Indulgence (55 page)

The comment about being faithful struck a chord with me; my
body tensed like a rattlesnake ready to strike. Hank smoothed his hands up and
down my bare back, comforting me into submission. My body was a traitor,
starved for his touch.

“Then what happened?” I asked. Walking down memory lane was
painful. I wanted to cover the wound with a Band-Aid and let it heal.

“I came home one weekend and she was cryin’ something awful.
Took me hours to get her to stop long enough to tell me what was wrong. I
figured her mama must’ve died or something the way she was carrying on. Someone
did die, but it wasn’t her mama.” Hank took a deep breath and licked his lips.
“She finally admitted that she was pregnant. Well, she had been. She found out
she was six weeks pregnant with my child, and then she killed it. She killed my
baby. I never even knew I was gonna be a daddy before she took away my rights.
She never gave me the chance to talk about it. Make the decision. She made the
wrong one. I’d never kill my own flesh and blood.”

“Oh my God, Hank. I’m sorry.” I looked up and tears were in
his eyes and leaked down the side of his face. I rolled on top of him,
straddling his huge body, and kissed away his tears. His boxers and my panties
were the only thing separating me from him. He kept talking.

“She’d had an abortion, and said she did it because she
thought I wouldn’t want to be a daddy. That I would leave her a single mother
back home while I lived my fancy college-boy lifestyle in another city. It was
my fault. If I had been there for her, nicer maybe, not so selfish, she’d never
have done it. My child would be just over ten years old now.”

The guilt poured off Hank in waves. The man believed he was
to blame for such a monumental decision made by the Country Cunt.

“Hank, no, no.” I kissed every crease, every tear, every
line on his beautiful face. “Shhhh … it’s not your fault. You didn’t know. You
can’t blame yourself when she didn’t come to you. She should have come to you.
It wasn’t a decision she should have made alone.”

He sniffed and composed himself, wiping his tears on his
forearm. I leaned up and caressed his face. “So you broke it off with her?” He
needed to finish this for good.

His voice cracked when he replied. “Yeah, I just couldn’t
forgive her. I still don’t. You see, Angel, my feelings for her are rife with
pain, guilt, and regret. That night at my folks’ ranch, she begged me to take
her back. Start over.” I tried to slide off his body. “No you don’t. We face
this shit together,” he said with more conviction than I felt at the moment. He
held me fast before I could escape.

“I was there, Hank. I heard what she said. I came looking
for you and was on the other side of the wagon.” Tears filled my eyes. “You
asked her if she wanted you back, she said yes, and then you kissed her! I
heard you kissing her, Hank!” My body fell forward onto his, my face hiding in
the crook of his neck while I sobbed. “How could you?”

His arms tightened around me. “Now, you’re going to listen
to me and listen good. I didn’t offer to get back together with her. You heard
me wrong. I was shocked by the fact that she wanted to get back together. Then
before I could stop her, she kissed me. She kissed me! And you obviously didn’t
hear everything. Did you hear the part about where I told her I loved you,
wanted to be with you?”

What is he talking about?
That’s not what I heard. I
shook my head. “I couldn’t bear to hear any more after I heard you two kissing.
I ran.”

His arms banded around me and he kissed my temples with
feather light presses of soft lips. “You should have stayed for the fireworks,
Angel. I told her off but good. Explained that you and I were in love, and that
she and I were over forever.”

I pulled back to search his face. Ready to beg, to plead for
the truth. It was all there in his honey green eyes. The truth that I almost
lost. He loved me. Only me. His hands cupped both sides of my face, his thumbs
slid across my cheeks to wipe away the last of my tears. This was it. I would
shed no more tears about Hank’s past.

“Come here, Angel.” He pulled me atop his wide chest and
hugged me tightly. It was the warmest place and had the power to soothe my
ravaged mind and heart. “It’s only ever gonna be us from here on out. I
promise.”

“But what about your business, about your ranch? You love
your home and you know I can’t leave AIR Bright, Hank. Nor would I want to.”

“I do love my ranch, and I do love my home, but I love you
more. I’ve worked it out with three investors. You know Jackson, he was in your
meeting today. Then one of Dean’s rich friends, and the architect Alex Benson
has a company; his firm invested in my company, too. And you know that small
office you have on the twelfth floor of AIR Bright?”

