LAUREN

 

We had started early so it wasn’t that late when Peta called Shrek to come and pick her up. I waved goodbye, assuring her that I was fine and that the shouting voices of my worries had gone back to their usual niggling state.

Billie called early the next morning. I was tempted to ignore her call, but she would have no idea as to why I reacted the way I did and I felt a little bad for hanging up on her. I took a deep breath and plastered on my best smile, hoping it would seep into my voice.

“Hi,” I answered chirpily.

There was no preamble. “So I told him,” she said, her voice deadpan.

“And?” I prompted.

“He’s thrilled.”

“Thrilled?

“Thrilled.”

“And you’re still not?”

Billie sighed. “I don’t know.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. Surely she had other friends or family she could talk to about this.

“We’re coming down tonight for that boxing match,” she said. “I’ve got tickets for you and Gabe. You’ve remembered, haven’t you?”

My mind rapidly started going through excuses, but Billie didn’t give me the chance to use any of them. “I need you there, Lauren. I don’t know how I even feel about this and even though my voice is calm, I’m still completely freaking out. Don’t say anything to Gabe or any of them. Hamish wants to have some family dinner and make an official announcement.”

“But how do you feel?”

“Does it matter?” she asked dejectedly.

“Look,” I started. “I’m not sure if Gabe—”

“Don’t worry about Gabe. Hamish is on the phone to him as we speak. I’ve bought the tickets and it’s for charity so there is no way you can say no. Besides, you know how the Thornton men are about their boxing. You probably won’t be able to drag Gabe away once he’s there. Look, got to go. See you tonight.” And with that, she hung up.

* * *

Half an hour before Gabe was due to pick me up, I stood at my wardrobe and flicked through the dresses on the hanger. There weren’t many to choose from. The nicest dress I owned I had already worn to a Thornton family function, the black one with the silver zipper, so I was in desperate need of getting new clothes if I was to keep going to these sorts of functions. In the end, I pulled a greyish dress out of the back. I hadn’t worn it in years and it firmly belonged in the era when my hemlines were a little shorter and my dresses clung a little tighter. I pulled it over my head and stood dejectedly in front of the mirror.

A low whistle sounded behind me and I turned to find Gabe leaning against the doorway to my room.

“You look beautiful,” he said, walking over and standing behind me.

“I look stupid.”

Gabe laughed and wrapped his arms around my waist. “You always say that and yet you never do.” He kissed the curve of my neck, peering up at my reflection in the mirror. “Are you okay? You’ve been rather quiet lately.”

A thick lump lodged itself in the back of my throat. I wanted to tell him, but I also didn’t want to bring up that aspect of my life again. I put on a smile and twisted around in his arms, lifting my face to his. “I’m fine. I’ve just missed you.”

Gabe moaned his delightful moan that sent shivers down my spine and lifted butterflies to their wings in my stomach. “It’s been a while,” he mumbled, his words getting drowned by the pressure of my lips against his. I was filled with the need to have his hands on me, to feel his mouth against my skin, for him to be inside me and wash away all thoughts of Tyler and of Billie.

Gabe returned my kiss passionately. Twisting his hands in my hair, he tipped my head back and trailed kisses down my neck and onto the soft fullness of my breasts. My need turned to urgency. I fumbled with the buttons on his jeans as he eased my breasts from the constraints of my dress.

“Have we got time?” he asked breathlessly.

“I don’t care,” I said, tugging his jeans down as he awkwardly stumbled out of them.

With his mouth still pressed to my skin, we fell onto the bed. Gabe rose over the top of me, his mouth on my nipple, his hands lifting the hem of my dress. I reached down and pulled my underwear off, just before he sank into me, letting out a deep sigh of contentment. Resting on his elbows, his eyes stared down as his hardness filled me. He didn’t move and I ground my hips against him.

“I need you,” I pleaded.

Gabe shook his head. “I want to taste you.”

