Chapter Twenty
Lisa handed her a brightly coloured package about the size of a bottle of whiskey, but far lighter. “Don’t open it until you’re in the car on the way home,” she ordered, slipping her arms around Tamara and hugging her. “You deserve to be happy,” she told her fiercely.
“Thanks, little sis. When you find out what bee’s up Karen’s butt, let me know, ’kay? We Whiskey Creek mice have got to stick together.”
Lisa rolled her eyes before offering a kiss and backing away. She eyed the room until she spotted Emma, swooping in and lifting her up. “My turn for cuddles.”
They said their goodbyes to Sasha and Emma who were buzzing with excitement to have a sleepover with extended family. Goodnight kisses and hugs and waves followed, then they were back outside, nine p.m. and a long drive ahead of them.
A large question hovering.
Caleb held the door for her and she climbed in, feeling a little unreal. Of all the times she wished she had the courage to jump to a conclusion, she just couldn’t.
What if he actually wanted to go back and have some time in the house quiet-like, without the girls?
They were barely out of town, heading south when Caleb cleared his throat awkwardly. “Sorry I didn’t warn you ahead of time.”
“I’m surprised the girls kept it quiet as long as they did. Now I understand all the questions about chores better.”
She watched his profile, her blood beginning to race as he swallowed, his throat moving.
“I’ve been thinking. I’ve been thinking hard, and I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but you know that issue we had on Christmas Eve?”
Issue? “Can you clarify what you mean, because I remember a whole bunch of things going down on Christmas Eve.”
He cleared his throat again. “I think both you and I want the same thing when it comes to protecting the girls.” He reached across and caught hold of her fingers, and this time her heart rate tripled. “But you and I both have something else we want really bad. I thought we could meet some of those needs without complicating things for the girls.”
Oh boy. “You want to fool around?”
His fingers squeezed tight. “Fool around. That sounds like something we did back in high school, and I don’t mean for us to stop at kissing, or petting.”
Oh boy again.
It made sense, because this thing between them was so huge and combustible, she didn’t think they could deal with it by sneaking around corners and hoping for the best. But she wasn’t looking just to rub out some excitement. “Caleb, I meant it. I don’t want to hurt the girls, I’ve come to care for them, and if you and me giving into this—”
“Violent urge to fuck?” he interjected.
A flush of heat struck straight between her legs. “Yeah, that would be one way to put it. I don’t want to do something that’s going to make you want to fire me. The girls don’t deserve that.”
She didn’t deserve that, but they’d stick to the girls for the moment.
Caleb stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. “I have no intention of firing you. But we’re not ready to go from where we are to where we want to be in one day, and I can’t hold back much longer from showing you exactly how much I want you.”
A lovely rush of endorphins washed through her system. Tamara considered it better than any high she’d reached before. “So we’re going home to let this thing between us progress to its natural conclusion.”
He glanced over, and what she’d hoped to see earlier, all that fire and need and passion, scalded her as if she were kindling, and with one whoosh she went up in flames.
“Okay by me,” Tamara responded.
And then incredibly, they sat there. Holding hands in the car as he drove down the highway. Tamara wiggled in her seat as she debated the proper response. Because, yes, it would be a little crass to simply stop the truck, pull over to the side of the road and go for it.
Then again, that wasn’t the worst idea she’d ever heard.
Distraction. She needed a distraction.
Her eye fell on the vibrantly wrapped present Lisa had given her, and she tore the paper away, discovering as she expected a box that would usually hold a bottle of Jameson Whiskey.
Only when she popped open the top and removed the festive tissue paper what poured into her lap were dozens of packages of condoms. Brightly coloured, flavoured, ribbed—large.
She shoved the wrappers back into the box as quickly as she could, latex crinkling under her fingers.
It seemed she now had not only motive but the means.
“Caleb?”
He grunted in response. If she didn’t know better she’d assume he was doing something boring like looking over a tractor magazine or planning how much hay to stack in the south field.
But a quick glance to her left showed the truth. His fingers on the wheel were white, his grip so tight she could practically hear the leather scream in protest. Maybe his legendary control wasn’t quite as unshakable as he wished.
Oh, she certainly hoped it wasn’t.
