Pendelton Manor (25 page)

“Trust me, Sophie, obligated is nowhere near how I feel. Now, I think it’s your night to pick the movie.”

Giving him a sly glance, she asked, “What if I pick The Notebook? Last time I checked it still tops the chic lit list.”

“Then I’m going downstairs.”

The next morning, Adrian woke Sophie with a hard swat on her ass and surprised her once again by announcing he had made reservations for brunch for the two of them at Pendeltons posh resort.

“You’re not going golfing with the guys?” she asked as she slid out of bed rubbing her buttock.

“Not this week. Reservations are for eleven o’clock so you just have time to shower and dress. They allow casual, but it’s a pretty plush resort so if you want to get dressed up, you’ll fit right in.”

Excited about going out with him for the first time, she couldn’t help but tease, “Too bad I have to hurry. The curse has left for another month, but I guess we don’t have time to play.”

“Like hell.” Adrian grabbed her around the waist and hauled her kicking and laughing into the shower where he proceeded to show her just how fast he could be while still being thorough. Grabbing her under her thighs, he lifted her and impaled her on his cock in one smooth move before backing her against the shower wall so all the jets were pelting them. Hands tight on her ass, he simply lifted her up and down, relishing the feel of her wet, instant arousal and easy compliance as she wrapped her arms and legs around him.

Sophie shocked herself at how quickly she became aroused and how quickly she climaxed. Barely ten minutes had passed and he was releasing her ass as she was sliding down his hard body like a limp noodle. Another hard swat jolted her out of her post coital stupor and had her glaring up into his smug face while she inwardly sighed in sated bliss.

“Tick tock, get moving. I’m starving and this spread is calling my name.”

“You’d rather gorge on that buffet than golf with us?” James asked when they came downstairs to find all of them there except Rachel who was still sleeping.

Adrian glanced at his friend sharply wondering at the surprise he heard in his tone. Golfing on Sunday afternoons wasn’t written in stone and more often than not one of them couldn’t make it. “Yes, I would. You have a problem with that?”

Sophie cringed at hearing that icy tone again and wondered why Adrian was so irritated by such a simple question. Smiling at James, she hoped he didn’t call Adrian on it and start something before they left. Her body was still humming with pleasure and her stomach rumbling with displeasure. She didn’t want anything to cast a pall over their day.

James winked at Sophie before smiling at Adrian. “Not at all. I stand a better chance of trouncing these two without you there, so by all means, enjoy your brunch.”

“We will. See you later.”

Thankfully, Adrian’s mood improved as they drove into town and he gave her a short history lesson on how the town has developed over the decades and how it’s managed to keep its small town charm while being listed as one of the best vacation destinations in the state.

Not since she had arrived at the Pendelton Manor almost two months ago had Sophie enjoyed a day more. The buffet was indeed sumptuous, so much so she could only manage one trip through before calling it quits. She filled up on the fresh seafood dishes, fruits and salads and barely managed to save room for dessert. Adrian managed to make three trips through, sampling just about everything.

Claiming misery, they walked down along the shore where there was actually a sandy beach instead of a rocky cliff then along a quiet Main street as Adrian told her the history of some of the older buildings. By the time they made their way back to his car parked at the resort, Sophie felt more content than she had felt since losing Emily. As Adrian held the passenger door open for her, she leaned against him tiredly.

“Thank you for today, Adrian. I had a good time.”

“So did I. Hop in before you collapse because if you fall, I’m leaving you there. I don’t have the energy to pick you up.”

Laughing, Sophie slid onto the soft suede seat and leaned her head back. She heard Adrian get in, heard him start the car and pull out then didn’t hear anything else until Adrian’s curses and the squeal of tires woke her with a jarring start.

A quick glance at his face told her not to cry out even though that was her first inclination as he struggled to maneuver the car to the side of the road while he seemed to being careening out of control even though they weren’t going that fast. The scenery didn’t look nearly as picturesque as he pumped uselessly on the brake while he held tightly to the steering wheel in an attempt to control the car and keep it from smashing into the trees on their right.

“The brakes are gone, so brace yourself,” Adrian stated with tightly held control. “As soon as I get far enough off the road, I’ll turn it off, which’ll jar both of us and strip my gears, but we’ll be fine.”

