Love Unclaimed (The Red Truck Series)

by Jennifer Benson

  “I came prepared.” She pulled a condom from the corner of the bed of the truck and climbed onto the tailgate. “But it really isn’t necessary since this I’ve been on the Pill for the last eight months.” She blushed when he gasped. “I have been planning this for a long time.” She giggled. “I knew what I wanted; what I have always wanted.” She tugged at the top of his shorts. “And that is you, just you as you are, right now.” She covered his mouth with hers as she unbuttoned his shorts and lowered them over his hips and down his legs.

  “Oh, Audree, you have no idea how many times I have thought about this; how many dreams I’ve had of you underneath me.” He ducked his head to her neck as she slid her legs around his hips and pulled his body between her thighs.

  “Show me,” she whispered, and scooted back into the truck bed, onto the blankets and pillows she had laid out. “Make love to me, Gavin.” She held out her hand to him and he climbed into the truck.

  “Tell me, at any time, to stop or if it hurts.” He tried to control his breathing as he moved over her, feeling every part of her naked body underneath the weight of his.

  “I will.” She pulled his mouth down to hers and felt his body relax. She couldn’t hold back her smile. Ahh, I finally have Gavin; if only for tonight, and that has to be enough. At least for now, it has to be enough.

  Gavin gently kissed her lips, glided kisses over her jaw, and inhaled her fresh Audree scent. “You always smell so good, Audree, like home,” he whispered, tracing his hand over her collarbone to her shoulders. “You are so soft.” He cupped her right breast and smiled when she moaned. “I love to hear you moan like that.” He grazed her nipple and she moaned louder as she arched her chest up to him.

  “Gavin, please,” she moaned. He took her nipple into his mouth and suckled on the hardened tip while he caressed the other with the back of his hand before he cupped and kneaded it.

  “Your whole body is so sensitive.” He placed a kiss between her breasts. Audree squirmed when she felt his hand move down over her right hip. A sound that was more pain than pleasure made him stop. “Are you okay?” He lifted his gaze to her face.

  “That spot is just a little tender from Ruby’s birthday present.” She shrugged when he looked at her questioningly. He pulled one of the lanterns closer to her hip and his eyes lit up at one of the sexiest things he had ever seen.

  “Baby, you got a tattoo.” He smiled, looking closer and then had to keep from jumping up out of the truck and running for the hills when he saw what looked like a very detail cursive capital “G” dangling from the center point of a red heart. Holy shit, she has my initial tattooed on her hip. Holy shit! And I just called her Baby; what the fuck am I doing? Why couldn’t I just walk away from her? He glanced back at her as she lifted up on her elbows and smiled at him.

  “Do you like it? Ruby got a matching red heart.” He knew she was hoping he would say something about the “G”. But he knew he would have to pretend he didn’t notice it and that he only saw the heart. It would probably hurt her, but he couldn’t stay with her. She had so much ahead of her and this had to be just one night.

  “It is sexy as hell.” He leaned down, kissed the tattoo, and felt her lay back down. He kissed her across her stomach and stopped at her belly button, making her giggle. His hand trembled as he moved down the inside of her thigh and he groaned when he found how wet she was. He slid one finger inside her heat and felt her body arch even more as he slipped in a second.

  “Oh my God, Gavin.” She shuddered against his hand as he slid it back and forth.

  “You are so wet, Audree.” He felt her muscles tighten around his fingers and watched her eyes glaze over, but she never took her eyes off his as she came for the first time. “Are you okay?” He asked when her body relaxed. He smiled with pride when she nodded; knowing that he had done this to her and that he could make her body feel like this. “We’re not nearly done.” He smiled devilishly before he kissed her and moved back down her body. He placed a kiss just above the top of the dusting of curls that covered her most sensitive place. He looked up at her and smiled before he placed his mouth on the throbbing nub before him.

  “Gavin,” she gasped, over and over, as he licked and sucked on her most sensitive spot. She thought she would jump out of her own skin if he didn’t stop. Not that she wanted him to stop; it was the most incredible feeling ever, but she couldn’t keep her body still as he worked her with his tongue. Her body lifted to him as he slid his fingers inside her again and she felt her body tense as another orgasm built inside her.

  “Let go, Audree,” he whispered against her, and, with one more flick of his tongue, she came again. She shivered when she felt his weight move above her. “Audree, look at me.” She opened her beautiful blue eyes and looked directly into his. He saw the love reflected in her hazy gaze and wanted to stay there forever, melting into them. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” she rasped, then slid her hand between their bodies and wrapped her hand around his hardened smooth length. He saw a look of concern spread over her face, and reminded himself that she had never touched a man before. He moaned as she moved her hand back and forth then spread the bead of liquid over his shaft.

  “Audree,” he gasped as she guided him to her opening. “I am going to go slow.” He nudged the tip inside her and groaned. “You’re so tight.” He pushed a little further, feeling her tense. “Breathe, Audree.” He kissed along her jaw and moved deeper inside of her. “I’m not going to move until you are okay,” he told her when he felt her muscles tightening around him, her body adjusting to the intrusion.

