Watching You: KJ Elite Inc. (12 page)

He held her tight and kept on rubbing her back; he held her for what seemed like a lifetime but nowhere near long enough.

Pulling her back just far enough to see her face he asked, “Are you okay?”

His voice was thick with worry no matter how he tried to spin it.

“Y-Yes, I’m... I’m s-sorry. I j-just kind of l-lost it.” She stuttered and stammered with lips trembling still, clutching his shirt front.

She dropped her head to his chest and he cupped the back of her sopping wet hair.

“It’s perfectly understandable. I would be a little worried if this didn’t bother you to some degree.” He let out a sigh of relief and tension rolled into one.

“I just want this to stop. I don’t even know who this person is or why they seem hell bent on hurting me!”

She shouted, getting angry. Angry he could handle, angry he preferred.

“Let it out. Punch me, kick me... just not in the shins. You’re really good at hitting the worst spot.”

She laughed and he felt a little of the growing tension leave his body quickly replaced by a different kind of tension. He hadn’t really paid attention to the fact that he had a soaking wet, bare ass nekkid woman in his arms, clinging to him.

His
woman.

Once upon a time. No, fuck that. His woman.

“I don’t wanna hit you. Not about this.”

She grabbed the towel from him and stepped out of his arms, wrapping herself as quickly as possible so he didn’t see anything.

Too late for that, Annie.

Even if he hadn’t seen her today, he had every inch of her body committed to his memory for all of eternity. It was the most perfect thing in his mind. Untarnished.

When she turned around he took a thankful moment to tuck his unruly cock into his waistband.

Thanks for nothin', traitor.

Not like he could help it, Taylor was the only one who could get him as randy as a teenager in .0000025 seconds by simply existing and doing nothing else.

From across the bathroom, he looked up at her again and caught her staring at him.

“I’ll just leave you to yourself then. I’m sorry if I bothered you.” He turned to leave but stopped and without turning back, for everyone’s safety, he said, “You can’t use your cell phone, PDA, laptop, tablet, etc. so I’ll need you to give those to me. Same for Matt.” He couldn’t help his stupid self and just blurted out, “Sorry, you can’t contact your movie star boyfriend. Just leave em’ outside the door and I’ll grab em’. I’ll put your temporary pre-paid next to the whiskey.”

He immediately regretted the boyfriend comment but left before he did something really stupid. Like touch her in every way he could, meld her body into his again and keep her moaning all night long the way he loved to hear.

Yep, his boner wasn’t going anywhere but up.

Tommy walked into the kitchen and opted for water instead of a beer tonight and went to the library, where he found Matt sipping on a glass of rum and coke.

“I hope it is okay I’m in here.” He asked looking up from the stacks of books he stood near.

“My home is your home for the time being.” Tommy dipped his head and picked up the book he was halfway through. He wasn’t damn pleased another man was close to his wife or that that guy was staying here in his house with him and said wife but he appreciated that he at least cared enough to get Taylor to safety. For that, Tommy could deal with the guy. For now, anyway.

“This is very gracious of you.” Matt paused and turned to Tommy. “Does she know you’ve been following her the whole time?”

The hair bristled on the back of his neck with the newly dawned realization that a lot of secrets, so deeply buried could come to the surface in a matter of seconds. Well, if things weren’t already fun, they were about to get mighty interesting, he’d bet his bottom dollar.

“No, but I imagine with her here, she’ll figure it out soon enough.” Tommy rubbed the back of his neck roughly.

“Our secret until then.”

Whenever then might be.

Tommy just nodded.

“Well shit man, do you ever shut up?” Matt joked hoping to open Tommy up a little bit. He was barking up the wrong tree for a talking buddy.

“Do you guys have any leads?” Matt shifted gears. Standing there in only a pair of old sweats and a beat up t-shirt, he crossed his arms across his chest and put on his business face.

“I don’t know, I’m just here for muscle. My brother Lucas and his friend in N.Y. are the brains of the operation for this situation.”

“Smitty is good people. If he’s close with your brother I know I can trust you guys.”

