“Get it out baby. Cry. As long as you need to. I’ve got you.”
Blythe couldn’t stop. It felt so good to be in Tucker’s arms, to be able to cry, without worrying about her sister, or anyone else seeing her. She’d held so much in for so many days. Now it was pouring out of her. Once it started, she was powerless to stop it.
But she wanted more, she didn’t want him to hold her while she cried. She wanted his hands on her, she wanted them to be as close as they could get. She pulled back and rolled so she straddled his body. She rested her hands on his chest, and looked into his eyes.
Tucker put his hands on her waist, and moved them slowly upward, pushing her shirt up as he did. Blythe reached down and pulled it over her head.
He sat up and nuzzled his head between her breasts. As he wrapped his arms around her waist, he unhooked her bra, and pulled it away as she shimmied her arms from it. She threw it to the side. When his cheek met her skin, she shuddered. When his mouth replaced his cheek, she cried out.
He rolled again, so she was back under him. With one hand, he unzipped her pants. She helped slide them down over her hips, then her legs, then her feet.
Tucker caressed her bare hip when he realized she’d taken her panties off too. He shifted to his side, so he could look at her. He ran his hands over her; his lips followed.
She was in agony. As much as she knew he would take his time, she didn’t want him to. Blythe grabbed at his jeans, trying to unzip them, urging him to be as naked as she was.
He let go of her and stood. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
“Wait—where are you going?”
Tucker rummaged through his shaving kit. Shit. He didn’t have any condoms. He closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling.
“Blythe, honey. God, I’m so sorry. I don’t have any condoms.”
“It’s okay, I’m on the pill.”
“I haven’t—”
“Tucker, I don’t want to talk about it. Please get the rest of your clothes off. Please.”
She closed her eyes, hoping he would listen to her. When she opened them, he had his clothes off and was kneeling next to her. He pushed his way between her legs and came down on top of her, sliding his arms around her. He pulled her as close as he could, and slid inside her.
She pulled herself up, and took possession of his mouth in the same way he had hers.
He began to move, and before she could catch her breath, they both cried out together.
“Blythe. Sweet Blythe,” he said.
***
When Jace got to the house he looked around for Blythe and Tucker, but didn’t see either one of them. He peeked his head into the music room.
“They left.”
The voice coming from the dark and quiet room startled him.
“I’m sorry I disturbed you.”
He thought he heard her laugh, but then the sound quickly changed to crying. It had to be Bree, but it was dark enough that he couldn’t be sure.
“Can I do anything for you?”
“Everyone keeps asking me that. There’s only one thing anyone can do.”
“What’s that?” he asked the question, but already knew the answer.
“Bring him back to me.”
***
They made love all night, over and over again. Blythe was as insatiable as Tucker was. When the sun rose, they slept. He woke her again later with his mouth. And they began the dance again.
“Do you need anything?” he whispered.
“I’m hungry. Starving actually.”
Tucker didn’t have to get up to reach the menu where it sat on the nightstand. “What would you like?”
“You decide.”
He smiled down at her. He’d forgotten for a moment. She liked it when he decided for her. She liked it a lot. He pressed the button on the room phone, and ordered.
He was still on top of her, resting most of his weight on her body. He had to be hurting her, but she showed no sign of it. She shifted, so he rested between her legs. She reached down and put him inside her. She didn’t seem to care that he was still on the phone as she began to move beneath him. It was all he could do to hang up rather than let the phone fall to the floor.
“I should check in. I told my mom I didn’t know where we were going.”
“I texted Renie. She let your mom know.”
“How did you get Renie’s number?”
“I used your phone.”
“Why didn’t you text my mom?”
“Because I didn’t want to have a conversation with anyone. I told Renie it was me, and asked her to let everyone know you were here with me.”
“Oh.” Blythe wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Right now, she didn’t care. There was a part of her who felt as though she should make a bigger deal out of it. But why?
One of the nicest things about Tucker was he figured things out, he took care of what needed to be taken care of, he made decisions, and he acted on them. Shouldn’t she appreciate him the way he was?
Since his lips were on her neck, slowly making their way down her body, she decided not to question a damn thing Tucker did. At least not right now.
***
“Where did you say she is?” Brooke asked her mother.
“She’s with Tucker.”
“She spent the night with him?” Brooke was wearing her judgmental face.
“Brooke, Blythe is a grown woman, who shouldered more than her share of responsibility over the course of the last several days. Let it go. It’s none of your business.”
Mark walked into the kitchen as Paige stormed out.
“What’s wrong with your mother?” he asked.
“I asked where Blythe was, and when I suggested her behavior might be inappropriate, she jumped all over me.”
Mark didn’t always think about what he was going to say before he said it, but when it came to his daughters and his wife, he learned that every once in a while it made sense to. Blythe was twenty-three years old, and while she wasn’t the most responsible of his three daughters, she was working on it.