Sophie just nodded and put her hands on the dashboard as he managed to maneuver the car out of the way enough that any cars behind them wouldn’t be in jeopardy of creaming them from behind. Reaching up, he turned the ignition off and the car stopped abruptly with a loud thunk, throwing her forward despite her effort to brace herself.

“Sophie, are you all right? Talk to me, damn it,” he barked as he struggled to free both of them from their seatbelts.

“I’m fine, just a little rattled.” Even though a cold knot had formed in her stomach, she managed to smile reassuringly at him.

Cupping her pale face, he worked at getting his adrenaline and anger under control as he examined her for injuries. “I’m sorry, shit Sophie, I’m so fucking sorry.”

Sophie hadn’t seen his eyes that cold for a while and the sight of them staring at her with a mixture of remorse and anger made her own fear stronger even though the danger was over. “What for? It was an accident.”

“Another accident?” he asked angrily as he dropped his hands from her. “I don’t think so. The brakes felt squishy on our way into town, but I didn’t think anything of it because I just had this car in getting it serviced on Thursday. They did a thorough maintenance check and everything was fine, including the brakes.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh. There’s no way in hell I’ll believe this was an accident.” Pulling out his phone, he pressed a button and waited for an answer. “Rachel, are you and Nora still at the house?”

After telling Rachel they needed a ride back to the manor, he called for a tow before helping Sophie from the car to wait. Thankful for his expert driving on these winding roads, Sophie took a deep calming breath of fresh air and struggled to get her own wildly chaotic emotions under control. Watching Adrian pace angrily, she actually felt sorry for his cousins because when he saw them again, she was afraid all hell was going to break loose.

Trying to defuse his anger and worry, she quipped, “Just so you know, there’s no way you can get mad at me for this one, but you can spank me anyway, if you want.”

Adrian stopped pacing and looked at her, momentarily speechless as he choked on a laugh and felt his heart turn over slowly. That she could joke at a time like this, with the remnants of fear still shadowing her eyes, was it any wonder he had fallen hard and fast? He walked purposely towards her with a glint in his eye that had her backing away with a sputtering laugh.

Holding her hand out as if that would stop him, Sophie stuttered, “Not now and definitely not here!”

“Sophie,” was all he said as he grabbed her and kissed her hard leaving her in no doubt about how much he wanted her. The sound of a car pulling up broke them apart and Rachel and Nora’s voices of concern reminded him how pissed he was. The brakes, if they were deliberately tampered with, would have been nothing he couldn’t handle with ease given his experience with driving these roads and the relatively low speed limits, but having Sophie with him, concern for her had taken a portion of his concentration he couldn’t afford to spare. If he couldn’t have gotten the car stopped before sliding into the forest of trees on their right, it would have been her side of the car and Sophie that would have been harmed. Seeing her so frightened, even though she stoically, admirably, hid it, had just reinforced his resolve to put an end to this.

“We’ll discuss it later,” he told Nora and Rachel as they bombarded them with questions. “Right now, would you please take Sophie back while I wait for the tow truck? I’ll have them give me a ride back.”

“Of course. Come on, Sophie. You look like you could use a big glass of wine.” Nora wrapped her arm around Sophie’s shoulders.

“And a massage. Nora and I give each other massages all the time. Trust us, you’ll feel much better and it’ll help loosen up any tense muscles, preventing you from waking up sore tomorrow,” Rachel offered.

“That’s a good idea. Go with them, Sophie, let them baby you until I get back,” Adrian encouraged her when he saw her hesitate.

“Okay,” she agreed, but just so he wouldn’t worry about her. “See you soon.”

Sophie filled Nora and Rachel in on the way back to the manor while she tried not to fret over Adrian’s reaction when he saw his cousins again. She knew by the look on his face and his tone of voice that he was convinced the brakes were sabotaged and nothing she could say would sway him. She just hoped he wasn’t making a mistake and didn’t cross a line that caused an impenetrable breach between the three of them, especially if it turned out he was wrong.

“You’re worried about him,” Rachel stated as they entered the quiet of the manor.

