by Sable Hunter
On the ride home, Jaxson couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He felt like a new man. Being with Tamara had been incredible.
When he pulled up at the ranch, Heath was waiting for him with Memphis saddled and ready. “So, T-Bone’s AWOL?”
“Probably off hunting a woman.”
Jaxson didn’t reply.
“So, where were you all night?” Heath tried again.
Again, Jaxson didn’t reply – but he did smile.
“All right, T-Bone Jr., who is she?”
Jaxson started not to answer, but why should he hide it? “Tamara.”
“Tamara?” Heath was concerned. “What do you mean? I’d heard she’s been injured. That she’s not…the girl she used to be.”
“What do you mean?” Jaxson growled. “It was your idea we get together.”
“Yea, but that was before. I just wonder at the wisdom of giving a girl like that the wrong impression.”
“The wrong impression?”
“Expectations.”
“Shit. And what do you mean by a girl like that?” He didn’t wait for an answer, he knew what Heath was getting at. “Looks like you’d have learned your lesson by now. You didn’t approve of Ryder’s choice, you didn’t approve of Pepper’s – hell, you didn’t trust Molly or even your own wife at first.”
“This is different,” Heath muttered as they rode along together, their eyes scanning the horizon for sign of the big bull.
“How? Cato was deaf when you married her.”
Heath bristled. “Don’t you dare bring my wife into this. Besides, she could get a hearing aid for her problem. What are you going to do with a woman who’s…?”
“Who’s what? Exactly?” Jaxson was just waiting for him to say a derogatory word.
“Not for you!” Heath declared sharply and loudly.
“Well, guess what, brother?” Jaxson bristled, pulling back on the reins while Memphis danced in place.
“What?”
“This is none of your damn business.” With that rejoinder, Jaxson rode off. After an hour’s worth of riding and soul-searching, he found the old bull. “Come on, trouble. Let’s go home.”
…Later, at Highlands, Jaxson avoided his family. This was easier these days since his sisters no longer lived at home. Dodging Molly and Ten was a piece of cake, since they were preoccupied with the twins. Staying out of Heath’s way was easy, the way he stomped around, Jaxson had plenty of warning of his impending arrival. Cato and Philip were another story, but he managed to convince them that he had work to do upstairs.
“At least take a sandwich,” Cato urged him.
“Yes, ma’am.” There was no use to cut off his nose to spite his face.
Upstairs, he spread out his lunch on the desk and turned on his computer. While he ate, Jaxson accessed the websites that the therapist had recommended. Selecting a few games, he printed out some flash cards.
With a smile, he recalled hearing that learning could be fun.
Jaxson was determined to make that true – for both of them.
* * *
Tamara’s day was full to the brim.
As much as she’d like to just sit down and think about what happened with Jaxson, there were things she wanted to do. Knowing Jaxson was bringing food, Tamara decided to try her hand at cooking a dessert. If she went slowly and followed a recipe exactly, she could manage some dishes.
After searching her recipes, she decided to do something that was hopefully full proof. In days past, she would have considered this dessert too simple for words. Taking a rectangular pan, she sprayed it with butter coating, then dumped a can of crushed pineapple with juice and a can of cherry pie filling into the bottom. After swirling the mix with a fork, she sprinkled a dry, yellow cake mix over the fruit, topping the whole thing with chopped pecans and dots of butter. Fittingly, this recipe was called a Dump Cake. Once she put it in the oven, the next challenge would be making sure she got it out at the right time.
While she waited on the cake, her mother called to find out how she was doing. They hadn’t talked since their last awkward dinner. She relayed the latest, except for news about Jaxson. If Sheila thought they were seeing one another again, she would be over the moon and get her hopes up. Her mother, despite their many conversations, longed for Tamara to have a ‘normal’ life.
After the cake was out of the oven, she straightened the house and prepared for Myra’s son’s first visit. To get ready, she’d spent hours going over her notes, trying to make sense of them. Finally, she just decided to play it by ear as much as possible. Meeting the boy and assessing his needs would be her main goal today.
