Bitter Hearts (A Southern Loving Book 3) (9 page)

“Oh-oh,
Hank,” she panted.

He
gritted his teeth to keep himself from cumming quickly.  Rolling over with Kari
on her back he delivered slow, grinding thrusts that made her eyes roll to the
back of her head.

“Oh…yes,”
she screamed, meeting his thrust with her own. 

He
shuddered as he sank deeper into her. “I didn’t know it would be this good between
us.” Hank lifted her leg and placed it on his shoulder. He pushed deeper,
eliciting a long moan from her.

“Incredible,”
was all that she could manage to say in a low and husky voice.

He
lifted her other leg and placed it on his shoulder, then he pulled out and pushed
in again, roughly. Kari didn’t know it was possible to feel him so deep inside
of her like that. He ground and swiveled his hips, pulling out, pushing in,
grinding and swiveling again.

“I
need to come,” she begged.

Hank
pinned her arms above her head. He kissed her shoulders and devoured her lips.
He thrust harder into her causing Kari to scream into his mouth. He delivered
five long thrusts before her body shuddered into a million pieces. Hank
followed right behind her, grunting.

Panting,
he gently pulled out and fell beside her.

“When
you think of future, what you see?” he asked after a minute.

“Don’t
tell me you’re getting all emotional with me,” she said, perched up on her
elbow.

“No,
I’m just wondering…Don’t you want a husband and kids?” he asked.

Sighing,
she laid back down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. “Honestly, I don’t
even know anymore.” Turning around she faced him. “What about you?”

“Everyone
year to have that person to spend the rest of our lives with.” He reached up
and caressed the side of Kari’s face. “My wife left me for another man, who she
believed could give her more than I could.”

“What
did she want?”

“A
different lifestyle.” He paused to keep his anger in check. “Natalie met me
when I was the lead guitarist for Austin.”

“Is
she a groupie?”

“Everyone
thought so,” he chuckled uneasy. “I guess I should of listened to them.”

“You
were in love,” she said, stroking his arm. “When we’re in love sometimes we can
be blinded on what is going on in front of us.”

“Who
was the man that broken your heart?” When the words came out of his mouth, he
felt Kari’s body stiffen.

“Sam
Russell, my parents warned me about him but I didn’t listen. This was the man I
was planning to marry and have children with. He cheated on me with my best
friend.”

“Our
lives were shattered overnight,” he said, intertwining his fingers with hers.

“Yep,
I moved away from there to get away from everyone, including my parents.” She
scooted closer to his heated body.

“Why
them…I wish every day that I had my mom.” He lifted her chin up to meet her
eyes. “You only have one mom and dad.”

“I’m
not good for anyone, I put this happy expression on my face but truthfully the
day my heart was broken bitter toxic poison worked it ways into my veins.”

“Don’t
let it cripple you.” He planted a light kiss on her lips.

“Shouldn’t
you be mad?” she asked, sitting up in bed. “We both had a knife stabbed in our
backs by people who said they loved and care about us.  I refused to allow that
happen to me again.”

“For
weeks I allowed myself to think about their affair, wondering if they slept in
my bed.  I tortured myself with details of their intimacy. I’m choosing to
forgive them but I cannot continue to let resentment and anger consume my
life.” He kissed her again. “You shouldn’t either.”

“Maybe,”
she mumbled. “I don’t wanna be hurt again.”

“I
know.” He wiped the tears that fell down from her eyes. “I won’t hurt you,” he
promised.

“That’s
what you say,” she said, moving away from him.

“You’re
so fucking cold,” Hank said, getting out of bed.

Kari
watched as he put his clothes on in a hurry. “We agreed no emotional attachment.”

“So,
you’re okay with being a piece of ass that only serves one purpose?” he said.

“I’m
proposing that we be friends with benefits,” Kari said, storming to the
bathroom.

Hank
stopped putting on his clothes. The shower turned on in the bathroom. Rebound
sex echoed in his head. If Kari was going to give him something to ease his
mind without the hopes of commitment, who was he to turn it down.

Stripping
his clothes off, he strolled into the large bedroom, opening the glass door he
stepped into the shower that could fit ten people. His arms snaked around
Kari’s waist and pulled her to him.

“You
decided to stay,” she said in a low voice.

“Friends
with benefits only,” he slowly pushed into her.

“Nothing
else,” she moaned before they started round two in the shower.

***

The
next evening Kari was about to pick up the phone to call the Chinese restaurant
down the street, when a knock sounded at her door. 

“Well
Mr. Jackson, you’re thirty-minutes early and I haven’t even called to place the
order,” Kari said, with her hands on her hips.  She tried not to lick her lips
at the fine specimen standing in front of her; wearing his signature blue jeans
and plaid button up shirt.

“I
thought we could go on a date,” He held his black cowboy hat in his hands. “I
already ordered our food, we just have to pick it up.”

Kari
leaned against the door with her arms folded. “We were supposed to have dinner
here,” she said.

“Have
you ever been spontaneous?”

“Fine,”
she conceded. “Where are we having dinner at?”

“On
the back of my pickup truck,” Hank replied, as she gathered her purse. He
laughed when Kari put her belongings back down. “Don’t worry; we’re going to
have fun…the keyword for tonight is spontaneous.”

“Okay.”
She turned the lights off and followed him out of the house.

An
hour later, they were sitting on the back of the pickup truck, underneath the
stars, eating delicious Chinese food, and listening to a slow country tune over
the radio. Kari was surprised by how Hank had planned everything out, right
down to the tea candle that flickered in the night air.

“I
never had this,” Kari confessed, playing with the chopsticks in her hands.

“Chinese
food?” He smiled, struggling to use his own set of chopsticks.

