by Aimee Laine
Her eyes went wide. “No.” A head shake followed. “Oh—how could I not—”
“What?” Ian asked.
“When I first met him, he’d been working and had gloves on. Then, he said he was into leather making—like belts and ropes and stuff. And his hands were either super-stained or covered in band-aids. What if he was hiding the tattoo from me? What if—”
Ian took her hands, which had moved around wildly, and held them still. “Surely he wasn’t like that all the time.”
Taylor hung her head. “No. You’re right. I’m projecting what I want to remember.”
“Lexi and Tripp’s are in slightly different places. I’m assuming you saw all parts of Tanner’s body? Did you … oh God, I can’t believe I’m asking this … but did you … have sex with him? Or at least check out … that.”
Her hands fisted within his grip “He was my first, Ian.” She said it with such softness Ian’s heart flip-flopped. “God, I wish I hadn’t. Now, of all times, I wish I’d listened to Mama.”
He ran a hand down her cheek, the pain in her eyes tearing at his heart. “We all make mistakes.” He pulled her in toward him, laid her head on his chest and breathed deep. “I hate to make you think about it. But … did you? Notice?”
“Yeah, I remember and no. Nothing … there.”
Ian brought her in for another hug. “It’s okay. We’ll figure all this out.”
• • •
Taylor lifted her head and stared right into Ian’s eyes. “So, if it’s not game related, then why? What?
Ian laid his lips against hers again, making her heart swell with emotion. “If we find Tanner and can sit down with him, maybe a conversation or two will net us some answers. Let’s go see if Tripp and Lexi have had any luck.”
Taylor had been thinking the same, wanting to ask, or beg or plead for them to search for Tanner again—however they went about it. “You sure?”
“Yes, so let’s go.”
31
Ian pulled up outside the real estate office Lexi shared with Emma, and he and Taylor exited the car. Emma walked out of their single-story building, followed by Lexi and Tripp.
“Not right now.” Emma directed her words to Ian and Taylor while waving Lexi and Tripp toward their Mini Cooper. “Get a move on already.”
“Where are you going?” Ian asked.
“Ultrasound day,” Tripp said.
“You gonna find out what it is?” Ian slung an arm over Tripp’s shoulder. “Hoping for a boy?”
“It’s a little early for that,” Emma said. “Now shoo, you two.”
“They’re just going to date the pregnancy officially …” Lexi leaned against Tripp’s chest. “Though, I could tell them to the day when it happened.”
Ian and Emma said ‘eww’ at the same time as Taylor laughed.
“We’ll be back by dinner time.” Lexi extracted herself and moved to Taylor. “I can see what you want to ask. I haven’t had any luck. But, I’ll try again when we get back.”
“Thank you.” Taylor wrapped her arms around Lexi and squeezed. “It means … a lot … to have friends like you two.”
“We’ll be back,” Tripp said. “Lock up for us, Em.”
“Already done. I’m coming with.” She scooted around them both toward her own car. “But unlike you two, I’m coming back to get some work done.”
Ian gave Tripp a salute. If Taylor hadn’t been in the middle of emotional torture, she’d have been happier for them.
“I need to get back to the site and finish off the day’s work. I’m still behind, and the last day of the month is … coming up way too fast. Payday is upon me.” She ran a hand through her hair. “If I don’t run numbers tonight, I’ll have nothing ready for next week.”
“I can help with that,” Ian said.
“You’d like to help? Or you just would for me?”
Ian raised an eyebrow. “Both.”
“I’m going to have to see about how to pay you … unless you’ll work for free.”
“No one said anything about not getting paid.” He offered her a quick kiss. “I will take an IOU, and my preference is sexual favors.”
She slapped his chest as a grin popped onto her face. “You can be in the most stressful environment ever and still think about sex, can’t you?”
His hand went over his heart. “Whatever do you mean, Milady?” Ian shifted against her, his center pressing to Taylor’s—the rock hardness telling her just how he felt. “Hey, remember when my parents said I’d never brought anyone home?” Ian asked.
