I moan, thrust, and ache, my panties stretching across my upper thighs as I try to widen my legs, but fuck… God, I’m so wet.
“You’ll be good?” He slaps me again, and I feel it. It’s almost there. I’m almost coming.
“Yes,” I gasp. “Yes, yes, yes…”
I grip the blanket, breathing hard and waiting for another spank.
But…it doesn’t come.
I clench my thighs, every muscle in my body as tight as a rubber band, but he stops. Oh, God, please. He pulls up my panties, and tears fill my eyes, because I’m in pain. It hurts, and between Noah, Kaleb, and now Jake, I’m going insane.
Lifting me up, he pulls my shirt down and kisses my damp forehead, my nose, and my cheeks.
He’s stopping, and I close my eyes to keep from crying.
His fingers swipe between my legs, and I watch him bring them up, glistening with what’s dripping out of me and onto my thigh. He looks at his fingers as he rubs them together.
“Don’t make me do this again,” he tells me, his lips tight. “It hurts us both.”
And he pushes me away from him, his hard footfalls on the stairs echoing through the house before he slams the door to his bedroom.
The tears stream down my face as I sit there, my orgasm rolling away and my body screaming with need.
I can’t do this.
I won’t survive the fucking winter.
Jake
This fucking girl.
Her defiance and how she challenges me at every turn, her silent treatment over the past week like a screw twisting deeper and deeper into my skull while her beautiful, unhappy eyes at other times pull at me like hooks in my heart.
This isn’t my fault. She was lucky I was there. Is that how she wanted to be made love to for the first time? Two at once?
They don’t love her.
Sure, they’re attracted to her, probably more than any woman, but Noah isn’t serious about anything and Kaleb doesn’t let anyone in. I was so happy when she came back after the funeral, but I was worried a winter with her would be too much of a temptation.
For me.
How the hell did I not consider the shit they would pull, too?
And it makes everything worse when she doesn’t have the least bit of shame. She strolled downstairs the morning after, refusing to look at me or give me anything more than one-word responses, but otherwise, not displaying the slightest bit of embarrassment. Smiling at Noah when he poured her fucking juice and served her some eggs and looking gorgeous in her braids and baseball cap, her tight jeans and Kaleb’s belt fastened tightly around her hips.
God, she’s nice to look at.
The only reminder of me from the night before that she exhibited at the table was the wince on her face when she sat her ass that I’d spanked raw the night before down on the goddamn chair.
My dick swells, just thinking about how much I wanted her then—half-naked in my lap and the sweet smell of her sweat as she took her punishment.
I groan, shifting as I lean against the tree, the steam from my breath hidden inside my coat. A white tail flicks beyond the dune, and I slowly raise my hand, waving to Tiernan and the boys to focus their attention in that direction. The boys have been still-hunting for years, and definitely would’ve bagged this buck by now, but it’s time to break Tiernan’s cherry.
She takes a careful, quiet step, hiding her breath like I taught her and gently raising her rifle. Normally, we’d be in one of the stands we’ve constructed over the years, but cold weather hunting could sentence us to days in a tree before we see anything. She has to learn to find her prey.
Noah speaks in her ear, walking her through it. Aim, breathe, settle on your target, breathe… And once your body is in sync with the animal, fire.
But she doesn’t. She lowers her rifle again and stands up straight.
I flex my jaw.
I head over, careful to step silently through the cold snow. I reach her and grab her chin, forcing her to look at me.
But she pulls it away. “I can’t, okay?”
“If you don’t, it’s jarred pickles for the winter.”
“Leave her alone,” Noah murmurs. “I’ll do it.”
But before he can turn to raise his gun, I interject. “She’ll do it.” I jerk my chin for him to go stand by Kaleb, who’s crouched down up against a tree. “She can pull her weight.”
“Screw you,” she bites out.
Noah hesitantly backs away toward his brother, keeping his scowl on me as I squat down.
“Get your ass down here.” I pull her down with me.