Prick Tease (Tangled Desires Book 1) (22 page)

Henley stands at the front of the stage. “What are you doing, Claire? Are you crazy?”

“Maybe.” I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face as I cover the microphone with my hand and lean down so he can hear me. “But I’d rather be crazy than a fake like you.” Then I turn to Olivia. “The contracts with CFN were cancelled last night. It’s going to make things a little harder for you, but I know if anyone can find the extra donations, it’s you. It’s better than being mixed up with this hypocritical asshole.”

I leave Olivia to wrap it up, and despite being dropped in it, she has the crowd eating out of the palm of her hand as I make my way over to Mace, who slips his arm around me. “You okay? That was a big speech.”

“Yes. No. I will be. Where’s Razer?” I lead him across the room to where Tom and Chelsea wait for us.

Mace squeezes my shoulders. “Sorry, Little Bit. I thought he would be here.”

“Is he still in Reverence?”

“He’s still staying with Tom,” Mace says. “I should probably tell you something.”

But he doesn’t because Chelsea’s flung her arms around me. “So you’re coming home, then?”

“I am.” I say as all four of us stroll into the foyer. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet. But I think it won’t matter. Anything will be good as long as I can be free to be myself.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Henley says, marching up behind us. “You can’t just leave me like this.”

And I think this is the first time I get it. I’m the one people believe in. Not him. If I walk away, if I stop believing in him, he’s nothing, and he knows it. Without me he’s got no credibility. And it won’t be long before whatever secrets he’s hiding in his closet come to light. That makes him desperate. “I left you a month ago. What I do now is none of your business.”

“Of course it is. It’s in the contract. We’re a partnership.” He grips my wrist. “You can’t just walk away.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mace hand his jacket to Chelsea and begin rolling up his sleeves. “Contract’s absolved. Ask your father, or anyone on the board at CFN. There’s nothing that can tie me to you. So walk away, Henley.”

I’m still prepared to let him get out of this with his dignity intact. He can still recover from this. All he has to do is walk away.

“So I drove up to that bit of dirt you call a town,” he whispers. “What was his name? The guy with his cock in your mouth, you little whore?”

Razer

“Razer.” I offer, stepping in front of Mace and halting him from decking the asshole who thinks he can manhandle Claire and get away with it. This must be Henley, because no one else would be stupid enough to treat her like that in front of her brothers. Has he not noticed the tick under Mace’s eye? I glance over my shoulder. Mace is standing there, glaring with his arms crossed. If this little tosser doesn’t let go of her in a minute, one of us is going to rip his arm off. “You okay, sugar?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, smiling so big it makes my heart beat funny. “We’re just talking, aren’t we, Henley?”

“Well, we’re running late,” Mace snarls. “We’ve got a reservation.”

“Look,” the asshole says, “you can’t just walk away from me. From this.” He waves his hand to indicate the room behind us. “These people expect things from us. Do you think they’ll keep supporting me when you leave?”

“Maybe,” she says. “If they don’t find out about your penchant for strippers.”

“You know how journalists work, Claire. You leave and they’re going to go nosing for a story.” His knuckles go white with how tightly he grips her wrist, and I advance on him, but she just smiles as if to say she’s got this. So I wait.

“That’s not my problem,” she tells him. “You made your bed, or rug, or whatever. You lie in it.”

He growls at her. Does he actually think he can get away with treating her like that? But she signals for us to stay where we are. I don’t like it. I’m bristling with the desire to put him in his place, possibly with a fist to his face.

“I’ve got photos,” he says. “Telephoto lenses are amazing things. You probably should learn to shut your curtains.”

I’ve taken all I can, and I’m pretty sure both Mace and Tom are on the same wavelength because we all converge on him, but not before Claire. She’s like a lightning strike with how quick she moves. Her hand shooting up into his face, exactly how we’d practiced, how Tom had taught her. There’s a crack as the heel of her palm pushes into the soft cartilage of his nose and puts him off balance. He’s about to fall on his ass, but Mace has the fucker’s arms locked behind him.

Claire gets right in his face. “You know Tom. Well, this is my other brother, Mace. And then there’s Rush. He’s a magician.”

“And me,” I say.

