Falling Together (All That Remains #2) (15 page)

Oh,
I’m on fire, already skirting the edge of my orgasm as I push his sweats and
boxers off, taking him in my palm. He’s hard and smooth, burning hot and
pulsing beneath my fingers. Long firm strokes pull a satisfying groan from his
lips. His eyes burn as he gazes at me, pink cheeked and panting. So fucking sexy.

“Are
you sure, baby?” he whispers.

I
nod, breathless and desperate for him. My gasp turns into a moan as he gently
presses inside me. “Oh God, yes,” I breathe, the words tumbling out unbidden. Sweet
words fall from his lips as he takes me, his loving gaze healing a part of me,
stitching together pieces I didn’t know were broken.

“Abby,”
he groans, his fingers traveling down to stroke me, sending a burst of
sensation sizzling to every nerve ending I possess.

“Don’t
stop,” I beg when the feel of him overrides my every thought and worry. There
is no pain or heartache. Only Joseph making love to me so tenderly while the
sun beams through the window, throwing rippling patterns across our naked
bodies. I escape into the sound of his heartbeat, the heat of his breath on my
neck, the sensation of his skin against mine.

“God,
you feel amazing,” he murmurs. His control slipping, he increases his speed, making
me cry out, the waves of pleasure pulsing through me again and again until I’m
completely wrung dry. A second later, he follows me, his teeth gritted, coming
with a guttural moan so low it’s nearly a growl.

Sweet,
soft kisses cover my face, and neck. We lie together in comfortable silence,
and the guilt I know I should feel doesn’t take hold. Skin to skin with Joseph,
I feel cared for, satisfied and content.

“Please,
don’t be sorry, baby,” he pleads quietly, lying with his face resting against
my belly, his hand caressing my hip. “Please don’t regret it.”

“I’m
not sorry.” I smile down at him shyly. “It was too good to regret.” His eyes
sparkle and his mouth turns up with a sexy little grin before he brings his
lips to my navel, kissing softly. “You have a thing for belly buttons?” I tease
playfully. The instant blush that blooms on his cheeks gives away his answer
and makes me giggle. “Really? I was only teasing.”

He
shrugs and brushes his thumb across my navel. “It’s sexy. At least I don’t have
an obsession with lips.” He grins and kisses my belly, deliberately letting his
lips linger against my skin.

“Hmm,
only yours,” I whisper, closing my eyes.

“I
love you, Abigail,” he murmurs.

For
a split second Airen’s dark eyes flash before me, and I’m flooded with remorse.
No. He’s
gone.
Suppressing the guilt, I stroke the back of his
head, and thread my fingers through his soft curls. “I love you, too, Joseph.”

Joseph

I
know I have to confess to Troy, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to do
it. He has suffered so much and I’m afraid of the damage I’ll inflict now that
he’s healing. Still, I can’t continue a relationship with him when I don’t love
him the way he loves me. It’s not fair to either of us. God, I’m such an
asshole; I have to break his heart.

“I’ll
never tell anyone,” Abby declares. “You can still make it work with Troy. I’m
sorry, Joseph. I was selfish, and I never even thought about how it would
affect him. And he’s been so good to me.”

My
arms close around her waist. She’s too thin. She’s lost too much weight,
grieving for Airen. “No, this is what I want.” Her arms slip around my neck
while I kiss her soft lips.

“Me
too.” She sighs, pulling my body against hers.

We
haven’t slept together again. A few stolen kisses and caresses are all we can
manage in a house full of people. Neither of us wishes to sneak around and hide
a relationship. I know she’s dealing with her own guilt. I can see it on her
face when she smiles at me with love and regret all rolled into one, and I’ve
tried to reassure her that Airen wouldn’t mind, that he’d want her to be happy,
but I wish I could tell her how I’m so confident of that fact. That he gave me
his blessing with Abby if something should ever happen to him. But I don’t want
her to believe I only want to be with her out of some misplaced notion of
fulfilling a promise to Airen. I want her to know how much she means to me, how
much I love her.