Taylor nodded.
“They weren’t kidding. Most of that’s because I knew every girl wasn’t the right one. And, somewhere in there, I felt the need to ‘sow my oats’ as Grams said. But, like I said earlier, I’m in love with you, Taylor … in a way I’ve never felt before. In a way I’ve never wanted to be before. So hell, yeah, I think about sex all the time. With you. No matter what happens in the next eighty or so years—no, wait, that would make me a hundred and fifteen … sixty years then—I want you to know that.”
Taylor poured herself into the kiss. She pressed, pled, begged and responded with every ounce of love she had. Ian’s hands went to her waist. Hers tangled together around his neck. She wanted nothing more than everything he’d offer.
When she surfaced for air, she smiled and stared into his eyes. “I love you, too, Ian. I feel like I have for three centuries.” Another kiss ignited tingles through her body. “What if our eighty years ends badly?”
“Well, then we should make the most of it now. Remember I asked about a date? One we never got to go on?”
Taylor’s eyebrow winged up, a smile taking over her lips. “Yeah.”
“No time like the present. Tonight. You and I. Dinner. A little fun. Let’s take our minds off evil and past lives and just enjoy the one in front of us.”
“What about Tanner?”
“We’ll deal with that. Afterward. Tomorrow. Maybe Monday. He sounds like a good Monday job. The perfect epitome to ruin a good week. And, Riley’s already on it, I’m sure. When Tripp and Lexi get back, I’ll ask them to look again. For tonight …” He took her hands in his. “Let’s let this be the start of our future. Just us.”
• • •
Sweat beaded on Taylor’s brow as she and the carpenters secured the last cabinet into place. The two hours of work, with her as an added hand, helped bridge the two-day schedule delay she still carried on the project.
Taylor wanted to get another hour or two in, but the crew had been at it for almost twelve; to ask more would kill her reputation for decent work schedules and make her late for her date with Ian.
Marty walked up to her, his face the picture of exhaustion.
“We callin’ it a day, boss?”
“Yeah. Think we should.”
“It’s six, anyway. Want us back tomorrow?”
Saturday. She closed her eyes for a second. “Only if you can.”
“I think I right can. Mark, too. Maybe Jose and Jock, even.”
“Thanks.” She laid her hand on his shoulder. “I appreciate it.”
He nodded. “We do, too. You’re too good not to work for.” He tipped his hat and trotted off with the rest of the crew in his wake.
Of course I am when I pay double overtime.
Taylor dropped her gloves onto an overturned bucket but changed her mind and picked them up only to plop herself on it.
“You’re lookin’ a little grungy.” At Ian’s voice, she lifted her head.
“I’m feeling it, too.” A quick check found no other places to sit. Taylor rose. “I could do for a hot bath and some dinner.”
Ian moved in a step closer and pushed her hair up under the cap she wore. A hunger filled his eyes as his hand slid down the side of her cheek, sending shivers through her. Her eyes closed on their own, leaving her defenseless and filled with desire, awakening every nerve.
She opened her eyes. Her hands reached for his shirt and pulled him aga
inst her. Ian didn’t even push away. Their lips merged as dirt and grime met with refined New York elegance. Taylor chuckled, pulling herself out of the moment. “You do realize we look a sight, right?”
“I’m sure we would if anyone were looking.”
“Someone’s always looking in a small town, Ian.” He bristled under her touch. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” His hand slipped to hers. “Let’s go have our date.”
“I need to clean up first.”
“Um … okay.”
The simple answer had Taylor narrowing her eyes. “Where to?”
“Home.”
Good. She followed Ian back out through the house, locked up and stared at her truck in the driveway. “Why—”
“Because I knew you’d be grimy and not want to get the soft leather of Tripp’s Jag dirty.”
