“Don’t joke, Teague. He could have been killed.” Taylor blinked back the tears burning her eyes. She couldn’t lose it now. She needed to settle things with Lucky, and then she’d have plenty of time to bawl her eyes out when he kicked her to the curb for being an idiot. “I was just trying to think of the right thing to say to him.”
“‘Thank you’ sounds like a good place to start. Or maybe ‘I love you.’”
“Teague. Stop.”
“Taylor. Do you love him?”
“I—” Her throat seized up on her, the painful constriction as she tried to fight the emotions making it almost impossible to speak. “It doesn’t matter.”
“C’mon, just tell me. You do or you don’t. It’s a simple question.”
Taylor considered lying to him. What did it matter when it wouldn’t change a damn thing about this mess she’d made? But she knew her brother, and he would keep bugging her until she told him.
“Yes. I love him.”
Teague bowed his head, giving it a quick shake of disbelief before looking back up at her.
“Then why did you plan to leave?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I’ve got time.” He leaned back on the window seat, hands behind his head in a clear message—he had all the time in the world. “He’s pretty crazy about you.”
How would he know that? Had he been talking to Lucky? She clamped down her lips in a tight seal to keep from blurting out the questions clamoring to get out.
“Teague, it doesn’t matter. Whatever we had, I killed it. It’s gone. He’s done with me.” That was clear when he walked away from her at the Jolly Gent. He’d sat with her in the closet until the sheriff arrived and then handed her off to a deputy as soon as he could. Before she could follow him, he’d disappeared like Batman. He refused to answer her phone, wouldn’t return her texts.
“How do you know that?”
“Lucky offered me everything and I threw it back in his face. He’s got no reason to give me a second chance,” she said. “Sometimes you can break something—”
“Bullshit.” He shot forward, his body edging into her personal space. He was in full lawyer mode, making sure she heard his point. “God knows our example of a lasting, loving marriage is a little fucked up, but you fell anyway. That’s got to mean something. It’s got to be worth something.”
Taylor was tired of playing games, and her insides ached as if her heart had suffered a physical blow since she watched Lucky leave Elliot House that last time. She was tired of playing games; she was hanging on to her cool like the surfers back in Hawaii—by her fingertips, and seconds from getting pulled in by the undertow.
“Teague, I’m barely holding on here. Can you please get to the point?”
“My point is that I would think a woman who coldcocked her groom at the altar and stole a car—”
“I borrowed it.”
“—stole a car and subjected herself to hours of pain and torture in a tattoo parlor would be a little braver. You go after what you want and work your ass off to make it happen. All I’m asking is why not Lucky?”
“What the hell, Teague? You were against the idea of the two of us together. You hit him—twice—when you found out. What’s with the whiplash attitude?”
“Lucky came to me within an hour of getting the call from Wilkes. He demanded that I help him get his money out of the bank so he could use it to save you. I’ve never seen anybody look like he looked. Intense. Focused. Deadly. I was too scared to tell him no.”
“He’s a Marine. It’s what they do.” Taylor’s ears buzzed with the sudden leap of excitement in her chest.
“Lucky was prepared to give up the farm and give his money to a criminal for you. I know you’re scared, but you can’t ignore the obvious.” Teague was more subdued, his usually rakish chuckle edged with something soft, almost bordering on awe. “That Marine loves you, and he’s laid it all on the line. Whatever it is you need him to prove, he’s jumping through hoops to make it happen.”
“But what about his parents and the debt? How can he just abandon them and just…just…”
“He can do it because the moron thinks he loves you. He waltzed into my office spouting off about true love and pledging his soul to making you safe.” Teague took his glasses off and plopped them on top of his head, his grin splitting his face wide open. “The wacko is seriously nuts about you and clearly suffering from some sort of latent head injury from his service.”