She
snuck right into my heart with her sweet personality, stubborn strength, and
compassionate heart. I was terrified and ashamed when Airen called me out on my
feelings for her, but he wasn’t upset. “She loves you, too,” he said, sitting
across from me at my kitchen table the day before he left.

“I’ve
never…we’ve never…I wouldn’t,” I stammered, trying to find the right words to
convince him I’d never hurt him that way. I was sure he could read the guilt on
my face. The times I took the flirting a little too far, kissing her neck,
holding her in the barn the night we got trapped. I kissed her lips that night,
too, though she was asleep. I couldn’t resist. But especially the make out
session when the cult leader forced us together. Kissing her passionately, my
fingers inside her, her soft hand around my cock. It was wrong, but I was
pretty fucked up. In love with both of them, and going crazy alone.

“I
know that. Shit, Joseph, it’s not like I think you’re going to run off together.
I want to ask you something,” he said, sending my heart rate through the roof.
I knew if he asked about that night, I couldn’t lie to him. It turned out his
question was way more unexpected. “Do you love her more than Troy?”

“What?”

“You
heard me. If I wasn’t here, and you could choose between them, who would it
be?”

“Abby,”
I replied instantly.

“Then
promise me something. If something ever happens to me, whether it’s this trip
or ten years from now, you’ll take my place. Take care of my wife and baby.
Love her and make her yours.” Shocked, I stared into his dark serious eyes.

“Airen,
I don’t know what to say.”

“Say
yes, and put my mind at ease. I wouldn’t give her up for anything in the world,
but if I’m gone, I want to know she’s with someone I trust, someone who’ll love
her…you. Will you?”

Nodding,
I reached across and took his hand. “Of course I will.”

“You
can’t tell her about this. She won’t understand. If I died, you two would end
up together anyway, I know that. I just want you to know I’d be fine with it.
And now I expect it. Don’t make me come back and haunt you,” he teased, trying
to lighten the tone of the conversation.

“I
promise. I’ll take care of her. She’ll never be left alone.”

“Thank
you.”

“So,
how long do I have to wait? Can I do it in your bed?” I taunted.

“Don’t
make me beat your ass before I leave.” And I laughed. We laughed. So goddamned
sure such an outcome would never actually happen. Now two months later, I’m
lying in his bed, wrapped around his wife, and he’s gone.

“I
just need a little time to figure out how to tell Troy,” I murmur, kissing
Abby’s lips.

“Take
your time. I’ll be here.” She runs her soft hand across the back of my neck. Goddamn
it Airen! Look at the position you have shoved me into. It’s not that I don’t
want to be with Abby, I do. Still, if Airen hadn’t left I wouldn’t have had the
choice to make. Maybe Troy and I would have ended it, but I wouldn’t be
betraying him or breaking his heart by leaving him for another.

Though
I try not to think of Airen, he’s constantly on my mind. In my life I’ve fallen
in love with two men, and both have been taken from me. There were times when I
was sure that Airen felt the same for me. The way he kissed me goodbye when I
moved in with Troy. There was such a passion and yearning in those dark eyes,
as if he wanted so badly to confess something, but couldn’t bear to say it
aloud.

The
night he sang to me over the bonfire, in front of Abby. It was all the more
moving because she was there, and he wasn’t ashamed or trying to conceal his
feelings from her. I believe he was beginning to accept who he’d become, perhaps
who he’d always been. Now I’ll never know.

I
miss him so badly. I’d give almost anything to see that smirking, gorgeous face
again. But how could I face him after taking his wife to bed? With or without
his permission. He worshipped Abby. I doubt she truly understands the depth of
his all encompassing love for her and his family. They were everything to him. Damn
it, Airen. Whatever happened, I hope with all my heart that you knew how loved
you were. How loved and missed you’ll always remain. And I’m taking care of
them, buddy. I’ll always take care of them.

* * * *

A
horn blares and I jerk awake, confused. The clock on my dresser reads 4:18 am
when I throw myself out of bed to follow the sound.

“Joseph?
What’s going on?” Troy mumbles from beneath the comforter.