She darts a glance at me, before continuing. “They’re fighters, former marines. These three could…”

She’s looking for a way to put it without swearing in front of the people passing around us, but I don’t have the same compunction. “We could fuck you up. Actually, it’d be my pleasure.”

“We know how to hide bodies, too.” Mace grins. “Just give us a reason to put your ass in the ground.”

Henley starts trembling, sniffling, and I wonder if he’s going to piss himself. “I can’t believe you considered marrying him,” I can’t help saying.

“Don’t remind me.” She folds her arms across her chest. “Honestly, Henley, I don’t believe you have any photos, do you?”

“No,” he mutters.

“I think you were trying to scare me, but the thing is, I know you don’t have the balls to pull off that kind of dirt gathering. There’s nothing that can keep me here. House to Haven’s going to be just fine under Olivia’s care, and I don’t have to pretend to be someone I’m not anymore.” She walks away from him, threading her arms through Tom and Chelsea’s.

But Mace and I are on the same page.

“Contact her in any way, stalk her, anything…” I tick them off on my fingers.

“Dead,” Mace says.

“Buried.” I grin. “You got it?”

Henley nods, and Mace lets him go, knocking into him as we follow after the others.

***

The server shows us to our table, and we all settle around it while he hands out menus. Tom takes the seat closest to Claire, and Mace pens us in on the other side, constantly leaning around us to carry on their conversation about Tom’s baby momma. Chelsea’s opposite us, joining in on their conversation whenever Mace lets her get a word in.

But that’s the last thing I want to talk about now. I haven’t had five seconds alone with Claire since I got to the charity gig, and after the last week, I’m desperate to just hold her and kiss her while we talk about the past, the future, and our present.

“So you’re coming home?” I twist in my seat to clasp her hands between mine. “You’re going to move back to Reverence?”

“Are you?” she asks.

“I’m planning on it.” I rub a circle in her palm with my thumb.

“He’s going to do it,” Tom says, leaning over her shoulder to address Mace. “You’re going to owe me money.”

“Nah, he’s a pussy.” Mace leans around me, killing my conversation with Claire. “He won’t do it.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Claire darts a glance at both boys before settling her gaze on me.

“They made a bet on the way down.” Chelsea laughs, leaning on the table. “I can’t wait to see how this thing ends.”

“You two are morons,” Claire says, but she doesn’t mean it. She’s far too happy to even pretend to be grumpy with them. I like that on her, the way I make her smile, her eyes lit up with warmth. “So what was the wager?”

“I’m building a house,” I tell her. “On the old man’s land.”

“Oh,” she says, her voice going breathy. “So you are staying in Reverence.”

“If you are.” I clear my throat. “The house, it’s for you. Do you think we could manage to live together?”

“We’ve done it before,” Claire says. “And we didn’t kill each other.”

“True.” I slip to the edge of my seat.

“You are not living in sin with my sister,” Mace grumbles. “It’s not fucking happening.”

“Shut up,” I growl at him. “I’m trying to have a conversation here.”

“Told you he was going to do it,” Tom crows, reaching around us to knuckle Mace in the arm.

Mace mutters, “Can’t imagine he’d have the guts.”

“Will you pull your damn head in?” I turn to glare at him. “I’m trying to propose to your sister, you dickhead.”

“Well, you’re taking too fucking long, and I’m starving.”

“Wait,” Claire interjects. She doesn’t raise her voice, but even so, we all go quiet. “You’re trying to do what?”

“I’m trying to ask you to marry me.” I fish in my pocket for the box I’d had to stop and get before I joined them at the ball. Setting it in her hand, I pop open the lid.

“Oh,” she says, staring down at the contents. Her hand goes to her mouth, her eyes huge as she stares up at me. “Oh.”

“That’s all you’re going to say?” Tom chuckles. “I thought you’d be demanding we all fly to Vegas so you could be Mrs. Bennington already. You’re so weird, Little Bit.”

“Oh,” she says again.

“Look at her, she’s fucking speechless. That’s a first.” Mace smirks.

Chelsea hisses at him. “Be quiet, you oaf. You’re ruining it.”

