CHAPTER
Fifteen
LAUREN
“I want to bake a pie,” I announce as Ty and I approach my front door upon our return from the pumpkin patch.
“Tonight?” Ty raises his brow and sets my pumpkin on the porch, then jogs back down to his Jeep to gather my cornstalks and leans them against the house under the cover of the porch.
“Yep.”
“At”—he checks his watch—“almost ten in the evening?”
“Do you have somewhere you need to be?” I laugh. “Got a hot date?”
I unlock the door and key the alarm code into the pad on the wall and then lead Ty into the kitchen.
“Most people just don’t start baking pies this late at night.” Ty takes the heavy bags of apples from me and sets them on the counter.
“My parents used to go with me to the pumpkin patch, even when I was a grown woman,” I reply softly, my heart heavy. “It was tradition for my mom and me to bake a pie when we got home, so I want to bake a pie.”
“Then we’ll bake a pie.” Ty kisses my head, then strips out of his coat, pushes the sleeves of his long-sleeved T-shirt up to his elbows, and washes his hands.
“Do you know how to bake pie?” I ask as I also pull off several layers of sweater and scarf and then set apples on the countertop for peeling and gather the other ingredients, including a frozen pie crust, and set the oven for preheat.
“Frozen crust?” Ty grins.
“I have never been able to get them right.” I shrug and wash my hands. “They always fall apart on me. My mom could make them with her eyes closed.”
“I can make a decent pie crust.” Ty’s voice is nonchalant as he roots around in my pantry for the flour.
“You’re gonna make a pie crust from scratch?”
“Sure. If we’re gonna bake a pie, we’re gonna do it right.”
“Okay, you do that and I’ll peel these apples and get them in the pot.”
We work side by side for several minutes, brushing against each other as we pass by and grinning at each other, in relative silence. I get the apples peeled and sliced and into a pot with all the spices to boil.
“Where’s your rolling pin?” he asks softly.
“Over there.” I point to a nearby drawer and watch as he balls up his crust dough, spreads flour over my kitchen table, and begins to roll out the dough, his forearms flexing with his smooth movements. A lock of his hair falls over his forehead and he reaches up to push it back, leaving a streak of white flour across his skin. “That looks like a great way to get out some aggression.”
“It is.” He grins at me. “Wanna try?”
“Sure.”
He passes the rolling pin to me and stands back as I coat it in flour and roll it over the already-flat dough on the table.
“Your ass looks fantastic bent over the table.” A smile is in his voice.
I smirk and pinch some flour in my fingers and throw it at him. “Behave!”
“You just threw flour at me.” He laughs.
“Observant, aren’t you?”
I throw another handful of flour and giggle when he throws some back at me, making it snow over me with white powder.
“You’re making a mess!” I cry, and run around the table to the other side and scoop some flour in my hand and toss it at him.
“You started it, sweetness.” He throws a handful back at me just as I hear the pot on the stove begin to bubble.
“Time out! I have to stir the apples.” I laugh and run to the stove to stir the thickening mixture of apples and cinnamon and sugar. “It smells so good.”
I grab a pie plate and turn around to find that Ty has moved the first pie crust and is rolling out the second one to lay over the top.
“Do you have a pizza cutter?”
I pull the tool out of a drawer and pass it to him, and he makes long strips out of the crust.
“You’re fancy.” I grin while I line the pie plate with the first crust and tuck it around the edges, then walk back to the stove to fill it with the bubbling apples.
He just smirks and raises an eyebrow when he sees me pull a squeeze bottle of caramel sauce out of the pantry.
“I like caramel in my pie.” I squeeze the sweet sauce over the top of the apples.
When I’ve finished, Ty weaves the strips of the remaining crust over the top. “I need one beaten egg,” he instructs me.
When I’ve beaten an egg in a bowl, he brushes it over the top of the crust. “This will make it golden brown.”
“Okay, Martha Stewart.”
He laughs as I push the pie into the oven and set the timer for forty minutes.
“Now”—he grabs the caramel sauce off the countertop and pins me in his sexy gray gaze—“I have plans for this.”
“What kind of plans?” I tilt my head, watching him carefully.
“Come here,” he says, instead of answering my question.
I cross to him and grin up at him.
“Take your shirt off.”
I cock an eyebrow but wordlessly comply, whipping my shirt over my head and letting it fall to the floor. My bra follows.
