Truly Mine (2 page)

If the adage of getting better with time was true, then I wanted to experience the older Truly.

When I finally lifted my head from the tailgate, I found her reflection in the side view mirror. We stared at one another until it became awkward, and she looked away. If she hadn’t known before that moment, then she knew now exactly the effect she had on me.

After I gained my composure, I rounded the back of the truck and made my way to the driver’s door. Before opening it, I looked across the cab to a tense Truly. She was sitting tall and proper with her hands on her lap and looked straight ahead with no trace of pleasure in her expression. I decided to abort my mission. She was visibly not feeling it, and the last thing I wanted to do is make her any more uncomfortable than she already was.

I opened my door and slid into the truck. “I’ll take you back to town now.” I dug into my pocket for my keys. I was disappointed but tried hard not to show it. I slipped the key into the ignition, and—

Click, click, click.

“Shit!” I exclaimed.

“What?” she asked, concerned.

Meeting her gaze, I turned the key again…and again, nothing.

“What the fuck, Tyler? Seriously?” she shouted, anxiety clear in her tone.

“Dead battery.” I laid my forehead on the steering wheel for a moment.

I could call Cory, but we had left him at the bar several hours earlier. God only knew how much he’d had to drink by now. I didn’t want to deal with the aftermath of calling any of my sisters, so that was out.

I realized I only had one option. I sat up and pulled my phone out of the center console. I dialed Eric’s number. Truly and I were in the same class with Eric Yost. He had been the biggest burnout in high school, which made the fact that he was the chief of police laughable. Not to mention, the transition from drug supplier to law enforcer was a little awkward.

“Hey, Eric,” I greeted him.

Truly sat with her head leaning against the window. She looked down at her tangled hands in her lap.

“I need a favor. Are you busy?” I told Eric where I was and dodged his questions about why I was where I was. I was pretty sure no one my age had been down here in many years.

I ended the call with Eric and watched as Truly tapped her fingers against her thigh, obviously not amused with the situation.

“I’m sorry. I’m an idiot. I haven’t parked in the woods in quite a while. It doesn’t even seem like we’ve been here long enough for the battery to go dead,” I apologized.

She sighed heavily. “It’s kind of funny, considering…” She tucked her hands into the pocket of the hoodie I’d loaned her and turned, looking out her window at the darkness.

“Considering what, Truly?” I asked, curious about what she meant.

A small chuckle escaped her sweet lips just before she turned back to me. “To be honest with you, Tyler, my intention was to make it out of Fallport without seeing you. But here I am, stranded in the woods with you.” She pulled her top lip into her mouth and bit it, trying to hide her smile.

Sensing her shift in demeanor, I listened intently but didn’t interrupt her.

Her hair fell over her eyes as she looked down. “Do you remember when we would go to great efforts to make this happen? You and me…alone. God, Tyler, we had so much fun here.” She looked up at me and then out to what was left of the fire. It had burned out, and only quick flickers from the ashes were there.

Looking the same direction she was, I smiled fondly at the memories that crashed into my head. “Yeah, we did. I’ve thought about some of those nights many times over the years.”

Turning toward her, I lifted the center console, opening the space between us. I laid my hand on the seat. With Truly looking down, focusing on my hand, I slid it across the seat and stopped just shy of touching hers. I wasn’t sure of the reaction I was going to get since she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in reliving the past. She finally loosened up, and I was willing to risk yet another rejection. To my surprise, she slid her hand over, placing it over mine, and took hold of two of my fingers.

A soft moan escaped me as butterflies fluttered around my stomach. She’d always held my hand this way when we were younger. Grasping my two fingers, she would drag me to see something or hold on for dear life or beg me to give her whatever she wanted. The silver band she wore on her thumb glistened when the moonlight bounced off it. I focused on the ring, and I thought back to how much that little gesture meant to me. I wasn’t taking it for granted tonight.

With my thumb, I rubbed her fingers to let her know that I remembered. She looked at me, but I couldn’t read her. For once in my life, I wasn’t sure of my next move. I scooted toward her a few inches and placed our hands on her thigh.

“Wanna take a quick stroll down memory lane?” I smiled as if I were joking, but I most definitely was not. Without a second thought, I would gladly re-create any one of those nights with her.

Her eyes grew big. “You want to have sex, for old time’s sake?”

She was grinning, so I held out hope.

“Of course not!”

I swore, I felt like that sixteen-year-old kid who had once sat next to her in an old pickup truck all those years ago. The anxiety and excitement along with a little embarrassment were present now. I hadn’t had that much pent-up sexual tension in so long. Just talking and touching her made me want to taste her…among many other things.

Fuck it.

With my eyes fixed on hers, I reached out, took the back of her neck in my palm, and slowly dragged her close, giving her every opportunity to pull away from me.

She didn’t.

Instead, she crashed into my mouth. Her lips were so soft and tasted as sweet as that strawberry wine. I only wanted to suck on them, so I did. She moaned in that irresistible raspy tone that drove me mad. The vibration of her hum traveled straight to my cock, and I needed more—now.

Reaching under her with my other hand, I grabbed her perfect ass and hauled her onto my lap. Truly took control without skipping a beat as she straddled me. She grasped my face, tangled her fingers in my hair, while I pressed her so close that we could barely catch a breath. I dug my fingertips into the curve of her hips and pressed her ass down hard onto my rock-hard cock.

She molded perfectly against me. I died and went to heaven.

