The One Place (10 page)

Chapter 14

I woke up to Tuck’s mouth between my legs.

I was having a really good dream. I was on my back in Tuck’s bed, my legs spread, and his tongue was circling just the right spot. I moaned and grabbed onto his hair. When I lifted my head, looked down at him, and his blue-green eyes met mine, I knew I wasn’t dreaming anymore.

I might have been embarrassed if it didn’t feel so fucking good. No one had ever done this to me before. I’d gone down on guys before and certainly been forced to pleasure Andrew, but no one had ever been willing to do this for me. This was setting up to be my second orgasm to Tuck’s zero. He was already proving to be a totally new experience.

Tuck kept at me, his tongue licking and stroking, circling the nub at all the right times, and then he swept his hand up my thigh and added his fingers. Unable to hold my head up anymore, it sagged back and I breathed, “Yeah, baby.”

Eager to push me to the point of no return Tuck sucked my nub into his mouth and I came instantly, crashing over the cliff and shattering into thousands of delicious pieces. He kept at me licking and lapping until I came down completely.

Climbing up my body and laying half on top of me he whispered, “I had to taste you after I got a sample taste last night. Just like the rest of you, Baby. Never had better.”

With him laying there on top of me, so close, staring at me, and whispering sweet things to me, I blurted the first thing that came to my mind. “You have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.”

Tuck looked surprised and then warmth took over his face and he touched his forehead to mine. I kept talking, “I just thought you should know. I thought that the first moment I met you.”

“Definitely fuckin’ you tonight, Babe. Can’t stand it anymore. Gotta be inside you.”

Surprised he was waiting again, confusion clouded my face.

He read my expression and explained, “Don’t have time now or believe me, I would. You gotta get to work and so do I.”

As he pushed off of me he continued, “Been fillin’ my time with work for a long time. I can see now, this keeps goin’ like it’s goin’ I’m gonna need to cut back. Gotta have more time for you.”

God, he was being so sweet. He was really going to need to go back to busting my balls (figuratively!) at least some of the time or I wouldn’t be able to take it.

“You workin’ the dinner shift?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll go by your apartment, get some stuff for you and then come eat with you. You can take a break when I come.” I liked the sound of that so I just nodded. He kept talking, “Though, we really gotta gather all of your stuff up at some point and bring it over. I know you don’t have much but I figure you’ll wanna be there when we do it.”

Um, what? Then it dawned on me. Holy
shit
.

“You want me to move in.” It was a statement, not a question. I knew that was what he was talking about.

He went on moving around the room like this wasn’t a big deal. “Can’t move in with you, Babe. Gotta be on the farm.”

I shook my head. “But we just started dating.”

That got his attention. He turned to me with an exasperated look on his face. “Thought we went over this. We aren’t dating. This is it.”

“But we can’t move in together!” We’d only been together a couple of days!

His face softened and he came and sat down on the bed next to me. “Now that I’ve slept with you, don’t ever wanna do it without you.”

“Tuck.”

“Never felt anythin’ that good, you sleepin’ in my arms all night.”

I couldn’t believe I was fucking caving like this. I was usually so much stronger. “You’re making it really hard to say no to this.”

“That’s the point.” He smirked, kissed my nose, and got up from the bed. That’s it. Discussion over. Jesus, how were men so frustrating and yet we couldn’t seem to live without them?

Oh, well. I guess I was going to have plenty of time to figure it out. Since I was moving in with one.

One positive- I never had to pay rent on the apartment.

Chapter 15

Tuck dropped me off for work in the truck again. This time I actually took the time to pay attention to things other than Tuck. His truck was a dark blue early 90’s F-250. I didn’t know that much about trucks but I thought it fit him perfectly. It was old but in good condition and clean. It looked like he took care of this just like he did the farm.

It didn’t take long to get to the diner, and he pulled up and parked just like he had yesterday.

I felt bad that he was taking time out of his day to drop me off so I noted, “I could have walked, Tuck. You didn’t have to drive me.”

