Liv
Walking through Mama’s house, around ten o’clock the next morning, I smell breakfast and hear chatter coming from the kitchen.
I just stepped onto the stone tile floor when Tucker spots me.
“Mommy!” He comes running for me, as fast as his little legs will take him.
Scooping him up, I smother him with kisses. “Hi baby. Did you have fun with Grammie and Pop?”
He nods his head and squirms for me to let him down. “Hennie!”
Henley comes around the kitchen island to pick him up. He’s talking a mile a minute, patting her chest, and I can barely make out the words cookie, Hennie and play.
I nod my head at him, listening intently until he hops down and whirlwinds on to something else, like the tornado he is.
I hug Henley, “You have fun too?”
“I did. I went for a ride with Pop last night,” she beams. “We watched a movie together and Gina told me I could call her Grammie.”
“I’ll bet she’s eating it up too,” I knowingly tell her.
“Oh, she is,” Pop chuckles, coming over to hug me. “Thank you for letting Tuck stay last night.”
He fills me in on the kids’ night, telling me how nice it was to have both their grandkids together, when Ryan walks in.
He says hello to everyone and ruffles Henley’s hair after pulling her in for a hug.
Tucker lifts his arms and Ryan picks him right up, looking comfortable holding my toddler in his ink covered arms.
“Hey darlin’,” He winks at me.
“Good morning.”
“Now that you’re both here, do you guys want to go for a ride? John and I are going to get the ATVs out of barn today,” Mama says.
Tucker and Henley both vote yes. Tucker knows exactly what riding is and I’m always up for a ride.
Ryan agrees, and he and Pop waste no time taking the kids outside to get everything ready, while I help Mama clean up the mess from breakfast.
Pop brought his ATVs down this past week, with the last of his belongings, and Mama already had a side-by-side of her own, that I talked her into getting my Sophomore year of high school.
“So, you and Ryan seem to get along,” my mom fishes as we double team the sink full of dishes.
“We do. I like him.”
“Well, I’m thankful everyone is getting along so well,” she gives me a wide smile.
I tell her about going to Red’s with Ryan, that we talked and had a few beers together.
“It’s nice, that the two of you got a chance to know each other. And we had a great time with the kids last night.”
Ryan steps in off the porch, careful to wipe his boots before walking on the clean floor.
“All gassed up and ready to go ladies.”
“Thank you, Ryan. I’ll be ready in just a minute,” Mama says, wiping up the remaining water from the countertop before heading up the kitchen stairs to her bedroom.
Slowly stalking my way, he comes to stand in front of me, pinning me to the counter, looking back and forth from my eyes to my mouth.
I lick my lips as moves in, kissing me passionately. My hands reach for his waist as he caresses my tongue with his own.
“Ready!” Mama yells from the top of the stairs.
He slowly pulls away from me and kisses my neck, just under my ear. Releasing his fists from my hair, he turns his back to the counter and leans on it, crossing his arms and ankles, much like Pop does when he ogles Mama.
He looks like he doesn’t have a care in the world as Mama walks in, while I feel like I’ve been turned upside down and shaken.
“Okay, kids, let’s go.”
Only a mother could look at a strong man with a full beard and call him a kid.
Leisurely striding to the back door, he holds it open for us. Mama pats his arm saying Thank you as she walks past him and onto the porch.
As I move to walk by, he snakes an arm around my waist, pulling me into his front, with his hardness resting on my lower back.
Mama wastes no time on her way to the barn, stepping onto the grass, not waiting for us.
I feel his cock flex against my back and he kisses my neck again. I close my eyes on a moan. With her out of sight, he reaches around to palm my breast, stroking his thumb tenderly across my nipple, and speaks to me directly for the first time since he told me hello.
“Gorgeous girl, I can’t keep my hands off of you,” his voice rumbles low in my ear.
“Good thing I never told you too,” I bluntly whisper.
He pulls back and smiles from his eyes. He taps my ass in amusement, before gripping my hand gently and leading us toward the barn and our family.