“But you’re wear—”
Ian touched her lips with a finger. “Tonight, you are not to ask questions about how I make stuff happen. I have a phone and a laptop. And money. Tonight, is about you.”
With a giant smile, she slid into the passenger seat of her truck. A sniff of the air had her turning her head as he joined her. “What’s been in here?”
“What do you mean?” He started the engine, his lips tight.
Taylor breathed in deep, inhaling the scents of grilled meats and vegetables. “Food, Ian. It smells like food.”
“Maybe I ate. Or, maybe you should stop asking questions.”
She pursed her lips together and clamped them with her finger, watching as the scenery between the house she’d been renovating and her own house passed. Trees, shrubs, small and large neighborhoods filled with houses, families and kids running around in the late evening springtime. A longing tugged at her heart. I want that, and I feel like I’ve wanted it forever.
Ian pulled into the driveway with a bump over the gravel covered ditch.
Taylor gasped. She drew her hands to her lips, turned to Ian and spun back. As the truck came to a stop, she jumped out and ran to the middle of her yard.
A small, white awning ruffled in the breeze, covering a single table with two chairs. A fire burned in the pit she’d made just for that purpose, and tiki torches lit the space, prepared to ward off the evening’s more irritating creatures.
Ian appeared at her side. “It’s all I could do on short notice.”
Taylor turned into him, drew her hands up to his face and pulled him down for a kiss. “Can I change before we sit?”
“Yeah. I’ll be waiting.”
“Ten minutes. Ish.” She added a small smack to his lips and darted off to her house, stripping her clothes in the process, knowing with Agnes gone, no one, anywhere, would see her.
Under the hot water, the grit and dirt of the day as well as the tension drained away. Water sluiced over her, down her body, sending licks of heat to every nerve ending. Ian had created a picnic over the very spot that had messed up her life and brought back the security and love she had with her house. She couldn’t have asked for a better start to their future, as he’d put it, and to get Tanner out of her mind.
• • •
Taylor stepped from her home, after spending only five extra minutes, to find Ian stoking the fire, his back to her. He turned as she walked down the three steps onto her grass, his soft, green-collared shirt opened at the top but tucked into khaki slacks. Blades tickled the underside of her bare feet as her white, summer dress waved in wind she created just with her own movement.
The sun dipped below the tops of the trees at the back of her property and set the entire area aglow in a warm, orange light.
Something took hold of Ian’s expression, keeping him a solid, stone wall Taylor couldn’t read. She flattened her hands along her sides, wiping the perspiration that accumulated under his stare.
He held out his hand, and Taylor noted he, too, had gone barefoot. “You’re beautiful,” he said as she said, “Slumming it, Ian?”
Their smiles matched as they kept their gazes fixed on each other. The sounds of nature filled the space, mixing with the small laughter of children from somewhere Taylor couldn’t see.
Ian shifted toward the table where a silver platter sat in the center. A lift of the lid revealed two plates of steak, sizzling as if they’d just been taken off the grill. Taylor whipped around and found the grill on her back deck pulled out. “You cooked?”
Ian lifted a bottle of Merlot from an ice bucket and filled their glasses. “I warmed … with explicit instructions.”
Taylor couldn’t help the laugh or the overwhelming love that flowed through her.
Ian motioned with his fork for her to begin.
A hint of chocolate came through as she sliced a piece of steak. “You got this from Dulces, didn’t you?”
A half-smile graced his face. “Where else would someone go on a first date?”
“But, you made it a picnic.” Juices from the meat coated her tongue.
“I thought coming here, being a part of what started it all and hoping it would be positive would be a good thing. You know … overshadow the bad.”
Taylor waved her fork, a red potato stuck to the tines. “It is. This couldn’t be more amazing.”
In the distance, a coyote made its first call of the night, and the crickets around them buzzed their evening tune. Ian scooped up a forkful of rice as Taylor dove into grilled vegetables. She savored each bite, each morsel, wanting more, as much as she wanted Ian in her life.
