The Last Woman (All That Remains #1) (15 page)

“Perfect. A comedian,” a
second man remarks.

Everyone’s a critic.

“We want to save you,” the
giant states.

“That’s sweet of you, and I
appreciate the gesture, truly, but we were doing fine until you attacked us.
What did you do to him?” I nod toward Micah. They have sat him upright and tied
his hands.

“Tased him. Don’t worry, he’ll
be fine. My name is Cole, and this is Steve.”

“I’d be lying if I said it’s
nice to meet you.”

Cole laughs, grabbing my arm
and pulling me along. “You’ll thank us eventually. Is this man your boyfriend?”
That was the last question I expected.

“No, you’re in luck. He’s
single.”

“We aren’t queers,” Steve
snaps.

Uh-Oh. “Neither are we. Where
are you taking us?” They load us into the back of a maroon van. Micah moans as
he starts to come around.

“To see Abraham,” Cole
replies.

“Who is Abraham?”

“You’ll see. Now shut up or
I’ll duct tape your mouth,” Steve threatens.

I can take a hint. I lean back
against the wall of the van and try not to panic as we pull away.

Abraham

I’m not sure which man is
going to be more trouble. I suspect Troy is a homosexual, but Micah is
combative and unruly. He must be brought to heel. I’ve decided to house them
with Jennifer. I’ll be able to observe whether they’re attracted to women and
see if they’ll attempt to fornicate with her.

I kneel at the end of my bed
to pray. “Thank you, Lord, for bringing these lost sheep to us. We’ll teach
them your word and guide them to the path of righteousness and salvation. Please,
grant me the strength to do what needs to be done, no matter how unpleasant the
task may be. Amen.”

Yes, thank you God, for tasers
and loyal, easily led, scared people. The next few months should prove entertaining.

Walker and Carson’s birthdays
are one day apart, on the last day of May and the first of June. Carson agrees
to celebrate with Walker on the thirty-first.

What do you boys want to do?”
I ask. We usually play games or barbecue on a birthday, but Walker has another
idea.

“I want to dress up and dance
again,” he announces.

I laugh out loud. It’s the
last thing I expected to hear, and I know Carson wants no part of it. After
some discussion and compromising, we decide to have a little party, outdoors
this time, and dressing up is optional. They’re both happy. Joseph strings
lights around the yard, and we set up a table and chairs. I bake a huge
chocolate cake with six candles on one end and thirteen on the other.

Airen plays his guitar, and we
all sing happy birthday to them. After pigging out on cake, we watch the kids
catch fireflies. It’s a beautiful night, clear and warm with stars shining. The
moon is full, and it’s bright enough to see each other even without the lights.
I take a deep breath, drinking in the fragrant air and basking in the warmth
and joy of my surroundings. It’s not often I feel this good.

We connect Jayla’s iPod to the
speakers, and she and Walker start dancing. It’s so sweet, I have to hurry to
snap a picture. She drags Carson into the yard and makes him dance with her
too. Airen produces a bottle of bourbon, pouring shots for me, Joseph, Mandy,
and himself.

Mandy has evidently had a few
already, and it makes her louder and more abrasive. “Sara can drink,” she
crows. “C’mon, honey, get ya a shot!”

“Isn’t she a little young?”
Joseph asks.

“I ain’t her mama. She can do
what she wants.”

I don’t like it, but I’m not
sure I have the right to tell her no. Fortunately, I don’t have to.

“I’d rather have a soda,” Sara
says, speaking up for herself. As I hand her a bottle from the cooler, she adds
in a whisper, “I don’t drink.”

“Smart girl.” For the first
time I wonder about her living with Mandy when she’s obviously intimidated by
her. This isn’t the time to dwell on it, though. I don’t want to ruin a rare
night of fun.

Joseph asks Sara to dance with
him, and after turning three different shades of scarlet, she follows him into
the yard.

Airen offers me his hand with
a cocky smile. “May I?”

As if I could ever say no to
that face. I follow him out to the yard and slip my arms around his neck. The
Cure is singing
I
Will Always Love You,
and he’s singing along under
his breath in a smooth deep voice that makes me ache for him. He holds me tight,
and I relax against his warm body.

“You feel good,” he murmurs.

“You’re drunk.” I drag my lips
across his jaw to feel his stubble.

“Not even close, sweetheart.
What about you? Am I going to have to carry you to bed tonight?”

“No.” He thinks I’m
embarrassed about passing out last time, but he doesn’t know I saw our drunken
conversation on the camera.

