by Sable Hunter
Glory felt something give in her chest. A release. Doubts burned away and hope rose from the ashes. “I told you that you were a protector.” She couldn’t stay still one more second. Opening her arms, she ran to him and launched herself, never doubting for one moment that he would catch her. “Yes, yes, yes, please. There’s nothing I want more than to be with you.”
As she peppered kisses across his face, T grasped her to him. His chest ached with emotions. Absolute elation battled with fear and guilt. What if he hurt her? What if she did something to make him mad and he lashed out? His mother’s words were like a specter in his memory, they haunted him like the poor ghost who walked the halls of Wildwood. You have your daddy’s blood flowing through your veins. Be careful, you’ll hurt the ones you love just like he did.
“Glory,” he began, not sure how to put it into words, “Glory, listen to me.” T stood her up, still holding her by the shoulders, not pushing her away but making sure she was listening.
Looking up at him, this big man who made the sun rise in her sky, she could see that despite his admission, he still had reservations. “It’s okay, T-Rex. I’m not looking for forever. Why don’t we just live for the moment? Let’s take care of one another today, and let tomorrow work itself out.”
What more could he say? She’d said it all. “Yes. I can’t make any promises. And if I ever do anything that you don’t understand, something that scares you, just get out of my way, Glory. Give me a minute and everything will be okay.” He hoped. He prayed. “Do you understand?”
The troubled look on his face, the tightened, almost painful grip on her shoulders, both told Glory how important this little speech was to him. “No, I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
T ran his hand through his hair impatiently. What could he say? The truth, or as much of it as it was willing to admit, would be the best. “I’ve got a temper. Sometimes it gets the best of me. And since I’m big, I’m always afraid I’ll fool around and hurt somebody.” There – that was all he could say without shaming himself. For some goddamn reason, Glory thought he hung the moon. Seeing the light in her eyes when she looked at him gave T a high he wanted to ride forever.
Glory stared at him, her eyes intent on his, as if she was trying to understand what he was saying. T was surprised when she broke out into a grin and playfully tickled him in the belly. “You afraid you’ll get mad at me, Hulk?”
T hung his head. “Yea, I am.”
She laughed out loud. “I’m sure you will.” Nestling close to him, she stood on tiptoes to give him a kiss. “My mama always said I could worry the horns off a billy goat. But you know what?”
“What?”
“I trust you more than I trust every other living person in this world put together. You’d never hurt me physically; you might crush my heart in these big ole hands.” She cradled his hands in hers. “But it won’t be because you want to hurt me, it will just be because the time has come for us to say goodbye.”
T-Rex bent his forehead to hers. He let out a long, cleansing breath. The weight of the world that usually made itself at home on his shoulders seemed to lift. “Buford is probably hungry and wondering where I am. Let’s go home, Glory Bee.”
*
To say Glory was happy, was like saying the sun puts out a little light.
Glory was ecstatic.
She took to living with T like a duck to water. Taking care of him, anticipating his every need became her joy, even doing her best to keep his stuff the way he liked it – all neat and everything in its place. Glory did notice that when she didn’t, T came behind her and made sure it was arranged just so. Oh, well, it was his place. They went to work every day, he dropped her off and picked her up, and the nights…
My God, the nights were out of this world.
“What do you want for supper?” Glory asked as she climbed into T’s truck, making sure she wiped her feet and didn’t put any fingerprints on the window. He was as persnickety about his beloved truck as he was his personal possessions.
“You.” He took the time to claim a kiss, sealed with a teasing nip to her plump lower lip, before shutting her in and going around to his own side.
His answer pleased Glory no end. “Well, that’s sort of a given.” She couldn’t help but smile. “I’m enjoying you, T-Rex. This is the best time I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Me too.” He admitted with a smile. “So, I think we ought to have as much sex as possible.” Knowing nothing could come of this in the long run, T had set out to work Glory out of his system. Being with her was like a drug. Since she’d moved in with him a few days before, he hadn’t held back, taking her anytime of the night or day that he could. And what amazed him was that she never turned him down, not once. The woman seemed as anxious and hungry to be with him as he was with her – and this drove T fuckin’ crazy. He’d give his right arm to keep her with him. If only he could trust himself not to hurt her.
