Trials and Tiaras (Untouchable Book 7) Page 5

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  When had she gotten so good at this? I wasn’t sure I could keep quiet as I began to rock my hips in time to the rhythm she set, fisting her hair so I could help guide her. I swore she took more and more of me. The half-choking noises made me want to pull back, but she reached a hand up to my thigh and then fisted me as she worked me over, and I forgot how to think as everything drained down my spine.

  Between the liquid furnace of her mouth and the slap of Bubba pushing into her and her own groans, I was a goner. I couldn’t tell you who came first, but I tried to tug her hair twice to warn her, and then she pulled me deep and swallowed every drop.

  Boneless, I drew back as she shuddered and cried out. Bubba had his hand on her clit, and I leaned down to kiss a nipple and suck on it until she was sobbing with her orgasm. When Bubba collapsed on her far side, I dropped down to stare at the ceiling. Then Frankie lifted a hand toward the blindfold.

  Tugging it off, Bubba ran a hand down her side and then studied her face. The smile she wore was absolutely beautiful, and then she glanced over at me and the warmth in her eyes leapt.

  Fuck yeah.

  I’d call that a successful experiment.

  Valentine’s Day

  “Archie,” I squeezed out before he took two steps away. The pop of the rain hitting the umbrella seemed so loud, despite the hum of passing cars, the occasional blare of a horn, and what might be some alarm in the distance. It all seemed to fade to this kind of blur of white noise. “He wanted to talk to me…about something they’ve wanted to tell me since that awful dinner.”

  “What?” He took a step back to me, his dark hair soaked, droplets of water running down his face. Kind of like tears.

  No, I really couldn’t think about tears right now. Coop still held my hand, and I flexed my fingers around his and then gripped for all I was worth. He returned the squeeze, not pulling away. He’d held my hand the same way the first time I’d been terrified when we’d had to stand up on a stage and do a presentation. I’d nearly thrown up behind the curtain while we’d waited, but he’d gripped my hand and hadn’t let go.

  When we walked out there, he’d held my hand the whole way, and he didn’t care about the teasing we got for it. I knew he wouldn’t let go.

  “He said he was my father.”

  “What?” A frown tightened his whole expression as he stepped in closer to me. At least out of the rain, Jake and Ian huddled in closer, and I dug my nails into Coop’s hand. I had to be leaving little divots in his skin, but he didn’t flinch.

  The whole story spilled out of me. I swore I was going to throw up with every single word, but they didn’t move. They didn’t interrupt. Not once did Archie look away. It hurt so bad to tell him this. It just hurt period.

  When I got to the part about their affair, Archie snorted and then shook his head. “Babe…”

  “I know,” I told him. “I know it sounds like absolute bullshit, but he believes it. And for some fucked up reason, he says I’m his kid.” I wouldn’t take that to the next step. “The tests and now this…”

  He shook his head slowly, then cupped my face. “You’re not my sister. I don’t care what bag of shit that…” He blew out a breath. “Sorry, babe, those bastards are selling. But you’re not my sister. And I’m going with my first call on this…” He kissed me hard and then pivoted to stalk away. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”

  He was serious.

  I would have followed, but Coop dragged me back, hand still in mine, as Ian and Jake took off after Archie.

  “Coop…”

  “They’ll get him,” he promised me and kept me close. His hand was still locked in mine. “We got you both.”

  Chapter Four

  Another Red-Letter Day

  Jake

  The flight back, Archie said almost nothing. I couldn’t blame him. Not after that scene with his mother. I had my issues with Dad. Some days, I thought he was a real dick for choosing Klara over his kids, over Mom. But even at his worst? Yeah, I never thought he didn’t love us. Just—fuck. I glanced over at Archie, who stared at his phone, reading something with the kind of intensity you reserved for a super villain you were planning on dismembering.

  A glance at his screen had me looking away. He was messaging Frankie, so I’d leave him in peace.