  “Yes, it hurts a little, but…” She moved, adjusting her body to his.

  “Oh, Audree, I have to move,” he said almost breathlessly.

  “Yes,” was all she had to say and he couldn’t hold himself still any longer. He moved as slowly as he could, but felt like he was going to explode. Once her body relaxed around him, he moved a bit faster. When she moved her body with his, they moved in rhythm as one.

  “Gavin.” She pressed her body against his and he felt her come again.

  “God, Audree, I have to.” He groaned one last time and, with one last push, he felt himself empty inside her.

  They didn’t move for what felt like an eternity. He stayed buried inside her, kissing her shoulders, her cheeks, her eyelids, and then her lips.

  “That was the most amazing thing I have ever felt,” Audree sighed and wiggled a little underneath him. “I don’t want you to move, but I’m getting a little sore.”

  “I’m sorry, baby. Why didn’t you say something?” He pulled out of her and instantly regretted the loss of her body wrapped around him.

  “Because I didn’t want to feel this emptiness.” She brushed her hand over his face to his neck.

  “Come take a swim with me.” He leaned up and grabbed her hand.

  They walked out into the lake together and floated in the water, holding each other, kissing, and talking. They talked about Audree’s plans for college at the end of the summer and Gavin’s plan to continue his business studies and move to the East Coast. When they went back to the truck, Gavin pulled the small box from his car and handed it to her as she sat down in the bed of the truck wrapped in only a blanket.

  “Oh, Gavin, it is beautiful.” She pulled the gold anklet with a heart in the center of the chain from the box.

  “It was my mom’s,” he said, clasping it around her tiny soft-skinned ankle.

  “It really is beautiful. Are you sure you don’t want to save it to give to…”

  “I want you to have it.” He put his finger to her lips. “This was one of her favorite pieces of jewelry, of the few pieces that she had.”

  “You were going to give me this in front of everyone?” she asked as he lifted her ankle to his lips.

  “I’m second guessing that now; kind of glad I didn’t.” He kissed her ankle. “I wouldn’t have been able to let you thank me like this if I had given it to you then.” He laughed,
sliding his hand between her thighs. “Happy Birthday, Audree,” he whispered to her.

  They spent the rest of the night making love under the stars, not thinking about what would happen when the sun came up. They fell asleep in each other’s arms, kissed each other goodbye when the sun started to rise above the lake. They made promises to see each other before Gavin left.

  Audree went home floating on a cloud as she climbed into her bed. She refused to think about Gavin leaving again and that, if the first time he kissed her drove him away for two years, how far away would this drive him. She would do what any true Southern Belle would do, just like Scarlett, she would think about it tomorrow.

  ***

  Gavin found out later that day that his father had, in fact, started in on Audree about the parcel of land. His father caused such a scene that someone called Travis and Clint. They were at the diner waiting for Audree. Gavin knew Audree could stand on her own against his father, but he didn’t like the fact that she had to. He knew he was going to have to confront his father, yet again, about leaving Audree alone.

  Although Gavin still tolerated his father in his life, he didn’t tolerate his behavior toward Audree. He never had. He had never really understood his father’s dislike for her. She came from a good family, had good parents and her brother was his best friend. The Edwards’, along with Talia’s family had owned the two farms next to the Montgomery’s forever. He knew his father was a greedy bastard. He knew Malcolm wanted to own and control as much land as he could and had, on several occasions, offered to buy the land from Audree’s family since both farms had been combined Audree’s parents were married. They had never buckled and had never considered accepting any of his offers.

  “Father?” Gavin called from the front door of the very large great room in the house he grew up in. He didn’t refer to it as home; it stopped being home the day his mother died. She battled stage IV ovarian cancer the best she could, dying only five months after telling them. That was almost year ago.

  Gavin and Travis never called their father Dad, like Audree and Clint called their father. He wouldn’t tolerate it and had told them it didn’t sound manly. So, from a very young age, they learned they had a ‘Father’ not a ‘Dad’. Gavin promised himself when he had his own children he would be a ‘Dad’.

  “In the office, Son.” He never called the boys by their names. Sometimes, as a child, Gavin had thought his father didn’t even know his name, so it was safer just to call him ‘Son’. Of course, you are in your office. Where else would you be on a sunny day on the farm?

  “Hello, Father.” Gavin walked into the office and waited until his father told him to sit down. Even though he was twenty years old, he still knew the rules of his father’s house.

  “Sit down.” He didn’t raise his head to look up from what appeared to be a balance sheet. “It is nice of you to finally show up. I had heard you came back into town last night to see the Edwards’ girl for her birthday,” he sneered. “She came into her parcel yesterday.” He sounded pissed.

  “Yeah, I heard.” Gavin bit his tongue before he snapped at his father. He needed to stay calm; the man was still his father.

  “I suppose you also heard about the scene in town when your brother came to her defense.” He closed the book on his desk and locked it back in the bottom drawer.

  “No, actually I didn’t hear about it,” he lied. He had a lot of experience and was a good liar around his father. “What happened?”

