Of Yesterday (13 page)

"Trust me, sweetheart. I'm not going to hurt you."

"You're so big, I don't think I can take you," she
whimpered as he pressed his bulging head forward.

"Relax your muscles. Allow me to take you. I need to
have you here. Breathe, baby. Trust that this will feel good." His
soothing words were followed by kisses against her neck.

Jason moved a hand to her pussy and slid through the folds.
Gently rubbing her clit, he pressed his cock past all resistance, burying his
thickness all the way in. A ragged cry escaped Taylor's lips as a searing heat exploded
deep within her anus.

Intense pleasure heightened with every move of his
possession. "That's right, Taylor. Just like that. Feel me take your ass."

Jason pressed two fingers into Taylor's pussy, moving in
time with the thrusts of his cock in her butt, letting her feel the pleasure of
double penetration. His cock plunged harder and deeper inside of her as her
moans echoed in the bedroom. Convulsive ripples ran from her anus to her pussy
as an all-encompassing climax threatened to conquer her completely.

"Oh, God. Jason..."

"Press back into me. Drive my cock all the way into
your bottom. Make it hurt, allow the sting to make you come."

She did as he ordered. Shuddering, crying out, bucking
against his hardness, Taylor allowed the electricity to shoot through all parts
of her body. She could only hold still as Jason grabbed her hips and thrust his
cock hard one last time, as he shot his seed deep within her forbidden channel.

"But he wants to marry me."

"I know that, but I told you, and him, that I would
think about it."

Taylor stood in the doorway to the parlor, watching Jason
and Mandy engage in a heated battle. Mandy, with her sweet virtuousness,
against Jason, and his brute strength, seemed like an unfair match. Both were
oblivious to her, or anything else but their rising tempers.

"What’s there to think about? I love him, and he wants
me to be his wife." Mandy glared, showing Taylor her anger for the first
time.

"Mandy, it’s been a long day and I’m not in the mood to
discuss this with you. I’ll talk to him and his family later. That is, if I
think he’s the best fit for you." Jason stood in front of the fire with
his arm resting on the mantle.

"This isn’t your choice, Jason. You don’t get to decide
who I marry. I do." She stomped her foot to make her point.

"Mandy, I said enough, and I mean it."

"I love him and I want to have babies with him."
Her naïve voice sounded almost whimsical again.

Jason spun around to face her, fury cast in every shadow of
his face. "Do you hear yourself? You sound like a child! You have no
business talking about love, marriage and babies!" His voice boomed,
sending a shiver down Taylor’s spine. "You don’t know the first thing
about being married or being a wife, and you sure as hell don’t know how to be
a mother. You can barely take care of yourself!"

Taylor was surprised that Mandy did not even flinch. She
stood her ground like a brave soldier going to battle. Jason’s voice echoed,
his rage demanded obedience, but Mandy never backed down.

She took a long, deep breath. "I'll agree that, at one
time, I couldn't take care of myself. I know I was sick. But I'm getting better,
Jason. I'm starting to see things differently. I'm starting to feel again."

Jason stood in silence, his arms crossed against his chest.

"I know I have a long way to go. Josh knows that, too.
But he's willing to help me."

Jason's voice boomed through the room. "He has no idea!
You have no idea! You both have no business even talking about marriage."

Mandy stood taller, raising her chin defiantly. "Neither
do you! You’re going to marry Taylor and you don’t even know what love is!"

Jason closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "Your
silly notion of love is immature. You live in a fairytale, Mandy. You don't
face things like a grown woman. You don't have the ability to cope with the
daily life expected of an adult. How do you think you could make a good wife,
when you try to live in a perfect, happy little bubble?"

"So do you!" she shot back. "What's this
project all about? This is
your
way of hiding from
your
demons.
Yes, I have created my own protective bubble. I agree with that. But you have done
the exact same thing with this town!"

"Mandy, you need to calm down. I won't allow you to
continue to shout at me," Jason warned.

