[WS02] Taming Alex Read online

  He smiled. “I didn't, either, until she opened one for me and took it over. Well, a year into our quote-unquote relationship, we decided to drive down with Sam and his girlfriend to the beach. Up until then, my relationship with Terry had been going pretty smoothly, if you don't count the compulsive updating she did. I had dropped all of my weight and was working with Sam to help out with his youth project. He ran free clinics for overweight youth at the Y, and I started tagging along, talking to the kids. It was weird seeing how far I'd come along in the eyes of those kids.” He shook his head and took another drink.

  “That's wonderful.” She smiled at him. “I bet you really helped them out.”

  He nodded. “On the trip…” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “We were halfway up the coast, heading to a little place outside of Portland. Sam was driving, and he swerved to avoid a deer. The car spun and went head on into a tree.”

  “Oh!” she gasped.

  “Sam died on impact.” His heart still hurt when he thought of it. “Terry and I and Sam’s girlfriend, Julie, ended up with only minor scratches.” His eyes stung when he thought back at it, seeing his Hercules-like friend that way. “Things changed after the accident. Terry changed. She became more obsessed. She always wanted to know where I was, who I was with. At first I put it off as her way of recovering from her brother's death, but then I logged onto my Facebook account, and she'd posted that we were engaged to be married.” He shook his head. “So,” he sighed, “I broke it off. I felt terrible, but I wasn't ready to commit to her.” He shook his head.

  He didn't know why it mattered so much what Alex thought of him, but he was holding his breath until she spoke. Until she told him what she thought of him.

  When she reached over and took his hand, he could see the sincere look in her eyes. “You did the right thing to break things off. I guess that makes two of us.”

  Chapter Four

  “How did she take it?” Alex asked, after a moment of silence.

  He shook his head and frowned. “Not good. She posted things online that eventually caused the firm I was working for to seriously question if they wanted to continue letting me work there.”

  “How horrible. That bitch.” She watched as he smiled and his eyes softened.

  “I think she was just misdirected. Losing her only brother like that loosened a few things in her head. At least I like to think that.”

  “And here I was, concerned about breaking it off with Travis.” She shook her head and felt her stomach sink a little. “It's not that I don't want to hurt him after what he's put me through.” She shook her head. “I'd like to string him up on the largest tree downtown by his toenails.” Grant chuckled. “It's just that I know he always seems to talk his way back into a relationship with me. We've broken up ten times over the last three years,” she blurted out. “I don't know how he does it. One minute we're broken up, the next we're back together.” She frowned down at her hands. “I'm afraid I won't have the strength to stand against him. Especially now that it really matters.”

  His hand came up under her chin and pulled her face up until she was looking into his blue eyes. “Maybe you just haven't had the right reason to stay away.” He leaned closer to her and her breath caught.

  Then his mouth was on hers, and his fingers pulled her closer to him. He smelled like sweat and saddle leather, and the mixture was intoxicating to her. His skin sent little tingles everywhere he touched her. His tongue rubbed gently over her lips until she opened for him, playing the tip of her tongue over his, shyly. Then he tilted her head more and took the kiss deeper. She moaned and ran her hands up his jeans, playing her fingers over the muscles she found in his thighs. He pulled her closer until she was almost sitting on his lap. Trailing kisses down her neck, he pulled open the buttons on her checkered shirt. She wore a spaghetti strapped tank top underneath. He pushed her shirt off her shoulders and pulled back and looked at her. Just looked. She'd never been looked at like that before. Like she was something precious. Something to be treasured. It made her go warm inside until she wanted him to touch her, everywhere and quickly.

  Then he was kissing her again, and they were falling backwards onto the blanket. Her shirtfront was opened, allowing him to run his hands over the light material of her undershirt as he kissed his way down her collarbone. He pushed her shirt up, slowly letting his fingers walk upward until he cupped her gently. Her head rolled back and she moaned with delight as his fingers pinched her nipples softly. She arched her back, trying to get closer, pushing her breast into his hands further. She felt him smile next to her skin and wrapped her fingers in his hair, pulling him where she wanted him to be. His hot mouth hovered over her sensitive bud as it puckered through the soft material. Finally, he dipped his mouth lower, using his tongue to wet the cotton and sending waves of pleasure pulsing through her entire body. She wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him next to her as she felt his desire against her core.

