case?" She paused. "A girl can never have too many meat cleavers."

Hearing a distant snort, she pulled the plug on the tub. She was starting to wrinkle like a prune anyway. Besides, she needed to delve through her kitchen utensil drawer.

 

* * * *

 

Brie sat down in the squishy black leather chair. Scooting up to the computer desk, she automatically slipped her hand over the mouse and gave it a shake. She leaned over to hit the power button on the monitor, only to have a picture slowly take shape on the screen. Obviously, Rye had borrowed her computer before he moved his large frame onto her couch, effectively taking it over. Absently, she wondered if he got as many penis enhancement spam e-mails as she did. Snort. If she didn't keep up with her e-mails, the spam would overflow. Did he just delete them or possibly scan over them? For some reason, she couldn't believe he needed such a thing.

Grumbling to herself about the liberties he took in her home without asking, she absently positioned her fingers on the keyboard. "Ewwwwww."

Pulling a few fingers back, she flipped her palm up, trying to see the cause of the sticky sensation. A couple spots of clear residue remained on her fingertips, just enough to be annoying. Her brow furrowed as she took her index finger and pushed a couple of letters. Sure enough, they depressed okay, but rebounded in slow motion. She swore she could hear the slurp of whatever substance resided there.

It was the motion that pulled her attention away. The monitor flickered to life, displaying the image the last user had viewed.

A sultry blonde with boobs as big as Dolly Parton's commanded the screen, her black garters and stockings served as her entire outfit. A wide-shouldered, dark brown-haired man sat on the bed, his back to the headboard, naked as the day he was born. The blonde kneeled over his extended legs, her mouth wrapped around his dick. Her back arched as she leaned into the man. The picture had been taken from the side, leaving nothing to the imagination. Well, nothing except how much of the man's erection resided in her mouth, that is. His hands clasped in her hair, seemingly to pull her closer. She braced herself on the bed with one hand while the other dipped lower between his legs. The man's face screwed up in obvious delight at her skills.

Brie blinked, unable to believe what she saw. Rye surfed for porn? On her computer? She turned her head this way and that, her eyes fixated on the woman's lips compressed around the man's flesh. How did she do that exactly? Surely all porn stars would be fairly well endowed, yet the red lips almost reached the man's pubic hair. Where did all those inches disappear to inside her mouth?

The ringing of the phone distracted her from her curious thoughts. Hearing Rye's voice answer in recognition, she refocused on the keyboard. Her finger pressed the H button, feeling the tenacious syrupy stuff give slowly before holding the key down completely. Pushing it again, she realized without cleaning, that particular key wouldn't be useful any time soon.

Then it hit her. Porn. Rye. Jerking her hands back, she stared at the keyboard in disgust. Oh, no. He better not. She would…do something. Not sure what at this moment, but surely it would involve meat cleavers and certain parts of his body.

Pushing away from the desk, she bounded to her feet, marching determinedly into the living room. Rye spoke into the phone, grinning evilly. His feet rested on the foot rest, a can of beer clutched in the other hand.

Not caring who he spoke with, she quickly released her anger. "I can't believe you! You use my computer, without my permission no less. Then you look at porn sites and…and…" She gestured to his crotch. "Masturbate…all over my keyboard!" She stumbled over the word.

Rye choked, coughed, and stared at her with a look of disbelief. "What? I did no such thing! I…what?" His gaze dropped as he concentrated on the phone once more. "No, Mom. I can't believe you asked me that!" He pinched the bridge of his nose.

Brie stomped, hands on hips. "If you didn't, then explain this to me, oh Great Detective. Why was my computer on an explicit porn site, full of pictures, and my keyboard is sticky?"

Standing, Rye sat the beer on the table. "Look, Mom, I've gotta go. No! I did no such thing! What is it with you women and my personal sex life? Yes. Just…oh, never mind. Bye." He clicked the off button, turning his attention to Brie.

