5

Present

“Olivia, you’ll freeze if you don’t get out of the car.”

Forrester’s deep voice shook her out of the memories of the past. She shifted in the passenger seat. The entire plane ride and drive had gone by in a blur of thoughts. Then, she glanced out to look upon an image she had seen hundreds—if not thousands—of times as a child. Even still, the enormous castle that was Forrester’s birthright always took her breath away. To know that she was there, in the same town, breathing the same Ireland air she had sworn to never take in her lungs again, was a nightmare to her.

“Why are all these cars here?” she grumbled.

“Some people are actually happy to see me. If you don’t want to stay here, I’ll have somebody drive you to a hotel,” he offered, closing the door.

“What! And have people talking about us?” she cried out of the opened door.

Forrester’s eyebrow went up. “I’m sure they’ll be talking soon enough.”

She paused at the tone of his voice. She marched up to him. “What does that mean?”

“It means that I’m home, and I meant what I said. You can do and go as you please ‘cause I damn sure intend to.

She blocked him from walking away. She pushed on his chest angrily. He didn’t bulge. “You aren’t going to make me the laughing stalk by fucking around on me. I mean it! I’ll … I’ll—”

“You’ll what, Olivia? Tell me, please? No, let me… You’ll pout and whine. That’s what you’ve always done. You’ve never fought for anything in your damned life because you’ve felt that the sun rose and shined on your arse… and sad to say—I fell right in line with it. It was easier to just go with it or overlook it. Well, you can go fuck yourself,” he growled before he picked her up and moved her to the side.

She danced outside in the cold. The wind that whipped around her cut through her evening dress and mink coat. The shouts and cheers reached her ears only to become muffled after the heavy, wooden door slammed closed behind him. Like a mean-spirited child, she kicked the gravel and cursed the sky at her rotten luck.

She had promised herself she would never, ever come back to this town. What the hell was she going to do while there? She could never dumb herself down to the level of the people that happily lived there. That’s why she had made it her mission to leave. Of course, fate had given her Forrester, which turned out to be a better match than what she could have ever imagined.

After their night together, they were married, and nine months later, Pike was born. It had taken her some years of riding him like a tick on a dog after Brick was born before he gave into her constant nagging, and they moved to America.

“Ah, Queen Sheba has graced the lowly people with her presence,” someone shouted when she reluctantly entered the large hall.

She raised her head, squared her shoulders, and glided into the room that was filled with bodies.

“Can I take your coat, my lady?”

“No, I can…”

Her words trailed off into a gasp. She glanced up into a pair of eyes she hadn’t seen in years.

“Marcus,” she croaked out.

“Yes. I would hug you, but I remember how—”

Forrester watched from a distance as she threw herself into, once a boy, but now, the young man’s arms. Her genuine laughter floated over the other voices to reach his ears. He felt a warmth come over him. He felt his chest tighten. This was the woman he had lost—this was the woman he hadn’t had a glimpse of in years. It was the woman she chose to keep hidden for a reason that he couldn’t fathom. It was also the woman she refused to let lead, which was the reason why he’d had to harden himself against giving into Olivia. Because he knew it wouldn’t last.

“You look so old!” She laughed.

“Which is what people do.”

He could see her scanning the crowd, and he knew why.

“They didn’t come,” he whispered.

He almost flinched at the pained look on her face. He was glad that she’d recovered quickly, hiding the hurt.

“I’m not surprised that Saoirse and Da wouldn’t show. I left and never looked back,” she mumbled.

“Aye, you hurt a lot of people, Livy. I ain’t gonna make no excuses for you, but I can’t let that keep me from seeing you. Life is too short, you know?” he explained.

Olivia massaged the lump in her throat while she nodded.

Lakyta (La-keya-ta) elbowed Brick. They were seated at the long, wooden tables that reminded her of cafeteria tables.

“She looked like she’s been run over,” she mumbled.

Brick turned his eyes from his mother. He shook his head in disgust. The woman was his mother, but he couldn’t stand being with her. He looked over at his father and smiled. The joy in the room was almost contagious. Everyone was hugging, patting each other on the back, laughing loud, and kissing, while his mother kept separate from the reunion. He was thankful that the woman birthed him, but he was also thankful that he and his brother, Pike, turned out to be like their father.

