Seven Days: The Complete Story Read online

  “Depends on your definition of normal. I’m willing to re-define my normal if it means I can have you.”

  “But we can never go out in public. We don’t live in some hick country where polygamy is as acceptable as marrying your cousin. Most of the people we know would be appalled if I turned up to a function with both of you on my arm.”

  “I’d like to think they’d be jealous.”

  Despite myself, I laugh a little. “You sound like Joel.”

  “Been sharing a house with him too long. He’s starting to rub off on me.”

  I reach up on tiptoes, and with my arms about his neck I kiss his throat. His pulse is racing beneath my lips. “Do you really want me to stay? I’ll find somewhere else if that’s what you want.”

  “I never want you to leave. Ever. I don’t care what people think. All I care about is us — you, me and wonder boy.”

  It’s nice to know but when push comes to shove I wonder if Nicholas will really feel that way.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The next Saturday is Joel’s birthday. He’s turning the big three-oh so to celebrate and because he’s declared he won’t have a dinner without me — which is uber sweet— we’re having a party at home. People from the office are coming which will give me an excuse for ‘attending’. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again. I’ve missed my daily chats with Jill and, though I get updates from the boys about their projects, it will be nice to talk about gardens and plants again with others who get it. The boys’ other friends will be at the party too, though Joel assures me Mason’s brother and his fiancé won’t be attending. After the last evening I spent in their company — the one that led to me breaking up with Mason, I’m super fine with that. I’m even fine with there being other girls as long as everyone keeps it social. I don’t know how I’ll respond if they start fawning over my men. Not when I can’t stake my own claim because everyone is meant to believe I’m simply another guest.

  Early in the day, I go shopping for a new dress to wear to the party. I want to look stunning — even if nobody but the boys and me can know the reason why. In the past, at times like this, I would’ve raided Emily’s wardrobe but that won’t be happening again any time ever, so armed with my debit card, I scour the racks for ages, finally settling on a navy blue mini shift with a white collar and a circle cut-out in the back. It’s satiny and long-sleeved and hangs from my body like I’m a coat hanger. It makes me look even more like a schoolgirl than I currently do, but I plan to team it with a pair of high-heeled ankle boots and a few chunky bracelets, so I should end up just far enough on the side of sexy to remind my boys exactly whom they’re sleeping with tonight.

  In case they have any other ideas.

  Which I know they don’t but I’m erring on the side of caution.

  After paying for my purchases, I spend the next hour getting my nails manicured and painted bold red, something I’ve never done before. Then I go to the hairdresser and ask her to tame my auburn locks into a long straight sheath. It takes literally forever but the result is worth it. Tonight, I am not me. I am sexy, siren Sadie — sophisticated girl-about-town who is about to land the most awesome job ever. I will be insanely interesting to all I meet, witty and a whole heap of fun.

  Okay. Maybe I’ll settle for unforgettable or slightly quirky.

  When I get back to the house, the boys are doing housework. I stop for a minute taking in this spectacle because, for the life of me, the sight of Joel wielding a vacuum cleaner is something I never expected to see. I find it hard enough to imagine him being capable of laundry. Nicholas has a squeegee and a bucket of soapy water. He’s cleaning the large panes of glass that constitute the living room windows then scraping them dry. As he reaches to the top of the glass the muscles in his sides flex and geez, I’m so turned on. I don’t know why.

  Joel looks up from the vacuum. A low whistle escapes his lips. “Whoa! Who are you and what have you done with our girlfriend?”

  “I had my hair straightened.”

  Um, like duh.

  “You look hot, baby.”

  “You look like you should be the one in the frilly apron. Domesticity suits you,” I joke, as I sashay past Joel with my shopping hooked over my arm. I’ve become quite the tease of late. Living with these two has made a side of me emerge I never knew existed.

  Joel swipes a cushion from the sofa and tosses it at my bum. “Watch it, Ariel. It’s not too late to bend you over the kitchen bench. The guests don’t arrive for another two hours.” He chases me about the room attempting to suck my skirt into the vacuum cleaner.

