Authors: Kori Roberts
“And don’t you ever try to disrespect Rylee like that again. She is nothing like those other women. They don’t even come close to being in the same league as her.”
“Fine,” Leslie snapped, but she reached out and grabbed his arm before he could walk out the door.
“Look, Nick. You’re right, okay? It’s not my business, and I’m sorry for the things I said about Rylee.” She sighed. “But you and Noah are my cousins, and I care about you. And if I figured it out, how long do you think it will be before Aunt Caroline figures it out as well, huh?” She stared at him. “What are you going to do then?”
Nick looked down at her. “I’m only going to say this once more; my relationship with Rylee is nobody’s fucking concern but ours.” His voice was cold and hard. “And if you value our relationship at all, you will back the fuck off.” Nick walked out the door and closed it behind him.
*
Rylee searched for Nick in the kitchen and found Noah instead. “Hey, you.” She
smiled. “I thought Nick was in here. Have you seen him?”
“Hi, beautiful.” Noah turned around and looked at her. “Nah, I haven’t seen him. I guess you’re stuck with me instead.” He winked at her.
“Oh, I can think of worse punishments.” Rylee laughed softly, her gaze traveling up and down his body.
The look on Noah’s face went from laughter to lust in a matter of seconds. He walked to the kitchen doorway and peered down the hallway in both directions before he turned back to Rylee. He pulled her into his arms and slowly backed her against the sink. “I can’t wait to show you how much I liked my birthday present.” Noah pressed against her as his hands slid down her back and cupped her ass. Rylee felt the growing bulge of his erection through his pants.
“And I can’t wait for you to show your appreciation, either.” She shuddered in anticipation as need and desire coursed through her.
“How about I give you a little sample right now?” Noah’s head lowered, and he kissed her, his tongue sliding between her lips, those hazel eyes never leaving hers.
Rylee gave up trying to hold Noah’s gaze, and she lost herself in the sensation of his kiss, the satisfaction of his touch.
Noah groaned and deepened the kiss, one hand slid into her hair, the other held her tightly by the hip.
They were so consumed by pleasure that they never heard the sharp intake of breath behind them until it was too late.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Noah’s mother yelled.
Rylee jumped at the sound of her voice, and she felt Noah tense. A soft curse left his lips before he turned to face his mother.
“I can’t believe this,” Caroline continued. She looked furious, her face deeply flushed.
“How could you do this to your brother?”
“It’s not what you think, Mom —” Noah started.
“And what exactly do I think, Noah?” she demanded, cutting him off in mid-sentence.
“That you and your brother’s girlfriend are sneaking around with each other behind his back? That you two were in here kissing while he’s right in the other room?”
Movement in the doorway caught Rylee’s attention, and she looked up to see Nick, his face filled with anger. Leslie and José were right behind him.
“And you!” Rylee’s head snapped around to Caroline, who glared at her in disgust.
“What kind of woman are you —” “Mom, stop it!” Nick yelled and moved farther into the room to stand next to Rylee.
His arm slid protectively around her shoulders, while Noah’s arm rested around her waist.
“Nicky, honey.” Caroline’s voice softened as she looked at Nick. “You don’t
understand…you didn’t see what they were doing in here.”
“No, Mom, I do understand,” Nick argued. “And I’m okay with it.”
The room was completely silent as Caroline looked back and forth between the three of them. The expression on her face went from confusion, to shock, before it settled into a mask of pure hatred — all of it aimed at Rylee.
“I knew from the moment I saw you that you’d be nothing but trouble. No self-respecting woman your age has a boyfriend practically young enough to be her son. And yet, despite all my reservations, and against my better judgment, I still welcomed you into my home these past few months. And this is how you show your gratitude.”
“Aunt Caroline” — Leslie tried to interject and placed a hand on her shoulder — “please —”
“Don’t!” Caroline snatched away from Leslie and closed in on the threesome, her eyes still focused on Rylee.
“It wasn’t enough for you to have one of my sons; you just had to have both of them, didn’t you? Well, you may have them fooled by your pretty face and your sweet smile, but I see right through your act. You’re nothing but a fucking whore!” Caroline hissed. “Get out of my house! You are not welcome here anymore.”
