Trouble In Dixie (36 page)

His face lost some of its color and he
asked, "Am I hurting you?"

"No--hurts so good, baby...more..." she
moaned and rotated her hips against him.

Tommy growled then moved again, slow at
first, then with increasing ferocity. His lips were a thin line and
his eyes were dark with anger and heated desire, as he pounded into
her. With every stroke, the exquisite friction notched up the
tension inside of her to wildfire proportions, until it turned into
a raging inferno and an orgasm barreled down on her. She wailed his
name, and clutched the sheets as her inner muscles clutched him
increasing the friction. The first waves of her impending release
washed over her, then he stopped moving inside of her, and Katie
whimpered, then looked up at him.

"Say it Katie--tell me you're mine," he
demanded holding her gaze with his angry, passionate hazel
eyes.

Her voice was choked when she said, "I'm
yours, Tommy...please," she begged and tried to wiggle her hips,
but he held her still.

"
Only
mine--say it, Katie," he hissed
with his jaw clenched, his lips in a flat line, and beads of sweat
dotting his forehead. His body shook from holding back, and his
hands clamped her hips like a vice.

Katie reached her limit and snapped, in
between stuttering breaths, she said, "Dammit, Tommy...don't do
this...you know I love you. I'm yours, now move, or I'm gonna
finish this myself!"

She looked up at him with intent, then
releasing the sheet from her fists, she moved her hand to her
center and closed her eyes, then started circling the nub at the
apex of her thigh, until the tension inside her ramped up
again.

"Goddamn, that's hot, baby..." Tommy said in
a strangled voice, then started moving inside of her again, faster,
harder than he had before. His breathing was erratic and he pounded
into her, until she screamed and came apart, her body vibrating
from the electric current shooting through her. He shouted her name
hoarsely, and his body stiffened, then he stilled and opened his
eyes to look down at her, before pulled out of her body and laid
beside her, and tried to pull her into his arms.

Katie scooted away from him, then pushed up
off the bed with her good arm and stood up, searching around for
her shorts and underwear. "That wasn't funny...and the jealousy
thing is getting old," she snapped angrily. When she found her
clothes, she walked to the bathroom and slammed the door behind
her.

Tommy got up off the bed and grabbed his
clothes, then walked to the bathroom door and twisted the knob.
When he found it was locked, he got worried about her, then he got
pissed and banged his fist on the door, "Open up the damned door,
Katie!"

He heard her crying softly from behind the
door and wanted to kick himself in the ass. Pondering what he could
do to fix this latest demonstration of what an ass he could be,
Tommy finally yelled, "I'm going call Chase back and see what he
wanted."

He slipped his underwear back on and had
just gotten his pants zipped, when the bathroom door opened and
Katie hissed at him, "Don't you dare...that's my business," she
told him sternly.

"You are
my
business, sugar...I love
you," he said then huffed out a frustrated sigh, "I'm sor--" he
started, but stopped when she held her hand up to him. "No, you're
right, I'm not fucking sorry...angry sex is unbelievable...that's
another one I can mark off of our list," he told her with a
grin.

The cold look on her face was shattered by
an involuntary grin, and she shook her head, then said with a
giggle, "You're a mess, have I told you that lately?"

He waggled his eyebrows at her then said,
"How bout we try makeup sex now, so we can scratch that off too?"
then he stepped to her and pulled her to him, and kissed her hair.
"I love you, Katie."

She rubbed her face against his chest then
mumbled, "I love you too, asshole cowboy."

He squeezed her then stepped back and took
her hand in his and said, "Let's go call Chase, it might be good
news...I'll tell you mine after you talk to him."

She smiled up at him and leaned up to kiss
his cheek, then led him out of the bedroom and down the hall. He
sat on the stool beside her and waited patiently while she talked
to Chase Rhodes.

