by Alexa Davis
He waved me down, but I caught sight of a vehicle I hadn’t expected to see up here at the end of the driveway. Libby pulled around the curved driveway and had barely stopped before Olivia was out of the car and up the stairs into my mother’s waiting arms like a shot. Libby parked and when she stepped out of the car, safe and whole, my chest felt like it might explode. Sweaty, smelling like a stable on the wrong side of a cleaning, I cleared the last fifty feet that separated us in seconds and pulled her into my arms.
“Hey, there, sexy cowboy. You got any plans tonight?” she teased, as I stroked her hair and counted her fingers, holding her hands in between us like an offering.
“I just found out, literally just, that you were attacked?” I hissed at her, glancing over my shoulder at O.
“No, not attacked. The gossip greatly overrates the danger anyone was in. Except, perhaps, Carl Jameson, who is lucky there was a fence between us when he was on his little fishing trip.”
“Fishing? For what?” Libby looked over her shoulder and my jaw dropped as a slender, young blonde who could have passed for Libby’s younger sister, stepped out of the car and waved to me, an embarrassed grimace on her face.
“For me, Mr. Hargrave. I’ve been staying with Libby for a few days, and somehow, he must have started to suspect it.” I looked down at Libby, who shrugged.
“It was a good idea for her to move in,” she defended.
“Wait. Move in… like, permanent arrangement?” My hands dropped to my sides. “So, commitment isn’t your problem.” Lightning flashed in her eyes and I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder as she pinched me, hard.
“You are so lucky I don’t want the drama of your parents seeing me slap your face, Tucker James, because that is exactly what you deserve.” She pushed her hair back from her face, pain clearly etched into her eyes. “She has no money, you froze her assets, and she’s doing everything in her power to stay away from Jameson, who is acting like an obsessed ex-boyfriend stalker instead of her lawyer.”
I scratched my jaw, the thick stubble a reminder of my time away from work for similar reasons.
“Sorry Lib. You’re right. That was a little low.”
She rolled her eyes. “That was beyond low. You ever say anything like that to me again, and that ass of mine that you like so much, disappearing on the horizon, will be the last you ever see of me.” She gestured around her. “I wasn’t going to bring them here. You and your family don’t need the extra stress. But who else would I turn to for help when I need it most? Who can I count on to keep me and my family safe?”
I grabbed her hand and pulled her back towards me.
“You and your family are welcome here, always. No matter what happens to you and me. I’m sorry I got jealous. I don’t have the right to be.” She jerked on the front of my shirt to lower my mouth to hers.
“I like you jealous. But not of Kristy, because that would be weird.” I laughed and gave her a second, chaste kiss on the mouth.
“Well, you’re here now. What are you going to do next?” I asked, my own thoughts still betraying my hurt feelings by imagining her in one of the big, jetted tubs with me. She pressed the button on her key fob that popped the latch on the trunk, and removed several bags. Olivia ran down to retrieve her little Minnie Mouse backpack, and Kristy hauled a suitcase in each hand.
“I thought maybe we could stay a night or two, just to stay off certain people’s radar.” she closed the trunk and leaned against it, with her back to the house and our audience. “We need to talk, too, if you think there’s a way for us to get away from prying eyes and find somewhere we can be alone out here,” she teased.
“Thousands of acres of untamed land… I think I can find a place.” I scoffed. “Let’s get you inside and showered, since some thoughtless cowboy thought he had the right to get his dirt and sweat on you. Then, we can sit down and talk about exactly what happened at the preschool, and why Jameson is acting the way he is.” She nodded and pointed out her younger doppelganger on the veranda.
“Do you remember when Jameson and your then-fiancée started dating behind your back?” I huffed out a breath and nodded. “And how weird she said he got when she kept trying to break it off?”
“Sara ended up dating Carl for two years. I’m still shocked his wife never caught on to them.”
“I think he’s fixated on Kristy now. She’s told me a lot about how inappropriate he was, and how close she came to sleeping with him.”