“Stop joking, you ass.” Taylor leaned over, placing her head between her legs and taking deep breaths. Her heart was hammering, her breath releasing in pants that gradually increased until she was laughing. Big gulpy laughs, sucking in air that she exhaled in a broad expansion of her chest. The stretch was good, in part soothing and in part an exercise of the tender places she’d shut down when she let Lucky go.
“He was right,” she breathed.
“Lucky?” Teague asked.
“Yes. He called me a coward. Said I was leaving him before he could leave me and he was right.” But he’d loved her anyway. Loved her enough to let down his parents, break a promise to them and walk away from his dream so that she could have hers. “I love him but I was too scared to give us a chance.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?” Teague leaned in close, his voice a conspiratorial whisper. “What can I do?”
Taylor stood, grabbing the duffel and Teague’s arm at the same time. She yanked him up and propelled him down the hallway toward the garage.
“You can give me a ride.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Taylor didn’t have any trouble finding Lucky’s heaven on earth with Teague behind the wheel.
She waved to him as he left her at the end of the old hunting trail that led to this special place. In the daytime, it was just as beautiful as the night Lucky had shared it with her and she’d made promises she’d been too chicken to keep. But she was here to fix that mistake.
Adjusting her grip on the duffel bag, she proceeded quietly in order to leave the peace undisturbed. The old-growth trees, pines and oak, made a canopy overhead that lent a reverential air to the space. She took the birdsong as a benediction of the step she was about to take.
Just beyond the truck, the tree line opened up and she saw him sitting in a chair beside the sparkling, smooth surface of the lake. His long legs, encased in jeans, were stretched out in front of him, his chest and feet bare, while he adjusted a fishing pole by his right hand. He was beautiful, as much a part of this place as the honeysuckle blooming wild by the side of the short pier. With a pang, she realized what she’d asked him to give up. This earth, this geography was part of his DNA, his soul, and he belonged here.
And she belonged with him.
“Lucky.” She spoke in a hushed tone, loath to break the spell woven over this afternoon.
He stilled, the muscles in his back tense. She could almost hear the gears in his head grinding together as the data didn’t process correctly. Very slowly, Lucky turned his head, every movement telegraphing his disbelief.
“Tay?” He sat up, not quite out of the chair, as if he thought she would disappear if he made any sudden movements. She smiled, the best she could manage with a wobbly lower lip, and took a step forward.
“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you on a plane?”
“Hawaii isn’t paradise anymore.” She gestured around the space, a half laugh and half sob escaping from her mouth. “I have it on good authority this is heaven on earth.”
“I think so.” Lucky swallowed hard, his expression flickering between caution and confusion.
Since he didn’t appear to be able to move, she went to him. A dozen quick steps had her right in front of him, sinking to her knees beside his chair, dropping the bag on the ground. On the drive over, she’d envisioned all the things she would say to him, the way she would grab him and never let him go again. But with him close enough to touch, her courage failed her. What if he’d changed his
mind?
“Why did you leave so quickly?” she whispered.
He looked away, his gaze on the sun-dappled surface of the lake. “I thought we said everything we needed to say to each other. I didn’t want to start that all over again.”
Every cell in her body screamed to reach out and touch him, to reaffirm their connection, but she wasn’t sure if she should. Something in the set of his shoulders said he wasn’t ready.
“Teague told me what you did for me.”
He looked at her then, his eyes a deep blue. “For us.”
“He told me how you were going to give up everything—the farm, your family, this podunk little town—he told me about the money.
“You were right. I was looking for proof that we’d make it, that we’d beat the odds, and you gave it to me. You showed me you’re the guy who sticks.” Her voice broke on the emotion overwhelming her. Throat burning, hands shaking, she reached out to cup his jaw with her hand, tears spilling over when he nuzzled into her palm, a sigh shuddering in his chest.
“What about Hawaii?”