"I'm tired of you telling me what to do. You're my
brother, and only my brother. You don't get to control me!"

"I’m the man of this house and the leader of this
community. If you continue to push me on this, I will make damn sure you never
see that boy again."

"You can’t keep us apart!" Her voice was shrill as
she began to pace the floor. The fire behind her seemed small compared to the
blaze of ferocity she radiated.

"Mandy, listen to me. It is my job to make sure that
all the single women and men are put in the best situations for this community.
I’ll make sure you’re happy, so you’re just going to have to trust me." He
took a few steps toward her and reached to pull her in to his arms.

She pulled away harshly. "You aren’t God, Jason! You
don’t get to control love."

"It’s not about love! Marriage right now is about
creation. Forming this society to what we have envisioned. You sound foolish,
Mandy."

Mandy shook her head. "No, Jason. You’re the fool.
You’re the naïve one. I feel sorry for you, and after hearing what you said, I
feel sorry for Taylor."

She turned on her heels and ran out the door, brushing past
Taylor, who stood motionless in the archway with tears brimming her eyes. Jason
suddenly realized that Taylor had witnessed the argument.

He walked toward Taylor and wrapped his arms around her. "I’m
sorry you had to witness that. She wants to marry Josh O’Keefe, and as you can
tell, I’m not fond of the idea."

Taylor stood enveloped in his arms with a knife stabbing her
heart. He placed soft kisses on her head as she tried to choke back the sob in
the back of her throat. Hearing Jason, seeing Jason, brought a pain to light, a
realization she had not allowed herself to see before.

Her body tensed. Jason pulled away and scowled. "Don’t
tell me you’re going to take her side?"

Taylor stood in silence. The threat of her hopes and dreams
crumbling around her.

Jason lifted her chin so she had no choice but to stare into
his eyes. "Hey, what’s going on? Why do you look so upset? You look like
you’re going to cry."

A single tear made it past her eye and trickled down her
cheek.

"Taylor? What’s going on? Why are you so upset?"

She had agreed to marry him. She had agreed to be his wife.
To give him a family, a home, everything he wanted. He had agreed to do all the
same. But neither had declared their love.

She looked down at her feet, the tears now freely falling. "You’ve
never said ‘I love you.’"

Jason stood silently.

"You asked me to marry you, but you never said you
loved me."

"Taylor…things have happened so fast…and…"

Taylor shook her head and pushed away from his embrace. "You
only wanted to marry me because of this stupid community. You only wanted to
look good to all the leaders. You don’t love me. You don’t truly want to be
married to me. You just worry about how you’d look if you didn’t."

Jason stood silently once again.

"You’ve lost yourself, Jason. You have lost yourself in
this project. But what’s even worse is that you’re going to lose Mandy…and
you’re going to lose me."

She turned and ran up the stairs, leaving the man she truly
loved behind.

****

The day Jason had stepped into that ridiculous shop of hers,
he had known there was something special about Taylor. Although it was not until
she stormed into his house, like a ball of fire, that he had realized just how
much he wanted her physically. Once moving to the ranch, he had realized how
much he wanted her in his life. He wanted to keep her as his. She belonged to
him. He wanted the marriage to happen. Was this love?

The thought of losing her tore at his soul. It left an
aching pain he could not explain. No woman had stood up to him before and, in
the same breath, surrendered so completely. No one had ever made him strive to
be a better man like Taylor. He woke up every day thinking about how he could
make her life better. Was this love?

Yes, he cared about this project. Gave everything he had
towards it. It had consumed his life for years, but it was not worth losing
what mattered to him most. Mandy was everything to him, and now that he had
Taylor, he could not risk throwing that all away. He could not let Taylor just
walk away, thinking he did not love her. He did. Yes, this
was
love.