Tommy stiffened a moment when he heard screaming, then realized Taylor was only pissed, not hurt. Funny how growing up with the love of your life can help you to decipher those little differences.

Chapter 7

The door to the library slammed open and they both heard a shrieking scream,

“Thomas-fucking-James-got-dang-Kane, you had damn well better be in here.”

“Present.” He dropped his army and turned as slowly as he could, drawing it out, trying not to laugh. Tommy knew he was going to get eaten alive by this woman and there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop it. Not that he wanted to, if he was being honest.

“My guess is secrets out, thanks for the book and drink.” Matt rushed out past an oncoming train full of murderous woman, “Night sweetheart.”

Tommy bit his cheek in distaste and almost hurled a book at the back of his head.

Stomping down the aisle of book stacks toward the bar, her wet hair was wrapped up in a towel and she was wearing little bitty black scraps of cloth meant to be shorts with a very thin white tank top. Hands balled into fists, she came to stop in front of him and threw them to her hips trying for intimidating. Tommy didn’t know what he did but the best way he knew how to piss her off more was to smile, so he did. Anger, he could handle.

“Wipe that stupid smile off your stupid face. Who do you think you are?”

She pointed a finger at him and scowled down it, her other hand propped on her hip still. This made him laugh.

“What the hell is so damn funny?”

“That’s been your line since elementary school, when you were insanely pissed with someone.” Then he mocked her, “Wipe that stupid smile off your stupid face.”

This made her all the more angry and she about boiled over.

“Answer my damn question you asshat. Who do you think you are?”

“I think I am the guy keeping you safe right now.” Tommy threw in a smug look, just to make her eye twitch.

“You know damn well what I am talking about.”

He did.

"Well in that case, I
know
I'm your husband."

He really ought to learn how to keep his mouth shut.

“As fun as this game is,” he started, settling back into the couch with arms spread along the back of the couch and right ankle on his left knee. “I can’t imagine what’s chapping that fine ass of yours.”

“Then you must have lost your touch.”

“Could have.” He raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.

Damn, he forgot how insanely hot and funny she was when she was pissed enough to rip a man’s balls off.

“That cute little comment about my ‘boyfriend.’”

He gave another smug smile and her eye twitched angrily.

Bingo.

“Please, enlighten me.”

“First of all, his name is Jason and secondly, he is not my boyfriend.”

“Do you really think I care what his name is?”

“I don’t give a damn what you think about me.”

“Clearly.”

Against all possibilities she got even redder and took two steps toward him. “Just what in the Sam hell does that mean?”

Okay, he had had enough now. This was getting too deep and meaningful for right now. “Nothing.” Shaking his head, he picked up his water and book and stood to walk away. No need to say or do things one of them will regret.

“Oh, no. You want to do this, let’s do this.”

Taylor put her iron hand against his chest and pushed, unsuccessfully moving him.

“
This
is not exactly what I’d say I
wanted
to do.”

“Yet here we are.” Her arms flew up.

“So it seems.”

“When did you become so freakin’ short?”

“I’m pretty sure if anything I’ve gained a few more inches on you.”

Tommy stood at a total of six foot four inches while Taylor barely hit five foot three and that was on a good day.

“I’m not joking and that’s not what I meant.”

“People change in the span of years, isn’t that what you just told me?”

“No it’s not.”

She flashed a look of confusion and he could tell she was running back through the conversation. Oddly enough for her chosen profession, she had a terrible any-term memory.

“You said you don’t give a damn what I think and that means you’ve changed. If I seem to recall correctly, you cared a whole hell of a lot when you were standing’ buck ass nekkid, lookin’ finer than any and all things in the whole of creation, before me that night.”

She closed her eyes remembering, let out a small moan and then opened them as if she was struggling to remember why she was angry.

“Don’t bring that into this.”

“I didn’t, you did.”

Frustrated beyond her limit she turned away and he took a quick peek down below to make sure he wasn’t slicing through his own pants.

“What is this room?”

“What does it look like?”

“You built a library?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me why.”

“Because I felt like it.”

“That’s not the reason.”

No, it wasn’t.

She had turned back to him and God almighty if he hadn’t been a minute ago, he was hard enough to cut steel. Tommy closed his eyes and ground his teeth.