Rylee stared at Caroline in shock, too stunned to defend herself against the other woman’s verbal attack.
“If Rylee’s not welcome here, then I must not be either.” Nick spoke quietly but firmly, and his response drew gasps from several people in the room, including Rylee.
“You can’t mean that.” Caroline stared at him. A look of disbelief shone plainly on her face. “Yeah…I do.”
“You would choose her over your own mother, your own family?”
“No. I would choose the woman I love, and the family I love,” Nick corrected her. “I don’t want to choose one over the other — I shouldn’t have to. But you’re not leaving me any other options.”
Rylee could hear the pain and anguish in Nick’s voice. Her arm wrapped around his waist, and she held him tight against her as she fought back tears that threatened to fall.
“Okay, everybody,” Leslie spoke up again. “Let’s all just calm down before somebody says something they’ll end up regretting later.”
“And what about you?” Caroline ignored Leslie as she turned her attention to Noah.
“Are you willing to walk away from your family because of this…woman?”
“It seems to me that my family wants to walk away from me,” Noah said hoarsely, his voice filled with emotion.
“Whether you understand it or not, whether you agree with it or not, the fact remains that Rylee is the woman we want.” Noah’s hazel eyes stared down at Rylee. “The woman we love.”
Noah turned back to his mother. “And that’s not going to change just because you or anybody in this room has a problem with it.”
He removed his arm from Rylee’s waist, and reached for her hand, his fingers entwined with hers. Nick did the same with her other hand.
“So,” Noah continued, “if it makes you feel better to have someone to blame for this, go right ahead. Blame me, blame Nick, blame anybody but Rylee. She’s done nothing wrong, and she didn’t deserve the treatment she received here tonight.”
“If that’s how you feel, fine.” Caroline’s voice broke, and she pointed toward the door.
“Leave.” Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, and her lips were pressed into a thin, hard line. “No!” Leslie shook her head vigorously. “Please, don’t do this!”
With their hands still connected, Nick led the way out of the kitchen with Rylee and Noah close behind him.
“Nicky…” Tears flowed down Leslie’s face, and José wrapped his arms around her.
Nick stopped in front of Leslie and kissed her briefly on the forehead. “Don’t cry, Leslie. Everything will be fine.” He nodded at José. “I’ll talk to you later.” They continued to the door, and Caroline’s voice followed them out of the house.
“Mark my words; that woman is going to break both of your hearts.”
As soon as they were away from the house, Nick released Rylee’s hand.
“Noah, take Rylee back to the house. I’m gonna go check on the dogs.”
Rylee looked at him. “We can go with you.”
“Nah, that’s okay.” Nick shook his head, avoiding eye contact with her. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
“No,” Rylee could see the hurt written all over his face, and she reached for him. “I want to stay with —”
“Just go!” Nick barked and walked off in the direction of the kennels.
“It’s okay, Rylee,” Noah put his arms around her. “He just needs some time alone.
Come on” — he led her toward their house — “let’s go home.”
*
“I don’t know about you, but I could use a drink.” Noah searched through the kitchen cabinet until he found a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses. He took two bottles of beer out of the fridge, opened them, and then carried everything over to where Rylee sat on the couch. “Tequila and beer okay?” At Rylee’s nod, Noah poured the amber liquid into one glass and held it out to her. She lifted the glass to her lips and drained it down in a single gulp.
Then she reached for a cold beer and took several long swallows before she sat the half-empty bottle on the table.
“Better?” Noah asked softly, reaching out and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“Yes,” Rylee smiled at him. She held his hand and placed a kiss into the palm. “Thank you.” Her voice wavered slightly.
“Come here.” Noah sat his beer down next to hers on the table before reaching out and pulling her onto his lap. She went eagerly, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
“I’m so sorry,” Rylee said softly.
“For what?” She heard surprise in his voice.
“For ruining your birthday, for what happened tonight…for everything,” she sniffed.
“Hey,” Noah lifted her chin and kissed her. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for,”
he whispered against her lips. “If anyone is sorry here, it’s me. I’m sorry for what you went through tonight, sorry for how my family treated you. And my birthday is perfect, because you’re here with me.”