  “It’s fine,” he said quietly next to me, and I glanced at him. We were the only two in first class on this flight, which was fucking weird. But it also afforded us a measure of privacy, and he probably needed it. “She’s just checking on me. I told her we needed to do a DNA test ourselves, and Jeremy’s arranging something with a private clinic so we can rush the fucking results. It would be easier, but we’re the same blood type.”

  “What can I do?”

  “We land in…” he began, then paused to check something on the phone before continuing, “In about thirty minutes. I told Bubba and Coop to keep her busy and distracted.” With a grimace, he motioned to his phone. “Currently, she’s worrying about me.”

  “And you’re worrying about her, so lay off on trying to wrap her up in too much soft cotton. She wants to be there for you every bit as much as you want to be there for her.” Yes, I totally got the irony of me telling him to back off on the overprotective attitude. The snort he favored me with pointed out his feelings on the same.

  “Bubba’s gonna take her to the studio to work on practicing with her guitar and him on piano. Coop’s gonna set up shop at the apartment and do some cleaning. Apparently, I should hire a maid because she started stress cleaning the bathrooms.” Archie shook his head, and I didn’t laugh, tempting as it was.

  “She does that when she starts to feel out of control.”

  “Yeah well, we’re going to fix that. I’ve got a car picking us up, and I know where Edward is. I plan to pay him a visit.” He cut a look at me. “You in?”

  This was a bad idea. “Fuck yeah, I’m in. What do you need me to do?”

  The car took us from the airport to some country club. Considering it was still overcast but not raining, I guessed I shouldn’t be surprised his father was at the golf course. Not that I had a lot of experience with them. My family didn’t run in these circles, and with the exception of Arch, I wasn’t finding all that much attractive about them.

  “Wait for us,” Archie instructed the driver as he pulled into the portico at the club. “We’ll be thirty minutes max.”

  The man nodded, but Archie didn’t even wait for the response. I got it. He had a goal and a target. I was right after him. At the front doors, a man stepped forward to greet us and give us the stink eye.

  I guessed jeans and T-shirts weren’t appropriate attire? I didn’t really give a fuck. Archie waved him off. “We’re not eating, just heading out to the greens.”

  “Mr. Standish,” the man said, his tone chiding and prim. He started to block us, and I cracked my knuckles. That earned me a startled look. “If you’d like us to send word to your father, you could wait in the club or out here, until he comes in.”

  “I absolutely could,” Archie told him in the most frigid tone possible. “And if that was what I wanted to do, I would have said as much. Now do us both a favor, get out of my way and don’t make me put in a word to the club director about you hampering a member.”

  I swallowed a smirk, but it was hard. Archie didn’t flinch as he stared at the man. The guy blinked first, then nodded and backed up a step. “Of course, sir.” The last word was almost an afterthought, but I’d give the guy props. Archie wasn’t in the mood, and he could read the room or at least the situation.

  Archie flicked me a glance, and I nodded. I had his back. He led the way, and we headed through the club and out a pair of back doors. Outside, a fine mist had begun falling. I was over this shit. At least New York had snow, even if it had been cold enough to freeze my balls off. He slid right behind the wheel of a waiting golf cart. Apparently, they queued these fuckers up. My ass barely touched the passenger seat before we wer
e off.

  At my laugh, Archie shot me a look. “Go ahead,” he muttered. “Say it.”

  “Fucking rich people, man,” I told him, and he scoffed but didn’t dispute it. Still, I braced my foot against the dash as he followed the path through the place like he knew where he was going. “How often have you been here?”

  “A few times,” he commented. “Mostly with Grandpa, offered to bring Frankie here with him. So she could play real golf. She actually said yes.”

  “Of course she did,” I told him. “She loves mini-golf.”

  He grimaced, then laughed for real. “I’m going to buy her a fucking mini-golf place. Or maybe build her one of her own.”

  “Yeah, that might be taking ‘fucking rich people’ too far.”

  “Ha.” But he didn’t disagree with me.