“What’s wrong?”

“Next time you take a shower, dry your whole body off before you put on a shirt more suited to be plastic wrap.

She looked down and realized her choice of clothing hadn’t probably been the best choice. If he could cut steel, her nipples could cut diamonds the same and the wetness of her body made her tank top cling to her chest like a second skin.

Throwing her arms over her chest, Taylor began to scowl again.

“I’m sorry and thank you for letting me know. Maybe you shouldn’t have been looking in the first place though.”

Yeah, that was possible. Built like that, any gay man would struggle to keep it in his pants right now.

“I have a dick, Taylor.”

“So?”

“That’s like nailing jello to a tree. And in case you forgot, you are mine so I can look when I want. Technically speaking.”

Damn but he was starting to love those technicalities.

Attempting again to walk away with his water and book, she looked at him and as he passed her, she reached up and punched him square in the jaw.

Although it didn’t really hurt him, it shocked him enough to make him a little excitable.

He dropped the water bottle and book and grabbed her shoulders, pushing her into the book stack nearest them.

“What the fuck was that for?”

“You have my book.”

“Books and they aren’t yours. I bought them.”

“They are mine! I wrote them!” She spat.

“Isn’t the goal of an author to sell the books she writes?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is?”

“You aren’t allowed to have them. You aren’t allowed to know.”

“It wasn’t that hard to figure out.”

“I don’t care.”

“Would you like me to throw them away?”

“Or donate them.”             

“You’ve got to be joking.”

“Try me.”

“I’m not getting rid of them.”

“I’ll do it then.”

“The fuck you will.”

“Why do you care so much?”

He pushed his knee between her thighs and slid his hands down her arms to her wrists then pulled her wrists up above her head. His forehead dropped to hers and he inhaled deeply. She leaned forward into him and ground against his leg, feeling his painfully erect hard on and huffed.

“Do you really need to ask?”

“If you need sex that bad, why not go ask one of the women in town who have been pining after you since puberty made you into a male God? Like Lissy.” She jabbed under her breath.

“You think this is about sex? You really think I would track your career and buy all of your books just because I wanted to fuck you?”

Taylor opened her eyes and looked into his, knowing the truth. Her breathing had turned shallow and his, rugged.

“M-maybe.” With that one stuttered word, he could tell that she was fighting their attraction.

“If I just wanted that, I would have forgotten the towel upstairs, joined you in the shower and fucked you until you couldn’t see or walk straight.”

What was it about this woman? No matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut or dick in check around her. Though he supposed it had always been that way.

“So why didn’t you?”

“Because...”

Tommy realized he couldn’t answer why right now. God knows he wanted to for damn sure.

She lifted her chin and brushed her lips against his.

“I have to keep you safe Taylor, I can’t be dickin' around like a teenager.”

“You still smell like clover and lemon. That scent drives me crazy, every single day.”

He groaned and pushed his groin into her, pushing her body back against the stack wall.

She pressed her lips to his, licked his bottom lip then nipped. His lips parted and she took advantage, sliding her tongue in his mouth, delving deep, re-exploring him; she tasted like the strawberry candies she always had a penchant for sucking on.

Not able to stop himself, Tommy let go of her wrists, dove his hands into her hair and kissed her so hard that when he pulled away to catch his breath, her mouth was red.

Just walk away Tommy.

He knew he should but he couldn’t. He just couldn’t. Taylor wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled against him to wrap her legs around his waist. One of his hands left her hair and slid under her ass, helping to support her. He kissed her again and pulled away from the wall to walk over to the couch. Given the height difference, he dropped to his knees and her butt hit the edge of the couch in a perfect match.

Just like the first touch all those years ago, she was still heaven in his arms.

Knowing he couldn’t let this go any further, Tommy pulled away and without so much as a second to spare, walked away from her, leaving her in the library dazed, horny as all get out and alone.

“Fuck I need some fresh air.”

He opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. Sitting on one of the rocking chairs, he felt the sleepiness hit him like a wall and closed his eyes to breathe in the comforting smell of wood and hay.

