“Mmm,” she said. “That feels so good.”
I wanted her to feel good. I wanted her to feel so good that she couldn’t remember ever having been with anyone else, that she would never want to be with anyone else again.
I sure as hell didn’t.
So why was I so afraid of making our relationship public? Declaring to the world that Jade Roberts was mine?
Maybe because that also meant that I was hers?
That wasn’t a problem. I didn’t want to be with anybody else. But could I saddle her with the mess that was my life?
Not yet.
I watched her slow inhalations, the slow rise and fall of her beautiful chest. She was my everything—everything I had ever wanted and the only thing I’d ever wanted.
And—as unreal as it seemed—she actually wanted me.
She wanted to make the relationship public. Wanted the world to know about us.
I hardened like a rock. I wanted her again.
I nudged her. “Come here, baby. Sit on my face and suck my cock.”
She smiled, moving slowly to do as I bid. When she sat that sweet, succulent pussy down on my face, I almost exploded right then and there. She was so beautiful, so red and swollen, so juicy and tangy. I lapped her up like a cat lapping milk. So wonderful. She undulated her hips, smearing her pussy all over my face. God, it was hot. Then she leaned forward, taking my cock into her moist, warm mouth.
The more she sucked my cock, the more I wanted her pussy. I licked, her taste only getting better as she sucked my cock deeper into her throat.
She groaned against my cock, sexy little vibrations that drove me insane. All the while, I sucked at her, ate at her, shoved my tongue far into her. Then I moved to her asshole, flicked my tongue in and out of the hot little rosette.
I lifted her off me to inhale. “That’s it, baby. Ride my face. Suck my hard cock.” And then I shoved my tongue into her once more.
I reached forward and grabbed a handful of her sweet tits. I found her nipple and pinched hard.
“Ah,” she groaned against my cock, her pussy exploding around my face.
I was drowning in her juices, and oh, sweet Jesus, what a way to go. I couldn’t get enough of her. I sucked and I sucked and I sucked, aching to infuse my total body with her essence.
I pinched her nipple once again, and she climaxed around me again. God, how I loved it. I sucked at her clit, tongued her wet cunt, licked her little asshole. She squirmed over me, drenching me in her sweetness.
I wanted to make her come again, bathe in her succulence one more time, but I couldn’t hold off much longer. I had to have her, and I wanted to come inside her again.
I lifted her hips from my face. “Baby, turn around and sit on my cock. I want you to ride me.”
She complied. She always did. In the bedroom at least. She turned around, and oh, how beautiful she was as she sank onto my cock. She covered me so completely, gloved me so grandly.
“Ride me, baby. Ride me and touch yourself so you come again.”
I reached forward and grabbed both of her nipples, pinching, while she trailed her hand down to her vulva and started rubbing her clit.
She rode me slowly, so fucking slowly that I thought I was going to go insane, but I couldn’t make her stop because it was so crazy good. Excruciatingly good.
“Talon, feels so good, baby.”
“Yes,” I groaned. “Ride me faster, baby. Faster.”
She obeyed me, as she always did. Her pussy sank down on me and then up, down, up down, up, down in a whirlwind, so fast, so hard that I exploded, my whole body convulsing.
I closed my eyes, pinching both of her nipples. Words escaped my mouth, but I didn’t know what they were.
All I saw was rapture, nirvana, Jade and me circling a kaleidoscope and spiral of wantonness and pleasure.
The climax went on and on, and as she kept rubbing her clit, she joined me in the rapture, coming again.
She kept pistoning, up down, up down, driving me insane. When she finally slowed down, we were both panting, sweat covering our bodies, our hairlines damp with perspiration.
She clambered off me and lay down next to me on her back. “My God, Talon. That was incredible.”
“Yeah, sure was, baby.”
“You make me feel so amazing,” she said. “I do so love you.”
I propped up on my arms and looked over at her. “I love you too. Now, tell me you’re not going out with Steve Dugan or anyone else.”
She shot up. “Are we really back to that again?”
“Why not? That’s what started this.”
She shook her head. “Talon, you will never learn, will you?”
“Learn what?”
“That you don’t own me. I don’t want to go out with anyone else. But if you’re not willing to make a commitment to me, why shouldn’t I? You’re going crazy about this. Just like you did about that damned tattoo.”
“Which you will not be getting,” I said.
She shook her head again. “Do you hear yourself? You don’t control me.”
“Seems like I control you just fine in here.”
“This is the bedroom, Talon. And I like submitting to you in the bedroom. It’s a turn-on for both of us. But I will not be a submissive in any other facet of our lives. I’m my own person.”
“What if that’s the kind of relationship I want? A submissive not just in the bedroom but in every facet of our lives?”
She regarded me, her steely blue eyes both angry and sad. They misted over, glazing with tears. “If that’s truly what you want, I’m afraid I’m not the woman for you.”
She gathered her clothes, quickly dressed, and walked away.
Don’t let her go, Talon. Don’t let her go.
She was everything I wanted. The only thing I had ever wanted.
Was I ready? Was I ready to truly make her mine?
