Home at Last [Davis Hollow, Davis Ranch 1] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by JQ Jones

  “What did I do this time?” Iona asked Manny.

  “You didn’t get upset with all the bullshit she threw at you. Cheryl hates being ignored,” Manny said. She poured Iona more wine. Following Iona’s eyes, Manny laughed and placed another strawberry shortcake on a plate and loaded it with ice cream. “Take it up with you. I’ll see you at breakfast tomorrow. Good night, Iona. You’re way better than anything I imagined.”

  “Good night, Manny, see you tomorrow,” she said. She waved goodnight to Marcus, CJ, and Clint as she trudged up the steps. She put her prize dessert on the dresser to go to the shower. After drying off, she slipped on a T-shirt she’d appropriated from CJ’s room. She felt better without the clothes and the light makeup she wore for dinner.

  Opening the window that opened up to a broad balcony overlooking a huge lit pool, she pulled a joint out of the case CJ had given her in London. She had so many memories that she contemplated how would she be able to get back to her real world and live her everyday life.

  “Beginning is easy, continuing is hard,” she whispered. She blew smoke into the air toward the room and went back inside for her sweets. She sat with her legs curled under her, licking each spoonful of fruit, bread, and ice cream as if it were her last.

  Before she finished, there was a light knock on the door. CJ entered the door before she could say come in. Iona smiled and patted a place beside her on the bed.

  She slipped him a taste of the shortcake, laughing as he moaned in surrender. “I’m an old man. It’s too late for something that rich,” he said. CJ rolled off the bed, pulling his shirt over his head.

  “Are you sleeping in here tonight?” she asked as she slid closer to him on the bed. Her fingertips brushed over his already erect nipples.

  “Uh-uh. You need to miss me,” he said with his eyes closed.

  “Like that’s gonna happen. Close to the door when you leave.” She pulled back the covers and slipped under them.

  CJ rolled over, trapping her within the covers, kissing and licking her face until she laughed loudly.

  “Good night, Lil Bit. Dream about me.” CJ slumped off the bed and out the door without looking back.

  Chapter Ten:

  It Ain’t Nothing

  Iona gave up on sleep by 2:00 a.m. She lay on soft lounge looking at the pool from her balcony and decided to find a way to it. It was too cold to swim, but something about the large tranquil body of water called out to her. She padded through the house, working her way past the kitchen to what she thought was a family room that had a patio door that opened to the pool.

  It was the quiet that only happens in the early hours of the morning. An occasional bird or small animal rustled somewhere out in the landscape. CJ’s T-shirt, silky and soft against her skin, fell to her knees and swished in the silence of the house. Carefully opening the patio door, she stopped for a minute, suddenly scared that she would trigger an alarm. After a few breathless moments waiting for all hell to break loose, she continued her trip to the pool.

  She dropped her feet into the cool water, allowing the water to flow over her feet. She sighed. “What to do? What to do? What to do?”

  “Trust me would be the advice I’d give you, but I might be a tad bias,” CJ said. He was sitting in a low wicker sun chair behind her. She didn’t move at the sound of his voice. She should have felt him sitting there radiating want and need. And love.

  “I think I told you I want you, CJ, but you have issues that you’ve not resolved. I can’t be this jet-setting, clothes-buying showpiece. I don’t have my nails done or Brazilian waxes or even get my hair done. Look at me. I’m a little tiny black woman who loves her little family, her dogs, the geese, hell, I even love the damn goat, but I’ve never loved a man before and I don’t think I can do it right. And I like you too much to fuck it up,” Iona said. “You deserve better than me. And, by the way, you deserve better than Liz. What the fuck were you thinking?” she asked with a look of total distaste curling her mouth.

  CJ laughed. He had a glass of scotch on the chair beside him and nodded his offer to pour her one. She pulled her feet out of the water to sit at the end of the chair and took the drink.

  “To answer your question, I thought love was a myth. I thought I would marry Liz, have a few kids and a few mistresses, and that was the way life was. Then you opened the damn door to your house and I saw that smile and I was in ready to think that there was more to it that just that. I thought it was lust until I kissed you then I knew this was the real deal,” CJ said.

