The One Place (9 page)

“I just had a few real questions for you.”

When I didn’t continue, Tuck pushed, “Listenin’, Babe.”

“I was curious about the apartment.”

He just stared at me so I pressed on. “I mean, it’s really yours that you rent out?”

He nodded. “Yeah, used to be mine, ‘til I moved here.”

That must have been when his parents died. I guess he was expected to step up. That must have been tough to do all on his own.

I figured that also explained about the security. “I guess that explains the alarm and everything then.”

He smirked and told me, “Nope. Alarm was for you, Babe.”

That must have cost a fortune! And he hadn’t even known me then! “Why would you spend all that money on me? You didn’t even know me.”

He shrugged and explained, “Can’t really say why. Just know I wanted you to be safe.”

Wow. He was definitely good at saying all the right things.

“So the furniture was really yours?”

“Most of it. Asked around for anythin’ I thought was missin’.”

“You went through a lot of effort for me.” I leaned forward, hand still on his thigh, and put my mouth to his. I leaned back and whispered, “Thank you.”

Warmth slid into his face as he reached down and slid his hand into mine. “Just proved it was worth it.”

I was melting, and while it felt unbelievably good, it also felt scary, so I broke the moment. “Okay, enough sweet stuff. Say something messed up.”

At that, Tuck erupted into laughter. He picked up our linked hands, turned them, and placed a kiss on the back of mine. God, I was in trouble.

We both broke apart, jumped out of the truck, and rounded the hood. Tuck reached for my hand, which I had to admit, made my stomach drop. I half expected him to drag me into the house eager to get in my pants so I was surprised when he led us in the other direction.

“Where are we going?”

“Wanna show you around. Need to meet the other horses and get the lay of the land.”

That sounded awesome. It also sealed another little hole in my chest, seeming to back the claim that he wanted more than just my body from me. I guess only time would really tell, but for now I was happy to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

We walked hand in hand down the aisle between two paddocks that were between the house and the barn. As we approached the barn, I took it all in.

The barn was painted a dark green, with a green tin roof.

I loved tin roofs. I would have to sit out here sometime in the rain to listen.

There were double sliding doors that opened up into the aisle down the center. It was pretty wide looking, maybe ten or twelve feet. There was an arbor on the front left side with beautiful, viney flowers growing up all four corners and up onto the top. It was one of the most gorgeous places I had ever seen, and I could tell that Tuck took care of everything painstakingly. He took pride in this place, and it showed.

Unable to contain what I was feeling, I whispered, “It’s beautiful.”

Tuck tugged me towards him by the hand, released it, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. He leaned down, kissed the top of my head, and finished by saying, “Yeah.”

As we entered the door to the barn I could see that there was a feed room on the left and a tack room on the right, each with doors cut in half so you could open the top without opening the bottom and vice versa. The doors closed by sliding levers and the handles were in the shape of horse shoes. I could see what looked to be five stalls on each side beyond the tack and feed rooms, ten stalls total. That made me think of another question.

“So you have ten stalls, how many horses do you have?”

“Fifteen.”

Now I was no genius, but I was thinking that didn’t make any sense. I started to ask, but he cut me off. “But-”

“Don’t keep ‘em in the barn all the time, Babe. Most of the time they stay out in the pastures. I got a couple run-ins out there, too, so I can shelter ‘em all if need be.”

I nodded because that made more sense.

“Do you have all geldings or some mares, too? I know some people only like one or the other.”

“I have eight geldings, two stallions, and five mares. The mares I breed and after they drop their foal, I usually sell ‘em. Dependin’ on what she drops I’ll either keep the foal or sell it.”

“Are any of your mares pregnant right now?”

“All of ‘em.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.” On the word awesome, his arm gave me a squeeze.

“So, um, how pregnant are they?”

He turned toward me and asked, “How pregnant can you be?”

I speared him with a look and said, “You know what I mean. When are they gonna have the babies?”

“Should be in the next couple’a months.”

“
Awesome.
”

He smiled warmly and said, “I’ll bring you out here for the first one if you want.”

I just nodded.

“Good. You wanna meet them all now or go in and have dinner?”

Food. Oh yeah. Actually, I was starving. “I’m hungry.”

I could swear I saw his eyes darken and he said, “Me too, Babe.”

I didn’t think we were talking about the same thing.

Chapter 13

Back inside, showered and dressed in clean clothes (Tuck went to the apartment and picked them up for me earlier in the day), I stood in his kitchen watched as Tuck stirred his homemade spaghetti sauce. His kitchen was completely updated, and not what I had been expecting for one in a farm house. The cabinets were a dark cherry, stretched all the way to the ceiling, and were topped in a crown molding-looking top. The counters were a dark tan granite with gold and brown flakes spread throughout it. Top of the line stainless steel appliances filled all the empty holes and there was an island in the center with stools on one end.

“You can cook.”

“It’s just spaghetti, Talie. Not hard.”