Her easy friendly banter with him set
Tommy's teeth on edge, but he maintained the forced smile that was
making the muscles of his face ache. Evidently, Chase Rhodes told
her something that surprised or pleased her, because her eyebrows
raised, and her face flushed, which made Tommy wanted to jerk the
phone out her hands and hang it up. She looked over at him with her
mouth forming an O, then put her hand over it and gasped.

"Holy, crap, Chase...wow, I don't know what
to say," she said breathlessly, and Tommy bit back the growl that
formed in his chest then pushed up into his throat, but he couldn't
stop the blood that rushed to his face.

"That's amazing...thank you so much
for...everything," she said and looked down the counter. "I will,
I'll call you at the end of the week...bye." she said hesitantly
then pushed the disconnect button.

Tommy didn't say anything, because as keyed
up as he was, he would probably say the wrong thing. She didn't say
anything for several minutes, so it took a lot for him to hold back
from asking, especially seeing that she was breathing erratically
and her face was as red as the t-shirt she had on. Finally, she
took a deep breath, then spun on the stool and let out a whoop that
any country girl and half the cowboys in Texas would envy.

Sliding off the stool, she put her hand
behind his head and roughly pulled his lips to hers, then kissed
him silly. That unexpected kiss scrambled his brain and it wasn't
quite functioning right when she pulled her lips from his and
squealed, "We're rich, darlin'! then spun in circles.

"We're not just Edith Preston rich,
either...we're fucking Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg rich! We could
buy and sell her a thousand,
ten
thousand, times over!"

With a shake of his head, Tommy got to his
feet and said, "Katie calm down and tell me what's going on!"

"They hit the mother lode on the ranch,
sugar. They finished putting in the pumping well yesterday, and
it's pumping like my heart does when you kiss me! Chase said they
also found a natural gas source at the back of the property, and
they're exploring to see if it's good...if it is, they're putting
in a well back there too...he said they'd probably know by
Friday."

"I thought they leased the rights from
you...how does that help you?" Tommy asked, because he really knew
nothing, less than nothing, about oil production.

She walked up to him and put her hand on his
cheek then said slowly, "We get twenty-percent of the
take...whatever they produce, we get a twenty-percent royalty
on."

Clarity dawned in Tommy's brain like a rain
cloud parting after a thunderstorm, and the bright sunlight of
realization blinded him. The breath in his chest froze, and his
heartbeat stopped, then both kicked into overdrive, and he picked
her up and spun her in circles, careful to hold her arm still
between them.

He set her down then held her face in his
hands, and said in between gasping breaths, "Oh, my god, baby..."
then he growled then leaned down and kissed her, unleashing the
tide of emotions swirling around inside of him.

Katie moaned, and he let her go and stepped
back studying her face with concern, "Did I hurt you, darlin'?"

"Not yet, but you're going to," she said
with a sly smile, then grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the
hallway. "Let's go make up...and celebrate...that's two more off
our list," she purred and tossed him a grin.

An hour later, Katie was laying in Tommy's
arms gathering her senses, and she rubbed his chest and asked, "So,
you didn't tell me your good news, baby...spill it."

"I don't think mine could top yours,
sweetheart," he said with a chuckle, and stroked her hair.

"We deserve all this good news for a
change--tell me!" she demanded then pulled his chest hair.

"Ouch," he chuckled and covered her hand,
then said, "I think we've got Edith on the ropes...her son
too."

"Really?" she said then looked up at him.
Her beautiful blue eyes were sparkling with the aftermath of their
mind-blowing lovemaking.

Tommy would never get tired of seeing that
satisfied look on her face. He knew it mirrored his own. Never in
his life, had he been so happy...because of her.

"Yeah, I didn't tell you, because I didn't
want to worry you, but--"

Katie groaned and pulled away from him, then
sat up. "When you start a sentence like that, I know I need to
brace myself, because I'm probably gonna be pissed," she said the
cocked an eyebrow waiting.

