Relinquishing Liberty (35 page)

Well he had nothing to worry about there. At this point, Shayne was my only reason for breathing. Any time spent apart from him tore at me from the inside, and left me gasping for air until the next time I could see him. I didn’t even know how I made it this far before he came into my life, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him slip through my fingers. He was a part of me now.

As my worries fluttered away, I gave him a salacious grin, and he thrust back into me, penetrating so deep that the head of his cock was slamming into my cervix. It was slightly painful, but I loved every second and every inch of it. My orgasm was beginning to heighten as I tightened around him, and Shayne could tell because he suddenly, and quite eagerly, picked up the tempo.

“Fuck…I’m gonna come. I want you to come with me, Shayne.”

“Ahhh, baby, you feel so fucking good. I love you so much. So fucking much.” He rammed into me twice more, letting out a husky growl before spilling every last drop of his come inside me, and I shuddered violently as I came around his length.

Shayne bent his head down, resting it against mine. I could feel the rapid beat of his heart against my chest, and I too felt like mine was ready to explode. He pulled back to look at me and his lips parted, but before he could say anything I pressed my finger against his mouth, smashing his lips together. Something wasn’t right.

“Do you smell that?”

He inhaled deeply and his brows furrowed in contemplation. “Yeah, it kinda smells like something’s burning.” We both looked at each other, and my eyes widened when I remembered that the oven was still on.

“Son of a bitch! The brownies!”

I slid down the front of Shayne’s body and ran towards the kitchen. There was a cloud of smoke billowing out of the oven, and I knew there was no hope for the now charred baked goods. I shut it off and set the blackened remains on top of the stove. I heard Shayne slide the back door open to air out the smoke.

“Dammit!” I ran my fingers through my damp hair and let out a frustrated growl.

Shayne came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and nibbling on my ear. “Hmm, it sucks that the brownies are ruined, but I must say, I do enjoy seeing your fine, naked ass running around the kitchen. Now if you could just top it off with a little whipped cream…” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

I slapped Shayne across the chest, and yes, he too was completely buck naked, standing there in all his shameless glory. I’m glad he was finding this funny because little did he know I was going to keep his ass barricaded in the kitchen and force him to bake something else for me. As long as he wore that damn sexy apron again…

“This isn’t funny, Shayne. I still have so much to do, and Maddie and Brett are going to be here any minute. Shit, we’re not even dressed!” I grabbed the apron and threw it in his direction, but he caught it just before it smacked him in the face. “Now you have about 30 seconds to come up with the most delicious, mouthwatering dessert and don’t come out of the kitchen until it’s done!”

I could hear Shayne’s laughter filter through the air as I ran down the hall towards the bedroom. I quickly threw my bikini on and slipped a pale yellow sundress over it. My hair was still wet, and with no time left to mess around with it, my fingers moved at lightning speed to pull off a messy fishtail braid. A light dusting of eye shadow, a swift brush of mascara and a thin layer of Shayne’s favorite cherry lip gloss, and I was finally ready to get this party started.

I padded back into the kitchen, and whatever Shayne had thrown in the oven smelled simply divine. I was quite impressed he was actually able to throw something together so fast, but I always had faith in Shayne’s culinary abilities. I hate to admit it, but he was definitely a much better cook than me. In fact, his cooking put me to shame.

I wasted no time and got started on cutting up the fruit I had laid out on the counter, but I didn’t get very far before I heard voices trickling in from outside. I grabbed a dishtowel and wiped the sticky fruit juices from my hands before stepping outside to greet Brett and Maddie.

“Hey guys! I’m so glad you made it!”

I wrapped an arm around both of them and pulled them in for a hug. I noticed Maddie didn’t arrive empty-handed, and bless her heart, it appeared she was holding a dish of gooey brownies. “Maddie, those look great. I didn’t know you knew how to bake.”

I heard Brett chuckling behind her. “Oh yeah, she can bake all right.”

Maddie elbowed him in the ribs, and he let out an audible “oomph” as he grabbed his side. “Go on, tell her. I’m sure she’d
looove
to hear where you got the recipe.”

