Coral Hearts (13 page)

Sage didn’t even try to hold back his wicked grin, “Well, I suppose I could, but where would the fun be in that?”

Leading her down the stairs to the pool area several minutes later, Sage felt Coral begin to withdraw emotionally. He hoped the small scene they’d just done upstairs hadn’t overwhelmed her too much—he wanted to push her, but knew there would be a fine line between enough and too much. Before they’d reached the large glass doors leading to the pool he turned her so she faced him. “Tell me what you’re thinking, pet.” He knew he’d surprised her and he hoped she’d blurt out her answer before taking time to edit it into something she thought he wanted to hear.

“I’m embarrassed about what I did just now…upstairs I mean. I can’t believe I did that. How am I ever going to look your brothers in the face again? They have to think I’m beyond desperate. Geez, what was I thinking? I’ve never been like this before. And the worst part is I liked it. What does that even mean? I’m sure it isn’t anything good.” She was quickly working herself into a real
state
as his granny had always said. It needed to be shut down quickly before she got so caught up in her “good girl” limits she forgot about the pleasure she’d felt.

“Stop.” His one word command had been sharp enough to snap her out of the downward spiral, but he could see the shame in her eyes and those unshed tears were almost enough to make him change the course he’d chosen.
No, stay the course with her. She needs your strength and guidance, not coddling.
“You didn’t do anything wrong and if I hear you say it again I’ll paddle your pretty little ass until I’m convinced you’ve gotten the message.”

“You’ve spent entirely too much time trying to be good enough to make up for the shortcomings you saw in your parents. Not only were those efforts unnecessary then—damn, you were a child for God’s sake. But now they’re simply wasted energy because they’re gone. Let them go and live your life, pet—you’ve earned it.” The first tear to breach her lower lid and shimmer its way down her flushed cheek made his heart squeeze, but he was determined to hold himself back. If he gave in and cuddled her close she wouldn’t understand how firmly he believed the words he’d just spoken. One of the things Sage had learned about submisives was they were usually far too caught up in doing what they felt was expected of them. Their need to please others trumped their own needs so frequently they forgot they deserved happiness as well.

With his hands on either side of her pretty face, Sage used his thumbs to brush away her tears. The tortured look of need in her eyes brought the Dom in him raging to the surface. “I’ll help you, pet. You’ll learn to see the deserving woman I see. And as for what happened upstairs—you showed my brothers how brave you are. Do you think they didn’t know how far outside the lines you were coloring?” The grin that tipped up the corners of her deep pink lips let him know she was starting to relax once again. “I assure you your place in their hearts is even more solid now that they’ve seen first-hand how brave you are. Pet, the
willingness to try
is a magnetic pull no Dom can resist.”

He suspected she was nearing the point of being completely overwhelmed. The day had been filled with distractions and while he had definitely wanted to switch her focus from the break-in, he didn’t want to push her past her emotional limit either. “Let’s swim. I think we could both use some time water time.” For him swimming was a way to work out the kinks stress and physical labor left behind, he hoped she’d enjoy the pool as much as he did.

Stepping into the cavernous room he heard Coral’s soft gasp. “I haven’t actually been in this room yet. I just looked in from the door earlier. It’s amazing—almost like a tropical jungle.” She was right, the entire area was filled with tropical plants surrounding the pool as well as several sitting areas giving them each an illusion of privacy. The far end of the room was taken up with a fully functioning bar and grill. The kitchen behind the bar was capable of keeping even the largest party well fed. And God knew, the bar was well stocked enough to make every drink imaginable.

“The waterfall is my favorite feature. Come, let me show you.” He grasped her hand and led her to the stone covered wall at the back of the pool. There were dressing rooms and showers behind the wall, but he’d insisted they leave a small area behind the falling water as a private area. He and his brothers had been young adults when his parents had decided to redo the basement adding the pool so they’d each had ideas of how to best use the new area in their romantic endeavors. Sage’s dad still laughed about some of the outrageous and downright lurid suggestions they’d made.
Yeah, he laughed, but he damn well incorporated several of their ideas into the final design. The old saying about the fruit not falling far from the tree is truer than dad probably wants to admit.

