Without Boundaries (the Without series)

by CJ Azevedo

  I chance a glance up at his face and he is looking down at me with his eyes glistening. He grabs my face firmly and crushes his lips to mine, the passion burning my lips. He pulls back just enough to look into my eyes as he speaks. “I have been waiting for so long to hear those three words from you. I love you so damn much, Bailey Hayes. And just so you know, you’ve had my heart since the night I met you. Whether we were together or not, it has always belonged to you.”

  Neither one of has any words left that will do tonight any justice, so instead we silently agree that it is best to show each other the rest of our feelings for one another. We connect on a level that is a first between us. We now know that we love each other, and the act of making love for real for the first time, is something that will forever remain in my heart.

  Talon is perfect, I knew this at first meeting him, but now I know just how perfect he actually is. He is so attentive and skilled at showing me his love, that I don’t want it ever to stop. It is only at sunrise that we cuddle and use our words for the first time in hours.

  “I hope you’re ready to tell people that you’re no longer in that past relationship because there is no way I’ll be able to keep my hands off you now.” If he didn’t already have me floating on cloud nine (which he totally did) he just made my heart swell a little more causing me to fly even higher.

  I’m already cuddled up to his bare body, so I kiss his incredible chest before responding. “I already told Shy yesterday morning when you got here, but she’s going to need more of an explanation sometime today I’m sure. As far as anyone else goes, I’ll shout it from the hilltops if you want.” I smile up at him and he starts to laugh.

  “Yes. That’s exactly what I want.” Then he turns a little more serious. “I need you now love, all of you. I’m not going to be able to walk away anymore. So, if you still have things you need to work out, I understand, but you’re just going to have to work it out with me by your side. Understand?”

  “Yeah, I understand. How long are you able to stay here at my dad’s?”

  “As long as you need me. I brought my computer and Kali can email me anything that I don’t already have, so I’m all yours. What are you doing about work?”

  “I haven’t had much time to think about it since we got the new update on him yesterday. I suppose I’m going to have to take a leave of absence or something. I’m not really sure how that works, but I can’t go back to New York until we have my dad all straightened out.”

  “Can you afford that? I mean, will you be ok to be gone for a while?”

  “Yeah, I have some savings that’ll get me through. I mean, I can’t stay here forever, but I’ll be good for a while.”

  “Ok, I’m going to jump in the shower, then go down and make some coffee, do you want to sleep for a while longer?” I love that he offers that, but now I can only picture Talon standing in my shower. A mischievous grin spreads out on my face as I slowly shake my head.

  With one look at my face he starts to shake his head. “Nope. Not gonna happen. Your sister and Daniel will be here anytime now if they haven’t arrived already, so just stop looking at me like that Bailey.” He wants to be strong and turn me down. He wants me to believe he’s really serious. But I see the humor and the want all over his face.

  He has backed of the bed, throwing on his jersey shorts and walking backwards to the door. I crawl off the bed and stand up as gracefully as I can and slowly strut toward him in my purely naked form. His eyes rake over my body and he takes another couple steps away from me until he is pressed up against the door.

  He sighs loudly as I close the distance between us. I stop just an inch away from pressing my body against his. I intended this to be playful, but watching him watch me, sets a fire inside of me and now I feel like it’s a mission that needs to be accomplished.

  I run my hands up his torso and trace invisible drawings over his chest and abdomen before dragging the backs of my fingers up and around his neck. Intertwining my fingers, I pull his head down as I reach up on my tiptoes to lick his ear. I lightly run my tongue on the outer edge of his ear and am rewarded for the second time by him getting the chills. “Talon?” I whisper without receiving a response. I suck on his earlobe before letting it pop out of my mouth and whispering again. “Baby?” This time he sucks in a deep breath and groans almost silently. But I hear it, and that’s all the encouragement I need in order to continue. “Are you really going to…” And my whispering words are cut off by a knock on the door and my sister’s voice. Talon stiffens and begins to push me back to the bed as I try really hard not to laugh because he looks horrified.

  “Talon? Are you awake?” Cheyenne asks sweetly.

  Talon clears his throat and gives me a death glare. “Uh yeah, I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

  “Oh ok.” She hasn’t walked away yet but it takes her a few seconds to continue. “Um, is Bailey in there? She’s not in her room and I just didn’t know if I should go look for her out on the farm or not.” Poor Shy, she’s so uncomfortable. But Talon, that’s a whole new level of discomfort. His face is as red as it can get without crossing the line to purple. I have already thrown on my panties and Talon’s t-shirt by the time she gets that sentence out so I just go over and open the door.

  “Good morning Shy.” I’m smilingly brightly and Cheyenne looks like she was just handed her Christmas present from Santa; and Talon, well, Talon doesn’t find this so amusing.

  “Good morning Bay, you look well. Will you be joining us this morning or are you camping out in here all day?” She couldn’t be any happier which makes me really happy. Talon lets out a loud sigh as he plops down onto the bed.

  “No, I’ll be down in a bit, we were just getting in the shower.”

  “Together?” Shy asks as she bounces up and down on the balls of her feet. She’s always been one for gossip.

