Page 75 of Wanting More
"I…" she hesitated. Being touched and surrounded like this was almost too much for her to handle. Sapphire closed her eyes and gathered her fraying senses. "I want more of this," she confessed. "This past week, I felt hollow inside." All she had had was her pride holding her up and her anger fueling her. Opening her eyes, she tilted her head back and looked up at Hayden. "I didn't realize how bad it was going to hurt."
Hayden made an almost animalistic sound in his throat as he stared back down at her. Never taking his eyes from hers, he ran his free hand through her hair, removing the clip in the process until her curls tumbled down. She felt Joel's hands rub up and up, past her knees, and settle on the soft satin flesh of her thighs. His skillful fingers began working at the muscles, and her eyes fluttered close.
Lost in their touch, she heard Joel speak.
"You've got us. We aren’t going anywhere."
Chapter twenty-two
Theirtruckbouncedoverthe rough farm road. Ahead, Sapphire could make out the top of a blue house coming into view through the trees.
Earlier, Hayden told her they would be spending the day at the beach. Sapphire couldn't be happier at that decision. The last time they had gone, it had been wonderful despite the freezing weather. With the sun now out and the nice cool spring breeze, it would be a perfect day to get to lounge around and actually enjoy the beach.
"First, we just need to make a pitstop by Vic's place," Joel had announced as he turned the truck off the main road onto the private gravel road. "I don't think we can get away with using his beach again and not letting him meet you finally."
Hayden had said nothing at this. But Sapphire noted the small tic in his jaw. Why did he not want to see Vic? Admittedly, even she wanted to meet this infamous third brother—the final heathen. She had heard so much about the man, not to mention handled all of his personal belongings that had been stored in her room. She really wanted to put a face with a name.
Now, as the house came into view and she noted the weathered-looking farmhouse with its chipping blue paint surrounded by a cluster of tall pine trees, her stomach knotted a bit in nervousness. What if the third brother hated her on sight, much like Hayden did when he first met her?
Joel pulled the truck to a stop and hopped out. "Wait here. I'll go see if he's busy."
Today Joel was dressed in a pair of olive-green swim trunks and a white button-down shirt that made him look like a sexy Old Navy model. Sapphire couldn't stop grinning when she stared at him. Combined with his tousled blond hair and deep inset dimples, he looked like summer personified. While both she and Hayden looked like his two emo, introvert friends he had to pry out of the house into the sunlight. Wearing a simple plain black t-shirt and jeans, Hayden had assured her back at the house that his trunks were beneath his jeans while she assured him that her swimsuit was beneath her jean skirt and black Batman t-shirt.
Sapphire watched Joel walk up the porch steps and turned to Hayden in her seat. "What if he hates me?" Hayden gave her a look of confusion, and she continued. "What if he is like you first were and can't stand my personality?" Though she gave him a teasing smile, she really did mean it. What if he did hate her?
Normally the opinions of others wouldn’t really bother her, but this Vic person was a key figure in their lives. He wastheVic that everyone in town talked about. He wastheVic that was brought up at least twice a day in their household. Sapphire bit her lip to hold back a groan of dread. She really did not want to fuck this up.
"Mmm, well, honestly, that's what I'm afraid of," Hayden said, looking down at her.
Reaching out, he cupped the back of her neck, and Sapphire couldn't help letting her eyes close for a few seconds. When she opened them again, he was closer. Did he pull her closer? She wouldn't be surprised. Ever since that night they made up, both he and Joel used any reason to touch her now, and she loved it. The growing hunger between the three of them was like constant edging. Even now, her blood hummed in her body while that dangerous thump of heat began to pulse within her core.
Obediently, she turned her face into his palm and looked up at his darkening eyes, and she watched the flare of need ignite in his eyes in return.
"I don’t want him ending up like me." His words were a harsh low whisper.
Sapphire reached out the short distance between them and laid her hands on the hard surface of his abs. She could feel the slight jump of his muscles beneath his shirt and savored in the telling reaction from the stoic man.
"And how is that?" she asked, already knowing the answer, daring him to finally put words to the unspoken game all three of them were playing.
Hayden's grip on her tightened, and he tilted her head further back. "Like a man at the end of his fucking rope," he answered in a growl. "Come on, let's get this over with."
Tugging her out of the truck behind him, Sapphire had to bite back a laugh at his gruff mood. If Hayden had his way, she was sure he would just thrust her in front of this Vic character and say, "Here, you met her. Now fuck off," and then probably just turn on his heel and leave.
Outside Sapphire closed her eyes to the sudden strong breeze, feeling fine debris brush past her eyelashes while remnant winter leaves dusted past her sneakers.
"Wait here," Hayden grumbled. "I'm going to go find Joel so we can get this shit over with and back to our day."
Reluctantly, Hayden let go of her hand, and she watched him stomp around the side of the house. In the distance, she could see a big brown barn and assumed he was going that way.
Alone now, she looked up at the large two-story farmhouse. It was much bigger than it looked on the way up the drive. It sort of reminded her of something out of a horror movie. Sapphire could just imagine the creaking floorboards and echoing rooms. Was it just as desolate on the inside as the old paint-chipped porch looked? She could tell there used to be a porch swing on one end, judging by the hooks in the porch ceiling and the dangling chain on one end. It was probably a very nice once. The wide-open porch on a cool summer's night sitting on a swing just sounded nice. With a new coat of paint and a few flower boxes on the windows and the porch rails, Sapphire could imagine the house being very nice, actually.
"What are you doing here?"
Spinning around, Sapphire held in a sound of shock. Standing a few feet away, holding what looked to be a bucket filled with tools, stood a tall man. A very tall man.
Without a doubt, this was Vic. She just knew it.
Knowing he was waiting for her to speak, Sapphire tried to blink and look away. Anything to jumpstart and pull her thoughts back from where this dark-haired man scattered them to the four winds.
