Cry Wolf Page 10

  He sits back down, tense as he watches me, patiently waiting for me to go on.

  “I might be sort of in love with the both of them,” I tell him. “Theo seems to think that might be why all three of you were told the same thing.”

  His eyebrows jump and his expression freezes for a few long seconds.

  “Oh,” he says, shock in his tone.

  “It’s not what you were expecting, I get that.” I shrug, not willing to explain any further. Either he gets it or he doesn’t. “Take your time.”

  “And you think the same way?” he asks, fixing his gaze back up to mine.

  “I’ve always wanted something different,” I tell him, wondering how it can be this easy to be so open and honest with a virtual stranger, before I remember. He’s fated for me, like the other two. It’s some weird destiny thing. Strange but true.

  “You have?” he asks, his gaze drifting again, this time to my lips.

  “You’re not going to make it some kind of competition to see how gets me pregnant first, though, right?” I ask, laughing lightly when his jaw drops.

  He joins me when he realizes it’s a joke. Then he goes back to staring.

  “You’ve slept with them,” he murmurs.

  “Is it that obvious?” I ask.

  “How did Lukas take it?” he asks, watching my face carefully.

  “I’m more interested in how you’re taking it right now, Sebastian.”

  He smiles. “I’m thinking about it.”

  “Will you be around for a while?”

  “I...” he starts, smiling ruefully. “I’m due to go back to London soon. There’s a stipulation that someone from our firm visit you once a month to ensure you’re not breaking the rules of that agreement you signed. I volunteered to be the one to do that.”

  He sighs softly. “I’ll be honest, Maggie. I rejected a lot of my family’s customs a long time ago. I was dating a girl before I came out here. I never intended...”

  “Then you should go home, and let someone else check on me.” I don’t like the thought of being the reason this guy uproots his whole life. He barely knows me. He doesn’t seem anywhere as crazy as the other two.

  “I don’t think I want to,” he says. “I broke up with the girl I was dating after we met. I didn’t even think about it. I just called her and did it. I held back on telling you about the stipulation because I wanted an excuse to see you again.”

  “And now you find out I’m not all yours...”

  “I had suspicions that you might need all three of us,” he says, shooting me another rueful smile. “I don’t know why. I just wasn’t sure it would happen this quickly.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying, I don’t know how, but I’d like a chance to make things work.”

  I can’t believe this. The third underwear model looking guy I’ve met since I got back is interested in making a foursome work? Holy shit. I feel like all my birthdays just came at once.

  “I’m ready to try if you are.”

  I’m glad when Sebastian leaves a few minutes later. My body’s raw and tired. I need to rest, not to be in a room with an incredibly attractive man I’m desperate to sleep with.

  He wants a real date, so we set one for tomorrow. I should probably get to know the guy a little better before I fall into bed with him. I start doing laundry after that, like a boring housewife.

  Theo sleeps half the day away in my bed, which I suppose I don’t mind considering the sofa bed in the basement is kind of lumpy. Probably the first decent night’s sleep he’s gotten since he came here. Oh here look at me, getting all soft on him already.

  I worry about Lukas, but going out to talk to him feels like pushing too hard. He’ll come back when he’s made a decision. He needs time.

  The doorbell doesn’t ring until I’m half asleep on the couch with some stupid soap opera on the TV, counting down to going to open the bar.

  I get up quickly and rush to answer it, expecting to see my moody blond lover. Not the female cop from last night.

  “Oh, hi,” I manage, wondering why she’s here.

  “Hi, Maggie. Can we talk?”

  “Um, sure. Come in.” I let her in and lead her to the living room.

  “This should only take a moment,” she tells me.

  “Isn’t your partner....” I start.

  “I’m off duty, officially,” she says, as she turns to me.

  “Off duty?” I ask, wondering what that means.

  “The body’s been examined. We don’t have an ID, but she was mauled by a large animal and fibres were found that would match to your description of a red dress as her clothing.”

