Infinite Ties (All That Remains #3) (14 page)

“It wasn’t a fight. He left me,” I
grumble, ignoring her satisfied expression as I pull on my shorts and shoes.

“Whatever. It’s temporary. I promise I’ll
let you sulk all night, but first we do this.”

Once Abby gets an idea in her head,
fighting her is like trying to hold back a freight train. “Fine, but if you
slip and break an ankle, don’t come running to me.”

“Very funny.”

We’re soaked to the skin in seconds. After
a half hour of chasing the Frisbee, the rain begins to let up. Water runs from
my hair into my eyes, blurring my view of Abby’s smiling face. She wanted to
distract me and it worked.

Look at my little tomboy, mud streaked up her
arms and spattered over her legs, wet hair pasted to her head, tiny nipples
pressed against her shirt. I want to throw her down right there in the mud.

Instead, I lift her up, and she squeals,
wrapping her legs around my waist. Our kiss is a warm place in a cloud of
shivers and goosebumps. “You’re freezing and dirty,” I whisper, nipping her
earlobe.

“You like me dirty.”

“Hell yeah, I do, but I think I’ll dip you
in the pond before I take you in and dirty you up some more.”

“I’ll grab some soap,” she replies with a
giggle, and heads into the RV.

Fog rolls in, spreading across the surface
of the pond, and Abby moans as she slips into the water. “Mmm, it’s warmer than
the air.” Holding her nose, she tilts her head back, and dips beneath the
surface, drenching her hair.

“Come here, baby.” I work the coconut
scented shampoo through her hair, grinning at the low moan that rattles her
throat. She always appears so astonished when Airen or I care for her like
this. So appreciative of any small kindness. It makes me doubt she ever had
anyone who gave a damn before us.

I conceal her body with mine while she
removes her shirt and bikini top and washes quickly. After slipping her bikini
top back on, she returns and rubs her soap slick hands over my chest and back.
Her eyes droop just a little, her lips parting on a soft sigh. She’s turned on.
“Joseph, someone will see,” she protests when I pull her shorts and panties
down.

“Relax, we’re hidden in the fog.” The
water is chest deep, lapping at her nipples as I back her up against the dock
piling. “Plus, you’re below the water line. No one will see you.” Before she
can argue, my fingers are inside her. Moaning, she captures my lips, all
protests forgotten. Quick hands slide down my shorts, snagging them and pulling
them off. Our wet clothes lay in a pile on the dock while our hands and mouths
adore one another. “Wrap your legs around me. We need to make this quick.”

“I think I’ll come if you breathe on me,
right now,” she gasps, clamping her legs around my hips. Damn good thing
because I’m right there with her. With her back against the piling, she reaches
above her head and holds onto the dock, angling her body to take me in.

Fuck. She’s so hot and snug. Our hips slam
together in a steady rhythm. “So good, Abby, so hot.” The words fall freely
from my lips, compelled by the sensation of her tightening around me as spasms
rack her body. Her lips part with a whimper and the sound of her moaning my
name with a mixture of ecstasy and desperation jerks the orgasm from me without
warning. Goddamn, this woman drives me out of my mind.

“
Fuck me
,” she exclaims, sliding
down my body and placing her feet back on the pond floor.

“Again?” I murmur, kissing her cool, sweet
lips.

“No.” She giggles. “You dirtied me up
before we finished getting clean.”

“I didn’t hear any complaints a moment
ago.”

“Not hearing any now, either.”

“Let’s get cleaned up and dry, ladybug. I
don’t want you to get sick, and if I have to keep looking at you soaking wet
with those hard nipples, I’m going to take you again.”

It’s lunchtime when we make our way back
to the RV and change into dry clothes. The rain has dissolved into a light
mist, and a few rays of sunshine struggle to peek through the clouds, giving
the sky an odd orange hue.

Abby’s pensive gaze out the window betrays
her growing concern. “You should stay with Airen tonight,” I murmur, coming up
behind her to wrap my arms around her waist. “I’ll be fine.”

A sigh echoes through the room as her head
falls against my chest. She’s torn. Caught in the middle. It’s the last thing I
want. “I wish I could be two places at once,” she whispers.

My lips find her warm cheek. “It’s okay.
Go see Airen. I’m sure he misses you.”

“It’s been one day!”

“Trust me.”

“I’ll just go check on him, but I’ll be
back.”

“Abby, you don’t have to…”

I’m shushed with a finger across my lips.
“I’m coming back,” she insists.

My beautiful stubborn girl. “I love you.”

“Damn well better after you defiled me in
public.” She hesitates, a hand on the doorknob. “Is there anything you want me
to tell him?”

“Invite him to go fuck himself.”

“Joseph.”

“No, ladybug. No message.”

“I’ll be back in a little while,” she
promises, pulling the door shut behind her.