“Ughhh, fine I didn’t really make them. I bought a box of Little Debbie brownies and took them out of the rappers to make it look like I made them. There. Happy?” She turned and glared at Brett, but he kept on laughing while clutching his ribs.

“Well, whether you made them or not, they’re perfect. I got a little sidetracked and ended up burning a batch of them about 15 minutes ago.”

Maddie raised an eyebrow and smirked at me. “Oh, really? And how, might I ask, did you manage to do that?”

“I’m sure you can use your imagination, Maddie.” I gave her a knowing look and winked.

“That’s my girl!” She nudged her shoulder into mine.

Brett looked back and forth between Maddie and I, and it took him a few seconds to realize what I had implied. “Oh, God. Could you guys at least warn me next time? You know I don’t want to hear about what goes on in the bedroom with you and him.”

“Well, we weren’t exactly in the bedroom…”

“Jesus Christ, enough!” He threw his hands up and plugged his ears. “La la la I can’t hear you.”

He started walking down towards the beach where we had a tent and lounge chairs set up. I shook my head while Maddie and I both giggled.

“So where is lover-boy?” I knew Maddie was dying to meet him, and I felt bad that we had waited this long for everyone to get together.

I heard Brett let out an audible huff as he continued walking further down the beach, and I rolled my eyes at him. He promised he would behave himself today, and so far he wasn’t doing a very good job. I was beginning to think that inviting him may not have been the best idea, but he was going to have to get used to Shayne and I being together sooner or later. Might as well throw them both into the lion’s den and get the inevitable blood bath over with now.

“He should be out any minute now. Last I checked, he was still getting ready. I sort of kept him locked up in the kitchen and made him bake something else, since technically it was
his
fault the brownies burned in the first place. Speaking of…I better go make sure he didn’t burn dessert number two.”

Maddie laughed and just as I turned to head back in, the screen door slid open, and Shayne stepped out onto the deck. He wrapped his arms around my waist and bent down to press his soft lips against mine, before nodding his head in Maddie’s direction.

“Hey, Maddie. Long time no see. How have you been?”

My entire body shuttered as I registered the sound of glass shattering across the deck around us. I spun around to find shards scattered in every direction along with chunks of Maddie’s Little Debbie brownies.
Lovely.
That wasn’t what had me alarmed though. It was the look of sheer terror in Maddie’s eyes that scared the shit out of me. The color had completely drained from her face, and I was worried she was going to pass out, but her body remained rigid, frozen in place.

Shayne stepped forward, and Maddie’s eyes locked onto his, watching his every move. There was no mistaking the fear in her eyes, and it was directed straight at Shayne.
Now what the hell was that all about?

“Maddie, are you okay? Did you cut yourself?” His voice was gentle as he reached out to examine her hands, but she quickly jerked them away and glass crunched beneath her feet as she took a step back.

“Don’t you dare touch me!” She screeched and wrapped her arms around herself in a protective stance. Her whole body was trembling uncontrollably.

“What the hell is going on?” Brett ran up from the beach and his eyes fell on the chaos surrounding us. “Jesus, Maddie, what the hell happened?”

Her eyes were still glued on Shayne, her chest rising and falling rapidly with each staggered breath she took. I stepped in front of her, diverting her attention away from him.

“Maddie, look at me.” It was like my words went in one ear and out the other. I grabbed her face in my hands and forced her to look me in the eyes. “Dammit, Maddie, look at me! Tell me what’s wrong! You look like you’ve just seen a friggin’ ghost!”

Her face softened when she finally peeled her eyes off of Shayne and redirected her petrified gaze towards me. Tears began to pool in her eyes, and her body went slack, but Brett was ready to catch her before she collapsed. I leaned forward, and spoke to her in a more soothing tone, hoping that would help her finally open up to me. “Maddie, please. I can’t help you unless you talk to me. Now tell me what is going on? Why are you looking at Shayne like that?”

What came out next was barely a whisper, but it was enough to forever shatter my heart into a million pieces.

“Do you remember when I told you…about what happened with my brother’s friend at his graduation party?” Her eyes shot over to Shayne who stood baffled, completely clueless as to what she was referring to.

“No.” I breathed out raggedly, not wanting to believe what she was telling me.

