Deceit (Gallows Hill Book 1), page 17
“I want you, Ronan. I…we…”
I’m tongue tied, and amazed at how I got myself into this situation in the first place.
“What if you didn’t have to choose?” Liam says.
“What?” I ask, turning to face him fully.
He takes a step closer, pinning me in against Ronan’s chest while he plasters himself against my front.
“What if we didn’t make you choose? What if you could be with both of us?”
I blink at him, waiting for this jester to deliver the punchline. It doesn’t seem to come, though. Instead, he’s watching me with rapt attention as Ronan’s hand comes to my hip, squeezing gently.
“I…what?” I ask breathlessly.
They can’t be serious….can they?”
“Things are…messy right now,” Ronan continues. “I can’t be with you the way I want to, the way you deserve. Though, you would still need a level of…discretion with Liam since you are engaged. He can be with you in a lot of ways and places that I can’t.”
I frown at that as I look up at him.
“So, what? He’s going to keep me warm for you? Am I just a plaything that you want to keep satisfied, while you handle Amber whatever while I—”
I don’t get to finish my sentence. Ronan’s lips are pressed against my own in an instant, and all irritation, confliction and sadness die right then and there. His hold on my hip tightens to the point of near pain, but I’d never ask him to stop. His tongue strokes against my own briefly before he pulls away, resting his forehead against mine as he speaks just above a whisper.
“You’re everything, Skyla. Absolutely fucking everything. No one matters to me more than you, do you understand me?”
My stomach flips at the sincerity in his words. Surely he can’t actually mean that, right? We’ve only known each other for about a month. There is no way feelings can develop that quickly. But…
“It took Liam three hours of begging this morning for me to even semi agree to this. You think I want to share my girl? That I like the thought of his hands, his lips, on you? Fuck. No.”
I shake my head. “Then, why even offer?”
His eyes cut away from mine to meet Liam’s before coming back to me.
“Because he made some excellent points and if I’m honest, I’ve never seen the kid work so hard for anything in his life. He wants you, almost as much as I do and that’s saying a lot. If he is willing to risk severe bodily harm, again,” he says, as he gestures to the bruising on Liam’s face and his nose that look a little swollen now that I stare at it. “By coming to me with this and knowing you want him too… he’s the only man that would be barely worthy of you.”
“Apart from you, of course,” I fill in.
He gives me a barely there smile and shrugs.
“I’m not so sure I’m even there.”
I roll my eyes at his dramatics and slip my hand behind his neck, pulling him down to my lips before speaking against him.
“You’re more than there, Ronan.”
His stoic mask cracks at the seams, and a small soft smile shines through.
“So, what do you say babygirl?” Liam asks, his voice honey smooth, though I can sense a hint of impatience beneath it. As if he were anxious. It’s kind of cute.
Looking between them I shake my head.
“How would this work?”
“Well, we haven’t exactly written out a visitation schedule,” Liam teases.
I scoff and smack his arm as he chuckles and Ronan intervenes.
“We can take it day by day, and if you ever feel overwhelmed or don’t want to be with one or even both of us, open communication. You call the shots here, baby.”
“What if you guys want to be done? If you don’t want to be with me or—”
“Not gonna happen,” they say in unison.
I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face at their unwavering insistence. Could I really date two men at the same time? To make matters worse, while I’m technically engaged? To make it even worse, when one of those men is my fiancé’s best friend while the other is his uncle…Yeah, I don’t see that blowing up in any of our faces in the future.
Still, I’m not a stupid woman. What they are offering me here is many women’s dream. Mine especially, because I like both of them for very different reasons.
“Okay,” I say.
“Yeah?” Liam asks, his eagerness bleeding through immediately.
I smile at him, and he practically pounces on me. His mouth on mine, tongue tangling with my own as Ronan makes a sound in the back of his throat before clearing it.
“I have a meeting with the Headmaster. You keep her safe or I’ll fucking gut you,” Ronan says, though his words don’t hold that much heat. Maybe it’s because he trusts Liam with me, or maybe it’s because he’s not that worried and is trying to flex his authoritative muscle. Either way, it’s sexy as hell to hear a man demand your safety like that. Though, I’ve gotta wonder, what is he supposed to be protecting me from? Asher?
Likely.
Liam pulls away from me, giving Ronan a mock salute that has him rolling his eyes before he pulls me in for a kiss. When he releases my hip and backs away, he slips past us as he turns to Liam once more.
“Be discreet, please. Make sure there are no…prying eyes.”
“Ronan, I’ve got this,” Liam says, as he loops an arm around my waist.
Ronan’s face tenses slightly, almost in displeasure before he gives a terse nod and slips out of the closet, shutting the door behind him.
“So, now that the grown up is gone. You sure you’re in, babygirl? You seem hesitant.”
I turn my head slightly as I try to verbalize the array of emotions racing through me.
“I just…I like you. I didn’t expect to when I said yes to our date, trust me,” I laugh lightly before smiling. “You’re different than you portray. There is more to you than you let on, and I’d like to get to know that Liam more, but I also really care for Ronan and—”
“Say less, babygirl. I’d love to show you the real me. This world…sometimes you have to hide pieces of yourself, for preservation and survival.”
