This Love's Not for Sale (27 page)

Powerless to resist the perilous and burning ache in his heart, he whispered against her lips, “Mine.”

Tucker and Lilliana had fallen asleep far too early. She had suckered Tucker into watching Star Wars: A New Hope as repayment for the BJ with the books atop her head the previous weekend. He had promised
anything
in return and she took full advantage of it. Lilliana inwardly laughed at the look of horror on Tucker’s face when she slipped the movie in the DVD player, and his exaggerated moans and face palming every time a cheesy line would be spoken. She had tried to make the experience a little easier for him by suggesting she play Princess Lay Me Orgasma to his Obi-Wank-His-Knobby. Tucker was only slightly amused and stated he was all for role play, just not Lilliana’s brand of freaky role-play.  Her last ditch effort was to keep pointing out accidental sexual quotes from the movie, like, “Look at the size of that thing!” and “Luke, at that speed, do you think you’ll be able to pull out in time?” but Tucker was still a no-go.

Before the end of the movie, they had both drifted off without so much as the dick licking that Lilliana had promised him. She was disappointed, but the emotional stress of the throw-down with Adam had tak
en its toll on the both of them, and after they drug themselves to her bed and stripped down, they collapsed into an exhausted mess and slept deeply the entire night.

Lilliana woke Tucker early so he could drive himself home and change for work.
Before leaving, he placed another delicate kiss on her swollen eyelid, and reprimanded her yet again for her overzealousness in trying to protect him.

At work, everyone looked horrified at the site of Lilliana’s eye. Dana most of all, was completely
enraged.

“That rotten, handsome, son-of-a-bitch! He said he was only going to
spank you not beat you! I don’t care how much money that douchetard has, I’ll kick a new hole in his ass for doing that to you!”

Lilliana laughed hysterically
and Dana’s face contorted into an expression of utter bewilderment.

“Tucker didn’t do this, my ex-husband did. He showed up at my place last night. I jumped in between him and Tucker and got socked in the eye.”

“Why the hell did you go and do something like? Tucker can take care of himself, you ding-bat!”

Lilliana rolled her eyes. It seemed Tucker and Dana had the same mentality about a great many things.

“You’re going to press charges, right?” Dana squeezed Lilliana’s shoulder.

“No, but I should. Even Tucker is urging me to do it. If I do, it’ll just mean I’ll have to see him again and that’s the last thing I want. If he ever calls or shows up again, though, I will definitely be calling the police.”

Dana’s eyes narrowed and she placed her hands on her hips. “Promise?”

“Yes, yes. I won’t put up with his shit anymore.”

Just then, Dana’s eyes caught the glint of the diamond and sapphire-encrusted padlock around Lilliana’s neck.

“Ooohhh,” Dana admired with large glassy eyes. “So it’s serious then?”

Lilliana shrugged, still unable to admit the reality of Tucker’s committal gesture. “I guess so. It was very thoughtful of him to get it for me.”

“Thoughtful? I would say it was more than that. That boy has it bad for you, Lil.”

Lilliana waved Dana away, not wanting to talk anymore about it or the fact that she, too, had it bad for Tucker.

She had hoped Tucker would show up for another unscheduled lunch visit, but there was no such luck. She did, however, receive several teasing text messages
making her day go by quicker.

McG: 2:48 PM: All work and no play makes Tucker a cranky boy.

Lilliana: 2:55 PM: What are you suggesting?

McG: 3:01 PM: I never suggest. ;)

Lilliana: 3:03 PM: Then how about u draw me a picture?

McG: 3:04 PM: Sounds like fun, but stick figures fucki
ng won’t quite relay my desires accurately. Save the date: Next Thursday, company party at the Grand Hyatt ballroom. Lots of schmoozing and boozing.

Elation filled Lilliana as
she daydreamed about being on Tucker’s arm at some hoity-toity event.

McG: 3:08 PM: BTW, I have something of great importance to give to you.

Lilliana: 3:10 PM: Don’t tease! Tell me!