Silence settles around me, pressing in on
all sides, allowing me to think when it’s the last thing I want to do. I think
a part of me expected Airen to come back last night, to admit he freaked out
and apologize. I should’ve known better. Arrogant bastard never apologizes,
never thinks about anyone but his goddamn self. I’m better off without him. Fuck,
I wish I believed that.

I just need to focus on Abby, on making my
girl happy. I can’t lose her too. Why the hell did I try to break up with her?
She played it off, acted like it was no big deal, but I know I hurt her. Her
response was to stay with me, comfort me, try to distract me from heartbreak. A
knock on my door breaks my train of thought. I can’t help but feel hopeful it’s
Airen. I’m fucking pathetic.

“It’s open,” I call, slipping a shirt over
my head. I’m stunned when Troy and Nic step through the door. The look on
Troy’s face tells me he knows Airen dumped me. I left Troy for Airen and
cheated on him with Abby. Anyone who doesn’t know Troy would think he’s here to
gloat, to see me get what I deserve. Instead, he sits beside me and touches my
shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Joseph. I heard what happened.
How are you doing?”

The word fine sticks in my throat, and to
my horror, a choked sob fights its way out. I’ve done so well, held it together
and not cried over him. A kind word from Troy and I fall to pieces in front of
him and his larger than life, gorgeous boyfriend. Someone please throw me a
rock to crawl under, or at least knock me unconscious with it.

Familiar arms embrace me while I struggle
against the surge of emotion flooding through me. As if that isn’t bad enough,
the door opens again, and I get a glance of Airen’s face as his expression
shifts from shock to hurt to anger. “Airen,” Nic says, “Troy just wanted to
check on him. He’s upset.”

“Where’s Abby?” Airen demands, glaring at
me.

“She left a few minutes ago to look for
you. Look, Air…”

He holds up his palm. “Don’t bother. None
of my fucking business anymore is it?” He turns to leave.

“We weren’t doing anything! Nic’s standing
right there!” I plead, getting to my feet.

Airen’s glare shifts to Nic. “You always
did like to watch. Enjoy.”

“Airen!” I hate the plaintive sound of my
voice. I can’t believe he’s insinuating I was going to fuck around. Why the
fuck is he jealous, anyway? He left me.

“I don’t give a fuck what you do, anymore,
Joseph,” he barks.

“Yeah, you made that pretty fucking clear
yesterday!”

“Fuck this,” he grumbles and stalks
outdoors, slamming the door behind him.

“Self-centered son of a bitch!” I yell to
no one in particular. At least he managed to knock back my depression. No more
sulking or crying. Now, I’m pissed.

“Now, Joseph, it’s not nice to be so
truthful,” Troy admonishes with a grin. He always could make me smile.

Abby

I don’t want to leave Joseph alone
tonight. Everything in me is screaming “No! He needs you!” but I’m afraid it’ll
seem like I’m playing favorites. No matter what they say, I’m caught in the
middle and it sucks. Plus, I know Airen’s suffering as well, not only with the
break up, but from the nightmares or flashbacks or whatever the hell is eating
him. I don’t even know where he is. He’s not in his little camper, and no one
answers at Troy’s cottage.

Jon sits outside Eric’s RV, a self
satisfied grin on his face. “Have you seen Airen?” I ask, ignoring his smirk.

“Trouble in paradise? Your pretty boys
done passing you back and forth? Maybe they read something they didn’t like.”

“Fuck you.” I turn to leave and his cruel
laughter follows me.

“I heard what Joseph called you, his
pretty girl,” he sneers. “Surely, you don’t fall for that, Gail. He thinks a
man’s hairy ass is pretty.”

“My name isn’t Gail!” I snap. I’ve tried
not to let him get to me, but everything is piling on, something has to give.

“You can change your name, move away, get
all the degrees in the world. It doesn’t change the fact you’re a whore.”

“You’re just pissed because
they
love me.”

“You really are deluded. They don’t love
you. They love
Abby
. We’ll see how much they love Gail.” Damned if he
can’t still see through to my biggest fear.

Before I can respond, Gary steps outside
and intervenes. “Hey, Abs, how are you? Everything okay?” His dark eyes dart to
Jon before returning to mine.

“Fine.” I force a smile. “Just looking for
Airen.”

“Haven’t seen him, baby girl. Do you want
to come in?”

“No thanks. I’ll just wait in his camper.
He probably went for a walk.”

“Well, if you need something, you holler,
girl.” His wide white smile makes me grin.

“Thanks, Gary. See you later.”

Fucking Jon. Maybe I should let Gary bury
him in the woods. The worry over Jon telling my guys my past has paled given
the circumstances. Right now I just want this rescue over with and to see Airen
and Joseph reconcile. I’ll lose them when they find out. I need to know they’ll
have each other.

