CONVICTED

by Pelton, Kristi

  Once we got to the horses, she started to mount up but didn’t seem to have the strength. I chuckled.

  “You strugglin’ there?” I grinned at her.

  “My legs are a little weak for some reason.” She playfully shoved me.

  I stepped up to Juliet, hopped up on her while still holding Fiona’s reins and then extended my hand down to Ren. I easily lugged her up, positioning her behind me. Juliet backed up and started a slow stroll through the field with Fiona tagging along behind. We both seemed to absorb the silence and closeness. Halfway across the field, I noticed the weight of her body against my back. Her arms slacked, releasing their grip around my waist. Pulling back on the reins, I pulled Juliet to a stop. Ren’s body started to slide to the side. I caught her, releasing an anxious breath and slid her around front so I could hold onto her.

  “Are we there?” she asked sleepily.

  “Not yet, bird. I just want to hold onto you.”

  The trust this girl placed in me. I silently promised I would never let her down. The further we rode, the more her body slouched into mine. My left hand held the reins while my right arm snaked around to hold her weight.

  At the stable, I maneuvered her to my arms, cradling her while I slid off Juliet, jarring my body when I hit the ground.

  “I’ll get the horses,” Sal said from behind me, and I spun around shocked to hear a voice. I swayed with her weight and shook my head, negating his words.

  “You take her. She was…uh…too tired to ride back and fell asleep.” I’m sure he knew I was lying. He knew I was crazy about Ren.

  “She drove straight through today to get home.”

  His intimating eyes latched onto mine when I handed her over to him. I glanced away, hoping my eyes didn’t prove me guilty of loving her. No further words were exchanged as he walked off with her. I trusted him.

  _______________

  Sleep was hard to find that night. Ren was back. Two massive brick walls stood between us. A different sort of prison. I’d see her tomorrow. I’d touch her. The adrenaline firing off through my veins was barely manageable. It wasn’t until near morning that I felt my eyes finally grow heavy totally fine with being up in a couple of hours for breakfast.

  _______________

  “Dashing through the snow…”

  I smiled at the dream. Ren’s harmonious voice drifted through my ears.

  “In a one horse open…”

  My eyes came open when I felt someone scratch my scalp. I shot upright shocked at her lying next to me.

  “What are you doing in here?”

  The breathtaking honey-soaked eyes I loved widened. “I’m caroling you. What is wrong?” she giggled. “Is my voice that off-key?”

  “Your father, Ren. That’s what’s wrong.” My tone was terse. I knew it was. But damn. I still had half my sentence to serve and I wanted nothing coming in the way of that. “He can’t see you in here. Please.”

  “Well, good thing he’s not in bed with you.” She smiled and damn that smile slayed me.

  I raked my hand through my hair, trying to relax and enjoy her. I struggled to wrap my head around where we were five months ago. I wanted to be back there, but she’d walked out on us.

  “I’m gonna brush my teeth,” I said, and by the time I came back out, she wasn’t lying in the bed anymore. My heart juked around in my chest. She wouldn’t leave again…not after professing her love last night. Right?

  In only my shorts, I walked out into the living area to find the room decorated with a small Christmas tree and white twinkling lights strung around the entire room. Times like these were when it was hard. I felt like a kid staring at the lights. Christmas was one of many uncelebrated holidays in our house. Kids in elementary school looked so forward to winter break. For the Hess boys, it meant not having breakfast or lunch most of the time. The free meals at school were a treat we relied on.

  The last Christmas tree I remembered was before Mom left. The silver stringy icicles were what caused the fight that night. Not even a fight really. But she still got the snot beat out of her. So, did I.

  “Thank you, bird. No one’s ever…” My words fell short. How do you tell someone that you’ve never really celebrated the most notable holiday?

  “Merry Christmas,” she whispered, exposing a pair of red lacy underwear.

  Instantly, my shorts tented. It had been five months since I’d been inside of her.

  “I’m your present,” she giggled.

  “I don’t suppose a box of condoms could be included with your present?” I asked with raised brows.

  “Don’t need them. I’m on the pill.”

