by Ciana Stone
She wished she could find it in herself to feel sorry for him, but the truth was, she was enjoying seeing him squirm.
“She’s my wife.” Eddie’s voice took on a whining tone.
“She’s mine.” Clint’s voice was low but carried a definite threat. “She’s getting a divorce and she doesn’t want anything to do with you. Now, you better get off our property.”
“You can’t keep me from her. She’s—”
Clint didn’t argue, he just pulled out his phone as Eddie protested. When he did speak, it was into the phone, apparently to the police. Eddie watched nervously as Clint ended the call. “Guess you should’ve left when you could, Mr. Haywood.
He looked at Cam. “I’m going to take Lily inside. How ’bout keeping an eye on Mr. Haywood ’til the cops get here?”
“My pleasure,” Cam said with a smile.
Clint walked over to Lily and took her hand. “Come on, Lil. Let’s go to the house.”
She didn’t argue, but she did cut Eddie a hate-filled look before she let Clint lead her away. They were halfway across the yard when she heard yelling behind them. She turned just in time to see Eddie running out of the stable with Cam closing in on him with a coil of rope in one hand.
Cam launched himself at Eddie, taking him down like a linebacker. Quick as a flash, Cam went to work and in less than ten seconds, Eddie was hog-tied, screaming in the dirt.
Lily couldn’t help but laugh and applaud. Cam climbed to his feet and took a dramatic bow. “I think he’ll be fine ’til the police get here,” Cam said and headed back toward the stable.
Clint just chuckled and resumed his trek to the house. Once inside, he went to the refrigerator. “Beer?” he asked.
“Feeling more like iced tea. Got any left?”
Clint got out the pitcher of tea and a couple of beers while Lily fixed a glass of tea. “Want me to take Cam a beer?” she asked.
“I’ll do it.”
She didn’t argue, but took a seat at the table and thought about Eddie showing up. He must be really scared to track her down and try getting money out of her. She supposed she should feel bad for him, but she didn’t have it in her to feel bad for him anymore.
There was a time she’d overlooked his laziness or the way he mismanaged money, even the lies he told. She overlooked all of it because she thought she was supposed to. Her folks raised her to believe that marriage was sacred. When you said “I do,” it meant a real vow.
She’d tried to honor that vow, and maybe she would have continued to do so if Eddie hadn’t gambled away the farm. It was for damn sure that she’d never forgive him, and now that she’d found Clint, she’d sure never go back to Eddie. It might make her a failure in the marriage department, but she fully intended to get free of Eddie.
The sound of car doors slamming drew her out of her thoughts. She got up to go to the back door and look out. There was a car marked Sherriff’s Department in the driveway. Two uniformed officers were standing beside it, talking with Clint and Cam while Eddie lay tied up in the dirt.
Lily didn’t see any need to involve herself so she just stood and watched. After a few minutes, the officers untied Eddie, cuffed him and put him in the back of the car. They shook hands with Clint and Cam and left.
She returned to the kitchen. A couple of minutes later Clint and Cam entered the house.
“Well?” she asked.
“Looks like Eddie’s gonna spend a few nights in jail,” Clint answered.
“And not just for trespassing,” Cam added. “They found his car at the end of the drive. Or the car he was driving. It was stolen and had expired plates.”
Lily shook her head. Leave it to Eddie to take off across state lines in a stolen car. “So, I guess he’s not gonna be getting out in the next day or so?”
“Doesn’t appear so,” Cam replied and went to the refrigerator for another beer. “Think I’ll go get cleaned up. Y’all got plans? I’m taking this gal, Rachel, out to dinner and probably go somewhere after. You can join if you want.”
Clint looked at Lily and she shook her head. “Don’t feel much like it. Besides, we’ve got a ton of ribs left and I made a big potato salad this morning and a batch of coleslaw and baked beans.”
“Sounds good to me,” Clint commented.
“Okay, cool.” Cam headed down the hall, leaving them alone.
Clint took a seat at the table. “I think maybe you should go to the sale with us tomorrow.”
“Why?”
“I just don’t feel good about leaving you here by yourself.”
“Eddie’s in jail. And you and Cam just told me he’s not getting out anytime soon, so I don’t see there’s anything to be concerned about.”
“Still—”
“Clint, I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ve just started making real progress with Patches. I really want to spend some time with him tomorrow.”
He was quiet for a few moments then nodded. “Okay, but promise you’ll keep your cell phone on you.”
“Promise,” she assured him with a smile. “Now, I feel like taking a shower before dinner. You wanna join me?”
“What about Cam?”
She knew what he was asking. She’d been hesitant to let Cam see them being sexual in any way up until now.
“He’s got his own bathroom,” she said and started for the door.
Clint chuckled and followed. Both of them stripped down in the laundry room then headed down the hall, making slow progress thanks to all of the fondling and kisses they could not resist indulging in.
Lily started the water and before it had time to warm up, Clint wrapped his arms around her from behind, lifted her up and walked them both under the cold spray.
Clint turned her toward him for a kiss and Lily forgot about the temperature of the water. Before the kiss ended, hot water cascaded over them, rivulets running across her shoulders and down over her breasts. She smiled up at him and released him to pick up a bottle of shampoo.