  He didn’t try to touch her, instead reclining all the way back and speaking directly to the sky. “You’re way younger than I am, but I feel like you do. I’ve never had these feeling for a woman this way. I don’t know if I’m doing this right, but I can’t let you leave me. I can’t lose you. It will hurt me more than I think I can take.”

  She touched his foot and almost pulled back. A charge of energy sparked between them. She skimmed the tops of the hair on CJ’s leg, brushing back and forth until he stopped the motion by clamping his legs together, trapping her hand. She simply concentrated on a small space behind his right knee that she stoked so softly that she thought she was just skimming the surface above his skin. Hot, muscled skin.

  She felt his leg tremble then collapse open. She took advantage of his surrender by running her hands up his legs. In the dim light she couldn’t see clearly, but she could make out the shape of his legs, disappearing behind wide-legged dark basketball shorts.

  Iona followed the heat up to his apex, cupping his balls gently at first, then with more strength as she brought them together, feeling their weight and strength. She knelt on the end of the lounge chair to slowly lower his shorts, stroking his already hard dick. From her position, she leaned over to lick the tip of him, allowing his pre-cum to coat her tongue as it poured from the end of his hard dick. She swallowed each offering as more and more poured into her mouth.

  She savored his texture, licking his head, and gagged a little as she took more and more of it into her mouth. His smooth head rested on the roof of her mouth, allowing her tongue to slowly stroke the underside, enjoying the flavor and texture for long, long seconds.

  She heard his soft moans but was so enthralled with the scent and taste of him that she jumped when his hands fisted in her hair, taking her sleep braid apart and pulling her closer to him, trying to make her take more. But she pulled back, enjoying him too much to change the sensation.

  CJ growled and took control.

  He dragged her away from her oral worship. They both groaned. He slid her all the way up his body to press her into an open, wet kiss. A kiss of warring tongues, a lick, a bite, and a suck of her bottom lip made her squirm on his lap.

  They both worked to get her sleep shirt up and off. He kicked off his shorts and lifted Iona up to position himself right at her wet pussy. They kissed as he slowly lowered her onto his stiff, waiting, pulsating dick.

  “Oh man.”

  “Oh who?” CJ flexed within her.

  “Uh, CJ.” Iona tried to ride him, but he stopped her, making her sit and just feel their joined bodies. He covered her face with kisses then dropped his mouth to her neck, nuzzling close to her ear.

  “I love you, Iona. I want to be with you, whatever that means to you and for however long you want. But I have got to have you.” He began to move within her, sighing every time he bottomed into her. She rained down on him, not exactly coming but the gentle tremors rocking her constantly made her wetter and wetter. She couldn’t control her hips as she danced spastically over him, drawing him closer and closer to orgasm.

  He thrust deeper and deeper into her. “One more day,” he said.

  “Yes, yes, yes. One more.”

  “Okay, Lil Bit, come for me. Right now!”

  “Oh, yes.” The only words that she could squeeze past her lips before she came. Hard.

  Still she rode him hard, closely peering into his face to judge how close he was to coming. He took over as sh
e rode him hard until he shook with the need for release. CJ grabbed her waist, pulling her down as he surged up, banging against her hard collection of nerves at the top of her pussy. They clenched, making her grunt in passion until he finally slammed her down as he spewed forth a torrent of cum. They lay, sweaty and content as their heart rates came back to normal, still connected and still enjoying sporadic tremors of passion.

  As dawn began to lighten up the sky, they lay together watching. CJ covered them with a blanket, arranging her on his lap so that she was snug between his legs, her head leaning close to his heart. They didn’t speak. CJ just hugged her close.

  “I’ll show you the ranch, do some riding…”

  “I don’t ride,” Iona said without opening her eyes. “Well, horses I don’t ride. I can ride a bike. Or a motorcycle, assuming a motorcycle would be the same as riding a dirt bike.”

  “You’re from the country. You have geese. You hunt and shoot. Why don’t you ride a horse?” CJ sounded shocked at the sin of it.

  “Horses have big teeth, plus they are way, way off the ground.” Iona’s voice began to quiet as she drifted off to sleep.