Before he could decide what he wanted to say, Bree came into the kitchen.
“Where’s Blythe?” she asked.
“Out with some guy. Overnight I might add,” Brooke answered.
“Oh for Christ’s sake Brooke, why the hell don’t you go back to Germany?”
Brooke looked from Bree to her father, expecting him to defend her. He only raised his eyebrows. No way he was getting in the middle of this. As far as he was concerned, if Bree had an opinion, he’d back her up, didn’t matter what it was.
“She isn’t a little girl anymore, you know,” Bree went on, glaring at her older sister. “And she doesn’t have to ask permission to stay out all night. Especially from you.”
“So you’re okay with her acting like a slut?”
Bree slowly walked over to her sister. While Mark had no idea what she intended to do, he never expected what she did.
Bree slapped her sister, hard, across the face. And then, burst into tears. Mark pulled her into his arms; Brooke stood motionless with her hand on her cheek.
“I think you should leave us alone,” he finally said to Brooke, who still hadn’t moved.
“But, I—”
“Brooke!” he shouted. “Leave.”
Brooke stormed out of the kitchen, much in the same way her mother had a few minutes ago.
“I won’t apologize to her Daddy.”
“I don’t expect you to.”
“She’s such a condescending bitch sometimes.”
“She can be that.”
“I’m not putting up with anybody’s shit. I guess you and Mom should know that.”
“You could say we picked up on that already Bree. And you’re entitled.”
“I don’t know if I’m necessarily entitled. But I’m still not going to apologize.”
Mark was relieved to see his middle daughter act like she was part of the world again, even if it
was only temporary.
“Can I get you anything?”
“You know what? I’d love a Bloody Mary.”
“You got it.”
Rather than leave his daughter alone, he texted Paige and told her he was setting up a Bloody Mary bar in the kitchen. It sounded like the perfect thing to get this morning back on track. A little vodka never hurt in situations like this.
By the time Paige came back downstairs, Bree was almost finished with her first one, and Mark was in the midst of laying out a breakfast buffet.
“How are you this morning?” she asked Bree.
“Better now that she took out some of her anger on her older sister,” Mark answered.
“What happened?”
“I slapped her.”
Paige looked at Mark.
“She deserved it. She said something unkind about Blythe.”
Paige got up to go find Brooke, but Bree put her hand on her mother’s arm. “Stay Mom, please,” she said softly.
Paige sat back down.
“When is she leaving anyway?”
“She and Tom have to get back by the end of the week.”
It wasn’t soon enough for Bree.
***
“I should ask you to take me home.”
“Why?” Tucker had no intention of taking her home, whether she asked or not. He needed her with him, and whether she realized it or not, she needed him.
“I don’t know, for Bree mainly. I feel as though I deserted her.”
“She has the rest of your family with her. She’ll be okay. You were there for the hardest parts.”
“But my older sister can be…kind of a bitch. Maybe I should at least call and see how’s she’s doing.”
“If it makes you feel better, call her.”
Blythe opened the sliding glass door and went out on the patio. She intended to call home, but she called Renie instead.
“I’m with Tucker.”
“I heard.”
“What do you mean?”
“He texted me. Didn’t he tell you?”
“Oh yeah, he did.”
“I guess Bree and Brooke got into a fist fight over it.”
“What?”
“Sorry, I was joking. It wasn’t quite that bad. But your mom told my mom that Bree slapped her.”
“She slapped Brooke?”
“Yeah.”
That made them both start laughing. If there was anyone who deserved to be slapped every now and then, it was Brooke.
“Wait, which part were you joking about? Did Bree slap Brooke over something to do with me?”
“She did. I guess Brooke was making a fuss about you being out all night, and both Bree and your mom told her to mind her own business.”
Blythe had never gotten along with her oldest sister. Brooke married the first guy she ever had sex with, and she was pretty sure they waited until after they were married. There wasn’t anything wrong with living your life that way, until you started to preach to everyone else about it. That was the part Blythe didn’t like. Bree didn’t either. And while she and Bree never talked about their sex lives, Blythe doubted that Zack was the only guy Bree had ever been with.
Blythe thought Brooke walked around with a stick up her ass, but she didn’t try to tell her to live her life any differently. She couldn’t believe that only a couple of days ago she told her mom she wished Brooke was there.
“How’s Bree?”
“She’s okay. She’s spending time with your mom and dad. You’re okay Blythe. Take some time. She’ll be fine.”
Blythe went back inside, without calling home. There weren’t any messages, no texts. If they needed her, there would be. Renie was right. She should take some time for herself.
“Everything okay?”
“I’m not sure. But…nobody needs me. So…”
“Wrong. I need you. Come over here baby.”
Tucker was stretched out on the bed. The same bed they’d barely gotten out of since they got to the room last night.
“Wanna go for a walk or something?” she asked him.
“Nope.”
“You wanna stay in bed all day?”
“Yep.”