McG: 3:11 PM: You have to see it. Don’t say I never did anything for you. FYI: You owe me. BIG TIME. Ciao, pet ;)

Great importance? It sounded so ominous. Lilliana hated being led on and she detested surprises.

Struck with good fortune, Lilliana’s last appointment rescheduled and she was free to leave early. She had driven Tucker’s car again and was looking forward to the drive home. If she ever came into a large sum of money, she vowed to buy herself the very same make and model, albeit a more feminine hue. 

When Lilliana arrived home, she texted Tucker of her early arrival, and decided to harvest the last of the fruits and vegetables in Margo’s garden and can them. An early frost was predicted and she didn’t want to lose of any of the precious foods that Margo had worked so diligently at planting. Donning her scruffiest jeans and a sweatshirt, Lilliana went to work in the garden.

Lilliana worked hard for nearly an hour, plucking and pulling up every last bit of sustenance she could find and placing them in a large basket. With the last item ravaged from the dirt, she sank onto her knees and hid her face in her hands.  A sob escaped her throat thinking about the finality of it all. Margo’s death, the harvest season now over, and the reality that she may have to sell her land. She pushed her chin up and stared directly at the sun that was low on the horizon defiantly.  The wind ble
w past her and the scent of violets and wild bergamot filled her nostrils, and she could swear she heard the joyous laughter of her mother and Margo flutter past her ears. Anguish ripped through her heart, and she wrapped her arms around herself trying to stop her wretched shaking from her unrestrained cries.

Why did they have
to be taken at such young ages? They were both good and decent people. Why? Who would she share her accomplishments with? Her hopes and fears? Lilliana felt bereft and desolate as she rocked herself.

Lilliana’s cries were so loud in her own ears, she didn’t ear Tucker sneak up on her.

“My sweet, Lilly of the valley,” Tucker cooed into her ear, cocooning her in his arms.

Lilliana stifled her cries, mortified of her breakdown in front of Tucker. She didn’t want to appear weak, but, God, how she desperately needed his touch at that moment. Lilliana turned and clung to him, burying her dirt smudged-face into the lapels of his jacket.

“I miss them so much,” she wept.

“I know you do. Death is unfair and cruel, pet.”

Tucker stood and lifted Lilliana into his arms, and carried her back into the house and set her down on the couch. He peeled her dirty pants and sweatshirt off and set them in a pile. Next, he retrieved a washcloth and cleaned her face, being careful near her still swollen eye. Lilliana was so touched by Tucker’s actions, she began to cry again, thinking about her mother’s kind words and touch.

Tucker led her to the bathroom where he ran her a hot bath while she sat on the lidded toilet stool. She watched him intently as he ran his fingers through the water, testing its temperature frequently. When it was full enough and loaded with foamy bubbles, he slipped her panties and bra off and helped her in. Lilliana lay back and let the hot water soak into her bones and ease her sadness. With her eyes closed, Tucker’s hands roamed over her body, washing her, fondling her and calming her. His rough touch was oddly soft and caressing, and made her heart hammer against her ribs.

Lilliana opened her eyes to see Tucker’s gaze imploring her for something unspoken.

“Join me?” Lilliana
beseeched.

Tucker nodded and his look was so
electrifying, it sent a tremor through her. She watched as he began to undress himself unhurriedly.  Lilliana’s eyes fixed on the movement of his hands as they casually removed his black leather belt. His fingers skimmed the buckle seductively and Lilliana’s eyes darted up to Tucker’s. He winked and smiled in acknowledgement of her desires, then continued removing the remainder of his clothes. When he was standing beautifully naked, Lilliana drank in the magnificent image before her.

“You’
re so beautiful, Tuck. Like, pussy-quivering, make-me-wanna-fingerbang-myself beautiful.”

Tucker dipped a foot into the water and a rush of pink stained his cheeks as he laughed.

“You’re not too bad, yourself.”

“Black eye and all?” Lilliana batted her eyes.