  I wasn’t going to lie. My dick twitched with jealousy for some reason. While she was away from me, she’d gotten on the pill? “Why would you need to be on the pill?”

  She shook her head. “Don’t be jealous. We’ve been through this! You, Joss, have my heart. And my body. I did it for us, dummy.”

  I’m not sure what brought on the full-blown smile. The dummy remark or the fact that I didn’t have to mess with a condom. I’d never come inside a girl before. I wasn’t sure I even could. Brax taught me to wear the raincoat before I was ten.

  I strolled toward her casting a glance toward the big house. It was Sunday. That meant no one was in the fields. My nerves were rattled thinking about that.

  I knelt next to her.

  “You’re beautiful, Ren,” I whispered, looping my thumbs beneath her thin, barely-there panties. She moaned as I slid them down her legs. The dark green toenail polish caught my attention, and a tiny, shiny red Christmas bulb decorated each of her big toe nails. Typically, foreplay was a must. But I didn’t want to wait to be inside of her. I wanted it more than anything. My desire to take trumped my desire to please just then.

  Our eyes latched together when I lowered my body onto hers and dropped kisses on her forehead, nose and lips. Slowly and deliberately, I arched my hips, pressing inside of her. Thank God she was ready—I slid in with ease.

  “Jee-zus,” I spoke into her hair.

  She nuzzled her nose into the crook of my neck, releasing an agonizingly erotic groan. I drove deeper into her, forcing her to cry out. Semi-punishment for her leaving. My anger disappeared as quickly as my dick. She was completely forgiven.

  Our bodies moved rhythmically in sync—refamiliarizing each with our movements and our sounds. A slight uncharacteristic sniff caught my attention, and I opened my eyes, taking in her face. The beautiful honey surrounding her eyes had liquified, melted until tiny tears fell from the corners of her eyes, past her temples and disappeared into her hair.

  I froze. “What’s wrong?” I whispered in a hoarse voice.

  She shook her head, causing two more tears to fall. “Nothing. At all. I love you,” she cried. “And, I know you don’t say that and that’s ok, but I love you so much.” A timid smile fought against the tears.

  I lowered my lips to hers and then dropped kisses on her wet eyelids tasting her tears. Our hips rotated and ground together in the most tender of ways. I grabbed behind her knee, lifting her leg to allow me full access to her. Her nails clawed at my shoulders and chest.

  “I’ve missed you, Joss.” Her pants were coming quicker as I felt myself getting close.

  “I’ve missed you, Ren,” I huffed. There were thoughts to pull out just to be safe. My mind crazily raced at the possible what if’s. As I contemplated, my desire grew. My longing to come inside of a woman was going to win.

  Suddenly, Ren grabbed my ass, crying out as her insides repeatedly tightened around me. My God, she came…and feeling her clenching my dick, I unloaded myself deep inside of her, peppering her womb with my seed.

  “Christ, Ren.” My voice shuddered as our bodies relaxed, my weight bore down on her. I slowly rolled off of her, opening my eyes and staring up at the Christmas lights twinkling overhead. Or maybe I was seeing stars. I propped myself up on my elbow. Her eyes were still closed.

  “I love you, too,” I whispered
, and her head spun, nearly breaking her neck, to look at me. I chuckled.

  “Oh my God!” she squealed. “I knew you did. I mean, I did, you know. I wouldn’t have given you a choice. I’d love us enough for both of us until you did. But you do! That’s all that matters.”

  In awe of her, I simply laughed, lying there naked with the most beautiful woman, in the most beautiful place. Who’d have thought a convict would ever have had this chance at happiness?

  Chapter 32

  No explanation…

  Ren

  ROLLING AWAY FROM him, I snagged the little box I’d hidden while he was sleeping. I started to crawl back over to him when something dribbled out of me, down my thigh and onto the carpet. My eyes shot up to his.

  “Uh oh,” I giggled.

  “You gettin’ my carpet messy?” he laughed.

  “Well, that was weird,” I said. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I’ll clean it up. Please tell me you didn’t get me a present, bird.”