Before he knew it, Tommy woke with a start when he heard a board creak on the porch.

Jumping out of the rocking chair and palming his glock tucked into the back of his pants, he spotted Charlie grinning with hands held up in surrender.

“Just me.”

“What are you doing here? What time is it?” He asked pulling out his phone; 3:00 AM.

“I heard who your mystery client is and I had to see it for myself to believe it.”

“She’s probably sleeping, but you’re welcome to check.”

At this confirmation, Charlie beamed wider still.

Tommy followed him down the hall and there Taylor was, sleeping on the couch with one of Tommy’s old high school football shirts swallowing her whole, snoring up a storm.

Taylor awoke swinging when Charlie put his hand on her shoulder and shook lightly.

“Whoa! Like Tommy, Like Taylor huh?” he chuckled.

“Charlie?”

“In the flesh.”

"Oh!” She exclaimed sitting up and hugged him tightly.

“How you doin'?” He asked smoothing her unruly hair.

She laughed a little laugh and tapped his shoulder lightly. “I’m okay. How are you?”

“Good, good. Just man whoring around town and havin' a good time when I’m not working. Makin’ mama weep.”

“Sounds like nothing has changed.”

“Enh, not really. Ma and dad keep telling me I’m an adult but I don’t know what they’re talking about.”

His laugh was booming but anyone close to Charlie knew there had always been a little something missing in his life. “A sparkle” The Jameson and Kane women called it. Here her older brother was and she felt nervous for some inexplicable reason.

Awkwardly she stood and walked on to the kitchen and Tommy realized his too large for her, old t-shirt from high school that she was wearing was one that had disappeared, about the same time she had.

Hmm, interesting.

“You want something to eat or drink?” she asked looking into the fridge.

“I’ll take a beer.” He said nonchalantly.

"Charlie, it’s 3 in the morning.” She snickered.

“So? I left the bar to come here when I heard you were hiding out here! I think we need to celebrate this momentous reunion!”

He raised his hand as if he were holding a cup in it and grinned. Charlie might not have that patented, panty-dropping Kane grin but Tommy suspected it still worked just the same. He was a better than average looking Joe, topping off at five foot eleven; his eyes were a more golden than hazel color and untidy blonde hair sat atop his head; the muscles on his arms were a product of his hard work on the farm his whole life and nothing more.

“I’ll join you in a cheers but I’m drinking water. My nerves and heart cannot stand a beer right now.”

“Aw, that’s some kind of tragedy. Beer is supposed to make both of those problems go away.” He was clearly hitting a buzz.

“If only my dear brother, if only.” Her eyes slipped to Tommy for a moment and went back to the contents of the fridge.

If she looked close enough, she’d see her favorite comfort foods in there. Fried pickles, crawfish and jambalaya.

“I need a shower. I have to get my stuff out of the master shower, do you mind Taylor?”

He asked standing up, needing an escape.

“Just take one in there. It’s not like I don’t know how to share or anything. Plus, it’s your house, so don’t move anything around just for me.”

“It’s your house too.”

Charlie said as if he were announcing it to the press, but there was a bit of spite in his words. Tommy knew exactly why, too; Charlie seemed to think it was Tommy's fault that Tay ran away without so much as a goodbye; she seldom wrote, hardly called and never came home to visit. When tommy pointed out that she was a big girl and was chasing her dreams, Charlie just got angrier saying that Tommy should have chased after his; her.

“You two enjoy your catch-up talk.”

With that, Tommy made his leave and used every ounce of his strength not to look back.

The inside of the bathroom looked the same as earlier when Taylor was showering; steam filling the room, cutting almost all visibility. Days like today or nights rather, he was damn glad he decided on the luxury shower that he had.

Rinsing the soap from his body and hair, he had his head plunged under the water and hands pushed up against the wall for support.

What am I going to do? I am so fucked.

He looked down and for the first time ever in his life, he was not happy that she was the sole source for his massive and unruly boner.

Tommy figured the only way this was going to go away was by taking care of it himself.

As he began to stroke his long shaft he heard the door open and, again, for the first time in his life prayed it was anyone but Taylor. Hell, make it the stalker or his mother catching him with his dick in his own hand, but not her. Not right now.

