The Broken (15 page)

“Of course.
When I asked her to dinner she informed me her boyfriend wouldn’t
approve.”

Danny’s body is
humming with violent intent, and inside I’m grinning. This Derek is
playing him to get a reaction.

“So what the
fuck are you doing here?” Danny seethed.

“I just wanted
to tell her I’m leaving town for a few days. I’ve had the pool
heater fixed, so she can feel free to come swim anytime.” He turns
his eyes to me. “And you too, of course, Sam.”

Danny leaves
without a goodbye and Derek chuckles. “Wow he’s highly strung.”

“Can I ask you
a hypothetical question?” I ask him.

He looks
serious when he nods, and opens his palms in a
go ahead
gesture.

“If I wanted
help finding someone, is that something you do?”

He looks up at
River’s house. “Yes, but I warn you, some people don’t want to be
found and sometimes people are better not found.”

I agree but I
think River needs some kind of closure.

“Here’s my
card, Sam. Think it over and let me know what you decide.”

I take his card
and slip it into my jeans. “Thanks.”

I go inside to
find Jasper writing a shopping list and I snatch it from his
hands.

Shopping:

Beer

Spirits

Snacks

I quirk an
eyebrow. “Pretty short list.”

He grins. “It’s
a party list. Thought we could throw that homecoming party tomorrow
now the kid’s left.”

“Agreed.” I
throw my keys at him. “Go get some of the stuff now so there’s not
as much to do tomorrow, and I’ll send out a mass text.”

He jumps up,
swiping my keys.

Thoughts of
River rush into my mind. The things Danny said earlier about having
sex with her left me feeling neglected and hurt. I risk sending her
a text.

Hey, can I see
you later?

I can’t
tonight. Tomorrow?

I’m having a
party tomorrow. Danny said you and him caught up today. Is that
true? Did you let him between your thighs with the ache still there
from when I was there?

It’s so much
more complicated than that, Sammy. God, I wish it wasn’t.

It fucking
hurts to know you’re in there with him while I sit here and ache
for you. Do you even care about me? Do you love him, Twink?

Sammy, don’t
ever doubt how I feel about you. No, I don’t love him. I’ve only
ever loved one man. I have to go, I’ll speak to you tomorrow, I
promise.

My whole
nervous system is on fire. I burn for her, and it’s so fucking
painful that she’s not mine. I send out a mass text about the
party, and then go to shower and lay my head down so I can stop
thinking for a few minutes.

I
wake feeling mentally exhausted after the texts with
Sammy. I told Danny I wasn’t feeling well so he let me sleep, but I
tossed and turned all night, trying to think of a way out of my
obligations to Danny without compromising Blaydon.

“I want you to
stay away from Jasper at this party. I don’t trust that fucker.”
Danny tells me as he comes from the bathroom, freshly showered.

“Okay.”

He comes
towards me. “I mean it, River. I will end him in front of everyone
if he tries anything with you.”

I exhale a
frustrated breath. “He’s harmless, Danny. Just because you see me
as attractive, doesn’t mean everyone does.”

He laughs and
grips my jaw. “You’re so stupid if you believe that. You’re the
best looking girl any of those fucks will ever lay eyes on, and
you’re mine. I want you to wear your white dress. You look like an
angel in that.”

He smiles and
strokes my face; I shiver from the touch, like death, leaving a
chill in his wake. I throw on some clothes and make my way to the
kitchen where Blaydon is eating cereal. “Hey.”

I drop a kiss
to his cheek and he stops me from walking away by pulling me into
his lap, wrapping his arm around me and pinning me against him. His
head drops into my neck and I wrap my arms around him and rub his
back.

“You okay,
Blay?”

“I’m sorry you
had to see me like that yesterday, Riv.”

I lean back so
I can see his face. He looks so defeated.

“We only have
each other, Blay. You see me at my worst, it’s what we do. I love
you, brother of mine.”

He smiles, but
it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I love you too, sister of mine.”

I stand,
walking around the table to make coffee. “Sammy is having a party
tonight.”

“I know. Can I
ask you something, Riv?”

I sit down
opposite him. “Anything.”

He pulls
himself up from the slouched position he was in. “Would you ever
leave Danny?”

My heart rate
accelerates. “I couldn’t. He might turn you in, Blay. I couldn’t
let that happen. Why are you even asking this?”

His head drops
down. “River, he couldn’t turn me in without turning himself in.
He’s an accessory. We would both face jail time.”

I slump back,
shocked.

“What are you
two talking about?” Danny asks. He looks suspicious, his eye is
twitching and there’s a tick in his jaw he gets when his slightly
nervous.

This can’t be
true. Would he really face jail, too? Oh, God. Could I have left
him long ago?

“Just talking
about the party tonight. You going?” Blay asks.

“Yeah, we’ll be
there. River, you mentioned you have to go to Bella’s today because
you missed it yesterday.”

I nod. “Yeah,
that’s where I’m going after work. I just need to go in and order
some parts for tomorrow morning. Shouldn’t take long, then I’ll be
at Bella’s for a few hours.” I finish my coffee and leave them to
it.