“But I always figured you came into the diner all the time to eat because you couldn’t cook.”

“Nope.”

“So you were there because-”

“Yep.”

Wow. That’s what Ruthie had said, but I hadn’t really believed her. Again, this pointed towards him actually liking me.

“So you really like me, huh?”

His face was a mask of disbelief. “Jesus. You’re slow sometimes.” He turned back to the sauce and gave it his attention again.

“That’s what Ruthie said.”

He turned back to me and asked, “She said that?”

I nodded, took a sip of my Coke, and responded, “Well, yeah. But only when she was telling me I was an idiot for not figuring out that you were the one who had done everything for me.”

“So, it’s her I have to thank for speeding up this process.”

“Yep. Her and your not covering up your tracks as well with the cell phone. I thanked her for it and she had no idea what I was talking about it.”

Tuck didn’t respond. He just dropped the pasta in the boiling water and walked over to me. He lifted me up onto the counter and pushed my legs apart, stepping in between them. My breathing sped up and my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest.

Reaching his hands up, sliding them along my jaws, and settling them at the back of my head and in my hair, Tuck leaned forward, tilted his head to the side, and pressed his lips softly to mine.

His lips moved over mine feather light, peppering kisses all over, first my top, and then my bottom lip. After he kissed both corners of my mouth, he worked his lips back over both of my lips and touched his tongue to the seam in between them. My mouth opened for him and he swept his tongue inside. He took the control of the kiss, methodically exploring every nook and corner of my mouth. He started by licking the tip and the sides of my tongue and branching out to make sure he covered the top and the bottom too. It was like an out of body experience. I was powerless to do anything but feel and let him continue his exploration.

When he had explored all of the parts of my mouth with his tongue, he did it again,
leisurely
. He took his time. So much so, that if I had been anywhere
near
this world, I might have worried that the pasta was going to be overcooked.

But it wasn’t. He finished his second tour of my mouth and pulled back slowly, peppering kisses from my mouth to my jaw and down my throat, before he backed away and turned to the stove. He pulled the pasta off, drained it, and mixed it with the sauce, all without saying a word. I was frozen. I was still in my imaginary world created by kissing when he pulled me down off the counter and led me to the table.

I didn’t snap out of my stupor until I put the first bite in my mouth.

“This is really good. And the pasta is cooked perfectly.”

He nodded and muttered, “Thanks.”

I thought about it and decided that there was no reason to hold back now, when I hadn’t ever done it before. “You timed the pasta perfectly even though you were fully immersed in other activities. Seems like maybe you’ve had some practice.”

Tuck set his fork down on his plate and looked me right in the eyes. “Let’s get this straight right now, Babe. I’ve kissed and fucked my fair share of women. And I’ve been cookin’ since I was fifteen. So there is a certain amount of knowledge of timing in there. But I haven’t ever brought a woman to my house and cooked for her. And I haven’t ever kissed a woman the way I kiss you. I imagine that when we get to the fuckin’, that won’t be the same either.”

Geez. He was definitely forthright. I liked that. I didn’t like to beat around the bush either.

I just nodded and said, “Okay.”

We finished the meal in silence. You would think that after our confrontation it might have been awkward, but it wasn’t. It was really comfortable, like always. Like we did this every night of our lives and we had never known another life. Like he hadn’t been abandoned by his whole family one way or another and I hadn’t spent a year of my life living with a man against my will.

When we had carried our dishes into the kitchen and Tuck was cleaning up, I decided maybe I needed to apologize. “Tuck, I’m sorry. You cooked an amazing dinner and that kiss...well, it was the best kiss-”

“Stop, Talie.” He turned from the sink and looked at me. “You don’t need to apologize, ok? I know you didn’t mean anythin’ by it. You just don’t know me yet. But you will, Babe. You’re gonna know me better than anyone.” He turned back and went back to rinsing all of the dishes off and putting them in the dishwasher.

God. As much as I was scared to admit it, I wanted that. I wanted to know him better than anyone. I wanted to be the one he told his secrets. I was coming to find out that I wanted that
desperately
.

Not having a reason for doing it (and maybe the reason was that I didn’t have a reason
not
to do it) I went to him. When I reached him I put my hands on his back and I felt him still. I kept moving. I let my hands slide down his back and then around his sides until they came to rest on his stomach. I leaned in, placed a kiss to his back and then laid the side of my head there.

He rinsed off his hands, dried them on the towel next to the sink, and then laced his fingers of both hands with mine. He paused for several seconds, and it seemed like he was taking it in and soaking it up. Finally, he moved, and when he did he brought my hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to my palm.

