Pendelton Manor (26 page)

Glaring at them, her face red, Sophie muttered, “You’re as mean as Adrian.”

Nora and Rachel grinned at each other over her prone body before they each cupped a breast and resumed their massage.

“Not hardly,” Nora said. “All you have to do is say the word when you want more than a massage.”

Watching these two interact over the past weeks had been arousing, but never to the point she wanted to extend her experience their way. However, her body didn’t seem to care if it was a man or a woman touching her, it wanted what it wanted. “Thanks, but I’ll stick with the massage for now.”

Adrian walked into the solarium and felt the instant ball tightening arousal he had felt the last time he had come in here and seen Sophie naked on that bench. Even knowing she was going to be naked and Nora and Rachel’s hands were going to be on her, he still wasn’t prepared for the arousing impact reality gave him. Her body was oil slick, her face flushed with arousal, her nipples stiff peaks begging for attention and her slit, easily visible, was a shiny pink beacon.

Not trusting his foul mood, he took a seat on the same lounge chair he had occupied last time and feasted his eyes on her while he tried to rein in his temper.

Sophie shifted under their hands, kept her eyes closed and moaned when they ignored her nipples and slowly kneaded their way over her stomach down to her thighs. Their fingers dug into her muscles, up and down, barely grazing the flesh between her legs before moving back down until she had to bite her lip. By the time they worked their way down to her feet again, she was relaxed, mellow and excited. Opening her eyes, the first one she saw was Adrian, the heated look in his dark eyes setting her body to vibrating with liquid fire.

“Thank you,” she said as she sat up and swung her legs over the side. “That felt wonderful. Maybe sometime I can return the favor.”

“We’ll hold you to that,” Nora said as she looked over at Adrian. “Right now, I think Adrian has other plans for you.”

Sophie heard Nora and Rachel as they dove into the pool, but her eyes remained on the black ones watching her with unwavering intensity as she padded over to him. Anger simmered there, as well as lust, but it was the underlying despair she read on his face that drew her. She knew what it was like to live with heart wrenching despair, to deal with guilt and remorse and grief and she again found herself in the position of wanting to be a buffer from those emotions for him.

Going to her knees between his spread legs, she didn’t say anything as she undid his slacks and slowly lowered his zipper over the engorged flesh pressing against it.

Adrian barely kept his lust in check as she had walked sensuously towards him with that slow gait, her bare glistening body a temptation that he was hard pressed to wait to indulge in. But he did and as she sank to her knees in front of him, her blue eyes sympathetic and all knowing, he clenched his hands into fists to keep from reaching for her.

Without a word between them she lowered her head and took him deep, until his cockhead tickled the back of her throat. Sifting his fingers through her hair, he released the clip holding it up until the light brown strands filled his hands and gave him something to anchor himself to. One time he told her a blowjob couldn’t ease his conscience, but damn if her mouth on his cock didn’t come close.

She took her time, he liked that about her. Using her tongue as well as her lips, she suckled his dick as if it was a savory treat, covering every inch of his hard flesh with soft, wet strokes and deep hard pulls until he felt that familiar spiral of pleasure. When her hand cupped his sac then rolled his balls, he pulled her head back, grabbed the base of his cock and spewed his seed on her oil covered breasts.

Sophie looked down at the warm stickiness coating her breasts and felt her pussy swell even further. Just the sight of his come marking her turned her on and knowing she was the one that brought him that pleasure was an even bigger turn on. When she lifted her hand to her breast, Adrian grabbed it and she lifted startled, questioning eyes up to his.

“No,” he ordered gruffly. “Let me help you clean up.” Standing, he stripped quickly then took her hand and led her to the steps to the pool. Taking a seat on the third step, the water barely lapping around his hips, he pulled her in front of him. “Straddle my lap, facing away, Sophie.”

Sophie was desperately in need of her own release, especially now that she saw his face was more relaxed, his eyes less haunted. Spreading her legs over his thighs, she leaned back against him, enjoying the tickle of his chest hairs against her back and his semi-erect cock poking her ass.

“I didn’t know men could arouse again so quickly,” she said with a teasing smile as she looked back and up at him.

“They can with enough incentive, and you, sweet Sophie, are definitely enough incentive. Nora, Rachel, will you come here a minute?” he called out to the two women who were still swimming.