The day flies
by. I text Sammy a couple of times, letting him know I need to
speak to him about leaving Danny, and he’s so enthusiastic, it
gives me hope. Bella closed the studio early so I couldn’t go
there. She said she had an interested buyer going to see it, which
made the empty feeling left from my childhood pay me a visit. If I
don’t have Bella’s to escape to, I’ll have nothing left that’s
me.

I arrive home
late in the afternoon after driving around, trying to come up with
a plan. I find Danny looking edgy, his shifting from foot to foot
and it makes me edgy, too.

“Hey,” I speak
softly, trying to gauge his mood.

“Hey,
beautiful.”

“You okay?”

He smiles. “Now
you’re home I am. Get changed, beautiful.”

I shower and
change into the white sundress he left out on our bed.

“You look
beautiful, as always. Blay’s already gone over. You ready?”

I nod and
smile.

The music is
vibrating the walls, the hum of conversation blends in with the
music. Red cups are in every hand. Danny pulls me through the crowd
to the front room. I see Jasper, and he grins at me, looking me up
and down in a slow, leering way. Danny solidifies when he sees
Jasper blatantly checking me out, so I grasp his arm and turn him
away. I watch Chelsea saunter up to Jasper and pull him off
somewhere. I manage to move Danny further into the house, away from
Jasper’s direction, but he’s shaking and gripping my arm so tight I
know it will bruise.

“I’m going to
end him,” he seethes.

I shake my
head. “I’m yours, Danny. I love you,” I tell him, in the hope it
will calm the rage inside him.

W
atching Danny with River is torture. Hearing him call
River a vanilla saint last night was laughable; if only he could
see the claw marks his
saint
left in my back, he might
re-think that statement. River likes it rough. She’s far from a
saint and he is delusional. I walk up behind them. His grip on her
arm is tight, and he’s whispering something in her ear.

She shakes her
head. “I’m yours, Danny. I love you,” she tells him, crippling me
where I stand. It’s like someone has reached into my stomach and
yanked my insides out.
‘I’ve only ever loved one person,’
she told me. I’m the dumb fuck who believed she meant me. She’s
just looking for a bit of rough sex with me because the guy she
loves won’t give her what she needs. She’s playing me again. God,
why have I let her crawl back inside me, changing me, making me
feel again?

I turn on my
heel and go to the study; I need the bottle of Jack I keep in there
with the wine, to keep it away from the greedy fucks at this party.
I swing the door open and find Jasper and Chelsea; he has her bent
over the armchair next to the bookshelves. Her knees are on the
cushion, her hands holding the back of the chair, and he’s on the
floor behind her, lowering her panties.

Her smile grows
when she notices me standing there.

“Have you come
to play, Sam?” she coos.

I walk over and
stand behind the chair, my crotch in perfect height with her head.
I tip my hips forward and debate telling her to have at it.

I grab the
bottle of Jack from the shelf as Chelsea eyes the buttons on my
jeans; I unscrew the lid from the bottle, bringing it to my lips
and taking a long pull. The liquid sliding down my throat leaves a
trail of fire in its wake. I put the bottle back on the shelf and
watch as Chelsea licks her lips, there’s nothing from my dick not
even a twitch.

Her body
shivers with anticipation. Jasper grins over at me. He pulls a
condom from his jeans and drops them to his thighs, exposing his
already hard dick. The door swings open and River’s voice floats
through the room, her tone casual.

I turn my head,
watch her walk in and come to a complete stop. Her mouth falls open
and she drops the cup she was holding. Her eyes scan the scene in
front of her; Chelsea bent over the chair, my dick in line with her
mouth, her skirt up at her hips with Jasper below her, dick in
hand. Chelsea tries to pull away, so I grip her hair to keep her
there. River is so close, an inch more and our arms would brush
against each other’s. I pop open the buttons on my jeans.

“What going on,
Sammy?” She frowns at me, tears brimming her eyes.

How fucking
dare she act upset? I release Chelsea, reach out, and grab Rivers
arm, tugging her forward so the front of her body collides with the
side of mine. I reach up and grasp her hair in a firm grip. I force
her head to mine, capturing her lips, kissing her roughly. She
pushes against me, breaking her lips from mine with a shocked
gasp.

I smirk and she
brings her hand across my face, and fuck me, it stings.

“You
asshole.”

I push her
against the wall, her small frame landing with a thump. I hear a
flutter of activity behind me, then I see Chelsea rush out of the
room with a “Call me,” shouted over her shoulder. I have River’s
arms pinned above her head, my body pushing against hers.

“That hurt,
River.”

Her breathing
accelerates. I tug her forward, forcing her body over the back of
the chair Chelsea just vacated. She lets out a whimper from the
impact, robbing her of breath. She’s up on her tiptoes; her sexy
little ass is now up in the air, presented perfectly for my
access.

Jasper’s still
on the floor, dick in hand. I raise an eyebrow to him and he
shrugs. I lift River’s pretty white sundress above her hips and
tear away her white cotton panties, laughing at the virginal appeal
she gives off. What a joke!

“What would
Danny think of his saint now?” I ask, bringing my open palm down
across her perfect round ass cheek. She gasps and wiggles her ass,
squirming like she wants to get free. I bring my hand down again,
slapping against her creamy soft skin. She moans, her body giving
her need away.

“Mmm, wait
until I’m inside you before you wiggle. Jasper, give her something
to hold on to.”