Ty’s eyes shine as they glide down to my chest and abdomen and back up to my face. “Pants next.”
“Getting naked was never part of the tradition.” I pull my jeans down my legs and kick them to the side.
“I think we should start a new tradition.”
He loops his arm around my waist and boosts me up onto the countertop and takes several steps back, watching me. Flour still covers his hair and is smudged on his forehead and cheek. His lips quirk up into a grin as he watches me, sitting high up on the counter, my feet dangling and rocking over the side.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful, Lo.”
My cheeks heat as I grin at him. “Thank you.”
“So we have”—he checks the timer on the oven—“thirty-six minutes to play.”
“That’s all you need?” I ask sassily, earning a laugh from him.
“I love your smart mouth.” He leans in and kisses me softly, only touching me with his lips, and it’s driving me crazy to sit here naked and not have his hands on me.
“Ty, I want your hands on me.”
“Oh, they’re gonna be on you, beautiful. Along with some other parts of me.”
“Now,” I whine.
He chuckles before planting a harder kiss on me. “Patience.”
“We only have thirty-five minutes.”
“Plenty of time.” He tips the caramel bottle and draws a heart around my right nipple.
“That’s cold.” I smile.
“I’ll warm you up.” He laves my nipple and the surrounding area with his tongue, licking the caramel off my skin. “Delicious.”
He pulls a line of sauce down my neck to my cleavage and follows with his tongue, licking it off. His eyes are tracking his every move as I lean back on my hands, giving him easier access to all of the skin on my torso.
Ty squeezes more sauce onto me, writing Ty + Lo on my skin, then surrounds it with simple flowers, all connected with stems that end just above my pubic bone.
For being drawn in caramel sauce, it’s not half-bad.
“I’m gonna be all sticky,” I whisper.
“Don’t worry, babe, I’ll clean you up.” He squats and pushes my legs apart.
“Do not squirt caramel sauce on my pussy!”
“Your pussy is sweet enough without it.” He draws lines down my thighs. My clit tingles, begging for his lips, but he plants a kiss at the innermost point of my thigh, avoiding my core altogether.
“You’re such a tease,” I accuse him with a laugh.
He just smiles up at me and continues the torture, only touching me with the caramel and his lips.
“Did you want me to kiss you here?” He brushes a fingertip lightly over my clit, making my hips come up off the countertop.
“Yes!”
“What about here?” He pulls that finger down through my folds, gently stroking my lips.
“Yes, please.”
He leans in and plants a tender kiss over my clit, then moves down to my entrance, also planting a tender kiss there.
“Where else?”
“Here.” I point to my navel. He leans in and kisses it softly, then looks up at me for additional instructions.
I point to my left nipple. He rises and pulls it into his mouth, watching my eyes with his bright gray ones. I point to my other nipple and he repeats the movement on the other side, gently tugging on my already-puckered nub.
“Ty,” I whisper. “Please.”
“What do you need, baby?” He nibbles his way down my torso, licking at the now-warm caramel.
“I need you to make love to me.”
He kneels back onto his haunches and lays the bottle on the counter, then spreads my lips wide and leans in to pull his tongue through my labia to my clit, wraps his lips around it, and sucks in little pulses, making me go mad. I plant my feet on his shoulders and buck my hips against his mouth as fire shoots straight through me. His hands grip my hips firmly, holding me to him.
“Fuck, Ty, I’m gonna come.”
He growls and pulls his tongue down to push it into my pussy and presses his thumb against my clit, and I scream as the world falls away. I shiver and shudder and push against his face, riding the wave of this incredible orgasm.
Finally, he stands and unzips his pants and kisses me deeply. I can taste the caramel and myself on him.
“This is going to be sticky as hell,” I warn him. He grins and cups my face in his palms, kissing me like he’s a man starved. I find his uncovered cock and stroke it firmly, brush my thumb over the tip, spreading the drop of dew over the top, and he growls again.
“God, I love your hands.” He lifts me off the counter, sets me on my feet, and turns me around, bent with my legs spread and hands braced on the edge of the island.
“This way we won’t get stuck together.” He massages my pussy with the head of his cock. “I need to be inside you, baby.”
I push back on him as he slips inside me with a curse.
“I’m sorry, sweetness, I’m not in the mood to be gentle.”
“Don’t hold back,” I beg. I want it hard and fast.