  She wanted him. She wanted him right now. In her fields, on the picnic blanket. She moved slowly, rubbing her core against his erection. He gasped then moaned and continued to lap at her nipples. When he pulled her shirt up, exposing her to the warmth of the day, she sighed. He looked down at her, his hand resting on her flat stomach as he smiled.

  “Beautiful,” he murmured just before dipping his head and setting his tongue to her bare skin. She reached under his shirt, yanking and pulling until finally he sat up and tossed it aside, then quickly came back down to where he'd left. He ran his mouth over every inch of her exposed skin. Her hands traveled over his muscles, his shoulders, his pecs. Then she leaned up and tasted his heated skin. Salt and sin. She'd never experienced anything like it. He tasted like a man and felt absolutely wonderful pressing her down into the blanket.

  When her hands reached for the buttons on his jeans, his hands came over hers and pulled them up and away. She must have made a noise, because he chuckled.

  “There's plenty of time. No need to rush,” he said against her belly button. “Let me just savor you.” He released her hands to run his fingers over her hips, then he tugged lightly, lowering her jeans until the tops of her white laced panties were exposed. “Beautiful,” he said again. “Your skin is so soft here.” He ran a finger lightly over the dip in her hips. “And here.” He crossed her stomach slowly, taking the time to dip his finger just below her belly button. “I want to touch you, every inch.” She looked up into his eyes and saw the heat there that matched her own.

  “Yes, please.” She reached for his hands, only for him to grip her wrists again. Then he smiled down at her and shook his head.

  “You go too fast.” He laid her hands by her side, then slowly unzipped her jeans, pulling them lower until they were down by her knees and boots. He shook his head and chuckled. “Boots are always the problem. We'll leave them on for now.” She wanted to object, but he'd dipped his head again and was running his mouth where his fingers had just been. Her hands went into his hair again, enjoying the soft curls she felt there. When his mouth dipped lower and hovered just above her panties, she thought she'd go crazy from wanting. Travis had never, could have never, brought her to such want before. Looking down at Grant's head, she smiled. Grant was not Travis, the only man she'd ever been with like this before. Grant wouldn't be the selfish lover Travis had always been, never bringing her to a point of enjoyment before he took his own.

  Grant pulled her panties to the side and set his tongue on her sensitive skin, causing her shoulders to bolt up from the blanket, her hands fisted in his hair as he lapped at her, using his mouth and tongue to spread her sensitive skin. His hands gripped her hips, holding her still while he repeated the motion over and over until she closed her eyes and screamed with her release.

  Alexis lay there, looking at the sky through the thick cover of leaves on the branches above her and realized that she'd had her very first orgasm. Why, oh, why hadn't she done this years ago? She knew the answer as soon as her mind had asked the
question. Travis.

  Then blue eyes came to hover over her and she smiled as Grant looked down into her face. “Do you think that was distracting enough?”

  She smiled even more and pulled him down towards her. “I'm not sure. Maybe you better finish the job.”

  He chuckled. “Next time. I think it's about time I got back. I've got to unload all this hay tonight.” He helped her pull her pants back into place, but before he allowed her to pull her shirt back down, he ran his fingers over her soft skin one last time. “Beautiful.” He smiled at her.

  She watched him put his shirt back on and thought the same thing about him. Next time, she thought. She was going to make sure there was a next time, and that meant dealing with Travis once and for all.

  When they rode up the barn a little under an hour later, she was so relaxed she almost didn't see the blue truck parked in front of her car. When she noticed Travis sitting behind the wheel, her shoulders straightened and she felt a sharp pain in the left side of her temple. She knew she needed to deal with him, but she'd hoped to do it later that week.

