CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ben
Despite the flight attendant’s warnings, I stood near the exit door of the plane. I couldn’t get my boots on the tarmac fast enough. Chelsea was waiting at the ranch. After almost another two weeks apart, I couldn’t think of anything else but holding her in my arms.
“It was a pleasure flying with you today, Mr. Baldwin.” She smiled and pushed the door open for me.
I jogged down the stairs and ran into the terminal, my heels sliding on the slick floors. Someone could deliver the luggage later. I didn’t have time to wait. I grabbed the keys from the valet and hopped in the car ready to take on the fastest NASCAR driver on my way to the ranch.
The tires kicked gravel onto the curb as I spun away from the terminal. I cranked up my favorite country station and rolled down the windows. Thank God I was away from California. This was real air.
The longhorns and my neighbors’ ranches blurred past me. I finally saw the B up ahead, and slowed the car enough to make a hard turn into the front of the ranch. I was pleasantly surprised the entrance was clear. With word out that Love & Bondage was being filmed in L.A., the paparazzi pack had stayed away from the ranch.
There was no guarantee they wouldn’t be here by the end of the weekend, but this was the kind of welcome home party I enjoyed. Silence at the front entrance.
I waved at one of the guards at the gate and waited for the doors to swing open before speeding down the dirt road. Home never looked so good.
I didn’t bother to pull into the garage, but parked the car short of the doors. I jumped out and ran through the kitchen door. There was a girl I had to see, and I would break down every door in this house to find her if I had to.
Before I saw her, I heard her laughter. Clear and light, coming from the kitchen. I turned the corner to see Chelsea sitting on the counter, leaning over Lenny’s shoulder.
“Hey, darlin’.” I had an eerie feeling I was interrupting something, but I didn’t give a damn. I picked her up off the counter and wrapped my arms around her.
“Hey.” She smiled. “I didn’t think you were going to be home for another two hours.” She looked uncomfortable and glanced toward Lenny.
“Heavy tailwind. And I might have pushed up our takeoff.” I ran my thumb along her cheek. “When did you cut your hair?”
“What do you think? It was Quinn’s idea.” She fluffed it in the back.
“It’s great. Real pretty.” I placed her back on the counter reluctantly. All I wanted was to be alone with her. My heart was aching for her.
“You don’t like it, do you? I know it’s drastic, but I needed something different. New place. New career. New hair.”
I ran my fingers through the ends. It was shorter. I already missed the long tresses that would fall around her shoulders. I thought about the times she would hover over me, making a curtain that we could hide and love behind.
“You look gorgeous.”
Lenny had turned to the cutting board and was chopping fiercely on the other side of the kitchen. The knife hitting the board made a hollow sound in the oversized kitchen.
“Lenny’s making a special dinner for us tonight.” Chelsea beamed. “It’s going to be amazing, like everything he cooks. We’ve been planning it all week.”
“Sounds good, darlin’.” I threaded my fingers through hers, pressing my palm along the softness of her skin. “Why don’t we let him have the kitchen so he can work?”
She tilted her head to the side as if she was considering the offer, but I had a feeling she was only toying with me. She hopped to the floor. “All right. Bye, Lenny. See you for dinner.”
“Bye. Let me know if you need anything.” Lenny never took his eyes off the green onions he minced.
I tugged on her hand, pulling her down the hall and up the stairs. There was probably a stack of mail that needed my attention, but I bypassed the office without looking inside.
“In a hurry?” She giggled.
“Something like that.” I pushed open the bedroom door and locked it behind us. “I have missed you.”
As soon as the words hung between us, I devoured her lips with hungry kisses. Pulling, sucking, searing my mouth into hers. Her lips were like wine. I drank, moving against her, dipping my tongue, tasting more, wanting more.
I fell on the bed, Chelsea draped against me purring under the kisses. I looked into her eyes, trying to memorize all the flecks of blue.
“You’re kissing me like you’re getting ready to leave. You just got here,” she whispered.
