by Sassie Lewis
She settled down on her back, putting her hands behind her head, her breasts pointing to the stars. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Axton roll onto his stomach, whether it was to hide his arousal or not she didn’t know.
“You hurt?” he asked, probably noticing her grimaces of pain as her cervix spasmed.
“Not really, just achy. In a good way, Ax.” She ran her fingers over his cheek, trying to calm the worry she had heard in his voice. “It’ll pass soon. But next time I’m on top don’t let me get so carried away!”
He kissed her softly on the lips, running his hand over her lower stomach as if he now was soothing her. “So when did the lust turn into love?” he asked, continuing their conversation.
“Just before I turned seventeen. I don’t know how it happened, or even what set if off. Everyone at school was dating and talking about love and shit. We were all in the cafeteria, and Shelley was going on about some boy she was seeing and how she thought she might be falling in love with him. When Tim West came over to our table to ask me out, I turned him down. Shelley started going off at me, telling me how handsome he was. She couldn’t understand how I could turn him down. It was then that I had one of those moments where my brain switched off, but my mouth just carried on talking. Right there in the middle of the cafeteria, I simply stated that there was no point in me dating, as there was only one man I could ever love—Axton Jefferson McGraetty. Well, thank Christ there was only Mara and Shelley at the table, or the whole county would have known by the end of the day.”
As she told Ax the story she remembered the looks on Mara and Shelley’s faces. They’d been so shocked that they both looked like those comical cartoon characters’ mouths gapping open then closing only to open again. It had almost been the end of break before either one of them had asked her what the hell. It was then she reminded them that Ax wasn’t her uncle. A lot of people tended to forget that fact.
Her smile died on her face as the events of that morning played back through her mind. The problem with having a total recall type of brain was she could remember every minute detail of it. The look on Jimmy’s face had been pure venom.
“Ax, do you think we should tell the family about us? I don’t want them to find out from someone in town.”
“Not yet, baby. I just want a couple more weeks with you without the pressure from the family. I don’t think Jimmy will say anything. You scared the shit out of him. His daddy relies on us for good, reasonably priced breeding stock.”
Leaning up on her elbows, she kissed him in agreement. “You want to know what else, Axton?” She didn’t wait for him to answer, instead she used her hands to pull him back on top of her. “Over the last couple of weeks I’ve grown to love you more.” Tia kissed him again, starting out softly, then building with passion that neither one of them ever seemed able to contain.
Axton was the one to pull away from the kiss. “No more tonight. You’re already tender, so let’s go have a nice, hot bath. The water will help.”
His concern for her wellbeing made her already loved-filled heart overflow with emotions for the man. Naked, they gathered their clothing and glasses, leaving the blanket behind as they headed into the house.
She was cradled between Ax’s legs, in his big claw-foot bath, as he ran a comb through her hair. If he wasn’t such a good rancher, Tia would have recommended he take up hairdressing. He’d just given her the best head massage while he’d washed her hair. His strong fingers worked magic on her skull, making her whole body relax, something that Stevie at the Clip and Whiz had never achieved when Tia went in once a month for a wash and trim.
They hadn’t said anything since coming into the house. Biting her lip, she finally asked him what she had wanted to know for the last twenty minutes. He loved her so it shouldn’t really matter, but she wanted to know anyway.
“So…how long have you loved me?”
“Nearly five years,” he said in an absent-minded way, still running the comb through her hair.
She spun around to face him, splashing water all over the side of the tub and sending the comb flying across the room. She distantly heard it thud against the tiled wall.
“What? I would have been seventeen… Why?” She didn’t know what to say, she just kept seeing the faces of all the women he had dated over the years. If he’d loved her that long, why hadn’t he said anything? Why had he hurt her by sleeping with all those other women?
As she was trying to stand up so she could get away from him, he grabbed onto her hips, pulling her closer to him.
“What has you so upset, Tia? One minute we’re having a nice bath, the next you’re flipping out on me. Yeah, I know it might be a little shocking to know that I’ve been in love with you for years. But it was only recently that I understood that this feeling inside of me… That it’s love and not just this unsavory obsession with someone I thought was unattainable, but shit, you just told me that you masturbated to thoughts of me at a pretty young age.”
Tia heard his words, but they weren’t getting through her hurt psyche, and her body still struggled to get away from him.
“Fucking settle down, woman. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“You fucked them, Ax. You fucked them while you were in love with me. I saw you fucking that redheaded slut against the house...on my fucking birthday!” She was screaming at him now, trying to punch him. He held onto her, not letting her get away. Ax just kept shushing her and telling her everything was okay.
As her fury-fogged brain started to work a bit more rationally, she could hear Axton’s inconsequential cooing. Even knowing her face would be all blotchy from the tears and snot more than likely running out of her nose, she looked up at him. Tia didn’t care, she needed to look into his eyes.
“I’m sorry, baby. They meant nothing to me. I had issues. You’re like my brother’s daughter. Not only that, there is a bit of an age difference between us, but I had no idea that you felt the same way.”