“How does an overweight, balding jerk get women like that to have sex with him?”
“Coercion, mostly, from the sound of it. Kristy said even her mother-in-law was pushing her to do it. Ultimately, it was that pushing that helped her say ‘no,’ repeatedly. Anything that woman wanted, Kristy started doing the opposite, just trying to save her sanity.” I put my arm around her. My pride was still so bruised from her rejection that my body felt stiff when touching hers. But she was scared. I could hear it in her voice, and see it in her eyes.
“Well, you’re safe here. If he did show up, it would go badly for him, real fast.” With my words, I felt tension leave Libby, and she relaxed against me, despite my appearance. “Watch out there, I’m dirty.” I reminded her.
“I don’t care, if you don’t,” she replied. “I’m just happy to see you.” With that, I felt the last dregs of my anger flow away, and my heart grew in my chest until I thought it might break through my ribcage and float away. “Thank you for being better than me. I know I said some stupid things. The fact I knew I could trust you to help me protect what’s mine anyway, means more to me than you will ever know.” I leaned back and looked down into her eyes, wet and shining, her nose turning pink as she started to cry softly.
“Kristy is yours now, too?” She nodded solemnly. “She chose a better path. She deserves a chance to make that happen.”
“What about you? You have so much you’re trying to accomplish, without adding to your burden.”
“Did you know, that Kristy was a music production major? She was starting college, and paying for it with her exotic dancing… I know, seriously, some girls really are paying their way through school—who knew?” she added upon seeing my incredulous face. “Anyway. She’s a bona fide DJ. Wouldn’t that be great for someone who plans parties for a living?” I looked at her and threw my hands up.
“That would be amazing for a party planner.”
“I know, right?” she giggled and watched Kristy carry O into the house, while the men got their bags. “I went to the hospital to try to be the bigger person. Now, I’m blessed to have a sister, for the first time in my life.” Her voice went soft, and she dabbed at her eyes with the corner of her sleeve.
“I remember a time when my heart went out to you, because you had no one. No family to count on, even when they were disappointed in your choices. No one to forgive and forget and stand with you through anything.” I admitted. “Things have changed, haven’t they?”
“I used to think that being strong meant doing it all on my own, Tucker, not leaning on anyone.” She squeezed my arm and tugged me up the stone walkway towards the house. “I’ve learned that all you really need is to choose the right people to lean on. People who make you work harder, stand taller, and be better than you are.” I stopped walking and put my hand over hers on my arm so she couldn’t pull away.
“That’s what you’ve always been for me, Libby. There’s a reason people come to you for strength. Andrew knew he was weak; he hoarded jealously like a treasure for himself. Kristy came to you after literally being on the opposing team. Did you ever think that you were the one who made the people around you stronger?”
I kissed her on the forehead and escorted her into the house, where we were met by the din of twenty people and several dogs, including Kennedy and my brother George’s service dog, who was apparently getting a few minutes to just be a dog. I found my brother and introduced him to Libby, and then repeated the introduction with his wife.
“How is this madhous
e not stressing you out?” I asked him while the ladies chatted, and he shrugged.
“Because this is home. Despite the noise, I never get shaky or scared here. It’s home, you know? There are no enemies here. Dad and Daniel would kick their asses.”
“Only if there was anything left after Mom and Patty got a hold of them,” I nodded. “Yeah, people do seem to come here to be safe.” I was watching Kristy and O, my little goddaughter sitting in her arms like a swing while Kristy stood on the edge of the room, taking it all in. I left my brother and wound through the people and animals to get to them, a grin splitting my face as Olivia caught sight of my and wriggled out of her hold to throw herself at me.
“You smell like dirt and outside, Uncle Tuck,” she informed me as I set her down.
“I do? Well, I was working hard. I guess I should go take a shower.” Olivia nodded and Kristy smiled at me.
“It’s going to be all right, Kristy,” I assured her, my hand still enveloping Olivia’s smaller one. I wriggled O’s arm, making her laugh. “This one will take care of you.” Kristy laughed and nodded.
