The One Place (11 page)

I walked around the bed to the side he was on and sat down next to him. He sat up and put his hands on my hips over the towel. He leaned forward slowly and pressed his lips to my jaw. Languidly, he placed kisses all along my jaw, down my throat, and back until he got to my mouth. He pressed his lips to mine and I opened for him. His hands still at my hips but occasionally gently rubbing up my sides, he tilted his head and stroked my tongue with his. My body started to take over and my mind blanked. God, just his kisses and I could feel the rush of liquid between my legs. I melted towards him and he took this as a signal to reach up and undo my towel, slowly pulling it open. Once he had it open, he put his hands back to my hips and pulled me down so that I was laying in the bed under him. He took the towel and threw it to the floor beside the bed. His hands went from my hips and up and he palmed both of my bare breasts with his mouth still on mine making magic. I could feel him hard against me. I obviously was having the same effect on him that he was having on me. God, it made me feel powerful that I could do that to him.

One of his hands let go of my breast and traveled its way down to between my legs. His mouth broke from mine as he touched me. “Fuck, Talie. Already soaked for me. Fuckin’
love
that.”

His words acted as a catalyst to turn me on more. “Fuckin’ runnin’ outta you.” He groaned, I moaned, and I reached for him.

I wrapped my hand around him and moved down and then back up over the top using gentle pressure. He liked it. “Fuckkk.”

His forehead dropped to mine and, his voice rough, he whispered, “Gotta be in you, Babe. Can’t take it. You on birth control?”

Shit.
Believe it or not I had forgotten all about that. I was, I mean I had been. No way was I going to risk getting pregnant with Andrew’s baby. But when I took off, it was in my bag that blew up and I hadn’t even given it a thought since.

Tuck read the answer on my face. “Relax, Babe. We’ll use a condom. I don’t want anything between us, so we’ll just have to get you to the doctor.”

That made me think of something else. “Have you ever had sex without a-”

“Never.”

Okay, that was good. “You’re different, Talie. Told you that. Wanna be as close to you as possible.”

Well, that was
really
good. “Okay.”

He grabbed a condom from the nightstand and spoke as he rolled it on. “Ok, Babe. Climb on top. Your show first. Want you to show me what you like.”

I started to get nervous, but he didn’t give me any time. He lifted me up, twisted me, and set me back down straddling him. He lifted me again, positioned himself at my opening, and settled me down onto him.
Sweet mother of Jesus
, he was big. But he was also perfect. Like he was made for me.

He reached up palming my breasts and said, “Body is so fuckin’ hot, Baby.” Pausing for a second to growl he continued, “Need you to move, Babe.”

Oh. Yeah. Right. It felt so good just to be full of him that I had made no progress further than that. I lifted up just holding onto the tip and then sank down. “Oh,
God
.”

I started pounding up and down, increasing my speed and adding a twist and grind at the end of my downward movement. He reached down and started circling my nub with his thumb. It felt fucking delicious.

My mind was blank with my fog of pleasure and I kept going, faster and harder.

Through his own pleasure, Tuck ground out, “Fuck, Baby. Yeah, that’s it. Fuckin’ ride me.”

It had been building and building for me and at his words I lost it. “Tuck, Oh God. I’m gonna come, Baby.”

“Give it to me, Talie. Let go.” At his command, I let go and came by far the hardest I ever had in my life. As I tumbled over into the abyss and lost the ability to move, Tuck flipped me onto my back and kept pounding into me. “Jesus, Baby. Yes.” Three final strokes and he lost it. “Fuckkk. My Talie.” We were both glistening with sweat, and I had never been so grateful to ruin a shower.

He kept gliding in and out of my gently as we both came down, and it was beautiful. He pulled out of me and touched his forehead to mine. As he did this he whispered, “Another reason we gotta get rid of the condoms, Babe. Don’t like leavin’ you so soon after.” He touched his lips to mine and then climbed out of the bed and headed for the bathroom to get rid of the condom.

He came back quickly and brought a wash cloth with him when he did. Him taking care of me like that was another thing I figured only worked because it was him. Someone else probably would have made it seem corny or something. But with Tuck it was just right. Then again, everything with Tuck so far was right. Even having me get on top had been the perfect thing to do. I was so used to not participating when Andrew forced himself on me, that I just laid there. This had forced me to take control for myself. I loved every fucking second of it. And I was pretty sure, I was starting to love the man responsible for it.