“Not now,” I urged. “Please?” I moved my hips in a slow circle, making sure he felt every movement. Gabe pushed against me, trying to get me to remain still.

“What’s the hurry?” he asked, brushing a strand of hair away from my face.

I threaded my hands under the material of his shirt, running them over his shoulders and digging them into the flesh of his back. “Fuck me,” I pleaded.

Gabe’s eyes darkened and he brought his mouth down to mine as he moved in and out. With each thrust, the fog began to lift from my brain and the tightness in my chest began to loosen. I moved in time with him, forcing his body onto mine with a hard slap each time we met.

“Lauren, I’m going to come if you keep that up.”

I pushed harder against him. I didn’t want to come. I didn’t need to come. I needed him to fill me. I needed him to claim me as his own. Maybe then, thoughts of his brother would flee my mind.

Gabe’s movements got faster and faster as the need for release grew inside him. He cried out when he came and fell against me. I held him close, relishing in the pressure of his body, slack and content against mine, and traced swirls over the skin under his shirt with my fingertips.

“We better get going,” I said finally when he made no attempt to move.

“Seriously?” he asked. “You’re going to make me go after that?”

Gabe lifted himself from the bed, grinned, and pulled his pants on, smoothing out the wrinkles from his shirt.

I got up. “I’ll just quickly jump through the shower.” But Gabe stopped me.

“No,” he said. “Go as you are.  You’ve got that freshly fucked look on your face and it will drive me insane all night.” He tugged the hemline of my dress down and tossed my underwear away. “No one will ever know,” he said and added a, “Please?” and a pout when I objected.

I quickly freshened myself without a shower and joined Gabe in the car.

“I can’t believe I’m even going to this,” Gabe said, as we pulled up to the venue. “Don’t get me wrong, tickets to this boxing match are something I could have never afforded on my own, but I’m not sure if the cost of sitting with my family is worth it. You’ve got me spending a lot more time with my family than I ever wished, Lauren Greer.”

We parked beside Hamish’s black four-wheel drive and I quickly looked around to see if Tyler’s car was parked nearby. Thankfully, it wasn’t. Hopefully, he wasn’t even coming.

It was a bigger event than the one Gabe had fought Derek in last year, a professional fight, rather than an amateur one. The large gymnasium had been draped in black and silver, and the clamour of voices mixed with the metallic sound of live music could be heard before we even walked in the doors. Billie waved enthusiastically from a table covered in black, a low chandelier hanging overhead, and we wove our way through the maze of tables. Billie sat with Hamish, Jake sat beside a girl I had never met before, and Tyler sat beside him. My heart sunk and soared at the same time. His eyes roamed over my body, narrowing slightly when he caught my eye. I thought I saw a hint of disappointment or sadness hovering in them, but I blocked it from my mind.

Tyler Thornton was not going to get the better of me, no matter what those steel-grey eyes did to my insides.

Gabe pulled out a chair beside Billie and sat down, leaving only the seat beside Tyler, or the seat beside Jake’s date spare. I walked around the table and sat beside the unknown woman, earning myself a confused look from Gabe. As it turned out, the seat beside Tyler was occupied anyway. A long-legged girl glided over to the table and sat down, planting a kiss on Tyler’s cheek. My heart stopped beating. Or maybe it beat faster and louder. I couldn’t tell anymore.

“Gabe, Lauren,” Tyler said with control. “This is my date for the evening, Molly.” We murmured hellos and then Tyler introduced the girl beside Jake as Amelia, saying she was Molly’s sister and Jake’s date for the night. Jake rolled his eyes at the introduction.

Amelia turned to me, wine glass at her mouth, and stuck out her hand. “Amelia,” she said. She was a pretty girl but nothing like what I thought Jake would go for. Her dark hair was cut in a blunt bob style with a thick fringe that hung over her eyes and she wore a bright red dress with white polka dots.

I shook her hand politely. “Lauren.”