He didn’t say a word as he took me by the hand and pulled me out of the kitchen, through the living room, and up the stairs. We turned left at the top and headed to an open door at the end of the hallway. He went straight through the door and pulled me into his bedroom behind him. He lifted me at the hips and set me in the bed. I got up on my elbows and watched as he reached down and pulled off my shoes and then stood up and kicked off his boots. He put a knee to the bed and climbed in so he was half on me, half on the bed. His body felt so hard and warm over me and I thought for a minute that I might pass out. It wasn’t that we hadn’t been more intimate than this already, but I knew where this was headed and I was anxious. I was sure of myself and had high self-confidence, but I had never wanted something so badly. I wanted him to want me. I wanted to turn him on and drive him wild enough that he couldn’t get enough of me. I wanted him to want me for a long time, maybe even forever.

He put his hand to my hip and skimmed it up under my shirt to find skin. His mouth found mine and before I knew it, his warm hand trailed up my side and palmed my breast. I succumbed to the feelings of ecstasy and moaned. That seemed to spur him on and he moved his hand from my breast down to the button of my jeans but kept caressing my tongue with his.
God
, I didn’t care anymore if he did this with women all the time. It was obvious, I needed to be thanking that experience, not judging it. He was so good at this.

He released the button and pulled down the zipper and slipped his hand all the way in. Right into my panties and everything, immediately hitting the right spot. I moaned down his throat, reached for the front of his jeans, found him rock hard, and he pulled back from the kiss. He kept moving his fingers slowly through my folds and moved his mouth to my ear.

“I decided we’re gonna take this slow, baby.” As he said this he pulled my hand off of him with the hand that wasn’t touching me. It must have taken some skill for him to be able to do that, but I didn’t have time to question it. I had other things to question.

I raised an eyebrow. “This is slow?”

“Well, slow in the sense that I’m still gonna make you come. Time limit’s been reached on waitin’ for that part, Babe.”

“You don’t want me to-”

He shook his head and whispered, “Just you tonight, Baby.” He leaned forward and kissed my lips softly, all the while still slipping his fingers leisurely through the wet juncture between my thighs. “Tomorrow, you wanna return the favor, I won’t stop you.”

Tuck didn’t wait for my answer. “Take your shirt off, Baby. I’m busy.”

I almost laughed but decided to just take my shirt off instead. I pulled it over my head and unhooked my red, all lace bra. He hadn’t asked me to do that yet, but I knew that was where it was heading and I wanted to be ready.

He smiled at my preemptive action and spoke again. This time his voice was gruff with desire. “Lift your tit for me, honey.”

Oh, God. There went a rush of liquid between my legs. He noticed.

“Yeah, that’s it Talie, get wet for me. I can tell you like when I talk dirty to you, so that’s something we’ll have to explore at some point.” I lifted my breast like he had asked and he paused to flick my nipple with his tongue and circled my nub with his finger at the same time. “Not now, though. I want you to be comfortable with me before we take it there.”

That was nice. Really nice. Even lost in his passion and after I gave him an opening he could have run away with, he was considerate of me.

He closed his mouth on my nipple and circled it with his tongue at the same time that he circled my opening with a finger. I had dissolved into a panting, moaning mess by this point, but I was way too far gone to care.

After teasing me for awhile, he sucked my nipple deep at the same time that he pushed his finger inside me. “Ah, Tuck.”

After testing it out and giving me time to adjust, he squeezed another finger inside and moved his thumb to take over the delicious circling. As he thrust his fingers in and out, I could feel it building and he kept going but moved his attention to the other nipple. When my breathing sped up and my eyes started to roll back in my head he released the peak from his mouth and demanded, “Look at me, Baby.”

I forced my eyes to his as he continued, “Wanna watch you when you come. Jesus, can’t wait to fuck you. You look so beautiful right now.”

His words were all I needed to push me over the edge. I held his eyes for as long as I could, but it got to a point where I just couldn’t any more. I shattered and moaned into his neck, “God, yes Tuck.
Tuck.
” He kept his fingers in me until the last of the spasms of my orgasm left me.

He leaned forward, pressed his lips to mine, shifted back, pulled his hand out of my pants, and stuck his fingers in his mouth, licking them clean.

Holy
shit
. I was starting to think Tuck was into dirty. And I was surprised to find that I
loved
it. I think if anyone else had tried to pull something like that with me I would have been disgusted. But with Tuck it was just hot.

He stood up, winked at me, and headed for the bathroom.

He came back with a wet wash cloth, pulled off my jeans and panties, and wiped me clean. He threw the wash cloth back in the bathroom and scooped me up with an arm around my back and an arm under my knees. When I wrapped my arms around his neck to hold on, he let go with the arm around my back and flicked the covers of the bed back. He settled me in the bed and pulled the covers over me.

“I know it’s early, but we both gotta be up early. Just relax and I’ll be back. Gotta grab a shower.” I had showered earlier while he started dinner, but he had yet to take one.

I watched him disappear into the bathroom and heard the shower turn on. Sated and happy, I was asleep only a couple of minutes later. I didn’t even notice that I had been around stairs with Tuck three times now, once in the Tanners’ and twice here in Tuck’s house, and I hadn’t even given them a second look.