  I knew this would be hard for him. I handed him the adorably wrapped package.

  “Just open it.”

  Joss sat upright, unwrapped the elegantly wrapped box and pulled out the delicate chain with half the silver heart. The heart with a J. His brow arched.

  “That’s your gift to me,” I whispered. “It’s your heart. I knew you’d be upset for not having a present. So… My heart is still in the box. That’s my gift to you.”

  He stared at me, long and hard without saying anything. My heart pounded furiously…anxiously. “Joss…”

  Slowly, he handed me the delicate heart with the engraved J.

  “You seem uncertain,” I whispered.

  He inhaled a slow, thoughtful breath. “I’m not uncertain. I’ve told you before, my heart is all I have to offer you. I’m overwhelmed, Ren. I’ve not gotten a lot of Christmas gifts before.”

  I shifted my weight closer to him, retrieving his chain from the box. His half heart was engraved with an R and a tiny bird. He dipped his head into the chain allowing me to put it around his neck. I tried to get a manlier chain for him. The silver stuck out against his sun-tanned chest. I smiled.

  “I don’t mean to overwhelm you. All I want is for you to be in my world. Every day. And I know we have some hurdles.”

  He glanced down hesitantly, so I straddled him, forcing eye contact. The moment my weight rested on him, his body reacted.

  “You can’t sit on top of me naked and not expect that to happen,” he grinned.

  So, I kissed him but then stopped and started talking again. He rolled his eyes playfully.

  “Do you want me in your world too?” I asked.

  His eyes fell again, but I lifted his chin, forcing him to answer.

  “Yes. But, please know I’m only one man. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what I want.”

  “It will always matter to me.” I wrapped my legs tighter around him and pulled him into a hug. “And just so you know, one man can change the world; however, I’m only asking you to change mine.”

  I buried my head in the crevice where his shoulder met his neck. I wanted to live right here…forever.

  _______________

  After lunch, I jumped on Juliet to ride up to our spot on the mountain. Joss didn’t have a lot of work today, so I was hoping maybe he would come looking for me when he saw Juliet’s stall empty. That was always our sign in the summer that I was waiting for him. I wore a pair of worn out jeans with a couple of holes in them and a Jayhawks sweatshirt. The weather was perfect, cloudy and cool. The best Christmas weather in Texas. I chuckled to myself as Juliet and I crested the mountain. In Kansas, it was 20 degrees and snowy. I sat beneath the tree we’d had sex under several times and closed my eyes, remembering the fun we’d had over the summer. Those days would go down as the best days in my life so far. I prayed there would be more to come.

  A shiver rippled through my body, waking me from my dreams. I glanced around, squinting at the dust blowing through the air. The western sky had grown darker since I’d fallen asleep. Juliet seemed spooked as she twisted from side to side. Worried about the looming storm, I hopped on my horse and started down the mountain. Debris blew into my eyes and Juliet kept shaking her muzzle and tossing her head into the air. Something was wrong with her. Then, I heard what was upsetting her. Sirens. It didn’t sound like the tornado sirens, but as we maneuvered down, I kept my eye toward the dark sky.

  Once I was back down on flat terrain, I noticed a white van sitting in the drive as I approached the ranch from the northwest. I kept Juliet at a trot and smiled big when I spotted Sal and Joss coming in on the gator. I was still too far away for them to see me. Several men stood out by the pool, and I was trying to piece together what was going on. Something was wrong. I coaxed Juliet to a full stride.

  As Joss and Sal rounded the corner by the pool, the men approached Joss. I couldn’t tell if the conversation was good or bad, but I saw him nodding. When his arms came out in front of him, and I saw one of the men handcuffing him, I forcefully dug my heels into Juliet’s ribs, clicking my mouth.

  “Stop!” I shouted, bringing her to a thundering halt just feet from them. “What is going on?” I asked angrily.

  Sal stuck his arm out to stop me from getting closer. I shoved his arm away.

  “Joss!” I screamed as the men began walking him away. “Seriously. I’m Ren Briscoe. Stop! He works for my father.” Panicked, I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t used to people not listening.