No, no, no
…it couldn’t have been him. She must be mistaken. Shayne and Brett aren’t even friends. Although, they had been at one time…but that was beside the point. There was no fucking way he would ever do that. Not this man who carried my heart and spoke of one day watching his own child grow inside me. There’s no way it was him.

I looked back at Maddie and Brett, and with the way they were staring at one another, I could tell there was a silent conversation passing between them. As Brett’s eyes grew wider, I knew that he too had picked up on Maddie’s revelation. Now the remaining part of her secret that she had kept for the last four years was finally out, and for the second time in my life, my world came crashing down around me.

“It was him!? Are you fucking kidding me!?” Brett looked murderous as he pointed a shaky finger in Shayne’s direction.

Maddie gave him a solemn look and simply nodded in confirmation, wiping away the tears that were now streaming down her fragile face.

I watched as Brett’s hands balled into white-knuckled fists at his sides. He looked like a bomb ready to go off at any second. The next thing I knew, he was lunging across the deck and delivering a bone-crushing punch straight into Shayne’s jaw. I screamed as Shayne’s head flew back from the unexpected blow and reached out to pull Brett away from him before he did anymore damage.

“Fuck! What the fuck was that for!?” Shayne rubbed his hand across his jaw, attempting to alleviate some of the pain.

“Don’t even. You know exactly what you did you piece of shit, and now you’re gonna fucking pay for it. I swear to God, Shayne, I’m gonna fucking kill you for what you put my sister through.”

Shayne’s gaze diverted over to me, seeking out answers. “What the hell is he talking about? I never did anything to Maddie.”

I carefully maneuvered over to Shayne, side-stepping the glass at our feet. His arms extended towards me, and I wanted so badly to seek solace in his embrace, but I couldn’t do it. My stomach was tied in knots, and I couldn’t bear to ask him if there was any truth behind what Maddie said, but I knew I had to.

His brows scrunched together, and I could see the pain in his eyes when I wouldn’t let him come any closer. “Why won’t you let me touch you? Dammit, Liberty, what the hell is Brett going on about, and why is Maddie looking at me like I’m the devil?”

I took a deep breath in and forced it breathily out of my lungs. “I need to ask you something Shayne, and I need you to be 100% honest with me. Can’t I trust you enough to be honest with me for once?”

“For once…? Sweetheart, I’ve always been honest with you. Please, just tell me what’s going on?”

God, why did this have to be so hard? I looked in those beautiful emerald eyes seeking out the answer that could make or break us. I tried to keep it together, but the words came out in broken fragments. “Did…did you…ever have sex…with Maddie?”

I watched his eyes grow wide and nervously dart over to Maddie, and that was all the confirmation I needed. All I could do was stand there and watch as my entire future was torn away from me.

“Yes, I did.” Shayne’s chin dipped down. He didn’t even have the decency to look me in the eye while he ripped my heart to shreds. There was a long pause before either one of us spoke, but really there was nothing left to say. The damage was done. There were no words that could possibly fix what he managed to single-handedly destroy in a matter of seconds.

“But that was years ago, Liberty. I don’t understand why you’re even bringing that up now. It was one time, and we were both drunk. It meant nothing. All of my past hookups meant nothing. You’ve known that from the very beginning.”

My hand smacked across the side of his face with so much force I wouldn’t be surprised if it was broken. But I didn’t care about the pain that was now radiating throughout my fingers and shooting up my wrist. It didn’t compare to the hurt that he not only caused me, but Maddie, as well. My heart ached for what she had gone through. For that poor, innocent baby. What kind of sick bastard would do something like that to her? Well, apparently he was standing right in front of me.

“Did your unborn baby mean nothing to you!? Were you not man enough to step up and be a father? Did you think you’d just leave Maddie to deal with it on her own? God, Shayne, you disgust me!” Anger sliced through my words.

“Wait…baby?” He whispered. His disconcerted gaze slowly passed between Maddie and I. Was he seriously going to play that card? Pretend he had no idea what the hell anyone was talking about?

“Yes, Shayne. Baby. B-A-B-Y. You know? That thing that happens when a man and woman have unprotected sex?” My heart sank as I spoke those last few words.