  “Well, you know I am still not happy about your mother willing that parcel to her,” he sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I have contacted my lawyer again to try to get it back, but to no avail. He said the only ways to get it back are to have her return, gift it back or even sell it back to me. He also suggested if she were to marry into the family and will it or gift it back.” He raised his eyes to Gavin and smiled. “I’m certainly not buying back my own land.”

  “Not going to happen,” Gavin stated. As much as he would love to keep Audree as his own forever, he would never do it to please his father or just to get the parcel back in the family. “Travis won’t be marrying her either.” He stopped him before he could even try.

  “No, your brother has better taste than that anyway.” He chuckled, and Gavin balled his hand in a fist so he didn’t leap over the desk and punch his father right in the mouth.

  “Father, please don’t speak ill of Audree. She is a nice girl, and it was Mom’s wish for her to have the parcel. Please just let it be,” he pleaded.

  “Your mother had no right to give that girl anything. She has enough of her own family’s land. There was no reason for her to give her any of ours,” he said, raising his voice.

  “It was Mom’s family’s land, and she wanted Audree to have it.” Gavin raised his voice, which he tried to control around his father, but when he spoke about Audree, his control was limited.

  “Bullshit! It was land that belonged to her own children … and don’t raise your voice at me boy. I’m still your father!”

  “Is that what you were discussing in town with her yesterday? On her birthday?” Gavin sighed in frustration.

  “I simply told her that I would be getting that land back into my family one way or another, as well as procuring even more. The girl is a spoiled child. Spencer and Talia spoiled her and she has no respect for her own land.”

  “You couldn’t be any more wrong about Audree or her parents.” Gavin could feel himself getting angrier and angrier.

  “How dare you defend that girl in my house!”

  “Do you know why you haven’t seen me in almost a year, Father?” Gavin stood up. “It is because I cannot stand to be here anymore. I cannot stand to be in this house.”

  “How dare you!”

  “This stopped being any type of home when Mom died. Hell, even before that. She was at least here. Did you know that Travis has not lived in this house in almost a year and that he graduated high school almost a month ago?”

  “I would have…”

  “You should have known. You didn’t even show up, but do you know who was there to support him? The Edwards. They were there to support their daughter and your son.” Gavin took a step closer to his father’s desk, and for the first time looked him right in the eye and pointed his finger at him. “Audree knows more about ranching and farming first-hand than you will ever hope to know. Her family taught her what it takes to be a rancher and a farmer. She could run her whole family’s farm by herself while you sit here behind your desk judging a girl you don’t even know. Did you know not only did she receive full ownership of Mom’s parcel, but that her parents have already given her and Clint deeds to their share of their land too? You will never get your hands on any of her land ever!”

  “Who the fuck do you think you are talking to?” His father jumped out of his chair and was around the desk in seconds.

  “I’m talking to the man who I will do everything in my power to keep off the Edwards’ land.” Gavin turned and was now face to face with his father. Malcolm Montgomery had only about an inch or so of height over his son, but Gavin had bulk from his days of working the Edwards’ farm and working out at school.

  “So did you fuck her before or after the birthday cake?”

  “Are you out of your fucking mind?” This was the second time Gavin had ever raised his voice to his father, let alone cursed at him. He wished he had done it years ago, like when his mother was beginning to feel ill and his father told her it was nothing. It had taken her being so sick that she ended up in the hospital for a month to get it through his thick, stupid, selfish head that his wife was really sick and, in fact, dying.

  “Don’t act all innocent with me, boy. I know you have been sniffing around her as much as she has been sniffing around you since you were little.” He took a step back and laughed. “She would have dropped her panties for you in a heartbeat if only you’d asked.” He wiggled his finger at Gavin. “But after all, you are your mother’s son.” He laughed again.
“You would have waited until she was of age out of respect for her family, which was last night, so I am simply asking if you waited until before or after the cake.” He moved back behind his desk. “I want you to know that you have my permission to marry her.”

  “I’m a grown ass man. I don’t need your permission to fuck anyone or marry anyone!” he screamed.

  “I am the man who holds all of your money though.” He leaned back in his chair. “And your brother’s money as well.”

  “I will make my own money.”

  “I’m sure you will, but until then I am paying for your schooling as well as your brother’s.”

  “Are you kidding me? It is always about the money with you.”

  “Money makes the world go ‘round, Son.” He laughed as Gavin squirmed. Gavin knew his father could see the debate going on in his son’s head. “Then if you won’t marry the Edwards’ girl, I have a gentlemen’s agreement with Harlen Meager. He has a daughter.” He laughed when Gavin scoffed at him. “She is a nice girl. You should stop by and say hello. She is the same age as the Edwards’ girl.”

  “What? What does Meager’s daughter have to do with anything?”

  “She needs a husband. She is an only child. She will be the one to inherit all his land. We made an agreement that one of my boys would marry her when she was ready and of age. He will give me half the land after five years of the marriage and another twenty-five percent if a child was produced within the five. The rest of the land stays in her name to pass on.”

  “You are fucking crazy! You are out of you mind, old man. I am not going to marry some girl so you can take over the fucking world. Arranged marriages for increasing one’s land ownership died out years ago.”