Amelia drained the last of her wine and reached for the bottle on the table to refill it. “Have you been dragged along as an uncomfortable side-piece too?” she asked.

I looked over to Jake. He was staring at the bottle of beer on the table in front of him, head held in his hands and elbows resting on the table. His expression was one of complete boredom.

I smiled a little. “Jake’s not so bad.”

Amelia’s eyebrows lifted sky high and she downed her glass in one go, placing it back on the table to refill it, the outline of her lips in red left on the rim. “At least the booze is free.” She filled her glass to the top and plonked the bottle back at the centre of the table. “There, that should help a little,” she said, resting back in her chair. “So you’re with the pretty blond?” She nodded to Gabe.

There was something about the bluntness of this woman that I liked. There was no pretence, no adoration over any of the Thornton men, just honesty.

“I’m with Gabe, yes.”

“Is he more talkative than this one?” She jerked her finger at Jake.

Jake’s eyes flicked over to mine in a plea of help, but his exaggerated look just made me laugh. “I would say, yes, along with just about all the other men in this room.”

The musicians in the centre of the ring finished their song, announcing it was the final serenade until after the boxing had finished, and began to clear away their instruments.

Hamish smacked his hands together. “Right, boys,” he said, looking around the table. “Who’s your money on for the main event?”

“Rosewood,” Gabe said without hesitation at the same time Tyler and Jake said, “Parker.”

Hamish looked over his sons. “I see we have a split in the family.” Reaching into his pocket, he placed a crisp hundred dollar bill under the water carafe in the centre of the table. “Anyone care to join?”

Tyler immediately reached into his pocket and produced two hundred dollar notes telling Jake, “I’ve got you covered.”

Hamish turned to Gabe, waiting expectantly. Without a word, Tyler reached back into his pocket and produced another hundred. The girl beside him, Molly, smiled and looped her arms through his, latching onto him like a limpet. I smiled at the display, but my teeth hurt from how they were clenched.

Beside me, Amelia reached into her purse and pulled out a note. “Rosewood,” she said dryly.

Tyler detached himself from his date and leaned with elbows resting on the table. “So, Lauren,” he asked, staring directly at me, his gaze not wavering as Molly attempted to wrap her arm around his again. “What do you think of the development so far?”

“Yes,” Hamish said. “I would love to hear your thoughts.”

“I really know nothing about construction,” I said, carefully avoiding Tyler’s eye, and instead, turning to Hamish.

“But you’ve got an eye, a talented eye from the photos I’ve seen so far,” Hamish said. “I’ve had some wonderful feedback from the investors on the website and Tyler has been singing your praises.”

“I have,” Tyler said. “I’m really quite taken.”

Gabe, previously pouting from his inability to produce the money to join in the bet, looked up at Tyler’s comment, his eyes narrowing.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to be able to work for you, Mr Thornton.” I directed my words to Hamish. “And from what I can tell, the construction is coming along nicely. I would love to see the vision for it.”

“Has Tyler not shown you the concept the architect produced for us? It’s a virtual walkthrough of most of the floors, something I imagine you will be learning about in your classes, Gabe?”

“Yes,” Tyler agreed. “How is school going?”

Amelia leaned close and whispered in my ear. “Just how young is this man of yours?” I clenched my teeth a little tighter and Amelia held up her hand, claiming innocence. “Hey, no judgement here,” she said. “At least he talks.”

“He’s twenty-five,” I lied, though I tried to justify it in my mind by reasoning that he was close to twenty-five. Close enough.

“School is fine,” Gabe said, his voice deadpan. “Thrilling, in fact.”

Jake snorted. “Thrilling?”

Amelia drew in a sharp breath of air. “It speaks!”

Jake gave her a look of contempt and I wondered just how on earth this delightfully incompatible couple came to be. Jake sure didn’t seem impressed that she was his date for the night.