“Could you pull over, please?”
He frowned. “You need a pit stop already?”
She shook her head happily. Then she waggled one of Lisa’s Christmas presents in the air where he could see it. “I think we should start that little adventure a little sooner than waiting until we get home.”
Caleb swore, snapping his head back to the front and focusing on the road as if she held a gun to his head. “Tamara. I’m not taking you in the goddamn truck.”
She slid a hand up his arm, squeezing her fingers over his shoulder before sliding back down and caressing his biceps. “Why not? I have no problem giving myself to you in the truck. Or if it makes you feel better, I could take you.”
The engine roared for a second as he hit the gas extra hard before growling at her. “We can wait.”
But the imperturbable Caleb was fidgeting.
Tamara eased her hips forward on the seat and undid her pants.
He snapped a glance sideways. “Don’t do that.”
Tamara lifted her T-shirt to expose her belly then lifted her hand to her mouth and licked her fingers before sliding her hand into her pants. Curling her knuckles so they showed against the fabric of her jeans. “Just getting warmed up.”
He was torn, she could tell that. Eyes on the road with just enough glances to the side to know she was driving him wild. Heck, she was driving herself wild, brushing fingers over her clit steadily until a soft sound of pleasure escaped her lips unbidden.
Caleb turned the truck off the main highway, bouncing down a dark side road toward a batch of trees.
Tamara let a smile sneak out, lifting her hand across and offering her fingers. “Want a taste?”
He slammed on the brakes, skidding the truck to a stop. It shimmied ninety degrees to finish parked across the dead-end road. Then he was around the vehicle, jerking open her door and releasing her seatbelt to pull her toward him. He took her lips, kissing hard and deep and fast until she was lightheaded.
Caleb reached down and stripped off her pants, pulling them down as far as her boot tops before shoving her panties away as well. He pushed her back to the seat, jerked her hips forward and covered her with his mouth.
Zero to sixty—the bit of warmup she’d had was nothing compared to the caress of his tongue over her sex. Feasting like a starving man, the five o’clock shadow on his cheeks rasped against her inner thighs. A sensual sandpaper forcing pleasure on her as he moved his tongue against her rapidly. Strong fingers dug into her ass as he lifted her against his mouth.
He’d wrung an orgasm from her in no time flat, her body shaking as he grabbed for the box on the floorboards. Caleb tore open the lid, and colourful squares went flying everywhere. He had a condom open, his cock covered then he stepped up on the running boards, lined up and slid in.
Slowly. Eyes fixed on her face as he pushed into her. Hard and hot and thick and oh, yes, it felt good.
Tamara swore, lifting her knees. She intended to grab hold of her ankles to offer him more room, but her jeans were tangled around her boot tops, so she ended up in a weird, lopsided butterfly-position as he joined their bodies, leaving her fuller than she’d ever been.
He closed his eyes, a shudder wracking his entire body as he gripped her hips and held them together.
Intimate and picture-perfect. In spite of having only briefly kissed, in spite of having all their clothes on and the awkward location for their first sexual tryst, it was perfect.
The impact of two and a half months of foreplay couldn’t be discounted.
And when Caleb pulled his hips back, the perfection of it just continued. Tamara reached down and caught hold of his wrists so she could contribute. Clenching as he thrust forward, arching her back and sighing with contentment as he worked himself in and out of her.
Over and over again.
Cold air poured in the door and swirled around them as the December wind shifted over the Rocky Mountains. A glacier-kissed ice-scented breeze that would normally have sent her running for shelter, but she was hot. Scorching, burning hot as he stared down, his ironclad grip controlling her hips.
Pleasure rose again, never quiet after her first orgasm, and she let go of his hand to strum her fingers over her clit, helping matters along. Stronger, higher—
But not quite there before he tightened from head to toe, arching against her and pulsing helplessly as he came. Release taking him and shaking him, and she couldn’t even be disappointed that she hadn’t gone two for two.
It still felt so damn good, and unless she was mistaken, this was only round one.
His head dipped forward, chest quivering as he breathed uneasily. “Damn.”
Tamara sighed happily. “That pretty much sums it up.”