He threw the wash cloth back into the bathroom, turned out the light, and climbed back in bed with me. With an arm around my waist he pulled me to his body and turned me so that I was on my side with my head on his chest and my leg intwined with his. He murmured, “Sleep, Baby,” and then kissed me on the top of my head.

I laid with my arm across his waist tracing his tattoo while he ran his fingers through my hair until I drifted off to sleep. Just like he told me to.

Just on the cusp of sleep, I heard him whisper. “My Talie. Magnificent.”

Chapter 16

I was on my way to the store from working the breakfast shift.

Tuck had woken me up with kisses to my throat and breasts and then fucked me again. I could really get used to that kind of a schedule if we kept it up. We had showered together, keeping the fooling around limited to making out because we were on a time crunch, and then he had dropped me off at work in the truck. I told him about my plan to walk home after my shift and stop for makeup and other supplies and he altered that plan by telling me to get supplies and then walk to the apartment and call him instead. That way we could get the rest of my stuff. I was agreeable from being topped up on orgasms so I acquiesced.

Now, I had finished work and was headed to the pharmacy that was a few store fronts down from the internet cafe. As I approached I saw Ruthie and Bobby across the street, so I slowed my step. Presumably, Ruthie would be on her way to work, but I noticed that Bobby’s voice sounded harsh.

“If you don’t show, I’m gonna have to fuck someone else!”

My head whipped toward them to see Ruthie starting to get upset.

She put her hand on his bicep in a placating gesture. “Bobby, please! I promised Steph I would help her two weeks ago! I can’t back out!”

He ripped her hand off her arm and growled, “You know how it works, Ruth. You’re not gonna give it to me, I’m gonna get it somewhere else. You choosin’ some bitch over me is not my problem!”

Why was Ruthie staying with this guy? She was so sassy and self-assured with me. Why was she being so different with a guy? I didn’t want to cause a bad scene to become even scarier so I stayed out of it, but I would have to talk to Tuck about this. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t stepped in by now. He seemed to really like and respect Ruthie. It didn’t make any sense to me.

Not wanting Ruthie to see me watching I ducked into the pharmacy quickly. I hastily made my way around the store and gathered supplies- makeup (God, I had forgotten how hard decisions were when you were being a girl), a hair dryer, a round brush, a straightener, a curling iron, new razors and shaving cream, girly smelling lotion, deodorant, and a box of tampons. I knew I would be needing those at some point, but with my sudden departure from birth control and the stress I had been through, I wasn’t exactly sure when it would be.

I bought a lot more stuff than I had originally intended, so I decided to call Tuck and have him pick me up at the pharmacy instead.

********

I saw Tuck pull up and pushed open the door with my back, since both my hands were full.

When Tuck saw me he burst out laughing. Through his hysteria he almost shouted, “Jesus, Babe. You got more shit in your arms than you got in your whole apartment!”

Yeah, this was hysterical. “If you ever get over your fit of giggles, do you think maybe you could give me a hand?”

Tuck kept laughing but reached out and took all but one of my bags. “Does this mean I’m gonna see you all gussied up like you were that night at the Lizard again? Oh, fuck, and those shorts. Please tell me you’re gonna wear those shorts again.”

I put him out of his misery quickly. “Sorry, those shorts were Ruthie’s. I already gave them back to her.”

He shook his head. “Nope. That’s not acceptable. We have to get those back from her. I need you to start out in those shorts and end up fuckin’ you.”

I shrugged my shoulders but decided to torture him a little further. “You really like those shorts, huh?”

He didn’t give me a response because his answer was pretty obvious. So I continued, “Well, that night, with those shorts...” I got up on my toes and whispered in his ear, “I didn’t have on any underwear.”

His expression turned pained and then flashed to serious. “Good thing we’re headed to the apartment, Babe. Can’t say shit like that where I can’t fuck you.” He took my hand and pushed it against the front of his pants to emphasize his point.

He opened the door, threw my bags into the truck, and then lifted me by my ass and shoved me in. I guess he was in a hurry.

********

My legs wrapped around his waist, my arms around his shoulders, and his hard length inside me, my head fell back against the wall of the shower and I moaned, “God,
Tuck.
”

And then I came. Hard. I shattered into a million pieces and my body turned into jello. My mind blanked except for the heat spreading deep and strong throughout my body from my orgasm.

