Seven Sexy Sins (25 page)

She cleared her throat. “Good.”

After a while, he said, “Ten-seven’s not bad for one day, is it?”

“I’d say that’s pretty spectacular.”

“Good enough for your website?”

“Yeah, I reckon.”

He kissed her hair again. “Night, Faith.”

“Night, sweetie.” She kissed his chest. Her breathing grew even, and within minutes, she was asleep.

But Rusty stayed awake for over an hour, Faith’s ribcage rising and falling under his warm hand, watching the pale moon ascend slowly in the midnight sky.

On Sunday evening, Faith paused outside the door to the bar, heart racing and her mouth going dry.

They’d returned earlier that day, but she’d made Rusty promise he would go into the bar to meet the others at seven, and she would arrive after eight, pretending she’d just got back.

After their exploits of the night before, Rusty had been quiet, but very affectionate, very tender with her. Early in the morning, dark clouds had filled the sky, and, with the sound of rain on the window, they’d made love with no sign of the overwhelming, dark passion that had enveloped them the night before. Afterward, they’d packed up and left the house, driving back in the rain, not saying much, although he’d held her hand all the way.

Faith had been conscious of needing to give him time to think about what they’d done and how he’d felt the previous night. She knew her plan had worked. She’d matched his desire, and for a while, he’d forgotten she was Dan’s kid sister and treated her like an equal. But she didn’t know if she had eradicated his fears completely and made him think a relationship with her was a possibility.

She hadn’t really wanted to go to the bar that night, but she’d promised Dan she’d see him when she got back from her weekend with Beau, as if he wanted to check she hadn’t been chopped up with a hacksaw and dumped in a black garbage bag by some raving lunatic. She sighed, knowing they were going to give her a hard time. But she couldn’t stand outside all day.

She pushed the doors open and went into the bar.

As usual, they were sitting over by the window on the sofas. Dan sat on one with Eve, and Faith was pleased to see his arm around her. Eve looked happy and relaxed in his embrace.

Rusty sat next to Toby on the other sofa, and looked over as he saw her enter. Putting his Coke bottle on the table, he stood as she approached. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She smiled as the others looked around and cheered, and she held up her hand. “Thank you, thank you.”

“I’ll get you a drink,” he said, amused. “Take my seat, I’ll get a chair.”

“Okay.” She slid onto the sofa next to Toby, who leaned over and kissed her temple. Dan and Eve studied her, Dan looking slightly disgruntled, Eve’s eyes dancing.

“So…” Eve said finally. “What was the final tally?”

Faith put her feet up on the table, crossed at the ankles. “Ten-seven to me.”

“Ten!” Eve burst out laughing. “Wow!”

“Seven?” said Toby. “Jeez.”

“Well, eleven-eight if you count this morning.” Faith started laughing at Dan. “You should see the look on your face.”

“What do you want?” he said flatly. “A medal?”

She shrugged, eyes dancing. “If a medal’s in the offing, I think I deserve a gold.”

Dan sipped his beer and said nothing.

Rusty came back with a glass of wine, and Faith took it from him. “Thanks.” She watched as he pulled across a chair and sat between her and Eve, an ankle resting on his knee. She didn’t dare meet his eyes—she knew she’d start giggling. She wasn’t going to admit to them all exactly how far she and Rusty had gone the previous night, and she wasn’t certain as yet if she was going to put in on the website. For the first time since she started her articles, she felt that the memory of the journey they’d taken together was private, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to share it with anyone.

“Did Beau have a good time?” Eve asked, amused.

“Poor bastard’s been sucked dry,” Rusty said. “Probably looks like Ramses the Second now.” He winked at Faith. “I threw a history joke in there, did you notice?”

She grinned at him. “Did you have a nice time?”

“Eh?” His eyes widened.

“With Laura?”

He blinked, and then his lips twitched. “Oh.” He looked down at the Coke bottle. “Yeah. She’s…lovely, actually.”

Dan looked at Eve, who looked at Toby, who looked at Faith. “Ooh,” said Eve, and sang, “Rusty’s in lurv.”

“Wow,” said Toby, “never thought I’d see the day.”