Chapter Eleven
Jade
This wasn’t ending. I knew that. At least, I didn’t think it was. But Talon had to understand that he didn’t own me, that I had a right to my own life. If I wanted ink on my body, I would have it. And if he couldn’t commit to me, I had every right to—
Oh, hell. Who was I kidding? I didn’t want to date Steve Dugan or anyone else. I only wanted Talon. Feared I’d want no one but Talon for the rest of my life.
As I neared the kitchen, warm hands caressed my shoulders. Hot breath whispered into my ear.
“Don’t go.”
I turned into Talon’s warm embrace. I didn’t say anything at first, just let him hold me. He clung to me as if he were afraid I would disappear.
“Please don’t go,” he said again.
I pulled back from him a bit. “I don’t want to go, Talon.”
“Then don’t.”
“But you’re asking me to be someone I’m not.” I turned him around, and slowly we walked back to his bedroom, into the sitting area. I sat down on his couch and motioned for him to sit next to me.
“I love making love with you, Talon. I like submitting to your desires. It’s what I want to do in the bedroom. I want you to take what you need from me. That’s how I show you my love, how I show you my trust. But I also show you my love in other ways. I’m not asking you to be something you’re not. Yes, I’d like to go public with our relationship, but if you’re not ready, we won’t.”
“That’s not exactly how you put it, Jade. You said if we don’t go public, you’ll just go out with whoever asks you.”
I giggled. I couldn’t fault him for that one. “Talon, I’m not going out with anybody else. I don’t want to.”
“Then why did you say that?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I guess because I get tired of you forbidding me to do things. I’ll be your submissive in the bedroom, but I won’t be your slave.”
“I never asked you to be my slave.”
“Not in so many words, but when you forbade me to get a tattoo—”
He stood, pacing, clearly
nervous. “That tattoo…”
“What about the damned tattoo, Talon? Why did you react so violently about it? So violently that you went down to the tattoo shop and paid them off not to tattoo me?”
“You don’t know that.”
“Oh, come on, give me a little bit of credit. Why else would they turn away good business?”
He sighed and sat back down. “Okay. You’re right. I made sure they wouldn’t tattoo you.”
“You realize you can’t pay off every tattoo shop in Colorado, don’t you?”
“Jade”—he took my hand—“I’m asking you. Please, if you love me, don’t get that tattoo.”
His eyes showed his seriousness. I saw a sadness, a determination, a hardness.
“If it means so much to you, I won’t get that particular tattoo. Maybe I could find another image of a phoenix that I like.”
He squeezed my hand, hard. “Please, Jade, not a phoenix.”
I gulped. “Why? Can you tell me why?”
He shook his head.
“Talon, I know that there’s a lot bottled up inside of you, and I haven’t even begun to explore all of it. I know all of that, yet I love you. This obviously means something to you, is important to you in a way that I don’t understand. Please, if you love me, please tell me why you don’t want me to get a phoenix tattoo.”
“I can’t.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. Your horse is named Phoenix, for God’s sake.”
“There are things. Things I just can’t explain to you now.”
“Will you be able to explain them to me at some point?”
He turned to me, took both my hands in his, his eyes serious. “I hope so, blue eyes. I sincerely hope so.”
* * *
Back to work the next day, and still Larry didn’t show. I ended up in court again on a domestic violence case that I had no clue about. I felt bad that I had been short with Michelle again. It wasn’t her fault he hadn’t shown up.
Once I got back, I was able to call my dad and check in on Brooke. She’d had a few other bouts of regaining consciousness, but they hadn’t lasted long. The way work was going, with Larry nowhere to be found, I wouldn’t have time to go visit Brooke until the weekend.
Near the end of the day, Michelle came to my door and told me the mayor was here to see me.
“Sure, send him in.” I had no idea what was going on, but the assistant city attorney certainly didn’t turn down the mayor.
A tall man with silvery hair and blue eyes entered, dressed casually in jeans and a polo shirt. Even Larry hadn’t dressed that casually, except on Fridays, when he came in wearing shorts and flip-flops sometimes.
“Jade”—he held out his hand—“I’m Tom Simpson.”
I remembered his name from the article I had read about Talon’s homecoming and heroism. I stood and shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. What can I do for you?”
He gestured to my chair. “Please, have a seat.” He took a seat opposite my desk. “Have you heard from Larry Wade at all?”
I shook my head. “Last time I saw him was Friday when he left the office.” I chose not to tell him that I thought I might’ve seen him at the hospital in Grand Junction later that night. I couldn’t be sure it was him, so why rock the boat?
“We’ve all been trying to get hold of him,” Simpson said. “But since no one seems to know where he’s gone—not his ex-wife, not his kids, not anyone—I need to make some changes in this office.”
Shit, was I about to be fired? Not that I relished this job too much, working for such an unethical bastard, but it was putting money in my pocket for the time being. “Understood. What needs to be done?”
He smiled. “As of tomorrow morning at eight a.m., you are the acting city attorney, Ms. Roberts.”
I widened my eyes. “I am?”
“I’ve talked to Judge Gonzalez over at the courthouse. She’s informed me how well you’ve taken care of Larry’s cases, having been thrown into them with virtually no preparation.”
