by A. D. Roland
Once they were in the bedroom, he smacked her ass, hard enough to elicit a yelp from her. “Bend over the edge of the bed.”
She complied, looking up at him over her shoulder.
“Do you know how amazing you look, standing like that?” West began to stroke himself slowly, as he followed the line of her legs, the dip and curve of her ass and back, the way her eyes glittered in the blue moonlight coming in through the window. He could smell her, vanilla and sex, sweet as sugar.
The way she was looking at him was just plain wrong. Dirty. Wicked. And making him harder than he’d ever been before.
West ran his fingers down her spine, pushing her lower back down and urging her ass higher. Being so close to her, feeling the heat radiating from her body, smelling that heady scent, was driving him mad, and all he could think about was taking her, making her his.
Even if it was just for the dark hours. In the light of day, things were different between them. It was all just business.
“West?” Her voice broke through his thoughts. He squeezed her hips. “You’re beautiful like this, but I need to feel you under me.” She nodded and crawled on to the bed, stretching out on her back. West followed her, kneeling between her legs, hands on her thighs. She was solid beneath him, real, ready, and waiting. “Matilyn West,” he said, sliding his hands up her body, stopping to cup and fondle her breasts. He tasted one nipple, then the other, laving it until she arched her chest into his face. His fingers slid through the wiry curls of her pubic hair and dipped into her hot, wet folds.
“West. West.” Her fingernails dug into his biceps. He couldn’t take much more.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
“If you stop, I’ll hurt you. Really bad.” She moved against his fingers, encouraging his fingers to move faster, harder.
“As if. This will change things, you know.”
“Wait, condom!”
“Shit. Shit. I don’t know if I have any—” He leaned over the edge of the bed and plundered through the nightstand. He came up with a box of prophylactics, but when he shook it, it was empty.
“Ah, damn it.” Mattie sighed and propped herself up on her elbows. “All the wild sex you and Em had, and you don’t have any?”
“Mattie, we didn’t—I mean, we—” Dang it, this was embarrassing. Most women would be relieved to hear that he hadn’t touched anyone sexually in over a year, but knowing Mattie, she’d make fun of him.
Wait! Who’s the man here? West mentally rolled his eyes at himself. What’d that matter? It was still fricking shameful to be dating a woman for three years and only tapped it a couple of times. Even when she’d been so drunk she would have humped a fire hydrant.
She grinned and turned on her side, holding herself up on one elbow. Her other hand rested on her lovely hip. “Don’t tell me you didn’t ever have sex with her.”
“Well, yeah, we did, but I was always busy, and she was always busy, and it only happened a couple times.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes at him. “West, you are a great guy, you know that?”
“Are you being sarcastic?” He sat up and crossed his arms over his chest. He was getting a little irritated with her twinkly, dancing eyes and the way she was fighting a smile.
“No.” He flicked on the lamp next to the bed. Her eyes had those little wrinkles around them that meant she was smiling inside, even if her mouth wasn’t. It amazed him, once again, how well he was able to read her.
She scooted closer, sliding off the bed and kneeling between his knees. She took wicked liberties with his body, licking his nipples, biting them, kissing a straight line down his torso until she got to his dick.
“I meant,” she said, bypassing little West and going straight for the balls. When she was done doing terrible things to him, she said, “You’ve held on to that horrible chick for years. Even though she’s not even putting out and she’s getting it from everybody but you. You’ve stuck by her. It’s...I just hope that one day, somebody wants me to be his that badly.”
She went down on him, taking him deep into her throat, pulling back, doing those little tongue-flicks that drove him wild. Even though his brain was hollering, You’re mine! he couldn’t voice the words. He laced his fingers through her hair, and he had to breathe through gritted teeth from the things she was doing to him. He tightened his fingers into fists, knowing he was pulling hard, and that she was loving it. The more it hurt, the better the head got.
He was so close... No, he wanted to be inside her when he came. He hauled her up and pushed her down on the bed, gouging her arms accidentally with his fingernails. “What about protection?”
“Unless you’re insisting on it, I don’t give a fuck. We’re married. We can deal with the consequences later.”
Nodding, desperate, she reached out for him. West sank into her outstretched arms. Her hand reached between them, guided him into her tight, hot entrance. Never had a woman felt this good, been this hot, been this tight around him. “Oh, shit, Mattie.”
He wasn’t going to last long. Mattie scraped her fingers up his back, digging in deep. The pain lit him up, sparked something inside him. He withdrew from her and urged her on to her belly.
Her body conformed to his, her hips rising off the mattress a little higher with each thrust. The soft cries did as much to him as her body was doing, and he didn’t think he could stop pounding into her if he wanted to. She met him stroke for stroke, taking him higher and higher until he exploded within her.
For a long precious moment he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but hang on tight. The moment was transcendental.
When his muscles finally unclenched, he collapsed on Mattie, wrapped his arms around her. Together they moved on their sides, facing each other. It felt wrong being separated from her. She must have felt the same way, because she threw her leg over his hip and wiggled around, using her hand and her hips, until he was nudging her entrance once more.
