Craving (Steel Brothers Saga Book 1) (11 page)

I
looked
into his blazing black eyes. “You have me. I’m right here.”

“But I don’t want to want you so much.”

“Why, Talon? I’ve already told you that I don’t expect you to love me. So we have a lot of sexual chemistry. What’s wrong with that? If you want me, take me.”

“I don’t want to take you.”

“You’ve taken me several times now. What’s the difference?”

He didn’t answer. Not that I expected him to. His cock was still hard as a rock, and a small drop of liquid emerged from the tip. Without thinking, I reached toward him and smoothed the liquid over the head of his cock. He closed his eyes and shuddered.

I rose, dropped to my knees on the floor between his legs, and took his cock between my lips. I licked the saltiness from the head and then pushed my lips over his shaft. He was so large I couldn’t get all the way to the base, but I got as far as I could until the back of his cock nudged my throat, and I withdrew. I licked the underside all the way down and then spread tiny kisses over his balls. I inhaled the musky scent, and then I moved away from his genitals to the sexy indentation of his hips. I kissed across his abdomen to his other side, his skin so warm against my lips. I spread tiny kisses over his thigh,

Returning to his cock, I nibbled the tip and looked up to him, meeting his gaze. “Tell me, Talon. Tell me what you want me to do.”

“I want you to…”

“What?”

Instead of answering, he pulled me upward, flipped me over onto my hands and knees, and pushed his cock into me.

“I want to fuck you, blue eyes. I want to fuck you until there’s no you left. Only me, you a part of me.”

Exactly what I wanted. “Yeah, Talon, fuck me. Fuck me hard.”

He obliged, pounding into me, his balls slapping against my cunt lips. A few seconds later, the blunt tip of his finger nudged my asshole. Yes, he was going to do it. He was going to finger my anus again. And I would not stop him. I hadn’t stopped him the first time.

And it suddenly dawned on me that I would never stop him.

Never.

He could do what he wanted to me, to my body, and I would welcome it. I would welcome it all.

I arched when he breached the tightness, his finger sliding in and out in a different rhythm from his cock.

“That’s it, blue eyes. I’m taking you. Taking your pussy and your ass. One day I’m going to fuck this ass. I’m going to fuck you so hard in the ass, and you’re going to come for me.”

His words made me gush. I exploded into a shattered climax. I cried out, my walls clenching around him.

“God, yes. That feels so good. Come for me, baby. Come all over me.”

The climax unfurled within me, taking me outside myself, making me tingle all over.

Rapture. Such rapture.

He fucked me harder, all the while drilling my ass.

“Yeah, fuck you. Want to fuck you, fuck you, fuck you.” With each “fuck you,” he plunged farther and farther into my pussy. “That’s it, take me. Take me, Jade. Take my cock in your hot little pussy. Take it all. All of me.”

And with one last thrust, he groaned out, “Yes, that’s it, coming inside you. I’m marking you. Taking what is mine.”

A few timeless moments passed with us joined, and then he finally withdrew from my pussy and my ass and collapsed on the bed, one arm over his forehead.

I wanted to say so much to him. I wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to leave. I wanted to tell him that I had decided not to leave, that although I knew something tortured him, that something was poisoning him, I needed to stay here and help him. I wanted to tell him that he meant something to me. I wasn’t sure what that was yet, but he meant something to me. Something important, something…essential.

But I couldn’t say any of these things. Not yet, at least. I lay down next to him when a fist pounded on the door.

“Shit!” I grabbed my boxer shorts and tank top and threw them on. “Who is it?” I called out.

“It’s Marj. Can I come in?”

I eyed the door. Had I locked it? I couldn’t tell from where I was. I walked closer. Shit, it was unlocked. What had I been thinking? What would Talon think?

“Just a minute. I’m not decent.”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Jade, we were roommates for four years.” The doorknob turned.

Quickly I pushed in the locking mechanism just in time. “I’ll be ready in a minute.”

I went back to the bed. Talon was sitting up, grabbing his boxers and jeans.

“You need to hide in the bathroom,” I whispered.

He let out a soft chuckle. “Are you insane? This is my house.”

“Do you want your sister to know we were screwing?”

His eyes darkened for moment, and his lips turned down into a slight frown. Then he nodded. “You’re right.” He headed to the bathroom and quietly shut the door.