C
oral tried to
not let her mouth fall open like a fish out of water as she took in the sheer opulence of the Morgan’s home, but damn the place was simply off the fucking chart amazing. She’d been bowled over by the upstairs and the master suite was bigger than the last house she’d shared with her mom and dad, but this? This was so much more than she’d expected…she could hardly take it all in. The entire space had obviously been designed for entertaining and Coral wondered if Sage brought all his women here—the thought was surprisingly depressing. She knew he was much more experienced, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t heard more than one story about the sexual prowess of the eldest Morgan brother from the local tongue waggers. But fantasizing about him and being faced with the reality of how he’d gotten all that experience were two very different things.

“What put that that frown on your face, sweetness?”
Oh course he wouldn’t miss the change in your mood—what did you expect? The man doesn’t miss much, that’s for sure.

Deciding to take a leap of faith, she blurted out her answer before good sense had a chance to kick in. “I wondered if you brought all of the women you…ummm, well…dated here. I know it isn’t really any of my business, but it’s what I was thinking about.”

Coral felt her face flush with embarrassment but when she tried to turn away, Sage stopped her. “No, pet. Look at me.” When she met his gaze, Coral was surprised to see regret and a hint of embarrassment. “I’d love to tell you that you’re the only woman I’ve ever brought into this part of the house, but I won’t lie to you. But I can tell you it isn’t a space I’ve shared often and I’m looking forward to making wonderful memories here with you.”

What Sage didn’t
mention was the fact Mackenzie was the only other woman he’d ever brought into this part of the house, and she’d spent the whole time complaining about how the humidity was destroying her newly styled hair. And God forbid he actually expected her to dip so much as a big toe in the
chlorinated
water. She’d gone on and on for hours about how horrible chemically treated water was for her sensitive skin. Hell, thinking back on their time together Sage wondered how he’d managed to ignore so many obvious signs they weren’t right for one another.

Sage felt Coral’s warm fingers stroking softly over his cheek, blinking down at her he realized he’d zoned out for a few seconds. “I’m sorry if I offended you. I shouldn’t have said anything, I didn’t mean to ruin the mood.”

“No, pet. I’m glad you asked. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. I was just thinking about how dim witted I was with my ex, and how ungrateful I was when my brothers tried to point it out. Hell, Brandt and I were barely speaking by the time I pulled my head out of my ass and ended the relationship.” He watched as something he didn’t recognize passed over her expression. It had been so fleeting he wasn’t even sure he hadn’t imagined it, but it was gone quickly and he was ready to lose himself in Coral’s sweet body so he let it go.

Stepping back, Sage crossed his arms over his chest and gave Coral a sinister smile. “Strip, pet.” Hell, it shouldn’t take long, he’d only let her put on a sundress—one quick pull over her head and she’d be naked as the day she was born, and he could hardly wait. When she glanced around the area he reached around her and gave her sweet ass a solid swat. “Your job is to follow instructions, pet. I’ll worry about who is allowed to see what belongs to me.” She surprised him when she nodded before quickly pulling the dress off. He wondered if she was afraid she might lose her courage if she waited too long. Taking a deep breath, Sage smiled. “God damn, you are fucking gorgeous. Your skin is flawless and the deep rose color your nipples turn when they peak is probably the prettiest color on the planet.”

Leaning forward he circled his tongue around the delicate skin of her areola watching the tight bud of her nipple pull up even tighter. Throwing off his own clothes in record time, Sage watched the tip of Coral’s tongue trace over her bottom lip, the look of hunger in her eyes unmistakable as her gaze dropped to his engorged cock. Hell, his dick must have known she was watching because it bounced happily against his lower abdomen—
damned thing is showing off for her.