Faith said nothing, tongue-tied, taking the opportunity to sip her wine. Rusty cleared his throat. “I didn’t say that.”

Seeing he was uncomfortable, wanting to distract attention from him, Faith looked at Toby. “Who are you seeing at the moment? You’ve been pretty quiet.”

“No one,” he said, disgruntled. “Haven’t had any for weeks.”

Rusty smiled. “When you eventually get some, it’ll be like the explosion of Krakatoa in 1883.”

They all started laughing. Faith leaned forward to put her wine on the table and shifted uncomfortably as she sat back. The exploits of the night before were beginning to make their mark.

“What’s up?” asked Eve.

Faith shifted again. “I’m radioactive. I could do with a freezer pack to sit on.”

Dan shook his head and started talking to Toby, while Eve laughed and got out her phone and began texting someone.

Faith glanced at Rusty, who was watching her. “You all right?” he mouthed, concern furrowing his brow. She nodded and winked. He met her gaze, and they studied each other for a moment. Gradually his lips curved into a smile. “Tart,” he mouthed.

She stuck her tongue out at him, and he chuckled silently. But his eyes were very warm and affectionate.

A sudden gasp made Faith look across at Eve. Faith’s eyes widened in alarm, her humour disappearing rapidly. Eve’s gaze was flicking from Faith to Rusty, and, clearly, she’d seen the looks that had passed between them.

The penny had finally dropped.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Oh my God.” Eve stood up, an automatic reaction, staring at Faith in shock.

Dan looked up at her, startled. “What?”

Faith gave a small shake of her head and an imploring look.

Eve stared at her, mouth open, and then glanced across at Rusty. Faith followed her gaze. He studied Eve, seemingly calm, but his eyes were cautionary.

Eve looked back at Faith, shut her mouth and looked down at Dan. “I…I’ve just remembered… I think I left my hair straighteners on.”

Dan let out a breath. “You frightened the crap out of me.”

“Sorry.”

He sighed. “I suppose we’ve got to go back now. I was just getting relaxed.”

“I’ll run you back if you like,” said Rusty, getting to his feet. “I need to get some petrol anyway.”

“Thanks, mate.” Dan stretched out his legs.

“No worries.” Rusty got his car keys out of his pocket, glanced at Faith, and motioned with his head for Eve to follow him. Eve glared at Faith, who looked at her hands in her lap, her heart pounding. Grabbing her handbag, Eve walked out after Rusty.

OhGodohGodohGod.
Faith picked up her glass of wine and knocked it back in one go. Would Rusty be able to stop Eve from telling Dan? She glanced across at her brother, who was talking rugby to Toby. He’d had his hair cut recently and it stuck up on top. He sipped his beer, caught her eye and winked at her. She smiled weakly. She adored him, and she knew he adored her, and if he found out that the guy who’d been doing all the terrible things to her was actually his best mate, he was going to go ballistic.

Rusty and Eve walked in silence to his car and got in. He drove around the corner, parked on the side of the road, and turned off the engine. Then he turned in his seat to face her.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she said. “You and Faith? Dan is going to cut your balls off and stuff them down your throat.”

“He won’t,” said Rusty calmly, although his heart thudded and his head pounded with a sudden headache. “Because he’s not going to find out.”

“He will,” said Eve. “Because I’m going to tell him.”

“No you’re not.”

“He’s my boyfriend. I can’t keep a secret like this from him. That’s unfair—you can’t ask me to do that.”

“Eve… Faith and me… It’ll all be over by the end of the week. There’s no point in telling him.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Sin number seven. After that, we’re done.”

Eve studied him. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No.”

“Rusty, you seriously think the two of you can sleep together and then pretend like it never happened?”

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do.” He glared at her. “You slept with Toby.”

“That was different.”

“Oh, how?”

“Well, it happened a gazillion years ago, for one thing. And we only did it twice. It was consolation sex—I’d just broken up with Sam. And it wasn’t great. Whereas you guys…” She tipped her head. “I can’t believe you’re Beau.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, fucking hell, the Mars Bar! Jeez, Rusty!”

He looked out of the window, unexpectedly embarrassed, speechless. Eve shook her head and laughed. “You poor bastard.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She studied him again, long enough to make him uncomfortable. “How do you feel about her?” she said eventually.