“Can I have a turn now?” She touched his lips with hers, soft little kisses that he barely felt.
“Gimme a second. I think I got hit by a train.” Her little kisses peppered his lips, his cheeks, while her hands slid into his hair. Her hips moved slowly, just enough to cause enough heat to keep his cock interested. The angle was awkward, and he wasn’t quite long enough to stay fully inside her.
She rolled over and kissed his chest. Her lips meandered up his throat to his jaw, finally to his lips. The kiss was enough to wake him up, get him ready once more. He held her close and kissed her back until they were both breathless. He couldn’t keep his hands off her heavy breasts.
Grabbing her hips, he rolled to his back, pulling her down firmly. She gasped and he felt her muscles contract around his penis. West sucked in a breath, moved his hips in a figure-eight. This time, she gasped and ground against him.
He hadn’t been this deep inside a woman in ages. Shit, never! He imagined her bent over the edge of the bed. He pictured himself even deeper inside her, making her holler out his name.
“I want to watch you,” he said, grinning crookedly at her. She smiled back and he felt powerful. Hot blood raced through him. “You are so tight,” he whispered, bucking his hips slowly. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” She was breathy from what he was doing to her. She picked up on his rhythm and adjusted her legs so she could rise and fall with him. “Watch me do what?”
“Touch yourself. I want to see your face when you come with me inside you like this.”
Mattie laughed softly, a laugh that turned into a gasp when he gripped her hips and pulled her down hard. She yelped. “You’re huge, West! Feels like you’re poking my stomach from inside!” Still laughing, she raised herself up on her knees and braced herself with one hand on the headboard. Her hips moved in a subtle figure-eight as she rode him.
“Come on, now, hand down there,” he said.
“I’ve never really done this in front of someb
ody.”
“You do it nearly every night with that damn vibrator. Speaking of which—” He flailed for the nightstand but couldn’t quite get the drawer open.
“I’ll get it.” Mattie leaned over, never rising off of him. The angle of her body rubbed against him in ways that made his eyes roll back in his head. All too soon she was back, holding the green vibe. “I want another one. One of the little pocket-rocket kind.”
She turned it on and slipped it between their bodies, into their combined wetness. The vibration echoed through her body into his, making him clench his jaw and curl his toes. “I’ll get you one—no, I’ll get you ten—tomorrow—”
Her body clenched around him and her breathing quickened. He’d never been this ready to go twice in such a short amount of time, even back in his horny teenage days. Abruptly, West dumped her off. With her ass on his thighs, his knees under her hips, he couldn’t fight the animal in him. He plowed into her with a ferocity that made her cry out, over and over again. He was hitting it hard, and she loved it. She responded, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Keep using that damn thing,” he grunted when the sensation of the vibrator lessened.
“I think the batteries are dying,” she replied, breathless.
He had to feel her come before he did. He had to feel her body tightening around his dick like it did his hand.
The vibration stopped altogether. “Damn it, Mattie. Just make it happen, then.” He let go of her hips and pinched both of her nipples, twisting them until she cried out. When he released her, she grabbed his hands and put them right back.
“Hurt me,” she said. “I want to feel it.”
West flashed her a wicked grin. It was no-holds-barred. He knew he had to be hurting her from the force of his thrusts, but even as she cried out she was trying to get closer, trying to pull him in deeper. He ravaged her body, withdrawing from her—that made her cry out louder than it did when he bit or pinched.
Release was forgotten, even though his dick was so hard it hurt and the insistence of orgasm seemed to be right there. He ground his teeth and slowed down. He pulled out until just the tip of his cock remained inside her.
He concentrated on her breasts, on eliciting the sharp gasps of pain, or making her eyes flutter open. He could feel her finger swirling around her clit, gentle rhythmic pokes that were threatening to drive him crazy.
“West, please, I need you,” she moaned.
“All right, baby.” He plunged into her, driving deep, knowing he was only going to last a moment inside her. She worked her clit for just a second before she crested, consuming him. The force of her orgasm rocked through him. “
“Ah, Mattie, Mattie,” he grunted before he lost the ability to think coherently.
Chapter Fourteen
“We should probably talk,” West said. Mattie’s heart sank as she carried his toast to the table. His coffee was probably cold. She reached for the mug, but he caught her hand. “Sit, babe.”
She sat and waited for him to tell her the night before had been nothing. That Emeline meant more. She grew numb as she disassociated herself from what had happened. He was going to tell her that it had been a mistake. He’d been too quiet all morning. Granted he wasn’t much of a talker, but it was still unusual for him to be that quiet.
And he was late to work. Something was going on inside his head. “I don’t love you,” he said. Unsure of how to reply, Mattie just said, “I didn’t think you did.”
“I don’t want to love you.”
Ouch.
“And it’s not why you think, Mattie.”
Curious, she looked up from her hands. Their eyes met. If I was a little more naïve, I might actually believe him when he said he didn’t love me. “Huh?”
“It’s the whole leaving thing,” he said. “I don’t want to get emotionally attached because you’re going to leave, and it’s going to break my heart.”