Noah’s lips covered hers again; the kiss was hot and sweet. Rylee moaned into his mouth, and her body moved against him.
They pulled away from each other long enough to remove their clothes, and then Rylee straddled his waist; her hand reached between them to hold his erection steady before she pushed down, and his long shaft slowly eased inside her.
“Noah…” Rylee moaned as shudders raced through her. She spread her legs farther apart and pushed down harder to take him deep within her body.
“Baby, yeah…ride me.” Noah’s hands gripped her ass cheeks as he thrust in and out of her. Rylee’s hands gripped the back of the couch next to Noah’s head, and she worked herself on his cock, like he’d told her. Her efforts drew groans and shudders from him, and she spiraled into complete ecstasy as her orgasm slammed through her.
“I love you,” he groaned. His hazel eyes burned into her.
Rylee nodded. “I know.” She kissed him. “I love you, too.”
“Rylee…” Noah yelled, and Rylee felt him let go, felt his pleasure as it shot out of him and into her.
Noah held her tightly against his chest, and she listened to the sounds of their ragged breathing.
“I didn’t use a condom,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.” Rylee was quiet for a moment.
“Do I need to be worried?” she asked softly.
“No.” His response was immediate. “Nick and I get tested regularly. Nick had a test just before his birthday, and I had one right after I got home from that weekend.”
He leaned back to look into her face. “I promise you that neither of us has been with another woman since we’ve been with you.”
“Then, there’s no reason to be sorry.” She leaned in and took another kiss, and then sat back and looked at him. “My job requires that I have a physical every year. I got my results back a couple of weeks ago.”
Noah smiled. “So, does this mean that we can skip the condoms from now on?”
“Well,” Rylee said carefully, “there’s always the issue of pregnancy.”
The smile slid from Noah’s face. “Oh…shit. Rylee…I…”
The horrified look on Noah’s face hurt Rylee more than she cared to think about. She forced a laugh.
“Relax, Noah. You’re not going to be a father just yet. I got it covered.” She began to climb off his lap. “Wait a minute.” Noah’s hands gripped her tightly by the waist. “You thought I was upset because I might have gotten you pregnant?”
Rylee didn’t immediately respond, and she stared at his chest to avoid eye contact.
Noah’s hands cupped her face. He stared at her, his expression serious.
“Truthfully, I was upset — but not for the reason you think. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to have a baby with you; I just didn’t think you’d ever want to have a baby with me.”
He chuckled uncomfortably. “Nick, maybe…”
Rylee’s head snapped up at his words. “How could you ever think that?” she frowned; her fingers reached out and traced his face. “Don’t you know that I love you as much as I love Nick? The two of you are my world.”
“Oh.” Noah looked completely shocked by her words. Finally, he cleared his throat. “If I weren’t already so in love with you, I think I would have fallen right here and now.”
*
“Hey,” Nick looked up at the sound of Noah’s voice when he walked into the house.
“You okay?” Noah asked quietly from the couch in the dark living room.
“Yeah, I’m good.” He sat in a chair across from Noah. “Where’s Rylee?”
“She went to sleep in your room.”
“How’s she doing?”
“Better,” Noah told him. “She was pretty upset when we first got home, blamed herself for what happened.”
“It wasn’t her fault,” he denied hotly, as renewed fury flowed though him.
“I know…it was mine.” Noah sighed heavily and hung his head for a moment. Finally, he looked up and met Nick’s gaze.
“I’m sorry, man. I should never have kissed her in the house. I knew better, I just…”
His voice trailed off. Nick ran a hand through his hair. “Listen, this wasn’t your fault, either. It was bound to come out eventually. Hell, Leslie already figured it out. It was only a matter of time before everybody else did, too. Not that it matters. I still love Rylee, and what they think won’t change that.”
“I love Rylee, too.” Noah stared back at him, his voice low, sure. “And I won’t let her go, either.”
Nick met Noah’s stare and nodded slowly. “Yeah, I know you do, and I know you
won’t.”
They sat in silence before Noah spoke. “I’ve never seen Mom react like that before. I can’t believe the things she said to Rylee…to us.”