If only…
When he started to think of forever, T-Rex would punish himself with reminders that forever could never be. This was today. This was temporary.
“How about some chicken fried pork chops? Or hamburger steaks and gravy? Neither takes very long and I put both out to thaw the other day so we’d have a choice.”
T’s stomach growled. “The pork chops.”
“Done. I’ll cook as soon as we get home, then we can play the rest of the night if you want to.”
“Yea, I want to play with you.” T felt his cock fill to bursting. “You drive me crazy, did you know that?”
She gave him a saucy wink. “Any man who believes in werewolves doesn’t have far to go to the looney bin, bud.”
“Hmmm, just wait and see. Tonight, instead of making you scream in bed, I just might take you out on the porch and tell you some tales that will curl your hair.”
“Can’t we do both?” she asked him with a hopeful expression.
T-Rex laughed. “All right, greedy.” He didn’t mind, he was greedy too.
“Harper called me today. She asked me what kind of costume we were wearing to the festival in Houma this weekend. You didn’t tell me I needed a costume.”
“Oh, it’s not necessary.”
Glory frowned. “But, I want to. Harper and Revel are going as Bonnie and Clyde. Couldn’t you stop in town on your way back from work and get us something. Nothing fancy.”
T stiffened. “I don’t want to be the Hulk or Shrek. Those have been suggested to me before.”
Glory sensed he was sensitive, although she didn’t really understand why. “You are the best looking, sexiest man in the world. And I know who you could be and you wouldn’t even have to buy a costume.”
“What?” He looked at her with a slight bit of suspicion in his gaze.
“With those flannel shirts you love to wear, all you’d need is an axe and you could be Paul Bunyan.” Her eyes brightened. “And I’ll just cut a pair of my shorts a bit shorter and go as Daisy Duke!”
T had to chuckle a bit. “All right, I’ll be Paul Bunyan, but I’m not sure I want you going as Daisy Duke.”
“Why? I don’t have anything else to use as a costume, that I can think of.”
“I don’t really like the idea of all the men looking at your pretty legs.”
“Are you jealous?” A look of sheer delight came over her face.
“Maybe,” T grumbled.
Glory felt warm inside. “You don’t have anything to be jealous about.” She inched her hand over and took his. “I only like you.”
A sinking sick feeling hit T. He was fast getting in over his head. One, if not both, of them was going to be hurt. But, Lord help him, he was weak. Still, a gentle reminder of the lay of the land might help. “Don’t like me too much, Glory Bee. I’m not a keeper.”
“I think you are,” Glory assured him. She thought he was a catch any woman would want. When he’d told her the other day that he couldn’t father children, he’d set off a chain of worry in Glory. She want
ed to ask him about it, but she hadn’t found the courage or the right words to do so yet – but she would – eventually.
T-Rex was just about to remind her their situation was only temporary when she said something odd.
“I, on the other hand, am a short-timer. So, don’t you get hooked on me, Mr. Beaumont. I’ll break your heart.”
His mouth opened in surprise and he almost told her she’d stolen his line, but he didn’t get a chance. Glory hopped onto another subject, like that one was settled.
When they arrived at T’s house, Glory jumped from the truck and ran to meet Buford. The two had bonded completely. The dog bounded about as much as Glory did. Happy barks and happy laughter rang out in the evening air. “Hey, dog. What am I, chopped liver?” Watching the two of them have a good time, T felt sad, like he was watching a memory instead of something that was happening right in front of him. When their season together was over, he would miss her so much. She didn’t have a clue as to what she did to him.
As she cooked, he did some chores around the place, only coming in when she stood at the door and called his name. His whole name. “Rex Allen! Supper!”
A wave of longing hit him so hard it almost knocked him to his knees. How he wished he could wear that name with pride. How he wished his father had been a different sort of man. And how much he wished he was different too.
