The Satin Sash

“Move slowly, Heath. See if she likes it.”

Heath moved. Slowly. His fingers sank into her skin at her waist and his rocking motions gained pace as he set a rhythm. It was merciless; each time he was fully seated, he was tearing her apart. She liked it. She wanted it. Grey licked her lips, his breathing arduous on her face. “I can feel every little ripple of your pussy.”

She tossed and wormed and bucked, pushing at Grey with her hips, her noises. “Fuck me. Fuck me like Heath.” He thrust faster. Both of them plunged faster. Heath in. Grey out. Then together. Fattening her, spreading her, swelling her. She had never thought it possible to feel so full. Her body tensed. Heath’s mouth was on her shoulder, moist on her ear. “Cat, baby, you’re so tight here.”

Toni writhed, her mouth finding places to lick, her hands searching, one behind her, one in front, one for Heath, one for Grey, and she was chanting, chanting in doughy, breathy murmurs, “I love you.”A chant to Grey, to Heath, to what they did to her and to how they made her feel.

Heath was hammering, grunting as he took that tight, hot, dirty place, and Grey went taut when she began to scream. Coming, Heath twitched inside her as he was drained of air and strength and his juice. Toni bellowed exultantly, her orgasm overtaking her, tremor after tremor. Heath continued to push into her ass, stimulating her nerve endings, while Grey went motionless inside her. He grabbed her head, bracing himself for climax. He gave his cry into her mouth, his body spasming, three shots of milk blasting against her walls, drenching her with his heat. And finally, they fell, and swam into a deep black sleep.

Chapter Twelve

She woke with the sheets tangled around her ankles, and the bright sunlight pouring through the parted drapes.The room was cheery and quiet—and the bed was empty except for her.

Pushing her hair back, she brought her knees up beneath the blanket and sat up. Physically, she felt comfortably relaxed, but inside she felt like she’d been punched. She could not shake the sensation as she stepped into the shower, lathered her hair, scrubbed her body. One thought alone seemed to overtake her mind: Heath was leaving today.

She’d known him so little, and yet at the same time, she knew him so much!

How could things change so fast? How could you meet someone and give so much of yourself so soon?

Petulant, selfish, or greedy as it may seem . . . she did not want him to go.

When she stepped out of the shower, she dressed in one of the embroidered cotton dresses he’d given her, hoping he would remember her in it. She knew she was not going to forget him.

Emerging from the closet, she spotted Grey out on the terrace, his posture relaxed, arms crossed as he scanned the blue horizon. Water lapped at the dark ocean rocks, morning yachts floating in the distance.The breeze played with his hair, and she felt a wrench of longing so deep she had to pause to take a breath before leaning on the banister next to him.

Grey, don’t ever let me hurt you. It would be my suicide, my death. . . .

He eyed her profile with a furrowed forehead. “You all right?”

Her smile was weak, but at least it was a smile. “Of course.”

“Heath’s gone. He took a commercial flight, wanted to get a head start.”

Something fragile and new threatened to break inside her. Hiding the bleak expression on her face, she circled a pattern with her finger on the banister. “I expected I would get to say good-bye.”

Grey watched her with a calm but intent gaze. She wished he weren’t so perceptive. “He doesn’t like good-byes.That’s Heath.”

Her arms went tight around herself, almost meeting at her back as she tipped her head to his. “Where is he flying?”

“Chicago, to pick up his things.Tomorrow to Vancouver.”

She turned away, attempting to clear her thoughts. Down on the beach, a couple strolled past, holding hands. She clung to their image like a lifeline and watched them in silence. “And what time do we arrive in Chicago?”

“Late afternoon.”

Perhaps he didn’t ask why, because he knew, or perhaps because he didn’t want to know, but Toni offered it, anyway. “I want to say good-bye, Grey,” she said in an odd croak.

The broken admission didn’t mean anything else, except that she couldn’t bear to part like this. They had shared moments, and they had shared lovers, and though they had been joined by Grey at the beginning, now they were joined in ways she couldn’t fully comprehend.

But the anger in Grey’s eyes flared bright, though fleeting. As soon as it appeared, it faded into coolness; his eyes became like fog. He seized her elbow in his hand, a dangerous muscle ticking in his jaw. “Fuck him well and hard,Toni, ’cause that’s the last time you’ll be fucking him.” Toni was ready to shout and deny his accusation, more than ready to fight with him, when he tonelessly added, “Here. He left this for you.”

Her stomach constricted when he draped the familiar shimmering red around her neck. The cool material slid sensuously across her nape, making her heart hammer against her ribs.

When Grey stepped away and disappeared into the house, the tip dangling across one shoulder was all Toni could hang on to.

Clutching it on an end, she yanked it off and gathered it in one hand. She’d never thought the sight of such a soft, pretty thing could ever render her so wretched.

Heath had left her sash.