“I
don’t know. It’s coming from Abby’s place. Stay with Walker.”

My
breath fogs the air while I sprint through the woods towards Abby’s house,
berating myself for leaving her alone. I can barely make out Abby standing with
a dark figure in the driveway. Eric! Oh my God! They’re back!
Airen. Where’s
Airen
?

“Abby!”
I shout, running faster.

“Joseph!
Hurry!” Her panicked voice carries easily across the still night.

“Get
Julie!” Eric calls. “Airen’s really sick!” Before I can reply, Carson bursts
through the front door.

“Julie’s
on her way; I radioed her.”

“Help
me get him inside,” Eric barks. Shit. He can’t even walk on his own? Eric
slides the van door open and motions for me to hurry. Airen lies slumped over
the seat, wrapped in blankets, his face ashen, his eyes sealed shut.

“No,”
Abby breathes, her eyes wide with horror at the sight of him so pale and still.
He looks like a corpse.

“I’ve
got him, Abby.” I slide an arm under his knees and behind his back and lift
him, cradling him against my chest like a small child. He’s so light. There’s
nothing to him.

“How
long has he been unconscious?” Julie demands when I place him on the bed.

“He’s
been in and out for over a week, but he hasn’t responded to me at all in the
last four hours,” Eric replies. “He’s been sick with a fever and a cough for
three weeks, but he said it was just a cold. He’s been taking these.” He
thrusts a bottle of pills at her.

“Okay,
everybody out,” she barks, shifting into full doctor mode. She shouts a list of
supplies to Jayla who speeds off with Carson to retrieve them. Abby kneels
beside Airen while Julie removes his clothes and examines him.

“You
shouldn’t be here,” she scolds when Abby lets out a dismayed cry at the sight
of his pitifully thin body. He’s emaciated, his normally golden complexion as
white as the bed sheets.

“Is
he breathing?” she utters, her voice barely audible.

“Yes,
and he has a pulse,” Julie mumbles, talking to herself as much as us.

“Do
we need to warm him up?”

“No.”
Julie glances at the thermometer. “Just the opposite. His fever is over 105
degrees. We have to get it down or he could suffer brain damage. Get a pan of
water, room temperature, and some towels.”

When
Jayla bursts in with medical supplies, Julie takes them and bustles her and
Carson out the door. “Your dad wouldn’t want you to see him like this,” she
insists. Carson reluctantly pulls Jayla from the room.

“Take
his shorts off and bathe him in the water,” Julie orders. She inserts a needle
into his arm and starts an IV drip.

“What
are you giving him?” Abby asks.

“A
fever reducer and fluids. He’s severely dehydrated.”

Abby
pulls off Airen’s shorts and I toss a towel across his hips to cover his
privates. We wet the towels and wipe him down gently from head to toe. He’s
burning up, his skin on fire beneath our fingers. Julie frowns as she
repositions the stethoscope and listens to his lungs. She calls for Jayla again
and sends her for an oxygen tank.

“I
also need an oxygen sat monitor and IV penicillin.” Jayla nods and rushes off.
It’s only been twenty minutes since the horn woke me, but it feels as if I’ve
lived an entire day. Am I dreaming? Is he actually here?

“What’s
wrong with him?” Abby whispers.

“I
think it’s pneumonia.”

“Will
he live? Just tell me he’ll live,” she pleads, her voice trembling.

“I’m
going to do everything I can,” she replies, stone faced. It isn’t reassuring. “We
need to prop him up. He can’t lie flat, there’s too much fluid in his lungs.”

When
Jayla returns, Julie clips an oxygen monitor to his finger and she’s obviously
disturbed by the results displayed. She places an oxygen mask over his face and
observes him while the number increases slightly.

“Better,”
she mumbles. When she checks his temperature again the thermometer reads 103
degrees. “It’s coming down. This is all we can do for now.” She regards Abby
kindly. “I’m giving him an antibiotic and a fever reducer. The oxygen will help
him breathe. When he wakes, we’ll start him on breathing treatments to clear
his lungs.”