“Yes.” Claire laughs, then she flings her arms around me so fast the ring goes flying, and Tom falls on his ass as he launches out of his chair to catch it. The whole restaurant erupts into applause as he lays on the floor, holding up the box for everyone to see.

“Took your sweet time, didn’t you?” I trace her mouth with mine as she practically climbs into my lap. “For someone who knows what they want, I didn’t expect it to take so long for you to say yes.”

“I didn’t expect you to ask me.” She sniffles.

“Are you crying?” Tom hands the ring to me, and I slip it onto her finger, before kissing the knuckle above it. “You’re not supposed to be crying.”

“Can’t help it.” She gulps. “You left again. Didn’t say goodbye. I didn’t expect it.”

“I’ve been calling you all week.”

“I haven’t had my phone. It’s been a clusterfuck since I got back.” She cocks her head to the side, furrows her brow. “Why didn’t you say goodbye?”

“Ask your brother.” I glare at Mace. “He stole my bike.”

“Stole your phone, too, Little Bit.” Tom squeezes her shoulder.

“You can’t be serious.”

Mace looks uncomfortable under her narrowed stare. He rubs the back of his neck and gets up from the table. “I’m just going to go get some champagne from the bar.”

He’s halfway there when Claire calls out to him. “I guess you two are stuck being brothers after all.”

“Ha, funny, Little Bit,” he says. “Just wait until you have to explain it to Mom and Dad.”

Claire

“Wake up, sleepy head,” Razer whispers, his hand stroking along my hip.

I can feel his morning wood touching my ass, and I lift my leg so he can nestle against my entrance. His mouth finds my neck, nuzzles along my shoulder as he moves inside me. “Happy birthday, sugar.”

“Mmm.” I tilt my head to kiss him. “Am I old enough to know what I want yet?”

“Definitely,” he whispers in my ear as he draws circles over my clit with the pad of one finger. “As long as it’s me.”

“Always.” I grind my ass into him, feeling him stroke my most sensitive places, our hips rolling together while he thrusts into me until I cum. Then he follows me, a low groan in my ear as he squeezes my hip and spills inside me.

Afterward we have breakfast with the boys and Razer tells me he has something to give me. We take the bike, enjoying the sweetness of the day and the sun on our backs, riding out to his land.

We pull up in front of the concrete slab our house will be built on, and he tucks my hand into his. It’s been almost a month since he asked me to marry him, and we’re still living with Tom while we plan the wedding, and the house is being built.

We went to visit my parents. That was nerve wracking. But in the end they hugged us both and said they were glad he was always going to be part of our family. Mace likes to make out that he’s upset about how easily they accepted our love, but he’s softened up, too. I think he actually likes the idea of Razer being his brother in law.

I’m still worried about Tom. He’s on a mission to find out who sent him the pregnancy test, and whether he’s really going to be a daddy. It’s kind of amusing, though I can’t help feel sorry for him as he alienates all these women. It’s going to give him a reputation that I don’t think he completely deserves, not when he’s trying to do the right thing. But some of the reactions he’s been getting when he asks them if they’re pregnant have been priceless.

Razer pulls out all these folded up pieces of paper from his pocket and hands them to me. There must be nearly a hundred of them.

“What are these?” I glance from the paper to him.

“My letters,” he says. “The ones you asked about.”

We sit on the grass, and I read each one, flattening out the paper with my hand and soaking up every word. “I wish I’d been older,” I tell him. “Maybe things would have been different.”

Clasping my face in his hand, he lingers over my lips. “I think they’re perfect the way they are.”

“Mace needed time to grow up,” I say. “He wouldn’t have been able to handle it when we were younger.”

“That’s true.” He laughs, pulling me up. “I hope he can handle it now. He’s going to have to put up with me as his brother for the rest of our lives.”

“He’ll manage,” I tuck myself into his chest and pull his head down so we’re staring into each other’s eyes, our noses pressed together.

“Good,” he says, “Because I’m going to continue loving you all my life.”

“Always,” I say. “Because I fought too hard for anything less.”

His lip twitches as his arms go around me like steel bands, our bond forged over decades as family, friends, strangers, and then lovers.

“Hell yeah,” he whispers against my mouth, and then he’s kissing me like it’s the first time, and a million butterflies take flight.

The End