“Yes. He was so pissed, so sure either Adam or Ash did something to the brakes to make them fail. But I still can’t see either of them trying to actually hurt him. Am I being dense?” Sophie figured these two knew the twins much better than she did and would know if either, or both, were capable of betraying Adrian in such a manner.

Something flashed in Rachel’s chocolate eyes, worry and fear, before she looked away. “Honestly, I don’t know anymore. I have a feeling I’m not a very good judge of character.”

“Well, I am, and I’m telling both of you, there’s no way either of them would do anything to hurt Adrian. Adam’s been upset for weeks by Adrian’s suspicions and it’s made things tense between all of us. I just wish Adrian would quit suspecting foul play and move on. Nicole’s death was an accident, and she was a cheating, selfish bitch, even if we all did love her, at least at one time. Now,” Nora said as they entered the solarium, “let’s tend to you before you tighten up even more. Come over here and strip.”

Sophie stopped by the pool steps and looked at both of them warily. “Now you sound like Adrian. He’s constantly telling me to strip.”

“Yes,” Rachel said soothingly, “but for different reasons. We don’t have any intention of fucking you, just helping you to relax.”

It was hard to refuse their offer, especially since she could feel how tight her shoulders were and the thought of a massage did sound appealing. “I’ve never had a massage before,” she admitted as she toed off her heeled sandals then reached behind her to unzip her skirt before shaking her hips to help it fall to her feet.

“Girlfriend, you have led an entirely too sheltered life, but we’re going to fix that.” Rachel lowered the padded bench Sophie had last seen when she was kneeling on it, fucking a dildo with both Adam and Ash’s assistance.

Nora pulled Sophie’s stretch knit top over her head and removed the small, demi-cupped bra she had bought at their store that she wore under it. “Hey, this looks good on you. I’ll bet Adrian’s eyes practically bulged out of their sockets when he saw you in it.”

“He didn’t get a chance.” Sophie quickly hoisted herself onto the hip-high bench before either one of them could offer to assist her.

“Too bad,” Rachel handed her a very large glass of wine. “Lie on your stomach and keep this at your head.”

The padded leather was cool against her skin as Sophie did as instructed. Watching Nora and Rachel touch each other was a far cry from having them touch her and she felt very naked, very vulnerable and very tense as she propped her chin on her folded arms after taking a large gulp of the sweet wine.

“Relax,” Nora said as she tied Sophie’s hair up before drizzling warm, scented oil on her shoulders and back. “Trust us, Sophie, we’ll make you feel much better.”

That’s what she was afraid of, she thought as she took another fortifying drink. The first touch of four soft hands made her jump, but within moments Sophie had to agree with them, they knew what they were doing. Their hands may be small and soft, but they were still effective at kneading her tight muscles. With a groan, she sank into the pleasure of the deep manipulations of her muscles as one worked her shoulders and the other started at her feet.

“Oh my God,” Sophie moaned, her eyes closed as she absorbed the wonderful sensations of having her first massage. Thumbs dug into the arches of her feet as palms kneaded her shoulders and down her back. Hands moved up her legs slowly to rub and press on her calf muscles as other hands moved up and down her spine, thumbs digging deep to work out every kink.

“Now aren’t you sorry you didn’t trust us?” Nora asked when Sophie moaned again.

“Yes. I’ll never doubt you again as long as you don’t stop for an hour or two.”

“Oh, I think Adrian will be back long before that and something tells me he won’t want to wait too long to have you. If I recall correctly, he’s rather partial to an oil slick body.”

Sophie would be jealous over Rachel’s more intimate knowledge of her lover if she didn’t feel so blissfully relaxed. When both Rachel and Nora’s hands met at her buttocks, Sophie felt so relaxed, so damn good; she didn’t even flinch when they both started kneading her cheeks with oil slick hands.

“Oh, that really feels wonderful,” she admitted on a sigh as she swallowed another swig of wine. It was inevitable, she thought drowsily a few minutes later, that she would get excited from having one of her most sensitive areas kneaded, rubbed and fondled by four hands. Fingers dipped between her legs to lightly graze her sensitive folds, just enough to tantalize, never enough to fully arouse. Just as she got to the point where she had to forcibly keep from lifting into their hands, they removed them and gently helped her turn over.