Tucker’s smile faded and he blinked rapidly. Her injury was still an area of contention and she quickly changed the subject when she saw the joy leave his face.

Tucker backed his body up between Lilli
ana’s legs in her small bathtub, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and tucked her feet under his thighs.

“Thank you for this and for your kind words. I’m sorry to be so needy.”

Tucker turned his head sideways and peered into her eyes.

“I need to be needed, Lilly, just like you need to be wanted.
We complete each other.”

Lilliana smiled. Existential, indeed. She squeezed Tucker’s shoulders and kissed his ear.

“That was deep.”

Tucker softly chuckled, his body shaking just enough to make the water slosh in the tub and splash over the edges.

“Not as deep as I’m going to be when I’m inside you later tonight.”

“Perv,” Lilliana giggled.

“Prude,” Tucker countered.

***

Watching Lilliana make dinner was comforting somehow. Tucker wasn’t the kind of man who believed women belonged in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant, but it was a nice seeing Lilliana take control of her surroundings and cook like a Goddess. Tucker helped her shuck the last of the fresh corn and Lilliana couldn’t resist turning it into a competition. She beamed with pride when she out-shucked Tucker by two full ears of corn.

With Lilliana’s emotional breakdown and dinner-making fun, Tucker had forgotten all about what he had intended on showing Lilliana. He retrieved the piece of paper from his car and presented it to Lilliana who looked at it questioningly.

“What is it?” she asked, taking it into her hands.

“Proof that I’m no liar.” Lilliana’s cheeks colored under the heat of Tucker’s gaze and her eyes scanned the letter of sex
ual cleanliness. “STD free, pet. Are you satisfied now?”

“This is what the surprise was?” Lilliana asked calmly.

“Yes. So?”

“What do you want to hear from me?” she asked with no emotion in her voice.

“That you trust me now and we don’t have to use condoms. That was the whole point, wasn’t it?”

Lilliana laid the letter on the counter and pushed past Tucker, making her way to the back door.

Tucker stood defeated for a moment as Lilliana stepped out onto the back deck without answering him. He met her outside and grabbed her by the shoulders.

Awkwardly, Lilliana cleared her throat, then bit her lip and looked away.
“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

Tucked dr
opped his hands to his side, stepped back from Lilliana and searched her eyes for something, but they were unreadable. Had he misread this situation completely wrong? He thought Lilliana wanted proof.

“No, you didn’t, and if you had, I
probably wouldn’t have done it. I did it because I want you to trust me.”

“A piece of paper isn’t going to make me trust you, Tucker. You are. Your actions, words and… I wish you hadn’t gone through the effort.”

“Well, what’s done is done. I’m a problem solver and I figured the way to get you to believe me about not having any STD’s was to prove it to you.”

Tucker was exasperated with Lilly. He didn’t know what the hell she wanted from one minute to the next. “You run so hot and cold,
Lilly, I never know how to please you.”

Raw hurt sparkled in Lilliana’s green-flecked eyes. “That’s not true, is it?”

“That’s how I feel. You’re up, then down, then up again. You want me, you don’t want me. You trust me to tie you up, but you don’t trust me enough to believe that I’m not going to cheat on you or that I don’t have any STD’s. I’m not a fucking mind-reader. Yes, I can read your body well enough, but your mind? Christ Almighty, Lilly. Give a man a break.”

Tucker threw his hands up in the air and walked back into the kitchen to check on the simmering pasta.

Tucker’s emotions were all over the place, and he was annoyed that he allowed Lilliana to do that to him. He stirred the pasta tetchily when he felt Lilliana’s arms around his waist and her cheek pressed to his spine.

“I’m sorry, Tuck. I don’t mean to be so difficult. Maybe it’s my hormones or something. Or maybe it’s just that you make me feel so many different things. Happy, irritated, angry, irritated, horny, irritated, giddy…”

Tucker turned and stared at Lilliana. “Let me guess… irritated?”

“Did I mention irritated?”
she smiled warily.

“A few times. All I have to say to that is: Welcome to my world.”