He looked at her from under his brows, a small satisfied smile curling his lips. He didn’t say anything else, just leaned in and pressed his mouth to hers with a soft, tender kiss. Cold air swirled around them, his cock hard enough to be felt inside her tingling sex, and she couldn’t imagine anything better.
Except knowing this was just the beginning.
He wasn’t about to apologize.
If it’d been any other woman, at any other time, Caleb would have been appalled at his lack of control. But as he put them back on the highway and headed for home, Tamara was damn near gloating in the seat next to him.
Considering how good he felt, this wasn’t a time for apologies.
He almost wondered if he was dreaming, though, because she’d agreed far more easily to his proposition than expected. It wasn’t as if he only wanted this for today—only for now. He still needed to take that final step and make their relationship more official. Getting there made the distance between two points seem a hell of a lot longer than it should be.
It was like the spot out at Silver Stone where the river stood in the way, and even though the horse sheds he’d been told to go check were less than a five-minute walk apart, because of that river it was an hour unless he wanted to get wet.
Unless he wanted to face the rapids that could twirl him around and possibly send him reeling.
Tamara isn’t Wendy.
Tamara was forthright, all energy and boldness as she reached for his hand, linking her fingers with his and offering a smile full of satisfaction. He felt himself smiling in return.
“I can do better than that,” he informed her. “I feel like a greenhorn, trying to seduce you in the back alley of some nightclub.”
“Caleb Stone. Is this something you’ve done a lot of? Seducing innocent young things behind taverns?”
He shook his head. “Honestly? I never was much of one for hitting the bars. Luke, Walker and I used to go on occasion, and after Josiah moved to the area he and I went. But I mostly stopped after…”
She stroked her fingers between his, caressing. “Tell me to go to hell if you want, but do you have anybody you talk to about Wendy?”
His good mood faded slightly. “I try not to think about her.”
“Which makes sense, and I get it. I’m a lot happier when I don’t think back to everything that brought about me being fired, but there are times and situations it would be much easier to— I don’t know. I guess I just want you to know you can talk about her with me. I’m not going to judge you for making a mistake, if you made any, and I’m not saying you did.” She gave his hand a squeeze then adjusted position. Slipping off her boots and bringing her feet up on the seat beside her as she faced him.
“Why’d you get fired?” It was off topic, and yeah, a protective move. But he wanted to know how she’d respond.
Turns out, with utter honesty. “The reason on paper is I ignored the patient/doctor confidentiality clause when I told my friend that her mom had terminal cancer. The real reason is I pissed off a man in a position of power by refusing to worship his cock.”
Caleb jerked the water bottle from his mouth, coughing as he attempted to get rid of the mouthful he had just taken. Thank God he hadn’t spewed it all over the inside of the windshield.
“Was that a little too blunt? I went out with one of the doctors a few times, but it ended up he wasn’t as much fun as he thought he was. And I couldn’t resist smart-mouthing him back when it became clear he thought he had the right to push me around.”
Caleb wiped his lips dry before glancing at her. “You? Smartass comments?”
“Shocking, right?”
He was silent for a moment. That was a pretty big thing she’d done wrong. “Was it worth it? Not the part about being a smartass, but telling your friend.”
Tamara nodded. “She’d already lost her dad to cancer. It was this long, drawn-out illness that was hell on the entire family. Which is why her mom was keeping her diagnosis a secret, but I know Allison. I know she would’ve been even more devastated to have been living hours away instead of spending those final days with someone she loved.”
It was silent in the cab for a few moments, just the wheels on the pavement and the air rushing past as they drove in the darkness.
“Even knowing I would get fired, I’d do it again.” Tamara spoke softly, staring out the front windshield. There was not much out there except white lines at the side of the road, and a dotted yellow passing lane flickering by like a heartbeat. Pale red taillights winking far in the distance.
As quiet as it was, the cab seemed to be filled with life and energy and powerful emotion. It was all because of her—Tamara.
Maybe that was why Caleb found himself telling her things he hadn’t expected to. “Wendy didn’t like going to the bar. I think maybe there were too many people, which meant she couldn’t stand out in the crowd. I didn’t mind that she liked it when I took her out for lunch while we were dating. Ginny, Dare and Dustin were in school then, so I didn’t have to wrangle babysitters or coordinate someone to cook meals at home. Wendy and I dated for three months before we got married.”