  “Good.” I squeal, poking my tongue out before making a mad dash for my bedroom. “You’ll need all the time you can get to make yourself presentable… old man!”

  As I slam the door shut and collapse, panting, on the bed I hear the drone of the cleaner slowing and the sound of voices. I sit up. I know the guys are talking about me. I know exactly what is going through their dirty little minds. They’re trying to decide if we actually do have enough time to engage in a little illicit tomfoolery before we have to hit the shower. My vote is always yes but then I’m a fool for them. They could ask me to skydive naked and I’d probably do it if it meant I’d get sex at the other end. That’s another thing that’s changed. I’ll do almost anything these days.

  Not everything mind, but I’m way more flexible than scaredy-cat Sadie used to be.

  I’m unpacking my shopping when the handle to my room jiggles and clicks. The door swings open and Joel appears. He’s looking very serious. He’s got his arms folded in mock annoyance and his eyebrows are lowered in a deep and sexy frown. “You have a pretty smart mouth, Ariel.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. You can’t call me old and expect to get away with it.”

  “So what ya gonna do about it?”

  “I’m going to spank you.”

  I continue hanging the clothes I’ve just purchased. “You wish.”

  “I do wish.”

  “You’ll have to catch me first and an old guy like you? I don’t think you’ve got a hope.”

  With that Joel dives across the bed and pins me down. The clothes fall to the carpet, hangers askew. He moves himself on top of me, pinning my hands to my sides. His lips devour my neck. They nibble at my shoulder. His ribs press into my breasts.

  “Stop it! You’ll muss my hair. It took hours to get it this straight.” I shake my head and my hair fans out around my body. I can see Joel’s aroused by this. He loves my hair. His hands must be itching to get into it but he knows he can’t because he’ll have to let me go to do that.

  He stills. His eyes have glazed over and his voice is octaves deeper, gravelly almost. It makes me shiver in anticipation. “You won’t have bed hair… if that’s your worry. Interested?”

  Um, does Daisy Duke wear teeny-weeny shorts? Hello?

  “Where’s Nicholas?”

  “Waiting in the kitchen.” He gets off me and yanks me to standing. He slaps my bottom. I can see he wants to play rough.

  “Will there be dessert after? If I’m a good girl?” I giggle, slipping my hand down the rear of his pants. I run my tongue over my lips, wetting them, sucking my lower lip into my mouth. Joel’s eyes scrutinise every move.

  “You’re the dessert, Ariel. Nick and I are gonna cover you with cream.”

  “Don’t be disgusting.”

  “I was talking about real cream, you naughty minx. The other sort might come later if you play your cards right.”

  “And why the sudden urge to smother me in dairy products?”

  His mouth is against my ear. “So we can suck you dry.”

  A tingle races through my body and finds a home between my legs. My belly begins to clench at the thought. Geez, I hate that he can make me overheat with only words.

  Joel leads me to the kitchen. I follow behind making a show of not wanting to but we know this is a game. He’s got me boiling. My heart is leaping in my chest. The blood is thumping in my ears
and my breathing has escalated. I can’t stop smiling because I love this game. I love it and Joel knows I do.

  When we reach the island bench, Nicholas is waiting. He has a can of whipped cream in his hand. “About time,” he says. “I’m starving.”

  “You could just have a sandwich,” I say, keeping my voice even, playing the game to the hilt. “There’s plenty of cold chicken in the fridge.”

  “I could, but the sweets on offer are way more enticing than the main course.”

  Joel hoists me onto the bench, lifting my skirt and spreading my legs. His hands go to my knickers and he rubs a finger over me. God. I’m wet already. Bugger the cream. I want them inside me now. I want to feel Nicholas’ length as he thrusts into me. He likes to take me hard. I want Joel’s mouth all over me when I cry out.

  “Lift your bum,” Joel says quietly. I do and he slides my underwear away, tossing it aside. “Now undo your blouse. Slowly.”

  “Your wish is my command.” I stare right into his big dark eyes, the lids heavy with lust and begin a measured, deliberate strip.