“Oh. I understand.” Hasn’t he ever heard, ‘Better to have loved and lost than never loved at all’? “We’re still going to be friends, right?” If he said no, it would be a crushing blow.
“Yeah. Yeah.” Absurd tears filled her eyes, and she looked out the window at the sandy yard.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m not. I was just scared for a second there.” Might as well let it all out.
“Why?” He used his thumb to brush off a tear that escaped her eye. “I thought—I thought you were going to tell me last night didn’t mean anything.” West laughed and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and snuggling his head into the crook of her neck. “Good God, Mattie. Last night was...I can’t even describe it. You’re my best friend now. And I do mean mine. I’m not going to let myself fall head over heels for you, but what’s between us is pretty damn special.”
Although she was vaguely insulted by the fact that he refused to fall in love with her, what his thumb was doing to her nipple was making her forget the slight rather quickly. He knew it, too. He slid his hand under her shirt and grabbed her boob, squeezing it, kneading it.
“West, Jose is going to pop in here any second,” she murmured. “Nope. Told him I was hanging out here today after the dog thing last night.”
Her stomach dropped to her feet. “I forgot all about that.” Fear rolled in, taking over the place her sense of safety and security had just vacated. West hugged her.
“I’ve got to go bury those dogs before something gets to them,” he said. “I’ll come back in, and we’ll take a shower and figure everything out.” Feeling empty and uneasy, Mattie nodded, watching him from the porch as he went to the shed near the trailer and got a shovel. He headed for the orange grove.
The orange grove! Elaine!
Mattie shoved her feet into a pair of his ratty old flip-flops and raced after him. He looked surprised when she popped up beside him. “I don’t want to be by myself,” she said.
The grove was a gray desolate place compared to the rest of his beautiful green land. While he dug the hole just beyond the grove, near the woods, she wandered through the rows of trees.
As she neared the center of the grove, she froze.
There it was. The huge old oak tree she’d seen in her dreams. The one little West and little Elaine danced around. Big thick branches reached out toward the ground, some longer than the tree was tall. The drooping middle of one of the branches touched the ground and formed a natural seat, big enough for three or four adults to sit on.
As she got up to it, she saw it had been propped up by two-by-fours. The planks were weathered and split with age. Trailing her fingers over the rough bark, she ducked under the bough and stepped into the cool shadows behind the tree. Instinct pulled her toward the main bole of the tree.
Her breath felt clogged in her chest. Tunnel-vision clouded out everything except for the dark gray bark of the tree ahead of her. Placing both palms on the trunk, she edged her way around until her right hand found the deep grooves in the wood.
A heart. Initials carved in the wood. The bark had grown up around the old cuts, so they were barely legible.
B.W. + E.M.
“I carved that about a year after Elaine disappeared.”
Mattie jumped about a mile into the air. “Crap, West. You scared me.”
“Sorry. Anyway. I got really depressed. Me and Elaine played out here. It was our favorite place. When I was out here, I felt so close to Elaine.” With a sad smile on his face, he touched the heart, traced the outline. “I felt like I was forgetting her.”
He turned around and gazed at Mattie, pensive. “You look...you look like you could be her, Mattie. You really do. There’s just something about you that’s not her.”
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just who I am.”
“No. Don’t be. I’m not sure who she would be today. I’m afraid she would be like Emeline. Too proud to mingle with the commoners.”
Mattie snorted with laughter. “Oh my gosh, West, did you just say something negative about Emeline?”
“Shut up,” he joked, punching her shoulder lightly, playfully. “She hates my band anyway.”
“Your music is amazing. I can’t wait to hear your entire band. What’s the name of it, anyway? We’ve been so insane the last few weeks, I’ve never even asked.”
“Whispers Kill. I got a show next Friday night in Flagler.”
“Awesome. I’m invited, right?”
“Yeah. But only if I can introduce you as my groupie.”
Mattie rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm. She sobered up after a moment. “Did you get the dogs all taken care of?”
“Yeah. Ended up loading them into the back of my truck and driving them out here.”
“I’m sorry about them, West.”
“I’d rather it be them than you. And Scruffy looks like he’s doing okay. He was the only one I was really worried about. Anyway. You ready to go inside?”
“Yeah.”
Mattie cast one last look at the tree and followed West toward the trailer. That tree...there was something about it. Even the leaves seemed to beckon her back.
***
“Ruth Ellen, did Mr. McKendrick love Elaine?”
Ruth Ellen licked her dry lips. “I’m not sure, Evelyn. Until Emeline was born, I believed he did. Justine took to Emeline instantly. She wouldn’t even hold Elaine when she was an infant.”
“That woman’s not right,” Mattie said.
“Brant told me about the incident the other evening.” Mattie flushed, then realized Ruth Ellen was talking about the assault, not the one thing on her mind--West in bed. “It wasn’t a big deal,” Mattie said.
“Evelyn Claire, you were attacked in your own home.”
“I know. I was there.”
“Do you know who did it?”
“Yes.” The room was silent for a long moment. “There’s nothing I can do,” she continued. “In November I’ll get K his money, and he’ll leave me alone.”
