Forbidden Harmony (Harmony Falls, Book Three), page 30
Addison nodded as Kira’s mouth dropped open. “You got a piercing?”
“No, not that day,” Addison said. “Preacher wouldn’t let the other guy pierce me.”
“Oh,” Kira said. “Wait – what do you mean not that day? Did you get a piercing?”
“Yes, Preacher pierced me.”
“Holy shit,” Kira repeated. “Did you get your belly button pierced?”
“Um…”
“Let me see it,” Kira said. “I’ve been thinking about piercing mine.”
“It’s not my belly button,” Addison said. “Preacher pierced my nipple.”
The look on Kira’s face was priceless. “Your nipple?”
“Yes. I booked an appointment with Preacher a few days after I got my tattoo. After he pierced my nipple, we, uh, had sex in his shop again. A couple days later, I asked him if he would give me some lessons on sex, but he refused because he said I would want more from him than just sex.”
“So, why are the two of you still having sex?” Kira said.
“After he turned me down, I went to the shop in Willington to get my other nipple pierced. I like the way it looks and figured why not, you know? But Preacher showed up, literally threw me over his shoulder like a caveman, and carried me out of there before I could. He said I wasn’t allowed to let anyone pierce my body but him.”
“Oh, he likes to pierce you, all right,” Grace said.
“Gracie, behave,” Addison said.
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re sleeping with him now. You got a tattoo, your nipples pierced, and you’re sleeping with my brother’s best friend – the town’s,” Kira made air quotes with her fingers, “‘bad boy’. Who are you and what have you done with Addison?”
“Not nipples. Nipple,” Addison said. “I only have one pierced.”
“But you’re gonna get Preacher to pierce your other one?” Kira said.
“Yeah, probably.”
Kira turned to Grace. “This is an Invasion of the Body Snatchers situation, right?”
Grace studied Addison. “Tell us everything, honey. Start from the beginning.”
“Okay, so if you got into a fight on Tuesday and agreed to end the lessons,” Grace said half an hour later, “why was he in your bed last night?”
Addison sipped at her second cup of coffee. “He had a migraine. He showed up at my door yesterday afternoon.”
“He knew you had experience with migraines because of your mom?” Kira said.
“He didn’t know about my mom,” Addison said. “He texted Gideon and said he was on his way – I guess he usually stays with Gideon when he has a migraine – but he ended up at my house.”
“That’s kind of sweet. He wanted to be with you when he wasn’t feeling well,” Kira said.
Addison shook her head. “No, he wanted sex.”
Kira stared at her. “When he had a migraine?”
“Yeah. Sometimes a migraine can be stopped, or the pain is eased a little, with an orgasm.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“I’m not,” Addison said. “It’s the rush of endorphins.”
“So, you fucked his migraine away?” Kira said with a grin. “I wish I could have been there for the conversation when Preacher came in.”
She puffed out her chest and mimicked Preacher’s deep voice. “Hey, Sunshine. I got me a big bad migraine so why don’t you ride my dick and make it all better.”
“It wasn’t like that. When he first got here, he was in a lot of pain and could hardly walk. I barely got him into bed before he was vomiting.”
“Poor Preacher,” Kira said.
“And he didn’t ask me for sex,” Addison said. “I was the one who asked him if an orgasm would help – it doesn’t work for everyone. He said yes but I knew he was in too much pain to have sex so I, uh, gave him a blowjob.”
“Aren’t you a sweetheart,” Kira said.
“Wait – so he didn’t ask you to make him come?” Grace said.
“No.”
“So, he showed up at your place instead of Gideon’s so that you could give him sex and make his migraine go away, but then he didn’t tell you that sex would help him. Is that what you’re saying?”
“Well, I…” Addison studied her coffee cup. “Maybe he just came to my place because it’s closer. Anyway, the orgasm helped enough for him to sleep. Around midnight, he woke up and still had a migraine. It wasn’t as bad so this time we had sex.”