“She really does, doesn’t she? She must get that from her mom.” I considered her serious eyes. “Libby was shaken up yesterday. It was hard, knowing we couldn’t call you and have you ride in to save the day.” She gave me a wry smile.
“Well, I’m not even sure what happened, and I’m already pretty shaken up, too. I jogged two miles in steel toe boots to get here, because what I heard freaked me out so bad.” She laughed.
“That explains… a lot,” she giggled and winked at me. “I’ve got Olivia, your family has me, why don’t you and Libby go talk it all out somewhere quiet, if there is such a thing here,” she added with another giggle. “I am so jealous of your childhood right now.” I leaned down and kissed O on the forehead and squeezed Kristy’s arm in my hand in silent thanks.
Libby met me halfway and glanced upstairs, her bottom lip between her teeth in that nervous habit I loved so much. I took her arm and escorted her up the stairs, without a word. There was so much we needed to talk about, and we both knew it. But as she kept trying to make me understand, there was time for that. Neither of us was going anywhere, whether I put a name to what we had or not. All that mattered in that moment was that I had her.
She was safe here, and had come of her own free will, because she trusted me to keep her and Olivia safe. For now, that was enough. It was more than I had thought possible two hours before, and I wasn’t going to waste time questioning what I had already decided was our inevitable future.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Libby
His hands were all over my body, and still I couldn’t get enough of him. The moment he led me to the stairs, I knew I was done for. My hands trembled, and he looked down at me, the expression in his eyes dark and possessive, and so full of desire that my throat went dry. He smiled, masculine and fully understanding the effect he had on me, as my knees buckled. I gripped the rail and pressed on, beating him to the top by a full step.
“Hold on there, darlin’,” he drawled, his voice full of amusement. I leaned against the opposite rail, and looked down on the friends and family gathered below.
“We showed up, and everyone came in from the fields and everything. Poor Kristy must feel so outnumbered.” I watched them longer than I needed to, just to get my bearing back.
“Yeah, she looks terrified,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. I rolled my eyes at him, but he was right. Kennedy was sharing Kristy’s lap with Olivia, who had taken to her instantly. Her little face had glowed like Christmas morning when I explained that the young woman was “Aunt Kristy” because she’d been married to Andrew.
“You loved Daddy like us!” She’d exclaimed, and to our credit, we’d both waited until she pranced back out of the room to cry.
“She is so amazing with Olivia. Could you have imagined us here, like this?” I asked. He took my hand and gently pulled me away from the railing, toward his bedroom. He paused when we were past the open area and hidden from the family below.
“I’ve imagined something like this,” he chuckled, one hand stroking down my back to the curve of my bottom. I glared at him and he grinned, tugging me against his body, so I could feel him, hard and ready, pressed against my stomach. My tongue was sawdust in my mouth as I started to think about what, exactly, he imagined for us. He ran his thumb over the thin skin of my wrist and pressed against the pounding pulse beneath.
“You know what I meant,” I argued. He let go of my wrist and slid his hand over my breast, his palm warm through the thin fabric of my t-shirt. He kissed me again, squeezing the soft globe in his hand as his tongue slid past my teeth to taste me.
“I know what you meant.” His voice was low and full of need and the fire he lit in me was stoked to a flame, responding to his desire.
“You wanted a shower?” I managed to squeak out. “We probably should take care of that.” He dropped his mouth to my neck and flicked his tongue over it, making me gasp and shudder against him.
He backed into the nearest bedroom and swung the door shut behind me. I had just enough time to hope it was his room, before his hands bunched up the hem of my shirt and lifted it up to under my arms. I let him pull it off over my head, and he stared into my eyes as he undid my pants, his hand sliding down the front to tease and stroke me. I whimpered and trembled, and he kissed me, before kneeling in front of me and slowly pulling my jeans down over my hips.
His hand pressed against the front of me, then slid between my legs, stroking over the sheer lace of my panties. My legs were rubber, and when I trembled at his touch, he braced me with his other hand, and stroked harder, until the panties were wet through. Only then did he remove them, sliding his fingers under the sides and slid them down over my legs.