When he came into the house, it was to find a table set with the chicken fried pork chops just as she’d promised. There was also the Louisiana staple, rice and gravy, plus collard greens with bacon, and a chocolate pie for dessert. He looked at the food with admiration. “You are spoiling me, Glory.”
“Good, I’m trying.” As he sat down, she poured their sweet tea, taking her place across from him. “So, T-Rex, what kind of things could I do that would make you angry?” she asked casually. “Just so I can avoid them.”
T chewed his food thoughtfully, thinking what Glory might do to send him over the edge. He tried to imagine…something…anything. Oh, well, it was possible, better be safe than sorry. “Messing with my stuff, getting things out of order. I’m a bit OCD,” he admitted. He did like order, but he liked her better. “Wrecking my truck. Lying to me.”
Oops. Glory kept her expression unreadable.
“So, watch those whoppers,” he cautioned her, waving his fork.
Glory stirred her gravy into the rice. “So, if I did make you mad. What would you do? Hit me?”
The thought of taking his fist to her small face and frame made T physically ill. He felt his stomach turn over. Lying down his knife and fork, he stared into the amber depths of his tea. Hit her? God, no. He would rather die than hurt Glory. The moment he admitted that to himself, he felt his chest tighten. What did this mean? He knew how he felt, but he also knew what he was capable of doing. “I hope not, Glory. I would rather die than hurt you, but sometimes when I lose my temper, I do things before I think.”
Glory felt her heart go out to him. No matter what he said. No matter how much he doubted himself, she did not doubt him one bit. “All right, I’ll just make sure to behave myself so you won’t have cause to spank me.” When he jerked his head up, she grinned at him. “Ah, that got your attention, didn’t it?”
“Eat.” He pointed at her food. “The dinner table is no place for that kind of talk.”
Glory pressed her lips together to hide her smile. His obvious attempt to change the subject – for reasons other than propriety – struck her as funny. “Yes, sir. I’ll be good.”
Her ‘good girl’ act turned him on almost as much as the idea of giving her a spanking. Damn, he needed to cool off. “As soon as we finish the pie, why don’t we sit out on the porch? The wild geese are flying in. I think you’ll love to listen at them calling to one another.”
“Okay.” The idea of sitting on the deck with him appealed to her. She’d never forget her first sight of him during the storm. He’d seemed like a refuge to her, a sanctuary, a place of safety that if she could just reach, she’d be okay. “Can we hold hands?”
Her innocent request tugged at his heart strings. “Yea, sure. We can hold hands.”
At the tempting prospect, Glory enjoyed the meal, not wanting him to hurry but anxious to get on with their evening. If she had her way – there’d be more going on than bird watching.
But as their meal progressed, their earlier comments planted a seed in her mind that she couldn’t let go. Once they were finished, she rose to put her plan into motion. “T, before we go outside, would you help me with the dishes?”
Her request was unusual, but he had no qualms about lending a hand. “Sure, do you want me to load the dishwasher?”
“Yea, please.” For a little while, things went on normally. She cleared the table, ran some water in the sink and added dishwashing liquid. “We’ll rinse these off quickly, then see what else we can get into.”
“Okay.” T went along with her plan. There was something comforting about a woman in his kitchen, and he couldn’t deny he loved to watch her move. She was a sexy little thing. But when he turned his back to her…he nearly jumped out of his skin when she popped him on the butt with a spatula.
“Hey!” Whirling around, he was surprised to see her grinning at him, armed with a plastic egg turner. “What did you do that for?”
“I think you need to loosen up a little.” She danced around, reached behind him and popped him on the butt again.
“Oh, you want to play?” He grabbed a dishcloth and wound it up, letting it go, and grinning when she yelped as the end of it whipped against her breast. “Paybacks aren’t so fun, are they?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “They can be.” She took her spatula and ran the end of it up his fly, skating over the full length of his cock, then pulled it back and slapped playfully at his crotch.
