by Sable Hunter
“Your eyes are making promises I hope you’ll want to fulfill one day.”
“Sorry.” She dove under the covers. “I’m a mess, I know I am.”
Titan chuckled. “As long as you’re my sweet mess, that’s all that matters.”
His light-hearted comment relaxed her. The bed sank beneath his weight as he stretched out. “I can’t believe we’re here like this, together,” she spoke low as if telling him a secret.
“You look right at home to me. I’ve pictured you in my bed a thousand times.” Her beautiful dark hair was spread out on his pillow. He wanted to take her in his arms so bad he ached, but they were going to take it slow even if it killed him. Rolling over to face her, they lay near but not touching. “God, you’re pretty.” He hoped his voice didn’t betray how desperate he was for her. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Makenna.
Titan held his breath as she eased closer, her body shifting until she was close enough to kiss. “Before coming here, I’d forgotten they made men like you.”
Her gaze held so much trust it broke him apart and remade him new. “I’m just a man who recognizes how wonderful you are.” Reaching between them, he took her hand. At the moment, that was the only part of them that was touching. He held it in his own. It was small, dainty and feminine. Her fingers weren’t long, but slender and tapered, and the pads were infinitely smooth and petal soft. “Can I kiss you?”
“Yes.” She let out a small gasp as he brought his mouth to hers. She felt his breath feather across her lips and then a gentle joining. Needing to connect, she let the fingers of her other hand brush his face—caressing, loving the texture of his close trimmed scruff.
He loved her kiss. Her lips were tender and giving. Breathing deep, Titan sought to capture the essence of her deep within him. Her tongue teased the seam of his mouth and he gladly allowed her inside. Over and over, he moved his lips over hers, consuming her mouth, sucking gently at her tongue.
Finally, she pulled back, kissing the side of his face as she did so. “Titan, I’m nervous. I’m so afraid I’ll do something wrong.” Her pink mouth trembled and her violet eyes glimmered with unshed tears as the words of her confession came bubbling forth.
Titan cursed softly. His chest was so tight it felt like a band of steel was wrapped around his middle. “Do something wrong?” He stroked her face with the back of his fingers. “Oh, baby, that will never happen. To me you are simply perfect. All I’ve ever wanted is you, just the way you are. My whole body aches from wanting you.”
During the kiss, she’d drawn closer until her body was pressing against his. He had one big arm wrapped around her middle, as if daring anything to harm or threaten her. “I don’t see how that’s possible,” she muttered.
“If words won’t convince you, maybe this will.” He cupped the side of her neck, dragging his thumb over the soft spot where her pulse raced. “Put your hand over my heart.” She hesitated. “Do it.”
Drawn by his magnetic warmth, she placed her open palm against the smooth skin, sculpted with muscle. Beneath her hand, his heart pounded. Strong.
“What do you feel?”
“Your heart, it’s beating hard and fast.” She studied his face. Makenna had never met another man like him, powerful yet gentle. He exuded confidence, carried himself with utmost assurance, a man who knew exactly what he wanted and knew he was capable of getting it—and taking care of it after it was his.
“That’s what you do to me. No other woman has ever made me feel the way you do.”
She started to question that miracle when Titan sealed his lips to hers. A jolt of electric joy sizzled through her body. He cupped her nape, holding Makenna in place with his fingers tangled in her hair. Sensuously, his mouth moved over hers, a gentle demand that made her weak. There was no doubt he was claiming her, no doubt she was important to him.
When he drew back for breath, she rubbed her face on his chest. He tightened his arm around her and when he did, her lower body came into contact with his. His erection was huge, and she instinctively moved against him. When he moaned, she quickly moved back and apologized. “Sorry.”
“Don’t you ever apologize for making me hard.” He began to kiss the side of her face and her neck. “Are you comfortable?”
“Yea, I’m fine.” Understatement. She was tingling from head to foot.
“Good, ‘cause we’re gonna make up for lost time. I still plan on taking you out on dates, courting you. But right now, we’re gonna neck…for hours.”
Makenna’s heart flipped over in her chest.
Titan Sloan was a man of his word. They kissed until both trembled from need. But that’s all that happened. When it became too much, he clasped her to him and they held one another tight. Sometime during the night, she fell asleep in his arms and he held her until he drifted off, more content than he could ever remember being.
But during the early hours of morning…something woke him. A keening sound brought his eyes wide open. He sat up, the events of the night before swamping him.
Makenna.
He was alone. Where was she?
Another small noise drew his attention to the floor on the opposite side of the bed. He went up on one knee to look and found Makenna on the floor. “Baby?” Without hesitation, he gathered her up. “Did you fall off the bed?”
To his combined joy and concern, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face in his neck. “I forgot where I was. When I realized there was someone in the bed with me, I went to the floor. I wasn’t allowed to sleep on the bed if he was there.”
Disbelief robbed Titan of speech for a time. Swallowing, he spoke, “What do you mean?”
“It’s not as bad as it sounded.” She didn’t want him feeling sorry for her.
“Bad?” He bristled. “I would give everything I owned to have you in my bed and that ape forced you to sleep on the floor!” He had to know. “On an air mattress, with a quilt?”