  “Yup,” I reply as I glance back at my man, he has covered his face with both hands and this time he doesn’t sigh, he groans, a very frustrated, embarrassed groan. Cheyenne and I laugh. She takes off down the stairs and I close the door before going over and jumping on him.

  “Now what was so bad about that?” I ask as I rain kisses all over his face.

  He flips me over onto my back before hovering over me. “Everything. Everything about that was bad.”

  “It was kind of funny,” I say with an exaggerated look of regret.

  “Oh, don’t go looking all innocent and remorseful now that your wing man is gone,” he says as he finally laughs. He pulls me up and slaps my backside as he pushes me out the door. “You shower, alone. I’ll get in after you and meet you down there.” I comply with his wishes and head to the bathroom. Just before I open the door, I feel his strong arms around my waist.

  “I love you.” It’s simple and so very powerful at the same time. I’m having a hard time catching my breath. He kisses my cheek and then walks back into his room.

  CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

  TALON

  It’s been two weeks since Bailey told me she loves me. It’s been two weeks since I finally felt like my life is full and meaningful. I was never one to pity my life. My life has been blessed beyond reasonable means and for that I am thankful. However, the second I learned who Bailey was, I realized that my blessed life was missing a piece. Bailey is the piece I didn’t know I needed until she became my very reason for breathing.

  Thankfully, it only took a couple days of sedation for Bailey’s dad, Paul, to heal from his surgery and infection enough to be discharged. When he woke he looked right at me and said “Who the heck are you?” Then looked at Bailey and asked, “How long have I been asleep?”

  The only semi-ok thing about Hollister is that because he was such a prick I don’t have too much to prove to Paul. He instantly liked me once Cheyenne told him I flew out because I was worried about Bailey. Then Bailey explained that I was in fact her boyfriend and I received a, “Welcome to the family,” along with a handshake from her dad.

  T
oday we are preparing for a bbq and small get-together before Bailey and I fly back home. Blaine, Garrett, Tucker, and I are in charge of getting the tables and chairs set up while the girls and Paul get the food ready. Daniel is on kid duty.

  Just as I finish setting up the last table with Blaine, I look up and see Bailey coming towards us from the house. Her hair is down and flowing on her shoulders in soft waves. She’s wearing a pale pink sundress with her brown cowboy boots. She looks stunning.

  I feel an elbow nudge me in my side so I grudgingly take my eyes off Bailey and look at Blaine. He’s standing there with a goofy smile on his face watching me staring at Bailey.

  “Are you alright there, buddy?” Blaine asks as he laughs at me.

  “Yeah, I'm great. She’s pretty perfect, right?” I ask him, not really needing confirmation though.

  “Yes, she is Talon. Yes, she is.” He walks off just before Bailey reaches me.

  I pull her to me, wrap her arms around my waist and just stare down into her eyes. She doesn’t need anything to be said at this moment. Neither do I. I know she’s happy and I know that I am over the freaking moon happy and I just want to hold her for a minute. And she lets me.

  “Will you come out to my tree with me? I'm all finished in the kitchen and we have some time before everyone else shows up.”

  “Of course.”

  ****

  Once we get there I help her down and hold her hand as we walk over to her favorite tree. The tree that she and her mom would always choose for picnics. I sit and extend my legs. Bailey sits down between them and rests her head on my chest. She looks up through the branches of the big old tree as I run my fingers through her hair with one hand and lean back on the other.

  “Do you think you will ever move away from New York?”

  “I'm not sure. I’ve always imagined myself staying there forever. Can't say I'm opposed to the idea though.” I'm not sure where she’s going with this conversation but it looks like I may get an opening to see where she really stands on marriage.

  “I know you have your business there, and that’s where all of your family is, so it would probably be more like a retirement thing, right?” She’s fishing.

  “Not necessarily. Where’s this coming from? Do you want to move back here, love?” Bailey doesn’t answer right away. She takes a deep breath before spinning around and crawling up on my lap to straddle me. After planting a sweet kiss on my lips, she looks down and starts fidgeting with my shirt before responding.

  “Tell me something else… do you think we’ll get married one day?” she asks so softly I almost don’t hear her. But I do. I hear her loud and clear. If I had a ring in my pocket I would be asking her to be my wife right this very moment.

  “Do you remember our discussion on the dance floor at Delaney’s the night I found out that you could finally be mine?”

  “Yes. I remember, but we were just excited to have each other.”

  “Yes, I was excited to have you in my arms Bailey, but that’s not why I said what I did. I said I was going to be your husband one day. I meant that. I still mean that. We will get married love. I'm ready; I'm just waiting on you to catch up.”

  Bailey looks so happy, so relaxed and refreshed. I want to capture this moment in a bottle and label it Top of my list of favorite times. She’s kissing me again, this time she’s pouring her passion for our future together into our kiss. Her hands are tangled in my hair and her body is pressing against mine with the suggestion of us lying down in the wild flowers and weeds. Once I lie back she slides off me and cuddles up along my side with her head on my chest.