He groans and begins to move quickly, pushing in and out, his glorious cock pulling on the walls of my pussy in the most amazing way. I tighten around him and he grips my hips even harder.
“Ah, fuck, baby, your pussy is so damn tight.”
“Harder!” I cry.
He grips my hair roughly in one hand and yanks back as he begins to slam in and out of me like a man on the edge of insanity.
He cries out as he bottoms out and rocks against me, coming long and hard inside me.
“You make me crazy,” he whispers as he releases my hair and plants a wet kiss between my shoulder blades. “I’ll never get enough of you, Lauren.”
I grin as I try to catch my breath.
The timer on the oven dings just as Ty pulls out of me, watching the juices from his climax drip down my thighs. “So fucking hot.”
I chuckle and walk to the oven, check the pie, and set it on a cooling rack. “Pie’s done.”
“Good.” Ty takes my hand in his and leads me up the stairs to my bedroom.
I’m a sticky mess, covered in caramel and flour and Ty. “You don’t want to have a piece of pie?” I giggle.
“I think we need to clean you up first.” He leads me to the bathroom and turns on the shower, leading me inside when it’s hot and the room begins to fill with steam.
“That’s right, you made this mess, you should clean it up.”
He pulls me against him under the water and kisses me hard as he grips my ass and grinds his erection against my belly, smearing the caramel between us.
“Seriously? Already?”
“I swear I’m sixteen again whenever I have your sexy, naked body against me.”
I pull back and soap up my hands and begin to glide them over his tight abdomen, enjoying his taut muscles.
“I thought this was my mess to clean up.” He grins.
“I like touching you,” I whisper, and watch my hands as they move up to his chest, over his shoulders, and down his arms. I lather my hands some more and return to his stomach. His belly quivers when I pull my fingertips down the V at his hips.
“Ticklish?”
“No,” he lies.
I smirk and replay the move, skimming his sensitive skin with the pads of my fingertips.
He jumps again.
“Of course you’re not ticklish. You’re badass.”
“Damn right.” He watches me with hot eyes as my hand circles his semihard cock and gently washes him.
“I like this.”
“Do you.” It’s not a question.
“Very much.” I slowly lower myself to my knees. I tilt my head back to look up into Ty’s gaze and brush my lips lightly over the head of him. He hardens instantly in my grasp; his hands fist and his stomach clenches, and when I pull just the head into my mouth and suck gently, he swears under his breath and watches me, waiting impatiently to see where I’ll take him next.
I brace my spare hand on his stomach, reveling in the way his muscles move under my hand, and begin to pump his length. I pull him to the back of my throat and swallow, then pull up and roll my tongue around the rim and over the slit, then repeat the motion, slowly, until his hips are moving in my rhythm.
Finally, he grips my cheeks in his hands and pulls me off him and leans down to kiss me while he pulls me to my feet.
“Any more of that and I’ll come in your mouth.”
“That’s okay with me,” I reply breathlessly.
“No.” He shakes his head and lathers his hands with my body wash. “I’m going to come inside you, after I’ve made love to you for about three days.”
I laugh at his words, but then still as his hands glide over my body, cleaning me thoroughly. When his fingers reach my core, he slows his movements further, teasing me as he washes me, smiling when I gasp and pant and have to grip his arms to stay upright.
“You enjoy this.” I lean in and tug gently on his nipple with my teeth.
“I enjoy you, more than you’ll ever know, sweetness.” His breathing has changed. He shuts the water off and wraps a towel around his hips before drying me off completely. Before he can do so himself, I pull the towel off him and dry him off myself.
“Come.” He pulls the towel from my hand and tosses it aside and leads me to the bed.
With gentle hands, he guides me down onto the bed. The lover from the kitchen is gone and has been replaced by one with tender hands and soft, loving eyes. He rolls me onto my back and covers me with his warm, clean body, resting his pelvis against my own. My fingers glide up and down his back as he settles over me, brushes the hair off my cheeks, and nudges my nose with his.
“Do you have any idea how amazing you are?”
Rather than answer, I capture his lips with my own and kiss him long and slow, pushing my fingers through his thick, raven hair, gliding my hands down his back and arms. I can’t stop touching his smooth, warm skin, everywhere I can reach.
His lips leave mine and travel up to my eyes, over to my cheek, and farther still to my ear as his hips move and his hard cock rubs against my wet, pulsing core.