I unlocked the door and faced Marj. “What is it?”

She eyed me. “You’re wearing your pajamas. You said you weren’t decent.”

“I…wasn’t. I had started to go into the shower, and then you knocked on the door, so I had to put my jammies back on.”

That seemed to appease her, although the skeptical eyebrow arch indicated she wasn’t quite satisfied with my explanation. I pushed her out of the room. “Let’s get some coffee. I need a caffeine boost.”

She didn’t argue with me, and for that I was eternally grateful. “Okay, there should be some coffee in the kitchen. Joe and Ryan were here earlier.”

Sure enough, half a pot of brew sat on the burner, still warm. I poured a cup for me and for Marj, and we sat down at the kitchen table.

“So what did you want? Why were you knocking at my door?”

“I decided to see what you want to do today. It’s Sunday, and in the small town of Snow Creek, that means everything is pretty much closed. It’s Felicia’s day off too, so I thought maybe we could have some fun.”

“Oh?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Yeah. Let’s make something. Let’s cook today.”

Although Marj loved to cook, I didn’t exactly share the sentiment. I’d been cooking all my life because no one else was around to do it. “That’s fun for you, not for me.” I laughed.

She punched me in the arm. “If we don’t cook, we either have to go into Grand Junction to eat, or we go hungry.”

I rolled my eyes. “If you say so.”

“Besides, we have the best beef in the good old US right here on Steel Acres. I’ll pull out some steaks. How does that sound?”

One thing about Marj—she could put it away like a teenage boy and still keep that gorgeous figure of hers. Probably because she was so tall.

A smile crept up on me. “Let’s make dinner for Talon.”

Marj jumped up and hugged me around the neck. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

I froze. Did she know what was going on between Talon and me? Would she be okay with it?

“It means that…I’ll help you cook dinner.”

“Yay! So you’re not leaving! I was hoping you’d decide to stay.”

I heaved a sigh of relief. “Yeah. I guess so. For now. I should get my bar results next week. Maybe as soon as tomorrow.” My nerves jumped. “God, I hope I passed.”

Marj sat down. “You’re brilliant, Jade. Of course you passed.”

“I hope you’re right. That test was pretty daunting. Two whole days. The essays weren’t so bad. I mean, I know the material. But that multiple-choice test…”

“How could that be the harder of the two?”

“Because the essays were straightforward. The multiple-choice test had no ‘right answer.’ You had to choose the
best
answer. I could eliminate two pretty quickly, but then there were two that could go either way. By the time I started thinking about which one it could be, I realized I was wasting time. The test is timed, so I had to decide on an answer and move forward. I think I know four that I actually got right. The rest were a crapshoot.”

Marj smiled and placed her hand on my forearm. “Jade, I’m really not worried. I know you passed.”

“From your mouth to God’s ears. I sure hope so. Although I have to tell you, I’ve really been enjoying working with Ryan at the winery.”

“There’s no reason why you can’t continue to do that.”

“With a license to practice law, I kind of feel like I should be practicing law. But at least I can continue working at the winery until I find a job.”

Footfalls clomped behind me.

“Morning, Tal,” Marj said.

I turned. Talon stood in his jeans and bare feet. He hadn’t bothered to put his shirt back on. I hoped Marj hadn’t seen him come from our side of the hallway. God, he looked good—his hair tousled and sexy, just hitting his shoulders, his long eyelashes fringing his dark-as-night eyes, his lips red and swollen from our kisses. Basically, he looked like he had just had hot monkey sex.

My skin tightened. Suddenly I felt very conspicuous. If he looked like he had just had amazing sex…what did I look like?

“Hey,” was all he said. He walked toward the coffee maker and poured himself a cup.

“Sit down with us for a few minutes,” Marjorie said.

“Can’t. Got work to do.”

“Talon, it’s Sunday. And you were just in the hospital yesterday. Take a load off, for God’s sake.”

Talon visibly tensed. “I’m fine. And the trees don’t stop growing just because it’s Sunday, Marjorie.”

Marj rolled her eyes. “Fine, then. Go tend to your trees. But be back here by six p.m. sharp, because Jade and I are going to make a gourmet feast tonight.”

“Oh, you are?” He turned to me.

“Hey, don’t look at me. This is her idea. My contribution will be grilled cheese with tomato.”