She shook her head. “No, just me and the hardwood floor.” She shivered in his arms. “But it became an odd source of comfort, really. I felt safer there than in the bed.”
It was obvious she was trying to make him feel better, when all he felt was sick. “From now on you’ll only sleep on the softest of beds.”
Feeling an incredible need to make him smile, she pushed on his chest until he lay supine. Then she draped herself over him, placing her head on his shoulder and running her hand down his chest to come very close to his manhood. “I don’t know, sometimes I prefer a firmer place to rest.”
Titan shut his eyes and held her close. “Whatever you need, that’s what you’ll have.”
* * *
Titan opened his eyes. The sun was coming up and beginning to filter its morning light into the bedroom. At first, familiar thoughts and feelings filled his mind. He thought of the day of the week, his normal routine, his hope for the future…and then he heard it…a soft feminine sigh. He turned his head so hard and fast that he hurt his neck. He’d thought it had all been a dream.
“Makenna,” he whispered. She was here. Slowly and quietly, he rolled over to face her. The reality of her being this close, within easy reach, brought a prayer of thanksgiving to his lips. He let his eyes caress each feature, linger on the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Everything she’d been through, the dangers she still faced bore heavily on his mind. All of that Titan would deal with, Damien Wade’s power and hold over this woman was broken.
She made a small noise, using the back of her hand to rub her face and scratch her nose. Titan smiled so big he hurt his face. Makenna was here, she was safe and he was alone no longer.
It was going to be a good day.
He was in no hurry to get out of bed. She wiggled a little, scooting closer to him, a satisfied hum slipping from her lips. Her nipples were poking tiny tents in the material of her sleep shirt. So tempting. And soon he’d know what they looked like, what they tasted like. But he was firmly committed to taking his time,
showing her what love should be like between a man and a woman.
With that firm resolve in mind, he crawled from the bed, apologizing to his cock, which had been hard so long without relief, it thought he’d joined a monastery. Giving her one last longing look, Titan went to shower and ready himself for the day. Letting her sleep in, Titan was preparing French toast when he heard her padding into the kitchen in bare feet. He glanced over his shoulder and what he saw made him smile. She was clearly not a morning person. Her hair was adorable, sticking up all over the place and her eyes were still sleepy. She was cuddliness personified. “You make me want to take you back to bed and snuggle.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” She yawned and stretched, the action bringing his attention to her full round breasts. “The least I can do is feed you for taking care of me.”
“I like taking care of you.” He pulled out a chair and held it while she sat down.” Once they were eating, reality came knocking for Titan. “Listen, I’ve been thinking and I don’t want you going anywhere by yourself for a while.” Taking a sip of coffee, he explained. “There’s no reason you can’t stay close to me until we know more about what to expect from your ex.”
“He’s not my ex, yet,” Makenna mused, licking a speck of syrup from her lip.
“No, but he soon will be.” Titan gave in to the impulse and leaned in to kiss away another spot of sugary sweetness from the corner of her mouth.
This made Makenna laugh. “Are you asking me to move in with you for a while, Mr. Sloan?” A day or two ago she wouldn’t have even considered teasing a man about something so personal. She owed Titan for several acts of kindness and one of those things was giving her a measure of confidence.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am,” Titan agreed. “But what I’m saying is that I want you to stick close, which means you’re going to have to go out with me to do the ranch work. How are you with a posthole digger?”
She stared at him, then laughed. “I’m not sure, but I’ll try. I want to make sure and pull my weight.”
Titan made a show of looking her up and down. “You’re going to have to do better than that, you don’t weigh enough to anchor down a good size balloon.” When she pooched her lips out, he snorted and pulled her into his arms. “I just want you safe. And the only way I can ensure that is to keep you close enough to touch.” He kissed her on the lips. “Which is not a hardship, believe me.”
Makenna relaxed against him. “I can’t believe they let him go with just a slap on the wrist.”
“Small-town politics,” he mused. “The first thing we need to do is go down to see Sheriff Conner and find out about getting a restraining order.” A shiver of apprehension coursing through her body caused Titan to hold her closer. “Don’t worry, it won’t be a big deal, just filling out some paperwork.”
She took him at his word and over the next few hours, even if he didn’t know it, Titan began to show her what a relationship was supposed to be like. Up till now she’d had to guess what normal was supposed to be. Her only examples were the early memories of her parents’ marriage and examples in television and movies. Titan was caring, considerate, teasing—he kept her laughing more often than not. The contrast of Titan with Damien was the same as comparing light with dark. She’d learned to exist in a world where she walked a fine line, speaking only when spoken to, striving to be invisible, knowing that no matter how much she tried to please, she was never good enough.
Before leaving for town, he escorted her to the barn and introduced her to two young brown and white spotted goats. “This is Houdini and I call this little girl Cola.”
Makenna knelt down to pet them. “What odd names. How did you come up with them?” She giggled as they nuzzled her palm. “Are they hungry?”