Really? After the dressing down she’d given me? “Thank you. I’ve already made arrangements to keep apprised of everything on the city’s docket, just in case something like this happens again.”
“I’m glad you’ve done that. It’ll make your transition a little easier.”
“I appreciate your confidence in me, Mayor Simpson.”
He smiled. “Please, call me Tom. We don’t stand on ceremony around a small town like Snow Creek.” He stood. “Oh, and by the way, there’s a $10,000 pay raise in it for you.”
“Wow. Thank you. I do appreciate that, though it’s not necessary.”
“Well, we certainly wish it could be more, Jade, but as you know we’re a small town. The city attorney is normally an elected position, although I appointed Larry when the previous city attorney retired in the middle of his term. If you choose to run when the current term is up, you may certainly do so. If you’re elected by the people, you will get substantially more.”
I did some rapid calculations in my head. That new car was coming closer and closer. I secretly hoped Larry would stay away for a long time.
“When is the term up?”
“Next year.”
“Well, I’m sure he will be back soon.”
“That won’t affect your position, Jade. Unless he has a damned good reason for taking off, I intend to see his resignation when he returns.”
“You do know, Mayor…er…Tom, that I’m a brand-new attorney.”
“Yes, I’m aware of your credentials. But as I said, Judge Gonzalez has been highly complementary of your performance the last couple days. And we are a small town. It won’t take you long to get up to speed on everything.” He smiled and stood. “I’ll let you get back to your work.” He turned and left my office.
I leaned back in my chair. Was this a good thing or bad thing?
Common sense told me it was a good thing. I could take over as city attorney. I could whip this office into shape. There would be no more ethics-bending with me in charge. Plus, it was a pay raise, and I could certainly use the money. The sooner I got together a down payment for a new car, the sooner I could move into a better place. Plus my student loans were coming due anytime now. Yes, all in all, this was a good thing.
So why were the hairs on the back of my neck standing up?
Chapter Twelve
Talon
I was going to have to give poor Axel a raise. He was a great foreman at the orchard, and I had not been pulling my weight lately, always driving into Grand Junction for therapy. Today was no different, although I had gone in early to meet with Robert Prendergast, also known as Biker Bob, who was the designer of the infamous phoenix tattoo that Jade wanted to have inked on her body for all time. Despite my throwing a few more Benjis his way, he hadn’t been able to find the records of who he had done the tattoo on twenty-five or so years ago.
Now, here I sat in the dreaded hunter-green recliner, gripping its arms as usual. “It’s strange,” I said to Dr. Carmichael. “I’ve been coming here now for what…several weeks? I’ve had countless sessions. And still, I dread this each time.” I looked up at her. “No offense.”
She chuckled. “No offense taken. Therapy isn’t easy, Talon. I’m sure you know by now it’s no walk in the park. It’s normal to dread your sessions. But tell me, how do you feel after you’ve had a good session?”
“I feel…” How did I feel? I had never really stopped to think about it. I’d been living in a haze for so long. My times with Jade were the only times I was even close to at peace. But when I considered it, thought about how I felt, especially after that session where I finally admitted that I had been raped, a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. “Honestly, I can’t say I feel good exactly, but I feel that I’m carrying less of a burden. Does that make sense?”
She smiled. “It makes perfect sense. And as we move forward, you will feel good eventually when you leave here. I promise.”
I hoped she was rig
ht. I could really go for feeling good. The only times I felt good were with Jade, and she wouldn’t be around forever.
Or would she?
“Doc?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think I’m capable of having a real relationship?”
“You mean with Jade?”
I nodded. “It’s what I want more than anything. She’s the only thing I ever wanted. And she wants to make our relationship public.”
“And you don’t want to?”
I twisted my lips. “It’s not that I don’t want to. Sometimes I want to scream from the top of my roof that she’s mine, all mine. But then I think about how unfair that would be to her. What do I have to offer her?”
“You have yourself. I have a feeling that’s really all she wants.”
“But you know what I’ve been through. I’m broken. I’m not sure I’ll ever be whole.”
“Are any of us ever whole?” the doctor said. “Everyone has his own burdens to bear, Talon. Granted, most people don’t have the kind that you have. But there’s an old saying that if everyone threw their problems in a pile, and you saw what they all were, you’d go racing back to take your own.”
I couldn’t help a small chuckle. “Seems unlikely that I would take my own problems back.”
“Maybe,” she said, “but remember, everything you’ve been through in your life has made you who you are today. And who you are today is the person that Jade fell in love with.”
I sat for a moment, letting that sink in. I’d never looked at it that way before. “I always thought that if she knew who I truly was, her feelings for me would be different.”
“Just because you haven’t told her everything that happened to you doesn’t mean she doesn’t see you for who you really are. She knows there’s something inside you, something you need to work through. That part is obvious to anyone close to you. And she hasn’t run away from it, has she?”
I shook my head. “No, she hasn’t. Even when I begged her to.”
“It’s never possible to know every single thing about the person you fall in love with. Everyone has a few things he keeps to himself. That’s normal.”
Possession: Steel Brothers Saga: Book Three Page 8