He was talking to her like she was a small child having a tantrum. Although, when she thought about it, what he said made perfect sense. She was acting like a spoiled brat. Kissing him under his chin, she let him know that she was listening.
“I’m sorry. It’s just knowing that you’ve loved me almost as long as I have you, all I could think about there for a minute was how much it had hurt, seeing you with other women, when all I wanted was for you to notice me. So to find out that you had but were still ignoring me… Well, I just flipped out. Sorry.”
“That’s fine, baby. Remember I punched out Jimmy’s teeth when I saw him touching you. At least you didn’t get into fistfights every time I had a date.” He kissed her on her forehead, and she could feel his smile through the kiss.
Tia laughed. “I had wondered at the time why you reacted so badly. You do know Uncle Jack set up that date?”
“You’re gonna have to stop calling him Uncle Jack, because it still wigs me out. And of course I punched the douchebag. He had his hands down your pants touching you when I couldn’t.” He lifted her out of the tub, placing her on the vanity to dry her off, all the while studying her face. “You look so young with no makeup on. Not that you ever wear a lot.”
It was a statement, not a question for her to respond to. If he hadn’t just told her that he loved her, she may have been worried that he was thinking that their age difference should be a problem. Her tummy rumbled, and a smile broke across his face.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“Starved.”
He carried her in his strong arms and placed her on the bed before leaving to make them a snack.
They sat on his bed to eat the sandwiches and sliced fruit he’d brought upstairs. Axton smiled at her, probably over the way she shoveled down two whole sandwiches before he had even finished one. Once they had finished their midnight snack, they laid down to go to sleep.
“Ax, I’ll stop calling him Uncle once he knows about us,” Tia whispered against his chest.
&n
bsp; His breathing had deepened to that of pre-sleep. Her own eyes grew heavy, but she was positive she heard him say something about having a plan to do just that.
Chapter 11
Tia woke up slowly. At first she couldn’t remember where she was, then Axton’s scent hit her from the pillow she rested her head on. She couldn’t feel him in the room. She wasn’t worried that he had run off, because she knew he always had something to do.
Reluctantly, she got out of bed. The bedside alarm told her it was only seven-thirty in the morning, but living on a ranch meant she’d slept in. Just because it was Sunday didn’t mean it was a day of rest. It didn’t matter how much money you had, there was always something to be done. Animals to tend and fences to be fixed.
When she made her way down to the kitchen, she was shocked to find Ethan sitting at the kitchen island, drinking a cup of coffee. Thank God she had thrown on one of Axton’s shirts before she walked out of his bedroom.
“Where’s Ax?” she asked in lieu of a greeting. She had no idea what else to say. They hadn’t discussed telling anyone else yet, and after Jimmy’s reaction yesterday, she wasn’t in any rush to see how the family would feel about their relationship. She hadn’t even mentioned it to the girls yet, and they’d known for years that she had a thing for Ax.
Instead of saying anything, Ethan stood up and handed her a piece of paper as he poured her a cup of coffee.
Hey baby,
I didn’t want to wake you.
If I did, I wouldn’t have been able to leave. You looked so fucking sexy lying naked in my bed, your hair spilled across my pillow and curling around your nipples.
Okay. I’m gonna have a boner for the rest of the day, just from that image.
Anyway, one of the mares went into labor so I had to head over to help Luke out.
I fed Thunder for you. Will try and catch up with you sometime today. If not, I’ll call you later.
Love you, baby.
Axton
She could feel her cheeks turning red as she read the letter.
Curiosity rose. “Did you read this?”
Ethan just nodded.
Okay, that was embarrassing. The note was far from sweet and innocent. Instead of saying anything else, seeing as Ethan wasn’t, she sat down to drink her coffee.
After what felt like forever, but was more like five minutes of the most uncomfortable silence, she asked, “So, what are you doing here instead of helping out with the mare?”
“Thunder.”
One word. He gave her a one word friggin’ answer.
“What about him?” It was too early in the morning to deal with Ethan being all cryptic.
“Well, ya see now, when Dad was out tending to the mare, he noticed Thunder wasn’t in his usual pasture, and seeing as how you were supposed to be at Mara’s, he asked me to go find him. It wouldn’t be the first time he got out. So imagine my surprise when I rode out this way and found him in Axton’s small pasture.”
“I really don’t know what to say, Ethan. Apart from thanks for looking out for Thunder.”
“What’s going on T’T?” Ethan’s voice had lost its curtness and taken on a softer tone.
When she didn’t answer, he placed his finger under her chin, raising her face so she was looking him in the eyes.
“I rode up here to ask Axton if he’d seen Thunder. He was walking out toward the barn and didn’t see me sitting under the tree. But I saw him feeding Thunder.”
Tia just blinked at him. She had no idea what to say. To Tia it seemed like he just wanted to talk to her. She was trying to think of something to tell him when Ethan spoke again.