Tamara whistled softly. “That’s a bit of a whirlwind.”
He sighed heavily. “She got pregnant.”
“Oh.”
Maybe this confession thing was good for the soul. “Part of the reason I wasn’t too thrilled when my sister ended up pregnant. I knew it could end badly.”
Tamara shook her head. “I don’t think you have to worry about your sister. Jesse and Dare are both putting one hundred percent into their relationship. Did you want your marriage to work?”
“Of course. I was dating her in the first place because I thought we’d be good together.” More the fool him.
“And from what I know of you, you were working to try and make that happen. I don’t think her getting pregnant should have been the kiss of death on your relationship if she wanted it to work. That’s what was missing between you and Wendy, at least from where I’m sitting. You gave and gave, and she didn’t.”
She hadn’t. Caleb wasn’t going to argue with that fact.
This wasn’t where he had expected their discussion to go, and yet it felt right. Then Tamara being Tamara she dove right back into the conversation and through the other side. “You haven’t had sex since she left, have you?”
Not much use in lying. “Explains why I was so fast off the handle.”
Tamara snickered. “Any session of fooling around that ends with me coming at least once is a win. Don’t sell yourself short. I had fun.”
“Me too.”
Then damn if she didn’t do it again. “How much sex did you have before that?”
“Tamara.”
“What? I’m trying to prepare myself for the next forty-eight hours.”
He fought to keep from smiling. He considered her question and it was easy. “Not much.”
“Define not much—?”
“What the hell do you want? What difference does it make?” He’d never even told Josiah this. “Emma turned seven late September. Add nine months. You’re the one doing math for me.”
He had to admit the stream of curses that confession induced was satisfying.
She reached across and grabbed hold of his hand, linking their fingers firmly. “Well then. It’s a good thing I’ve been taking my vitamins.”
There really wasn’t any answer to that one.
Then she stopped with the embarrassingly blunt questions. He worried that the remainder of the three-hour trip would turn into something awkward, or worse, a constant temptation to pull over and take her again.
Instead she decided to get his opinion on a whole number of household things they needed to catch up on, hauling a small notebook from her purse and going through a detailed list. Activities for the girls, questions about the ranch and the financial side of things. Heck, she had Ashton’s birthday party on the list.
The entire time they held hands. He hadn’t expected that simple act to feel so huge. So intimate.
An hour later Tamara closed the book with a satisfied snap. “Consider that a business meeting well accomplished. And the party planned.”
“Kelli will be glad.”
Tamara laughed as she squeezed his fingers then let go for a moment so she could put her notebook away. “What’s her story? Sounds as if she’s been working at Silver Stone for a long time.”
He nodded. “She showed up one spring when we were shorthanded. I thought Luke had hired her, he thought Ashton had, and Ashton thought I’d put her on payroll. None of us had, but she was there, up on horseback and doing a full day’s work, so we let her continue.”
“That’s a little weird, isn’t it? I mean, not so much the female ranch hand as the fact she had to be barely out of high school.”
Caleb glanced at her, but Tamara didn’t look concerned, more intrigued and curious. “Don’t tell her, but I did a police search on her. It came up negative. I figured she had her reasons, and Ashton decided he wanted to mother hen her, so we let it go. Never had a reason to regret it.”
“I like her,” Tamara admitted. “Reminds me of my sister Lisa. There’s not much they wouldn’t do on a dare, but you know when they got your back, it’s all out.”
“She’s a part of Silver Stone as much as any of us.”
Silence fell. Tamara leaned forward and turned on the music, Walker’s voice filling the cab.
Caleb felt a little embarrassed he hadn’t known something this big and important about his brother. And yet, as the story about Kelli’s arrival at Silver Stone reminded him, there were a lot of times he hadn’t quite known what was going on.
And he’d been far too oblivious when it came to the damage Wendy had done in his little girls’ lives.
Tamara is not Wendy. He reminded himself of this fact, but it was tough to still the doubts. What if he made another mistake? How much damage could be done this time?