I nod, understanding that if everyone in this town is like my father, then it makes complete sense.
“However I will say, your fiancé will kick my front teeth in when he finds out about us.”
I laugh at his words as I tilt my head back.
“Didn’t Ronan just say that we need to keep a low profile? Away from prying eyes?” I remind.
“Of course, but he wasn’t talking about Asher.”
“Who was he talking about then?”
He doesn’t respond at first, then he simply shrugs and gives me that signature smile that sends my heart racing as he cups the back of my head and pulls me in.
“Who cares,” he says, before crashing his lips against me.
Something feels different in this kiss than before. There is so much need, so much unquenched desire. Suddenly his hands are everywhere, setting my body on fire with every inch he touches.
I feel his hands come to the hem of my skirt before bunching it up around my hips. It’s a warmer day today so I skipped the stockings, and god I couldn’t be more grateful when Liam is able to easily slide down my panties before dropping to his knees.
“Fuck, have I told you how pretty your pussy is, babygirl?”
I make a strangled noise in my throat because honestly, how does he expect me to think, let alone speak when his mouth is inches from me?
Before I can even try to formulate a response his tongue is out, flattening against my slit before running it through me in one long delicious lick that has me shuddering. He repeats the move again and again, his eyes on me the entire time. I feel one of his hands come to my left thigh, before lifting it up and out, resting it over his shoulder to allow him better access.
God, does he make use of that access too. Liam begins devouring me like he was a starved man, and I was a feast he couldn’t resist. His tongue expertly twirls around my clit, licking me from top to bottom, until I’m a writhing panting mess.
I lean my back against the wall to help stabilize me, because my legs are all but gelatin at this point, but he seems to have a better idea. Once my back is against the wall, Liam takes my right leg, lifting it up and resting it against his other shoulder. I almost lose my balance until his large hands come to my waist, holding me perfectly in place as he slowly begins to stand.
There is something to be said about a man that can pick you up. There is something entirely different about a man that can lift you into the air while your thighs are wrapped around his shoulders, and his face buried in your pussy.
He doesn’t skip a beat. Rising to his full height before he presses me all the way against the wall, his tongue stroking and licking me as his hands hold me in place. I bury my fingers into his blond, almost wavy hair. At first, I think I do it to balance myself but really, it’s so that I can grind myself against him better because I’m so close to my release I can practically taste it.
Liam must be able to tell too because he moans against me, vibrating my clit just enough to throw me right over the edge. I come hard and the first moan that comes out of me is so loud, I have to release his hair and slap my hand over my mouth so that no one thinks a person is being murdered in here. I feel wave after wave of my orgasm hit me, and Liam doesn’t stop eating me until he’s licked every inch of me clean.
Once the euphoric typhoon subsides, he slowly lowers himself back down to his knees allowing my feet to hit the ground before he stands up again, once again pocketing my panties as he does. His hands reach out, pulling down my skirt and even smoothing a few lines out as he does before he gives me that dopey smile that I love.
He runs a hand through his now messy hair, before opening the closet door and letting me step out first. He follows closely behind me, wrapping his arms around me as he whispers into my ear.
“Thank you, babygirl. I almost skipped breakfast. Most important meal of the day!”
I scoff, shoving him away before he reels me back in. He presses a kiss to my nose and then to my cheek before burying his face into my neck, making a growling sound that has me squealing. When he finally lets up, we are both laughing and smiling like a couple of fools. A light feeling wrapping us up into a perfect cocoon. At least for two-point-five seconds before a pair of dark brown eyes catch my attention.
He's standing there glaring at us with a woman on each arm but honestly, he’s not paying them any attention. Honestly, he’s not paying any attention to me either. Instead, his eyes are set firmly on his best friend. Liam doesn’t shy away from his glare either. Rather, he returns it with a goading edge.
For a moment I wonder if the only reason Liam is interested in me at all is just to get under Asher’s skin. That thought disappears in the next moment though when Liam wraps his arm around my shoulder, casually letting it drape around me as he presses a kiss to the side of my head and begins guiding me towards the class that I’m already late for.
Asher all but stomps off in the opposite direction, his groupies quickly in tow as he leaves them in the dust. We don’t pay them any attention, though. I’m happy, we’re happy, at least I think so and for once, I won’t be letting Asher fucking Putnam ruin that.
Chapter Twenty Four
Asher
Idon’t cause a scene in front of others. That would make me look weak, make it look like I care. Which I don’t. At least not for the reasons people would assume. I don’t give a fuck that someone has no doubt deflowered my promised virgin. If she’s confirmed not to be a virgin before our wedding they will kill her on sight, and I’ll be on to the next of whomever my father lines up for me.
No, I don’t give a fuck what Skyla Parris does. What I give a fuck about, is that my own best friend, my fucking Bond Brother of all people would try to humiliate me like that.
He doesn’t see me coming, which is really a fault to him. He’s getting sloppy, he’s barely cut out for this life as it is. The only thing holding him together and out of the Brethren’s focus, is me. See if I save his fucking ass now.