∞ ∞ ∞
An hour and a half later, Henley, Ryan and I pull up next to Mama and Pop on the Gator, after Pop flagged us down.
“Tucker is ready for lunch.”
Tuck is sitting on the bench seat between him and Mama, while Henley is on the back of my four-wheeler and Ryan has the other all to himself.
“Aunt Liv, I’m pretty hungry too,” Henley says over my shoulder.
She and I have gotten close over the last two weeks and I love this shit out of this girl.
“Why don’t we take the kids back for lunch and you stay with Ryan? You can go on out and show him the rest of the property. Come and eat whenever you guys get ready,” Mama supplies helpfully.
“Yeah, I can do that.” My heart flutters surreptitiously, excited for alone time with Ryan.
Henley scoots up to the handlebars when I climb off, anxious to drive.
Silently he gives me a knowing wink and I climb on behind him as Pop motions for Henley to go first.
“We’ll save you a plate,” Mama yells as they take off.
Ryan starts the engine and takes us further out in the woods, driving a few minutes before he stops. He shuts off the key and turns to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. He pulls me in front of him to straddle his lap just like last night in the truck.
“Hello, pretty girl.” He plants a soft kiss on my lips.
“Hi,” I whisper against his lips.
He skims the sensitive spot under my ear with his lips and I wrap my arms around him, breathing in his clean, soapy scent. I pull the t-shirt away from his shoulder, so I can touch his bare skin.
The ringing of a phone startles us both and, always in parent mode, we stop to make sure the kids don’t need us.
He leans back and pulls it from his pocket. “It’s Henley’s mom. I’ll call her back when we get to the house.”
“You want to go check out the rest of the property?” I ask him softly.
“Not really,” he groans, dropping his forehead to rest against mine. “But we probably need to get going, huh?”
I pout in reluctance and he chuckles at me.
Giving me a quick peck, he helps me move back behind him, and we take off as I snugly wrap my arms around his waist.
We come to a clearing almost immediately, the ground patchy with mud from last week’s rain.
Telling me to hold tight, Ryan turns his hat around backwards and barrels through it without a second thought, splattering thick mud on us both.
“I haven’t gone mudding in years!” I laugh loudly.
“You wanna play baby?”
“Yes!”
We go through the trees and back through the muddy clearing, effectively soaking us both. We zig zag and spin, playing like I used to do with friends as a teenager.
Emma and Tommy, along with myself, and a few other close friends would come out here and play in the mud from the time we moved here. We had the best time in these woods.
Ryan pulls over in the trees, where the ground is dry, and we hop off, stretching our legs while wiping off of our faces. His hat is more brown than black now, but I have never seen anyone, in my life, wear a baseball cap as well as he does. I take in his beard, caked and clumpy. Getting tickled, I laugh at him good naturedly. He growls and lunges for me, making me shriek in surprise before I take off running.
I don’t get far before he pins me against a tree, facing the bark, and rubs his muddy beard on my cheek and head, making an even bigger mess of us both.
When he turns me around, I see that his assault on my face has covered his own in mud and it makes me laugh harder. I’m sure I don’t look any better, but I can’t see myself, so I don’t really care.
I’ve never seen him smile so big, and I want nothing more than his lips on mine, so I stretch up on my tip toes to steal a kiss.
What was meant to be a joyful peck, quickly turns frantic and hot as we begin pulling at each other’s clothing.
Wanton and needy, we strip one another’s shirts off, leaving only my black bra, our tattoos, and mud. He unzips my shorts and tears them down my legs, taking my panties with them, as I get his jeans unzipped.
I stand in front of him, naked but for my bra.
“Damn, baby,” he says, admiring my body.
A size twelve mom with thick hips and a few stretch marks might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Ryan seems to enjoy what’s in front of him.
I kiss him again as he pushes his pants down, just low enough to release his cock. He’s thick and long, with pre-cum dripping down onto the elastic band of his underwear.