But glancing beside him, he was struck by the honesty in her eyes. Blunt spoken, living life at high-volume, choosing to do what was best for a friend in spite of the devastating damage it did to her own life—those were not the acts of a woman with an ulterior motive.
He glanced at his watch. Nearly eleven o’clock. It should be late enough their arrival at the house might not be noticed. Because whatever else needed to be decided, Caleb Stone hadn’t had enough of her yet.
Tamara seemed to be on board with his thoughts as he pulled into the parking space nearest the front door. He turned off the lights quickly and left them in the dark.
Sheer mischief shone back as he glanced at her. “Are we hiding?” she asked.
“We have a limited amount of time.” He was out of the truck, pulling her after him. “I don’t want to waste it.”
She took him by the hand and raced up the walkway. They slipped in the front door, and he caught her by the shoulders, pushing her back against the nearest wall so he could lay a finger over her lips.
They stood in the darkness, listening.
Wonderful, amazing silence answered.
Two cool hands pressed against his face as Tamara aimed his gaze at her. “We have a limited amount of time,” she repeated his words. “And I don’t want to waste a minute of it.”
He expected her to slip up on her tiptoes and kiss him, so he just about fell over when she did the opposite. Sliding her back down the wall, hands braced across his chest, then lower, lower. Until she was on her knees and her fingers were tangled in his belt. Eyes flashing at him from behind her red-framed glasses.
He swore, the faint glow from the outdoor yard light shining through the front window to land on her face as she grinned up, rapidly undoing his belt buckle. Unsnapping and unzipping before she used two hands and a firm grip on his jeans to pull everything off his hips which left his rising erection in full view.
Caleb braced an elbow on the wall. “Hell, yes.”
She didn’t answer, just slipped her fingers around him and stroked. A slow-motion tease that she added her mouth to, licking in a circle around the sensitive head, getting him wet.
Nothing but sensation. Definitely no thought. Pleasure crawled up his spine as she sucked deep, taking half his length. Pulled back, tongue flicking at the base of the head. Pressed forward, her fingers digging into his butt cheeks as she encouraged him to rock toward her a little farther each time.
He threaded his fingers through her hair, curling the strands around his fist. Careful to control the depth and thrust, and floored by how mind-bogglingly good it felt.
She tightened her grip and pushed him back enough he popped free.
She tilted her head. “Ready for a challenge?”
Caleb chuckled. Only Tamara would think of adding a game to sex.
Then she blew his mind, releasing his ass and reaching up to tug at his wrist. “No hands,” she ordered.
He pulled his fingers away slowly, the threads of her hair sliding like silk over his knuckles. He placed his second elbow on the wall on level with the first, palms above them to form a triangle to give him something to lean on as he stared down.
Tamara turned back, and after resting the head of his cock on her open bottom lip, placed her palms on either side of her hips against the wall.
If anything, Caleb got harder. It was all up to him now, rocking forward and watching his cock slip into her mouth. She tightened her lips, sucking hard as he dragged back, and that sense of impending explosion grew tenfold.
He tried to keep it slow. Tried to keep from rutting forward like some out-of-control sex fiend, but she’d closed her eyes and was making the most delicious noises. Encouraging him to go harder, deeper. Pressure increased rapidly until he was seconds away from disaster.
“Tamara—”
She must’ve understood his question because she opened her eyes, and even stretched around his cock, it was clear her lips were curled in a smile. When she sucked extra hard on the next thrust, Caleb lost it. He stilled, deep in her mouth. The rhythmic motions of her swallowing stripped every last bit of control from him.
It was a good thing he had both hands on the wall or else he would’ve tipped right over. His legs shook so violently the house could’ve been in a full-on earthquake.
He finally regained enough brainpower to pull back his hips, his cock coming free with a pop. Tamara smiled as she rose to her feet, arms tangling around his neck. She kissed him, tentative at first as if she wasn’t sure how he’d take that idea, but to hell with that.
He pressed them together, pinning her to the wall as he kissed her hungrily. Pants still hanging, his ass out, and wave after wave of happy endorphins flooding his system.
The best part? He had no intention of letting her go any farther than his bed for a good long time.
A light turned on behind them, and the floorboards squeaked at the end of the hallway.