Adams, Eve - Trio [Gideon's Ring 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (30 page)

“
Come on, beautiful.
”
Barrett reached for her. When she shied away, he stiffened.
“
Sarah?
”

“You
’
re only mine until noon,” she said and smiled through the pain.
“
There are so many guests you have to get down to the road. I don
’
t want to be in the way.
”

Chris grabbed her hand
,
and when she tried to pull away, he held her tighter.
“
I think we could manage.
”

Sarah looked at him
,
and it broke her heart. Those hazel eyes w
ould
forever be burned into her memory.
“
Do you really want me to stay?
”

“
Stay until the rest leave.
”

“
Then what?
”

He grinned.
“
Then I
’
ll take you wherever you want to go.
”

“Shut up, Chris.” Barrett reached for her once more, compassion filling his expression. “Talk to me, baby. What’s got you ready to kick someone’s ass?”

She glared at him, and he recoiled.
If you only knew
. “The weekend is over, Barrett. I need to get back to my real life. You can stop pretending to be concerned about my well-being.”

“Who said anything about pretending?”

“
Exactly,
”
Chris added, but said nothing more.

Sarah grabbed the bag she had leaning up against the wall of the tent and shoved all of her belongings into it before zipping it closed. “I’m ready.”

“Sarah, god
damn
it, talk to me.”

“You were a very good instructor, Barrett Gideon. I’ll be sure to provide positive feedback on the client satisfaction survey.”

Her words wounded him. She saw it in the way his brow pulled together into a frown. “That’s all this weekend was to you?”

“Of course,” she lied, convincingly, she
’
d hoped. Norris would be so proud. “What more could it have been?”

He didn’t answer, and his silence hurt more than anything he could have said. He looked to Chris, who wore an equally pained expression on his face.

“Thank you both for being such great instructors. You taught me how to love.” Her voice cracked, and she turned from them before the tears welled up in her eyes.

“Sarah,” Barrett said, then stopped.

“Why don’t you let me take you to the airport,” Chris offered and stood up. “Barrett will have his hands full with all the guests.”

Barrett and Sarah stood there, staring at each other. After an eternity of silence, Sarah turned away. “That’s great, Chris. Thank you.”

“I’ll take the Eldorado since we already have transportation arranged for the rest of the guests. Do you want to drive us down in the snowcat?”

Sarah slowed her motions as she waited for Barrett to say something to stop her. But he didn’t. Instead he grabbed his coat and slipped his boots on.

“Let’s go.”

Barrett could barely breathe from the vise squeezing his chest like a malignant fist, growing, eating away at his very being. Why did she want to leave? What
had
changed from the loving woman he’d made sweet love to all night to the cool woman now sitting next to him? And why the fuck was Chris okay with all of this?

“Are you going to tell me the truth?”

Sarah blinked up at him, those wide brown eyes full of raw emotion, of undeniable pain. He knew her, knew when she hurt. And damn it, something had her hurting like hell. Chris, the callous son of a bitch, just sat there staring straight ahead and didn
’
t say a goddamn word to talk her out of leaving.

She glanced down to her gloved hands as she wrung them in her lap. “I already told you.”

“And I call bullshit. I know you, baby. I know when something has you tight as a drum.”

“You only know what you’ve been able to learn in two days, Barrett. That’s hardly enough to go on.”

God
damn
it. He really hated her stubborn streak right now. Usually it turned him on, made him hotter than a two-dollar pistol, but right now it only pissed him off.

He pulled the snowcat up to the lodge and kept it running.

“Oh, good. Looks like Gus came through and got the driveway plowed. I’ll get the rig warmed up.” Chris jumped out and ran inside to get the keys to the Eldorado.

Sarah sat next to Barrett, and they both stared straight ahead to avoid looking at each other.

“Will you at least answer a question for me?”

She stiffened but nodded.

“Will I ever see you again?”

“Probably not.” She closed her beautiful eyes, and a telltale tear streaked down her face. She reached over and opened the door.

“Don’t do this. Don’t leave, not like this.”

She smiled through her tears, and his gut clenched.

“I have to. It was great, what we had, but it was all make-believe. We can’t live forever in this fantasy.”

“
Why not?
”

“
Because I want both of you. That
’
s how good you two are. You made me fall for you both.
”
She laughed and wiped at her eyes.
“
I
’
m sure this isn
’
t the first time you
’
ve had to drop a weepy girl off after the weekend.
”

The angst clawing at his guts flooded to his veins and pounded in his head. Why couldn’t he breathe? “Sarah, please. Don’t leave. We can talk about this.”

“Good-bye, Barrett.” She closed the door, and Barrett felt a void rip through his soul unlike anything he’d ever experienced. And he thought Gail’s dismissal would be his undoing.

Losing Gail was nothing compared to the thought of never seeing his sweet Sarah again. He sat in the snowcat until Chris pulled the Eldorado away and the taillights disappeared down the driveway.

Then he let out a cursing howl that shook the trees.

He’d failed her. Sarah Emerson, determined, defiant, needed a man who stood up to her, who took heated pleasure challenging her as much as she challenged him. A man who wouldn’t let her slip through his fingers. A man who’d swallow his goddamn pride and fall on bended knee to declare his undying love for her to make her stay.

He’d failed on all accounts.

Would Chris fail her as well?

“
Are you warm enough?
”
Chris reached forward and adjusted the temperature. Maybe he could sweat the answers out of her since she refused to talk to him
,
despite his many attempts.

Sarah turned it back down.
“
I’m fine.
”

“
Hardly.
”

Ignoring his jibe, she turned and glanced out the side window. The further they drove out of town, the lighter the snow became.
“
Looks like the storm pretty much stayed hovering over the ranch.
”

“
Until this morning,
”
he muttered.
“
Now it
’
s following us.
”

“
What is that supposed to mean?
”

“
That your attitude is about as welcome as that storm.
”

She crossed her arms under her breasts.
“
Screw you, Chris. You don
’
t have to be such an ass.
”

“
Don
‘
t I? What else do you want me to be, Sarah? Do you want me happy that you’re leaving?
”

“
You certainly jumped at the chance to drive me.
”

He tossed her a glare.
“
Now why do you suppose I did that?
”

“
Because you couldn
’
t wait to get rid of me.
”

“
Bullshit!
”
He gripped the steering wheel tight as he clenched his jaw. Damn Sarah and her pride. It pissed him off. He loved her defiant side on any other occasion
, but right now he found it irritating and arousing at the same time, which pissed him off even more
.
“
I
‘
m not stupid
,
so don
’
t feed me a line and expect me to believe you.
”

She shook her head and turned away from him, her arms tight in front of her.
“
I don
’
t give a shit what you believe.
”

“
That’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart.
”

“
Don
‘
t call me that.
”

“
I can call you whatever I want for another forty-five minutes, baby. I
’
m still your Master until noon.
”

She whipped around and even bared her teeth. Now that look was interesting, if a bit scary.

“
Just stop it! We aren’t at the ranch
,
and you most definitely are not my Master. Why are you doing this?
”