“As I told you before, I tend to be way too stubborn for my own good. I can only hope I’ve learned my lesson now,” I offer, apologetically.
Heather sets the ribbons down and walks around Velvet. She stops mere inches from me, removes her gloves and runs her index finger down the bridge of my nose, across my lips and down my chin. “In an uncharacteristic move, I’m going to hand the reins of my wager over to you. I still expect you to cook me a meal someday. With that understood, however, I trust you to choose the remaining rewards — or is it punishments? — as you see fit.” After her stunning pronouncement, Heather gently closes my suddenly slack jaw and seals the deal with a surprisingly hot kiss.
My body and brain immediately go to war. A bolt of white hot heat goes through my body, energizing every nerve fiber, as I briefly envision a few very carnal ways those markers might be paid off. Those images are so vivid, I have to bite back a harsh groan. I open my eyes to find Heather regarding me with a curious smirk.
“Are you all right, Cowboy?”
I nod tightly. “I’m good, why?”
Heather shakes her head as she chides, “I’m not the only one who should avoid the poker table. You can’t lie worth beans, Tyler.”
Pulling down a bale of hay, I sit down and maneuver her until she is practically sitting on my lap. “Okay, fine,” I admit with a sigh. “For the first time ever, I wish my best friend and his adorable family lived in an entirely different state and weren’t going to be here in twenty minutes. Right now, you and my feather bed are all I can think about.”
Heather’s eyes widen and she gives a small startled gasp before she blushes and asks, “Just to clarify, are you considering this a reward or punishment?” She quickly hops up and becomes preoccupied with picking bits of hay out of her sweater and off of her shapely backside.
Trying not to lose my train of thought in light of the very fine distraction, “Unquestionably, a reward for both of us,” I answer as I guide her so she’s standing between my thighs.
She blushes even deeper. “You’ve never seen me naked, or you might rethink that.”
Clearly words are not enough, since we’ve had this conversation several times already. I fish my cell phone from my pocket and hit redial.
“Hey Jeff, I’m glad I caught you. Do you mind if we rearrange the schedule a bit? Can you take the kids to lunch, swing by Denny’s and make us your last stop? I agree, it makes more sense this way because the kids will probably get dirty anyway. Great. We’ll see you in about four hours. Bye.”
I tuck the phone in my pocket and turn to Heather. She’s watching me in shocked silence. Finally she quietly asks, “Why did you do that?”
I reach out and take her hands in mine. I notice they’re trembling. I’m fairly certain her proximity to Velvet is not the cause. Over the last few months, she has become quite the horse aficionado. She comes over several times a week to ride and groom both Fannie and Velvet. “I’ve tried for nearly two years to get across to you that I think you are stunning, sexy, breathtaking, amazing, and a million other adjectives. Somehow, you don’t seem to think I’m talking about you. So I’m done talking. I’m going to show you.”
Heather draws in a sharp breath and her eyes mist over with tears. “You might be disappointed,” she whispers.
I squeeze her hands. “Oh God, Gidget I could never be disappointed in you. That fear goes both ways, you know. I left parts of my body tangled up in that eff’n IED. There are chunks of my skin missin’ that will never grow back. You might find me downright repulsive.”
Heather pulls my head down and rests her forehead against mine as she murmurs, “I guess we’re both being kind of stupid.”
“I guess the only question is whether I have to call in a marker or whether you just want to go have a hot make-out session?”
Heather scrunches up her face as if deep in thought. “Well, I guess I’m a winner either way, so I’m going to let you hold on to that marker and find another creative use for it.”
On the way up the stairs, I pause to turn off the lights and close the Dutch door behind me, so Ethel and Annie don’t follow us, I take a moment to consider how much of what I told Heather was mere reassurance and how much of it cuts way too close to home. I haven’t had a serious relationship since before I was injured. As much as I’m ashamed to admit it, the caliber of women I was with immediately following my recovery really didn’t care one way or the other. They probably weren’t sober enough to notice I’d been injured, and I was too drunk to tell them. Fortunately, that coping mechanism didn’t last long, and I didn’t permanently revert to the idiotic college student I once was.