  We passed a few others still golfing, despite the drizzle. Apparently, very little stopped a real golfer. I’d stick to football. Maybe some hoops with the guys. A run.

  “You ever play?” Archie asked after a couple of minutes.

  “Plenty of mini-golf, none of this.”

  “You should learn,” he said, and I didn’t roll my eyes. “If you want. I could teach you when I teach Frankie. It’s not so bad, with the right people.”

  Fuck me. “Sounds like fun.”

  “It’s not a dental procedure.”

  “Fuck off,” I told him with a laugh. “You want someone to go with, I’ll give it a shot. Surprised you’re not asking Coop.”

  That got a reaction. “He sucks.”

  “Eh…he fucks off a lot. He’s better than he pretends, but he’s not as competitive as the rest of us and it’s easier for him to play that part up.” It kept the rest of us even, especially since we could all be competitive as fuck.

  “I’ll take your word for it. We’ll make a day of it. The five of us.”

  Okay, maybe Arch needed to make plans like this, and I got it. “Can’t we do something like paintball?” Our Valentine’s Day plans had been utterly obliterated after Frankie delivered that dick’s bombshell and keeping her and Archie in one piece had become the evening’s priority.

  “We haven’t done that in…”

  “Years, exactly.”

  “I can work with that,” he agreed, and I laughed. “I’ll save golf for Frankie.”

  The smile that earned was fleeting. Soon, we came over a hill, and there was Standish Sr., lining up his shot. Archie hit the horn on the golf cart just as he went for the swing. Petty as fuck, but it made me laugh when the older man sent the ball careening off in what appeared to be the wrong direction. He and the pair with him turned to look at us as Archie drove straight up to their cart and parked behind it.

  He was out of the seat and halfway to his father before I could follow. Yeah, this had bad plan written all over it. I scanned the other men standing with Edward Archibald Standish Jr., and I wasn’t impressed. Both were older, one was paunchy and the other looked flushed, despite the chilly air and damp rain. I could take them.

  “Archie,” his father said in a warning tone.

  “You better tell your buddies to play on or head back for a drink. You’re busy.” Every syllable carried an element of menace I’d never heard from Archie. Not this icy anger. His rage at Mitch had been white hot, and I’d been right there with him. As it was, I kept one eye on the other men and one on the older Standish. At the moment, I’d be happy to lay someone out. The nervous energy rolling off Arch made me itch for a good fight.

  But I also didn’t want to get either of us arrested. Not today. Not if it would mean Frankie and the guys had to come and get us. She didn’t need the stress and fuck knew Archie didn’t.

  “Gentlemen,” the older man called. “If you’ll excuse us.” He didn’t offer a reason, and they didn’t ask for one. Instead, they just nodded, waved, and moved on with their bags of golf clubs while “Eddie” slid his club back into his bag before he turned to face Archie. That right cross landed beautifully, and the older man staggered back a couple of steps.

  “You just couldn’t stop yourself from trying to fuck up my life and hers, could you?”

  “Archie,” Eddie said, shooting me a look, but I planted myself where I had Archie’s back and ignored the drizzle. A trickle of blood escaped from his nose. “I understand you might be upset…”

  “Might be?” Archie snorted. “I might be upset that you told my girlfriend you think she’s my sister?”

  The scorn in his tone was razor sharp and perfect. I swore I could see the skin he stripped right off the older man. As it was, “Eddie” paled and dropped his hand from his face as he stared at Archie. “What do you mean girlfriend? She’s not dating anyone.”

  “According to whom? The lying cunt you’ve been fucking?” Every word rolling out of him carried a lash of anger and heat, but I’d bet money as much as he meant every word, he delivered them with purpose. “Or maybe in your own interfering and stalking ways, you hired someone to investigate? ’Cause let me tell you, if you did, you should get a refund. She’s been my girlfriend for months, and I’ve loved her for a lot longer.”

  I swore the man looked ill.

  Holy shit, he really hadn’t known.

  I didn’t know whether to laugh or to spit.