He shook his head. “Nah, I like your ass the way it is. Don’t want you exercisin’ it off by walkin’ to work everyday.”

I just smiled and shook my head. He was obviously into my ass. That had been established, definitely.

I opened my door and he opened his. This time I knew to wait for him as he came around the hood. He pushed me back into the truck with a hand in my stomach and I asked, “So, are we going to put on a show everyday then?”

The corner of his mouth twitched and he murmured, “I hope.”

He leaned in, tilted his head to the side, and put his lips to mine. My mouth was already open when he got there. He didn’t even have to work for it. His hands held onto my hips and mine shoved into his shirt and reached for the hot skin of his back. As his tongue swirled with mine, I was one second away from kicking it up to triple X when he pulled back.

He leaned his forehead against mine and whispered, “Really can’t wait to fuck you, Babe. Can’t even kiss you without gettin’ hard. Fuck.”

I slowly pulled my hands out of his shirt and put them on his chest. I gave him a little shove and he stepped back. “I have to get to work. Don’t want people to think I’m slacking off.”

He chuckled and grabbed my hand. “Ill come have dinner with you, and then I’m pickin’ you up on the bike when you get off.”

I scrunched up my face and said, “Tell me you at least have a full face helmet for me.” I pointed my finger at my face and swirled it around in circles to emphasize my point as I continued, “This face is too pretty to be scraped off on the asphalt.”

He chuckled, squeezed my hand, released it, rounded the truck, and assured me, “I got you, Babe.”

I let my lips curl up, turned, and walked into the diner without watching him go.

********

I was serving Tommy and Jimmy their breakfast when a table full of women who had just come in called me over.

I walked over and started my spiel. “Hey y’all. What can I get you drink?”

I belatedly noticed that Jillian was one of the women at the table, but she wasn’t the one giving me the nastiest look. There was another girl with auburn hair similar to mine and hazel eyes who appeared to be trying to shoot daggers through me by way of telepathy.

She didn’t even bother to respond to my inquiry. Instead she snarked, “Well, it does seem at least like Tuck has a type.”

Jesus, I supposed this was going to be my life now. At least for awhile. Might as well get it over with.

“Though, it looks like he’s traded down to a cheaper model.” And so it begins. Too bad I could out-bitch even the bitchiest girl.

“So when did you fuck him?”

Her eyes widened because she definitely wasn’t expecting me to ask that.

When she didn’t answer, I kept going. “You have fucked him right?”

She nodded, with eyes still bulging, as I asked the rest of the table, “And the rest of you, you’ve fucked him too?”

Still in shock, they all nodded along with the redhead. I kept going. “So, not that specific of a type, then. Actually, do you think you guys could make me a list of everyone he’s fucked?”

That pulled Jillian out of her shock, at least temporarily. “What? Why?”

“Oh, see because when I woke up with Tuck’s mouth between my legs this morning, I made a mental note to thank all of the women who came before me for making him so good. So, thanks. And I mean that. I
really
appreciate it.” I heard Toni snicker behind me. I smiled my brightest smile, turned, and left them sitting there staring at each other.

********

The rest of the day went quickly and without incident, though I heard from several people that they thought I was “the shit” or similar comments. Apparently, word had made its way around town about my little performance. I just wish I hadn’t had to air our personal time from that morning in order to get my point across.

When Tuck came in for dinner, my suspicions were more than confirmed. As I slid into the booth, Tuck spoke. “Jesus, Babe. Whole town’s talkin’ about how good I am with my mouth.” He was smiling so I guessed he wasn’t upset.

“So you heard about that, huh?”

He laughed. As he spoke he lifted his hand and counted off fingers as he ticked off points. “Uh, yeah, I heard about it, Babe. Heard about it at the Wilsons’ when I was cleanin’ their gutters and Rhonda’s while I was fixin’ her faucet. Heard about it four more times when four separate people came to the farm to tell me about it.”