“You can get drunk, and I’ll
keep an eye on you,” I offer, grinning.

“I may take you up on that.”

When the song ends, Mandy taps
me on the shoulder. “Can I cut in? You don’t mind, do you?” She smiles, daring
me to refuse.

“It’s up to Airen.” I step
back and nod at him as he glances at me warily. I don’t want him to think I’m
jealous or don’t trust him. If he wants to say no, it needs to come from him,
not me.

Jayla stares at me, her jaw on
the table as I grab a drink and sit down beside her.

“You let her dance with him?”
she hisses.

“Calm down. It’s one dance,
and then you can cut in.”

“I don’t like her. She’s a
skank.”

I choke on my drink and
splutter, “Jayla!”

“Well, she is. I’ll bet she
was a stripper or a hooker before. I know her type.” She glares at her. “She’s
trying to get to you.”

“And I’m trying to show her
she can’t.”

“What if she tries to kiss him
or something?”

“I’ll break her nose,” I reply
matter-of-factly, and Jayla beams.

The song changes to
Give Me
Love
by Ed Sheeran, the song Airen and I danced to when he first kissed me,
on the first night we made love. When I glance up, he’s pushing Mandy away from
him.

“Thanks for the dance,” he
says stiffly, “but this is our song.” He scoops me up before I can stand and
carries me to the yard, setting me on my feet.

“You remembered.” I lay my
head on his shoulder.

“Kind of hard to forget.”

He slides his hands down to my
behind and smiles salaciously. Goddamn, he’s gorgeous. His brooding look
burrows into me, and he knows exactly what he’s doing, scorching me with those
black eyes. Soft lips nuzzle my jaw. “You smell so good,” he murmurs, and his
tongue slides up my neck, tasting me.

God, I want him. When the song
ends, I pull him toward the house. “Watch the kids,” I mumble to Joseph before
tugging Airen into our bedroom and locking the doors.

“Abby.” He laughs at me. “We
can’t do this now.” I ignore him and unbutton his pants.

“I just want to taste you,” I
whisper, backing him against the wall.

“Abby! Fuck!” he cries out as
I wrap my lips around him. A moan rattles his chest, and his hand slides into
my hair. Instead of beginning slowly and letting him adjust to the sensation, I
attack him. Stumbling, he braces himself. “Abby! Easy.”

I ignore his plea. Maybe this
isn’t the healthiest way to react to my jealousy over watching Mandy with him,
but I don’t care. I want him to remember this, to look back on this night and
see nothing but me, on my knees, making him feel good.

His groan when I tighten
around him and continue my ruthless pace spurs me on. He convulses as he comes,
but it’s the yelp he lets out that makes me smile. I pull his boxers and slacks
up while he’s still recovering, standing there panting, completely undone.

“I believe that counts as a
scream,” I gloat, kissing his earlobe, before I leave to rejoin the party.

As I have a seat at the table
and pour myself a shot, Joseph shakes his head at me, thoroughly amused by our
disappearance. Mandy doesn’t find it humorous. She’s staring daggers at me. I
smile at her when Joseph asks me to dance with him. Her eyes blaze, and she
stalks into the house.

“You didn’t want to dance with
her?” I ask him.

“She doesn’t like to be turned
down.”

The kids are back to catching
fireflies when Airen returns looking flushed and thoroughly satisfied. He catches
my eye while I’m dancing with Joseph and winks at me, pouring another shot.

“I’d better get Walker to bed.
It’s late,” Joseph states.

“Let me do it. You go have a
drink with Airen. I’ve been hogging him all night, and you got stuck with
Mandy.”

“That girl can drink.” He
shakes his head.

“Does she come onto you?” I
ask, lowering my voice, and he looks down at me, surprised.

“She flirts with me once in a
while.”

“Do you want to?” I ask, widening
my eyes. I know I shouldn’t care who he sleeps with, but he can do so much
better than her.

Slipping his arms around my
neck, he grins and shakes his head. He’s adorable with his hair flopping across
his forehead, his cheeks red from the alcohol. “She’s not my type.”

“She’s skinny, blonde, and
pretty. She’s every man’s type.”

“I am truly offended on behalf
of men everywhere,” he replies, trying not to smile.

“She still wants Airen.”

He steps back and puts his
hands on my shoulders, locking his gaze with mine. “You have nothing to worry
about. Airen ignores her. He doesn’t give her the time of day. Don’t let her
get to you. She’s lonely and desperate.”

