High-Risk Fever (23 page)

Ahead loomed stone houses with dark wood framework and white-painted window frames. Before reaching the village entrance, Brian slowed the car, turned to the right, and parked in a small lot in front of a one-story house. A row of shining sports bicycles filled the large window, above which loomed a white sign with the letters
Montargis-Vélo
in blue.

The boys slammed the car doors and disappeared inside the store.

Brian crossed his arms with a puff of air and stared ahead. “We’re gonna be all right.”

She nodded. In the course of the past week, they had been put through a difficult test and come out of it stronger, both as individuals and as a couple. Still, something was nagging her. She couldn’t define it, but the feeling lurked so close beneath the surface of her consciousness, it had to be important.

Happy chirping interrupted her thoughts. She turned to a row of bushes corralling the parking lot. A couple of blackbirds sat together on a small branch, lovingly pecking each other’s beaks and throats. They led a simple life and had all the time in the world, needing only worry about food during the day and watching out for possible predators. As long as they stayed together, what could break their relationship?

Anne’s chest and throat locked. She had fallen, steered off-course, forgotten her vows. She was Brian’s wife. He had only
one
wife,
one
person to love him, take care of him, share life’s ups and downs with, and hold him when the downs got out of hand. Who else could he trust, know in the deepest part of him would always stand by his side, fight for him, and fully accept him no matter the choices he made?

She was nothing but a miserable little piece of
shit
. Dirty, slimy, despicable. “I’m so sorry.” She lowered her eyes, her vision blurring.

He turned to her. “What? Sorry for what?”

She couldn’t meet his gaze. The back of her throat thickened as if she’d swallowed a wasp. But the words she tried to form were far worse, far more life-threatening than a wasp sting. “For h-hurting you.” She clenched each fist so hard in her lap it would have taken pliers to force her fingers apart.

She swallowed to hold back the tears. From the corner of her eye, she saw him staring at her, his breathing the only sound in the car. The blackbirds had stopped chirping. She didn’t want to see if they had flown away or still sat on their branch eyeing her with despising looks, silent witnesses to her soul baring.

Brian took a deep breath. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

No?

“What I know is I’m more in love with you than ever.” He reached out to put his large, warm hand on hers. “And I told you, we’re gonna be all right.” His thick fingers curled around her hand and pressed to make the point.

It couldn’t be that easy. “I-I need to say this.” Her voice turned squeaky. She paused, wanted to choose her words right. “Last week, before this foursome thing happened, I was a bit…uh…
interested
in one of the boys.”

There, she’d dropped the bomb. Though he already guessed this in the cellar, she’d never admitted the truth to him.

Awaiting Brian’s reaction, she shrank in her skin, her body heating all over. When the message hit home, he would lose his temper and not only kick her out of the car, but out of his life. Their relationship was over. They would separate, then divorce, and he would move back to America.

But such was the price. Revealing her secret was necessary and urgent. She could no longer live with the weight of dishonesty on her conscience.

“Phew….” Brian slowly exhaled, his hand still covering hers. It moistened against her skin. “Okay….” His voice grew thin, higher-pitched. “Um….”

No explosion?
Her muscles ached from the tension. She held her breath, expecting him to at least ask which one of the boys had caught her interest. Would he be surprised by her answer or had he really suspected something the whole time?

“Okay.” He panted as if his breath matched the speed of the thousand questions that probably bombarded his mind. “So…so what did you do about it? Fuck him?”

Oh, so blunt
. “God, no.” She turned to him, eyes wide. “No, I didn’t.” It was the truth. Mica might have tempted the hell out of her, but she didn’t sleep with him until Brian had agreed to the ménage.

He swallowed then cocked his head to glance at her, eyes slit as if afraid of reading a different truth in hers. “Well, then, what did you do?”

“Nothing.” She held his look, hoping this turn of the conversation meant he wasn’t going to expel her from his life.

“Nothing?”

She shook her head.

“Okay. Wow. Phew.” A car drove past on the street behind them. He glanced into the rearview mirror before looking back at her, calm and level. “So what’s the problem? I don’t know; being interested in someone else isn’t
cheating
, if that’s what you thought I’d say.”

