by J. S. Scott
Elaina bit her lip and stared thoughtfully at her aunt.
Janie continued, "And with your birthday coming up, and the fact that I'm in full party mode, I don't know how you're going to be able to keep your age under wraps for much longer."
****
Two weeks passed as Elaina tried to come to terms with her feelings for Raul. If only she could talk to her mother one last time. She trusted Aunt Janie, but she desperately needed one last conversation with her mom.
Obviously, she wasn't going to get it.
She searched her soul, trying to understand her own self. With an inborn woman's intuition, she knew if she started something with Raul it was going to be something serious. She felt like she had control in that respect, at least for awhile. As long as he was unaware of her age, she knew he would continue to try to keep his distance. If and when she gave him the green light, she figured he'd jump on it.
Trevor called and asked her out, and she turned him down. She wasn't interested in him the same way he was interested in her, and she didn't want to give him the wrong idea. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she was trying to please Raul. No doubt he would be pleased that she stayed away from Trevor, and anyway, the last thing she was thinking about was starting something with somebody else. All she could think about was Raul Vega. She didn't need anything or anyone else clouding her confused brain anymore than it already was.
She spent her days going over job prospects in the small town. There was an opening for a teller at the bank, and she applied for it. The interview went well, and she thought she had a shot at the job. She waited to hear.
One day led into the next, and she couldn't believe how difficult it was to stay away from Raul. She thought about driving to his house more times than she could count, and the knowledge that his number was programmed in her cell phone was a temptation that was hard to ignore.
But she persevered, and in the end, managed not to call or text him at all.
****
The day of Elaina's birthday party, Raul had trouble with a mare in foal. The breech birth had been rough and ended up costing him. He had to call a veterinarian out and by that time it was too late. He lost both animals. Losing an animal in the birthing process was never easy.
He was in a savage, black mood.
It had been two weeks since he'd seen her. Two weeks in which he'd done his damndest to stay away from her. If he could just make it through until she went back to school, he could breathe easier and his damn conscience could shut the fuck up for awhile.
Every day felt like pissing nails, his guts ached for her so badly.
He arrived late to the party, after ten, and it was in full swing. He grabbed a beer from the cooler on the front porch and pushed his way into the house. Janie had pulled out all the stops for Elaina's party, and the house and yard were decorated in hundreds of lights and lanterns. The evening was frosty but mild with no wind, and guests circulated from the house, to the yard, and back again.
He popped the top and took a swig and tried to contain the ferocious heat running through his blood. Experiencing death first hand sucked, and he needed something soft and sweet to knock the dark memory from his brain and force life back into his veins. He needed her.
He'd managed to stay away from her for two aggravating weeks, and now as he searched for Elaina, he had to stop time and time again to speak to people he knew. The guest list was varied. Older married couples interspersed with middle-aged singles. Dotted around in groups were teenagers and young twenty-somethings. He imagined Janie had invited them for Elaina. He glanced around as casually as he could and tried to break free from a neighbor who had heard from the vet about the loss of his animals. Word travelled quickly. It was the last thing he wanted to talk about, and he pulled away as quickly as he could.
Still, it was forty-five minutes after he arrived before he found her. And when he did, his mood turned even more black and ugly. The fire in his gut smoldered with feral jealousy as his tortured gaze saw her and the animal inside of him tried to break free.
She was outside in the gazebo, holding a glass of champagne, surrounded by a group of young people, both men and women.
That wasn't the part that made him see red.
Trevor stood beside her with his hand playfully twirling in her hair. He wasn't touching her anywhere else, but it was enough to send rage and jealousy spinning through Raul.
He stood on the pebbled pathway, downed half his beer, and tried like shit to gain some fucking control. He wasn't going to jump. Trevor was basically a good kid and Raul absolutely couldn't go over there and kill the little prick. His feet took two steps toward the gazebo and he froze.
He was not fucking going to go over there and jump down that kid's throat. He wasn't.
He lifted the beer, drained the rest and crushed the can. His throat tightened and he waited for Elaina to see him.
When her eyes lifted and fell on him, she stilled. Completely.
He was twenty feet away but he could see the tremble in the hand that held her champagne.
It made him feel slightly better.
Her head tilted to the side, away from Trevor, and he watched as she surreptitiously lifted her hair off her neck and made it fall from the younger man's hand.
The kid let his hand drop as he turned away to laugh at something one of the other girls in the group said.
As Raul stood and watched the scene in front of him, he heard the rumble of an engine and looked across the way and saw Brian on a tractor, hauling a twenty foot trailer full of hay around to the back of the house.
One of the girls screamed, "Hayride!" and one by one the kids took off toward the trailer loaded with hay and a cooler full of drinks.
Elaina stayed still and Trevor reached down to pull on her arm. She hesitated, watching Raul.
Raul shook his head at Elaina, giving her a silent command to stay where she was.
Another girl in the group, one Raul recognized as one of the Monroe twins, began pulling on Trevor's other arm, trying to get him to move in the direction of the trailer.
Raul walked toward the gazebo and looked at Trevor and the Monroe girl. "You best get going. You're gonna miss your ride."
