Restoration Hearts Read online

  Perie kissed Flynn’s cheek. “Share,” she whispered.

  Flynn smirked. He shifted his mouth to the side so she could taste Vaughn as well. Vaughn groaned. His fingers slipped into the hair on both their heads as they shared his cock. Tongues and lips slid along his shaft, popping him from one mouth to the other. He’d never been so hard in his life. He needed to fuck someone right now.

  But who?

  Vaughn decided not to think too much. Spinning Perie around, he kicked his boots and pants off, then knelt behind her, setting her on all fours in front of him. He rubbed the tip of his aching cock along her opening, pleased when she pushed back. He let her guide him inside at her own pace. It only took a few moments for her to start fucking him.

  Flynn pulled Vaughn’s arm around his body and captured Vaughn’s mouth with his, kissing him sloppily, his tongue toying with the ex-soldier. Sometime in the moments where Vaughn was focused on Perie, Flynn had shed every single piece of his clothing, leaving his tatted-up body open for viewing pleasure.

  Hopefully, using pleasure, too.

  When Flynn began to lift Vaughn’s shirt, the ex-soldier lifted his arms and the garment joined the growing pile of clothes.

  Flynn grinned and licked Vaughn’s nipples. “Much better.”

  “Fuck yeah,” Vaughn groaned.

  They kissed again as Vaughn’s hips seemed to take on a life of their own. His large hand gripped one side of Perie’s waist, while Flynn held onto the other.

  “Oh, yes, fuck my pussy.” The words came out of Perie’s mouth in a slow, languid fashion.

  Flynn knew this meant her orgasm would be long and powerful, but she wasn’t there yet. She was stretching this out. He fucking loved it when she did that.

  “She’s slowing down,” Vaughn whispered into Flynn’s ear.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll enjoy this. She’s explosive,” Flynn answered and nipped at Vaughn’s ear.

  “Are you boys talking about me?” Perie purred.

  “Flynn’s singing your praises, sweetheart.” Vaughn sucked in a breath as she bashed back against him, making his crotch shudder. He looked at Flynn in surprise and the builder winked in response. She bashed back again. One. Two. Three times fast, then slow and deep.

  Flynn repositioned himself in front of Perie, stroking himself as he watched the show. He offered himself to her and she instantly accepted. Vaughn was done waiting. He wanted to get Perie off and he wanted to cum with her. Taking control of the situation, he arched his entire body over hers. His fingers dug into her shoulder and his other hand tugged on her hair, pulling her off Flynn. He drove into her pussy, pounding her deep and rough. He drove his cock deep inside her, revelled in the sound and feel of his balls slapping against her. His grunts echoed through the cavernous old house, mingling with Perie’s cries.

  “Oh, fuck yeah. Do it, guys,” Flynn growled as he tugged himself faster.

  Perie rose up on her knees and gripped Flynn’s arms as her orgasm hit her like a freight train. Her body shuddered uncontrollably as she pressed her face into Flynn’s chest. Her cries reverberated through him as Vaughn continued to drive into her from behind, his solid chest pressing against her back, his hands gripping her body, his cries deep and sexy. When he felt himself coming, he pulled out of her and sprayed himself on her back.

  “I’m gonna come, too,” Flynn moaned.

  Perie threw her mouth over Flynn’s cock as he unleashed his load. He sprayed the back of her throat with his seed, pumped her mouth, and she didn’t let him go until she swallowed every last drop.

  Perie felt warm, satiated, comfortably numb.

  VAUGHN WAS THE FIRST to awaken the next morning—early, as usual. It was a habit he picked up in the army and one that was difficult to break. After their sex session, the three of them curled up in the swag together. It was a tight fit, but none of them minded sleeping practically piled on top of each other, not after the night they shared. Vaughn smiled as he gazed at Flynn and Perie’s sleeping faces. He smiled at the way Flynn was spooning Perie in his sleep, holding her tight like a teddy bear. At the way Perie’s head rested atop his bicep, her own human pillow. These two people were everything. He felt alive again. It was the first time he felt anything except pain since coming back from his tour of duty in Afghanistan.