When Chris and his mother arrived, Tamara was glad to see her. “Hey, Myra.”
“Chris, this is…Tamara.”
He nodded, but never looked up from the ground. Tamara noticed he was fidgeting, his fingers were constantly moving and he shifted from one foot to the next.
“You’ll need to watch. Him. Chris has…attention deficit disorder.”
Tamara nodded, she’d read about this aspect of autism. “I’ll watch.”
“Good. Thanks.” After kissing her son, Myra left to do some shopping.
“Okay, Chris.” Tamara knew she and the boy were both nervous. “Here…we are.”
“You talk like my mom.”
His shy glance at her made Tamara smile. “Yes.” She tapped her head. “A…phasia.”
Chris nodded.
Seeing his curious glances, she told him to make himself at home. “Look around – if you like.”
“Okay.” He made his way around the room. “Wow.” He found the memorabilia from her competitive days fascinating.
“What did you do?”
She wouldn’t even try to say triathlete. “Ran. Biked. Swam.”
“Is this an Olympic gold medal?” He looked at her with wide eyes.
“Yes.”
He asked even more questions and she did her best to answer. When he’d settled a bit, she took him out to her home gym, housed in a small portable building. After a slow start, to Tamara’s surprise, they were able to make some headway. She tried to make the exercises and weightlifting fun and by the time they were through, they were both exhausted and laughing. The time she spent with Justin was rewarding to Tamara, she felt useful.
When Myra came after her son, she was surprised to find them acting like old friends. She was so pleased, giving Tamara a big hug. “Thank you. You’re a miracle worker.”
“No. If I were…” She pointed to her head. “I’d fix this.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
“Knock. Knock.”
Tamara grinned, beyond excited to have this man come knocking. “Who’s. There?”
“Howard.”
She frowned. “How ward who?” Tamara opened the door.
“Howard you like a big kiss?”
She rolled her eyes and shut the door.
“Knock. Knock.”
“Now who?” she called.
“Al.”
“Al…who?” she giggled.
“Al give you a kiss if you’ll open the door.”
She was about to turn the knob when it started up again.
“Knock. Knock.”
“Who?” she squealed with delight.
“Honeybee.”
“Honey Bee who?”
“Honey, be nice and open the door!”
When she did, he caught her up in his arms and kissed her soundly.
“Crazy,” she muttered between kisses. This reminded her of Donna and brought tears to her eyes.
“For you.”
By the time she got him in the door, she was giggled out and well kissed.
As she spread out the food he brought, he told her about his day.
“T-Bone is a corker, just a big baby. He escapes pretty regular. Always hunting women. One time, when Cato and Heath were just starting to sniff one another.” His wording caused her to slap him with a drying cloth. He chuckled but kept talk
ing. “She came up to Highlands to investigate this old silver mine. At least, that’s what she said. We all figured she was just doing stuff to aggravate Heath until he fell for her – which he did. Anyway, she came on to our property without telling anybody she was coming. When Heath found her, T-Bone had her treed. She thought he was going to eat her, but he was just hunting a hand-out. He’s a gentle giant.”
“Like you?”
Jaxson growled and grabbed her, blowing raspberries on her neck. “I’m not gentle, I’m mighty.”
“Yea. Sexy. Cute.”
He tickled her some more, just to hear her giggle. “That’s right. I’m all those things.”
After the Chinese, she served the cake and he praised her baking skills to high heaven.
“Just dump. Cake,” she told him shyly.
“Best cake I ever wrapped my lips around, darling.”
His compliment made her so happy, she almost cried.
After dinner, he helped her clean up, making a game out of it. Stealing kisses. Gently pinching her bottom. She turned the tables on him and copped a feel, causing Jaxson to throw back his head and laugh out loud. “You’re something, did you know that?”
“No.” She shook her head. “What’s that?”
