Page 43 of Love Thief

He moves my legs, wrapping them around his waist so my ankles cross behind him, and he thrusts up into me. My head falls back as he bites at my throat then licks up the column. Lowering his head, he sucks my breasts into his mouth, one then the other. Slow, so slow, pushing in harder and harder. He holds my hair and tugs on it, giving me a bit of pain. I smile at that and he laughs

“You’re a savage my love. No nicely nice for you.”

It’s lunch time before we make an appearance in the kitchen. Xan is sitting outside watching the world go by. He looks up at us both and smiles as he points at my neck.

“All good then?” I smile at him and he stands, coming over to hug me.

“He may not tell you often he loves you, but I’ll tell you every day, Kitten. Every fucking day.” He kisses me on top of my head. “Let’s get sorted and see these boys.”

The boys come over followed by my brothers and lastly Kasey Becker turns up. My brothers are a bit star struck, especially Jackson, who I’m teasing mercilessly for his lack of words. As per usual, cards and whiskey follow. I sort dinner out as the boys have requested spaghetti again. Jude is in charge of food, as Nikki is still in Devon. I’m helping with any tasks and ensuring the players have drinks.

The table’s been set up outside on the terrace as the weather’s fine, and not raining. I was going to use the courtyard, but I could tell they were getting competitive, especially Xan and Jonno, and don’t really want to go far. I can heat the terrace if it drops cooler.

“Do you want to talk about Vegas?” Jude asks me as we work together. “I’m happy to listen.”

I shake my head and sigh. “It’s pointless. Grace showed her true colours. Better now than later, I suppose. It just hurts. I’ve known her for a lot of years, thought she was pleased for me, but she was just pissed it wasn’t her.”

He puts the spatula down and moves towards me, taking me in his arms. “You did nothing wrong. You never flaunt what you have or how you work for it. I think she saw this apartment before Vegas, probably thinks Kellen bought it for you. She knows how we live in Devon, but she didn’t know you own Farm Cottage. Those girls probably told her that the day you battered Kellen with a whip, and their food with a baseball bat. She’s been there, she knows how huge that house is.”

He moves my hair, touches my face in comfort, and goes on. “Then you go to Vegas and a man she clearly wants ups and marries you. She’ll think it was so quick, spur of the moment, we know it’s about twenty-seven years in the making. I think she saw what you have and couldn’t handle it, which is why you’ve probably never told her.

“Let’s be right, why have you never told her stuff? You should be able to share your success with your friends, right? But you didn’t, not ever. Neither her or Lauren. You hid who you are, and were who they wanted you to be. They didn’t like it when they finally saw who you are. But you probably already knew that.”

I look at him in amazement. It’s true, I never told them who James’s dad was. Should you not share that sort of thing with best friends? I never told them everything about Devon. The cottage, Cornhill, the dockyard—when I think about it, I shared very little, all fluff.

I look down, realisation hitting that I never fully trusted them, and wasted my time on people who didn’t deserve it. I’m disappointed in myself for not facing into it earlier. For not culling them quicker.

“Hey, it’s not you, it's them. Don’t you dare get upset over them. They couldn’t handle it. To be honest, they struggled anyway. You said they told you that you drew people in and got chatted up more than them. They didn’t like that either. Kellen was just the final straw. You’re well shot. And you need people who lift you, not try to tear you down.”

He has hold of me, whispering all this into my ear while I rest my head on his chest. I sneak a look over at the table and see Xan, Jonno, and Kell all watching. Jude rubs at my eyes and smiles at me.

“We’ve got you, baby sis. I know we’re men, and shit at talking, but between the three of us, surely one might say the right things. Or four if you count Jake, and, to be honest, he is probably the best. He told me way before Christmas you weren’t right. We thought you were slightly off your stride, but you perked back up and we shrugged it off.”

I nod. I know he’s right. “It’s just hard right now, but I’ll get over it.” I smile up at him, feeling more confident. “Don’t burn that sauce, or you’ll have mutiny on your hands.”

A cheer goes up from Bucky and I look over at him and James. They’ve won again. “I can see that A level geography is going to be well useful, Buck,” I say to him.

“I’ll be a two times millionaire if I keep playing with this lot.” He grins at me, comes over, and kisses me. “All okay, Mum?”

“Perfect, baby. Help me carry the bread. And don’t eat any.”

“As long as you put extra in my dish,” he says to Jude. Raising his voice, but pretending to whisper into Jude’s ear, he shouts, “Give Jackson less. He needs to diet.”

I hear Jackson choke a little. “Bucky, you little shit, I’m not getting fat.”

“He’ll be telling us it’s muscle next,” puts in James as Jackson goes to grab him.

“You pair of shits. Shall I tell your Dad how you played him for two days?”

They both stand and grin at Kellen. “God, he was so easy,” says James, shaking his head. “All he ever said was, ‘I don’t know, ring your mother.’ We programmed it as his ringtone,” he says between bursts of laughter. ”When he calls us, that’s what it says.”

They’re both laughing uncontrollably now, and Kellen gets up and grabs him. “You pair of gits, I knew it. Come and give your dad a kiss.” He grabs James into a hug and kisses him.

Bucky looks horrified and goes to move, but Kellen drops James and moves for Bucky, hugging the boy and kissing him. Bucky’s stuck, unable to defend himself because he doesn’t want to drop the bread. “Got you Bucky.”

They’re smiling at each other, and my heart swells. Regardless of anything else, I do believe he loves these boys.

We spend a lovely evening out on the terrace and turn the heaters on later to continue sitting out. I put on a sweatshirt and keep getting drinks for everyone. Kasey is great company, regaling everyone with gossip from his latest set, a film about a political assassination set in London.

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