“Kneel down,” she said as she poured shampoo in her hand. “You’re too tall, I can’t reach your hair very well.”
He complied, finding that the position put him eye level with her navel. His eyes moved down. Just inches away was the holy grail, at least to a man. He reached up, placing his hands on her ass. She wiggled against his hands but continued to wash his hair. “Okay, stand up,” she directed and guided him face-first into the spray of water to rinse.
Clint felt a warm rush on his skin, when her hands, slick with soap, worked around his body to his penis. She stroked him for a minute then turned her attention to his back. She started at the top of his shoulders and worked down. Her touch was not that of someone at a task. She took her time, feeling every inch of his skin, murmuring to him, telling him how beautiful he was.
When she reached his ass, she leaned in, running her left hand around to his cock. Her hand moved between the cleft of his ass, over his anus and to his balls. It felt so good, he reached out, bracing himself with both hands against the shower wall in front of him.
After a minute of pleasure that was close to overwhelming, she squatted down behind him and washed his legs. When she rose and turned his back to the spray, she smiled up at him and began to soap the front of his body.
Extra attention was paid to his cock and balls, and all the while, she kept her eyes glued to his. It was wonderful and horrifying at the same time. He was going to come at any moment. “You need to stop.” He put one hand on hers to stay her motion.
“Not yet,” she argued and turned him toward the water. When he was rinsed, she turned him to face her and knelt down in front of him.
When she took him in her mouth, he had to reach for the side walls. She worked her tongue against the head of his cock, taking him deep inside her mouth then pulling back. Over and again, one sublime stroke after another.
When her left hand came up and her fingers stroked over the bottom of his balls, he had to bite back a groan. He could feel an orgasm coming, like a big train barreling do
wn the tracks ready to sweep him away. And he could do nothing to stop it except shudder and hang on as it swept over him.
Lily stood and leaned in as if to kiss him. He mentally cursed himself by pulling back. She just smiled. “Not into tasting yourself on me? That’s okay.”
She stuck her hand between her legs and inserted two fingers into her vagina. His eyes glued to the motion of her hand and his cock experienced a sudden resurgence of life. She removed her fingers and pressed them against his lips.
He opened his mouth and took her fingers into it. One taste and he reached up to take her hand, laving each finger from tip to the knuckle of her hand. She watched, the blue of her irises deepening to the color of twilight and the pupils enlarging.
Clint pulled her to him and kissed her. It was a unique experience, her taste combining with his. She reached between them to the thickening length of his cock and gave an appreciative little moan.
Suddenly the heat of the water started to diminish and Clint realized that she still had sand in her hair. “My turn,” he said and picked up the shampoo. “We might have to hurry. We’re running out of hot water.”
“Don’t hurry,” she replied. “You can keep me warm.”
“I’ll do my best.”
While he soaped her hair, she stroked him, kissing his chest, running her tongue over and around his nipples. It was not an easy task to keep his mind on what he was doing but he managed to wash the sand from her hair.
He soaped his hands and ran them over her shoulders. She raised her arms and leaned back against the shower wall, submitting to his touch. He worked up to her fingers and trapped her hands against the wall with his own, pressing against her to capture her lips. She accepted the kiss eagerly.
Clint ended the kiss and moved his hands slowly down her arms to the sides of her breasts, then in to track over them, feeling the hard nipples against his palms. She gave a breathy little moan and thrust her breasts forward more into his hands.
He cupped her breasts, running his thumbs around the tightened skin of the areola then the nipple. Her breathing quickened and a flush rose on her skin. “Slow,” she whispered. “Soft.”
Max followed her desire, seeing on her face that he was giving her pleasure. When the soap on his hands started to deplete, he directed her into the water then turned her again to face him and began to soap her stomach.
His hands moved over her hips and back up, then down, over the tight curls of her mons and into the vee of her thighs. Her sex was plump and wet and, when he cupped it, felt hot to his hand.
Lily moaned when he worked his middle finger inside her and pressed against his hand. “Yes. Yes.”
Her whisper brought his cock to full erection again. He pulled her against him, felt her writhe and ride his hand. When his thumb brushed over her clit, she gasped. “Oh god, Clint.”
Clint understood the tone. It filled him with excitement. He was the one making her come. He could take her over the edge. Or he could prolong it. He opted for drawing it out and removed his hand.
“Awww, it’s so wrong to leave a girl hanging like that,” she protested teasingly.
“I won’t leave you hanging,” he promised and turned her to rinse then shut off the water.
He grabbed a towel and dried her. She took another towel and tried to dry him and it ended up a hit-and-miss endeavor that had him snatching both towels, chucking them to the floor and sweeping her up in his arms.
Clint carried her to the bed and placed her beside it. He stripped back the bedcovers then pressed her back onto the bed, spreading her legs to kneel between them. Lily looked up at him. “Tell me what you want, Clint.”
“Just you, Lil.”
“I’m already yours.”