“Experiencing…
this…it’s kind of romantic.” Kari stared down at her shrimp fried rice with her
sudden embarrassing confession. When she looked up into his gorgeous grey eyes,
she swore up and down she was lost in those orbs of his. “Thank you.”

“Darling,
you deserve to be wined and dined.” Hank winked at her.

“What
does a man deserve? People say that a woman wants to be wined and dined, but
what do you want?” Her voice was nervous as she put the carton of half eaten
food down.

“A
good woman.”

The
ranch was silent with the exception of the soft music, owl hooting, and
crickets chirping. “You’ll never master the use of chop sticks,” she laughed. She
picked up the sticks that Hank referred to as toothpicks, using the utensils to
pick up a piece of General Tso’s Chicken, she held it to his mouth.

Without
hesitation he took a bite and chewed slowly. “It’s good.”  

Kari
quickly looked up at the sky when Hank’s heated stare became too much for her.
It’s like the saying if it’s too hot in the kitchen stay out. “It’s a clear
night to look at the constellations,” she pointed out.

Han
put the food away in the wicker picnic basket. “Come.” He took her by the hand
and guided her to the front of the truck where he spread the blanket out on the
hood and helped her climb on top. He followed suite and laid next to her.

Kari
settled next to him as they both stared up at the sky. “It’s like playing
connect the dots.”

“Do
you see the Big Dipper?” Lifting his finger up, he outlined the constellation
for her.

She
nodded her head. “The myth is, that a wood-nymph named Callisto was a maiden
and huntress. When Jupiter caught sight of her he immediately desired her. He
tricked her by taking shape of her mistress, Diana. Legends say that he took
advantage of her. Eventually, Callisto bore a son to Jupiter, Arcas, which
infuriated Juno the wife of Jupiter, her jealously and envy transformed
Callisto into a bear.”

“What
happen to the son?”

“Callisto
lived in the wild until one day she heard Arcas’ voice while he was hunting in
the woods. She greeted him in bear form, when he raised his bow to kill her,
Jupiter laid hands on Arcas and transformed him into a littler bear. The king
of gods then placed mother and child into the heavens.”

“We
could have went home and watch brother bear,” Hank mused.

Kari
laughed so hard tears pricked the corner of her eyes. “This is relaxing,” she
yawned, closing her eyes. “I could stay out here all night,”

“It’s
going to rain; I can smell it in the air.”

Opening
her eyes, she peered up at the clear night sky. “I don’t smell any rain and
there’s no clouds in the sky.”  As soon as the words left her mouth, it was
like the heavens unleashed on them.

Hank
hooted and hollered as Kari scrambled to get off the hood of his truck. “I
thought you said there’s no rain,” he mocked.

“Shut
up my hair’s getting wet,” she squealed.

“Are
you the wicked witch of the west? Are you going to melt?” Hank laughed.

“No!!...
But rain is like kryptonite for a black women’s hair.” Kari tried opening the
car door, but it was locked. “Jackson, open the door!”

“Seize
the day or shall I say night!” Hank shouted over the rain, as it poured down on
them.

Kari
wiped her wet forehead around. “Seize what? A cold. I don’t understand.”

“Ain’t
no man ever danced with you in the rain?” he asked.

She
stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face. Standing outside in the rain
was long forgotten. “I‘ve never danced in the rain.”

“Dance
with me.” Hank held his hand out for her.

“Okay.”
She put her hand into his.

A
song by Keith Urban played “All for You,” softly on the speakers. Hank led her
to a spot away from the truck as the headlights served as their spotlight. She
gingerly put her arms around him as they began to dance.  Kari felt his hand on
her back and his chest close to her. She closed her eyes and took a deep
breath, inhaling his scent.

“I’m
falling for you,” he crooned.

A
slow dance in the rain was worth the cold that would come within a few weeks.
Kari looked up at him as they moved in unison. “Thank you,” she said in a mere
whisper.

“Darling,
anything for you.”

“I’m
surprise…” her voice trailed off.

“That
I don’t have to left feet?” He twirled her around and roughly pulled her
against him. “Sugar, there’s a lot you don’t know.”

They
danced together silently until the song ended. Standing toe to toe and eye to
eye, until Hank blushed when he found himself getting lost in those big brown
eyes of her.

“I
will always remember this night,” Kari said, her voice husky,

His
lips crashed hungrily down upon hers.

“Hank,”
she sighed against his lips.

“Should
we stop?” He kissed the crook of her neck as he felt her small hands
unbuttoning his shirt quickly.

“N…No,”
she breathed, as Hank nibbled on her earlobe. His tongue made its way down
Kari’s neck; she yelped as he picked her up and carried her to the tailgate of
the truck. Sitting her on the edge, he bunched the skirt of her sundress up
around her waist while her hands moved to remove his pants. He groaned at the
sensation of his erection springing free.

His
hands trailed around her hips and cupped her ass, pulling her closer to him.
“Utterly beautiful,” Hank repeated, as he slid into her.

Kari
grabbed a fist full of Hank’s wet, curly hair and her tendrils clung to her damp
face. His hands slid over her entire body, unable to get enough of her flesh.
Her legs wrapped around him tighter as they moved faster causing the tailgate
to squeak.

“Yes,”
she purred against his neck, unable to resist the urge to nip his skin.

“You
do something to me.” Hank ripped the strap on her dress, causing her breasts to
spill free. He hungrily latched onto her breast, looping his arm under her
thigh, he dived deeper into her. Kari moans filled the night air. He rocked
harder into her until they were both panting.

“Faster,”
she demanded in a low voice. “Don’t stop, Hank.” Her voice hit a new octave.

He
held onto her tightly, and she dug her fingers deeper into his back in an
effort to keep up with the pace.