Their gazes only strayed as they piled their forks. Few words passed between them. His presence seemed enough.
The last of their natural illumination disappeared as they finished, and Ian leaned toward the ground. A second later, twinkly bulbs lit the interior of their tented roof.
He held out his hand and stood as soft music carried on the breeze. “May I have this dance?”
A check of her plate showed it empty, the flavors continuing to tease her tongue. Her palm slid against Ian’s as naturally as if they’d made the same move for centuries. His body hugged hers, swaying to the slow rhythm of a symphonic orchestra.
Taylor laid her head onto his shoulder, basking in the atmosphere, in the moment, and in the truth. She’d known Ian, in a way no one could describe, from the moment their hands shook at Tripp and Lexi’s wedding. That their lives entwined in some game no longer mattered. He held her in his arms, and she wanted him.
Ian’s lips found her lobe. Taylor’s sigh contradicted the goosebumps up her arm. She stretched, giving him access. He trailed soft kisses to her shoulder, brushing the single strap down. Their bodies moved in unison, she letting him lead.
Dusk darkened the surrounding light, bringing with it the chill of evening, though heat seared between their bodies. Each of Ian’s touches scorched Taylor. Each kiss branded her as his.
Taylor’s strap slid lower until she pulled her arm from it. His hands slid around her back as their lips played against each other. His press forward leaned her back. Trust kept her in his arms until she lay against the soft grass.
Ian ranged over her until he fit along her body, his weight lightened by the propping of his elbows on either side of her. Taylor worked at the buttons of his shirt, one by one, undoing them.
Muscles jumped as she caressed. A finger under the collar and a push had his shirt falling off his shoulders. Ian slipped his arms out, leaving his torso exposed.
His arms shook.
“Tired?” Her own tone came out a lazy drawl.
“Aroused.”
The mere mention spurred her forward. A twist and a zip freed him from his pants. “You sure you want to do this out here?” More sultry sexuality made her smile at herself. Only with Ian had she ever been the one to make the move.
“Here seems to be the right place.” Ian nipped at her chin, moving up to her lips.
Taylor wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down upon her. His hand slid down her side, a finger-walk over fabric brought it up until his palm met the f
lesh of her inner thigh. She moaned her desire, spurring him to torment closer to her center.
Her lips explored every inch of his face, delighting in the fact that she recognized him under her own touch. Fingertips traced his cheekbones, his ear and down his shoulder to his chest, teasing until he shivered.
His hands slid up to her breast, down to her inner thigh and back, eliciting lines of heat from the core of her body to her head.
A suckle arched her back.
A nip elicited a groan of pleasure.
A kiss relaxed.
Their touches continued, tormenting each other until Taylor’s need for him overwhelmed. She drew herself up, transposing their positions.
A tug of his pants lowered them.
A lift of her skirt raised it.
A descent merged their bodies into one.
Ian’s thrusts speared her with sensations, bringing to mind years of time spent together that could only be imaginary—the lake, dust-covered ground, the hayloft of her parent’s barn. Each a moment they should not have come together, tempting fate, testing even time itself.
Taylor rocked against Ian’s hips, drawing him in as deep as possible, wanting their connection to remain.
Never to sever.
Memories played out in Taylor’s mind with each draw from or rise to Ian. Against a rock wall. In a grove of trees. Amidst the sunshine in a field of daisies.
The harder his thrusts, the more those snippets, those momentary windows into their prior lives surfaced and faded. She leaned forward, laying her lips against his as he continued to provide the pleasure she’d always dreamed she’d be able to accept—from the right man.
Tension surfaced in his legs, driving Taylor toward her own peak.
No words need have been spoken.
No thoughts need have been shared.
No memories broke what remained between them.
Together.
Forever.
Pleasure consumed Taylor, sending a dizzying array of sound, movement, light, darkness, joy and happiness through her—a cacophony of life as in that moment two became one.