His. He liked the sound of that and suddenly he knew what he wanted. He wanted to seduce her with his touch and his love, as if it were the first time. “What do you want?” He braced himself with his arms on either side of her and leaned down, running his tongue over one nipple, at first with the flat of his tongue, softly stroking, circling the areola and then passing over the nipple.
“That,” she murmured and stretched appreciatively, pressing her breasts up. “Touch me, taste me. Take me slowly and completely.”
He sucked her nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue over the nipple; at the same time, he moved his left hand to the other breast, teasing the nipple with his thumb.
Lily stretched, writhed and wiggled beneath him. He felt power rise inside him. His touch did this. His.
He moved down her body, kissing and biting. When he reached her sex, he moved his hands to spread her, exposing her clit. One touch of his tongue on her clit and her fingers were tightening in his hair, her pelvis arching up against his mouth.
He took his time, teasing her clit until her body virtually quivered, then moving to plunge his tongue inside her and hear her moan and gasp his name.
When he did let her come, she quaked against him and groaned his name. Clint moved up her body, holding himself aloft above her with one hand on the bed. He guided himself to her wet center.
Lily bucked up to meet him, wrapping her legs around his body and pulling him deep inside her. Nothing had ever, or would probably ever feel as good as the feel of her tight sex gripping his cock, her legs tightened around him and her hands clinging to his shoulders.
Clint never heard another sound other than that of her breath or his name on her lips. He didn’t know if time was passing or standing still. Nothing else mattered or existed. There was only the two of them locked in a dance of love that opened a door he had not known existed, the door that led to unity.
Sex with Lily was more than he’d ever dreamed. It wasn’t just physical, even though the sensations were nearly overwhelming they were so intense. It was something that transcended the physical. He felt as if he and Lily were linked, heart and mind. He could feel what she wanted and responded in answer to those feelings.
In turn, he felt her fulfilling needs he did not have to express in words. As corny as it sounded, it truly was a dance of love that ended separation. He was not alone. She was with him, part of him.
He gave himself to it, not caring what lay beyond that wonderful moment. And when they finally lay exhausted in one another’s arms with dawn creeping upon them, he heard her soft whisper. “I love you, Clint.”
It was not the first declaration of love that he’d heard from her, but it came at a time when he was feeling a little overwhelmed by his own emotions. “Lil?”
“Hmmm?”
“I was wondering if…”
“If what?” She raised her head from his chest to look at him.
“I was wondering if you’d ever thought about having children?”
She looked at him for a long moment before answering. “Not until recently.”
“Yeah?” He could not suppress the smile that rose on his face.
“Yeah.”
“Me too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I love you, Lil. I never thought I’d want kids, but now that I’ve found you, I’d like to give it a try. Which brings me to a question. Will you please see about finalizing your divorce?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Good. And one more question. Once you’re divorced, will you marry me?”
For a moment he thought she was going to say no, she waited so long to answer. Relief flooded him at her words.
“I’d purely love to.”
“Then it’s settled.” He pulled her close, feeling very satisfied and happy. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
Clint closed his eyes, listening to her soft breath. He had not expected any of this but felt very blessed. And he was going to make sure that Lily and the family they had together had a good, happy life.
With that thought he drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Seven
Lily toed off her boots and left them in the laundry room as she entered the house. She started across the room but s
topped short of the door. There was no one home and she was filthy so she might as well strip down here.
She tossed her dirty clothes into the laundry hamper then made her way to the shower. Five hours in the Florida sun had her hair matted with sweat. The cool water felt sublime and she indulged herself in a much longer shower than normal.
Once clean, she pulled on a clean pair of thin, worn jeans and a tank top and padded barefoot to the kitchen. She grabbed her iPhone on her way out of the bedroom and jammed it in her pocket. She wanted it handy just in case Clint called.
Her stomach rumbled and directed her steps to the kitchen. There was some leftover chicken from the night before that would make a good sandwich. Thinking about it had her stomach growling and her mouth watering.
She opened the refrigerator door and reached inside for the platter of chicken. Just then someone wrenched her free arm up behind her and wrapped another arm around her neck.
The platter hit the tiled floor, shards of ceramic scattering along with chicken. Lily’s free hand went to the arm around her neck, clawing at it.
“Fucking bitch!” the man behind her exclaimed and wrenched her arm higher behind her, eliciting a yelp of pain.
She thrashed around, causing the man holding her to bump into a chair at the table, sending it crashing on its side.
His grip on her arm loosened and she wrenched free, dived across the table and grabbed a chair on the other side, holding it like a lion tamer as the man closed in on her again.
He grabbed a leg of the chair and for a few moments they engaged in a tug of war. Lily waited and when he gave an extra strong yank, she let go. The man stumbled back and she took her opportunity, racing around the side of the table, headed for the door.
She threw it open and bounded through, right into a solid body. The man she collided with stumbled back a step. Just as she decided to try to dodge around him, the man she’d fought with in the kitchen grabbed her from behind.
“Get her in the car.” Another voice spoke up.
As Lily was shoved across the back porch, she saw the man standing at the steps. He was short, rotund and middle-aged, his eyes dark and recessed in the rolls of fat that covered his eyelids.