  “What me to stick around?” Grant whispered as he helped her off the horse. She shook her head, and he nodded his head at Travis as he approached.

  “Hey there, Grant.” Travis walked over and planted a kiss on her mouth. She hadn't had any time to dodge it, and when she'd turned her head, he'd still gotten half of her lips. He tasted like cigarettes and beer. She pushed him away and handed the horse reins to Grant, who walked the horses into the barn.

  “I don't like that guy sniffin' after you. What's he doing here anyway?” Travis pulled her a few steps away, towards the back of Grant's truck.

  “Loading up hay.” She nodded towards the truck.

  “Well, men who work for you shouldn't have their hands all over you. It's not right. You're my fiancée after all.”

  She took a step away from him. “No, I'm not. Not anymore. Especially not after what you and Savannah did in your truck on my birthday.”

  She watched his eyes open wide, like he was shocked. The thought of Travis and Savannah making out turned her stomach. How long had it been going on?

  “Listen…” He took her arm and pulled her to the back of the barn where no one would see or hear them. “I was drunk, you know that. After you walked away, Savannah came up and started attacking me. I didn't mean to sleep with her.”

  She gasped. “You actually slept with her?” Her voice had risen to a high pitch. “You slept with her on my birthday?” She reached down and removed the ring from her finger and tossed it at his chest. “Goodbye, Travis. I don't want to talk to you or see you on my property again. If I do, I'll shoot your sorry ass.” She turned and walked into the house, shaking the entire way up to her room, where she slammed the door and sat quietly on her bed. For the first couple minutes, her mind was blank as she listened to Travis' truck drive away. Then she released the breath she'd been holding and felt free. For the first time in years, she felt free. She'd never thought of their relationship as a burden before, but somehow, spending the last few hours with Grant had forced her to open her eyes to the possibilities that were out there. Not just physically. Knowing what Grant had gone through in Boston really helped her put things into perspective.

  She didn't need Travis. She didn't need any man. Sure, she enjoyed having one on her arm, but the thought of getting into another relationship like she'd had with Travis didn't seem appealing to her. She was going to live her life, do what she wanted for once.

  Looking around the room, she realized she didn't know exactly what that was. She'd been dating Travis since a week after her seventeenth birthday. He was the only man she'd let touch her, until today. Her mind turned and an image of Grant's head as he pleased her appeared in her mind. She blushed, her cheeks heating, and she felt herself melt and get wet thinking about what he'd done. Travis had never done anything like that. Oh, she'd known it was possible, since her friends had talked openly about their relationships, but she'd never had it done to her before.

  Thinking about it, she realized there was a lot she hadn't experienced before. Maybe Grant was the right man to show her everything that she'd been missing? After all, there was no fear of her falling in love with him, since she'd always think of him as the good guy, and everyone in town knew that there was no way she would ever fall for anyone that pure.

  Grant cussed in the empty barn for the tenth time. Sweat dripped down every inch of his body and every muscle in his body ached. His jeans were completely covered in sweat, dust, and hay. He looked down at the animals watching him from the main floor in his barn and laughed. They actually looked concerned for him.

  “Don't worry, guys, I'll have this unloaded today.” He got back to hauling the bundles up the ladder stairs and wondered why he hadn't hired someone to help him unload it all. Not only had he spent the last two days doing his normal chores around the large place, but he'd spent as much time as he could hauling the hay up a dozen rickety stairs to his loft.

  The last two days had been hell not only on his body; his mind refused to stop focusing on the picnic with Alex. He couldn't stop thinking about her sweet taste on his tongue. It had taken all his willpower to stop that day, under the tree.

  He knew she was just getting over a hard breakup and didn't want her to use him. Like he'd used her. Hell. He cussed at himself. He'd done what he'd done for a purpose. So she would know how good it could be. To show her what it could be like. He'd wanted to take her then and there, but something inside had stopped him. She wasn't ready. He knew it.