“I’m not a really good swimmer. I mean, I won’t drown or anything, but I’m not an expert.” She might have been talking about swimming, but he wasn’t entirely convinced her words didn’t hold a deeper meaning.

“Not to worry, I’ll be happy to help you—
always
. Remember that, pet, because it’s important. Anything you need, you only have to ask, if I don’t know the answer we’ll find it together.” When he saw her nod in understanding, he grinned before scooping her up in his arms and walking down the sloping concrete into the warm water. “Our dad insisted the pool have a zero entry feature because he said someday he would be too old to do cannonballs off the top of the waterfall.” Coral laughed, as he’d hoped she would—it was definitely time to lighten the mood. “You think I’m kidding, but I’m forewarning you, he is a demon with cannonballs. He’ll soak you if he gets half a chance.”

They swam and played for several minutes before Coral noticed Colt leaning against the corner of the stone structure housing the waterfall. There were stairs hidden behind a small outcropping of rock letting the more adventurous swimmers a chance to use the platform as a diving board. Sage had invited his brother to join them contingent upon Coral’s agreement. His brother had shed his shirt and shoes, but he’d left his low riding jeans in place. Sage watched Coral’s eyes dilate as she took in Colt’s appearance, and he wondered if she was going to be brave enough to admit how interested she was in a ménage scene.

When he’d researched the books on Coral’s e-reader, he had been surprised to find so many selections featuring polyamorous relationships. He looked forward to introducing her to Tobi West. The lovely spitfire who’d married Kent and Kyle West would be a perfect sounding board for Coral. Mama Morgan and Lilly West were first cousins, but had grown up together and considered themselves closer than most sisters. The boys had spent time together during school holidays and vacations so Sage hadn’t hesitated to call the West brothers and ask for a favor. They’d laughed at his suggestion Tobi would be a good role model for Coral, but they’d agreed to set up a time for the two women to speak privately in a Facetime call.

“Cousin, I’m not sure you know exactly what you’re getting in to.” Kent’s teasing words bounced through Sage’s mind as he watched Coral pull her bottom lip between her teeth, nibbling on it—a nervous habit he’d noticed she fell into whenever she started to feel overwhelmed.

Kyle had shaken his head and smiled. “God only knows what Tobi might say, I’ve given up trying to predict what she’ll do in any given situation. But knowing this will be important to our mom will make a huge difference, she might actually behave.”

“Oh yeah, those two are thick as thieves.”

“And about as trustworthy when they’re together.” Kyle’s grin gave away his amusement, and despite his obvious sarcasm, Sage had seen the amusement dancing in his eyes. They’d set up a time during the upcoming week and the two former SEALs agreed to call Brandt to see if they could help with the investigation.
Like those two and their merry band of former Special Forces operatives don’t have resources the rest of us can only dream of.
“We aren’t as
limited
by legalities as Brandt is—perhaps we can lend a hand.”

Watching Coral’s respiration rate kick up and her eyes dilate as she watched Colt move closer, his bare feet silent on the concrete pool deck. Sage could see the fluidity in his brother’s movements, something their mother always claimed was due in part to Colt’s innate musical talent. Their mom had always sworn Colt’s athletic ability and grace during bull rides was because he simply moved to the music he’d always claimed to hear in his head. Sage had teased his brother about it when they were kids, but as they’d grown up he’d learned to appreciate Colt’s musical skill—God knew he hadn’t gotten that particular genetic gift.

Stepping forward, Sage blocked her view of Colt standing at the edge of the pool. Lifting her chin with his fingers, he watched a pink flush move over her cheeks. “Pet, nothing happens that you aren’t comfortable with. You seem to have an interest in ménage and Colt has agreed to help us explore it—but he and I are both adamant about this being your decision.” They’d discussed shared scenes briefly, but they hadn’t discussed specifics. Sage had emphasized the fact he would never be interested in sharing her permanently, but he’d asked her to consider ménage scenes. Now, watching her worried expression, he wondered if he hadn’t pushed ahead too quickly.