  We have lounged out here many times in the two weeks that I’ve been here. She’s told me a majority of the stories of her childhood. Some of the conversations she had with her mom in this very spot. She’s hinted towards not wanting to leave here but she’s never come out and said it to me. I figure this is a topic that she’s going to have to make a decision on and then discuss it with me so I don’t push her on it.

  “What about babies?” Baileys asks as she allows her fingers to trail across the front of my t-shirt.

  “What about them?” I can’t help but smile at the wicked thoughts crossing my mind.

  “Do you want them some day? Have you ever thought about it?”

  “Yes and yes. I have thought about it. A lot actually and I do want them. How about you?” I'm surprised none of this has ever come up. We have put so much time into this whole communication thing, I thought that we had literally covered every topic available. Apparently I was wrong. I guess I just assumed we were on the same page with all of this.

  “Yeah, I want to be a mom. And I can see you as being a great dad, so that’s all settled then. Moving on!” She laughs out loud and it's so beautiful. She turned a pretty important discussion into a laughing matter. Very typical of her. “Do you think after we’re married and we have our 2.5 kids that maybe we can buy a vacation home or something out here? I mean I know Gilroy, California isn’t really an ideal vacation spot, but at least it would make it easier to get out here to see my family.”

  I sit up and rest my head on my hand so I can look down into Bailey’s eyes. “Baby, moving out here is always up for discussion. It doesn’t have to be off the table, ever. And if you want to have our own place out here then that’s what we’ll do. Just say the word and I'm on it.”

  Bailey is smiling a soft smile and tears are welling up in her eyes as she leans forward and lets her lips linger on mine. “I love you more than you will ever know,” she whispers across my lips. But I don’t think she realizes just how much I love her and what exactly she has done and continues to do to me.

  EPILOGUE

  ONE YEAR LATER

  BAILEY

  The sun is pouring in through the windows and I can already tell it’s going to be hot out. I reach over with my right hand to feel for Talon while I keep my left arm folded over my eyes. Instead of feeling my man, I find a piece of paper on his pillow. I rub my eyes clear and sit up to read the note.

  To my beautiful Bailey,

  Please do me a favor and play by the rules. I laid out some clothes for you to wear today for our adventure, no arguments, just wear them. Please. After you get dressed, go on downstairs, there’s a fresh pot of coffee and a travel mug. The golf cart is waiting at the bottom of the porch steps for you. Ride over to the barn for your first step in the adventure.

  I Love you baby, and I look forward to a beautiful day with you.

  Well, this should be fun. I look to the foot of the bed and find a white sundress with my brown boots, panties, but no bra. He couldn’t have planned that part, right? I mean, white with no bra? I start to get dressed when I notice he stuffed the bra in my boot, he was being funny.

  I brush my teeth and hair and do my makeup. Since he wants me in a dress I guess I should look the whole part. I go downstairs expecting a houseful. We are having a bbq after church tomorrow and I assumed Shy, Daniel, and the boys would be here preparing for the feast; but there is nobody here. Everyone is gone and it is extremely quiet. I grab the travel mug and notice another note on the coffee pot.

  I can’t wait to see you in that dress baby.

  Wow. He is really going all out with this. He has done special things for me from day one. He loves surprises and I love that about him, this one in particular seems to be the most creative of them all.

  When I scoot onto the driver’s seat of the cart, I see a small vase of handpicked wild flowers in the cup holder. I know exactly where these came from too. They only grow in the spot under the oak trees where my mom and I would always go to have picnics alone. Every couple of days, she would do something with just me and the other days with just Shy. Shy usually wanted to go shopping or out to eat but I always wanted to go to “our” spot. There are tons of really old oak trees clustered together and we would lie out on the blanket and look up at the sky through the tree branches and try to make out animals in the clouds. I told Talon and showed him the spot
a while back and I know that’s why he picked these flowers in particular.

  I arrive at the barn and go inside, not real sure what I’m supposed to be looking at or for. As soon as my eyes adjust to the darkness of the barn I notice Garret walking towards me.

  “Hey Garret!” I say, smiling at him. He smiles back just as big but doesn’t say a word, instead he hands me another note.

  Love,

  Garret will not, under any circumstances speak a word to you, so don’t try.

  You told me once that you loved the smell of the barn, that it represented your childhood. I want you to conjure up those happy memories for me right now. Also, I saw this a couple months ago and knew that it belonged to you; I hope you love it as much as I do. Our past is special because it brought us to our present. Our present is special because we have each other and are planning our future. Our future is especially special because no matter what comes our way at the end of the day; it’s me and you love.

  I love you.

  Ever since I found Talon, my tear ducts came back in full force and they refuse to stop. I wipe away the few tears that spill over because he is just so freaking amazing. I look to Garret who I imagine is uncomfortable at this situation, but when my tear filled eyes meet his he is all smiles. Garret extends his hand with a black box and flips open the lid.

  My hand automatically lifts to cover my mouth which is agape and I reach out with my other hand to touch the platinum necklace. It has three different sized diamonds that represent past, present and future. They may be different sizes but they’re all massive. It’s absolutely stunning. Garret clasps the necklace around my neck. I reach up and hug him before he hands me another note and walks out the back of the barn.