  In the end, it took him a hundred times longer to unload the truck then it had to load it, because he kept stopping and thinking about her. By the time he walked into his house on the third night, all he could think about was a shower and his bed. When he walked inside, he saw the little red light flashing on his answering machine, which made him realize he hadn't stopped in town to purchase a new cell phone. Since he was enjoying hiding from the world, he didn't mind just having the home line and an old-fashioned answering machine.

  Hitting the button, he listened to his mother remind him about some out-of-state dinner guest and say that he shouldn't forget to wear his nice new tie she'd bought him. It wasn't until halfway through his shower that he remembered that the dinner his mother had been talking about was tonight. He groaned and looked at the clock on the bathroom wall. He was due to be at his folks’ house in less than an hour. He groaned again.

  Pulling his tired muscles out of the shower, he put on his best clothes and the tie his mother wanted him to wear. He wished his younger sister, Melissa, was in town instead of attending school in Dallas. Then maybe his mother wouldn't be trying to feed him all the time.

  On his last visit, he had finally convinced his father that he was man enough to fill his own plate, instead of letting his mother pile her fried chicken and mashed potatoes a mile high. His mother hadn't been so pleased. She kept trying to sneak more food onto his plate, claiming he was getting too thin.

  When he drove up to the simple one-story house, he spotted two cars he didn't recognize. Just what he wanted, a dinner with a bunch of strangers. When he walked into the house, he could hear his mother's laughter from the den and walked in to the back room. There was an older couple sitting on the couch. He walked over and kissed his mother on the cheek, waiting to be introduced.

  His mother jumped up from her chair and patted his arm. “Oh! There he is now. Roger, Regina, this is our son, Grant.” His mother's fingers dug into his back, forcing him to step forward and shake their hands. He must have mumbled something like, “How do you do?” to them, because they both nodded and replied. Then his father stepped in the back door, his grilling apron wrapped around his larger belly. “Oh, there you are my boy. I was just telling Terry that you'd be along shortly.”

  Grant's heart started beating faster. He felt every vein in his body as it sped up and started beating frantically. When his ex-girlfriend walked into his parents’ house holding a glass
of wine in one hand, his head almost exploded. She had a large smile pasted on her face and a worried look in her eyes.

  “Would you excuse me for a moment?” he said between his teeth, then he grabbed her arm and walked outside with her. When they were alone, he turned to her. “What in the hell are you doing here?”

  “What?” She looked shocked at him. “Didn't you get my messages? My parents were visiting from California and wanted to meet you.” She looked down at her hands. “For Sam's sake.” She crossed her arms over her chest, then glared up at him.

  “Those are your parents?” He turned and looked towards the house. Just great, he thought. “What have you told them about us?” He turned back towards her, pinning her with a stare.

  She tried to avoid his answer by walking past him, but he grabbed her arm again. He hadn't seen her in almost a year. Other than the fact that her hair was shorter, nothing else had changed, and it appeared the way she thought about him hadn’t either. “Terry. What?”

  “They may still think that we're engaged, since I never really updated our Facebook page.” She sighed and looked away.

  “I'm not doing this.” He turned and walked into his parents’ house, Terry close on his heels. “Mr. and Mrs. Walkins.” He waited until they both looked at him. “I want you to know that Terry and I were never really engaged and that we broke up over a year ago.” He felt Terry's fingernails dig into his arm. “I'm sorry about Sam. He was one of my best friends for over five years. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't remember his advice and training. Even up against one of the best cooks in the south.” He nodded towards his mother, who beamed back at him, her hands going over her heart. “I'm sorry you came all this way to meet me under the assumption that we were engaged. I hope you weren't deceived.” He waited.

  “Thank you.” Terry's mother, Regina, stood and smiled at him. “We assumed your relationship had been broken off once we heard you had moved back home and Terry was still staying in Boston.” Her husband stood next to her. “I hope this won't hinder the wonderful dinner your parents have planned for us. Your father has been grilling the most delicious smelling steaks and your mother promised me a copy of her peach cobbler recipe.”