by Natalie Ann
“If I need to explain it to you I’m going to be really disappointed.”
“I want you to tell me,” he whispered. “I want you to tell me what to do to you.”
“I want you to hold me tight while you make me yours. I want to feel you inside of me stretching me like I’ve never felt before because I caught a glimpse of you and I know I can’t wait much longer.”
He gulped. “I can do that.”
“Then do it now.” He could add demanding to controlling and a small part of him was lost forever.
He rolled over to open the drawer next to his bed, then grabbed a condom, but she was taking it from his hand before he could get it on.
“Let me have the honors,” she said, then she opened it up and rolled it on him like a pro. Before he could do anything else, she was pushing him down on the bed and swinging her leg over his, then sliding down. She wasn’t kidding about not wanting to really wait.
“Any objections?” she asked as she slid up and then glided back down. The only thing he could do was shake his head since the sight of her naked and riding him wiped out his ability to speak, let alone think. But who needed to talk when there was a hot woman riding you? “Good, then hang on because I’m going to make us both happy people.”
His hands went up and cupped her breasts while her hips started to move. He might have been gripping her a bit rough, but she didn’t seem to mind when she tossed her head back and told him to do it again.
His thumb and finger found her nipples, pinched once and then twice, and since it caused her hips to jerk up even faster, he did it a third time.
Her breath was laboring now, matching his own. He was trying to let her control the show, but his hips decided they needed to move and show he had his own pace to set.
Her hands came down hard around him, forcing him to move his hands to her hips, her mouth covering his. Their tongues dueled, his fingers gripped her tight and made sure she kept up the pace as he was slamming into her.
Before he knew it, her hands were moving into his hair and tugging at his scalp. The pain was nothing because at that moment they both started to fall and he was there to catch her. He told himself he’d always be there to do it, never letting her hit the bottom.
Round Two
“You grill one mean steak,” Ali said, cutting off a huge chunk and putting it in her mouth. She was ravenous like an anaconda eying a deer. Maybe it had to do with the massive cardio workout she’d just had.
The minute Liam finally heaved himself off of her and went into his bathroom, she’d rolled over looking for another condom in his drawer. He’d caught her in the act riffling around when he came out. She guessed he didn’t mind since she was on her hands and knees looking for them.
Or maybe it was his hand coming down on her bare behind that had her yelping, then turning her and covering her again. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, slanting his mouth over hers.
“Getting ready for round two,” she said. “And I’ll let you lead this time.”
Boy did he lead, hence the need to dive into dinner like a starving woman craving chocolate and a bag of chips at the same time.
“Grilling is my thing,” he said, cutting off a piece of his own.
“Oh, so you’ve got a few things that you’re good at then?”
He winked at her and she found that she was loving this playful side she hadn’t really been expecting to find.
Sure, she knew he was kind. She knew he was sweet. He was considerate too. Not to mention caring. She’d seen all those sides of him so far and every one of them was slowly sucking him into a place in her heart that she hadn’t been sure she wanted to open up to him...or anyone.
She was learning it was a little too late at this point.
Watching him with her mother the other night at dinner had been the final turning point.
Was he uncomfortable with what her mother had been hinting at? If he was, he wasn’t showing it, not like she was. But he was attentive to everything her mother asked and wanted for the farm after the ownership was transferred.
He could have humored her mother, but Ali knew it wasn’t in his nature. If he didn’t want to do something, he’d just tell you upfront. Instead he tried to ease her mother’s mind before the sale was complete. Not too many men in their lives ever tried to ease her mother’s or her mind. No one other than her grandfather.
In the past several years it all fell on her mother, who in turn held back a lot from Ali. Now Ali wished she’d asked more questions. That she’d helped her mother out more when she was recently hearing of all the concerns that her mother had dealt with for years, with no one to lean on.
“I told you I was good with my hands,” he said.
She giggled again. She’d never been much of a giggler that she could remember in her life, but Liam sure did bring some giddiness out of her.
“Do you have dessert? I mean your mother is a baker, so there has to be something here, right?”
He laughed. “Or you could bake me something since your mother is a baker too.”
She popped another piece of steak in her mouth. “That’s not my specialty.”
“So what is your specialty then?”
She realized now they hadn’t talked all that much about her. Not really. He knew she was a teacher and her father had left when she was younger, she lived on the farm with her grandfather, and where she went to college. Not a lot of personal information. Probably the same amount she knew about him if she thought of it.
“I like to cook, but don’t do it often. I can bake, but not like my mother. I’ve never had much of a desire to learn more than what she’s had me making when I helped out.”
“So you can make those donuts?” he asked, his eyes widening.
“Everyone loves those donuts. Yes, I can, but I don’t need to when I can go get them at the bakery. Pretty soon you’ll be able to do that over me.”
He reached his hand over and laid it on hers. “You’ll still be able to go get them when you want, too,” he said.
