Sophie Oak: Siren in the City

“Open, Abigail.” Sam Fleetwood’s voice was dangerously low.

Abby Barnes knew he was rapidly getting irritated with her refusal, but it didn’t matter. She was done taking his crap. It had been going on for far too long. He’d been shoving stuff in her mouth for days. She simply wasn’t taking it anymore. This was her bedroom, not some prison cell. He was her husband, not her jailer. Abby’s hand toyed with the magazine lying on top of the comforter. She had to figure out how to handle Sam.

“No.” There was really only one way to handle him. Sam had to be handled head on. She knew there was a stubborn look on her face. She eyed him, giving him the sternest look in her repertoire. She crossed her arms and sat back against the headboard of the bed. It was time to make a stand. She wasn’t spending one more day with him like this. She was done obeying him.

“I swear to god, Abigail, if you don’t open that pretty mouth of yours and let me inside, I’m going to turn you over my knee,” Sam promised. His gorgeous face was turning an amusing shade of red.

Abby primly pulled up the comforter. She was settled in for a nice long fight. “I don’t think Jack will like the idea of you turning me over your knee, Sam. You’re supposed to be taking care of me.” Jack Barnes was Abby’s legal husband. They had married in a civil ceremony six months before. Together with Sam, they had formed a very happy threesome. Jack was an alpha male, and beyond that, he was a Dom in every sense of the word. Abigail was more than happy to be his submissive. Jack took very good care of her, and he also took care of Sam.

Sam’s blue eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head to the side studying her for a moment. “That’s what I’m trying to do. I am trying to take care of you just like Jack requested. You are the one being extremely stubborn. Come on, baby. Don’t you want to be full?” The last question was asked with a low growl.

Abby rolled her eyes. She wasn’t giving in just because he used his sexy voice. “I’m full enough, Sam. I don’t need you to fill me up. I’m fine. I’m perfectly satisfied, so you’ve done your duty. Why don’t you go see if Jack needs help? You’ve been in bed with me for three days. I can’t take anymore.” And if Jack Barnes didn’t agree, he could just come and tell her himself. “You’ll take as much as I give you, Abigail.” Sam leaned forward aggressively. “Now, Benita made this chicken soup, and you’re going to eat it. It’s supposed to be good for colds.” He held out the spoon once more. “Open up.”

“No.” Abby went back to reading her magazine.

The way Abigail Barnes viewed it, she was well on the path to recovery. The bacterial infection that had settled into her lungs was almost gone thanks to antibiotics. She wasn’t coughing anymore, and her head felt clear. She was tired but feeling better. Now she just had to convince Sam to get off her back. He’d been playing nurse for days, and it was starting to drive her crazy. She’d been a nurse for ten years and never once had she ridden herd on a patient the way Sam did.

Sam stood up. He moved the tray off the bed and stood over her. Abby glanced up at the man she thought of as husband number two. Though she was annoyed with him at the moment, she couldn’t help but sigh. Sam Fleetwood was a gorgeous man. He had sandy blond hair that curled around his ears. His blue eyes were the most prominent features on a handsome face that also boasted sensual lips. His chest was what had her attention now, though. He was wearing nothing but a faded pair of Levi’s, and it left his perfectly cut chest on heart-stopping display. Abby wanted to reach out and run her hands down his chest to his six-pack and lower, but she had a point to make.

“Go away, Sam,” she said dismissively as if she didn’t want to throw him down on the bed and have her way with him. That would only reward his overbearing behavior, she told herself.

Sam’s Texas accent was thick as he explained his world view to her. “You don’t seem to understand the order of things, Abigail. Let me explain a little geometry to you. You seem to think we’re a triangle, with Jack at the top and you and me on equal planes at the bottom. We aren’t a triangle. We’re a straight line, baby. Jack might be at the head of this household of ours, but I’m on top of you, and that’s just the way I like it. Jack gives the orders to me, and I give the orders to you.”

Now Abby felt her eyes narrow. Sam didn’t have a dominant bone in his body. Jack might be at the head of the household, but she would be damned if Sam wasn’t on the same level she was. Sam was her playmate. Sam was her best friend. He was not her keeper.

Abby got to her knees on the big bed. She was wearing a very cute set of green baby doll pajamas. As she leaned forward, she couldn’t help but notice Sam’s distinct interest in her breasts, bouncing without the support of her bra. She kept her voice low so he would know she was serious. “Is that right, Samuel Fleetwood? Do you think just being a man gives you the right to top me?”

That gave him pause. His hands went to his lean hips. He seemed to think about his answer, and then still got it all wrong. “Yes, Abby, yes I do. I’m the man in this relationship, and you should obey me.”

Abby hurled a pillow toward his head. “You’re the man? Who are you kidding? Jack’s the man. You’re the…” She struggled to find a word to describe him. Sam was fun and playful. He wasn’t demanding in any way except sexually. Sam was the indulgent one. She settled for truth. “You’re the Sam in this relationship, and that means you follow Jack’s orders just like I do.” They did follow Jack’s orders, when they couldn’t find a way around them. Though lately, she allowed, there hadn’t been all that many orders to follow.

Sam stared at her, and Abby began to get the feeling she had handled this morning’s confrontation all wrong. Her heart softened toward the man who formed one-half of her world. “Baby, that didn’t come out right,” she tried.

Sam took a step back. His handsome face was marred by a frown. He waved off her worry. “It’s no big deal, darlin’. I get the message. You’re feeling better. You don’t need a keeper. I’ll go get dressed and find some work to do. Jack’s been on his own for days.” He turned to leave.

Abby was off the bed in a shot. She wound her arms around Sam’s waist, knowing he would never do anything so impolite as break her hug. He stood still for a moment, and then all of his instincts took over. He relaxed against her as his hands curled around her body and found her backside.

“You really feeling better?” His question was leading.

Abby didn’t bite, not yet. “I feel like crap, Sam, and not in a physical sense. I shouldn’t have talked to you that way. You are so important to me. You know I love you.”

He laughed softly. “I know you love me, Abby. You wouldn’t put up with me if you didn’t love me.”

She kissed the well-defined muscles of his shoulders softly. He smelled like soap and some masculine smell she couldn’t quite define. “You aren’t hard to put up with. I love you, Sam. Jack loves you, too.” Abby knew exactly where Sam’s insecurities lay.