I barrel into him through his opened bedroom door, before throwing him to the ground. He lands with a hard thud, and I waste no time delivering a punch straight to his temple. He grunts out in pain, his eyes blinking like he’s in a daze from my hit before I give him another to the stomach.
Liam gains his bearings enough to understand that he’s under attack, before he begins fighting back. His body begins to buck in an attempt to lift me off of him and he starts sending out his own defensive blows. A few of them land, and soon we are in easily the worst scrap of our lives with one another before he speaks in between punches.
“Asher! What the fuck. Use your words you fucking toddler.”
I laugh maniacally at that, my eyes no doubt looking crazed, as I sneer down at him.
“Use my words? Okay. Despicable, deplorable, atrocious, piece of fucking shit friend!” I roar into his face.
He hits me in the jaw once, hard. I have no choice but to stumble off of him and he wastes no time scrambling out from underneath me. Liam jumps to his feet and crosses his room, waiting on the other side as he watches me carefully. I rub my hand against my jaw as I work it back and forth.
Not broken.
“Why does it make you so angry?” Liam asks.
I let out a bitter laugh as I look at him.
“You’re serious?”
He shrugs, his face full of confusion.
“Yeah, actually. You hate her, you talk about the Brethren killing her literally all the time. What’s the big deal if I date her? You don’t think she’ll live to your wedding anyways.”
“Date?” I ask sharply. “You don’t date anyone.”
Liam pockets his hands into his jeans and shrugs again.
“She’s pretty fucking amazing dude. You’d see that if you weren’t so deep in your head.”
“She’s a piece of forbidden fruit. You’ve always wanted what you can’t have and because of you, I could now face backlash. This isn’t about you dating her, I don’t give a fuck about that. I give a fuck when my dad will, no doubt, call me into his office and ask why my fiancée is seen fucking my bond brother!”
He rolls his eyes. “We’ve never fucked, nor would I ever fuck her. I’m not going to put her in danger like that.”
Fury practically blinds me as I stare at him.
“Her? What about me motherfucker! You know what he’s like, you know what he could do if he thinks I’m embarrassing the family, the Brethren. I’ve been your best friend for twenty one years and this is it? This is the treatment I receive?”
To my surprise, Liam doesn’t immediately back down. He doesn’t profusely apologize or promise to never see her again, which pisses me the fuck off. Instead, he stands a little taller, rolling his shoulders back as he speaks.
“There is a difference between loyalty and submission, Asher. I’m beginning to think you don’t give a fuck about my loyalty, only my submission. It doesn’t bother you that I like her. It bothers you that you’ve told me I’m not allowed to like her, and I date her anyways. It bothers you that I’m not your little bitch. That you can’t say to jump, and I’ll beg to suck your dick in thanks.”
My eyebrows pull together, caught off guard from the heat of his words as he continues.
“I haven’t gone along with you all these years because I thought you could do no wrong, or that you were the kind of god that you clearly think you are. I went along with you because I thought that’s what friendship was about, supporting one another, even when we don’t like what they’re doing.”
“Maybe I was wrong, and that’s on me, but I’m going to cut the shit with you. I like her a lot, and I’m not the only one. You can hate her all you want. You can hate me all you want, but don’t you dare act like me, choosing my happiness for once has anything to do with betrayal.”
I mull over his words, unsure what to say or how to respond, when a piece of his words stand out to me.
“Who else?”
“What?” he asks.
“You said you’re not the only one. Is she seeing others? You is bad enough, but if she’s out there slutting it up—”
“Watch your fucking mouth,” Liam practically snarls, a sound I don’t think I’ve ever heard come from him before.
He closes the distance between us, nose to nose as he lowers his voice to a deathly low sound.
“One more word about her, and I’ll break your goddamn jaw this time. I mean it. The shit talking is over. You want to bitch, you do it elsewhere. I’m not going to stand here and let you talk about my girl like that.”
“Your girl?” I scoff.
“That’s right. My. Fucking. Girl,” he doubles down, the lethality in his tone is so unlike him it makes my head spin.
I stand there speechless for several seconds, unable to process this fucked up situation. Saved or burned by the bell, however you want to look at it, my phone begins ringing. I fish it out of my pocket and check the ID before cursing under my breath. I answer it as I keep my eyes on Liam.
“Hello, Father.”
I expect concern or unease to flash in Liam’s eyes, but they hold steady, unyielding and looking straight pissed off.
“You and your fiancée’s presence is required at the manor. Wednesday, seven o’clock.”
To my surprise, that’s all he has to say before the call ends. Maybe Liam’s debauchery with my fiancée hasn’t made it to my father’s ears yet. Though, it’s only a matter of time.
“Looks like I’m taking your girl out Wednesday night. A nice little cozy dinner at the manor. Can’t wait to see what we will talk about,” I say, as I turn on my heel and storm out of his room, barreling into mine before slamming the door shut behind me.
Chapter Twenty Five
Skyla
Ronan had texted me a little after leaving me and Liam, to tell me he wouldn’t be able to see me tonight despite us trying to make plans. He said something came up that he couldn’t get out of and that he hoped Liam and I had a good night together.