Who was she to argue with him? Blythe took off the robe she found on the back of the bathroom door, and stretched out on the bed next to him.
Chapter 10
“We should talk Blythe.”
She didn’t want to talk. She’d been talking, and listening, for the last week. What was wrong with feeling? The last few hours with Tucker were all about feeling. She buried her head under a pillow.
“I take it you don’t want to talk.”
She threw the pillow on the floor. “Why? Why do we have to talk?” She couldn’t help but pout. Whenever someone said they needed to talk to her, it usually involved scolding her for something, or telling her something she didn’t want to hear. Otherwise, they talked; they didn’t announce the need for it.
Tucker smiled. Even if you didn’t know, you’d be able to guess that she was the baby of the family. And her daddy’s little girl. She was a lot like her dad, so it made sense.
“It’s time for me to head back to Aspen.”
Blythe didn’t put her head back under the pillow, but she didn’t say anything either. She got up, went into the bathroom, and closed the door. When she came back out, she was dressed.
“Can you take me home now?”
Unexpected. He had no idea where this particular reaction came from.
“No.”
“You’re refusing?” She went to pick her phone up from the nightstand, but he grabbed it first.
“I told you I wanted to talk. Let’s talk first, and then I’ll take you home.”
“Tucker, I want to go home. Please don’t do this.”
“What’s this all about?”
She sat down on the end of the bed, with her back to him.
“I don’t understand why you’re getting upset about something as simple as me saying we should talk.”
“Why did you leave on Thanksgiving?”
Shit. This was a subject he didn’t want to talk about.
“It’s a long story.”
Blythe kept her back to him, still sitting on the end of the bed. “Since you are refusing to take me home, it seems I have all the time in the world.”
“Now isn’t the time for us to talk about that.”
“You say you want to talk, yet you aren’t willing to talk about much.”
“I don’t want to get into what happened on Thanksgiving tonight. That’s it.”
“Oh yeah? And what about your scar Tucker?” Blythe ran her finger along the thin line that ran from his left cheek almost all the way to his hairline.
“Same story Blythe. And not one I want to get into right now.”
“Fine,” she turned around and glared at him. “Then take me home.”
He stood, so she did too, assuming he was going to do what she asked.
“I’m not playing games with you Blythe.”
“Good, because I’m not playing games with you either. You can either take me home, or I’ll go upstairs to the bar and find someone who will.”
“All I said was it was time for me to go home. I didn’t say I didn’t want to see you again. Tell me why you’re acting like this.”
Why was she acting this way? Good question. One she didn’t have a rational answer for. The minute he’d said he was leaving, all she wanted to do was go home. She wanted normal. Her own bed, her mom and dad, her sisters—well one sister she could do without, but she wanted to be with Bree. And if she could have anything she wanted, she’d invite Renie over, and Lyric. She wanted to be wrapped up in her family and her friends, and not think about how she was going to feel once he was gone. Why had she let herself sleep with him? She thought it would comfort her. After he left, she’d feel worse than she had before.
She sat back down and Tucker sat next to her. “Blythe, what’s goin’ on?”
He
put his arm around her shoulders and drew her back, so they both were stretched out on the bed next to each other. Tucker turned on his side, so he could face her. One hand crept under her shirt, and he caressed the skin on her stomach.
She was having a hard enough time making sense of her reaction as it was, with his hands on her, she’d never be able to think straight.
Tucker leaned over and put his lips on the skin of her neck. “Talk to me,” he whispered.
“I can’t.” There was no way she could tell him that his leaving would devastate her. They’d been a comfort to one another, that was it. It wasn’t as though there was anything between them.
His lips began to trail back down her neck. He reached up and pulled her shirt away so he could kiss over her shoulder. His other hand crept further upward under her shirt, until he reached her bra. He slid his fingers underneath and pushed it up, and cupped her breast, his fingers rolled over her nipple.
She closed her eyes, and it became harder to breathe. She turned her head, and looked into his eyes. They held such heat. She opened her lips, just slightly, and ran her tongue over her bottom lip. When she did, Tucker covered her mouth with his and worked his way inside. She turned so her body faced his and put her hands on his shoulders.
Here they went again. She knew he wouldn’t stop. If he didn’t, they’d be naked in a heartbeat. He rolled her so she was on her back. He loomed over her.
“Blythe, look at me.”
As soon as he said it, she closed her eyes tight.
He raised himself off of her and held his hand out. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you home.”
That made her open her eyes and look at him.
“Why now?”
He didn’t answer her. If he had he would’ve told her that if they sunk into each other again, he’d be tempted to carry her out to his truck, drive straight to Aspen, and never want to bring her home. He told her when they got to the inn the night before, if they did this, everything would change. He meant it. He wondered if she had been paying attention.
“Come on. You wanted to go. Let’s go.”
***
“That’s it, you’re going to drop me off and leave?”
And Then You Kiss (Crested Butte Cowboys Series Book 3) Page 11