  I mean, you think I was gonna say no? Nicholas is shaking the can of cream like he’s making love to it. I know exactly where he’s planning to squirt it. And it’s not on that left over apple pie in the fridge.

  *****

  By the time the guests are due to arrive a couple of hours later, the three of us are showered and changed, no trace of the carnal foreplay to the evening remaining, either in the kitchen or on our bodies. I stand in front of the mirror in my bedroom feeling uncertain and biting my lip. I’m hoping the outfit I’ve chosen will be suitable for when I meet Joel’s friends. Not that they’ll know who I am but I have this need for them to like me, to be accepted as something other than a kid. Because I’m not a kid any more. The last month has proved that for sure. Before I met Nicholas and Joel I would never have done the things I find so commonplace now. Geez, I’d never even been on a plane. Okay, so I still haven’t but I’m hoping to rectify that soon. If all goes well.

  I straighten the hem of my dress and apply one last smack of lipstick. I’ve given myself thick dark wings of eyeliner tonight and a deep red lip to match my newly polished nails. I think I look sophisticated, like a model, especially with my hair straightened and hanging down my back. Well, I hope I do. I want the boys to be proud of me. I want their friends to say how hot I am and wouldn’t they be lucky to be with me. I want to outshine the bevy of gorgeous girls I know are about to storm our front door in the hope of snagging one or both of my men for the night. I glance in the mirror again and smile before heading for the living room. Those other girls have got fat chance.

  At the kitchen bench — the scene of our sexual demise — I find the boys chatting, a cold beer in each of their hands. Stopping for a second, I take in the handsome physiques of the two men I now call mine and expel a dreamy sigh. They are beautiful, so beautiful in every way. And they literally complete me like I never would have thought possible. It’s funny, but when the girls I went to Uni with spoke about how they felt about their boyfriends I used to think they were mostly exaggerating. I never believed such desire for another person could exist, that it would be so strong you’d forget to eat or where the time went. I never dreamed I could spend hours laying and doing absolutely nothing but gazing into a man’s eyes. And if such emotions did exist I certainly never believed they’d be something I’d experience. But now I know what those girls meant. I only have to look at the boys and I want sex. I have this constant ache that can only be relieved by a touch or smile, a need to constantly be in their close proximity. I want to be with them, and in them, and on them. I want them in me.

  All.

  The.

  Time.

  I have it bad. Like really bad.

  “There you are.” Nicholas hands me a glass of bubbles. His fingers linger on mine and I know he’s thinking about what we did an hour ago. I eye him closely. Somehow he’s managed to coordinate his shirt to my dress even though he had no idea what I’d be wearing. The midnight blue colour makes his eyes pop and teamed with dark denim jeans, a smattering of whisker across his jaw and his dark hair, he looks sexy and brooding. And mine. All mine. God, I want to gobble every inch of him.

  “You look cute, Ariel,” Joel says, giving me the once over.

  “Beautiful, really beautiful,” Nicholas adds.

  I grin at them and hold out the hem of my dress for their approval. “You like?”

  “I never knew you had legs like that, they go on forever.” Joel reaches across and slides his hand up my dress, cupping my bottom through the thin fabric of my knickers.

  “Now, now tiger,” I chastise, taking his hand and holding it away from me. “We have guests arriving any minute.” I hope I sound as confident as I look ‘cause right about now, I think I’m going to spew. I’m so freaking nervous about meeting Nicholas and Joel’s social group.

  “Let’s ring them and tell them not to come. Let’s go to bed. That dress is giving me ideas of a new game we can play. Fuck the guests.”

  “I was hoping if I wore this dress it would deter you from fucking the guests.” I smirk.

  “Always with the smart mouth.”

  Darting out of Joel’s way, I move to the other side of the counter just as the doorbell rings. Thank God. Saved by the bell. Literally.

  I race to answer it.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  By ten, the living room is heaving with people. The music is loud. Everyone is talking and laughing. Drinks are flowing. Groups are mingling because everyone knows each other but me. I’ve spent most of my time making small talk with people from Hardwick & Lawson and keeping a close eye on two women who appear to be monopolising Joel’s time. I do not like this situation.