Apparently God wasn’t feeling particularly generous and neither was Satan.

* * *

I stood in the middle of the bathroom and let my head fall to the side, looking at him; savoring the incredibly hot sight of him pleasuring himself. He was built and lean, cut in all the right places and his muscles moved like the fluid cascading from above, rippling all over his body. There was not a single ounce of fat on this man, as impossible as it seemed, he was solid muscle on top of solid delicious, muscle. The door I walked through made a clicking noise as it closed behind me on its own, giving me away.

Snitch door.

Letting himself go, he covered his dick and cleared his throat. What a shame.

“Is everything okay?”

I didn’t answer. Couldn’t.

A heat was rising from my toes upward, binding all speech and movement.

“What’s wrong?” He asked stepping closer to the doors; using his foot, he pushed the left door open.

Finding my voice, I shook my head trying to clear the smoke and said, “It’s a long list. I sent Charlie home and made him swear he would keep his pie hole shut.”

When he realized this pretty much meant the end of his shower, he reached for the towel hanging on the outside of the shower door and stepped out.

With absolutely no shame to speak of, Tommy let himself go and began to wrap the towel around his waist. My jaw may or may not have dropped to the floor with the weight of a cement block dropped from a twentieth floor. I had to talk about something other than his package. Which was ridiculously blessed. Before I turned around, I noticed a bright spot on his right shoulder blade, about the size of a hand.

“What’s that?” I pointed at him.

He went stock still and if I wasn’t mistaken, he blushed a little.

“I figured you already knew.” He fought a grin.

“Not that, perv. I know what
that
is. I meant on your chest!”

“I could ask you the same thing.” He finally answered pointing to the t-shirt of his that I was wearing.

I looked down at my chest and back at him, “What? You gave it to me.”

“I didn’t know you still had it.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“You even took it with you when you thought you were going somewhere else.”

“Don’t read into it, I just love how comfortable it is.”

And how it smelt like you, reminded me of you and made me feel safe, like a security blanket.

His face and temper turned angry, out of the blue. “You wear that when your boyfriends sleep over? It's short.”

“I’ve worn it when Matt has slept over, yes.” I shot back, apparently ready to play this game.

“He’s got a dick too, I’m sure he didn’t mind the view.”

“You are so .... Male.” I huffed and threw my arms up. “Trust me, he’s seen me in much less and by much less, I mean naked.”

The instant it left my lips, I regretted it. I just wanted to drive him crazy like he was doing to me, but I should have thought it through. Instead, I was watching his head prepare to explode.

“Um, I’m sorry. I think I’m a little on the delusional side, because I swear I just heard you say that he has seen you naked.”

Oh, boy. I think smoke is coming out of his ears.

Just let it go.

"In case you forgot, Tarzan, I am short, so obviously a shirt that fits you, eats me whole."

Apparently he was opting to ignore the last statement.

“Why did he see you naked?”

He ain’t gonna let this go.

“That’s none of your business.”

“The fuck it isn’t? In case you forgot, you are still legally, if not emotionally, my wife.”

He was almost shaking with anger now.

Damn it to hell, when naked, this man made my brain mush. Before I had any thought to stop him, he tore ass past me and hightailed it to the room where Matt was sleeping, pulling on a pair of basketball shorts all the way.

I stomped after him yelling, “Stop, you ass! Matty, lock the door! Damnit, Tom, stop right this instant!”

Either it was opposite day or I am just imaging myself vocalizing any words because Tommy did not stop and Matt came out into the hallway, double time.

“What the actual fuck, sweetheart.” He huffed when he noticed there was no immediate danger, or so he thought.

“What is this about you seeing my wife naked?” Tommy nearly shouted, getting in Matt’s face, catching him off guard.

Matt looked around Tommy’s shoulder almost comically at me, where I stood shaking my head dramatically, and then back to my dumb lug of a husband.

“What of it? You weren’t around to appreciate her.”

My jaw dropped and I felt like someone locked my feet in concrete. I could hear myself mumble a few incoherent half words but nothing really came out since my brain was about a mile down in the ground.