A Diamond in the Dark

by Sassie Lewis

  Chapter 5

  Axton loved going to the rodeo. Hell, he used to ride in it. He loved the smell, the sounds, and the electric vibe that went through the air. But tonight the crowd of cheering fans that he’d once loved to be a part of was pissing him off. If one more guy pinched Tia on the ass, there was likely going to be a brawl.

  “Hey,” he said loudly, close to her ear so she could hear him over the thunder of the crowd. “There’s Alex.” Clutching her hand, he dragged her toward Alex who was standing beside the chutes watching his competition.

  As they got closer Ax could hear the conversation Alex was having with another rider.

  “Hey, Chuck. How have you been? You enjoying your first tour with the circuit?” Alex asked the younger man.

  “It’s great, man. I couldn’t…” The kid stopped mid-sentence, looking past Alex and straight at Tia. “Check out the rack on that babe.”

  Ax was getting sick of all the flies that wanted to attach themselves to Tia. He had little half-moon blood spots on the palm he wasn’t holding Tia with, from digging his nails into it in an effort to stop himself from throwing her over his shoulder and telling all the dickheads to stop touching what was his. Niece/sister, fuck!

  Axton watched the surprise come over Alex’s face at seeing him in Houston. But the smile that pasted itself across his nephew’s mouth clearly showed his happiness at seeing the woman standing beside him. Alex then spread his arms wide open. What the hell is he doing?

  “If that isn’t the most beautiful smile to grace the rodeo,” Alex said.

  Tia pulled her hand from Axton’s, then launched herself into Alex’s waiting arms. Alex adjusted his balance in time to catch the giggling Tia.

  Ax hadn’t been prepared for Tia’s reaction at seeing Alex. She was wrapped around him like a fur coat. She had her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck, only to then give him a big kiss, smack on the lips.

  Well, isn’t this nice? Ax wanted to kill his own nephew. To top it off he heard the kid saying something about Alex getting all the hot ones. Over Axton’s dead body would Alex ever touch Tia in that way!

  “Hi there, sweet cheeks. What are you doin’ here?” Alex asked as he placed Tia back on her feet.

  “Tegan ran into Luke, who told her I was in Houston this weekend. She texted me, told me you were competing in this event, and since we’re here, I couldn’t not come. After all, you are one of my favorite cousins.” She said all this so fast her words ran together. A smile spread across her face as she pulled Alex in for another hug. Axton was going to end up with no teeth if he kept grinding them together.

  “You do know you say that to all of us.”

  “I know. When I pick a favorite I’ll be sure to let ya know.”

  Alex was right, Ax had heard her tell all the cousins that they were her favorite. But if Alex didn’t take his arms off her soon, he was going to be her dead favorite. Ax almost followed that thought through when Alex bent down and kissed Tia’s cheek. It was only the knowledge that his sister Tonya would kill him if he hurt her firstborn that stayed his hand.

  “Alex,” Ax said as he grabbed his nephew’s hand and squeezed it with enough force to see a wince cross over Alex’s face. He also pulled him away from Tia.

  They’d always been a little competitive, being so close in age. There was only eighteen months separating their births. They had done the rodeo circuit together when they were in their teens, but one thing was for sure, Alex was the better rider. He had won a shitload of buckles and money over the years, where Ax had been lucky not to break his neck coming off the saddle of his bucking bronco.

  Pulling him into his side, Alex gave Ax a hug, pounding his fist into his back just hard enough to cause a little pain. Axton shook his head, a small laugh escaping him at their childish antics. “We’re getting too old for this crap, Alex.”

  “Tell me about it. Well, I’m glad y’all are here to watch, ’cause to be honest, it might be the last time you get to. After this circuit, I think I’m done.”

  Axton could see the lines of strain on Alex’s face. Years of being bucked around by a horse would start to take its toll on any man’s body.

  “Bet your mama is happy to hear that.” Ax squeezed his shoulder in support, knowing this decision would be hard for him. Even though Ax had been a terrible rider, when the time came to think about giving up, it had been a difficult decision.