Trevor balked, obviously not wanting to leave without Elaina. But the little Monroe girl was persistent, and before long she won the fight and was pulling Trevor down the drive while he threw looks of longing in Elaina's direction.
The tractor rambled off and Raul wasted no time. He picked up Elaina's hand and dragged her away from the gazebo, away from the lights of the yard, and marched her twenty yards from the noise of the party. He swung her around until her back was against the implement barn, and he had her caged between his arms in the darkness of the black night.
Chapter Seven
Elaina's breathing was coming shallow and speedy. She hadn't seen Raul in two weeks, and the sudden sight of him watching her like a predator in the night had the blood pulsing through her veins in a loud, clamoring testament to the feelings she'd been trying to understand. She felt a rush to her head as within mere moments, she was propelled away from the party and held hostage by the most uncivilized man she had ever encountered.
He hung over her, his breath rattling out of his lungs, his eyes brilliant in the dark night. They stood together, breathing raggedly, eyes on each other.
He reached down, took both of her wrists in his calloused hands and pulled them over her head and pushed them up against the rough exterior of the barn.
She sucked in a breath as he leaned into her. Tendrils of fear added to the sharp, hot bite of sexual excitement that lacerated her insides. Liquid heat pooled in her panties as currents of pleasure and need coursed through her system.
"What'd I tell you?" He hissed the words at her.
Elaina stared, eyes wide, shocked into silence, unable to answer.
He pushed his torso into hers. "What'd I tell you?" he demanded as his tone became harsher.
She shook her head, unable to calm her
raging heartbeat enough to answer him.
"I told you to stay the fuck away from him. I told you not to let him touch you. I told you not to let him kiss you. Did he fuckin' kiss you again? You let him fucking touch you again?"
"N-no."
"Am I gonna have to beat the shit out o' him? Is that what it's gonna take?"
"Raul, Jesus, you're scaring me--"
"I'm scaring you? You're scaring me shitless, Elaina." The blood left his face, turning it white, as the intensity of his emotions ripped through him.
"C-calm down, nothing happened." She tried to get him to understand. "I haven't been seeing him, I promise." He held tight to her wrists so she reached out to him the only way she could. She pushed her face into his neck and tried to soothe, "Shh."
He dropped his head and sucked in oxygen. He waited for the count of three seconds and then moved his lips to hers.
He kissed her softly, taking light sips from her trembling lips.
"You don't know that boy, baby. He's got a reputation with women." He spoke between kisses, his lips lifting from hers and then going back for more. "He wants to fuck you. You know that? That's all he wants." His words were basic. Primal.
She trembled violently in his arms as his mouth moved to her ear, feeling him suck in a breath. He kept talking, his voice lowering to a ragged whisper in her ear. "He can't fuck you, Elaina."
His hands released her wrists and dropped down until his arms encircled her waist completely. He hugged her to him, running his hands up and down her back. "I get that you're too young for me. I can't have you yet." His hands clenched tight in pure possession. "But baby, you need to take care. You belong to me--"
She jerked in his arms and caught him off guard. "I don't belong to you---"
His head whipped up to glare at her face and his hand grabbed her chin and lifted it. "You're gonna fuckin' belong to me. Just as soon as you get grown, I've told you before. But you need to take care, protect what's mine, or all bets are off and I'll move in now. Your choice. I'll give you time and space but you gotta promise. Nobody fucks you. Now. Promise now."
"I don't understand what you're asking for, Raul. You're asking me for a commitment? Without us being together?" Confusion creased her forehead into lines. "You what? You want me to go about the business of my life, but promise my virginity to you?"
Raul felt the sucker punch to his stomach.
"You still a virgin, baby?" God, he wanted it to be true.
Elaina closed her eyes and let out a whoosh of breath. She hadn't meant to say that. But she figured he already guessed it anyway. Shit, she was only making her situation worse. He was going to shit a brick when he found out she was lying about her age. Not exactly lying.
She did know one thing. She wasn't confused anymore. She still didn't know if she was ready for this yet, ready for someone like him. But God, she did want him. That was for sure. His intensity be damned. She'd learn how to handle it. She had to. She hadn't thought of anything or anyone but him for weeks now.
The temptation was going to eat her alive. He was so incredibly hot. He was temptation personified.
She squeezed her eyes shut tighter. She wanted someone like him to take her virginity. She wanted him to be the one.
She just needed some time. Some time that she knew she wasn't going to get. She needed to make up her mind. She needed to reconcile herself to his intensity, quick-fast. He was so intense.
He wouldn't be easy to handle.
His fingers clenched around her face and demanded an answer. "You still untouched?"
Well, now, that was a different question.
She took a deep breath and attempted to answer him. "Virgin, yes. Untouched, no."
"How touched is touched?"
She felt a flush come over her face and couldn't answer that question.
His hand jerked her chin up and his eyes seared into hers. "You still got your cherry?"
Elaina gasped and began shaking harder. Jesus Christ.
His voice dropped as he continued. "Answer me, Elaina."
"Y-yes. I mean, I think so--I guess so."