“I love making love to you,” he whispers, sending tingles through me as he rears back and pushes inside me, then stops when he’s buried as far as he can go.
My heart stutters at the mention of love. It’s too soon for love. Isn’t it? I know that what I feel as he begins to move is bigger than anything else I’ve ever felt for anyone in my life.
Ty’s nose drags down my neck as he begins to move in long, slow thrusts. He pushes his pubic bone against my clit, then pulls back slowly and repeats the motion over and over. My legs hitch up around his hips. He reaches down and pulls my left leg up over his shoulder, spreading me wider, and pushes in even farther, stealing the breath from my lungs.
“God, Ty, you feel so good.”
“This is all you, beautiful.” He moves just a little faster, increasing the friction. My body tightens around him, and I can’t stop the wave of ecstasy that moves through me, settles in my belly, and shoots out in all directions.
“That’s it, love, let go.”
There’s that word again. My back arches off the bed as another wave moves through me. Ty pulls my nipple into his mouth and tugs, watching me intently as he moves over me, making love to me more tenderly than he ever has before. His eyes clench shut as he pushes in as far as he can go and comes silently, shaking with the force of his climax.
“I—” He buries his face in my neck.
“What?” I ask breathlessly, stroking his back with my fingertips.
“You’re just—”
I chuckle and kiss his cheek, not caring in the least that the bulk of his weight is on me. “I need pie,” I whisper into his ear.
He pulls up onto his elbows and watches me, his eyes serious and mouth grim.
“What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head and kisses me softly. “Not a damn thing.”
“Are you sure?”
He pulls out and rolls us over so I’m lying on top of him. “I’m sure.”
I sit up and begin to roll off him, but he pulls me back into his arms.
“What’s wrong?” I try again.
“I like having you in my arms.” He pushes my hair over my shoulder and kisses my arm.
“It’s definitely one of my favorite places to be.” I grin and kiss his chin. “It feels safe here.”
“You are safe here, Lo.” He reverses us again, so he’s leaning over me and looking down into my eyes. “I promise.”
“You’re good to me.”
“That’ll never change.”
I grin up at him and rub my palm over his cheek, enjoying the way the short stubble there feels against my skin.
He turns his face and plants a kiss in the center of my hand before pulling away and helping me to my feet. “Now, about that pie.”
“The last one downstairs has to sweep up the flour mess!” I sprint ahead of him, giggling like a maniac as I fly down the stairs with Ty hot on my heels.
“You’re a cheater! You got a head start!”
I beat him to the kitchen, panting and laughing as I hand him a broom. “You sweep and I’ll cut the pie.”
Rather than take the broom from my hands, he pulls me against him and kisses me long and hard, then lets go just as quickly and turns toward the mess on the floor as he pulls the broom from my grasp. “I want ice cream with mine.”
The weekend has been the perfect combination of work and relaxation, especially after the disaster of a week we just had. Ty stayed at my place and was content to catch up on his own work while I dove into mine. Now, all too soon, we are driving out to the Lazy K Ranch for Sunday football.
“You know, you could have just come spent some time with the guys. You didn’t have to bring me,” I say as Ty turns onto the driveway that leads down to the ranch.
“Cara and Jill are there.” He shrugs. “It’s not really a guys’ night out, and besides, I want you there.” He steers us down the windy, tree-lined driveway. “I spend a lot of time with these people, and I want you to be comfortable with them too.”
“I am comfortable with them.” I smile. “I like them.”
“Good.”
He parks, and as we approach the front door, it flings open and a barking, excited Thor comes racing out of the house, stops to sniff us and get a pat on the head, then races to the side of the house.
“He has to pee!” Seth announces as he runs out after his dog, wearing a Seattle football jersey. “Hi, Ty! Hi, Lauren!”
“Hey, buddy,” Ty replies, and leads me into Josh’s home.
“Oh, good! They’re here!” Cara claps happily from the kitchen where she and Jill are bustling about. “Lo, come back here with us. The living room is full of testosterone.”
“This is where we part ways, babe,” I say to Ty, and kiss his cheek, but before I can walk away, he grips my arm and pulls me back against him for a long, hot, searing kiss, earning grumbles from both Zack and Josh, who suggest we get ourselves a room.
“This is football,” Zack informs us as Seth and Thor storm back in from outside. “There is no kissing during football.”