Blood rushed up Tommy's face and a sliver of
fear sliced through him...maybe he should have told her. "Gabe said
we needed to act normal...not tip them off...that's why I didn't
tell you."

Her face got red then and she said angrily,
"So, Gabe knew and didn't clue me in? What about my sister, did
Karlie know too?"

"I asked them not to worry you," he admitted
then sat up and shoved a hand through his hair.

"Worry me about what, Tommy? Tell me what's
going on here," she demanded, her eyes now wary.

"Have you noticed the security cameras in
the house? Out at the barn?" he asked and she shook her head, but
didn't say anything, so he continued, "Someone hacked into our
security system, and they were using the cameras to spy on
us...that's how Edith knew you were here, and what was going
on...that's why she showed up here after I left to go to the
hospital to be with you. She saw Karlie and thought it was
you."

Katie sucked in a breath and put her hand to
her chest, and her face went white, and she looked around the
corners of the room. "And you didn't think this was something I
needed to know? That the home where I am living is bugged?" she
asked him in a high-pitched voice, her breathing shallow.

"It's not bugged, baby...there's no audio,
just video footage, and the cameras aren't everywhere. We had to
leave it in place, until Gabe's friend traced it back to the
source, and found out who hacked it," he said in a calm tone,
hoping it would settle her down.

"Oh, that makes all the fucking difference
in the world!" She spat then slid off the bed and headed for the
bathroom, dragging the sheet with her to cover herself. "This is
how we should start our marriage, keeping secrets from one another,
good job, Tommy," she spat then went into the bathroom and slammed
the door.

He flinched, and his brain automatically
went into 'I gotta fix this' mode, a gear it had been in too much
lately, dammit. He needed to tell her about the takedown Beau and
Glen were heading up this afternoon, but she was too mad at him.
He'd let her calm down and then he'd tell her.

Right now, he needed to go out to the barn
and talk to Jud and make sure the ranch didn't have any problems.
He'd been gone three days, and with all that had happened recently,
he'd dumped on him entirely too much. Maybe he'd send Jud and
Elaina on a vacation somewhere when this was all over...he knew he
sure needed one.

Tommy got up off the bed, then pulled out
jeans and a t-shirt and put them on with his work boots, then he
went to the bathroom door and knocked. Katie's angry voice filtered
through the door and he flinched when said, "Go away, Tommy! I
can't talk to you right now!"

"I'm going out to the barn for a little
while, sugar...please don't be mad at me. I'll make it up to you, I
promise," he told her with his palm on the door, like he could
touch her like that. "I love you, baby." he said, and when there
and when she didn't respond, he put his forehead against the door,
before he pushed off then walked out of the bedroom, hoping she'd
forgive him...again.

Katie waited a few minutes, until she was
sure Tommy was gone, then she washed up, and walked back into the
bedroom and got dressed. It wasn't easy by herself, but she managed
it, then went into the kitchen and sat at the breakfast bar,
holding her head in her hands.

What the hell was she going to do with him?
Tommy didn't have a clue how a relationship was supposed to work.
He obviously just didn't get that withholding information from her
trying to protect her, wasn't acceptable.

If they didn't have open, honest
communication, if they weren't on the same page about things, they
had nothing...except heat...lots and lots of heat. She shivered
thinking about their last round of lovemaking. He was very onboard
about learning about sex, and a damned quick learner. She just
wished he would put as much effort into making good choices where
their relationship was concerned.

The front door opened, and she looked across
the foyer and saw Dixie walk in with her hot pink book sack slung
over her shoulder. She grinned at Katie and ran over and gave her a
hug, "Hey, Miss Kat--" she started, then hesitated and swallowed,
before she corrected, "Hey, Mama.".

She gave Katie an uncertain, shaky smile and
her blue eyes held fear. Katie slid off the stool, and hugged her,
then kissed her hair, and said, "Hello, my precious baby girl,
daughter of my heart...how was school?"