  “Wait,” Archie said with a snap of his fingers. “I forgot, for you to know anything about my life, you’d have to give a fuck. We both know you couldn’t be bothered. Until today, I always thought that was my fault.”

  “No,” his father said slowly, though I loathed even calling him that. I couldn’t help it. I studied him. The pallor of his face, the way his eyes widened, even the way he ignored the blood trickling from his nose. Nothing about him was like Frankie at all. There was a surface resemblance to Archie, but the guy lacked his directness or the ease of his charm. “It’s never been your fault. But you can’t date Frankie.”

  “She’s not my sister.”

  “I understand this might be…”

  “If you say difficult, I will take one of those clubs and beat the fuck out of you with it.” The cold violence in that threat had the older man straightening and taking a step back. He believed Archie. Good. Because I didn’t doubt that he would. “I don’t care what you think you know. Tell me what that lying fucking cunt told you. I’ve seen the four tests. Only one is positive, and it doesn’t have your name on it.”

  Expression rippling, Eddie frowned. “There were only two tests, and before you challenge that, yes, I was aware of Maddy’s affairs at the time. It was why I had the affair with your mother.”

  “I really couldn’t care less where you stuck your dick. I want to know exactly what she told you and what evidence she gave you that Frankie is yours, ’cause while you’re not a fucking prize for a parent, I find it hard to believe that a selfish, narcissistic bitch like her wouldn’t have come after you sooner.”

  Sighing, the older man pulled a fucking handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his bloodied nose. “Archie, I understand you’re upset. While I appreciate you may not care for Maddy, could you at least show her some respect?”

  I couldn’t help it, I snorted aloud, and that earned me a baleful look from his dad. Yeah, I met him stare for stare. I couldn’t care less. “You want respect, you earn it,” I told him flatly. “She’s an abusive, neglectful, selfish bitch.” That was about as kindly as I could put it.

  “What he said,” Archie agreed with a nod toward me. “What did she say to you?”

  Seriously, I couldn’t read the man’s expression as he fixed a look on his son. “She asked for a sample so she could run the test. Largely because I needed proof. She wasn’t certain about who the father was, she hasn’t been.”

  Yeah, that didn’t surprise me.

  “To be fair,” he continued, not that I had any fucking interest in being fair. “Maddy had a rather severe falling out with her family after our engagement collapsed and I married your mother. The ceremony was quick and efficient, it was important to your grand
parents that you were born with our name.”

  Wow. My dad was looking better and better by the minute. What a douche.

  “And before you decide that I’m a terrible person, I did want to be your father. I just didn’t know how. I gave up the woman I loved for you.” He actually looked aggrieved. “There’s no pleasant way of saying this, and it’s not a conversation we should ever have to have.”

  “No shit,” Archie said. “But you’re having it because I want answers, and at the bare minimum, you owe me this. Get to the point about the cunt’s story.”

  “Call her that again—”

  “And you’ll what?” Archie dared him. “Please, throw a swing. I made you a promise, and I have every intention of keeping it.”

  We weren’t alone out here, another golf cart had pulled up behind ours, so I just said, “We need to move this along.”

  Both men broke their stare-off to glance at me and then behind me. The others were still too far away to hear, but that didn’t mean they were going to stay there.

  “I broke her heart,” Eddie said finally. “We were young and foolish and made bad choices, but we always chose each other until I had no choice other than Muriel. Afterward, I tried to keep her, to get her to stay, because I would have paid the penalty of divorcing your mother earlier after you were born. But she didn’t want to wait that long, and eventually…eventually, she left. I tried my best.”

  Wow.

  Yep. My dad was definitely looking better that this shit stain.

  “Needless to say, she moved and changed her name, and I lost track of her. I never gave up on finding her, but her parents would have nothing to do with me and your grandfather was no help. When we moved here and it turned out you’d met her daughter—a child I wasn’t even aware she’d had—it seemed like kismet.”

  The snort of derision from Archie actually made me wince. How the fuck was he putting himself through this and not beating the man with a club, I had no idea.