“Go watch your game,” I say, and pull out of Ty’s embrace. “I’ll be the tall one in the kitchen if you need me.” I wink and saunter away toward my friends. “I brought hot wings!”
“Wow, you made wings?” Jill asks.
“No, I brought them.” I laugh. “I picked them up from the Bulldog in town.”
“They have the best wings.” Cara takes them from me to pop them in the oven to keep warm.
“What’s the score?” Ty asks the guys as he hangs our coats, and settles in on the couch.
“Seattle’s up, seven to nothing, still early in the first quarter,” Josh says.
“So, how’s it going?” Jill pops a chip full of guacamole in her mouth.
“Good.” I nod and then grin when they roll their eyes. “We just saw you Friday night. How are you?” I ask Cara.
“I’m good.” She shrugs and stirs a Crock-Pot full of chili.
“How are you adjusting to being so far out of town?” I ask.
“It’s been . . .” She purses her lips, searching for the right word. “Interesting. Ranch life is new, that’s for sure. Oh! We have some fresh eggs to send home with you guys if you want them.”
“Sure, we’ll take some,” I answer as Jill nods. “Thanks. Nothing like farm-fresh eggs.”
“So true,” Jill agrees. “Are you still going to plant a garden in the spring?” she asks Cara.
“Yes, look,” she says excitedly, and points out the kitchen window to the backyard. “Those four stakes mark the area that Josh is going to fence in when the ground dries up a bit in the spring.”
“You have to fence it?” I ask.
“If we don’t want deer and rabbits to eat the veggies before we do, yes.” Cara laughs.
“Ah, makes sense.” I nod just as the guys shout from the living room.
“That ref is fucking blind!” Josh exclaims. “The ball was in! Sorry, Seth.”
“It’s okay.” Seth shrugs. “It’s football day.”
“As I was saying”—Cara laughs—“I’m going to plant lots of veggies and herbs, and I’m sure there will be more than we can eat, so you guys are welcome to some of them too. Also, Josh has decided to expand to raising pigs for butchering too, so we’ll have eggs, chickens, pork, and beef, along with the veggies.”
“Are you preparing for the zombie apocalypse?” Jill asks with a laugh.
“No, grain-fed meat is so much healthier.” Cara giggles and then shrugs. “But we will be able to survive the zombies too.”
“I’m so happy that you love it,” I murmur. “I don’t know if I could do it.”
“We’re city dwellers,” Ty agrees as he joins us in the kitchen. He wraps his arms around my waist and kisses my neck before pulling away and opening the fridge.
“Yes, Cunningham Falls is such a bustling metropolis.” Jill rolls her eyes at her brother.
“It’s not fifteen miles from town in the middle of nowhere,” Ty reminds her, and kisses me one more time.
“Dude!” Zack yells. “Stop kissing Lauren and bring us our beers!”
Ty laughs and returns to his friends.
“How’s the real estate business?” Cara asks Jill.
“It’s always good around here. Tourists move in and out. Winter’s always slow, but I’m doing fine.”
“Holy fucking shit!” The men all jump from their seats, their arms raised above their heads. “Go! Go! Go!”
“Montgomery’s running the ball!” Zack yells. “Holy fuck, an eighty-yard run for the touchdown!”
“That’s right, baby!” Ty yells, high-fiving everyone, including Seth.
“Did Josh and Zack just bump chests?” Jill asks, as we stare at the spectacle before us.
“Yeah,” I reply, and giggle when Thor begins barking and jumping around the cheering men.
“Montgomery is on fire today!” Josh cries. “Whew!”
“Who is Montgomery?” Jill asks Cara.
“I think he’s the quarterback.”
“Huh,” Jill replies. “Okay.”
Ty glances over with a wide smile and winks at me before settling back on the couch, taking a sip of his beer.
“How does watching football turn normal men into cavemen?” Cara asks. “I expect them to start belching and ordering us to bring them more beer any second.”
Just then, Seth lets loose with a huge belch courtesy of his cola.
“I rest my case.” She laughs.
“Good one,” Zack says, laughing, rather than admonishing him.
“Men are gross,” Jill whispers, and shakes her head.
“They are predictable,” I agree with a laugh. “And I have to admit, mine is sexy.”
“So is mine.” Cara sighs.
“Ugh, okay, I’m changing the subject.” Jill pulls the wings from the oven. “Let’s eat.”