I lick my lips, wanting badly to taste him.
Seeing my tongue peek out, he fists my hair and tilts my head back, devouring my mouth while he lifts me with his free arm. I hop up with his boost and wrap my legs around his waist.
He positions himself at my entrance while my body is supported by the tree and adjusts his hips, still kissing me, causing me to slide forcefully down on his cock.
My mouth opens on a gasp and his teeth tug on my lip as I pant. “Oh, God.”
Only my third partner, Ryan is bigger than I’ve ever had inside me. He’s not a monster, but Lord, I’ve never felt anything so amazing.
The tree bark scrapes roughly at my back and shoulders, as Ryan places both hands on my hips and bounces me on his cock. My hands grip his arms and I watch, mesmerized, as he fucks me.
“Bounce baby,” he says. “Fuck me back.”
I do as I’m told and lean forward to ride him, using the strength of my legs to bounce myself on his swollen shaft. I watch as he pumps in and out of me, flexing his fingers on the flesh of my hips.
“So fucking sweet,” he growls, bringing his mouth back to mine and slowing his thrusts.
I pull away just before his lips touch mine. “I’m not on birth control,” I tell him honestly.
He stops and drops his forehead to my shoulder, releasing a long, shaky breath. “Fuck.”
“I’m sorry…”
“I almost came.”
My pussy clenches tightly around him, making us both groan and he slowly thrusts inside me.
“You like that?”
“We shouldn’t,” I breathe, as I flutter around him.
He picks up his pace, driving deep and I gasp.
“Baby, I’ll fill this pretty little pussy full,” he whispers into my mouth before biting my lip.
He pulls down the cups of my bra, letting my breasts pop out and leans down to feast on the pink tips, taking turns between them as his thrusts quicken.
Watching Ryan bite my nipple, as he drives my back into the coarse bark of the tree, does it for me. I come, begging him not to stop as I ride him harder, my nails clawing for leverage at his shoulders.
“Ryan…”
“Can’t get enough, baby.”
“Yes!”
“Fuck!”
His pace stumbles. He groans and throws back his head, pumping his cum into me.
His cock stays hard as his hips continue thrusting, causing our combined fluids to leak out around us. We cling to one another as his movements begin to slow. Legs still wrapped around his waist and my arms around his neck, he claims my mouth.
“You okay?”
Kissing his jaw, I tell him honestly, “I couldn’t be any better.”
He latches onto my bottom lip with his teeth, alternately licking and nibbling. “Then, what’s wrong?”
“How the hell are we going to explain this to Mama and Pop?”
His face turns serious. “It doesn’t matter how we tell them, they’ll accept it and move on, because they don’t have another choice.” Ryan grasps my chin and looks into my eyes tenderly. He brushes his lips against my own, “You’re mine now baby, and I’m not giving you back.”
We’re interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He kisses my forehead, our intimate moment broken, as he gently places my feet on the ground. He pulls the device from his pocket but rejects the call after seeing Unknown Caller on the screen.
He helps gather our clothes and I turn my back to him as I shimmy up my panties. Spinning me around, his large hands grab my ass, cupping my cheeks as he as he growls, “Found more tattoos darlin’, and this ass is fuckin’ perfect.”
I feel him hardening against my stomach and suck in a surprised breath as I see his cock straining, trying to pop back out of his underwear.
My phone rings.
“That’s mama,” I tell him, hearing her ringtone.
I reach down for my denim shorts still on the ground, my phone sticking out of the pocket, as Ryan’s phone rings yet again. His eyebrows lower when he sees Pop flash across the screen.
Worrying, I quickly answer. “Is everything okay?”
“You and Ryan need to get back now Sass,” I hear crying in the background. “Henley’s mom was in a car accident in Seattle, and they’re not sure she’s going to make it.”
I hear Ryan’s pain filled, “No.”
Phone to his ear, he has a distressed look on his face as he hangs up and throws his shirt over his head.
I’m spurred into action by his movements and I rush to step into my shorts.