His own stubborn blindness had kept him from seeing Mandy
for the exquisite lady she was. Of course someone could love her and want to be
with her. Why would he try to step in the way? She was not a woman like most,
but her laugh and her positive spin on life was like a rainbow on a dark day.
He loved Mandy more than he could ever express. So why in God's name would he
question if the O'Keefe kid could feel the same? His controlling ways were
making him act and look like a fool.

Jason leaned against the mantle and closed his eyes. Yes, he
was a fool in more ways than one. He had been entrusted to lead this new town.
To make it the dream so many had. Yet he was struggling leading his own
household. He glanced up and noticed, for the first time, a needle point pillow
that one of the girls must have made. Stitched neatly, with yellow thread, it read,
'
A Love, A Family, A Future
.' Yes, he had that. He wanted that. He
wanted all of that with Taylor.

Jason had to go to her, apologize to her and declare his
undying love. He needed to make this right. Taylor deserved to know how much he
truly loved her and would continue every day from this point on. Jason wanted
to make Taylor understand that she had his heart, and he wanted hers. He just
hoped it was not too late.

The knock on the door made Taylor's heart leap out of her
chest. She did not want to face the man she was so desperately in love with,
only to see the feeling not returned. She did not answer the door nor reply.
Silence was the only thing she could offer.

"Taylor?" To her surprise, he did not try to open
the door. He did not demand his way in, furious that she had stormed away. "I'd
really like to talk to you if I can."

She did not want to be dramatic and storm out of the house,
call off the marriage, or any other rash decision that ran through her head. At
the end of the day, she loved Jason completely. He was everything she could
ever dream of. Taylor wanted to make this work. She had already surrendered her
love and given her submission.

She opened the door to his calm request. "Okay, I guess
we should talk."

"Can we go for a walk?"

Taylor reached for his hand and linked her fingers through
his. She offered a smile, finding it impossible to be angry at the man before
her. Jason squeezed her fingers tightly between his as a shiver of delight went
through her. The simplest touch confirmed that Jason was the only man for her.

Jason pulled her into his embrace and just held her, his
breath warm against her cheek. After a few moments, he pulled back to look at
her and rested his palm against the side of her face. "I'm sorry."

Taylor nodded. A glimmer of tears shone in her eyes as the
pain in her heart subsided. Jason reached out unexpectedly and gripped his hand
around her waist. In one swift movement, he lifted her off the ground and pressed
her hard against his chest. So hard, she could feel his heart beating. His
mouth came down powerfully on hers, his tongue plunging past her lips as if he
were claiming her, possessing her as his. Taylor clutched at his arms as the world
whirled around them, leaving nothing but overwhelming love.

Arousal sparked in Taylor's body as if Jason had lit her on
fire. She parted her lips, her hands desperately clinging to the fabric of his
shirt. Their tongues danced together as electric currents rippled through her
body. Her sex dampened at the sensation of Jason's body pressing against hers,
her mind spiraling out of control with the knowledge of the erotic
gratification they could bring each other. She melted into his embrace as he
lowered her down to the ground and, very gently, led her down the stairs.

They walked beside one another on the expansive land of the
ranch. The sun began to reach the western horizon, casting a pink glow amongst
the clouds. A cool breeze blew softly, causing Taylor's curls to escape from
the loose bun she wore.

"I want to show you something," Jason said as he
reached for her hand.

The soft touch made Taylor's pulse quicken. Despite his
feelings, or lack thereof, she wanted to be closer. She wanted more of his
touch.

Jason cleared his throat. "I owe you an apology."
He continued to lead her to a part of the ranch she had not seen yet. "Moving
here was everything I had dreamed of. I worked hard to make everything perfect.
I admit that I did get caught up in it, I did let it consume me." They
continued to walk up over a small, grassy hill. "But that's because when I
really want something, when I really love something, I
allow
it to
consume me. But I want you, and our love, to consume me from now on. I only
want you."

As they reached the other side of the hill, Taylor squinted
her eyes to block out the sunlight and make out the stunning picture before
her. In nicely-lined rows of five stood at least twenty newly-planted trees
with white ribbon wrapped around each trunk.