When Truly’s hands traveled down my neck to my shoulders, then my chest, and finally to the button on my pants, I knew I had to stop her. If I was lucky enough to have her, I needed it to be in my bed. Most of all, I wanted the chance to do this part all over again. I loved foreplay as much as sex. I always had. There was something about the adrenaline rush and seeing how long I could hold back before I finally gave in that matched no other feeling I’d ever had in my life.

I grabbed hold of her face and kissed her slow and deep while she made quick work in releasing me from the pants that were nearly splitting a seam. Her little hand on my cock was enough to get me off in itself. My eyes tried to disappear into the back of my head, but I had to keep my composure. I had to muster up the strength to stop her. I’d never thought this would happen again.

Fuck, I don’t want her to stop though.

For a moment, I contemplated just taking her right here. The only problem was that I was pretty sure she wouldn’t be giving me a round two. I wanted to feel and taste so much of her, and there was no way to have her the way that I wanted to inside of that truck. If I could just get her to my house, I could guarantee round two and a very sated Truly.

“Babe, wait,” I whispered against her lips.

She didn’t stop at all. Instead, she unbuttoned her pants and began to wriggle out of them.

“Truly…” I panted. I could barely form words. “Come home with me tonight. I want you in my bed where I can touch all of your body, where I can kiss you in all the places you want me to. Please…” I pleaded with her. I wanted her to have the same reaction she had with me years ago. I needed to be inside of her before the night was over.

She dropped her foot to the floor before lifting herself, and she maneuvered one leg out of her jeans. As my hand glided over her silky skin, moving from her calf up to her hip and across her toned flat stomach, I quickly realized that I had zero control around this woman, which was a far cry from the way it used to be. I used to take control. I used to drag it out for hours by simply telling her to stop or wait. Tonight, she was calling the shots. I slid my fingers into her panties, but I didn’t dare touch her where she wanted it most, causing her to squirm impatiently.

“Please, Tyler.” With her hands on my shoulders, she ground herself against my hand, begging for more.

“Truly, look at me. Now.”

She looked down at me and stopped moving. Her hair fell against my shoulders. She immediately followed my directions. I couldn’t help but smile as I took that minute to appreciate the familiar view—her beautiful face looking down at me with her rosy cheeks and her needy eyes, her chest heaving breathlessly. It was all for me.

I slowly moved my fingers to where she wanted them. Looking into the most beautiful brown eyes, I said softly, “Don’t move.”

When she began to rock her hips against my hand, I challenged her again. “Don’t move,” I repeated in a deeper voice.

She stilled while I continued to rub through her slick folds.

That’s my girl.

“If you agree to come home with me, I’ll give you something to tide you over while we wait to get out of here.”

She was panting, and when I applied a little pressure to her sensitive swollen clit, she gasped. It was the most beautiful sound.

“I want to have you in my bed. I need to taste you.”

Pulling her panties down with my free hand, I slid two fingers from her clit to her dripping pussy. Never taking my eyes off of hers, I sank them deep inside. She licked and then bit her bottom lip as she bucked against my hand, begging for friction. Her breathing was fast and shallow.

I loved seeing her in that state again—flawless and greedy. I worked my fingers in and out of her until she was near her release. While she watched me, I pulled my wet fingers out of her and placed them in my mouth, sucking her sweet juices off like it was my last meal.

“Fuck, you taste so good. I want more, Truly.” Returning my fingers to her begging pussy, I used my thumb to rub small circles against her swollen clit, keeping her tightly wound up. “You’re coming home with me, Truly. I need to have you all night.”

Truly placed her hands on either side of my face. I knew she wanted to, but I also knew that she wasn’t the same girl who had once done exactly as I told her.

That was the last time I saw Truly. It was twelve years ago, and I can still remember every fucking detail.

pronunciation
trep-i-dey-shuhn

(n.)
a feeling of fear about something that could happen

G
etting older is such a mindfuck.

I’m forty today, but mentally and emotionally, I feel just the same as I did the day I turned thirty. Shit, for that matter, I honestly don’t feel much different than I did when I was twenty. Smarter and stronger, for sure. But I still feel young. I certainly don’t look as old as I envisioned a forty-year-old to look. I dare say that I look damn good for my age.

I might finally buy into that theory that age is just a number.

To celebrate my birthday, I planned a night out on the town with my friends Lissa and Marie. Not a big production. Just a night out with the only two people that I give a flying fuck about. We were supposed to dress up in short skirts and high heels, go to dinner, and then head to a club full of beautiful people to make a few memories.

My attire for the evening is now sitting in my closet, waiting to be worn. Marie had designed the form-fitting pale-pink tunic top with a strap over one shoulder. The fabric would have shimmered and shone beautifully as the lights in the club danced around me. I would have paired it with a black leather mini and black stockings. I’d requested the most gorgeous pair of Christian Louboutin leather pumps to be sent over last week. A few diamonds would have finished it off, and I would have made forty my bitch.

But that’s not at all what I’ll be doing tonight. I’ve had to rearrange my schedule to deal with a ghost from my past, so to speak. And that leaves me spending my birthday in the town where I grew up. Only my mother could time this so well.

Passing the
Welcome to Fallport
sign, my stomach lurches into somersaults. In an attempt to settle my nerves, I grip the steering wheel tight and take a deep breath.

After all these years, how can I still be so affected?

Get a grip, Tru. You’ve got this. Handle this shit, and get out of here as fast as you can.