Raul learned a lot with that shaken statement. She didn't touch herself. At least not internally. And she probably still had her cherry. He was going to find out. But not tonight. He couldn't trust himself tonight. But he would know. He needed to know.
"Okay, now for my promise." His eyes glittered down into hers. "I'm waiting."
Elaina searched his eyes. Could she promise that? Did she want to? And what about him? The question came from her mouth, "What about you?"
"I'm not a virgin." His voice was deep, and for the first time that night, held a slight trace of humor.
Elaina' mouth tipped in a tiny smile. "I figured. No, I mean, I'm guessing you're telling me to have fun with my friends, grow up some, and stay a virgin for you. Do I have that right?"
"Yeah."
"What about you? Are you going to remain abstinent for me?"
"Celibate?"
"Yeah. Does it go both ways?"
Raul studied her, wanting to hold her by the hips and sink into her so badly he thought the waiting would kill him. He thought about having another woman and quickly dismissed it from his mind. He didn't want one. He wanted her. Only her.
He answered her swiftly. "Goes both ways."
Elaina was stunned at his agreement and didn't even think to question his sincerity. He was sincere. She would bet on it. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah," he bit out.
"But--"
"I'm not promising I won't jack off, baby. Just sayin' if you promise to save your cherry for me, I'll stay clean for you."
Elaina's legs felt jittery as he spelled out his intentions in basic male language.
"We in agreement?" He pushed for her answer.
"Yeah, okay. But just so we're clear. I get a job and continue with my life. I have my friends and you have your friends and we're both social, just no sex. Right?"
He misunderstood what she said. "You getting a job when you go back to San Antonio?"
"I'm not going back."
That was news to him. "What? Why?"
"That was my mother's dream for me, being a nurse. I don't want that. I'm staying here, getting a job, while I think about my life. About what I want."
Raul was shocked to feel a combination of stunned pleasure that she wasn't leaving, along with a dark, tormented knowledge that he'd have to keep fighting himself to stay away from her.
He was silent as he tried to digest her change of plans.
She went back to the subject at hand. "So, is that right? About us, I mean."
He knew she was talking about their agreement to stay celibate. "That'll be what it takes to calm me down, yeah."
"And you'll believe me?"
"I have no reason to doubt your word."
An arrow of guilt slid through her. "Okay."
"Yeah, okay?"
She tried to smile. "Okay."
She started to relax against the barn wall, but in a swift move, he swung around until his back was against the wall, his legs were spread wide, and she stood between them, her pelvis pulled into his body by a strong arm behind her back.
One hand went to her forehead and pushed a stray curl from her face. "Happy birthday, baby."
She smiled at him, trying to overcome the guilt that slid through her from her deception. "Thanks," she said, knowing she needed to tell him. It had gone too far. Now it felt like a lie. She opened her mouth to try to form the words, but he began speaking first and the sadness in his voice made her momentarily forget what she needed to tell him.
"I had a shit day. You feel good."
She relaxed her body against him, soft tendrils of arousal hitting her system. The juncture of her thighs pulsed against his blue jeans, making her panties wet and her body tremble. She tried to concentrate on his words. "What happened?"
"Lost a mare and her foal. It was a breech birth and lost them both. It sucked shit."
"
I'm sorry." She experimented by tenderly putting her hand on his cheek.
He grabbed her hand and moved it to his mouth, kissing her palm. She hung against him while he breathed in her scent and kissed her palm repeatedly.
He opened his eyes and looked deep into hers. "And then I come to find you and he's touching you." His voice hardened.
"Raul," she chided softly.
He took her hand and wrapped it around his neck and leaned his forehead against hers. He slid his mouth to her cheek and caressed her with his open lips. Dragging kisses over her face, he demanded reassurance in a steely voice. "You promised, right?"
"Yes."
He kissed her mouth softly and continued to run his lips over her face, his hands moving on her back, sliding from her waist to her hips, his fingers clenching in her butt, and then moving to retrace his actions all over again.
He moved his lips to her ear and whispered, "Someday, someday soon, I'm gonna strip you naked, lay you down on my bed, and kiss your naked body. Jesus, baby, you're perfect."
His mouth moved to hers, his hands lifted to her head and angled it slightly, and then sealed his lips over hers. He held her face, pushed his tongue between her lips and began kissing her with devastating force. His tongue swirled around hers, came out, licked over her bottom lip, his teeth grazing her softly. He groaned deep in his diaphragm, and went back for more.
She sagged in his embrace, leaning against him, her brain separated from her body as he kissed her over and over again. She didn't know where she stopped and he began as she moved her hands over him, sliding under the tails of his shirt, running her hands up and over his naked back.
They kissed for a long, long time, his five o'clock shadow abrading her skin. She felt it, knew it should hurt, but it didn't. She ran her hands around to his chest and up his pectoral muscles until her hands covered his small, male nipples.
He ripped his mouth from hers and pulled her hands away from his chest and held them tightly while he dragged oxygen into his lungs.
"Can't do that, babe. You keep that up, I'll come in my pants."
Shocked, Elaina sucked in a breath and went back for his mouth. He allowed her access, and lowered his lips back to hers.