He held up the flash cards. “A word-game off one of those websites Dr. Bell recommended.”
“Oh.” She frowned, hating to be reminded of the elephant in the room.
“No. No. No.” He snagged her around the waste and pulled her to him. “You smile. I’m doing this because I care,” he whispered, leaning over to nibble on her ear. “And it’s going to be fun.”
“How?”
“Every time you get one right, I’ll give you a kiss.”
“Oh…okay!”
He fanned the cards out in his hands. “Okay, tonight we’re doing animal names. Okay?”
She wiggled her nose. “Easy.”
“Good. I hope so.” He pulled her down on the couch next to him. “Okay face me.”
She turned to face him, unbuttoning the top two buttons of her sundress. “Hot.”
“You are not going to distract me, woman!” He stared at her cleavage. “I’ll get you for this.”
“Hope so.” She nestled into the cushion and folded her hands. “Ready.”
“Okay. Tell me what this is.” He held up the first card.
She looked at the white, fluffy bird. “Chick Hen.” After seeing his approving smile, she puckered up her lips.
“Good girl.” He planted a kiss on her rosy mouth. “Next one. This is a little harder.”
He held up a card with a picture of a common Texas animal. “Roadkill, usually.”
She let out a long breath and concentrated. The animal was familiar, but its name was rolling around in her head like a lone marble in a pasteboard box. “Uh…”
“Come on, baby. You can do it.”
She chewed on her lip, thinking so hard her head hurt.
Jaxson began to worry, he didn’t want to frustrate her. “Maybe this one is too…”
She reached out and grabbed his hand. “Arm-a-dillo!”
“Yes!” He grabbed Tamara, dipping her over his arm to kiss her soundly.
“More!”
“More kisses or more cards?” he teased.
“Both.”
“Okay.” He held up another one. This was a pink bird.
“Poot.” Tamara frowned, a cute little wrinkle forming between her eyes.
“You can do it.”
She clenched her fists and shook a bit, forcing the word to rise in her mind. “Fla-mingo!”
“Yay!” He framed her face and kissed her three times.
She beamed with happiness. “More.”
“Okay. If you get this, you can pick where I kiss you…” He held up another picture. “Another word that begins with A.”
“Googledymoogledy.”
Jaxson snorted. “If you can say that, missy. You don’t have an excuse.”
He waved the card at her. “A kiss. Anywhere. Going once?”
She grabbed his hand, holding the card still. She wanted that damn kiss. “R.”
“No, an A word.”
Tamara snatched the card from his hand. “Aard – vark!”
“Great!” He was so happy, he felt like he might split open with it. “Where do you want the kiss?”
To his shock, Tamara unbuttoned her top a little more and tugged the cup of her bra down far enough for one breast to pop out.
Jaxson’s eyes were bugging out when she touched the end of her nipple. “Right. Here.”
With a growl, he bent and kissed the distended nipple. Only one kiss wasn’t enough. He swirled his tongue in a circle, then closed his lips around it and sucked.”
Tamara moaned with pleasure. “Aardvark. Aardvark. Aardvark.”
Completely aroused, she went into Jaxson’s arms and proceeded to kiss the sense out of him.
He did not resist.
“I want to kiss you,” he murmured.
“You are,” she managed to reply, then she jumped when she felt his hand up her skirt.
“Here.”
“K.” She went pliant in his hands as he laid her back and hiked up her skirt, yanking down the pair of white lace panties she wore. As he undressed her, he kissed her with teasing glides of his tongue. Soft licks that made her squirm with anticipation. When his palm cupped her mound and his middle finger found its goal, she gasped.
“You’re wet.”
She nodded, raising her head for another kiss.
“Do you know how fuckin’ hot that is? You’re wet for me.”
“Yes. Yes. Yes,” she chanted as his fingers explored her, finding the hot center where all her desire pooled. As he moved the tips of his fingers through her folds, she raised her hips, trying to tempt him to speed up the process.
