Page 75 of Van Cort

“You don’t like the thought?” I look deep into her eyes, searching for her answer.

Her mouth wavers, fingers loosening on my neck to slide to my shoulders. “I… ”

“It doesn’t matter.” I let go of her and move away, turning for the track back towards the house.

“Everett?”

I hold my hand out. “Come on. It’s getting late, and we’ve got a long drive home.”

CHAPTER TWENTY - FIVE

BEFORE

LARA – AGE FIFTEEN

West knew something had happened between her and Rhett. She knew he could sense the dynamic between them all was off. It had been weeks, and she was waiting for West to ask, or ask her about the bruises on Rhett, but neither came. It wasn’t her place to tell, either. While she was theirs, she didn’t betray what they did in private.

It didn’t happen often, but kissing, touching and sharing had become a game they played. They may have only spent a small amount of time as pairs alone, but Lara always had a pang of guilt when she was without the other.

She’d gone to town after the first time to make sure they’d be safe from that point on. She shoved the embarrassment down as she paid for the packet of condoms at the store. The girls at school talked about sex, but with the way some of them spoke, she suspected they were bluffing or lying. Sex hurt. And there was blood. Neither of which the other girls had mentioned.

Lara fought with the worry that Rhett didn’t like what they’d done, that perhaps he was too angry or embarrassed. But when she thought about him and everything she knew, deep down she understood that the edge and rawness she witnessed was all him. While his father might have pushed him, that side, that danger and harshness, was what gripped her heart and had her stomach in flips. She still had that smoky bitterness that he tasted of ingrained in her memory, as if that first time had been imprinted on her very being.

He didn’t make her wait long before he sought her out again and put her anxious mind to rest. He’d pulled her into the secret passageway. The usual harsh kiss or roaming hands that had fed them for months was now replaced by a shove to the wall, as if desperation drove him.

The edge of pain was dulled when they had sex, but it was the need she felt from him that made her dizzy; the fear that they might be caught, and the excitement of what they were all doing. That’s what made her core contract and explode around him.

But they still hadn’t told or shared anything with West.

***

Lara’s birthday wasn’t something she especially looked forward to. It was just another day, but she did look forward to spending her time with Rhett and West. They always made her feel special on her birthday. Or West did, anyway. This year, it fell on the weekend, and she could hardly contain her excitement. She’d finally be spending the night – a sleepover party for her sixteenth – with both of her boys.

Her mother made her pancakes, and they had a family breakfast together as she opened her gifts. A pair of pearl earrings that were her mother’s, a new school bag and a hunting knife from her father. She loved them all and made sure to keep the knife and its leather sheath in the bag she packed, along with a swimsuit, a change of clothes and toiletries.

She hugged her mom and dad before she left. They didn’t mind her being out with the boys. They’d had plenty of time to get used to it over the last few years since they moved here. Secretly, she knew that they liked that she had friends. Her mom had given up asking if any of the girls from school were coming over for sleepovers. Lara would only ever want to do that with her best friends, and until now, staying overnight at the Van Cort house wasn’t something her mom or dad had approved.

The thought of staying there tonight, all night, made her toes curl and her heart thump.

Mr Van Cort was out of town, something that wasn’t unusual behaviour, and the cook and the rest of the staff hadn’t governed Rhett or West for some time. They appeared to. They even thought they did. But Rhett was in charge.

She made the walk through the trees to the small trail that led directly out onto the lawn, and her smile grew, spreading over her face until it was a full grin.

She danced up the steps to the main hall.

West was waiting for her, his own eyes brightening when he saw her.

“Happy Birthday!” He came down to meet her, not hesitating to steal her hand and give her a kiss. It was quick and chaste, but his eyes promised more.

“Thank you.” Her heart skipped a beat, and her stomach turned as she looked between West and the hallway. She’d be here all night. “So, what’s the plan? You said you’d handle everything. What are we doing?” As she looked at him more closely, she could see a slight swelling to his jaw.

“Impatient, much? Rhett’s got it planned out.”

“When did your father leave?” Did he hit West, too?

West’s body stiffened, and his hand gripped hers tighter. “A few days ago. Back on Tuesday.”

Okay. So not from his father then.