"He's taking it all over," Sabella snapped. "The garage. Me. As though he thinks everything Nathan had should be his."
"He could just be dominating." Kira waved the truth of Sabella's statement away. "Hell, ride him for a while, get him out of your system, then send him on his way. Things are never so complicated as they are in the middle of a sexual crisis. Get the sex out of the way, and the problems tend to solve themselves."
Sabella stared back at Kira.
Sienna didn't speak. She sipped her wine and watched Sabella instead.
"Are we going to get drunk? If I have to have this conversation, then I at least want an excuse for being blunt, if you don't mind? Otherwise, Rick is going to be pissed I stuck my nose in this. And you know, I tend to do without sex myself when he's pissed."
Sabella emptied her glass and held it out for more. Kira watched them both in amusement.
They drank that glass and started on another when Sabella suddenly sighed heavily.
"I gave him a blow job."
Kira jumped as Sienna's wine spurted across the table. The sheriff's wife choked, covered her mouth, and turned to Sabella.
"You did what?"
Sabella finished her wine, amused that her friend was so shocked. "I told you what I did."
"Was it good?" Kira drawled.
Oh, Kira could not wait until Ian came home. This was going to be so much fun. Better yet, she couldn't wait until she saw Noah again.
"It was so good." Sabella was tipsy. She hadn't been tipsy in years. "So good. More excellent than I imagined it could be."
"And did he at least return the favor?" Sienna sighed. "I'm going to get in so much trouble here. You two know this. Right? Rick will just worry."
"You're going to tell him I gave Noah a blow job?" Sabella whispered. Horrified. "You wouldn't?"
"I'll be drunk," Sienna moaned. "And we have a bet."
"A bet?" Sabella was outraged. "What kind of bet?"
"He bet me you would throw him out." Sienna glared at her. "I bet him you would pull his ears off."
Sabella blinked uncertainly. "Why would I do that?"
Sienna rolled her eyes. "'You know, sweetie. Grab his ears and pull when you come." She wagged her brows. " 'Cause it's good."
Sabella turned to Kira as she snorted, nearly choking on her wine.
"We know better than to let her get drunk," Sabella reminded Kira. "She gets naughty. Remember?"
"Yeah, like that night Nathan had to come get you from the house." Sienna laughed. "Do you remember, Sabella? I told him we were going to buy you an electric blanket and a vibrator?"
Sabella had to laugh. "I don't know if he was fascinated or outraged."
"He was definitely thinking about the vibrator," Sienna said, laughing even more.
Sabella smiled. It was a good memory. He had carried her out of Sienna's house and taken her home. And he had loved her.
"I miss him," she said softly, finishing another glass of wine.
"But he's gone." Sienna said, her voice quiet.
"Yeah," Sabella breathed out, watching as Sienna refilled her glass as well. "He's gone."
And now Noah was invading her life.
"What do I do now?" She looked at the two women.
"I'm all for you pulling his ears off," Sienna said.
"Nathan left you, Sabella," Kira told her gently. "Do you think he would berate you?"
Sabella was quiet for long moments before she whispered, "I promised him forever."
"Forever with him. Is he here now?" Kira pointed out gently. "You don't have to give Noah forever, Bella. Give him a night. Get over the sex and take your life back."
"I'm not cheating," Sabella said, her gaze meeting Kira's.
Something inside her loosened. Something fell into place, but she was just too damned tipsy to realize what it was. "Ami?"
"Oh dear, trust me." Kira smiled back at her. "The last thing you're doing is cheating. You can take that one to the bank."
Glasses clinked, refilled, and the three women sat back and proceeded to get outrageously tipsy. Well, Sabella thought several hours later as Ian walked in and stared at them in shock, maybe they were a little bit drunk.
* * *
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"Oh hell!" Rory groaned as he hung the phone up then covered his face with his hands.
Noah turned from where he was watching the driveway through the windows of the office and glanced at his brother with a frown.
"What?"
Rory had that look. One of trepidation. Warning. Male amusement.
"Belle's drunk."
Noah froze. There it went. His balls drew up in fear. Pure, unadulterated male fear. Because Sabella did not pull her punches when she was drunk.
"Tell me she's not at Sienna Grayson's?"
"That was Ian Richards. She's at his house." Rory sighed. "The sheriff is there to pick up Sienna. He's threatening to lock Belle, his wife, and Ian Richards's wife up for the night if I don't come get her. Evidently, they're trash-talking men in general and having a hell of a lot of fun doing it. I think I heard something about a sexual crisis in the background, and Ian is cracking the hell up with laughter."
Yeah, that was fear pinching his balls.
"Call him back," Noah breathed out roughly as he grabbed his jacket from the wall peg and grabbed the keys to Rory's truck from his desk. 'Tell him we're coming after her."
The garage was already closed and everything locked up for the night. They had just been waiting for Sabella to return.
"Should I wish you luck or order roses for your new gravesite?"
"Just call Ian and tell him we're coming," he growled and headed out the door. "I'll pull the truck around and pick you up."
He should have known when he saw her drive off. Hell, he had known. A part of him was well aware that his wife was pissed off and would head to Sienna's. He hadn't expected Kira. He knew they'd connected as friends, but not to this extent. There would be hell to pay now, and not just from Sabella, but Kara as well.
He and Rory arrived at the house, pulling in behind Kira's small sports car, and Noah shook his head. He knew Kira. She was a troublemaker. A former Homeland Security agent with too damned much time on her hands now. She had driven Ian insane until he married her in what Nathan swore was an attempt at some peace.