Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Pearl

I lose my breath when he starts rocking into me and wrap my arms around him so I can hang on to his solidness. The way he moves pushes me past the point I can hold back, my orgasm imminent. My breasts grow heavy, my lungs start to seize up, and tension builds in the center of my body making it seem like I am going to break apart from all of it. My heartbeat pounds in my clit where he is rubbing me to completion.

"Oh my…Spade! I…"

He takes my mouth with his again as everything around me goes supernova and showers of golden stars flash behind my closed eyelids as my body tightens up around his. The muscles around my entrance pulse and undulate around him, working the hard length before everything becomes a lot wetter. I cry out his name over and over again as I cum over and over again until finally, the last few convulsions rack my body.

My world spins one more time as Spade rolls us again so that I am lying stretched out on top of him. I realize we need to talk about what just happened. I know there are a hundred things I need to say but my eyelids grow heavy, and a warmth settles over me like a comfort I've never known before. It has me drifting off to sleep before I can say anything else to Spade.

The next time I open my eyes, it's because my brother's voice is echoing down the hallway. I smile at the fact I am so lucky, I have this wonderful man offering me everything I could ever ask for and my brother just came back. How could I ask for…?

Oh shit! My brother!

I look around but there is no sign of Spade except the indention in the pillow beside mine. I jump out of bed and grab his discarded shirt from last night before sneaking a look out into the hallway. As soon as I am sure the coast is clear I go running across to the room I've been staying in while I've been at Spade's. And that's when I hear the two of them talking.

"How has she been?"

"Uh, she's alright. Everything is alright."

There is a heavy pause that has me holding my breath.

"Is everything alright? You seem… squirrelly."

"I'm fine. Pearl's fine. Everything is fine. How was your trip?"

Roman isn't going to be dissuaded. "Have you and my sister been…?"

"No!" The denial isn't all that much of a surprise, but it still hurts to hear him say we haven't been doing exactly what my brother thinks we have been doing. "No…I…it's not Pearl."

It's not?!

"It's not?" My brother echoes my question. Is Spade trying to say he slept with someone, but it wasn't me…because Roman asked? Does he want to hide us from Roman? Is there even an us?

"It's not…," there is a silence that makes me think Spade is whispering something to my brother. I rush to my room and grab the first thing I can find, which happens to be a pair of leggings, before shoving them on and going back out into the hall to hear what is being said.

"…you don't know about Pearl, Roman." Oh God! Oh God! Is he…?

I come stumbling out, almost killing myself in the process of trying to get to the two men before Spade can tell my brother the secret I told him. Both men turn to look at me like I might be drunk. I look from one to the other and then back at Spade with hurt in my eyes. Why would he say something about The Secret?

Roman gives me a big grin and comes over to drop a kiss on my cheek before pulling away from me. I turn worried eyes up to him. "Spade told me everything."

"He…he did?"

"Well, not everything." Spade's voice cuts through my worry and makes my stomach roll.

"Not everything?" What the hell is being said now? Roman asks the question out loud but I am screaming it in my head. "But you already told me about her not wanting to go back to school because she wants to write. What more could there be?"

What? I shake my head trying to figure out what just happened. It wasn't what I thought happened.

"She's found a new place to live."

"She has?" "I have?" Both me and Roman say the words, as Spade nods.

"Where?"

Yeah, where?

"With me."

My heart starts thumping faster and a sense of hope rises up inside of me. Is he asking me to stay…with him? Like officially and all that?

Hope swells in my chest so much it takes me more than a moment to realize Roman is not having the same reaction I am over the news.

"You see, when you came in and asked if I had been with your sister. I said what I said because I didn't want you mad at Pearl. She didn't do anything. I did everything. It was me. We…we're together."

"You bastard! You…"

Roman goes after Spade but I've already flung myself in front of him. "No!" I turn to Spade after I"m sure Roman isn't going to try to take a punch at him. "I was just as responsible as Spade over what happened so if you are going to be mad at him, you have to be mad at me too."

Roman looks from me to Spade for a long time. I hold my breath until I think I am going to pass out from air deprivation and then….

"Do you love her?"

"I do." I gasp and turn to stare at Spade. He didn't hesitate or stumble at all.

"You do?"

"I do. I want… forever with you. It might have taken me a long time to realize that. I might have held back for a long time because I didn't want to lose my friendship with your brother but…I love you, beautiful."

"I…I love you too." I wrap my arms around him and kiss him hard. "I thought…I'm sorry. I thought you might have told him about…I should have known you would never hurt me like that. Not you." I untwine myself from Spade and turn to face my brother, "Which is why I am going to tell him myself so it never comes up again."

My brother looks at me with narrowed eyes and I grab Spade's hand for strength. "I… I have to tell you something Roman. I want you to know I love you and I would never do anything to hurt you."

"Is this about Spade?"

I shake my head no.

"Is this about mom and dad?"

Oh shit. I nod yes very slowly.

"I think I know what you are about to say and I can assure you…you have nothing to worry about…"

"No, you don't. You don't understand…"

"Dad came and saw me while I was in Spain, Pearl."

All the color washes from my face. "He did."

He nods this time.

"He was trying to start shit. Told me the whole thing about mom and how she wasn't faithful to him."

"Oh God." I thought I could do it but now that it's all out in the open and he was the one who said it I"m not sure if I'm going to be alright after all. Maybe that's why he doesn't care about me and Spade -because he doesn't care about me anymore.