"Did you know about Severide's marriage?"
I felt him tense behind me. My eyes dropped to his hands when he moved them. He was gripping the reins so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"Yes," Thomas answered softly. "They'd just gotten married when we met."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Thomas sighed and pulled the horse to a stop. I frowned when he slid down and walked to the side of the horse. Placing a hand on my thigh, he waited until our eyes locked.
"It wasn't my place to tell," he said. "Look, Albany, I want to spend some time with you. I want to show you around and make you enjoy the rest of your stay here."
He gave my thigh a soft squeeze.
"If you're going to keep talking about them then we might as well turn around and go back to the house."
My eyes darted over his face as I tried to figure out what he was thinking. His lips were pursed and his eyes dark with anger. How could he be angry at me for asking something they should've told me from the start?
"I don't want. . ." he trailed off and made a gesture with his hand. "Everybody has gotten the chance to spend one on one time together. Every time we plan to go out, something happens." His eyes dropped for a few seconds before darting back up to mine. "I just want to spend some time with you, Al, without the mention of them or being interrupted by them."
I gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin it. I'm just confused and hurt."
Thomas nodded. "Shift back in the saddle."
I frowned but followed his order. Once I was seated again, he started leading the horse. I was disappointed that he didn't get back onto the horse because I loved the feel of his hard body pressed to my back. Besides, it was a bit scary being on the horse alone.
We walked for a few minutes before he stopped and turned towards me. He gripped my hips and helped me off. My legs shook slightly but I wasn't sure whether it was because it was my first time riding on a horse or because to the sexual tension flashing through my body.
Giving my hips a squeeze, he winked at me. I thought he was going to kiss me when he moved closer, but he ended up reaching behind me into the saddlebag.
"What's that?"
"A walkie-talkie." He grabbed my hand. "Come on."
I followed him but glanced over my shoulder at the horse. "What about him?"
"He won't go anywhere."
A moment later we slowed. Thomas led me to stand behind the thick trunk of a tree. One glance around it showed a group of ranch hands fixing a broken fence.
"There's a walkie-talkie hidden in that bush over there." He pointed to it. "Thought this might be a bit more fun since there's not a lot of traffic at our house. Ready?"
I gave him a big smile as excitement filled me. "Yes!"
***
I was going to die of laughter.
Rolling onto my back, I pressed my palm against my mouth to silence the laughter that was spilling from my lips. Next to me Thomas snorted before his own laughter broke free.
His eyes locked with mine as he leaned back. "Want to try?"
I looked at the walkie-talkie he held out toward me and shook my head. There was no way I could possibly change my voice as much as he could. Besides, he knew exactly what to say to fuck with their minds.
One thing I wanted to do with Thomas was something Crystal had added to the list. Her condo was in a quiet neighbourhood but there was a lot of foot traffic. I still remembered how she'd explained it to me—how she wanted to do it
It wasn't exactly the same but Thomas had managed to make it a bit more entertaining.
"Shit."
"What?"
"Run."
"What?"
He jumped to his feet, leaned down to grab my hand and pulled me up. I stumbled as he started tugging me behind him. One glance over my shoulder had me hurrying my steps to keep up with him.
"Hey! Stop!" the man called from behind us. "Hey! I said stop."
Thomas suddenly stopped and spun around to face me. The air was knocked from my lungs when my stomach slammed into his shoulder. My hands shot out to grip his hips to steady myself. I pushed the hair out of my face as I raised my head to look behind us.
For a moment relieve flooded me but it instantly faded because a second later they moved into view again. Two men were running after us.
"They're catching up!" I called out to Thomas.
Another curse fell from his lips.
He turned sharply, nearly slipping in the loose sand. I held on for dear life as our momentum was thrown off for a few seconds but he managed to steady us.
"Stop!"
The moment we reached the horse, Thomas nearly threw me onto it before he jumped up behind me and set the horse in motion. Within seconds we'd left the men chasing us behind. The realization that we were almost caught made laughter burst from my lips.
"When can we do that again?" I asked him after I'd calmed down.
"Soon."
We rode in silence after that. My body jerked when the vibrations suddenly started up again. I'd completely forgotten about the vibrator. My hands shot out to grip his thighs.
"Thomas," I moaned.