His voice softened and she realized that she’d had a touch of sadness in hers when she’d said that, even though it hadn’t been her intention.
“Sorry. Let’s not talk about those things. It’s been a great night and I want to end it on a positive note, not a sad one.” He looked stricken and she quickly said, “That came out wrong. It’s not a sad note that you’re buying the farm. It’s really not.”
“Why don’t I believe that?”
She put her fork down. “Liam. I always wanted the farm because I said it as a kid so much and it just stuck. I couldn’t handle it at all though, I know that. I never really wanted the responsibility of it. What I loved was that I could come and go and do things when it suited me and still lay claim to it at the same time. Kind of a shallow reason when I think of it.”
“I get the feeling it doesn’t always suit you to spend your weekends there most times now.”
“No. But it’s family and family helps each other. Plus, it’s an income. I don’t make a lot as a teacher right now and I’ve got a ton of debt. My mother pays me, not a lot for the amount of time I’m there by any means and I wouldn’t even consider taking more, but she knows I need to work over the summer and it’s best if I stay on the farm. It’s busy and she needs all the hands she can get.”
“You’re truly not upset over the sale?”
He looked like he didn’t believe her. “I’m only upset because it’s been in the family for years. But I want what my mother wants and she’s tired. She shouldn’t have had to do it alone. My grandfather shouldn’t have had to do it alone, but I was too young to know what he was doing, or everything it entailed. My mother probably didn’t realize it either until it ended up in her hands and she was too prideful to ask for help. I’m just realizing that now and wish I’d looked closer before.”
“Can I ask what happened to your grandfather?”
“Sure. He had a brain aneurysm out in the orchard
early one morning. Jim found him. It was so sudden, but I’m glad it happened that way. He died fast and hopefully painlessly, and in a place he loved. I hope we can all say that when our time comes.”
“That’s a good way to think about it. Do you think he’d be happy about the sale?”
If she thought the question was odd, she didn’t let on. “Honestly, I think he’d be fine with it. Looking back, I think he was getting tired himself. He always had plans for the farm, hoping for lots of family to help and get him there. It didn’t work out that way or how I think he envisioned it.”
“Your mother is an only child?” he asked.
“She is. They wanted a lot of kids like many do when they have a farm, but my grandmother lost a child during a premature delivery a few years after my mother was born and she could never get pregnant again.”
“And you? Your parents only wanted one child?” he asked.
“My father did. My mother would have had more, but my father...let’s not talk about him. What about your parents?”
“We moved so much with my father’s job that it was hard at times. My parents didn’t want to put more kids through it, or so they said. I liked being an only child.”
“Me too,” she said, surprised they had that in common.
“No fighting for attention,” he said.
“No sharing clothes or toys,” she said.
“No fighting for bathroom time.”
She laughed. “That’s a good one. Though I had people around me all the time on the farm. Lots of employees’ kids always helped out, so at times, I didn’t really feel like an only child. The good part was those kids went home, so I didn’t have to worry about sharing anything.”
“The drawback is it all falls on you when something happens to one of your parents though,” he said, and the light had gone out of his eyes, reminding her that he must still have raw wounds from his father’s sudden death.
“That’s true. But you’re doing the right thing, and everyone can see that. You’re a good guy, Liam.”
“How did this conversation turn so melancholy?”
“No idea,” she said, going back to her dinner. “Maybe we should talk about sex.” He burst out laughing and she went to say something else, but her phone rang so she got up to get it out of her purse that was sitting by the couch. “Hi, Mom. What? Really? I’ll be there in a minute.”
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“My mother was working late at the bakery. She just went to the house and it looks like someone tried to break in. The window to the back door was broken and the door was ajar.”
“Let’s go,” he said, not even hesitating.
Reason to Rush
Liam was enjoying their dinner together. What wasn’t there to enjoy? A hot woman and plenty of sex, then steak and potatoes.
Even the conversation wasn’t all that bad. They’d gotten off the topic he’d originally planned for the night. He’d wanted her to know that he had every intention of following through on the integrity of the farm under his ownership and was hoping he could convince her of that.
In the end, they talked more about themselves growing up and the relationship with their parents. Or her lack of one with her father. In some ways that was better. It really needed to be about them now. He had to work at separating the two.
But the moment that call came in, he knew their cozy little interlude was over.
Now the two of them were racing to the farm. “Did she go into the house?”
“She said she didn’t. That she was scared and went back to the bakery.”
“That was smart. Maybe she should call the police.”
“Why didn’t I tell her to do that?” she said, looking over at him, distressed. “She’s out there alone by now.”
“She’ll be fine. Call her now and talk to her. Let her know we’re only about five minutes away. Tell her to call the police if she wants.”
Ali looked a little pale, but she called her mother. “Where are you, Mom? Who are you talking to?” Liam looked over quickly. “Oh, good. Okay. You’re fine then. No, don’t laugh at me. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“What’s going on?” Liam asked once she disconnected the call.