  None of them even acknowledged me. Not even Joss. He just stared at the ground. They kept walking. Ignored me. I grabbed Sal.

  “What is going on?” I asked desperately, short of breath.

  “Your father knows, Ren.”

  White light flashed through my eyes. “NO!” I sobbed. “Let me talk to him. I’ll make him understand.” I dashed around the pool, catching up with one of those men and pressing my hands against his chest.

  “Stop, Ren,” Joss said quietly, avoiding my eyes.

  “Please,” I begged, tears streaking my face. “Please let me get my father. He will sort this out.”

  I sprinted into the house, tripping and face planting into the stone floor, my cheek bone stinging at the impact.

  “Daddy!” I shrieked; a wave of dizzy lightheadedness caused the room to spin when I stood up. Keyona ran toward me, her own face wet with tears.

  “Honey, your face,” Key said.

  “I don’t care about my face! Where’s my father?”

  Key covered her mouth, holding back tears and pointed to the front of the house. As I dashed through the house, I flew past the living room and spotted Evan sitting on the sofa. I slid on the stone, trying to stop.

  “My God, what are you doing here?”

  I swatted my hand at him in dismissal, deciding he wasn’t worth my concern. Bolting out the front door, I found my father standing next to the white van that read Texas Department of Corrections.

  “Daddy! They are taking Joss!”

  Daddy’s vacant eyes scared me. He held up his fist, revealing red lace dangling around his finger. My panties from last night. Oh my God.

  “Where did you get those?” I whispered.

  “From someplace they definitely should not have been.” His voice was flat. No emotion.

  “It’s not what you think, daddy… Please, just listen…”

  “How did I allow this to happen, again? I thought after Sean that…”

  Just then, Joss came shuffling around the corner with the other men, hands cuffed in front of him. He met my eyes and then dropped his gaze to his feet.

  “Please don’t let them take him. This wasn’t like Sean, Daddy. I love Joss.”

  My father glanced up at me, and I thought for a second, he heard me, but he looked through me, past where I stood.

  “Daddy, please!” I screamed until my voice cracked and my throat burned.

  Joss ducked his head as he stepped up into the van. The moment was so surreal that I ques
tioned if I was dreaming. There was no real way this was happening. Trying to get my dad’s attention, I grabbed his flannel shirt, shaking him.

  “Don’t ignore me! You fucking ignore me all the time! Listen to me!” I shouted, hoping to make him angry.

  His eyes fell to mine.

  “I love him,” I wept. “I truly love him.” But, even as the words wisped over my lips, I heard the van’s engine come to life. No one was going to stop this from happening. Though my father stared at me, his focus was elsewhere. As if I didn’t exist.

  When I collapsed to my knees, both Sal and Keyona were immediately there. My father just walked past me without saying a word.

  “I hate you,” I cried.

  “Thank you, Evan, for letting me know,” I heard my dad’s words behind me.

  It took a few seconds for the words to process, for the confusion and hurt to turn to rage. I glanced up long enough to see the van driving down the drive, the sight fueling me even more. Without thinking, I spun around and ran up the front walk, taking the steps into the ranch three at a time and slamming into Evan, knocking him to his back.

  “Jesus, Ren!” he squawked.

  “You better start praying to Jesus, you asshole!” I gritted out, rearing my fist back and punching him right in the nose. As I felt his nose pop beneath my hand, something in my wrist popped too. So, my left hand swung around with a follow up punch to his cheek. Evan bucked me off of him, scrambling to the side.

  “He’s a convict, Ren!” Blood shot from his left nostril, and he leaned forward so it didn’t get on his V-neck sweater. “You were gonna waste your life on him.”

  “You lied! You lied to my dad about what Joss and I are to each other, and you know it.” Wanting to hurt Evan, I shoved him against the stone porch. “You’re pissed. You’re pissed because for five months you’ve texted and called, and I’ve said no. Then I came home for Christmas, and you know damn good and well where I spent my time! With him! In his arms.”

  Sal stood right behind me, allowing the rant.