His cheeks reddened. Just a bit, but I noticed.

“We’re having rib eyes, Tal. One hundred percent Steel-raised beef.”

That got a dimple out of Talon. “Best there is.”

“See if Joe and Ryan can come too. I’ll get out five steaks.”

“Sure, whatever.” Talon took his coffee and walked out of the kitchen.

I sighed. “He sure is a man of few words.” Except for when he was in the middle of hot monkey sex. But I kept that to myself.

“That’s just his way. Although I am a little worried about yesterday.”

I nodded. I was worried about him too, but I didn’t want voice that concern to Marj just yet. I still didn’t know how she would take the fact that I was sleeping with her brother, and not just any brother—the tortured one. Why didn’t Marj see what I saw?

And then it came to me, like a concrete block hitting me on the head. Talon must have been this way since Marj was born. She didn’t know any other Talon.

But Ryan and Jonah knew. I had seen the awareness—the sadness—in their eyes when I had talked to them about Talon. They knew something—something they were keeping well hidden. Ryan had said it wasn’t his story to tell.

Marj didn’t know, or she would’ve told me. She and I didn’t have secrets. Except now we did. I hadn’t told her about Talon and me. A wave of guilt washed over me. I should tell her. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t just my story to tell. It was Talon’s too, and I had to consider his feelings.

She chatted on and on about nothing in particular while I sipped my coffee—man, I needed to teach these people about brewing strong coffee—and listened with only one ear.

“So what you do think?” she asked.

I had no idea what she had asked me. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Jade, you have not been listening to a word I’ve said.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry. My mind has just been other places, I guess. What did you need?”

“I said, ‘what do you think about asparagus spears and twice-baked potatoes with our steaks tonight?’”

“Sure, that sounds great.”

“I thought I’d grill the asparagus outside along with the steaks. Have you ever had grilled asparagus? It’s to die for.”

I smiled and shook my head. “Nope. At least not that I know of.”

“Well, you’re going to love it. What do you think we should make for dessert?”

Why was she asking me? My idea of dessert was opening a carton of Ben & Jerry’s. Which sounded pretty darn good at the moment. “I don’t know. Something chocolate?”

“Yes! Perfect. I’ll make my famous French silk pie. I just hope we have all the ingredients in the pantry since the grocery stores aren’t open today. I don’t want to drive all the way to the city for graham cracker crumbs.” Marj rose and walked across the vast kitchen to the walk-in pantry. “Sugar, check. Unsweetened chocolate, check. Crumbs, check.” She came out of the pantry and walked to the fridge. “Butter, check. Eggs, check. No heavy cream. That’s okay, I can substitute this half-and-half. It will be great. And we have plenty of asparagus and ten pounds of potatoes in the pantry.” She opened the freezer and pulled out a couple packs of meat wrapped in white butcher’s paper. “And rib eyes. Jade, tonight you will eat the best steak of your life.”

I laughed. “I’ve had Steel beef before, remember? When I visited during college? And that’s exactly what you said to me then.”

She laughed. “Well, it’s still true. I’m so excited to cook.”

“You’ve been home for a while. How come you haven’t cooked?”

“Well, I love Felicia’s cooking so much. To tell you the truth, I don’t really know. I should do more cooking.”

“Have you reconsidered enrolling in culinary school?”

Marj tilted her head. “That’s my dream. But I’m expected to stay here and help with the ranch. I mean, it
is
one quarter mine.”

I nodded. I understood. Why should she walk away from this empire she lived on? I sure as heck wouldn’t. Here I was, saddled with loans from college and law school, and currently living off Marjorie and her daddy’s money.

I hoped I could find a job as an attorney. Until recently, I’d been planning to join the legal team at Colin’s father’s Denver satellite office. Those plans had blown up on my nonexistent wedding day.

But this wasn’t about me. It was about Marjorie.

“If that’s really your dream, why not talk to your brothers about it? Surely they’d understand.”

“Yeah, I should. It’s just easier staying here. I don’t have to worry about anything.”

Easy. Yeah, Marj did have it easy. I bit back a surge of envy. I certainly didn’t begrudge her the good fortune, but man, my life would have been a lot easier if I’d had a little money. My dad did the best he could, and I never got a penny from my mother. Her much-younger second husband had seen to that.