“Uh, Adrian, what are you doing?” Sophie asked as her two friends swam to them wearing nothing but wicked smiles.

“Giving back. Relax, enjoy.” Bringing his hands around her and cupping her breasts, he told the girls, “Sophie needs some cleaning up. Do you mind?”

“Not at all.” Rachel leaned forward and slowly ran her tongue over Sophie’s right breast while Nora did the same with her left, slowly licking the white streaks of his semen off her. Adrian pulled at her slick nipples until she relaxed and went with the flow, her need too great to shy away from this new experience.

“That’s my girl,” he murmured in her ear when she once again relaxed against him, her hands gripping his thighs under the water. Releasing her nipples, Adrian sought out her pussy, lightly explored her oily folds before dipping easily between them.

Sophie closed her eyes against the bombardment of sensations racking her, the dual suction on her nipples as Nora and Rachel each took one into their mouths coupled with Adrian’s probing fingers had her on the verge of climax within seconds. When he slowly pulled from her clutching sheath, rasping enticingly over her engorged clit, she tried to clamp around him, hold him in her, but to no avail.

Adrian chuckled as he lifted her and slid his cock inside her pulsing cunt, filling her with one plunge, his fingers going unerringly to her clit. “Now, Sophie, come for us,” he demanded as the three of them perpetrated an all-out assault on her body.

Sophie rode the waves of ecstasy feeling surrounded by bodies, soft mouths and hands all over her breasts, a hard cock filling her, hard fingers pinching her clit. She came with barely a whimper, too overwrought to do much more.

Adrian had just finished drying Sophie off when he heard Adam and Ash come in and just that quickly his temper and suspicions roared to the surface. Unable to hold back any longer, he wrapped the towel around her before getting dressed.

Sophie could tell by the rigid set of his shoulders and that icy look in his eyes that he intended to have it out with his cousins. Laying a hand on his arm, she cautioned, “Adrian, maybe you better…”

“Go upstairs, Sophie, and wait for me,” he stated coldly, leaving her no choice. Looking at Nora and Rachel, he added, “Thank you for coming to our help today. You two need to head home now.” Expecting to be obeyed, he turned and walked out.

Chapter Thirteen

“My office, now,” Adrian greeted Adam and Ash as they came in the front door. Both men cast him wary, startled glances before following him into his office.

“What burr has crawled up your ass this time?” Ash drawled, his blue eyes wary as he watched Adrian pace like a caged tiger.

“I wouldn’t call having my brakes tampered with as a burr, you asshole.” Adrian’s eyes bored into him, his fists clenched to keep from striking out physically. Not since they were boys had they gotten into a brawl, and he wasn’t going to resort to that now. “If it had been just me, it would’ve been no problem. As you both know, I can handle these roads with my fucking eyes closed, but Sophie was with me and had I not gotten it under control without swiping the passenger side into the trees, she would’ve been hurt. That is unacceptable.”

“Wait one fucking minute,” Adam snapped. “Are you now accusing one of us of deliberately tampering with your brakes? For God’s sake, Adrian, why? Why in hell would we do that?”

The surprise and anger on both of their faces wasn’t feigned, but Adrian figured one of them was just surprised he was getting close or shocked that he was finally bringing this out in the open. “Because you wanted Sophie to think it wasn’t safe to be with me. What? Did you want her for yourself, Adam, even though you have Nora wrapped around your finger? Or is it that you just don’t want me to find happiness with another woman?”

“Try listening to some of this crap you’re dishing out, you moron.” Ash’s face had reddened with anger on his twin’s behalf and he wasn’t about to stand there and listen to him being maligned. “For months we’ve told you repeatedly we had nothing to do with Nicole, nor did we have anything to do with these recent problems.” Throwing up his arms, he added angrily, “For all we know, they’re just a series of misfortunate happenings, nothing more.”

“One or two maybe,” Adrian snapped back, refusing to give credence to his words. “But there’s no way I’ll believe this number of things could be simply delegated to a series of bad luck. No. Fucking. Way.”

“I’ve been hooked up with Nora since before Nicole’s death, Adrian,” Adam said in a calmer, more reasonable tone in the hopes of getting him to listen to reason. “I had no interest in Nicole other than as a friend and sister-in-law. Nora’s the one I want, the one I’ve wanted for a long time now.”