I suspect this is going to be as nerve-racking for me as it is for Heather. I struggle to place my casual, fun-loving guy mask back in place. Heather is nervous enough. She doesn’t need to be nervous for two of us.
When I catch up to Heather outside my bedroom door, she looks like she’s about to face a firing squad. I brush my fingertips lightly across her shoulder and she almost jumps out of her skin. “Relax, Gidget, you seem to be forgettin’ the agenda for this afternoon is reward,” I murmur in her ear.
“So you say,” Heather replies with a shaky smile. “If that’s so true, why do I feel like I am suddenly five years old and you’re fixin’ to make me eat my mushy canned peas?”
I make a dramatic gesture as if she’s stabbed me in the heart, “Oh, I’m wounded. Not only did you cast me in a parental role, you paired me with really bad food. From you, isn’t that like the kiss of death? Should I just throw in my cards, now?”
My antics earn me a halfhearted giggle from Heather. “I don’t know, I guess it depends on how persuasive you are,” she answers me with an arched eyebrow.
Never able to let a challenge go unanswered, I scoop her up Rhett Butler style and walk her into the center of my room. Looking around the room, I try to envision it from her point of view. I’m relieved that everything looks pretty neat and tidy and there isn’t anything overtly embarrassing hanging around.
I stand next to the bed and let Heather’s body slide slowly down mine. Even totally clothed, it’s a sensual experience. I look down at Heather’s upturned face as her eyes flutter shut. It’s a look of vulnerability she rarely lets me see. I’m so used to seeing her tough facade that this completely open, expectant expression is at once a complete turn on and scary as hell. It shows just how far we’ve come that she trusts me this much.
Threading my fingers through her hair, I work the bandanna loose that she was using to constrain her curls while working with the horses. As her curls tumble over my forearms, I catch the light scent of lemons. I smile to myself. Not many women could spend the morning working in the barn and still smell good, but somehow Heather has managed to beat the odds. “Mmm, I might skip dessert and just have you,” I comment as I bury my nose in the hair at her temple.
A quick, satisfied smile crosses her lips. “Good, I’m glad you like it. I made a whole line in lemon meringue just for you, because you said it’s your favorite. I made soap, shampoo and lotion.”
“No toothpaste?” I ask, tongue firmly in cheek.
Her brows draw together in thought. “No, but what a great idea. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s because you’re spectacularly good at a hundred other things, and you’ve been a little too busy for product development.”
I lean down to leisurely kiss her, coaxing her mouth open with light, teasing strokes of my tongue.
When she moans and slides her tongue next to mine, my hands tighten reflexively in her hair as desire rockets through my body. In my haste to get closer, I reach down to scoop Heather up and plop her in the middle of the bed with much less grace than intended.
“Geez Cowboy! I may look like a sack of potatoes, but it doesn’t mean you have to treat me like one,” Heather remarks as she takes an ungainly bounce in the middle of the bed.
I have to take a deep breath and count to ten, because
I don’t want this to come out wrong and upset her.
“Heather, remember when you were a kid and you went over to someone else’s house to play? You always had to play by their rules? Well, the rules in this room are, you’re not allowed to put yourself down. You can only say positive things about yourself. I don’t even wan’t you to say cutting remarks about yourself in the form of a joke.”
“Tyler, I was just kidding. It’s no big deal,” Heather insists.
“It is to me. No one should use words to hurt you. Especially you. So, I want you to go out of your way to find things you like about yourself, okay?”
Swallowing hard, Heather nods. “Do you mind if I freshen up a bit?”
I can see she’s struggling to sort through her emotions. I knew before I said anything, I was walking a thin line. She doesn’t like to be bossed around, and I’m taking a huge risk of ruining any intimate mood between us. But I figure, if I’m going to lay my cards on the table, they all should be there.
“No, go right ahead. The door is on the left. There’s a cupboard under the sink with fresh towels.”
“Thanks, I’ll be right back.”
