Page 57 of Savage Blooms
“All’s fair in love and war, right?” Adam asked bitterly, glaring at Finley.
“I’m not answering that question,” Finley said.
Nicola jutted out her chin, offended by Finley’s recalcitrance.
“We’ll see about that,” she muttered to herself, then stood and crossed the circle.
“What are you doing?” he asked, looking up at her with wide eyes. He looked truly terrified, like he had just witnessed a Marian apparition. Eileen loved seeing Finley unravel and lose his tight grip on himself, but she wasn’t used to seeing anyone else hold that power over him. Yet somehow, sweet smiling Nicola with her birdsong laughter and strawberry hair had wrapped Finley’s leash tight around her fist.
Nicola braced her hands on Finley’s shoulders and sat down on his lap, straddling his hips so they were face to face. The back of her dress hiked up a few extra inches, revealing the generous curve of her bottom beneath a pair of sheer panties.
Finley made an irritated sound, but his hands came up to rest on Nicola’s lower back of their own accord, holding her secure against him. She draped her arms over his shoulder, brushing her nose against his in a torturously tender gesture. Adam and Eileen just stared, gobsmacked by the gambit.
“Is it true?” she asked quietly. “Do you want to fuck me?”
Finley had always been bad at Confession; he was too reactive and most importantly, too likely to get frustrated or even wounded by prodding questions. So Eileen wasn’t surprised when he scowled at Nicola like she had ruined his night. But she was surprised at what he did next.
Finley made a noise in his throat very much like a growl and crushed his mouth against Nicola’s.
Nicola squeaked in surprise and then melted in Finley’s grasp. She pressed her body against his, kissing him deeply as he dug his fingers into the sensitive skin of her lower back. Her dress was thin and insubstantial, better suited for an American summer than a Scottish spring, and Eileen could see every curve of her body through it.
She tore her eyes away from the scene and looked to Adam, who appeared blind with rage and tortured by lust, undeniable as the hard-on pressing against his jeans. He was painfully, shamefully turned on, watching his romantic rival devour the girl he’d had a crush on for half a decade.
Eileen had never been as taken with him as she was in that moment.
Nicola rolled her hips experimentally against Finley’s body, then gave a shuddering little sigh that captured Eileen’s attention once again. God in Heaven, she was getting off. Did she like being watched? Did she like making Adam jealous? Did she take pleasure in cuckolding Eileen? Every option was tantalizing in a different way.
“Well,” Eileen said to Adam, clearing her throat. She was aping disaffection, but she felt a red flush creeping across the plane of her chest. “Those two are entertaining themselves, so I think you and I should continue the game.”
“It’s Nicola’s turn,” Adam said weakly, mesmerized bythe way Nicola rotated her hips in little circles, the way Finley’s ragged breath caught in his throat.
“Nicola is otherwise engaged,” Eileen said, more forcefully. She grasped Adam’s knee, demanding his attention. “I’ll go in her stead.”
“All right then. Tell me what’s out in that cave. Real talk this time, with details. No bullshit.”
Adam probably thought this would put a stop to everything and bring the whole impossible evening to a screeching halt. It was cute, the way he dramatically tossed down his Get Out of Jail Free card. But instead of cutting the game short, Eileen merely smiled.
“You’re going to have to try harder than that to get an answer out of me,” she said, blood pounding hot and fast in her veins. Whatever came next, consummation or confrontation, she welcomed it.
She never felt quite so herself as she did when she was tangling other people’s heartstrings in her deft fingers, like they were nothing more than a cat’s cradle. Maybe that made her evil. It wouldn’t be her only trait worthy of damnation. But God, it made her feelalive.
Eileen stole another glance at Nicola and Finley. Finley had hiked Nicola’s dress up around her waist, treating the entire room to an unobstructed view of her round ass.
Was Nicola using Finley to punish Eileen for capturing Adam in her web? Was Finley disciplining Eileen’s wandering eye with this American girl, leagues lovelierand bushels sweeter than Eileen would ever be? Or was it simply the seductive influence of Craigmar, wrapping them all up in a blanket of private enchantment that made every desire of their hearts seem plausible?
Maybe they were all trying to punish each other, in their own ways.
Eileen stretched out languidly, letting her knees fall further apart to reveal the lace-trimmed edge of black silk beneath her skirt. That was the final straw for Adam.
He made a disgusted sound – whether he was disgusted with himself or with her, Eileen didn’t know and didn’t care – and pushed up on his knees to lean over her. Up until that moment, Eileen had been convinced that he was pliable but unsure he was a good fit for what she wanted. He had seemed too earnest, too decent, too unsure of himself. But now, as he looked down at her like he truly despised her and like he wanted her so much it might obliterate him, Eileen saw that he wasperfect.
Adam flipped her skirt up around her hips, and, without another word, cupped her pussy in his hand. His touch was warm and heavy, making all rational thought evaporate from Eileen’s brain.
“This game is called Confession, right?” Adam said, voice low and warning. “Start confessing.”
“No,” Eileen purred.
Adam slipped his hand beneath the waistband of her panties and quickly located the small bud of pleasure between her legs. She might talk a good game aboutanyone but Finley being able to catch her eye, but her body was no liar, and it was wet and ready for him.