“Hmm,” was his only response.

“Do you think your father is really going to kick her to the curb?” whispered Lakyta. “Don’t just shrug me off,” she hissed.

“What the hell you want me to say? Shit, I can’t blame him if he did. You haven’t been with her that long, so you don’t know,” he grumbled.

“I about shit my pants when she walked through the door. I thought she would have stayed and braved the storm,” added Angus, his cousin.

Lakyta noticed the glare that her husband shot across the table at Angus. She shifted to face her husband and openly examined him. His black hair hung over his forehead. She could see his tapered, bearded jaw working as he ground his teeth.

“You can pretend like I’m not looking at you. What is he talking about, baby?” she asked sweetly.

“Don’t try to sweet-talk me, and he meant nothing.”

“Hmm, I don’t think so, but I’ll let it slide—for now,” she warned before she turned to give her attention to Cashmere that was to her left.

I’m sorry, Angus mouthed.

I’m gonna fuck you up, Brick mouthed back.

As the minutes turned into hours, the party didn’t stop. Olivia sat next to the roaring fireplace that took up the entire limestone wall. She smiled as she listened to stories of the past. She couldn’t help the guilt that she felt from knowing that she had been the reason for Forrester leaving. So many years had gone by, and friendships had been tried.

As she listened, she had no clue about the things he had done for the people that had come to welcome him home over the years. Unlike her, he hadn’t turned his back on them as she had. He still kept in touch, while all she wanted to do was go and make new friends that she believed reflected the person she desired to be.

“Why don’t you go to bed?”

She stiffened at the sound of his thundering voice. The conversation died down while others watched the exchange between the two.

“No, I’ll wait,” she offered.

“I insist. There’s no need for you to wake with a stiff neck. Choose one of the rooms and go to sleep. I’ll find my own room.”

The mood in the room changed as the meaning behind his words fell like a stone. She had been watching the women, both young and old, fighting for his attention all night long. They touched and laughed while he drunk glass after glass of ale. Forrester was in his fifties, but he still had the body and stamina of a man in his prime. Olivia chewed her lip as she recalled all that he had said and what he had done with the young bartender. She had no doubt that after she went upstairs, he would give the town something to talk about in the morning.

It’s better to not see it then to have him do it in my face, she concluded.

Forrester followed her movements while she walked across the large hall. He noticed the whispers when she passed by the people. He followed her until she disappeared out of sight on the landing above.

“Was that really necessary to call her out like that?” questioned Pike.

He shrugged his shoulder at his oldest son. “I really don’t give a rat’s tit.”

“Sure, Da. Whatever you say.” He smirked as he got to his feet.

Forrester frowned.

I really don’t care, he repeated to himself, but his heart was saying something entirely different.

Lakyta waited until they had gone to their room, showered, and gave the babies their last feeding. She had to pick her timing just right. She laid back in the massive bed. Brick had rolled over and was working his magic on her body.

“So, what did Angus mean?” she asked.

Brick’s eyes had lifted for a second before he lowered them to continue kissing a trail over her stomach. A loud groan ripped from his lips when she pushed his head and clamped her legs closed, cutting off his route. He rolled back on his knees. His eyes bore into her ebony face. She saw the ticking in his jaw.

“My father… he, um, he did things when he first started out.”

“Like what?”

Brick sighed. “He ran a drug business among other things.”

“Shut your mouth!” Lakyta boomed as she tossed a pillow at his head.

Brick swiped it down. “How can I suck on those big, blackberry nipples and feast on this pussy if my mouth is closed?” he teased, trying to open her thighs.

“Seriously, Brick,” she snapped.

“Yes! He ran shit in this town and in the US for my aunt Niamh’s husband. Well, ex-husband, and soon to be a dead man after Kobe kills his ass for coming after him. That’s why Da used the attack as a reason to disappear here,” he confessed.

“Why you said it like that?”

“Because that’s the reason why Pike and I came here in the first place—to get away from Ma and all that drama,” he explained.

“Oh,” she spoke before she went back to the main topic. “So, is he dirty now? Are you and P—”

“No,” he responded, firmly. “We have family that is, and he knows people, but he’s not in that anymore. Hey! Hey, where you going?” he called out.