He dropped his gaze, picking at a bit of mud on the car seat. “I’m very fond of her.”

“Huh. Do you love her?”

He sighed and leaned back against the car door. “You know I do. Just like I love all of you.”

“That’s not what I’m asking, and you know it.”

“It’s just sex,” he said softly.

“There’s no such thing,” she said, just as quietly.

He huffed at that. “We both went into this with open eyes. She made me sign a contract, stipulating it would all be over after the seventh sin. She made me promise to stay friends with her afterward. Neither of us expected any more from it.”

Eve’s cool blue eyes grew soft. “This is me you’re talking to, sweetie. I’m your friend. Stop treating me like a stranger and talk to me properly. The two of you have got yourselves into a right mess, and you’re not going to be able to get out of it without some help.”

He looked away, out of the window, all his resentment and irritation fading. He leaned an elbow on the steering wheel and massaged his throbbing forehead with a hand. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Does she love you?”

“I think so.”

“And do you love her?”

His eyes met hers. “Yes.”

Her lips curved in a smile. “Well, that changes things a bit.”

“No, it doesn’t.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t want to fall in love with her. I don’t want a relationship. It ends, next weekend. We’ve just got to find a way to continue to see each other without it getting in the way.”

She studied his face. “Is this all to do with your family again?”

“Don’t even go there, Eve.”

Her forehead creased. “So you’re going to throw away what could potentially be the love of your life, because your dad and your brother are idiots?” He turned in his seat and put his hand on the key in the ignition, but she put a hand on his arm. “Wait a minute.”

He sat back, tense and stiff, his jaw set, his arms straight on the steering wheel. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Are you going to be okay with seeing her with other men, Rusty? Because if you don’t hold on to her, she will eventually hook up with someone else. However much she loves you, she’s only twenty-two. She wants kids, a family, all the trimmings. How are you going to feel when she has a ring on her finger? Or stands in front of you, six months pregnant?”

“Stop it.” His hands tightened on the wheel and he closed his eyes. His headache was making him feel sick. And so was the thought of Faith with a swollen belly, looking up lovingly at her husband. How was he going to cope?

“Oh.” Eve put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Rusty. I didn’t realise.”

He went to say, “realise what?” but at that moment his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open. It was Sarah, his sister-in-law.

He answered the call. “Hello?”

“Rusty?”

“Yeah. Sarah? What’s up?”

“Rusty, can you come around?” She sounded panicky. “It’s Cole.” There was a crashing sound, and she squealed.

Rusty straightened in the seat, alarmed. “What’s going on?”

“He’s drunk and he’s angry and he’s smashing up the living room. I’ve locked myself in the bathroom with Finn, but Cole keeps throwing things at the door.” There was a sniffing sound—she was crying. “Please, Rusty, I’m scared.”

“I’ll be right there.” He clipped the phone shut and started the engine. “I’ll have to drop you back at the bar,” he said to Eve, reversing and turning around in the road.

“What’s going on?”

“Cole’s determined to destroy his family. The fucking idiot. I’ve a good mind to call the police and get him put away again.” He drove too quickly back to the bar and skidded to a halt in front of the doors.

Eve put her hand on the door handle, looking back at him.

“I don’t care what you say to Dan,” he told her. “If you feel you have to tell him, then tell him. I’ll handle it. Don’t lie for me.”

She said nothing, but squeezed his arm. “You’re a good man, Rusty.”

“I’m not. But thanks anyway.” He watched her get out and then drove away.

At Cole’s house, he parked in the road and walked across the lawn. His brother was a slob—a motorbike lay in bits in front of the garage, and there was rubbish across the grass, including a broken bottle, which made Rusty grit his teeth at the thought of his four-year-old nephew stumbling across it.

He went around the back of the house to the decking. As he’d thought, the sliding doors were open, and he stepped into the living room, his heart sinking as he saw several pictures and ornaments lying broken on the floor.

Stepping inside, he avoided the broken glass and paused. He could hear Cole shouting and banging, presumably on the bathroom door, answered by a high-pitched yell from Sarah. He walked across the living room and down the hall, turned the corner and paused as he saw his brother.