“Yeah, right,” Adrian answered derisively. “You want her so bad you haven’t taken any steps toward a commitment. You’re still seeing other women, that’s how bad you want her.”

Ash rolled his eyes. “Good lord, are you telling me you fell for that ruse about him dating Cynthia off and on?” Grinning at his twin’s startled expression, Ash smirked, “Yeah, brother, I knew you were just trying to make Nora jealous. Shit, if you two would just look at each other and maybe talk, you might actually get somewhere.”

Adrian felt his heart clench at the byplay between the two. They had always had a special bond, close as only twins could be, and he had never envied that closeness. Until now. Was this an act by one or both of them? Was one of them covering for the other? Son of a bitch, this had to end, and end now.

“Nice ploy you two, but it doesn’t wash. I’m going to find out one way or another which one of you is guilty if it’s the last thing I do. And, I’m warning you now, Sophie’s off limits.”

The sound of their angry voices behind the closed door of Adrian’s office followed Sophie to the elevator. She spent the evening in his suite alone, flipping through his multitude of television channels and listening for his arrival, which didn’t come. By eleven o’clock, she gave up and raided his dresser for a tee shirt of his she could wear to bed. If she couldn’t have his body against hers, she would settle for something of his covering her. And how pathetic was that, she thought, as she slipped into bed and once again found herself listening for him. She knew once this was over, she was going to have to come to a decision about their relationship and stick to it, but right now all she could do was worry about him, wonder where he was and if he was all right.

Several hours later, Sophie barely registered the dip in the bed as Adrian finally joined her, his breath reeking of liquor as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back against him.

“Adrian, are you all right?” she asked him drowsily, her hand clutching his arm as he held her tightly.

“Shh, Sophie. Go back to sleep.”

Adrian held her close, his alcohol laden body ready to join her in sleep, but his mind refused to cooperate. They had argued and talked for hours, he, Adam and Ash, to no avail. They vehemently denied any involvement with Nicole or with the recent accidents. He went over each incident, pointed out that they were the only ones on the property, the only ones with easy access to the generator, Sammy, the lighthouse and his car. The only ones with a motive and no alibi the night Nicole died. The argument ended abruptly when Adam simply stated he had had enough and left to spend the night in town with Nora.

Ash had said coldly that he refused to let Adrian bully him out of his home, especially when he hadn’t done anything before storming upstairs. Their departure had left him with an inexplicable feeling of loneliness and a warning voice whispering in his head that he had just made a huge mistake. For the first time since moving Sophie into his suite, he had been in no hurry to join her up here. Too many questions were still unanswered and Nicole’s death still remained a mystery.

Maybe, he had thought as he poured the first drink, he ought to just let it go as all of them urged him to do. Even if her lover had been there with her on the cliffs, there was no way to prove he had a hand in her going over. Her fall could’ve been an accident. By the time he had dulled his senses enough that he wasn’t making sense even to himself, the need to feel Sophie against him, hear her soft voice in the dark, sent him stumbling upstairs.

Slipping his hand under her shirt, he cupped her breast and fell asleep.

Adrian was in a sour mood the next morning, but did a good job of trying to keep it from her. No one was around when they went downstairs, but the coffee was made indicating someone was up and gone. After downing one cup and pouring one to go, Adrian kissed her and told her good-bye. The day was quiet and seemed to drag for Sophie, so she finally gave up after lunch and struck out for her walk. James was somewhere on the property on the riding lawnmower, but she didn’t see him as she set off from the back yard. She was actually glad for the solitude today. The sky was as dreary as her mood and dark clouds loomed on the horizon, but the weather forecast said the storm was hours away and she simply couldn’t stand being cooped up when she was in one of her depressed, melancholy moods.

The bleak look in Adrian’s eyes this morning had little to do with being hung over and she surmised a lot to do with the rift between him and his cousins. Anybody who spent any time around the three Pendeltons could see the close relationship they had, they familial love they shared. They were close, they were family and family was… everything. Emily had been her family, the only family she had ever had, and she had been everything to Sophie. Emily’s love for her had been so pure, sweet and innocent and she had cherished every second of it.