  “I haven’t told anyone yet, so keep it to yourselves.” Alex paused, waiting for their affirmation, and Axton nodded. “I’ve gotta go and get ready. Come out for a drink after. There’s a bunch of us heading out tonight to celebrate. Meet me near my truck. You know the one.” With that he shoved a pass into Tia’s hand then kissed her on the cheek. One of Axton’s molars cracked.

  “Ride ’em, cowboy,” she screamed after him.

  * * * *

  Alex had won his event. So instead of them all catching a cab, Alex drove them to the bar. He wouldn’t be drinking much tonight as he would be riding again tomorrow.

  It was a great bar. There was a live country band playing, and the dance floor was full at the moment, with a large crowd line dancing to Jump Right In by the Zac Brown Band, but Tia was sitting this one out. She had already danced with a few of Alex’s friends, and Axton seemed to get pissy every time someone asked her to join them.

  She sat back, relaxing and listening to everyone talk about things happening on the circuit, when Alex put a shot glass in front of her.

  “Bottoms up, sweet cheeks.”

  Most people would think ‘sweet cheeks’ had something to do with her ass, but they would be wrong. Alex had started calling her that when she was about five and she had chubby cheeks—the ones on your face that is. He would pinch them and say, “You have the sweetest cheeks.”

  Tia lifted the glass, saluting Alex. “Why thank you, kind sir. Think I just may,” she said, then downed the shot. Holy hell! It must have been jet fuel, because it burned all the way down. After she placed her glass on the table he grabbed her hand, dragging her to the dance floor.

  “How’ve you been, Tia?” He had lost some of his Texas drawl from traveling around so much.

  “Great, Alex. Same old, same old.” She was losing herself to the music.

  “So anything going on with you and Ax?”

  Crap, why did he have to ask? He was the only other person, apart from Mara and Shelley, who knew about her feelings for Axton. On her twentieth birthday he had found her crying in the barn. When he’d asked what was wrong, she had confided in him. Ax had brought some skank with him to her party, and the redhead bitch had been rubbing herself all over him. It was when Tia witnessed Ax pushing ‘red’ up against the side of the house and proceeded to fuck her right then and there, for all and sundry to see, that she had broken down and ran to the barn.

  Looking up into Alex’s eyes, she said, “Nothing’s changed. He pretty much ignores me. I think we’ve spoken more in the last twenty-four hours than we have in years. And that’s because we were stuck in a car for six of those. Oh, and I’m staying in his room.”

  Alex opened and closed his mouth a few times, making Tia giggle. She didn’t know why he looked...well, he looked a little like a fish.

  “Umm. Tia, why are y’all sharing a room?”

  As she told him the story about Uncle Jack’s decision to cancel her room, Alex stared at her in disbelief, then started laughing in the middle of the dance floor. Tia just stood there with her hands on her hips, waiting for him to tell her what was so funny.

  “Well, sweet cheeks, if you think that man is ignoring you, you’re not as smart as I thought you were. He’s been shooting daggers at every man you’ve danced with, and he hasn’t taken his eyes off you.” He pulled her in closer as a slow song started.

  Tia rested her head on his chest, thinking about what he had just said. Could it be true? Could Axton want her in the same way she wanted him?

  As if her thoughts had conjured him, Ax appeared bes
ide her, his hand resting on Alex’s shoulder. For the second time that day she noticed that his jaw was clenched, the muscle clearly twitching from the strain.

  “I’m cutting in.” His roughly spoken words were accompanied by him moving Alex out of the way before slamming Tia’s body to his. The muscles of his arms felt like granite under her palms. Picking up the slow beat, Axton began guiding them around the floor.

  Tia looked over her shoulder at Alex. He just smiled at her and shrugged as he walked off the dance floor, probably on the hunt for a new partner.

  Ax had a tight hold on her, his hands banding around her, she could feel that they overlapped, showing her how big he really was. “What’s wrong, Ax?” she asked while placing her head on his chest. Well, sternum really, she was too short to reach higher than that. Breathing in his scent, she was in heaven. She couldn’t remember ever dancing with Ax. She’d danced with all the others growing up but never Axton.