  I smile tightly. “But you shouldn’t be telling me this for some reason.”

  She nods. “I know if it was me, I’d want to know. That’s why I’m here. It could take a long time for the body to be identified. No-one from around here was missing anytime close to when it happened. We’re widening the search.”

  She’s telling me this is it. I’ll never find out who the woman was, because they might never find out. What I saw was real, but that doesn’t mean I’ll ever understand it. I nod slowly.

  “Thank you, for letting me know. I appreciate it more than you know,” I tell her.

  “What they did to you back then was wrong,” she adds. “I read the case file. I’m sorry they put you through all of that.”

  “Thanks,” I say, grateful that she cared enough to come here and tell me. There were a lot of awful cops back in the day. It’s nice to meet a good one now.

  “I’ll let you go,” she says, heading for the door.

  I let her out and check the time. I need to get to work.

  I leave the house, a little nervy as I walk to the pub. The sky’s getting a bit dark now, and there is still something out there. Something that mauled a cow to a bloody pulp the other night.

  I rush to get into the building and hit the lights. I feel a little safer once I’m inside. At least until the regulars start to arrive. They’re in their usual fine moods. Grumbly, and without a kind word between them. I watch for Fergus, but he doesn’t show.

  I don’t know why that upsets me so much, but it does. Poor kid went through hell last night. I can’t blame him if he decides to back away from me now.

  “Where’s your husband, Maggie?” Mrs Wallace, A.K.A the horrible witch from the shop asks, a smirk on her wrinkled face.

  Ugh. I so can’t be bothered with this tonight. “He’s sleeping one off, I’m afraid. So you’ll not be seeing him.”

  “Hmm,” she says. “How convenient.”

  Just drink your brandy and shut up, you old boot. I manage not to let the words cross my lips, but it’s a hard one. Can’t be pissing off my one and only food supply in town, can I now?

  “Heard the police found a body last night,” Mr Murphy says, glancing at me.

  I pull on a superior smile. “That they did. At the back of Lance Peterson’s farm.”

  “A body?” Benny Bryce asks.

  I nod. “An old one, skeletal remains.”

  “Isn’t that right next to where you made up your wee story?” Mrs Wallace asks.

  I grit my teeth for a second before smiling at her. I’d love to have more validation than I do. I’d love to be able to shove proof in her face that what I saw back then was real. I can’t. So I just smile sweetly.

  “If you’re not worried about the thing out there that’s been ripping up cows, you’ll not mind walking home alone tonight, I suppose.”

  She scowls, sinks her sherry and leaves. I roll my eyes. Kind of wish Fergus had been here. He’d have wet himself. I might have giggled a bit myself too.

  “Hey, Mr Murphy, have you seen Fergus today?”

  “He’s not been feeling well going by what his nan was saying.”

  “Oh?”

  “Stomach bug or something.” He shrugs.

  Stomach bug? Now who’s telling porkies? His gran must know about his panic attacks. Sure
ly. I wonder about going after work to check on him. She wouldn’t let me past the front door and I know it. I take out my phone and text him instead.

  I check for an answer too many times. Eventually I switch the bloody thing off so I don’t have to keep staring at it. I’ll go to his gran’s house in the morning. She’ll hopefully be in the shop gossiping or whatever. I can speak to him then. Apologise for dragging him into my mess.

  He didn’t deserve it.

  I’m pretending to dust when Blondie makes an appearance. I smile when I see him, though he looks as sullen as ever. It’s impossible to figure out what he’s thinking with that perma-pout in place.

  “Hey, Lukas,” I greet him, as if he’s just another customer. Well, okay, a customer I’d seriously like to bang, but still...

  “Can we talk?” he asks.

  I sigh. “Get a new catchphrase, please.”

  He frowns at me, and I feel a little pang of guilt. Ugh. I just know he’s actually here to break up with me this time. He’s too serious to share me. I got greedy and just fecked this whole thing up.

  “Fine, outside.”