Dramatic music filled the venue and the low-hanging chandelier above our table dimmed and lifted to the ceiling. Spotlights shone randomly over the tables as the announcer began the usual theatrical introduction. The table quietened as the first two boxers made their way down the carpeted walkway.

Billie kept quiet for most of the night, nursing a single glass of what I suspected was sparkling apple juice. She barely ate and kept her eyes trained on her lap. When Hamish left the table, I moved to take his place. Billie jumped when I placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” I asked under my breath, careful not to alert the others to our conversation.

Billie looked up at me, eyes wide and glazed with tears. “I actually think I am. I was dreading tonight, dreading not being able to have a wine, of not being able to relax and have a good time, but all I can think about is this life growing inside me and the fact that I will be its mother.”

“So those aren’t tears of sadness?”

Billie shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m still completely freaking out, but there’s this part of me that’s excited too. I never really thought about having children, but now that I am, something’s changed.”

I patted her shoulder. “I’m very pleased for you.”

Billie smiled brilliantly. “You’ll feel the same way too one day.”

And there it was. The pain was back. I swallowed the lump in my throat and moved back to my chair just as Hamish sat back down. He looked over at Billie, reaching out to take her hand in his, and he smiled at her in a knowing way, a loving way, and tears sprung to my eyes. I plastered on a smile for no one but myself in an effort to rid the tears. Gabe was watching me when I looked up, a questioning glint to his expression. I stretched my smile further.

The rest of the night was spent in a rowdy debate between the Thornton men. Tyler and Gabe opposed each other in almost every fight. Tyler’s date hung off him in a way that made me want to slap her and Amelia drank every available drop of red wine. The meals that were served in between matches were divine and by the end of the night, my dress felt a lot tighter.

I tried not to stare at Tyler and Molly, but my eyes drifted to them unconsciously. An ethereal mixture of flesh and limbs, Molly looked nothing like her sister. She was almost a twin to the date Tyler had brought to Billie’s fashion show. I briefly wondered if he had a catalogue and flicked through it, choosing the best fit for each event.

I had at least three glasses of wine under my belt when Tyler excused himself just before the final match. I hastily followed him out of the gymnasium, my heels clicking over the floor. But, instead of walking to the restroom as I assumed he would, Tyler turned and leaned against the wall, waiting for my approach, a wicked smirk on his face.

“How are you enjoying your evening?”

I held my head high, determined to stride by him even though he was the sole reason I left the table in the first place.

“It is fine, thank you, Mr Thornton.” I walked past him but he reached out and grabbed my wrist, causing my heart to pound in my chest again. He didn’t hold it though. He let it fall back to my side and I crossed my arms, looking at him expectantly.

“Don’t be like this,” he said quietly.

“And yours?” I asked, ignoring his comment. “You seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“You’re jealous,” he said.

“Who have I got to be jealous of?”

“You’re jealous I’m here with Molly.”

“I’m not,” I said firmly.

Tyler took a step closer. “Why are you being so rude then?”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.” He took another step forward, close enough so I could see the streaks of colour in his grey eyes. “You want me as much as I want you.”

“I’m not sure where you are getting your information from, but there is no doubt it’s stemming from your inflated sense of ego. I am not jealous and I do not want you. I have been nothing but polite all night.”

“Apart from when you refuse to acknowledge I’ve spoken, or how you won’t look me in the eye, or how you’ve been shooting daggers at my date. Even she’s commented on it. And why did you follow me out here?”

“I didn’t follow you.”

Tyler laughed. “Yes, you did. You waited until I left the table and then you followed.”

“Maybe it has something to do with what you said the other night and the fact that you still turned up with a date.”

“So you are jealous.” Tyler reduced the space between us again. “That’s why you’re acting so cold. But what about me?”

“What about you?” I asked, trying not to let my voice break from the feelings rushing over me at the closeness of his body to mine.

“I told you I wanted you, and the very next time I see you, you turn up freshly fucked by my brother.”