His lips brushed my neck as he slowed the horse. He guided him up a small hill and then pulled him to a stop again. Sliding to the ground, he helped me off and then untied the saddle bag.
Entwining our fingers, he led the way over to a tree near the bank of a narrow creek that ran through their property.
I watched as he spread the blanket out underneath the tree and then pulled out sandwiches and water. Thomas kicked off his boots and helped me take a seat before he joined me. I unwrapped my sandwich and took a small bite but ended up choking because he switched the vibration again.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I breathed.
He smirked at me. "Very much."
"Eat you lunch." Thomas nodded to the forgotten sandwich in my hand.
"Please," I breathed. "Can I take it out?"
"No, but I'll turn it off so you can eat."
Air left my lungs when he switched it off. We ate in silence. When my sandwich was done, I sipped some water and then moved to lean back against the trunk of the tree. When Thomas finished eating, he stretched out with his head on my lap.
I hesitated before I slipped my fingers into his hair. My eyes locked onto the moving water a few feet away. Thomas hadn't turned the vibrator on again, but I knew it was only a matter of time.
My eyes fluttered closed as peace settled over me. There were no worries.
"Don't stop."
My eyes snapped open. It took me a few seconds to realise that I'd stopped running my hands through his hair.
"What do you do for a living?" I asked him softly.
His lips tilted up into a crooked smile. "I create my own videogames. I'm a tester too—I test new games and give my feedback. Unlike my brother who's a math genius, I'm good with computers."
"And not with fixing cars?" I asked him as I remembered the conversation we had at Red's.
"Unfortunately not." Thomas opened his eyes and stared up me. "It'll be cheaper if you sell your car, you know that right?"
I nodded. "I've been considering it but it's kind of hard to part with something that holds a lot of memories."
"Sometimes you have to give up the things that make you happy. You need to embrace change because without change you'd never be able to move forward."
My lips curled up into a sad smile. "When did you get so smart?"
Thomas rolled his eyes but stayed silent. I watched him as he watched me. Emotions flashed through his eyes but they were hard to make sense of. Reaching up, his fingertip brushed up my neck and then along my jaw before dropping again.
"You had some dirt on your skin," he muttered.
My smile faded as my mind started to trail off. Licking my lips, I looked around us at our surroundings.
"What's it like having a twin brother?"
Chuckling, Thomas sat up and turned to face me. "It came in handy when we were in high school." His chuckle died down. "I guess it's basically the same as having an ordinary sibling. Sometimes we get along and other times we want to kill each other, but I love my brother and I can't really imagine not having him there."
Brotherly love. I grew up surrounded by children of different ages but I never got close to any of them. We only had one thing to do in that place and that was to survive.
"What about you?" Thomas asked. "How many siblings do you have? Where do your parents stay? You're always talking about Crystal and never about yourself."
I swallowed and lowered my eyes to my hands on my lap. "I don't have any siblings. My parents died when I was little. They couldn't trace any family members so I was placed in foster care."
I looked up at him to find him silently watching me. The last thing I wanted was his pity but thankfully he showed none. But I could see the curiosity and sadness that flashed through his eyes before he looked away.
"I spend most of my life going from one family to another. A few months before I left the system I ran into Crystal. We became friends and she kind of took me under her wing."
I reached out and gripped his hand because I needed something—another human being—to hold on too. Spreading his fingers open, I traced the veins on his wrist and slowly moved my finger down to the palm of his hand. His hand twitched but he didn't pull away.
Tracing all his fingers, I circled his palm again before I slipped my fingers down his hand to his wrist and then up his arm. My eyes darted up to his.
"Show me you tattoo."
I watched in delight as his pupils dilated. Instead of taking off his shirt like I wanted him too, he pulled up his sleeve and held up his arm so I could see the ink on his skin.
"I'm up to no good," I read out loud.
"In full it reads as; I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."
"What made you decide to get it?"
Thomas shrugged and instead of answering me, he cupped my cheek and leaned forward to close the space between us. His lips brushed mine softly. Hesitantly, his tongue darted out to lick my lip. My lips parted in invitation and my hands shot out to grip his shoulders.
I pushed myself up to my knees and crawled closer.
He wasn't kissing me the same way he'd kiss me a few days ago in theden. There was something different about him, about the way he touchedme.