She was off the hook. Couldn’t believe it. Her heart beat faster, and her head drained like a dam suddenly emptying of water.

“Where does the limit go?” She sucked in a breath.

“The limit? Of what, cheating?”

“Oui.”

“I don’t know, kissing, maybe?”

“Hmm.”

“
Did you
kiss him?”

She stared back, shook her head again. “No.” She wanted to add nothing happened at all, but that wasn’t entirely true.

He still hadn’t asked who she fancied. Maybe he only cared about the principle—had his wife cheated on him or not. Whether it was with Todd or Micaela didn’t matter.

“So what’s the big deal, sweetie?” His voice warmed.

She heaved her shoulders. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“You know what this is telling me?” His palm, hot and moist with sweat, pressed her hand again. “It’s telling me you really love me. If not, you wouldn’t be so scared.”

Before she could reply, Mica and Todd appeared in the boutique door and stepped out, their arms full of bicycle parts.

Seeing the gorgeous Italian made her heart skip a beat, but she had made a choice. She was going to spend all her time and efforts being a good wife for Brian. It was the order of things.

But it didn’t have to be easy. Her chest squeezed. Letting go of Mica filled her heart with a feeling akin to grief.

“I do.” Her throat knotted. “I love you, Brian.”

“Told ya we’d be okay.” With a last pressure on her hand, he smiled and opened his door. Fresh mountain air drifted in. “Let’s go help the boys.”

Todd and Mica approached his side of the Highlander and put the parts on the asphalt.

Brian jumped out, leaving his door open. “You got everything?”

“Yeah.” Todd went to the back of the car and unfastened the two bicycles with Mica.

When they had placed them upside down on the ground, Brian opened the trunk and searched inside a toolbox, metal pieces clanking against each other. “Found ‘em.”

The three men went to work, chatting and filling the parking lot with a concert of squeaks and clanks.

In the meantime, Anne sat quietly and waited, arms crossed on her chest. No point climbing out.

A young guy appeared in the store entrance. Tall, lanky, tanned, white boxers peeking above his sagging jeans and black hair hanging over his eyes in emo-style. Probably an employee. For a moment, he stood in the door, observing the guys, hands deep in his pockets. As he prepared to go back into the store, his dark brown eyes moved to hers, caught her look, lingering for a second before he pivoted and disappeared.

She fished her cell phone in her purse. No messages. Not that she expected any. Next, she checked the news. More bombing in Syria. The Ukrainians were marching in the streets. GMO food had finally been proven to menace fertility.

Someone tapped on her window, making her jump.

Oh, Todd. A frown marred his pretty-boy features, and his eyes had turned a dark shade of green.

She unfastened her seat belt, opened her door, and climbed out.

“I guess it’s good-bye.” He grimaced and caught her in his arms.

She hugged him back, a lump building deep in her throat. Words weren’t necessary. Meanwhile, Mica chatted with Brian and they shook hands.

When Todd released her, he winked before turning to Brian.

Mica stepped toward her, eyes shining like two black ponds reflecting stars at night. With no word or hesitation, he embraced her, lifting her in the air as if she were his woman, pressing her against his large chest.

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, her ear brushing against his golden ring. Rebel locks from his ponytail tickled her nose. He had shaved. She inhaled the mix of soap and his familiar manly scent, felt so at home, didn’t want to let go. Not yet. She held him harder, wishing they could melt together.

He turned his face a little and whispered to her ear. “
Ti amo
.”

Her chest tightened, not from his strong hold, but grief. They had promised to stay in touch, but it didn’t really mean a thing. It might well be the last time he held her.

She wanted to return the gesture and say, “I love you, too.” It would be a nice good-bye present, but she’d told Brian the same words minutes ago.

Besides, why feed her pain with such a statement? Now came the moment to make up her mind—nurture the fresh scar of their separation or be thankful for what they’d experienced together and live on with their respective lovers.

He put her down, kissed her cheek, and stared at her.