  I glance around before I follow him out. The men are only interested in their pints. None of those are empty so I feel it’s safe to step outside for a few minutes. It’s dark out, the light outside the bar the only thing illuminating the small space around us. It feels oddly intimate.

  “I’m ready,” he says, pulling me toward him as I let the door close over.

  “Um, well, it’s kind of public,” I tease, “I mean, for a town this small.”

  He smiles briefly as he puts his other arm around me. “You said yes to me first. I can live with you being his as well.”

  “Oh,” I gasp, as I realize what he’s actually saying.

  He draws me into a kiss then, hands clasping my cheeks as he works my mouth open ravenously and tongues me into oblivion. Half my lipstick covers his mouth by the time he’s done and the mild pangs of freshly bruised lips make my face feel as raw as the rest of me.

  “You really need to calm down just a tiny little bit there,” I tell him, my heart racing as his hands drop to my arse.

  His touch is insistent as he moulds me in close. I feel the throbbing pulse of his cock pushing against me through our clothes and my body weakens. If he asked me to lie down in front of the pub right now and submit to him I would. His touch makes me powerless. I can’t resist him. I can’t resist any of them.

  “There’s a cart behind the pub,” he leans in to whisper in my ear. “It’s fairly well secluded.”

  Oh be still my beating heart. “What are you suggesting, exactly?”

  He squeezes my arse. “I think you know.”

  He lets go to lead me back there. We move swiftly. There is a cart. It’s not really that secluded, but it’s dark and no-one can see into the back of the pub from their garden anyway. Lukas lifts me onto the cart and I see he’s already thrown down a blanket.

  He planned this? He’s so damn hot.

  “We should probably make this quick,” I tell him, as he climbs up and pins me down.

  “Well, you know how to make me spill quickly, but I want to bury my cock here,” he murmurs, stroking my cunt through my trousers.

  I move my hands between us to undo the buttons and he slips them down over my knees. They pool around my ankles, kind of restraining me in place. He unzips his jeans and rubs his cock against me. I’m still a little raw and easily stimulated. I gasp at every touch. He smiles at me as he sinks in.

  The slash of red across his lips only makes him look more psychotic than usual. Why is that a little bit of a turn on? I bite down on my lower lip as he begins to thrust. I raise my hips to meet him and we move into a swift, desperate rhythm as the cart creaks a little under the weight of our actions.

  I’m gazing up at the star-speckled sky as I come under him, crying out in pleasure just as he grunts and spills inside of me. I smile at the feeling, holding him close and wishing we could just stay out here all night under the stars together.

  “You have lipstick,” I tell him, reaching out to touch his lips.

  “I do?” he asks, gazing at my lips. “You still look perfect.”

  I smile. “Sometimes that’s just how it works.”

  He helps me up and we sort our clothes quickly.

  “Are you staying?” I ask, nodding toward the bar.

  He smiles and nods. “Can’t let you walk home alone.”

  I smile. “Great.”

  I guess I’ll find out tonight how easily three of us fit in my bed.

  The lipstick was so stark on Lukas’ face when we walked back into the pub, that two of the regulars did a little double take. It was so damn funny. I checked my lips with the camera on my phone. Just like I thought it had faded a little but not enough to notice and not enough to require any kind of touch-up. My knickers were a bit on the damp side though, so I slipped away to the ladies and removed them. Bundled them in paper towels and stuck them in my handbag.

  The light flickered in there a few times, which was kind of creepy, truth be told. I’ll have to add bulbs to the shopping list. I’d hate for the light to go out when I was using the toilet.

  “Getting a TV yet?” Benny asks as I go back to the bar.

  “Not yet,” I chirp. “Want another pint yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  Typical night in the pub then. I mean, except from Lukas. I doubt things with him would ever get to be typical. He comes to the bar once he’s out of the men’s room, his face make-up free.

  “What’s in that stuff?” he asks me, his eyebrows raised. “I felt like I needed paint-stripper to get it off.”