While Heather is in the restroom, I run downstairs to get a couple of glasses of iced tea and some candles from my emergency kit. Jeff’s mom brought over a poinsettia the other day, and I grab it too. I haphazardly throw it all on a TV tray and run back upstairs. I quickly unload everything onto the bedside table and stash the TV tray in the closet. Fortunately, I keep a lighter in the bedside table to melt the shoe polish I use to shine my boots for guard duty. I light the candles, recline on the bed and casually pick up a hunting magazine as if I haven’t had a little mini-workout in the last three minutes.
When Heather comes through the doorway and spots what I’ve done to the room, we just stare at each other for a moment. The corner of her mouth hitches up as she exclaims with the very southern drawl, “Why, Tyler Joseph Colton, you are just the sweetest thing ever!” Her accent is so exaggerated, I’m not sure she actually means it as a complement. But I’m going to err on the side of caution and decide that she means it. “Thank you Darlin’, I do try. You look absolutely ravishing.”
Heather looks down at her purple eyelet corset and skirt and starts to say, “This old thing—”
I raise my eyebrow and she quickly corrects herself.
“Thank you. I love this color. I think it makes my eyes look especially blue.”
I smile as I get off the bed and walk over to her. I brush her hair back from her face and tenderly kiss her luscious lips. As I pull away, I murmur, “See, that wasn’t so hard.” I take her by the hand and lead her to the bed. This time, I gently pick her up and place her in the center of the bed.
She looks unnerved for a second, then collects herself and quips, “Oh my gosh, Tyler. If this were my bed. I don’t think I would ever want to get out. This is the softest bed I’ve ever been in.”
I grin like a kid in a candy store. “Isn’t it great? It was one of my big splurges after I came back stateside. I was tired of sleeping on government issued mattress equivalents. So, I got the biggest, baddest, most blinged out mattress I could find. You’re welcome to sleep over anytime.”
Heather turns bright red. “Well, I don’t know if I’m ready for that quite yet, but I might sneak up here for a nap.”
“How about we play it by ear?” I suggest as I pull her hair to the side and kiss her neck. She arches to give me better access. As I place a line of kisses down her jaw line, she nods.
When I feather my fingertips over her collarbones, her breath catches and as she mindlessly drives her breasts into my palms. I trace the top of her feminine corset with the pads of my thumbs. I know my fingers are calloused from all the woodworking and odd jobs I do around here, but next to her delicate skin, I’m afraid they must feel like sand paper. As she takes a deep breath, my fingers brush the soft swell of her breast. Her eyes lose their focus and her cheeks grow pink as she whispers hoarsely, “I need more.”
Heather’s stark admission stokes my desire like a five alarm fire. I fight my inner instincts to react like a freshman on his first date. “Happy to oblige Darlin’,” I murmur. Encountering a series of small hooks on the front of her corset, I’m grateful for all the time I’ve spent tying tiny fishing lures. Placing a kiss every few inches, I slowly unhook her lacy top. It is like unwrapping the best present I’d ever gotten. When I reach the halfway point, she suddenly slaps her hands over her breasts. When I search her face, I see tears gathering on her long lashes. I immediately remove my hands.
“Gidget?” I probe as I wipe away the tears. “Talk to me.”
Heather squeezes her eyes shut. Finally she opens them and takes a steadying breath. “I’m not like other women you’ve been with.”
“Well, thank God for small favors!” I mutter under my breath.
Heather punches me in the shoulder. “No, you dumbass! I’m trying to make a point here. I’m a whole lot squishier than those women. I’ve probably got more cellulite in my left calf than they’ll ever have in their whole body. I’ll never be perky.”
“Heather, look at me. I’m making a point too,” I say, as I point to my long frame. “As you’ve observed many times, I’ve got an awful lot in common with the Jolly Green Giant. Small and delicate is not my speed. I’ve discovered I like my women to be hot girls from the East coast who are transplants to Oregon and happen to be of Italian decent. By the way, you broke the house rule, you have to name a positive thing.”