  “Nothing now, baby,” he said as he tightened his grip around her waist, his right hand resting just above the swell of her ass.

  If she wasn’t mistaken, rubbing into her tummy was one impressive erection, making her think about what Alex had just said. Snuggling closer to him, she shut off her thoughts and let the music and the steady beating of his heart dim out the real world. They danced like that for a few more minutes, neither of them saying anything else.

  The feel of Axton’s lips brushing against her ear had Tia’s heart beating faster and her breath stalling in her lungs. The hardness of his arousal pressing into her had dampened her thighs and filled her heart with hope. Turning her head, she mentally prepared for their first kiss.

  The kiss she’d been hoping for was replaced by his spoken words. “You ready to go?”

  Slowly letting out the air trapped in her chest, she answered him as calmly as she could, annoyed with herself that she’d let the opportunity to see if he felt the same attraction go. For not having the courage to take charge and kiss him herself. “Yeah, sure. It’s been a long day.”

  After saying their goodbyes to everyone, they caught a cab back to the hotel.

  “We’re gonna have to share a bed again, Ax. They didn’t change the mattress on the pull out.”

  “Shit! I knew there was something I forgot to do today. Are you sure you don’t mind sharing the bed? I can sleep on the floor. I’ll call down tomorrow and get it changed, it’s too late to do it now.”

  A little voice in the back of Tia’s mind asked why he was so concerned. Was it that he didn’t trust himself to be in the same bed as her? She thought about his erection, the one that had rubbed and poked at her stomach while they danced, and the fact that when the scent of her arousal filled not only her own nostrils but also permeated the taxi she had witnessed him adjusting himself. Considering that, the voice could be onto something.

  “Ax, we’re both adults. I’m positive sharing a bed isn’t going to kill either one of us.” If anything, she thought it might give her the opportunity she’d missed. She just needed to figure out where the hell she’d left her courage. The little voice in her head turned into a little nympho, spinning around in circles before dropping to all fours and pushing her ass into the air like a dog in heat. “I’m just gonna have a quick shower.” Ducking into the bathroom, Tia sped through her shower, anticipating what she was going to do.

  Walking back into the room, she found Axton sitting on the side of the bed. His jaw did that clenching thing again, but without saying a word he got up, walked past her, and closed the bathroom door behind him.

  Getting into bed, Tia waited for him to come and join her. When she heard the sound of the shower running, an image of Axton’s naked body covered with soap popped into her mind, re-dampening her pussy. Tia counted the passing minutes. When five turned to ten the image of him masturbating made her lower belly clench and a fresh gush of cream coated her thighs. The sound of a long, male moan drifted through the wall; Tia was positive it was the sound of his completion.

  Lying still, she waited for him to reenter the room. When he did, her eyes zoned in to where his deflated erection hid behind the soft jersey material. Even with the loose shorts on she now knew he was large enough for her to be able to see if he was still hard. His movements were quiet, as if he was trying not to disturb her.

  “I’m awake, Ax,” she said as he finally climbed into the bed. The smell of clean soap floated from his skin. After imagining the hot water running over his body she wanted to lean over and do the same with her tongue.

  “Go to sleep, baby. We’ve had a long day, and I have a few things I need to do tomorrow while we’re still in town.”

  Did he know he’d called her baby again? It was time to pull out her not so new, but re-found courage.

  “I’m too excited to sleep.” Here goes nothing. “And I want to celebrate with you,” she said as she reached out and ran her hand up his inner thigh, slipping it past the edge of his cut-off shorts. Ax bolted from the bed like she had electrocuted him.

  “What the fuck, Tia? What the hell are you doing? You can’t be touchin’ me like that.”

  She had been so close to finally touching his cock when he’d jumped up. And she couldn’t help but notice that even though he was protesting about her touch, his dick was a steel pole pointing straight at her.

  Licking her lips, she dragged her gaze up to his face. “Why?”

  “Because you’re my fucking niece.” His hand ran over the thigh where she had touched him, his eyes finding something fascinating on the floor. The look of confusion on his handsome face didn’t deter her.