Lakyta bounced off the bed and danced out of his reach. She grabbed her cell that was on the table in front of the fire. Brick fell back on the bed while he cursed in frustration.

“Hey, girl I got to tel—”

“I know! Forrester was—”

“How the hell you know?” Lakyta gasped, cutting her sister-in-law, Cashmere, off.

“Pike told me after Olivia came in the house.”

“What!” shrieked Lakyta. “Why the hell you didn’t tell me, then?”

“‘Cause he was watching me. I was gonna tell you tomorrow, though,” promised Cashmere.

“Oh, well…”

Lakyta let out a scream at the sound of the bedroom door swinging open. She stood dumbstruck at the sight of Pike marching across the room towards her. Without a word, he snatched the cell from her limp hand.

“End of tea time,” he fumed into the phone. “And you better be naked and ready for me by the time I get to the room,” he scoffed to his wife, on the other end, before he disconnected the call.

“Thank you,” cheered Brick from the bed.

Pike towered over Lakyta. “You may not want to enjoy my one-hump brother, but I damn sure want to use the time the baby is sleep to get me some.” He winked.

Lakyta chuckled while she watched him slam the door behind him as he left.

“One-hump my ass.” Brick scoffed.

She jumped at the closeness of his voice. Glancing over her shoulder, she found him upon her. He picked her up, strolled over to the bed, and tossed her down. He didn’t give her a chance to right herself. His hard body pressed her into the mattress.

“I’ll be damned if I go another night without fucking you.”

“I fell asleep feeding the babies. You should have woke me up.”

Brick frowned. “I don’t like making love to a zombie. I want you to be engaged.”

“Well, you got me engaged.” She smiled.

She slid her hands into his low-riding pajama pants to fondle his ass cheeks. Lakyta opened her mouth to receive his kiss. She could never deny this man. His tanned, muscular, tattooed body had become a drug she knew she would never shake. Her back arched off the bed at the feel of his large, mushroom-shaped tip of his dick splitting her pussy lips to coat his soft flesh with her moisture. Brick ingested her faint moan when he entered her. He didn’t stop until he was fully seated within her hot pussy.

“Finally,” he groaned. “I don’t know why you tease me by making me wait,” he continued. His hips delivered deep, penetrating thrust after thrust. “Shit, I love it when you squirt on me,” he growled.

He leaned back just enough to get a glimpse of the juices running down his cock to wet the sheets. Her pussy had taken on an extra coat of wetness that made his dick smack and slide with ease.

“I want you all night. Do you think you can last that long?” He moaned.

His strong hand encircled her neck to give it a squeeze. He tightened and loosened his grip according to the clenching of her pussy walls. They both enjoyed the gameplay of choking.

She bit down on her lip, fastened her narrowed, sapphire-blue eyes with his, and rose to meet him. Before long, they were both sweaty, sticky, and panting as the room filled with the arousing scent of their lovemaking. He brought her to the mountain top, felt his nuts harden under the need for release, only to freeze in motion to tease them further. The agony of being so close to the light, only to stop, made them both hungry and crazy with desire.

Neither one realized they had been at it for over two hours until the faint sound of the babies moving in the crib in the closet-turned-nursery reached them.

“You’re too loud, Lakyta,” he warned in her ear.

He knew, in this state, she didn’t hear a damned thing he was saying. Quickly, he muffled her cries and whimpers with his hand.

“Control yourself,” he grunted.

Brick’s eyes bore into hers while he began to punish her pussy with his hard ride. Her eyes widened at the depth and reach of his dick that felt as if it was going to destroy her entire womb.

“Shit!” He hissed when her sharp teeth bit into the palm of his hand.

“You really want to play the rough game?” He smirked.

His limp hair hid half of his handsome face. Brick leaned back on his knees. As he moved into position, he slipped his hands under her ass and lifted her off the bed without missing a beat. He didn’t care that her screams would surely wake the babies. He wanted to get her the way he wanted her. He would deal with rocking them back to sleep later. The muscles in his chest and arms glistened and flexed under the lights that the roaring fire cast in the room.

“Come… come on,” he growled.

Lakyta’s scream ripped through the room. Brick’s deep groan mixed with hers and the annoying cries of the babies.