“Um, Tucker, there are so many people downstairs,” I argued breathlessly as he kissed the insides of my thighs, leaving hot, wet circles behind to cool under his breath.
“That’s why we came upstairs before I started taking your clothes off,” he chuckled. I bit my lip and glanced toward the door again, and he sighed. “Don’t move. I’ll lock the door. The one person who might come looking for you is the last one we want seeing us.” I crossed my arms and he locked the door and spun around as if I would have disappeared.
“Don’t worry, I’m still naked,” I laughed. He unbuttoned his shirt as he advanced toward me, a predatory look in his eyes.
“Not quite naked,” he corrected. He dropped his shirt on the floor and undid his fly. He took my hand and slipped it into the front of his jeans, where I found him as hard and ready for me as he’d felt when he’d been pressed against me. He slid the straps of my bra down my arms, but I held it in place, and tugged at the waist of his jeans. If he expected me to get naked, then I wanted to see more of him, first.
The jeans hit the floor, followed by the boxer briefs, and I unclasped the bra between my breasts and let it fall on top of the pile of clothes we’d created. I looked down the length of his muscular chest and stomach, down the soft trail of light brown hair that pointed at his hard, straight erection. Despite hours behind the desk, he worked out hard enough to stay as fit as he had been in college, and every time I saw him, I was just as amazed at how much I wanted him. Every time he touched me, it felt like we were about to make love for the first time.
I let him see the hunger in my eyes before I closed the space between us and kissed him, my breasts pressed against the curls on his chest, his shaft pressed upright between my pelvis and his hard abdomen. I drew his face down to me and brushed his mouth with mine, the way he always did to me. I licked my lips and deepened the kiss as his lips parted to let my tongue explore the warm cavern of his mouth. Tucker reached behind me and cupped my rear with both hands, lifting me. My legs automatically wrapped around his waist, and I whimpered into his mouth as the softest part of me slid against his erection.
He carried me to the bed and laid me on my back, moving his hips as h
e leaned over me, so that he slid between my wet silken folds, and my whimpers turned to moans. I tilted my hips, trying to slide that hot, hard rod of flesh into me, and he laughed softly, holding himself back until I begged.
“Tucker, we can’t be gone too long. Please, Sugar, please, I need you.” My voice was breathless and weak, and all I could think about was getting as close to him as I could, to feel him in me and all over my skin, renewing the tang of sweat he’d brought in from the field.
“Do you need me, Libby-my-love?” he asked, pinning me to the bed while he simultaneously kept me from sheathing him inside me. I pressed myself into the bed as I stared into his face, the lust replaced by vulnerability I hadn’t considered as I’d held him at arms’ length since he’d first come to my bed.
“I do need you, Tucker. I may wish I didn’t, but I do. I want you,” I gasped, as he lowered his body to mine and the head of him pressed against my moist, quivering muscles without driving any further in. “I want you, all the time,” I admitted, and he drove himself into me, almost bringing me with one, hard thrust, as I tightened my legs around him and held his hips against me.
“Libby, God, you’re so tight,” He gasped, trying to move his hips and pull out of me.
“Don’t move yet. I’ve been thinking about this so much, I just want to hold you.” He acquiesced and settled for the tiny rocking motion of my hips, while he kissed me deeply. His tongue in my mouth and his lips and teeth on my neck drove me half mad with need, and my body started to rock on him of its own volition. With him inside me, his kisses were enough to push me over the edge, and the orgasm crested and set my body on fire. His mouth clamped over mine to swallow my scream of ecstasy, until I was just a trembling, pool of sated lust under him on the mattress.
He moved me further up the bed so my head was on a pillow, and he set a new rhythm, as he knelt and ran his hands over my body, watching the pink flesh that clung to him with every thrust. His hand went to my low abdomen, and his eyes closed as his thumb rubbed over the nub, nestled at the base of the tight curls above the “V” of my legs.