“I’m kissing you like I’m never leaving again.” I claimed her mouth, fiercely toying against the softness of her skin. I had to pull back and rein in the urges that were powering through my fingertips. The nearness of her drove me crazy.
“You know how many times I’ve thought about this?” I tucked one of her short strands of hair behind her ear. I’d get used to the new look.
“As much as me.” She kissed my neck, firing heat throughout my body.
“More,” I growled. I snaked my hands under her shirt, flicking the clasp on her bra. I pulled it off with her shirt, grinning at the site of her breasts over me.
I leaned toward her. The tan lines from summer were fading, but I could still see traces against the silkiness of her skin. My tongue lashed at the faint lines until I couldn’t resist taking her in my mouth.
Her hands fisted in my hair, tugging harder the quicker my tongue licked and sucked, making her tits harden in my mouth. I clamped down, waiting for her to buck against me. She always loved it when I did that. From our first night together, I knew she yearned for what I could do to her as much as I did. Her innocent eyes drew me in, but in the dark, she was a vixen taking everything I had.
Her hips rocked against me, making me match her need. I rolled her underneath me, and snatched her jeans off her ankles. I dropped my pants, eyeing her, wanting her to know what she was doing to me. And what I was getting ready to do to her.
My cock ached for her. It was as hard as steel—harder.
“You’re so damn beautiful.” I grabbed her by the hips and pulled her to the edge of the bed.
She smiled, raising her hands over her head.
I leaned down and kissed her breasts again, swollen and red from my mouth. I’d never seen anyone so fucking sexy. I pushed her knees forward, locking my eyes on her expression. Part of me thought this should be tender and romantic, but I had been away from her too long. I saw the look in her eyes.
“Tell me,” I whispered. I didn’t know if I could wait for a response.
“I’m already yours.” She pierced me with her blue yes. “Fuck me.”
No sooner were the words over her lips than I pushed deep inside her, filling her, taking us both to a place we had craved for weeks. She arched off the bed, wrapping her legs around my waist. In that second, I wanted to get lost in her like I never had. I drove harder, faster, and slowed to an easy pace. It couldn’t be over that fast. I had waited for this. I could savor the feel of her a little longer.
Chelsea smiled at me. “I like it when you do that.” She rose to meet me, searing the sensation into my skin, almost bringing me to my knees.
“How about this?” I unhooked her ankles and crawled over top of her. I needed more. I needed to feel her skin against mine.
“Yes, this.” She nodded.
I leaned down and kissed her as I thrust forward. She wrapped her entire body around me, pulsing into me. Her breath against my ear, the heat of her breasts burning my chest. The moans coming from her throat. That look in her eyes. There was any better homecoming in the world.
***
The next morning, I watched her sleep before deciding I should jump in the shower. Time at home was limited, and I might be able to knock off a few things on my to-do list before she awakened.
I quietly pushed back the covers and slid my feet to the floor. Our clothes were everywhere. But when were clothes ever neatly stacked and folded after a night like that?
The hot water felt good. I toweled off and checked to see if Chelsea was still asleep. Her back faced the door. I thought about climbing back in bed with her, but I had things to do. One of which was confirming her birthday surprise. It had to be right. I wanted twenty-six to be a birthday she’d never forget.
I closed the door and released the handle slowly, hoping it didn’t disturb her.
“Oh, good morning, Nan.” She surprised me in the hall.
“Good morning. I heard you came home last night.”
“Yep, sure did.” I tried to whisper and pointed to the door. I walked to the steps. “Anything going on I need to worry about while I’m home for the weekend?”
“No, we have everything under control at the house.” Her eyes darted back to the master suite.
“You sure?” I hesitated at the top step. It felt as if she had more to say.
“Well, I was wondering how long your guest is going to stay.”
“Guest? You mean Chelsea? I’m hoping she won’t leave.” I grinned. “But I promise, you’ll be the first to know, Nan.” I squeezed her shoulder. “I’m going to get a cup of coffee.”
“Lenny has a fresh pot for you. Have a good day.”