Smiling, I kiss his cheek. “You’re
too good to me, Joseph.”

“Hey, asshole, quit kissing my
girl,” Airen calls, a goofy grin plastered on his face.

“Get your eyes checked, buddy.
She kissed me.”

Their good natured taunting
makes me smile. “I’m going to go put my other little man to bed.”

Two bedtime stories later, Walker’s
asleep and I head back outside. Sara, Carson, and Jayla are playing with the
new Hyperslide game on the kitchen table, but I don’t see Mandy. She must be in
her room. As I step out on the screened porch I hear Airen’s voice.

“She just attacked me.”

I stop and listen. It’s dark
on the porch and they can’t see me.

Joseph laughs. “She’s crazy
about you.”

“She’s also fantastic in bed.
She pulled me into the bedroom and jumped on me, gave me an amazing fucking
blow job,” he brags.

My face burns as I listen to
him discussing our sex life with Joseph. I should be pissed, but all I can do
is grin. Airen thinks I’m fantastic in bed!

“Stop,” Joseph moans. “I feel
like a monk, it’s been so long.”

“There’s bound to be a guy for
you out there somewhere, man.” Joseph stares at him. “What?” Airen asks,
concerned.

“I was married to a man, but I
dated women too.”

“No shit?”

Joseph smiles and leans back
in his chair. “No shit.”

“Problem solved. Hook up with
Amanda.”

“Not my type at all.”

“You could at least throw her
a pity fuck,” Airen slurs. Oh, he’s drunk.

“I’ll pass on that. I don’t
need her following me around all day.” They laugh together.

“Where’s Abby? Did she go to
bed?”

“Worried she’ll start without
you?” Joseph quips.

“Oh, if you only knew,” he
brags with a lewd smile. “She can fuck like…”

“Like what?” I snap, slamming
the screen door behind me. They both stare at me in horror. It’s so hard not to
laugh. Joseph gives me a small, embarrassed smile and stands up.

“I think I’ll—” he begins,
trying to escape.

“No!” I interrupt. “Don’t let
me dampen your conversation. Go on, I’m dying to hear it.” I sit down at the
table and stare at them expectantly. I’m not really pissed. I know how guys
talk to each other, but I do wonder how much Airen tells him. I hope he doesn’t
go into detail.

“I’ll see you later,” Joseph blurts
and quickly retreats into the house.

Airen gives me a sheepish
grin. “How long were you standing there?”

“I believe I came in just as
you were telling him about a blow job,” I reply smoothly.

“Fuck.” He sighs.

“You hadn’t quite got to
describing that yet. Maybe I should’ve waited to see what private moments you
were going to divulge next.”

He grins under my disapproving
stare. “There’s a lot I didn’t tell him,” he replies, trying to win me over
with that charming smile.

I stifle a chuckle. He’s seen
enough to know I’m not really upset. He scoots close to me, all red faced from
the alcohol, and whispers into my ear. “I didn’t tell him how hot you look
naked, how tight you are, how you can move, or what you can do with your mouth.”
His lips find my neck just below my ear. “Or how you’re always ready for me.”

The bastard knows I can’t
resist him. After one last shot, we go to bed, and even drunk, he’s an amazing
lover.

* * *
*

I’m drying off after a quick
morning shower. I swear I want three a day since it’s been so hot. I feel
Airen’s eyes on me as I pull up my panties.

“No.” I laugh.

“What?” He feigns innocence.

“I know that look.”

“I was just admiring the
view.” He grins, and I shake my head.

“You’re incorrigible.”

“You know you like it.”

Oh I do. He grabs me around
the waist and pulls me into bed with him. “It’s too hot, and I don’t want to
have to shower again,” I complain.

“I’ll behave myself, but you
could meet me after lunch at our summer home.”

“Deal.” I grin, looking
forward to our afternoon tryst. “So, how much of last night do you remember?”

“I don’t get drunk enough to
blackout,” he says smugly.

“Then you remember dancing
with Joseph?”

“Very funny.” He pauses, sweeping
a lock of hair out of my eyes. “He’s not exactly gay.”

“I heard.” I’m not mentioning
when I heard, however. “You aren’t going to act like an asshole again, are
you?”

His eyes narrow. “I don’t
intend to.”

“Good, I prefer reasonable
Airen.”

“How about sexy Airen?” he
asks provocatively.

“Unfortunately, that remains
the same even when you’re an asshole.”

“Good to know. I was worried
when Joseph first arrived that you two would get together,” he admits.