  Careful not to disturb Perie, Vaughn brushed his fingers through Flynn’s light hair. The other man’s eyes fluttered open and Vaughn was greeted with Flynn’s bright blue irises. Flynn was such a pretty boy, not that the cocky builder would ever admit it. One corner of Flynn’s mouth curled up in a smile and Vaughn returned it. Both guys lifted themselves up onto their elbows and shared a kiss. Perie groaned sleepily, forcing them to pull apart with a shared chuckle. They laid back down.

  Vaughn pressed his lips to Perie’s forehead and murmured, “Shh.”

  She quickly fell back into a deep slumber. Vaughn’s heart pitter-pattered when she snuggled deeper into his chest, her arm sliding across his middle.

  “We have to get up, there’s work to do,” Flynn whispered.

  Vaughn suppressed a groan. “Not yet. Please.” He didn’t want this moment to end, not with her sleeping on him like this.

  Flynn must’ve recognized this desire in Vaughn’s expression because a knowing smile spread across his face. “You want to hold her, hey?”

  “Is it that obvious?” Vaughn pressed a kiss to Perie’s hair.

  “Pretty much. Plus, it’s Perie . . . shes irresistible.” Flynn gently stroked her back.

  “You both are,” Vaughn corrected him.

  “Not as much as Per.” Flynn pecked Perie’s bare shoulder and slid out of the swag. “I’m making some coffee. You’ve got ten minutes of snuggle time.”

  Vaughn scowled up at Flynn.

  Flynn scooped up his jeans and shook them out. “I mean it,” he said as he stepped into them.

  Vaughn watched Flynn wander away and tucked his right arm under his head. He tried to ignore the dull pain in his ankle and focused on these last few lazy moments he had with Perie.

  ***

  “You got some of that for me, mate?”

  Flynn paused with his coffee halfway to his mouth as Mr. Miller joined him on the back verandah. He pointed to the small coffee pod station he had set up and Jack made himself busy.

  Jack placed a mug underneath the extractor. “Sounded like you had quite a night last night.”

  Flynn spluttered. “What?”

  “This is a quiet area. You don’t think I heard the late-night shenanigans from my ute?”

  Flynn frowned.

  “Look, I guess it’s none of my business, but—"

  “You’re right, it’s not.”

  Jack picked up his coffee mug and moved to stand beside the younger man. “That’s my daughter in there . . . my only kid. If you’re having sex with my girl, then as her father, I should warn you to look after her or I’ll—"

  “Or you’ll what?” Flynn snapped. “You don’t know anything about your daughter or me. You don’t understand our relationship. You’ve spent most of her life away on your grand adventures. But me? I’ve been by her side forever.”

  “Don’t lie to me. I know about the rift between you two. Four years is a long time not to talk to someone,” Jack said.

  “Four years? So, what’s twenty, hey?” Flynn retorted.

  “I visit her all the time!”

  Flynn sniggered. “For a few hours, here and there. You don’t know a thing about her. You’ve never been a part of Perie’s life. Yeah, she and I had an estrangement of sorts, if you will. But she’s back in my life now, I’m in hers and there’s no way that’s ever going to change. I’ll stick by her until the day I die, I promise you that.”

  “Do you love her?”

  Flynn gritted his teeth. There was no way he was going to let that slip to Perie’s father before he told her. He wouldn’t fall for that. “That’s none of your business.”

  Jack glanced at the early morning sun and s
et his barely touched coffee on the railing. “As much as I’d like to continue this conversation, I need to get on the road. I’m already behind schedule.”

  Flynn glared at Jack. “Don’t you think you should wait until Perie’s awake so you can say goodbye?”

  With a shrug, Jack said, “She’ll understand.”

  Flynn shook his head in anger as the old man took his leave. He said he cared about his daughter, but to Flynn, this was proof of how much he didn’t.

  ***

  Perie slowly opened her eyes and peered up at the gorgeous, naked man she’d been sleeping against. She knew she should get up. They had work to do, a house to restore. But that would require dragging herself out of Vaughn’s arms, and she didn’t want to do that yet. She traced her fingers across the tiny number tattooed into his chest—a date. She wondered what it meant.