“So, he still had a migraine this morning?” Grace asked. “Because he looked pretty chipper when he walked into the kitchen, grabbed your ass, and stuck his tongue down your throat in front of your ex-fiancé.”
“Grace!” Addison said as her cheeks flamed hotter.
“Well, did he?”
“No, he was feeling better this morning.”
“But you still had sex,” Grace said.
“Maybe?” Addison said.
Kira laughed and Grace grinned at her. “They had sex.”
“Fine! We had sex this morning too, but he initiated it,” Addison said. “He, um, he has a large sex drive, I think.”
“Does that bother you?” Grace asked.
“God, no, I really like it.” Addie paused. “Does that make me a slut?”
Gracie laughed. “Oh, honey, no. You are not a slut. Spill it, Addie. I know you’re dying to give us details.”
“You can’t say anything to anyone.”
“We won’t,” Kira said. “Tell us, Addie.”
“Sex with Preacher is amazing,” Addison said. “He has a really large, uh, penis, but he always makes sure I’m ready first and it never hurts to have sex. I didn’t think that was possible, you know? I have an orgasm every time we have sex. Usually I have two. One time I had three!”
Grace grinned and said, “Atta boy, Preacher.”
“I’d never had oral sex before and -”
“Wait, what?” Grace stared at her. “Harrison never went down on you? Is that what you just said?”
“He said proper women didn’t want that sort of thing,” Addison said.
“Jesus Christ,” Grace said. “That guy is such a fuckhead.”
“Preacher, um, goes down on me all the time. Like, almost every time we have sex,” Addison said, “and you would not believe the different sex positions he knows. Harrison would only do two – missionary and me on top.”
“Boring,” Grace said.
“So, are your sex lessons with Preacher back on?” Kira said.
“I… well, I don’t think so,” Addison said. “He didn’t bring up the topic of more lessons, and he definitely doesn’t want a relationship with me so…”
“Do you want a relationship with him?” Grace said.
“No, of course not,” Addison said.
“You sure?”
“Positive,” Addison said. “Preacher and I don’t have anything in common other than sex and he’s been very clear all along that he doesn’t want to be my boyfriend.”
“From what you told us, the way he acted when he realized Lucas was at your place was boyfriend-like,” Kira said.
Addison shook her head. “No, he just doesn’t like Lucas. It had nothing to do with me.”
She chewed on her bottom lip as Kira and Grace glanced at each other. She hadn’t told them about Preacher demanding she not sleep with anyone else. What was the point? It didn’t mean he wanted to be exclusive. They weren’t using condoms… of course neither of them wanted the other to sleep with someone else. That was a quick way to an STI.
“Okay, well since your lessons with Preacher are over, who are you going to wow with your new skills?” Kira said.
Addison held onto her smile with grim determination. “Oh, uh, I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it.”
“You should,” Kira said. “Why don’t we have a ladies’ night out tonight?”
Addie’s stomach dropped but if she and Preacher were finished, and she was pretty sure they were, sitting around feeling sorry for herself wasn’t the way to go.
He might want to have sex again if he gets another migraine.
Yeah, maybe, but how pathetic did it make her to not sleep with anyone else while she waited to see if Preacher might come to her for sex when he had a migraine.
“Addie? Do you want to? You don’t have to,” Kira said.
“Yeah, let’s,” Addie said. “It’ll be good for me to, uh, experiment sexually.”
“We should go to The Hitching Post,” Kira said. “We can find a sexy cowboy for Addie to ride.”
“Okay,” Addison said.
“Honey,” Grace said, “are you sure that’s what you want?”
Addison stared into her coffee. “Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Addie said. “It’s over with Preacher now so why shouldn’t I have some fun with someone else? I’ve spent the last decade having boring sex with Harrison – don’t I deserve to have fun?”
