The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play, #1) (129)

“It’s you, huh?” Gruff scratched his ever-graying beard. “And what are your intentions with my girl. You gonna make her an honest woman?”

I groaned. We were barely eighteen and here Gruff was talking of marriage. I wondered what he’d think if he knew Ever was technically engaged. To the love of his cousin’s life no less. I suddenly wished I had the foresight to hide Gruff’s shotgun before having this conversation. I knew better than to say anything, and Ever certainly did too. The only loose cannon was Jamie, who had abandoned his task to watch our little scene with zero emotion in his gaze.

“Actually, she’s perfect the way she is,” Ever said, stealing my attention back as he grabbed my hand and pulled me close. Holding my gaze, he added, “But I’m hoping one day she’ll make an honest man out of me.”

While I melted at Ever’s promise, Gruff simply grunted. I realized that was all the approval Ever was going to get, but it was good enough for me. Knowing Gruff, the jury would be out until the day Ever kept his word, and even then, Gruff would always have one eye on Ever and one finger on the trigger.

“I’ve got a twelve-gauge filled with bullets, and one of them has got your name on it, boy.”

I snickered. “Do you even remember his name, old man?”

“Of course, I do,” Gruff said with a grunt. “It’s Boy.”

I palmed my face while Gruff left Ever and Jamie in stitches.

“I’ve got a bullet for that one, too,” Gruff went on as he glared Jamie’s way. “If he ever makes a move on you.”

Jamie’s laughter quickly died as his expression turned to shock and wariness.

“And even if he doesn’t, something tells me that he isn’t green to breaking hearts. Probably deserves a couple of them.”

“More like five or ten,” Ever instigated.

At Jamie’s scathing glare, I nudged Ever, warning him with my eyes to shut the hell up. We both knew how petty Jamie could get when provoked.

A moment later, I was proven right when a devious smile took over Jamie’s face. “Did Four and Ever tell you the good news?”

My jaw dropped and Ever’s hardened. Fortunately, Gruff missed our reactions as he focused on Jamie.

“What would that be?” Gruff asked.

Ever and I both tensed as we prepared for Jamie to spill the beans about Ever’s engagement.

With a casual tone, he said, “My uncle is hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, and we were all hoping you’d come.”

“Jamie, that’s less than a week away. I’m sure Gruff already has plans,” I protested.

My heart plummeted to my stomach when Gruff said, “No, I don’t actually. My son will be spending the holiday with his wife’s family. I’m free.” Silence that became more awkward by the second fell as Gruff waited for me to extend the invitation myself. “Of course, I don’t have to come if you don’t want me to…”

Oh, God. I knew denying Gruff an invitation would crush him. Ever knew it too—and so did his cunt of a cousin who smugly stood by with his tatted arms crossed.

“No, we’d love it if you came. It would mean so much.”

Gruff then regarded Ever, who simply flashed him a convincing smile. “I guess it’s settled then. I’m coming to Blackwood Keep.”




“You have to be quiet, princess.” Ever, with his hand now covering my mouth to silence my cries, drove into me from behind, making the old floorboards creak. “Why’d you have to come in here, huh? You know what the man said. No hanky-panky.” He punctuated his teasing with another hard thrust and groaned. “You feel so fucking good, Archer.”

It was true I’d gotten myself into my current predicament. I’d snuck into the living room innocently, wanting to spend the night in Ever’s arms rather than alone in Gruff’s drafty spare room, but that had quickly turned into the expressly forbidden. Jamie had taken the sofa while Ever had made a pallet on the floor just a few feet away. I didn’t mind one bit and wormed my way under the blankets without waking him. As I’d started to drift off into a sound sleep, I’d found myself with my face down, ass up, and Ever’s talented fingers and tongue bringing me to the most intense orgasm I’d had yet. Now I was lying on my belly with Ever’s weight pinning me down as he pounded me without mercy or fear that we’d be caught.

“I only wanted to cuddle,” I whimpered.

“No, you wanted to be fucked.”

I moaned when he palmed my breast and bit the shell of my ear.

“Didn’t you?”

“No.”

He suddenly stopped to turn me over and look into my eyes. “No?”

Enjoying his sudden uncertainty, I wrapped my legs around his waist, and with a sly smile, I reached between us and led his cock back to my entrance. “I wanted you to make love to me.”

Never looking away, he reentered me slowly, letting me feel every hard inch until I was full. “It won’t matter if I take you hard and fast or soft and slow, princess. With us, it will always be making love.”

We came together soon after with only our hands clapped over the other’s mouths and the sound of Jamie’s snores to muffle Ever’s grunts and my cries.

“You smell so good,” he praised once I was resting safe and satisfied in his arms. He’d just finished cleaning me up after spilling on my skin in the nick of time. The close call seriously made me consider birth control.