I grinned. “Oliver pulled some strings to ensure I got the
place without having to go through the rigmarole or get on the waiting list. He
also gave it to me for ninety days rent free to make sure I’d confirmed that
you were in this with me for the long haul.” He smiled a full-teeth smile and I
melted. When Hank smiled the whole world smiled back.

“Oh, I’m in it for the long haul, Stud.” I wiggled my center
against his hips.

His hands crept down to my backside and squeezed. I could
feel his length hardening through the thin cotton of his boxers.

“Is that so? Does that mean if some young, strapping,
incredibly good-lookin’ cowboy from Texas were to, say, proposition you for the
ultimate long haul, you reckon’ you might be willing to agree?” His face was
smiling but I could see the nerves.

“Are you asking what I think you’re asking, Stud?” I sat up,
his hardening length a steel rod between my thighs.

He held my bum with one hand and leaned over the edge of the
bed and pulled at his jeans. He fingered a navy blue box. My breath caught,
eyes focused on that tiny square of velvet he casually turned around and around
in his large hand. A barrage of worry slammed through my thoughts like a
wrecking ball.

Did I want to get married?

Was I ready to get married?

What would my parents think?

What would his parents think after I bailed a month ago?

Thought after thought broke into glimmering pieces
throughout the vast void surrounding us and my heart started to pound, I
clutched at it.

“Breathe, Angel. Jesus Christ! It’s not what you think!”

My eyes sought his and burned a hole through those sparkling
green eyes. “What do you mean it’s not what I think?”

“Darlin’ I think my intention is clear. There ain’t no way
you’re gettin’ rid of the likes of me. Therefore, I brought this to give to
you.” He opened the velvet box and it was empty. There was no ring. I pinched
the bridge of my nose and grabbed for the box.

“Okay, what’s this for?” I turned it over. The blue velvet
was dark as night and just as pretty.

He grinned wide. “That’s the box you’re gonna use when you
put a ring in it and ask me to marry you right proper,” he said. He cocked his
head to the side and used his thumbs to circle the bare skin on each side of my
underwear.

“You’re gonna catch flies if you keep that mouth open any
longer, Darlin’.”

“I cannot believe you, Hank!” She tipped her head back and
howled with laughter. Her breasts shook enticingly with her efforts. I leaned
up and took one pale pink tip into the warmth of my mouth. She tasted
delicious. Her laughter turned into a deep moan as she gripped the back of my
head to her breast and pushed against my mouth. I lavished the nipple with long
strokes of my tongue, then swirled a figure eight around and around the tight
peak. She mewled like a baby kitten as I suckled at her tip.

Gripping her breast’s twin I provided the other breast with
the same treatment. She ground her pussy against my aching cock sending a river
of lust through my body. I pulled away and looked up at her sexy body and face.
She was more than beautiful, she was my dream. My dream come true. “So, I’ll
move my stuff in tomorrow, then,” I confirmed around a mouthful of luscious Aspen
flesh.

“Uh huh. Yeah, that’s so good,” she groaned. I flicked the
tip and bit down. Her legs tightened around my waist and pressed against my
dick, gaining the much desired friction she was after.

I flipped her over on her back, pulled down her tiny red
panties and spread her legs open. The hood of her little nub was pulled back
and the tight little knot of heaven peeked out, waiting for my touch. Her
puckered little hole winked open and closed as she gyrated her hips in the air
ready for me to take her. I licked my lips and prepared to feast on an Angel.

“I just want to be clear. I’m movin’ in. We’re officially
together for good. I’ve moved my business. We’re keeping the ranch as our home
away from home, and I get to fuck you every night for the rest of my days.”

She panted as I twirled a finger just around the edge of her
pleasure center. She squirmed and tilted her hips up trying to get the pressure
she needed but I held it just out of reach. “Deal, Angel?”

“Yes, Hank. You, me, everything you said.” Her breath came
in heaving pants as if she’d run a marathon. I flicked the bud aching to be
touched. “God, Hank. Please fuck me!” she begged.