“Oh, you want to play rough?” He wound up his dishcloth and popped her again, this time right over her mound.
“Yea, I want to play rough.” She sidled up to him and gave his cock a little squeeze. “If you think you can handle it.”
This side of Glory was such a surprise. He’d known she was playful, but this was as erotic as hell. “Oh, I can handle you, no doubt about it.”
“I’m not sure you can.” She threw her spatula in the sink. “I’m a bad girl. I need a spanking.” Ever since they’d teased about a spanking the other day, it was all she could think about. “And you know what?”
Her chest was heaving with excitement and T watched her, completely mesmerized. “Go on.”
She ran her hands beneath her hair, raising it off her neck. The movement pushed her breasts out toward him, the cleavage he could see through the undone top buttons of her blouse teased his eyes. “More than a spanking I need a good fucking. Can you give me what I need? Can you deliver, T?”
She might as well have been a female bullfighter waving a red flag in his face, because all he wanted to do was charge. “Come here.” He reached out and yanked her forward, all pretense of gentleness was gone. Grasping her hair, he twisted the length around his fist and held her still while he crashed his mouth to hers, kissing her deeply – eating at her mouth, pillaging its softness with his tongue. She writhed against him, trying to get closer, her hands on his cock, tracing its growing length beneath the confining material.
“Uh-uh,” he stepped back. “Not yet. You’ve been a bad girl. No cock for you.”
“Oh,” she whimpered. “I’ll be good.”
“Yea, I’m sure you will be. Very good.” He spun her around in his arms, wrapping her up tight in his embrace as he sucked at the soft skin on her neck. She wasn’t still, she wasn’t compliant, Glory ground back into his manhood, making him growl and flex his hips, dry humping her ass. “You like this, don’t you?”
“I do,” she freely admitted. “I want it all, anything you can give me. Please, T.”
A wildness washed over T. He pulled her along as he sat down in the dining room chair, bringing her acr
oss his lap, expecting her to protest. She did give a few wiggles, but she didn’t try to get down, she pushed her hips up, presenting her ass to him, seeming to beg for his touch. He drew back his arm, his palm ready. This was the first time he’d lifted his hand to a woman – and this one was begging for it. She wanted him.
Knowing he didn’t intend to hurt her, only wanting to give her pleasure. T let his hand land. Pop! Even through the cotton of her skirt, he could feel the smooth, firm flesh of her bottom.
“Ow!” she yelped, but instead of trying to wiggle off, she raised her bottom even higher.
Pop!
“Oh, yea, harder, T,” Glory urged him on and T complied, even lifting her skirt, and giving her a few hard splats over tempting pink lace.
“Take them off,” she whispered. “See how wet I am for you.”
Her words freed him. T jerked her panties down and off, then let himself go, planting a half dozen erotic swats on the delectable roundness of her ass, loving the sight of his handprints, and the pinkness left by the contact of his flesh with hers. But the most erotic thing of all, was her response. The sounds Glory made, the way she pushed up for more, those things were only eclipsed by what he found when he slid his hand between her legs. “My God, you’re soaked.”
“I want you,” she keened. “I want you now!”
He was past the point of arguing. Standing up, he steadied her on her feet, then pressed her up against the cabinet. With very little finesse and no hesitation, T-Rex tore at his clothes and freed his cock, guiding it between her legs as she leaned over the counter. “God, baby, you’re a little wild thing, aren’t you?”
“I’m whatever you need, T. Whenever you need it,” she breathed, her eyes closing as she accepted him into her body.
With short jabs, he began to work his way into her body. She was so tight, he had to fight for every inch. A mindless voracious hunger consumed him. He ran his hands around her body, tearing at her clothing, baring her breasts and filling his palms with the soft globes. With primal, instinctive movements, he cupped her tits and fucked her from behind, bending to bite the delicate curve of her collarbone, sating himself, feeding the appetite that had gnawed at him for years. “Mine, mine, mine,” he began to chant as he pumped his cock in and out of her body.