  “No, I’m not,” she said, sitting up, her eyes again wandering to his large, stiff cock. He seemed in no hurry to hide his arousal from her, so she didn’t see a point in not enjoying the view of his desire for her.

  His head shot up to look at her. “Not what?”

  “I’m not your niece, or your sister, Axton. We are not related,” she said, shaking her head and waving her hand back and forth between them.

  “You’re like a daughter to my brother. That makes you my niece!”

  “No, Ax. That makes me very loved by a wonderful man. A man who took me in when my own blood wouldn’t.” She took a breath to center herself. She had come to the conclusion that she needed to be a lot more blunt with Axton or they weren’t going to get anywhere. “And if you really thought of me as family, you wouldn’t have had a hard-on while dancing with me.” There, she’d said it. Now she just had to wait and see if he would admit it.

  A sneer crossed his face. “Sue me. I’m horny, and you ruined my weekend plans.”

  Tia recoiled in hurt. She knew he’d had enough beer tonight to make his brain a little slow, but being nasty to her because his body obviously wanted her while he seemed to be fighting it in his head? That wasn’t gonna happen. His words were saying one thing, but his body was telling her the truth. He looked like he could hammer nails with the way his cock stood straight out, bobbing with his angry movements.

  Fuck it! The man is an idiot. Again her mouth had one of those rare moments when it worked faster than her brain. “You’re horny. Well, so the fuck am I.”

  Oh Christ. At her words she saw his dick jerk and heard a small groan come from him. It was like watching a clock ticking. With every beat of her own heart his cock flexed the front of his shorts.

  Ax’s voice took on a deep, raspy tone; a shadow of its usual sound. “You’re a virgin! How the hell can you just throw I’m horny out there? Fuck.”

  “What, because I haven’t been with a man, I can’t get horny?” She laughed at that. Really, the man must be stupid if he thought that teenage girls didn’t go through the same things boys did. Just because they didn’t sport a noticeable boner when attracted to someone, didn’t mean their bodies weren’t doing other things.

  The first time she had gotten wet panties, which was after seeing Ax skinny-dipping in their lake, she’d been horrified. At fifteen she thought her period had come early. When that t
urned out not to be the case, she googled it. What a relief it had been to find out she hadn’t somehow caught some type of vaginal infection, but was simply horny.

  “Okay, not only am I your uncle, I’m thirty-six, and you’re only twenty-one. If you’re horny, you need to go find a boyfriend your own age.” Axton punched the wall as he walked over to where his bag sat.

  She could tell he was getting ready to leave. He was pulling clothing out of his bag. She knew this would be her last chance. If he didn’t accept her tonight, they would never be together and their relationship would be even more strained.

  While Axton had his back to her, she sucked up all the courage she could find. Yanking her clothes off, Tia knelt on the bed, facing him. If this didn’t work, she would be mortified. But she had to do something. Even if he rejected her that would be better than the regret of never knowing how he truly felt about her.

  If Ax didn’t take her tonight, she would do what he suggested and find someone else. But it wouldn’t be someone her own age. With her IQ, her partner would need to have life experience or she would end up bored, or feeling like she was having a conversation with a child. And she wouldn’t be able to give her full heart to someone else. Axton would always hold a piece of that.

  “Look at me, Axton. Is that really what you want? Someone else touching all of this,” she said as she scraped her nails down her dimpled nipples. They had gotten painfully hard.

  * * * *

  Ax turned around, and froze. Tia was kneeling on the bed, completely naked. His fantasies hadn’t done her justice. God, she was gorgeous. Her large breasts stood high, her tummy was slightly rounded, and she either waxed or shaved. She was completely hairless. Christ, she was everything he had ever wanted in a partner, but more, no other could be compared, this was Tia—the woman he had been fantasizing about for more time than he was willing to admit.

  Her fingers were pulling at her nipples as he stood there staring at her. He hadn’t even realized he had dropped the clothes he’d had in his hand, but that hand was now squeezing his cock while he watched her play with her own nipples.