“I’m not going. Mother is going to let me borrow against the equity in the house. She even called my father to get him to agree. It isn’t ideal, but it will work and you can still buy Promised Land.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more certain.” She squeezed her eyes shut, pushing back the tears that burned her eyes. It was no use because when she opened them, Lucky was still a little blurry. “How could I hold back when you laid down everything for me?”
“I’m all in, baby. The one thing I will do above anything else is make sure you know it every second, every minute, every fucking hour of your life. It’s what I’m meant to do.” Lucky cupped his hand behind her head, tugging her so close his warm breath barely had enough room to pass between their lips. “I’ve tried not to push, but I need the words, Taylor. Please.”
She could give him the words. She’d been heading to this place her entire life, and now that she was here there was no fear, no worry, no hesitation.
“I love you, have always loved you, and always will.” She stroked a finger across his stubble, the fine hair gleaming gold in the sunlight and rasping pleasantly against her skin. “If anyone can beat the odds, we can.”
The next moment Taylor was crushed against his chest with his mouth devouring hers in a desperate tangle of lips and tongues. This wasn’t like any kiss they’d shared before. This one was bursting with happiness, joy—the kind you feel when you realize how close you were to losing it all. God, he tasted so good, and the feel of his hard muscles under her searching hands fueled her desire.
She sighed and rolled her head back as Lucky took advantage of her invitation and pressed hot, openmouthed kisses along the exposed column of her neck.
I missed you.
I love you.
They whispered words of love and need before Lucky’s lips coasted across her cheek and reclaimed her mouth in a kiss that was gentler, sweeter, with a promise of the memories they would make together.
Lucky lifted his head, looking down at her with eyes filled with desire, heat, and the love she still didn’t understand. Didn’t think she’d ever deserve.
Releasing her, he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small velvet box with a jeweler’s imprint on the top. Lucky opened the box and removed a ring with shaky fingers. Unsteady herself, Taylor looked down as he slid the ring on her finger, raised her hand to his lips, and pressed a soft kiss. “Marry me, Mary-Taylor Elliott. I love you. I want to have babies with you. I want to grow old with you. I want to be your husband, your man. Marry me.”
“Yes.” Taylor wiped away the tears spilling onto her cheeks while she laughed. The joy in her heart bloomed and spilled over like the wild roses covering the meadow just beyond the lake.
Fingers shaking with need fumbled as they removed clothing, opened buttons, and coasted over skin hot to the touch. Mouths tasted, teeth nipped, and lips sought out places that begged for attention after too long apart from each other. Lucky pushed her to the ground as his mouth traveled over her collarbone and down to nuzzle between her breasts. Her entire body was electrified, and her back arched when his mouth closed over her ultra-sensitized nipple and sucked it deeply into the hot cavity.
Taylor’s mind went blank as her body tensed with the desire pulsing through it. She was so hungry for him. With a ragged breath, she pleaded. “Lucky, please. I need you.”
Lucky lifted his head to gaze into her eyes, a muscle ticked in his jaw, and his eyes blazed with a heat that matched her own. He groaned as she shifted their bodies so that the tip of his erection prodded the entrance of her hot, slippery core. Closing his eyes tightly, he pushed inside her with a thrust that made her gasp with the toe-curling pleasure.
His eyes opened and the fiery passion there was mixed with a tenderness that felt like a free fall off the peaks of the surrounding mountains. “Taylor. I love you so much. You own me.”
With a low moan, his body thrust against her, sliding in and out—as his mouth claimed hers and their tongues parried and fought for dominance. Taylor arched to meet his every thrust, pulling him deeper and clinging to him as he pulled out of her depths. Her legs lifted higher on his hips, opening herself wider, inviting him deeper, closer to her. She couldn’t get enough of him and didn’t think she ever would.
Lucky broke the kiss, panting with desire as he shifted them so that he was underneath, fucking up into her with swift thrusts. Taylor rode him, the sun warming her from the outside as he burned her up from the inside.