“We’re on our way back. Tell Henley we’ll be right there,” I say, quickly disconnecting.
We pocket our phones and move to climb back on the four-wheeler.
“I can drive,” I offer.
“I got it baby.”
I hop on behind him and wrap my arms securely around his waist as we hurry toward the house.
Henley’s cries echo in my mind and I give Ryan a little squeeze, my heart hurting for them both. His large hand grips one of mine and carries it to his mouth, kissing my wrist. Bringing it back to his waist, he doesn’t let me go. We finish the ride in silence, his hand grasping mine tightly as we speed through the woods.
We pull straight up to the back steps, Ryan’s long legs taking three steps at a time, and run into the kitchen. We find mama embracing his crying daughter in the living room as Pop carries a duffle bag down the stairs.
Henley runs to her dad, letting out a grief-stricken cry. They speak quietly, and Mama comes to my side, looping her arm through mine, explaining what happened.
“She was hit by a drunk driver. Ryan was listed in her phone as her I.C.E. When he didn’t answer, the police called her second emergency contact, which was John. She has internal bleeding, multiple broken bones and swelling on her brain. They aren’t sure if she’ll make it through the day and told John they needed to take the first flight out.”
My mouth gapes in shock and mama continues, “Poor girl, all alone in that hospital.” She sniffles. “John told me her parents and sister passed away. Those three are her only family.” She looks at Pop and Ryan consoling a distraught Henley.
Pop picks up his bag from the bottom of the steps and I walk over and give him a silent hug. He kisses the top of my head and returns the hug before heading for the front door.
“I need to go make some calls, baby girl,” I hear Ryan tell Henley, who steps away from him.
I open my arms and she walks to me, a fresh wave of tears falling down her lightly freckled cheeks. I hold her and let her cry.
“I’m so scared, Aunt Liv,” she whispers brokenly.
“I know sweetie.”
We move to the couch and I hold her while Ryan sits in the kitchen making flight arrangements. She continues to cry on my shoulder and I stroke her silky hair, wishing I could take her pain away.
“Okay, baby girl, our flight is booked. Let’s run home real quick and pack our bags. I’ll wash this mud off and we can drive straight up to St. Louis.”
Henley lifts her head, nodding at her dad.
“Go ahead and run outside with Pop. I’ll be right there,” Ryan tells her gently.
“Bye, Aunt Liv.”
“Bye sweetheart. I’ll pray extra hard for your mom, I promise.”
She nods her head, tears glistening in her eyes, and stands, walking toward the front door to be with her grandpa.
As I rise, I’m drawn into muscular arms and Ryan releases a tense breath, blowing back strands of my hair.
“You all travel safe. Keep us updated as soon as you can.”
I feel his head nod, but he stays silent.
His truck starts in the driveway, a very distinct rumble, and I step back from his arms. We walk outside to find Henley climbing in the backseat of the large black truck, with Pop sitting behind the wheel, waiting on his only son.
Mama, holding Tucker in her arms, says a soft goodbye to Ryan. He hugs her, ruffling Tuck’s hair and turns back to me.
“I’ll call you,” he says softly. “No matter what happens, you’re still mine.” His face is firm, and I’m left speechless when he leans down and kisses me full on the lips, in plain sight of my mother, who I’m positive is gaping, as his back blocks us from Pop and Henley’s view.
Releasing me, he walks down to his truck, and climbs in the passenger seat.
I don’t dare look at Mama as they all wave and back out of the drive. They’re on the highway and out of sight when I gain the nerve to look at her.
Tuck now sits at her feet, playing with a toy truck, and her brow is raised as she crosses her arms.
“Well that’s an interesting development.”
I don’t even know how to process the last two days, let alone try and explain this thing with Ryan. I just look at her and shrug my shoulders.
“You do know you’ll have to fess up eventually,” she tells me.
I sigh, “When I figure it out myself, I’ll let you know.”
Continuing in Book 2
“Be With You”
Available Spring 2019