As I head back, I see Airen storm out of
our RV, slam the door, and stalk toward his camper. Damn. That can’t be good.
Who do I go to first? Airen won’t tell me anything until he calms down, so I’ll
start with Joseph and go to Airen next. They better work their shit out soon.

It’s dusk and the windows of our RV glow
softly from the electric lanterns. “Hey baby,” I call out, stepping through the
door. “I saw Airen…” my voice drops mid sentence. Nic leans against the driver’s
seat, his expression blank while Troy sits beside Joseph on the small couch,
their arms around each other. Holy shit. What did I just walk into? “Um…” I
utter, displaying my genius for dealing with awkward situations.

Joseph laughs and releases Troy, wiping
his eyes. “You should see your face, ladybug.” Troy chuckles, and Nic flashes
me a heart stopping smile.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”

“It’s fine,” Nic says. “Why don’t we step
outside for a few minutes and let them talk.”

Joseph nods at me. “Yeah, sure.” Like a
gentleman, Nic opens the door and gestures for me to go first. He pulls up two
chairs just outside, and we sit. “Am I missing something?”

“Joseph’s upset, and Troy’s trying to
help.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

He shifts in his chair and gazes at me.
His eyes appear dark in the gloom. Two tiny ivory slivers shine in his pupils
as the moonlight strikes him. His voice is smooth and calm, not quite
concealing an undercurrent of anxiety as he asks, “Should I be?”

“If you’re asking me if Joseph would try
anything with Troy, the answer is no. It killed Joseph to break Troy’s heart.
He’d never screw with his emotions just because he’s upset. Plus, this break
with Airen is temporary, and he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that
relationship.”

Nic smiles and pats my knee. “I trust Troy
or I’d never have left them alone. I’ll tell you, Abby, I was all prepared to
hate Joseph for hurting Troy, but I can’t seem to manage it.”

“Joseph is a lot like Troy; sensitive,
compassionate, and obviously forgiving. But they weren’t meant to be together.
The…spark that I see between you and Troy, well, it was never like that between
Troy and Joseph.”

“But Airen and Joseph?”

“It’s a damn powder keg.”

Nic laughs, and glances toward the RV.
“This can’t be easy on you, being caught in the middle. We’ll keep an eye on Joseph.
Troy will keep him company until this blows over,” he offers.

“I see what Troy sees in you,” I reply.
“You share his compassion.”

He leans over and replies in a husky
voice, “So it’s not just my devastating good looks then?”

“And now I see why you and Airen were
friends.” I chuckle, getting to my feet. “I’m going to say goodbye to Joseph.”

“If they’re naked, I take it all back. I
can learn to hate him,” he jokes as we approach the door.

“I’d think you’d take the opportunity to
jump in the middle.”

“I believe you’re projecting. I’ve never
been between two men.”

“Well, I highly recommend it.”

He chuckles and peeks through the door.
“Oh no, it’s worse than I thought. They’re watching chick flicks.”

Laughing, I pat his back. “You’re a good
man.”

After a quick goodbye, I head to Airen’s
camper. He’s not expecting me, and I hope I don’t find him shit faced drunk. I
know his way of dealing with pain and stress. He’s stretched out on a bunk,
eyes closed, earbuds in his ears and his iPod lying on his bare chest. I take a
moment just to drink him in. Midnight hair, fluffy and rumpled from his recent
shower, rests against his pillow, framing his tanned face. Slightly parted, his
sensuous lips cry out to be kissed, and the dark stubble dotting his well
defined jaw is irresistible to my fingers. His eyes pop open when I run my
fingertips down his cheek.

“Hey darlin’, are you okay?”

“I was going to ask you the same
question.”

“I’m fine. I thought you were staying with
Joseph.”

“I’m staying with you.”

“Yeah, well, he’ll be fine. He has Troy,”
he says, his voice bitter.

“Airen, he doesn’t want Troy. We’ve been
through this. He was just checking on him.”

“I don’t give a shit what he does.”

“Bullshit. You’re jealous and pissed, but
you have no reason to be. Joseph wants you. He loves you. You broke his heart,
but if you went to him right now, he’d come back with no hesitation.”

“I can’t do that. I’m sorry.”

“Then don’t blame him.”

“Okay.” He pulls me into the small bunk
with him, and I cuddle close, resting my cheek on his chest. After a few
minutes of silence, he sits up and swats my ass. “Slip some shoes on, I want to
show you something.”

“What is it?”

“Just come with me. I just realized what
day it is.”

After tossing two blankets over his
shoulder, he leads me to the small wooden dock. My cheeks flame at the thought
of my morning with Joseph. Airen chuckles and squeezes my hand.

“I know what you’re thinking about,” he
whispers, and laughs at my look of shock.

“Shit. Did anyone else…?”