We had sex in the bed first and then got in the shower to rinse off and ended up fucking again. There was absolutely nothing hotter than Tuck’s naked body. And evidently, all the talk of me in those shorts without underwear had gotten him quite worked up.

As we were coming down I realized we hadn’t used a condom the second time. I started to say something when Tuck spoke. “Best I ever had.”

“What?”

“You, Babe. You’re the best I ever had. Everything about you.”

I melted into his body and whispered into his chest, “Me too, Tuck.”

He squeezed me tight and I remembered I had something important to say. “Tuck, Baby. We didn’t use a-”

“I know, Talie. It’s ok. You turn up pregnant, I reckon that’ll be the best thing to ever happen to me too.”

That was really sweet, but I wasn’t ready for babies yet! We just got together! “But I’m not ready for-”

He cut me off again. He knew exactly what I was feeling. “I know, Babe. I want more time with you too. We’ll be more careful from now on, I promise. But if you are pregnant, I swear I won’t let anythin’ happen to either of you.”

I shook my head because it was like he knew more than he was letting on. “What do you mean let anything happen to us?”

Tuck held me tight and whispered, “Babe. I know your life is more complicated than you just wanderin’ here and stayin’. I told you that. We’re gonna talk about that later when we get home.”

Great. Something to look forward to. I had averted my eyes, but he grabbed my chin and brought them back to pierce me with his beautiful blue-green ones as he finished talking. “But I promise you, Talie. Whatever it is, I’m gonna stick by you. And if whatever it is catches up to you, I’m gonna protect you from it. And if it turns out that way, I’ll protect both of you.”

I shook my head and fought against the tears trying to make their way out of my eyes. “But you just met me.”

“Maybe. But I feel like you’ve been mine all my life.”

I was thinking maybe I felt the same way.

********

We were back at the farm and Tuck was taking me around to meet all of the horses. So far I had met ten of them, including Hatch and Sonny (Mikey, Peg, Cisco, Dusty, Cajun, Jake, Howie, and Gus). He had taken me to meet all of the boys first and now were headed to see the pregnant ladies. He kept them separated with a pasture in between so that they wouldn’t get into any fights or try to get busy with one another. As we walked I thought about what had happened before I went into the pharmacy earlier.

“Hey, um, Tuck.”

“Yeah, Babe?”

“There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

He shook his head and smirked. “I’m gettin’ that, Talie. How ‘bout you spit it out?”

Oh, right. “Okay, well before I went in the store earlier to buy my truck load of stuff I saw Ruthie and Bobby on the street.” I paused, but he just stared at me so I kept talking. “They were fighting. Well, actually Ruthie was just taking it. Bobby was yelling at her and-”

“You didn’t get involved did you?”

“Well, no-”

“Good.”

Huh? “How is that good? Ruthie is our friend.” I was starting to get pissed. This was not the same guy who I was used to. What was with the passive act?

“Yeah, Babe. She is. Love Ruth to death. But gotta tell you, I care about you more.”

Okay, that was really awesome, but I didn’t see what that had to do with anything. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Talie, you got involved and Bobby got in your face, or worse, laid a hand on you, I’d have to get involved.”

But wouldn’t he feel the same way about Ruthie? The Tuck I knew definitely would. “Wouldn’t you feel the same way about him getting in Ruthie’s face or him laying a hand on her?”

“Of course I don’t want that for her. She’s like a sister to me. But her relationship isn’t my business. You are my business.”

Holy
shit.
I was understanding this now. He didn’t want Ruthie to leave like his sister did. He had gotten so burned by getting involved in his sister’s relationship that he was gun shy. I didn’t hesitate in diving right in. It was time to start working on fixing this.

“What is your sister’s name?”

His face registered shock, probably that number one I even knew about his sister and number two that I had figured him out. I watched him struggle and then give in. “I used to call her Winniekins.”

I raised a brow in question, but he waved me off with his hand.

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t call her anything anymore because I haven’t talked to her in years.”

He seemed so sad about that, that it surprised me he wasn’t doing more about it.

“You’re obviously upset about that and miss her, so why don’t you just reach out? I’m sure she would be receptive when she saw how sincere you were.”