“Patience, sweetness.” He pulled out his fingers and licked them, making her moan.
“Please. Please.”
“You want me, don’t you?” he asked, holding open her inner thighs.
“So…bad.”
With a lecherous smile, he went down on her, pressing his mouth against her mound.
“Oh, God,” she hummed as his determined tongue licked her up and down. Delving. Swirling. Plunging deep. Jaxson had to hold her still, she was writhing and moaning from the pleasure. Damn, she turned him on. The woman was as hot as a firecracker. He nipped the inside of her thigh, then settled his mouth over her clit and sucked hard.
“Fuck!” she screamed as the tingling sensation morphed into a rip-roaring climax that had her bucking beneath him. Each powerful contraction of her womb made her shake and moan.
“Thank you. I think I will.”
In about two shakes of a sheep’s tail, he was naked, stroking his cock and smiling to see her lift her hips and open her legs even wider. When she crooked her finger at him, he almost came unglued.
Ever a tease, he took his cock in hand and traced her pussy, loving that she grabbed her own breasts and began massaging them hard.
“Christ, woman.” He could resist her no longer. With a hard thrust, he impaled her on his aching cock and she went wild. Clawing. Bucking. Moving her hips to parry with his. Jaxson felt primal. He pulled out slow and slammed back in again – and again, and again. Every time he thrust inside, she clenched around his pistoning staff and tried to hold him in. “Baby, baby, this is too much. I can’t…”
“Don’t!” She tightened her pussy muscles around him, giving his cock the sexiest massage of his life. “Fuck me. Fuck me,” she keened and he gave her all he had – ramming, ploughing, plunging deep, hard, and fast.
“Oh, yes!” she cried as she came wildly, pleasure radiating from her pulsing core, lighting up her body, making every part of her tingle and throb. Every cell in her body was screaming with the hardest climax she’d ever felt.
“Oh, you’re mine.” He refused to think otherwise. She was what he needed. Made for him. Jaxson thought he might go bl
ind with ecstasy as the blood throbbed in his sex. The climb to the finish was relentless, driving. He held her tight and fucked her madly until the pounding, hot rush overtook him and he shuddered, bellowing his release.
With long, hard breaths, he held her tight. Both were completely still. Gradually, their muscles relaxed and he gathered her close so she could nestle against him. “Okay?”
“Better.”
“Good.” He kissed her on the cheek.
“I want to play. That game. Every night.”
“You’re on.” Jaxson chuckled and stroked her hair. “You’re mine, right?”
Tamara could deny him nothing. “Yes.” She rubbed her face against his chest. “For long as you want. Me.”
He didn’t say so, but he thought that might be a long, long time.
* * *
Tamara spent the next few days in a haze of happiness. She and Jaxson were almost inseparable, only parting for work. When she had free time, she tagged along with his ranch work – riding the tractor, opening the gates, feeding the animals. She didn’t seem to notice or mind that he didn’t bring her around his family very much.
It wasn’t because he was ashamed of her. No. He was afraid one of them would say something to burst the bubble of happiness they were encased in.
He especially avoided his elder brother. Jaxson knew Heath meant no harm, but he was protective and had absolutely no filter. Even after being proved wrong in all the other instances when he disapproved of a family member’s significant other, this was just his way.
Tamara didn’t really understand what was going on. She couldn’t help but think Jaxson was compartmentalizing his life because he considered what they had to be temporary.
Still and all, as Sheila always said, they continued to bond, having a wonderful time together. They rode horses all over Highlands, him showing her his favorite places – the river, the waterfall, the highest peak where it seemed you see could for miles.
“I bet…you plan to…live here. Forever.”
She’d taken to speaking to him more and more. He never seemed frustrated or impatient when it took her a little extra time to say something. In fact, he always rewarded her with a kiss, making Tamara want to try even harder.
“I don’t know. We have another ranch over in Louisiana that needs my attention. Belle Chasse. I’ve hired someone to look after it, but…I might have to go spend some time over there myself.”