“You too.” She stood at the top of the stairs as if she was a gargoyle watching her post. It was unnerving, but I shook it off. Nan was just being Nan. She wasn’t the warm and fuzzy type, but she sure knew how to manage the ranch house. I had accepted her odd quirks a long time ago.
I jogged down the stairs and ran straight for the coffee. “Good morning, Lenny.”
“Good morning. I’ve got eggs Benedict this morning. You want to eat now or wait for Chelsea?”
“Coffee now. I’ll have breakfast with her when she comes downstairs.”
“Sure thing.” He turned to pour a cup. “How are things going in L.A.?”
“Not too bad. I miss it here, of course.”
“Of course.”
“No place like Texas, Lenny.” I reached for the morning paper and smiled at the front-page headlines. All the talk was on the local football team being an early contender for state playoffs. Man, I loved Texas.
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.
“Hey, Mama, how’s it going?”
“You tell me. Why haven’t I heard from you?”
I winced. I had gotten slack with my regular phone calls. “Sorry, I’ve been in L.A., but I’m home right now.”
“You’re home? At the ranch?”
“Sure am. How are you doing?”
“Well, that is perfect timing, because your sister said she needed to take care of some things in Austin and we were thinking about a little road trip.”
“A road trip, huh?”
“And to see you of course, darlin’. I haven’t seen you in months.”
“I know, but this movie was kind of sprung on me last minute and I had to fly out pretty quickly.”
“Uh-huh.” She had that all-knowing mother tone. “Any other reason we haven’t seen your pretty face around here? You know you missed the Shiner Crawfish Festival.”
“Sorry about that. I guess I do have some news.” I picked up my coffee and walked out to the front porch.
“Go on. Tell me.”
“There’s somebody I’ve been spending my time with.”
“Is it the ex I keep seeing you with, or the other one?” My mother had a known inability to skip the headlines in the supermarket. She probably knew more than I did.
“Not the ex. God no. Not Rebecca. It’s a girl I met this summer on the island. She’s here with me at the ranch.”
“She moved in with you?”
“I don’t know if we’d call it that.” I took a sip of coffee. “She’s a songwriter. Has a contract at a label in Austin, so until she packs up her stuff in North Carolina, she’s staying here.”
“I see.” I didn’t hear disapproval in her voice, but I wasn’t sure what the new tone was.
“Mama, I’d love for you to meet her. Why don’t you and Val do your road trip thing and come on up tonight?”
“I’d love to meet her too. Your sister is going to be bugging me the whole way for details.”
“There’s just one thing.” I wasn’t sure how to put it. “I have a big birthday surprise planned for tomorrow night for Chelsea’s birthday. I don’t want to kick you out or anything, I’m not saying that. But by seven o’clock, we’re going to be kind of unavailable.”
“Wow, I’m meeting the girl and it’s her birthday. This is getting more serious by the second.”
I laughed. “Yeah, it’s pretty damn serious, but we can talk about that after you meet her.”
“You know I don’t like swearing.”
“Sorry, Mama.” I chuckled.
“I’ll call your sister and we’ll see you tonight.”
“Hey, Mama, is Dad driving down with you?”
“You know he’s busy with some things right now, and he said it would be all right if Valerie and I did an overnight trip. I sure wish he could come.”
I hung my head. It would have been a bigger surprise if Joe Baldwin was tagging along, but I was still stunned my mother was leaving the house without him. She never stayed anywhere overnight on her own.
I couldn’t think of a single thing that would prevent my father from getting in the car with his wife and daughter to visit his son. But that was how the man had always been—distant and removed. I thought I had accepted that.
“Yep, I know he’s busy. Sounds good. You girls be careful driving.”
“We always are. See you this afternoon. I’ve got to pack, and get the car loaded. Bye-bye.”
I placed the phone on the table next to the rocker. I looked at the fields in front of me. The grasses rolled with the breeze. I thought I spotted a doe and fawn creeping along the edge of the brush. I needed a dog. This porch would be complete with a dog. I finished my coffee thinking about what kind Chelsea might like.