  “That would be on you,” I tell him, shrugging. “Kiss a little softer next time, maybe.”

  I hope to hell he doesn’t. I love how possessively passionate he is when he kisses me.

  “Maybe I will,” he murmurs, gazing intently.

  Oh hell. It’s a bad idea to have him in here. We’re liable to steam up the whole damn room.

  Focus, Maggie. Having a quickie out back is one thing. Getting all hot and bothered in front of the old geezers here is quite another.

  “Fergus isn’t feeling well,” I tell him, trying to find some way to change the subject. “That’s why he’s not in tonight.”

  Lukas frowns lightly as if he’s confused to why I’m telling him, or maybe why he’d care. Then he opens his mouth and I find out I’m miles off.

  “Last night was pretty heavy,” he says. “He’s just a kid.”

  I catch Mr Murphy drawing us a curious look. I ignore it.

  “I’ll maybe go and see him in the morning. Make sure he’s doing okay.”

  He nods. “There are some things I need to do tomorrow.”

  “Things?”

  “Nothing exciting,” he says. “Work stuff.”

  “Work stuff?” I ask, remembering what everyone in the pub heard me say about how we met.

  Lucky for me, he doesn’t go into details.

  “You’re still a policeman, though?” Mr Murphy butts in.

  Oh cringe. Lukas raises an eyebrow at me.

  “You told them?”

  “And why wouldn’t I, sweetheart?”

  He smiles. “I left the force to come out here and be with Maggie. I’m in the private sector now. Detective work.”

  I raise an eyebrow at him. Someone can fib his tight little arse off then.

  “That’s my private dick right there,” I say, making him snort.

  “Oh, so that’s why Moira thought his name was Dick then,” Benny says.

  I get the giggles immediately, and they’re the mildly hysterical sort. It’s hard to stop.

  Benny makes a huffing noise, like he’s put out that I’m laughing.

  Lukas just smiles at me.

  My eyes are watering by the time I calm down enough to catch my breath.

  “Ah, I needed that,” I say, sighing as I wipe at my eyes.

  My mascara doesn’t run. I’ve been
pretty lucky with my makeup tonight.

  Benny scowls as he puts his pint down and mutters about going home. One punter left then. Mr Murphy catches my gaze when Benny leaves. I suppose it’s a bit obvious that he’s the only reason I’m still here when I clearly have better things to be doing.

  He sighs and gets up, his pint already finished. Waves as he leaves.

  “Time to go home?” Lukas asks before the door even swings closed.

  I like the way he says it. Home. Like it’s mine and his. A place that’s ours. Not just a house I’ve been left in a town I couldn’t wait to run from. Geez. My mind must be turning to mush from all the sex.

  “It’s definitely home time.”

  The night is eerily still and quiet as we walk back to the house. I feel safe with Lukas at my side, but my thoughts wander to what’s out there. I wonder what the creature is and where it came from. Why it was here, back then and now.

  It’s pointless to think about, I know. The answers won’t magically fall out of the air.

  It’s not like I could ask it. If I ever saw it again.

  We get to the house and I see the lights are on inside. Theo must be up then. Finally.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with all of this?” I ask Lukas, wondering how far he’ll run when I drop my second bombshell. I don’t know if he even knows Sebastian was here.

  “I am,” he says, smiling a little as he reaches out to brush my hair out of my face.

  I kiss him lightly before I break away and open the door. I can smell amazing food as I walk inside. There’s music playing down low in the living room, and it’s warm enough that I can tell the fire is on from the hallway.

  “Theo?” I call out as Lukas follows me inside.

  I pass him the keys to lock up and head for the living room.

  There are sweet snacks laid out on the coffee table, and everything looks as good as what he made earlier in the day. Better, even. I mean, it’s all sugar.

  “Oh my word,” I murmur as I pick up a chocolate chip cookie and find it still warm to the touch. “A girl could get used to this.”

  “Theo always liked to cook,” Lukas mutters behind me, a little hint of bitterness in his voice.