“She’s talking with Jim. When she saw the glass was broken she called me right away and she was terrified. I heard it in her voice. On her way running back to the bakery, she saw Jim in the barn and he’s there with her. He went in the house and said it’s clear. They were laughing about it all.”
“Laughing?” Liam asked.
“Yes. I asked if she was fine and she laughed and told me it’s just broken glass. No reason to be worried.”
“I think that’s a reason to be worried.”
“Me too,” Ali said indignantly. “All the years we’d lived there, there’d never been any problems. I don’t know why there is now.”
“Because I think the word is getting out of the sale. When people hear that, they think there is something more going on. That maybe there is a value there that they didn’t see before.”
“The house is old. There isn’t anything there,” Ali argued.
Land has value, but there was no reason to go into that right now. “Stranger things have happened. I’ll fix the door for her tonight.”
“I’ll see if she wants to stay with me.”
“You only have one bedroom in your apartment.”
“I can sleep on the couch.”
“I’d say that you could both stay with me, but then we’d have some questions to answer,” he said.
This time she laughed with him. “Liam. We’re arriving together with no time for me to contact and get you after her call. It’s too late to worry about questions.”
She was smiling, so he took that as a good sign. “And you’ve got a nice ‘I’ve been used well’ look on your face right now.”
“What?” she screeched and pulled down the visor to look in the mirror. “Not funny.”
“Sure it was.”
There was no more time to talk since they pulled into the farm and saw Belinda and Jim sitting in the rocking chairs on the back porch like an old couple getting ready to retire for the night.
***
Ali was stunned to see her mother so relaxed over this, sitting there talking with Jim as if nothing even happened. Of course, her mother always seemed happy and relaxed around Jim. Hmm...was something going on there? Maybe she should have looked more closely at her mother’s life before now.
She pushed it aside and sprinted forward with Liam. “What happened, Mom?”
“There was no reason to rush,” her mother said and Ali barely held back the snort. That wasn’t the message her mother conveyed when she interrupted her and Liam’s dinner.
“Someone tried to break into the house. That is a reason to rush,” she said.
“You didn’t need to stop and get Liam,” her mother said, frowning. “Wait. How did you two get here so fast and together?”
Nothing got by her mother. Thankfully Liam cut her off since he was already looking at the door. “It doesn’t look like there is any damage to the security locks I installed. Ali said the door was ajar?”
“No. I thought it was. I didn’t get that close. When I came back with Jim, he said the door was shut and still locked.”
Ali frowned. “But you said it looked like it was open, now you’re saying it wasn’t?” she turned and looked at Jim.
“I caught your mother running to the bakery. I’ve never seen her run like that and thought the place was on fire and yelled her name out. When she told me what was going on, we came back and the door was locked. She had to use her code to get in,” Jim said.
“Was there anyone else on the property other than you two?” Ali asked.
“The parking lot was empty,” her mother said.
“You know as well as I do, anyone could park on the roads and walk through the orchard to get here,” Liam said.
“Are you trying to scare Belinda?�
�� Jim asked, narrowing his eyes at Liam.
“No, he’s not,” Ali said. “He’s trying to get everyone to see the potential danger.”
Liam knelt down and looked at the doorknob closer and saw scratch marks. “Looks like someone tried to pick the lock.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
“Because this was new and it’s all scratched.”
“I thought the code unlocked the door, that you didn’t need a key?” Ali asked.
“You can use a key or the code,” Liam said. “How easy was that code you gave me?”
“What do you mean?” her mother asked.
“You gave me a six-digit code. Is it something anyone could guess?”
“It’s Ali’s birthday,” her mother said.
“Mom,” Ali said. “Don’t you know better than to do that?”
“I wanted something I could remember,” her mother said.
Ali rolled her eyes and then turned to Liam. “So you think they tried to pick the lock and when they couldn’t, they guessed at the code? And when that didn’t happen, broke the window to reach in and unlock it?”
“That’s my thought,” he said. “Let’s go in and look around and find out if anything is missing.”
“There’s no damage,” Ali said, moving into the kitchen. “Other than the broken window.”
“There is no one that knows me that would break into my house,” Belinda said. “Besides, there isn’t anything here for them to steal.”
“Look around and see if anything is out of place, Mom.” She walked all over with her mother but didn’t see anything that was disturbed downstairs.
“There’s nothing missing that I can tell. I’ll go look upstairs, but I’m sure it’s nothing more than me just misplacing things.”
“What do you mean by that?” she asked.
“Every once in a while I’ll try to find something and I can’t. It’s never anything important. I’ll swear it’s here and then I can’t find it.”
“Like what?” Liam asked.
“Papers at times. I’ll look for a bill that I thought I had and it’d be gone. Then I figured I’d paid it, but I’ll get a late notice and realize I didn’t. I tend to get a little scattered like that.”