A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. "Let me get this straight. You think I surfed the web for porn today and jacked off, covering your keyboard with…" He paused, not completing his thought.

Not that Brie had any difficulty understanding. "Yes! Why else is my keyboard sticky? I certainly didn't find the porn site. And, I didn't make the keyboard sticky." She felt the color rising in her cheeks. "That's just disgusting! You owe me a new keyboard, mister, because I am certainly not cleaning your…body fluids…from this one!"

He turned and tossed the portable phone on the couch, his grin slowly growing. Once his eyes met hers, he burst out in a chuckle, quickly stifled. Brie tilted her head in warning. She narrowed her eyelids.

Full-blown laughter erupted. Rye shook his head at her. "You are a squirrel. Cute, but definitely a nut-carrying squirrel." Still grinning widely, he ambled past her toward the computer room.

Frustrated, she followed. "Am not." She bit her tongue at the childish retort.

"Oh, yeah. You definitely are." He turned left, headed over to the desk, before plopping into the chair. Staring at the image, he pointed. "Does she look familiar to you?"

"What? How would I know? I don't watch porn!"

He flashed a mischievous smile in her direction, almost daring her otherwise.

Her heart picked up speed, as did her respirations. Surely her body didn't react from just his expression? On second thought, she would go with that. Otherwise, she was admitting that she enjoyed the explicit picture before her.

"Would you get off the porn idea?" He fiddled with the mouse, running the cursor over the woman's face. "Who does she remind you of?" A couple of mouse clicks later and a close-up of the face appeared.

Leaning in, Brie looked at the eyes, the obviously reconstructed nose, those Botox injected, ruby red lips. The idea came to her like a light bulb turning on. "Bunny?"

"Bingo." He grinned at her.

She tapped her bottom lip with her finger, shifting weight from one leg to the other. "I don't get it. So, she's a porn star. To be honest, that's not really a surprise." She thought of the glimpses she had of the other woman. Bunny always looked perfect, nails freshly polished from a professional manicure, hair in precise place, makeup to accentuate her high cheekbones. Marilyn Monroe came to mind in comparison to Bunny at her best.

Rye tiled his head in question. "Think about it. If she's a porn star, she's gotta be making a chunk of money, right?"

She shrugged. "Guess so. But, I still don't understand."

"Then why is she living here, in this neighborhood? No offense, but this place is a quaint and homey area, not glamorous, and not wealthy. No movie productions within five hundred miles." His eyes watched her face, gauging her thoughts.

"She wants to be invisible?" A woman like Bunny may stand out in the neighborhood, but she's not likely to draw major attention as if she lived the high life. And, if she kept to herself, like she had been doing, she wasn't more than just gossip material for the other inhabitants.

"Yep. The question is why does she want to fly under the radar?" He swiveled in the chair, clicking the mouse to save the picture and print it out. The printer hummed behind him.

"Maybe she wants to start a new life? Maybe her live-in man doesn't know about her career choice?" Brie's mind spun with reasons why a woman would hide such a part of her life. It made sense.

Rye glanced up, giving a short nod. "True. But what about her supposed boyfriend? Don't you find it strange that they appear wealthy, yet no one seems to do much work? And, they don't venture out much except to the car and back."

"Now that you mention it. But…" A thought raced through her mind. "No. It's just odd. They don't belong in this neck of the woods. That's all there is to it." Shaking her head, she pondered some more.

Grinning, Rye stood, reaching out. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his body. Caught off guard, her hands flew outwart, seeking support. Brie reflexively looked up, feeling his hard chest beneath her trapped hands. That sexy grin of his had returned.

"Now you're thinking, baby." Searching her eyes for a few more seconds, he slowly lowered his lips, leaving a chaste kiss on her forehead. Pulling back, he smiled, obviously pleased at what he saw.

Pushing against him, Brie found herself quickly released. Unsure what just happened, her gaze returned to the keyboard, reminding her. "What about the keyboard?"

His eyes flickered to the desk again before returning to her face. "7-Up."

"Oh."