She undulated her hips, raising up and pressing back down to fill herself with his hard, thick cock before her brain registered the loss. How many times had they done this? But this was different. He was hers. He wasn’t leaving on a plane to go to a dangerous place. They could have this every day, year after year. This really was heaven.
“Ride me, Tay.” Lucky cupped her breasts, caressing the sensitive skin with work-roughened hands that offered just the right amount of sting to keep her on the edge. “Fuck, you’re beautiful.”
He lifted his torso far enough to lick her nipple, sending sharp, potent electric pulses down to her clit. He drew the hard peak into his mouth and suckled deeply before releasing it with a sharp tug from his teeth on the nipple ring. Taylor’s head scrambled to process the competing sensations created by him filling her, stretching her as her climax built low in her belly. Suddenly desperate, she clutched at his forearms, trying to anchor herself as her body spun out of control and the ground fell away beneath her.
“Let go, baby.” Lucky’s voice was hoarse and his breath hot against her neck. “I’ve got you. I’ll always have you.”
His words, a promise of a future of loving together, sent her over the edge of pleasure. She cried out his name as her body seized him, drawing him deeper and forcing him to join her in the free fall. Lucky gathered her close as he plunged upward one last time and exploded inside her.
For several long minutes they lay together, the leaves of the trees edging the lake rustling in the breeze, sun warming the ground beneath their thin blanket, their hands caressing, legs entwined, lips nuzzling. Lucky shifted to the side of Taylor and leaned up on his elbow as he grabbed her left hand and kissed the diamond sparkling on her finger.
Taylor admired the ring glinting in the sunlight. It was classically styled with a large center square-cut stone and smaller round diamonds on the side. “Lucky, I love it.”
“I’ve had it for a while. I’ve been carrying it around with me everywhere I go.” He kissed the top of her head, hugging her close. “Even when I had no hope, I still kept it with me.”
She snuggled in closer, content to lie here in this perfect moment with the guy who would stick by her. No matter what. “I’m glad you did. This place really is heaven on earth.”
“That’s why I want to build a house here. Our house.” He peered down at her, the pleading look on his face something she couldn’t deny ev
en if it wasn’t the best idea ever. Which it was. “You okay with that?”
“Sounds perfect.” She hesitated, wondering if he would agree with her on the next topic. “I don’t want a big wedding. The last one didn’t go so well for me.”
He laughed, nibbling on her shoulder as he leisurely made his way up to her mouth. Between soft, slow kisses he murmured, “I’m perfectly okay with avoiding the whole Elliott church thing. Between both of our mothers, it would be an event to rival the inauguration.” He grimaced. “No, thank you.”
“I have a suggestion you might like.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well, since we’re determined to beat the odds, we should go to the place where the high rollers go to risk it all.” She punctuated her statement with a devilish grin.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Lucky practically vibrated with excitement, his blue eyes electric.
She grinned, the idea growing on her by the second. It made perfect sense.
“Vegas, baby.”
Epilogue
Cypress Suite, Bellagio Hotel
One month later
Lucky watched the sparkling Las Vegas skyline through the bowed windows spanning the entire length of the bedroom portion of the suite. The vivid neon of the Strip, the flickering headlights of the never-ending traffic, and the lights pulsing in the spectacular fountain display were breathtaking. But none were as beautiful as his wife, lying across his body, their hands intertwined and breathing in perfect rhythm.
His wife.
He laughed, catching the rumble low in his chest in effort to avoid waking Taylor. She was exhausted, the past month catching up with her and spiraling her into a deep sleep not long after sinking to the bed in a boneless, sated heap of sexual satisfaction. He’d thought that nothing could be better than the bliss of burying himself inside Taylor and watching her shatter with pleasure, but he was wrong. Knowing she was his—until parted by death—added an astonishing blessing to the love they shared. Sappy? Maybe a little, but you couldn’t blame a happy man who knew just how good he had it.
His Southern Temptation Page 18