Page 75

Tipping back my head, I found he only had eyes for her once again. He fed her his cum with a soft grunt, a tremor rippling over him as he finished.
In her.
Not me.
I ought to have been thrilled by the knowledge Ash had chosen the woman to fulfill his dreams, the ones I wanted for him more than anything, so why did my stomach clench? Why did pain lash at my chest like a knife? Why did I frown when I should have been smiling?
My backing out of Skylar’s body didn’t draw either of their attention.
The feelings coursing through me—I’d never dealt with them before. My inner strength flagged. I was fucking weak.
I stumbled from the living room, intent on the half-bath around the corner.
Shutting down the shit stirring inside me didn’t come as easily as usual. For the first time, I struggled to grasp my strong identity, the usual fortitude whenever my heart threatened overwhelming emotion.
I couldn’t be vulnerable.
I wouldn’t.
Mind set on a course of action and jaw clenched, I cleaned up and wet a hand towel for Skylar.
Dick tucked away, shirt tucked in, and belt firmly clasped, I returned to the living room and put back together a form of armor I desperately needed against the unsettled roiling inside me.
Ash sat on the edge of the couch, gently running his fingertips over Sky’s face. Both smiled with the light of a thousand suns while I cast shadows like the moon in a solar eclipse.
I might be a coldhearted bastard, but I wasn’t an asshole. Continuing with my approach, I held out the towel. Ash took it with a flashed grin of thanks, and I watched him attend to her how I normally would have done with our hookups while he escaped to the shower.
Skylar kept her eyes on me as he wiped gently between her thighs, murmuring something about how perfect she was, how much she pleased him…
Angel.
Sunshine.
I gritted my teeth against the choking need to rip him away from her regardless of the hearts in her eyes peering up at me—
“That was lovely, Rhett,” Skylar whispered, her emerald orbs luminous and gorgeously sated. Fucking stunning. Breath stealing.
I held steady against the desire to loosen the rigidity I’d wrapped myself in and soak in the warmth she offered.
“Your dick did feel absolutely delicious inside me,” she said and giggled, glancing once more at Ash. “You were so right. No wonder you’ve held onto him for so long. I will too—or, um, I would if given the chance.” She focused on me once more, the question she surprisingly didn’t spew without doubt on the tip of her loose tongue.
My guts twisting, I ignored the obvious request and faced Ash who had finally turned his focus on me. “I’m tired.” My words came out abrupt as I spun and walked away, clamping down whatever shit emotions stirred to life inside me.
“Rhett…” Ash called after me.
“I’m going to bed.” I prided myself in not muttering or sounding like a petulant child who’d had his favorite toy taken away from him.
Because that’s how it fucking felt—and I despised the churning in my stomach.
It is what it is.
Mom’s voice echoed from the grave, tightening my jaw. I’d made my bed—but that didn’t mean I had to lay in it and wallow.
Coolness eased over my mind as I stifled and locked up any thought but sliding between our sheets and closing my eyes.
I stripped down and put every article of clothing in its proper place. Brushed my teeth. Climbed into bed in my usual spot but faced the wall and waited. I wasn’t surprised when their hushed whispers filled the room a few moments later.
Clothing rustled.