“Here,” he handed her some nuggets, “they’re always hungry.” He squatted down beside her, his big form providing shadow from the harsh rays of the morning sun. “Houdini got his name because I couldn’t keep him in any pen I made. He could even open the lock on the gate. And I caught this girl latching on to the end of my soda bottle. She turned it up and drank it down like she’d been doing it for years.”
Makenna laughed. “They’re adorable. I saw this video the other day where these two little goats were wearing pajamas.”
“What?” Titan snorted. He picked up Cola with one hand and tugged on Houdini’s short horns with the other. “If you two want pajamas, you’re going to have to talk your mama into making them for you.” When Cola bleated loudly, Titan looked toward Makenna. “What do you say? Would you make these two each a pair of onesies?”
“I could certainly try. I used to be able to sew.” Makenna felt joy explode in her chest. Not over mothering a baby goat, although the idea certainly held appeal—it was because Titan was making a place for her.
A little later when they arrived at the Sheriff’s office, he escorted her in, a hand at the small of her back. She stepped through the utilitarian green doors, memories of her last visit haunting her. How Damien had beat her, not for the first time, but with an intensity and a savagery that sent her running to Titan. “How does this work?” she asked.
“I’m not sure, but don’t worry, I’m with you every step of the way.” His assurance meant more to Makenna than she could say.
After telling a red-headed female deputy what they needed, she directed them to the courthouse. “Go to the family law department and ask them for an application for a domestic violence order, fill it out and within forty-eight hours, the court will issue a temporary restraining order. You’ll get notice when your hearing is scheduled for a permanent order. And good luck.”
When she added the personal well-wishes, Makenna recognized the woman as the one who’d processed her the night she’d filed charges on Damien. “Thank you so much.”
As Titan escorted her across the road, he questioned the clinical instructions. “Did she say you had to get an application for a domestic violence order?”
She tried to make light of the situation. “Yea, it sounds like I’m asking for additional abuse.”
Titan didn’t find her joke amusing. “No one is going to hurt you again, Makenna. You have a champion now.”
As she walked beside the big cowboy, Makenna found the courage to stand up for herself. In a few minutes, she’d filled out the forms and they were on their way out. She was feeling good about everything when she heard a voice from behind.
“Look at her, hooking up with another man so soon. What kind of a woman does that? Accusing a good man like Damien Wade of being a wife abuser. Why, I bet she faked her injuries like they do in the movies with make-up. I hear she’s crazy. She’s been in a psychiatric ward.”
Makenna froze. Her feet wouldn’t move. There was no way Titan had missed the mortifying exchange. The woman had made no attempt to lower her voice. She felt him move away from her. Who could blame him? Closing her eyes, she willed herself to disappear.
“Excuse me, ma’am.” Makenna heard Titan address the older lady. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. As a woman, you should support other women who are victims of physical violence. What if you couldn’t trust the person who was supposed to love you the most?”
Hearing him defend her was wonderful, but it didn’t keep her from being embarrassed to death.
“Come on.” He put his arm around her shoulder. “Let’s get out of here. You don’t have to listen to such nonsense.”
Makenna followed him out to his truck, but once they were inside, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Not all of it was nonsense.” At his confused expression, she tried to explain. “I was under psychiatric care for a time.”
Titan asked no questions. He sat calmly by her, knowing she needed to talk.
“It’s not what you would think,” Makenna began, clenching her hands into fists. “Although I guess anytime one requires therapy, it’s a sign that all isn’t right.” Taking a deep breath, she let it all out. “I was young, nearly six when it happened.”
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Titan felt his stomach roll. He dreaded what he was about to hear. “Go on, honey, I’m listening.”
Makenna sighed. She didn’t know any other way but to just say it. Years after it had happened, it was still hard to talk about. “I was one of the few children in the daycare at the Murrah Federal building to survive the Oklahoma City bombing. My mother died in the terrorist attack and my father grieved himself to death a few years later.”
“Oh, my God.” Titan reached for her, unbuckling her seatbelt and pulling her into his lap. “I’m so sorry. What you must have gone through.”
She laid her head on his shoulder, flashes of that day bombarding her mind. The deafening explosion, the white-hot blast, the crashing of her world as it came tumbling around her. “Back then, I didn’t even know what a terrorist was. I had very little idea what death meant. The blast killed a hundred and sixty-eight people, including nineteen children. I was one of the lucky ones. Allie’s mother worked there too, but Allie was sick that day so she and her mother weren’t in the building. We met at a survivor’s conference when we were teenagers.” She looked up to meet his eyes. “Something like that scars your soul.”
“Yet you survived, just like you did the hell Damien put you through.” He stroked her hair. “Makes you a hero in my book.”
“He loved to tell people about the time I spent in psychiatric care. I guess it was his way of setting me up so nothing I could ever say would be believed. He just neglected to explain the circumstances.”
Titan bristled. “Wade’s an idiot, we’ve already established that.”
Makenna laughed, hugging him hard. “You make me feel so much better. How do you do that?”
“Just loving you, baby,” he whispered. “Easy as pie.”
On the way home, Titan’s radio went off. After listening, he announced. “We’ve got another grass fire.”
Knowing he was in a hurry, she quickly told him, “Head on to the fire station, I’ll get a ride home.”