Heather looks befuddled for a moment, then confesses, “I’ve never had to stuff my bra.”
“Trust me, as a guy who was repeatedly let down during my explorations in junior high, that was probably a really good thing.”
“Tyler Joseph! If you had your hands down a girl’s shirt in junior high, you deserved to be let down. Does your mother know you were such a precocious young man?”
I chuckle. “Oh, I think she had a pretty good idea. I suspect my mama has calloused knees from all the time spent praying for me. Truth be told, she still probably spends a fair amount of time praying for me, just to be on the safe side.”
“It sounds like she might have had good reason.”
“Heather, I’ve grown up a good bit since then, but I still know what I want and I know that I want you. Despite what you might think, you’ve had my attention for a long time. If I wanted somebody that looks like an anorexic Victoria’s Secret model, they are a dime a dozen. I want someone with a heart, a soul, and a brain. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I find you sexy as hell. I always have since the first time I laid eyes on you in Jeff’s kitchen, when you threatened to decapitate me with his spatula if I messed up your grill marks.”
Heather is now propped up against a pile of pillows. As she processes my words, her death grip on the front of her corset relaxes and she allows it to fall open.
“Heather, you call the shots here. Anytime you want me to stop, I will. But, keep in mind this is going to be out of both of our comfort zones.”
“See, I knew that my size was going to be a problem—” Heather interjects.
“Before you start jumping to conclusions, you may want to wait to hear the rest of what I was going to say.”
Heather blushes slightly as she mumbles, “By all means proceed, Cowboy. Although, I’m not even sure you can talk your way out of this one.”
“You might be surprised when you hear my answer. The reason this is so uncomfortable for me has nothing to do with how you look or what size jeans you wear. It has everything in the world to do with who you are. That’s because, for the first time since in a month of forevers, the outcome of this really matters to me. You matter to me. It’s been an embarrassingly long time since I’ve let anybody get close to me. Now that I’ve let you in, I don’t want to completely blow it.”
Stunned into silence for a moment, Heather blinks slowly as she lets out a breath. “I think that’s the most words I’ve ever heard you string together in the two year
s I’ve known you. I don’t really know what to say to that, other than just wow. You know me, I’m rarely at a loss for words.”
“I think we were doing just fine a minute ago without any words, don’t you?” I ask as I gently pull her hands away from the front of her corset. I bring her fingers to my lips and softly kiss her finger tips and then the back of her hand. When I pause to kiss the tender spot on her inner wrist, I can feel the galloping beat of her pulse. I suspect it matches mine.
“Ty, not to criticize your technique or anything,” Heather gasps as I kiss the inside of her elbow, causing her to flinch and jerk it back reflexively. “But, I was having way more fun when you were covering other territory, if you know what I mean.”
Chuckling softly, I murmur, “Darlin’, that sounds kinda like a challenge to me, don’t you think?”
Heather’s eyes dilate and widen as she mutely shakes her head.
“You know me…I can’t pass up an opportunity like that. I guess I’ll have to step up the pace.”
The sheer number of expressions that pass through Heather’s eyes in a matter of seconds is astonishing. I read curiosity, amusement and desire. I brush my hand down and move her corset away from her breast as I draw her nipple into my mouth and suck lightly. It tightens into a sweet bumpy bud, like a tasty raspberry. As I move to the other side and gently tease the side of her breast with my teeth before capturing the rosy nipple in a deep kiss, her hips grind helplessly into mine as if attached by a guide-wire.
I’m the first to admit I am an aficionado of women. I like everything about them. I like the way they look… the way they smell…the way they taste…the way they feel. Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to put all the puzzle pieces together to successfully be someone’s partner
Nothing in my past has prepared me for the connection I have with Heather. Maybe this time will be different. I struggle to stay in control as she moans softly. Suddenly, this is no longer about light-hearted flirting or teaching lessons about self-esteem—it’s so much more. I’ve been focused on her for so long, I’m hyper-aware of her reactions and I’m ready to combust.
Joy and Tiers Page 18