  “We’re going riding later. You can ride with me,” CJ said as he began to drift off.

  “Um-hmm.” The last word he heard.

  * * * *

  Clint shook them awake at dawn. Iona escaped Clint’s rabid joking to her room. After a long shower and another great breakfast from Manny, she was in the barn with CJ, looking up into the huge brown eyes of a black stallion. She had on what she considered her cowboy clothes, a tan long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and her new cowboy boots and hat. She was tiptoeing through the stable because she didn’t want to get horseshit on them. The horse snuffled and blew in her face, moisture and horse smell overwhelming her. She took a step back, several steps back.

  “Lil Bit, this is Roscoe P. Coltrane. My baby boy,” CJ said. “He’s a gentle giant, can go and go and wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  Iona gave him a simple sickened smile, happy to remain where she was standing. The horse grinned at her, showing all of his giant teeth.

  “Rub him on his muzzle, talk to him sweet, and he’s just like me, he’ll let you ride him all day,” CJ said.

  “Um-hmm.” Iona stayed by the door of the stall. “He’s got big teeth.” She had a smile plastered on her face, but she took a step forward.

  “Nice horsey, pretty horsey. Horsey doesn’t bite, and if he does, he doesn’t like dark meat,” she said, barely touching the horse. When Roscoe snorted a load of snot on her hand she calmly stepped back, wiping her hand on the back of Clint’s shirt.

  “Really, Lil Bit?” Clint asked with a cocked eyebrow.

  “Yes, really, horse snot is not gonna go on my new clothes.” Iona knelt to wipe the rest of the moisture on the hay lining the stall. Roscoe grinned at her again.

  “Stupid horse.”

  “Oh, Roscoe’s not stupid, a bit ornery, but never stupid. He does know you’re scared. You do know not to show an animal fear, right?” CJ said. He threw a blanket over Roscoe, crooning to him in a soft voice. “She’s a little squirrely, but let’s say we take her for a ride? Okay, ya big baby?” He continued to talk nonsense as he ran his hands over Roscoe’s chest and back.

  “You’ve got a Jeep. Why can’t we go in the Jeep?” Iona said.

  “Because there are no roads to the places I want you to see.” CJ threw a saddle over Roscoe’s back. The horse showed teeth to Iona yet again. She smiled back, a little more relaxed. But his teeth weren’t getting any smaller.

  CJ led the horse out of the stable and mounted him. He stuck his hand out for Iona to grasp. “Put your foot on mine and swing up here in front of me. The saddle’s gonna make it a little tight but this is better than leading you on another horse.”

  Reluctantly, Iona took his hand, allowed him to pull her from the ground, and then found herself way, way off the ground, cradled in CJ’s arms while he laughed, kicking Roscoe into a slow walk.

  “This is a working ranch, on about 17,000 acres. We don’t have a lot of cattle, about five hundred, just enough to make it interesting. We’ve got a very nice lake with catfish and bass, great fishing. There are deer. We let some of the locals hunt during the season. We might get to see a deer or two once we get over the next rise, but it’s kinda late in the day for that. Deer come out in the morning and evening to graze, so at this time of the day we might see some smaller animals.” CJ continued to talk as he nudged Roscoe down an incline and across a wide stream.

  Iona had a death grip on the pummel of the saddle, not hearing what CJ was saying but being comforted by the sound of his deep rumbling voice as it vibrated on her back. Once they reached the other side of the stream, she relaxed as Roscoe stopped. It was a beautiful day. It was a warm fall day but the breeze kept it from being too hot.

  Iona let out a heavy sigh and enjoyed the feeling of the breeze and the smell of the fresh air. It was drier and smelled differently than the woods back home in Mt. Olive. At home, the pines and tall oaks overpowered most of the other smells, but here you could smell the day. Roscoe started at CJ’s urging, making for a strip of small lake. Cows were grouped at one end, lazily eating and drinking.

  “How many cows do you have?”

  CJ laughed. “We run about five hundred.”

  “Oh, you did say that.”

  “Yeah, I did, Lil Bit.”

  “Okay this isn’t so bad. Ready to go back?” Iona whispered, gingerly turned round, trying hard not to spook Roscoe.