  “Morning.” His deep, husky voice poured over her, sending a chill of excitement all the way to her bones.

  Perie shifted her gaze to meet his. “Hi.”

  Vaughn pulled her into a deep, gentle kiss. Boy, could this man kiss. His lips moved from hers to place a single kiss on her forehead, and Perie could have melted. A forehead kiss was a kiss of protection, of dedication. Only one other person had ever kissed her there, and apparently, he was already up.

  Perie’s heart pounded in her chest. She was falling fast for Vaughn all over again, though it wasn’t a hard thing to do. How could any woman resist a man like him?

  “You’re all quiet,” Vaughn observed.

  “I am,” Perie confirmed.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  Perie suddenly felt self-conscious. “Oh, it’s nothing.”

  A wicked glint flashed in Vaughn’s eyes. “If you say so.” He rolled over so he was on top of her.

  Perie draped an arm over his shoulder. She quirked her eyebrow up as she traced his tattoo again. “I was pondering what this might mean.”

  “You were?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Vaughn’s face grew dark and brooding.

  “I’m sorry if I’m prying . . ..” Perie allowed her fingers to fall away.

  He captured her hand in his and brought it up to his lips. He gently kissed her knuckles. “It’s okay. It’s hard to talk about, that’s all.”

  “Does it have to do with Afghanistan?”

  Vaughn nodded. “It was when my mate died.” He closed his eyes as she stroked his cheek. Vaughn swallowed the lump in his throat. “We were out scouting, just a normal routine thing, when we thought we were fired at. We took cover behind a car wreck. Then we realised it was only a pair of local kids being silly. Terry recognized them as some kids we knew, so he stepped out to talk to them. We didn’t want them to hurt themselves. As soon as he did, he stepped on a cheap landmine. It injured the both of us. He lost his leg and I lost my foot. He should’ve survived, but he died due to an infection in the field hospital.”

  “You lost your foot? How did I miss that?” Perie instantly pushed the covers off their naked bodies and went to investigate.

  Vaughn couldn’t help but laugh at her. He leaned back on his elbows as she inspected the prosthesis that was still attached to his ankle. “It’s a bit sore this morning. I usually take the foot off to sleep but I was . . . preoccupied last night.”

  “Oh, Vaughn.” Perie covered her mouth in shock. “Vaughn . . ..” Words seemed to abandon her.

  “Hey.” He sat up and pulled her into his arms. He pressed his forehead to hers and murmured, “It’s alright, Perie-Berry. I’m okay. This tattoo is to commemorate the day we set off the landmine. It’s a memorial to Terry and my foot.” He touched his fingers to the numbers.

  Her fingers joined his. “I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m sorry about your friend.”

  “Thank you. You make me feel better.”

  A small smile touched Perie’s face. “You’re a smooth talker, Vaughn Forester.”

  “It’s not smooth talk if I mean it.”

  Perie laughed. “Yes, it is!” She squealed as Vaughn flipped her back into the swag and leaned over her again. “That was a smooth move, soldier.”

  “I suppose it was,” he breathed against her lips as he stretched her arms over her head.

  Perie arched into him. She noticed he was becoming hard again, and she could feel him against her opening. Perie’s breath caught in her throat. He began to lower his mouth to hers. Morning sex? Hell, yes. Perie could totally do this.

  Suddenly, she was alerted to the sound of a vehicle starting up outside. Perie jerked back from Vaughn with a gasp. She disentangled herself from him and slipped from the swag. Throwing on the first item of clothing she found, she raced out onto the front verandah in time to catch sight of the taillights of her dad’s ute as it reached the end of the driveway and turned onto the narrow country road. Her shoulders slumped.

  She felt Vaughn come up behind her and wrap his arms around her.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered into her ear before he pressed a kiss to it.

  Perie gritted her teeth. “It’s for the best.” She stepped out of his embrace and stormed back into the house.