“Yes,” Grace said. “If that’s what you really want. Are you certain it’s over with Preacher?”
“Of course I am.”
“I only ask because he showed up at your apartment yesterday and you had sex twice.”
“Because he had a migraine. We wouldn’t have had sex if he didn’t have a migraine, okay? I’m not going to sit around and wait for Preacher to have a migraine in the hopes that I might get laid. I’m young and I’m single and I… I want to have meaningless sex with a damn cowboy who I’ll never see again.” Her voice was too loud.
“All right,” Grace said.
“Good. I’m going to have a quick shower and then we’ll go to the farmer’s market.”
She gulped down the rest of her coffee and escaped to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and stared at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were red, and she felt sick to her stomach. What was she doing? She didn’t want to have sex with anyone but Preacher.
If you keep thinking that way, you’re going to die a spinster. Preacher doesn’t want you for anything more than sex and even that is done. It was only because of his migraine that he –
I know! Shut up! she snarled at her inner voice.
She rubbed at her suddenly aching forehead. She didn’t want to date Preacher. Well, maybe she did but that was just stupid. Even if he was interested in something more than sex, things would never work out between them. She was too much of a goody-two shoes for him and sooner or later he would get bored. It was best to stop now before she really got attached to him.
Attached? That’s a funny word for love, Addison.
She froze before taking a deep breath. God, she didn’t love Preacher. She was just being… stupid.
She took off her robe and stepped into the shower. She was young and single, and her nights of mind-blowing sex with Preacher were over. She had just broken off a ten-year relationship and it wasn’t smart to jump right into another. She would do what young, single women did and find a few different guys to bang. She had the skills now, thanks to Preacher. She didn’t have to worry that they would find her boring.
Do you, though? Are you any better in bed? What kind of lessons did he actually give you other than making you come repeatedly?
She was better. She knew she was. She could make Preacher come and he was the hottest guy she knew. She just had to act with other men the way she did with Preacher in bed.
What if they can’t make you come the way he does?
She swallowed hard. They would. Probably. Preacher couldn’t be the only guy who made her come. He just couldn’t be. The gods wouldn’t be that cruel, would they?
What do you think Preacher will do when he finds out you went to a bar to pick up a guy? He told you that you weren’t allowed to sleep with anyone else, remember?
She ducked her head under the hot spray and ignored the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She and Preacher were finished. She wasn’t doing anything wrong by going to the bar tonight.
Chapter 28
“Hey,” Gideon said when Preacher strolled into his back yard. Preacher grabbed a beer from the cooler and opened it as Gideon flipped the steaks on the barbeque. “You look pretty good for a guy who had a migraine yesterday. I was surprised when you agreed to come over. Normally you sleep most of the day after a migraine.”
Preacher shrugged. “I called Mark in so I could work on his sleeve. He was supposed to come in yesterday afternoon, and I felt bad about cancelling.”
“You did a tattoo today?” Gideon paused with a foil wrapped potato in each hand.
“Yeah, it’s why I’m a little late. I just finished up the appointment.”
“You tattooed?” Gideon repeated.
“Yes. What’s the big deal?”
“When I talked to Addison yesterday, she said your migraine was pretty bad. Said you were throwing up and could barely walk.”
“I feel fine now,” Preacher said. “Addison helped me.”
“Oh yeah?” Gideon raised his eyebrow at him. “What did she do for you that I don’t?”
An image of Addison riding him flickered through his head. He cleared his throat as Gideon laughed.
“Jesus, you’re blushing, Preacher. What did she do to you?”
“Fuck off, Gideon.”
“Why did you go to Addison’s place anyway? You told me Wednesday that it was over with her.”
“Her place was closer,” Preacher said.
“Not that much closer.”
“Close enough.”
“Or maybe you went over there because you’re falling in love with her,” Gideon said.
“Have you lost your fucking mind? It was just a fling, okay? She wanted to try fucking a guy who wasn’t a goddamn pussy like her ex-fiancé. I agreed. Now it’s over.”