“No. Nobody could see you. I just saw you
walking to the pond and back. The look on your face gave away the rest.” Our
footsteps echo across the pond.

“Do you want to fish or are we going to do
it in a boat?” I ask with a giggle.

“Fresh out of bait.” He grins.

“Why do I feel like I’ve been hooked?”

“Because you’re a great catch.” Having
exhausted our horrible fishing puns, we step into the boat, and he rows us away
from the shore. When we reach the raft in the center, he sits a lantern on the
edge and takes my hand, helping me out of the boat.

A shooting star burns across the sky in a
brilliant streak of blue, quickly followed by another. “Air, look!”

He smiles from ear to ear at my delighted
laugh. “Lay back, darlin’,” he says, reclining on the soft blanket now covering
the wooden planks. I cuddle closer, resting my head on his chest as he holds me
close. “Carson told me there would be a meteor shower tonight. He read about
it. I was worried the weather wouldn’t clear up in time.”

“It’s beautiful,” I breathe. The sky has
been dipped in sparkling diamonds. Streaks of light draw glowing lines of blue
and silver against the ink black backdrop as we watch in awed silence. He plays
with my hair while I rest on his chest, staring transfixed at nature’s light
show. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

A soft kiss parts my lips, and the taste
of him floods my senses. “Not even close, sweetheart.”

“Mmm, I love you.”

“I know. You’re also pissed at me.”

“No, I’m not.”

“It’s okay. I’d be pissed at me, too.”

“I’m not, really. I’m just trying to wrap
my head around everything that’s going on.”

“I’m so sorry. I know seeing Joseph like
this hurts you. In the beginning, I told Joseph if this fell apart, you’d be my
priority, you’d be mine, and I meant it. But you have to know this doesn’t
change things between you two. I’d never try to take him away from you.”

“He tried to break up with me.” Shit. I
didn’t mean to tell him that, but it’s eating at me.

“What?” Shocked, he rolls to his side,
staring at me.

“Yesterday, right after you left him. He
said it was never going to work and told me to go back to you.” My voice cracks
at the memory of his words.

Airen sighs and kisses me. “He’s confused.
He loves you.”

“You’re confused. You love him,” I
counter.

“Abby…” His arms wrap around my middle and
pull me close while he rests his face between my breasts.

“I know. Don’t worry about me. This isn’t
about me. Yes, I’m upset and worried. In the last twenty-four hours I thought I
was being dumped by both the men I love. It tends to make a girl grouchy.”

“I was never going to leave you.”

“I know.”

He brings his face up until we’re nose to
nose, his hand cupping my jaw. “I have never…” he says, pressing a warm kiss on
my lips, “ever wanted to leave you.” He punctuates his words with soft kisses
on my face. “Not once since we got together, Abigail. Do you understand me?”

Too choked up to speak, I nod against his
cheek.

“That’s never going to happen. Even if you
didn’t want me, I still couldn’t walk away. I’ll still love you when death
steals the last beat of my heart.” His words shred the last sliver of wall
encasing my emotions and I sob into his neck, really crying for the first time
since all this shit started.

“I could lose you, both of you if
something goes wrong at that hotel.”

“We outnumber them, sweetheart. We won’t
let them touch us. I promise.” When I’m all cried out, we lay together
silently, the stillness of the night broken only by the sound of skin on skin
as we touch and caress, surrounded by celestial fireworks. “What did you say
when Joseph broke up with you?” Airen asks softly.

“I told him I wouldn’t believe he didn’t
want me until he could say it when he was over you.”

Airen chuckles and kisses my lips. “What
did he say?”

“That he couldn’t. That he’d always want
me. Then he apologized. We worked it out.”

“But it still hurt,” he says.

“He was so quick to do it.”

“I’m going to kick his ass.”

“No, he’s upset, but we know this
separation of yours is temporary. That’s why he isn’t worse.”

His face is lit briefly by the blue glow
in the sky. “Abby, I don’t want you to hope when that isn’t going to happen.”

“Can’t stop me from hoping,” I remark.

“Stubborn girl,” he grumbles pulling me
tight against him. I can feel the tension in his body. After a few minutes, he
relaxes and I feel the tip of his tongue travel up my neck, ending with a soft
bite on my earlobe. “Mmm, Air, someone will see.”

“Look around darlin’. It’s just us.” A
quick flick of the switch on the lantern plunges us into darkness. Stripping
off his clothes, he settles his naked body atop mine. My shirt lands in the
boat, and he lavishes my breasts with attention, making me forget where we are.
Warm lips leave a tingling trail from my ribs to my waistband, and I’m quickly
divested of my jeans and panties.

The moan that escapes his lips when he
slides inside me is rough with desire, but his touch is soft, his pace languorous.
“This is my favorite place in the world. I love Joseph. I loved being with him,
but this, just the two of us, I live for this. For you.”