“My pleasure, Angel. All my pleasure.” I held my girl’s legs
open wide, then covered her aching clit with my mouth and sucked. The
corresponding scream into orgasm ripped through her. She tried to close her
legs, but I was ruthless. I wanted it all. Everything she had to give was going
to be mine. Everything I was belonged to her now and I’d take no less in
return.

In the morning I woke to the most blessed sight. An Angel
was sprawled across my chest snoring lightly. Little puffs of air whooshed out
of her bowed, full lips in a lulling cadence. It was good to be home. The past
month without Aspen was pure torture. Every minute that passed when I didn’t
know what she was doing, who she was with, if she was happy or not, gutted me.
I’d finally gotten my girl back, and I was never letting her go. My arms
tightened around her.

“Hey Stud, you squeeze any tighter and I won’t be able to
breathe,” she whispered, her chin rested on my chest. Those gray-blue eyes an
open window to the beauty that lay just beyond.

“Sorry. Good mornin’, Angel. Sleep well?”

She kissed my peck over my scar a few times and grinned. Man
I missed this. When she finished her worship of “her spot” she rested her cheek
on my chest and snuggled in. “God, Hank. I don’t want to ever go another night
without sleeping next to you.”

“It’s a good thing you don’t have to … unless of course you
wait too long to pop the question. You see, Darlin’, I’m what you call a
catch,” She bit the thick hunk of muscle just over my nipple. “Ouch, okay okay!
I’m sorry.”

“Were you serious last night?” she asked, her hair a tumble
of gold over her face. I swept the pieces covering her eyes away to see those
blues once more.

“About what part?”

“You’re really not going to ask me?”

“Nope. I’m not. I want you today, tomorrow, and every day
after that. I’ve laid it all out there, Darlin’. I’m not scared. I know you’re
it for me. In order for us to work for good, you have to be convinced of that
as well.”

Her gaze scanned across the room and into space. She nodded.
“So then what do you want to do today?”

“You mean aside from holding you hostage while I ravish
you?”

She laughed. “Well yes, after that.”

“I want to take you out. I have a surprise planned.” My
not-so-secret smirk was fully displayed.

After a blessed morning spent reacquainting our bodies with
one another, we arrived at the location. I made her wear a blindfold as the
limo drove us. I led her out of the car and the faint sounds of the carousel
music could be heard even at the entrance. The smell of cotton candy was sugary
sweet as it filled the air while we exited the limo. It reminded me of being at
the local fair back home. I pulled off the blindfold and she gasped. “Coney
Island? You brought me to Coney Island? Hank, you are such a goof!”

“I may be a goof, but you, Darlin’, need to learn how to let
loose and have fun!”

The first order of business was the Wonder Wheel. “Have you
ever been to Coney Island?” I asked her as we boarded the huge contraption. It
took us up and away with a perfect view over the beach and ocean.

She smiled and seemed to think back to a time long ago. Her
face got this dreamy quality and her smile grew as she pondered the question.
“Yeah, back when I was a kid, Dad snuck us. Mom didn’t want us seen at
amusement parks. She thought they were low rent.” Her lips pinched together
into a scowl. “Dad was big on showing us how the other half lived so we
appreciated what we had. Mom thought that was ludicrous and a waste of time.”
She shrugged her shoulders.

After the Ferris wheel, we moved on to the Cyclone. It was
an old-school wooden roller coaster that sped through its curlicues and giant
humps as fast as a whip. Aspen screamed and dug her nails into my pant leg at
each dip.

We moved onto the games. I was dead set on winning my Angel
the biggest prize I could muster. I popped balloons with darts, shot water into
a clown’s mouth, fished with magnets, even knocked over bowling pins with a
softball, but still couldn’t get the big prize. She had an armful of stuffed
animals, including a frog, a chicken, a bear, even a snake. But I was
determined to get her the big dog. The mother of all prizes. The stuffed tiger.
It would be mine.

Finally, after an endless battle with the strong man I
struck gold. The strong man was no match for me. Plus, it added to my desire to
prove my strength after the surgery. Of course, I didn’t use the wounded
shoulder, but overall it had the wanted affect. She was fawning over the giant
tiger, kissing me, kissing its stuffed face then kissing me some more. I was in
hog heaven.