“Then why did you go to her place when you had a migraine?”
“Did you miss the part where I told you to fuck off, Gideon?” Preacher said.
“Answer the question, Preacher.”
“Don’t pull that cop shit on me,” Preacher said. “It was just sex and now it’s over. I only went there last night because her place was closer, and I didn’t feel like barfing in the goddamn car.”
“Right,” Gideon said as he flipped the steaks again.
Preacher scowled at his back before taking a drink of beer. “Where’s your woman tonight?”
“Grace went out with Kira and Addison for a ladies’ night.”
Preacher stiffened. “What do you mean a ladies’ night?”
“You know what a ladies’ night is,” Gideon said.
Preacher relaxed in his chair, petting Tank’s side when the big dog wandered over and leaned against him. Addison hated going to the bar and she didn’t drink much. Neither did Grace or Kira. They were probably at Addison’s place knitting and watching those ridiculous chick flicks. He took another drink of beer and smiled inwardly. Maybe when Grace got back, he’d head over to Addison’s. Remind her how to have fun that didn’t involve yarn. He would eat her sweet pussy to say thank you for helping him with his migraine.
“What time do you expect Grace home?” he said.
“We’re supposed to go for a hike at the Falls early tomorrow morning to beat the heat, so she said she’d be home by eleven. Of course, The Hitching Post is ten miles outside of town and she never factors in driving time so it’ll probably be closer to eleven thirty or midnight.”
“They’re at The Hitching Post?” Preacher said.
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why are they at the goddamn Hitching Post?” Preacher snapped.
“Ladies night, remember?” Gideon said with a shrewd look at him. “I believe they’re looking for a cowboy for Addison to take home and… ride.”
Preacher stood up so quickly, he knocked his chair over and Tank made a startled ‘woof’. “Like fucking hell, she is.”
He was pretty sure he might start foaming at the mouth, he was so pissed.
“What do you care?” Gideon said. “You and Addison were just fucking, remember?”
“She is not going anywhere near a fucking cowboy.” Preacher set his beer down. “I gotta go.”
“What are you doing, Simon?” Gideon said. “You and Addison won’t work.”
“I have to go,” Preacher repeated.
He knew what Gideon was saying was true, but he didn’t care. The thought that some fucking cowboy had his hands all over Addison was filling him with pure rage. He stalked out of the yard, climbed onto his bike, and roared down the road in a cloud of exhaust fumes and dust.
“Addison?”
Addison looked up from her glass of wine and smiled at the man sitting next to her. “Sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you wanted another glass of wine.”
“Oh no, thank you. I’m good with this one.”
“Okay.” The man gave her a generous smile and she studied his tanned face and white teeth. He was handsome enough – okay, fine, he was downright sexy and his tall, lean body was the stuff that sex dreams were made of – but she felt nothing for him.
She looked around discreetly for Grace and Kira. They had gone to the ladies’ room half an hour ago and hadn’t returned. They’d only been here for a couple of hours, but she was ready to go home. This was a mistake. She couldn’t think of anything but Preacher and it wasn’t fair to the handsome and very nice cowboy sitting next to her.
“Your friends are on the other side of the bar studiously pretending to ignore us,” the cowboy said with another smile. “Go on and join them, I won’t be insulted. Disappointed but not insulted.”
“I’m sorry, uh…”
Shit! What was his name?
“Nathan,” the cowboy said.
“I’m sorry, Nathan,” Addison said. “It’s not you, it’s me.”
He made a face before laughing, and she blushed.
“Oh God, I’m such an idiot. Listen, you’re really good looking and nice but… this isn’t right for me.”
“What isn’t right for you?” Nathan said.
“Finding some random cowboy, taking him home, and riding him,” she blurted out before giving him a horrified look. “Oh God, tell me I didn’t just say that out loud.”