  “Lil Bit, Ol’ Roscoe isn’t gonna spook if you move or speak in a normal tone. Hell, you can even shout if you want to!” he shouted, laughing just as loud when Iona shushed him.

  He hugged her tightly, pulled her hat off, and kissed her on the top of the head. He tightened his arms around her in just a friendly hug. Iona air-kissed him, still holding to the pummel.

  “I’ll buy you your own horse. What kind do you want?”

  “An Icelandic,” she said without any hesitation.

  “What? Why?” he asked as if he hadn’t expected her to answer.

  “It’s a small horse known for his smooth trot and stamina,” she said.

  “Wikipedia?”

  “Sure, I figured the question might come up. I’d keep it here even if we don’t work out. You’re still my exclusive client. Besides, you should have something around here for people who don’t like giant horses,” she said.

  “People who ride don’t ride based on the size.”

  “They should. It’s a very long way to the ground. Remember Superman. If he had been on a shorter horse, he wouldn’t have been hurt as bad.”

  CJ was quiet for a few minutes. “Oh, you mean Christopher Reeve. The jumps you make in logic make my head spin sometime. You use different horses for different chores. An Icelandic isn’t a working horse like Roscoe here.”

  “It wouldn’t be for working. He’d be for me to ride. Or whoever needed a smaller horse,” she said.

  “It’d be your horse but…Oooooo weeee, you’re something. Let’s go home and get a drink. You make my head hurt.”

  “That’s a great idea. Back to the house for dinner and to get Roscoe out of the weather. He must be tired. Two people must be hurting his back.”

  CJ barked a laugh and turned back to the ranch house

  * * * *

  A red Jag was parked in the driveway when they returned. Iona felt CJ’s arms tighten around her.

  “Lil Bit, that’s Liz, no hitting, okay?” he said.

  “I’m sorry I lost my cool yesterday. I’ve never hit another person in my life. Besides, if I go up that back staircase I won’t have to see her.” She slid gratefully to the ground, patting Roscoe lightly.

  “Thank you for the ride, Roscoe. I hope I didn’t hurt you too much. See you next time,” Iona said. She tipped her hat to CJ, almost running down the path to the kitchen.

  “That little filly is something, Roscoe. Where the hell I’ma find an Icelandic horse?”
CJ said.

  * * * *

  Manuela met Iona in the mud room by the kitchen door, making sure she wiped her feet thoroughly on the mat by the back door. “Put your boots over there. You can pick them up tomorrow,” Manuela said.

  “I’m going home tomorrow. I have stuff I need to do, plus I need to get my head back to work. I have work to do and animals that I have to take care of. After they get past infants, you have to start treating them like babies,” Iona said. After washing her hands in the sink, she hitched into a high stool at the island. Manuela placed warm bread, butter, cheese, and honey in front of her.

  “This will keep you ’til brunch,” Manuela said. “I know you’re going home, but are you going to leave the puta in the den alone with your man?”

  “He can take care of himself. It’s not like I didn’t know she existed, but she can’t be as bad as she was yesterday. It’s kinda hard seeing your fiancé with another woman, so I deserved some of the abuse even if she went too far.”

  “She always goes too far. For her, Gone With the Wind wasn’t a movie, it was a how-to. She sees everybody who’s brown as a replacement for Scarlett’s faithful servants. Drives me fucking insane.”

  Iona smiled broadly. “CJ grew up like that. Servants, faithful retainers, and bed wenches.”

  “No, he didn’t. His grandfather then his uncle had people who worked for him. People like my family. My grandparents came here in the ‘40s. They bought a little land for themselves. My parents have a little spread fifteen miles down the road.

  “The Davises paid well, treated you with respect, and understood that working for somebody doesn’t give them ownership. That’s what Preston Davis taught CJ and Clint. Poor Clint got a double dose because his mother was my oldest sister. They were taught not to fall for the superficial. The only time CJ forgot how he was brought up is when he let his parents talk him into asking the puta to marry him. I think he figured love wasn’t real. Then two years ago he started talking about you after each phone call or text exchange.” Manuela moved about the kitchen, putting together brunch.