I shrugged my shoulder and said, “I don’t like to take shit.”

He laughed and said, “No kiddin’.” He face settled into a smirk and he told me what I had figured he would think. “I got the whole town talkin’ about what a god I am with my mouth. So I figure I don’t got much to complain about.”

He sobered for a minute and spoke in a soft tone. “Seriously. You actually know what they were sayin’ was shit right? Nobody like you, Babe. No other model for you to be a cheaper version of.”

Geez. Apparently, the town gossips were extremely accurate. But, it felt really good to have him say that.

“I know, Tuck.”

He smiled. “Good. Now you know people are gonna be watchin’ you like a hawk, waitin’ for the next crazy thing to come outta your mouth, right?”

Oh, well. “They were already watching.”

He grabbed my handed and whispered so soft that I wasn’t even sure I was supposed to hear, “My Talie.”

I wonder what he would think of me if he knew how much shit I took from one individual for a prolonged period of time.

********

We finished dinner and Tuck was getting ready to leave when he asked, “Think you can take tomorrow off? I wanna show you the rest of the farm and I also wanna get your shit and move it over there.”

I thought about it and then decided I could probably do that. “I’ll ask John, but how about if I work breakfast and take lunch and dinner off?”

“Sure, Babe.”

He leaned in with just one hand on my hip and touched his mouth to mine. “Pick you up later.” He turned and headed for the door lifting his chin and flicking his fingers every so often. I was glad he went for a more PG kiss after my morning kiss and tell drama.

********

I had finished the rest of my shift and John had said yes to my time off tomorrow when I heard Tuck’s motorcycle pull up outside. I said goodnight to Ruthie, as she was the only other girl left at that point, took off my apron, and pushed through door. Tuck was standing next to the bike in a forest-green henley, jeans, motorcycle boots and he had two helmets in his hands. One was a matte black half helmet (his) and one was an all black full face helmet (mine). I had to fight my desire to run full force and jump him. He looked so good. And for now at least, he was mine.

I didn’t run but I did speed walk. When I got to him I got up on my toes, put my hands to his chest, and leaned in to touch my mouth to kiss. I even touched my tongue to his lips, which he opened without delay, and then slid my tongue inside and caressed his tongue for a change. He had such a unique taste. I was almost convinced I could survive on just tasting him and not need Coke anymore. Almost.

When I pulled back, he shifted the helmets and grabbed my chin between his finger and his thumb. The sound of his voice almost sounded hoarse when he spoke. “First time you’ve kissed me, Talie. Like it.”

Trying to avoid recognizing what he was saying, I said, “We kiss all the time now.”

He shook his head. “Not what I mean, Babe. And you know it.”

I did know what he meant. And now I knew I couldn’t bullshit him.

He kept talking as he stepped back and held my helmet up to me. “Full face, as promised. Figured maybe we could go for a little bit of a ride before we go home tonight.”

I thought about it, looked at the bike, looked back at Tuck, and decided, “Yes, definitely.”

Shit. I didn’t even censor that before it came out. I blamed it on how good Tuck looked and the position riding his motorcycle would put me in proximity to him.

I took my helmet, but before I put it on I thought of one more question. “What kind of bike is this?” All I could tell is that it was black and looked pretty kick-ass.

“A Harley Fat Boy.”

Awesome. I had no idea what that meant, but it sounded cool. I pulled my helmet on, tightened the chin strap and watched as Tuck climbed astride it. “Climb on, Babe. Got a ride to take and a woman to fuck when we get home.”

My whole body shivered. And I climbed the fuck on.

Straddling the bike, I put my feet where he showed me and wrapped my arms around his waist. He didn’t have to tell me to hold on tight. He started it up and before I knew it we were on our way down the road. We headed in the direction of the farm but kept driving right by it into the night on the dark, country roads.

Riding the bike was exhilarating and I couldn’t get enough of being pushed so close to Tuck’s back with my hips and thighs tucked around his. When he would stop, he would put his hands on my thighs. I was thinking that riding this bike with him was the ultimate foreplay.