  Joel is playing his part of single birthday boy so well it would be easy to think I never existed so I can’t blame those girls for thinking they have a chance. He’s dirty dancing and chugging back beers like there’s no tomorrow. He has his hand loosely on the blonde girl’s waist and he’s being uber charming, probably wooing her with the innuendoes he once used on me. He’s looking into the other one’s eyes and leaning over to whisper secrets in her ear. He’s even perving on her boobs, the dirty bastard. I hate him for doing this to me. But I hate that girl with the big breasts more.

  God, what is he saying to her now? Why is he not winking at me like he usually does in a crowd? He can see me standing here alone. Why the hell is he ignoring me? Nope, I do not like this situation one little bit.

  From my side of the room, I begin to seethe. The jealousy rises in my throat like a big green ball and I feel like I might have to scratch someone’s eyes out if that girl whispers one more word in my Joel’s ear or strokes his arm again on that very part of his arm I know he loves. They’re way too chummy. But what can I do? I’m stuck in the corner listening to people crap on about plants. I mean, who cares about freaking conifers when your man is cosying up to another girl? Even if it is — supposedly — for show.

  Pursing my lips in disgust, I scan the room for a solution. If there was a time when I’d benefit from being absolutely shit faced it would probably be now but how, how? Then I note a smell I don’t often equate with a good time. It’s wafting in my direction. Fortunately for me, it appears one of the guests thinks now is the perfect time to spark up a joint. With my new spirit of adventure taking root and my need to calm down helping it along, I decide I should get to know the owner of that hooch. I mean, getting mellow might be the only hope I have of not killing one of those girls. Or Joel. The disastrous effects of the last time I partook seem to have been overlooked by my brain. All I can think of is Joel and the fact that he’s totally ignoring my existence.

  I excuse myself and go for a stroll around the room. The smell is getting heavier. I spy a few of Nicholas’ friends, standing in a circle and I do something I swear I have never done in my life. I burst into their group, a smile plastered from ear to ear. “Hi!”

  Geez, I sound like I’ve
already been toking on that joint.

  One of the men looks down at me. He’s tall and little chubby and he’s attempted to hide the fact by growing a bit of a beard but he hasn’t trimmed it well so it makes his neck look bigger. He gives me a friendly grin. “Hi there.”

  “I’m Sadie,” I say, marvelling at the lack of inhibition I suddenly have. Maybe I’ve gotten stoned from simply standing in the vicinity of the joint?

  “Ahhh.” The man nods.

  What’s that supposed to mean? I stare at him quizzically.

  “You must be the intern? Or were the intern, I should say. I’m Simon. Simon Black.”

  “Nice to meet you Simon. How do you know Joel and Nicholas?”

  “We went to school together. Trinity Boys School.”

  The guys have never spoken much about their past only that they’ve been friends forever. I have to say I’m shocked they went to such an upmarket school. I can see Nicholas in that uniform with the grey shorts and black blazer. He’s head boy material, for sure. But Joel, not so much. It’s funny but Joel always struck me as being more like me — a bit public school. Someone who has worked his way up from nothing and made a success of himself. He’s less concerned with doing the “right thing” and keeping up appearances than Nicholas. Most of the time he gives off the air that he really doesn’t give a fuck about what the rest of the world thinks. He does though. He’s simply not one to show his feelings, my Joel.

  “And what do you do, Simon?” I ask. The joint has landed in my hand so I take a hit and try not to choke on the smoke. That would do nothing for the sophisticated air I’m trying to project.

  “I’m a lawyer. Bloody shit job. Great pay, though.” He says it like I should be impressed but I’m not. In fact, I think I may be going to giggle.

  “What sort of law? I have a friend who practises indigenous and native title law.” I sound so knowledgeable, like I actually give a toss.

  “Corporate mostly. Boring as all hell. Are you graduating this year? Nicholas has been impressed with your work. He’s been harping on about you so much I almost began to think he had the hots for you.”