His jaw hardened and a muscle ticked in his cheek. “Because I can’t. We had a fight before she left. A stupid fuckin’ fight because I didn’t trust her guy, and I haven’t heard from her since. Don’t even know where she went. I been lookin’ for her for years, but it’s a big fuckin’ world, with a lotta places to look when you don’t have any clue where to start.”

I think I might have heard the sound of my heart breaking for him. I started to go to him, when I thought of something.

“Is that where you go when you go out of town?”

He just nodded.

“The tattoo?”

He nodded his head once, again. “I won’t finish it until I find her.”

“Okay. Then we’ll find her, Tuck. I’ll help you.”

He smiled a sad smile at me and shook his head. “Not that easy, Babe. I’ve been looking for her for years and haven’t even found a trace of her. She wasn’t even here for our parents’ funeral. And if she hasn’t reached out by now, I don’t think she’s ever gonna.”

I started to pretend to be surprised about his parents, but he cut me off. “Obviously, someone’s been runnin’ their mouth so you know the whole story. You know my parent’s were killed.”

“What happened, Baby?”

He looked like he was about to close down so I pushed on. “You said we were going to talk today. We’re talking. We’ll get to me in a little while.”

At my reminder that this was his idea, he relented. “My parents were in love still. Together for 31 years. When my sister left it dampened their spirits but never their connection to each other.”

He paused and I could see the despair churning on his face. I reached out and put my hands on his hips, hooking my thumbs through his belt loops.

“Everything was normal, or as normal as it had been since Winnie left, until one Friday a little over four years ago. My dad came to the apartment and told me he was takin’ mom to Nashville for a romantic weekend last minute, asked me if I could take care’a the farm. He seemed excited about somethin’, I guess spendin’ time with my mom, so I told him it sounded like a good idea.”

Jesus. Don’t tell me he’d been blaming himself for his parents too. “Tuck, don’t take that stuff on yourself. Your sister chose to leave and your parents chose to go to Nashville.”

“But if Winnie didn’t blame me for the way things went, why the fuck would she break all communication with me? I just don’t understand it!”

“Sometimes there are good reasons behind horrible actions. You just never know, Tuck.”

He was angry, I could see it in his face, but we might as well get this out of the way now. I couldn’t tell him everything, but if he couldn’t get past me not talking to my own family, it would be better if we found out now.

“No.” He shook his head vehemently, still not agreeing with me so I just put it all out there.

“Tuck, I don’t talk to my family.”

His face was still hard, but his eyes pierced mine with undivided attention so I kept going. “Sometimes the reasons aren’t obvious, but they’re there all the same.”

“What are your reasons, Talie?”

I shook my head and tears started to fall down my face. God, this the last thing I wanted to relive or talk about with
this
man. I didn’t want any of my past life to touch this, but I guess I at least owed him some sort of explanation.

Tuck’s face softened, he stepped forward and cupped my face, and whispered, “Please don’t cry, Talie.”

I had to get this out so I slowly shook my head. Just enough so he would get my point but soft enough that I wouldn’t lose his hands. They were comforting.

As I spoke he wiped the tears with his thumbs as they fell. “I’m protecting them.” My voice cracked, but I kept speaking. “You know how I reacted the other night?” He nodded. “Well, I lived with a monster for about a year. I did so in order to keep that monster away from the people I loved. And in order to ensure that, I had to cut them out completely.”

Tuck whispered, “Oh, Natalie. They don’t know you’re here?”

I shook my head and admitted, “They think I’m dead. Everyone does.”

Tuck started to ask so I talked over him. “I can’t tell you any more than that. Please.”

He looked at me closely, maybe searching for some kind of indication that he should keep pushing, and then nodded.

“Thank you. Now, you know that it’s not always cut and dry. I hope to God your sister’s reasons are nowhere near the same as mine. But you see, there may be reasons.”

Tuck gave me what I needed and nodded again. “I’ll understand if you can’t be with someone with such a dark cloud over them-”

He placed his finger over my lips to silence me and whispered, “Nothin’ big enough, Talie. Nothin’ big enough to make it so I don’t want you in my life, Babe.”

God, I had needed to hear that more than I had known. I was turning into a desperate woman. But only for one thing. Tuck.

Not being able to stand it any longer, I jumped into action. I threw my arms around his neck and smashed my mouth to his.