Colour flooded my cheeks and I stumbled back, pressing to the wall for support. “I—I—” I stammered.

“You what?” Tyler stepped forward again, framing my body with his and caging me with his arms either side of where I was pressed against the wall. “Do you know how that makes me feel? The feeling of extreme jealousy and desire it arouses? It makes my blood boil to know his hands have been on you, his mouth—”

Tyler stopped abruptly, his eyes closing and his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. He leaned even closer, so his mouth brushed my hair as he spoke. “I want to fuck away every memory of him.”

Tyler turned and walked away, leaving me a quivering mess as he returned to the table without a backwards glance. I stood pressed against the wall for a few moments longer, my heart racing and skin tingling before entering the restrooms. Amelia was inside, leaning over the sink, looking into the mirror as she applied a thick layer of red lipstick. She tilted her head to the side as she caught my eye in the reflection.

“You’re an interesting one,” she said.

I flashed her what I hoped was an innocent smile. “As are you,” I said and attempted to slip into one of the stalls.

Quicker than I thought possible, Amelia crossed the floor and blocked my entrance. “Oh, no you don’t.” She grinned. “I can’t witness what I just witnessed with the intense one and not get an explanation. He was virtually humping you out there.”

“There is nothing going on between us.”

“And that’s what I’ll tell Molly, though I’m dying to say otherwise. My stuck-up bitch of a sister has an entirely too big opinion of herself sometimes and I would love to bring her down a peg or two, but I won’t, as long as you tell me the truth. A girl cannot live on assumptions alone.” Amelia crossed her arms, amusement playing on her lips.

“Fine,” I said, letting my shoulders fall.

“So you’ve fucked him? He looks like he’d be great in bed, not that the blond one doesn’t, but the intense one, what’s his name? Tyler? He looks like he’d know how to treat a woman, well, in bed anyway. Or so my sister tells me. I was a little disappointed when I got the wild one, though I’m willing to give him a chance.”

“Do you always talk this openly with everyone you’ve just met?” I asked.

“Nope. Just the ones who look like they have good stories to tell.”

“Well, there honestly isn’t anything happening between Tyler and me. I have never fucked him, as you so eloquently put it. I simply work for him.”

“But he wants more,” she said, more of a statement than a question.

“Apparently so.”

“And you’re not tempted?”

“No.” Lies were the theme of my night.

Amelia moved away from the entrance so I could enter the stall I never needed to enter in the first place. “You’re lying,” she said as I closed the door in her face.

The main fight had already started as I picked my way back through the maze of tables. All the men were on their feet, shouting at the ring, Amelia standing beside Jake and swearing louder than any of the men. She didn’t look as I slipped into place beside Gabe, threading my arms around his waist and holding on as though it would stop my emotions from wavering. Tyler’s date stood beside him, eagerly jumping up and down, clinging to his arm as Parker’s fists flailed into Rosewood. Tyler detached himself from the girl, his steel eyes sliding over to mine which, despite sternly telling myself not to, were already fixed at him.

“Just one punch,” Gabe whispered in my ear. “Wait until he gets a punch in, and it will be lights out for Parker. Just wait and see.”

As soon as the words fell out of Gabe’s mouth, Rosewood’s fist connected with Parker’s jaw and the large man collapsed to the ground. The crowds roared as the countdown began. Hamish reached into the centre of the pile and changed the notes so he could divide it between Gabe, Amelia and himself. Gabe pocketed the money, flashing an antagonising grin at Tyler and then clamped his mouth onto mine, kissing me deeply in celebration.

“Should you at least pay Tyler back his money?” I asked. Even with returning the hundred dollar bill, Gabe still had money left over.

Gabe shook his head, his eyes gleaming. “He can afford it.”

Tyler reached across and held out his hand to his younger brother. “Well done,” he said. “Though I may have to look at taking something different of yours as payment.”