“I haven’t seen Axton as happy as he was this morning in a long time. And after a conversation I had with him a while back I had a feeling I knew the answer to why he was looking like the sun had just risen for him alone. But I’ve gotta say I wasn’t prepared to find you naked in his bed. I need you to tell me what’s going on, Tia. You’re like a little sister to me, and I need to know that Axton’s not using you.”
When Tia went to speak he placed his fingers over her lips. “Don’t deny that there’s something going on.”
Tia took his fingers away from her mouth and held them tightly between her own. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Ethan.”
“That letter he wrote you is the only thing that stopped me from hunting him down. But I need to know if you’re happy, T’T. Are you?”
She nodded. “He is my everything, Ethan. I love him, is that so wrong?” She couldn’t stop the tears that started to leak from the corners of her eyes.
“No, there’s nothing wrong with loving him, and I can see from the note he loves you too.” Ethan kissed her on the forehead. “Why haven’t y’all told anyone? Speaking of which, how long has this been going on?”
“Since we both went to Houston. I kind of seduced him.” Laughing at herself and turning a little pink with embarrassment, she continued. “We’re planning on telling y’all, we’re just enjoying each other without the pressure of everyone trying to talk us out of it.”
She sighed, because this was something that she wasn’t really prepared to talk about. Even though she was sick of the sneaking around, this little talk with Ethan had her heart beating out of her chest. Tia was all for putting off telling the rest of the family now. She wished Axton was there, because his presence would have supported her.
Getting up from the island, she walked over to the coffee machine that would have any barista singing a tune, and poured them both another coffee.
“Do you want some toast?” she asked as she put a few slices of bread in the toaster for herself. God, she loved this kitchen, everything was top-of-the-line.
What the hell was she thinking? She was standing in the middle of Axton’s kitchen wearing one of his shirts, Ethan had just found out about her and Axton, and she was thinking about stupid appliances. Fucking hell. Her emotions were all over the place. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Ethan walk up behind her. He pulled her back into his chest and hugged her around her shoulders. The kiss on the top of her head confused her. She didn’t know whether to take it as sympathy or support.
“What makes you think we’d try to talk you out of being together?”
Turning toward him, she looked at his handsome face, so much like Axton’s, yet so different. “Are you truly okay with this?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s good, I suppose. But seriously, Ethan, think about it! How is your dad going to take this? He’s raised me as if I’m his daughter. Don’t get me wrong, I love your dad, and I always will. But do you honestly think he isn’t gonna have a problem with me sleeping with his brother!” She was crying now. She’d cried more in the last couple of weeks than she had in years.
What had she and Axton been doing? She loved him more than anything in this world, but she also loved Jack. She couldn’t handle it if Jack didn’t want anything to do with her after he found out what was going on between her and his brother.
Ethan pulled her back into his arms, patting her back in a soothing motion. “It’s going to be okay, T’T. Dad may be shocked at first, but as I told Ax a couple of weeks back, one of the things he’s always wanted in life is for all of us to be happy. And if Axton makes you happy and vice versa, he will come to accept it.”
“Please don’t tell him, Ethan. This is something Ax and I have to do.” She didn’t care if he could hear the pleading in her voice. He had to understand that this was something they needed to do.
“Okay. But don’t leave it too long. You don’t want him busting you like I did. He’ll handle it better if you tell him. I can’t imagine how he would have reacted if it had been him this morning rather than me.”
“You’re right. Soon. We’ll tell him soon.”
“Now, how were you planning to get back to the house without causing suspicion?” he asked as he wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“Shit! I hadn’t even thought about that.”
; * * * *
Forty minutes later she and Ethan rode the horses up to the front gate of the ranch. Ethan had suggested that she should walk in, that way if anyone asked, she could say Mara had dropped her off at the gate. Luckily, she had ridden Thunder bareback yesterday. If she hadn’t, Ethan would have had a hard time explaining why Thunder was fully saddled. The bridle could be easily dismissed, but a fully saddled horse that was meant to be roaming free was something that couldn’t be.
Tia was having a morning of near misses. As she was entering the house the phone rang, and she picked it up just as Uncle Jack walked out to answer it. That wouldn’t have been a problem, if it had been anyone else calling. But imagine her surprise when the voice on the other end of the line was none other than Mara, her alibi for last night. Pretending Mara was Shelley, Tia told her she’d call her back in a minute, hanging up to greet Uncle Jack before she headed up the stairs.
She would have felt more guilty about answering Jack if his question had been more specific, but seeing as he had only asked how her night had been, she didn’t feel too bad in saying it was great.
Her cellphone rang this time, just as she reached the top of the stairs. “Hel—”
“What the hell, Tia? You hung up on me and called me Shelley. I love the girl and all, but I sound nothing like her.”
Tia pulled the phone away from her ear. Mara was a passionate person at the best of times, but when pissed her voice became a little high-pitched.
“Calm yourself, you freak.” Tia laughed. “I couldn’t talk at the time, and seeing as how I was supposed to be with you last night…well… Were you just calling to say howdy, or did you want to talk about something?”
“Yeah, I need some advice, but after we talk about my problem we are so going to discuss where you actually were last night, ’cause I know it wasn’t with me.”