  ***

  Her father was already gone. He’d left without bothering to say goodbye. Frustrated and angry, Perie put her emotions into stripping the smaller bathroom and laundry to their bare bones. Flynn worked on tearing apart the main bedroom and Vaughn sanded back the walls of the family area.

  “Selfish, as always,” Perie grumbled to herself. “Let’s not think of others. No, bugger their feelings! The next great adventure is the most important thing, especially if there’s money involved.” She watched the old tiles and gyprock fall to the ground, exposing the copper pipes that had begun to deteriorate. As Perie tried to yank them from the wall with her bare hands, she heard chuckling from the doorway.

  There was Flynn, tatted arms folded across his chest that was barely covered by the navy singlet he wore. “They’re not going to come out like that, Per.”

  “Why not? I’m a strong, powerful woman,” she grunted. “Why can’t some copper pipes budge for me?”

  “You know better than that, Miss Interior Designer Extraordinaire.”

  In defiance, Perie grabbed a hold of the piping and pulled as hard as she could. When she ended up literally hanging off them, Flynn decided it was time to intervene. Stepping up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her slight body. He pressed his face into her hair and whispered, “Let go.”

  “No! I-I can—”

  “Let. Go,” he repeated softly, pressing his lips to her hair.

  Perie slumped against him and released the pipes. She curled into him, and absently traced her fingertips along Flynn’s tattoos. Beautiful things, they were, accentuating his stunning body. They were as much a part of him as she was.

  “Talk to me,” he murmured, kissing her hair over and over. “Is this about your dad?”

  “No! I’m trying to get this restoration under way, that’s all!”

  “Don’t lie to me. I know him leaving without saying goodbye hurt you.”

  “Why should it be about Dad?” Perie scoffed. “Nothing he does is ever about me, so why should I waste my energy on him? Why should I feel this way? It isn’t like anything has changed with him.”

  “You’re upset because you love him. You love your family. You’d do anything for the people you love, even when they don’t deserve it,” Flynn pointed out.

  Perie sighed. “I don’t get it, Flynn. Why don’t my parents have time for me? I mean, I know they have their own lives, but . . ..”

  “Don’t take it personally. It’s their loss. Just know that they love you, especially your mum.”

  Perie rolled her eyes. “So much so that she’s ditched me for an Englishman.”

  Flynn brushed his fingers along her jawline and lifted her lips towards his. “You don’t need ‘em right now.”

  Her mouth came alive as he kissed her slowly and passionately, igniting a slow burning fire in t
he pit of her stomach—a flame that wasn’t ever to be easily extinguished.

  His tongue was tantalising, dipping into her mouth for mere moments, offering her the tiniest taste before disappearing again. Wanting more, she chased his mouth, eliciting a low moan from him.

  When they parted, Perie muttered, “I love you.”

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, panic set in. With a gasp, Perie tried to step away from him, but Flynn held her steadfast. There was something in the way he looked at her that made her heart pound. Silently, he leaned her up against the half-destroyed wall and kissed her again, more intensely than he ever had before.

  “I’ve always fucking loved you,” he growled. “My whole life, Per, there’s no one else who has ever come close.”

  Perie whimpered as the pair kissed again.

  It felt so good to get this out in the open. They were both so tired of pretending they weren’t more than lifelong friends. Her relief was so immeasurable that Perie thought she might explode from somewhere deep inside her psyche. She broke away from the kiss to stare into his blue eyes. “Flynn?”

  “Hm?”

  “Do you mean it?” she whispered.

  “Yeah, Per, I mean every word.”

  “What about Vaughn? Last night with him was . . ..”

  “Fantastic. My feelings for him are growing. Last night was lust but waking up with him this morning . . . with the both of you . . .. He was stroking my hair and you were snuggled between us. It was something else.” Flynn pressed a kiss to Perie’s neck.

  With a pouty scowl, Perie said, “You weren’t there when I woke up.”

  “Sorry, hotness.” Flynn gave her one last, comforting kiss, before he pulled away. “Come on. Let’s get this bathroom gutted.”

  “Are you two just starting? Jeez, get your arses in gear.”

  Perie laughed at Vaughn as he entered the bathroom with his own violent-looking tools.