But as we rode and the silence wore on, my thoughts went right back to the place they always did.
Jenny.

My thoughts picked up where they most often left off. What was the turning point for Jenny?What made her lose her backbone and go back to him? For me it had been witnessing his propensity for violence first hand combined with threats about people I loved, but mostly not being prepared to get out safely. He knew all sorts of cops and judges so I didn’t trust that route. Could it have been the same for her? She never mentioned anything of that magnitude, but then again she never mentioned anything. I think she was trying to keep me as a friend but hold me separate. Maybe hoping she could spare me from being in Andrew’s sights at all. She had loved him once, but had obviously noticed he wasn’t who she thought he was. It had to have been something big for her to go back with him. Something she’d be willing to sacrifice herself for. Every time I thought about this my thoughts always went in circles. I never got anywhere. Hopefully I would figure it out someday. There was no way I’d be able to carry out any sort of revenge against Andrew without all the facts.

That was part of the reason that getting away and having time to myself was always part of the plan. I needed time to get all the facts straight. I also wanted to have time so that he would suspect an attack from me less and less until he was totally caught off guard. But the most important motive was wrapped in my arms and legs in front of me. If for some reason things went wrong and I didn’t make it out of it, I wanted to have this. I wanted to have had a life.

I looked up to see that we were pulling up in front of the house already. As usual, my mental ramblings had caused me to zone out of a major chunk of time again.

Tuck pushed the kickstand down and unwrapped my arms from around his waist. “Climb off, Babe.”

I did as I was told, climbed off, undid my chin strap, and pulled my helmet off. I shook my head out to get my hair out of its matted state, but I wasn’t too worried because I still needed to take a shower after working all day. So, I told him, “Um, Tuck. I need to take a shower. Do you mind if-”

“Don’t gotta ask me, Talie. This is your place now, too. You can do whatever you want.”

Okay. That was nice. But it would also take a lot of getting used to. I had lived with a man, but it had been quite a bit different. I
had
literally needed permission for pretty much everything.

I nodded and started to head for the front door when he caught me and put a hand to my cheek. “I could feel you thinkin’ behind me almost the whole ride. Seems we both got some demons that we’re gonna need to get off our chests. But I’m selfish and I want tonight to be somethin’ different. So we’re gonna put off talkin’ ‘til tomorrow.”

Thank
God.
I wasn’t ready to talk.

Tuck saw the relief on my face and added, “We’re gonna talk, Babe. Just not tonight. Now get in there and shower. Then meet me in bed. No clothes.”

Well, that got a shiver. Back in a better mood, I took off for the house.

I went in the front, up the stairs, and down the hall into Tuck’s bathroom. I turned on the shower and started stripping off my clothes.

Good news, Tuck brought my razor too, so I would be able to shave. As a matter of fact, it looked like he pretty much brought everything I owned and going there tomorrow to “get my shit” was just a formality he wanted me to have.

I stepped into the shower and went through the routine, my mind mostly on what was about to come when I got out. I was anxious, but I was mostly just ready for it to happen. I wanted to live up to his expectations. I knew that once everything got started, I wouldn’t be nervous anymore. It would probably feel completely natural like everything else between us had.

I got out of the shower and lotioned myself completely. I combed out my hair too, but after that there wasn’t much else to do. Maybe tomorrow on my way home I should stop and get some makeup and a hairdryer. Not for all the time, but it wouldn’t hurt to put some effort in sometimes. That was a good idea, so I added it to my plans for tomorrow.

I walked out of the bathroom wrapped in my towel to see Tuck in the bed, hands clasped behind his head with elbows up and out, staring at the ceiling, and the sheet sitting right at his waist leaving his abdomen and chest on display.

His eyes came to me when he noticed I was in the room. “Come here, Baby.” He was using a gentle voice. It must have been obvious that I was nervous.