She couldn’t meet his look. Her head buzzed like a beehive, tears threatening to screw up her composure. One more second and she would bawl.
Go, just go!

He did. She heard the friction of rubber tires on the asphalt, the pedals squeaking, the gravel spraying, the cheerful good-byes exchanged with Brian…but she didn’t see Mica leave. Instead, she stood, eyes fixed to a spot on the ground as if the lack of motion could conserve what little strength she had left.

A moment passed.

Brian’s hand took hers and guided her back to the car. “You’re sad?”

She didn’t reply, just focused on giving the outside world a seemingly calm appearance.

“It’s okay to be sad.” He helped her climb into the passenger seat and closed her door. He tapped on the metal hood as he circled to the other side then slid into his own seat. Silent, he sat gazing dreamily out of the front window. There was nothing to look at.

She waited a beat. “Aren’t you going to drive?”

He turned to her. “He looked sad, too, didn’t he?”

She froze. Brian knew. He had understood, maybe even known the whole time.

“He likes you. And that’s okay, sweetie, as long as you’re mine. It’s okay.” He sounded like he wanted to convince himself.

Her face boiled.

“Come here.” He patted his thigh, taking a deep breath.

Confused, she gasped. “W-what? Why?”

“I need you close.” After pushing his seat backward, he tugged on her arm until she moved a leg over his, climbed onto his lap, and rested her back against his wide chest. He put his arms around her and his nose in the back of her neck.

Breathing softly against her skin, he sat quietly for a moment. “I love you. These have been some strange days, almost like a weird dream.”

“Oui.”

“But I’m really glad we went through all of this. I’ve learned so much. It turned out pretty amazing, huh?”

Images bombarded her inner eye: from Mica’s first seductive advances, the peeping on the two young lovers in the attic, to yesterday….

He rubbed her thighs, warm hands molding her muscles. “Hmm, nice.” His fingers snuck underneath her skirt and stroked toward her inner thighs.

What was he up to?

The young employee appeared on the doorstep again, looking right and left before his eyes landed on hers. He held her gaze for a second then leaned against the doorframe and lit a cigarette.

Brian kneaded her thighs, setting her skin on fire. With a grunt, he shifted beneath her, leaving a little space between them. A hand moved to her ass and stroked a cheek before sneaking all the way inside her panties and to her pussy lips.

She gasped. “God, what are you doing?”

“Tasting what’s mine.” The other hand moved from her hip up to her chest underneath her blouse, the feel of his fingers on her sensitive boob causing her to moan.

The store employee sucked on his cigarette, staring at her through the gray smoke.

Her cheeks heated. She had never been fondled in front of a stranger.

“Um, Brian? Someone’s watching.”

“Oh?” His face peeked beside her ear. “That prick, there? Let ’im watch. He’s probably bored.” He slid two fingers inside her and pressed upward, lifting and pushing her forward against the steering wheel. “Isn’t this what you asked me to do the night the boys arrived?”

She mewed. Her muscles clenched around him, wanting him to stay there and never go away. It felt so good, she could spend the rest of her life with these digits filling her and pressing on her most special spot. “Yes.”

“Both you and me have learned something these last days, haven’t we?”

“Yes, we have.” She panted, a rush of heat spreading from deep inside her pussy and causing her to tremble.

There, she leaked hot juices. So fast.

“You’re wet.” He bit her ear.

She recalled the scene in the cellar last week, when he’d fucked her against the shelf in the dark, desperate. This time his bite was purely erotic, and she gasped from the sharp pain in her lobe. “Oui.”

She shut her eyes. How funny. She didn’t picture Mica behind her closed lids, but Brian, her man. Her muscles tightened harder around his fingers, milking them as if they were his cock.

“Oh, baby.” He lifted her, pressing her breasts against the steering wheel, then brought both hands to the space between her wet panties and his lap. “Stay up there. I’ve got sumthin’ for ya.” Grunting, he unzipped his pants with one hand and pushed her panties aside with the other. The hard mushroom tip of his cock brushed against her swollen lips then stroked back and forth from her asshole to her needy clit, easily gliding in her juices, teasing.