Chapter 21
21
Ciaron
T aylor was putting the last of the dishes away when I got back from dropping Mam off. Mam had changed since I was younger. She recognised my efforts more. She seemed to think Taylor was taking advantage of me sometimes and maybe she recognised that she was like that too. It felt like she was trying to help when mentioning how I always did the cooking.
“That was a fun dinner,” I said.
Taylor gave me a withering look. “Fun for the golden child, perhaps.”
I shrugged. “I can’t help being amazing.” I sidled up behind her and wrapped my arms around her. “Thank you for not giving it to her.”
She turned in my arms. “Lucky, I love you.”
I chuckled. “Or else I’d be stabbed with that fork instead of kissed on the cheek?”
“Yep.” She gave me a soft kiss.
“How did your chat with Isabelle go?”
“Good. I think. I told her I was sorry and that I was going to do better.”
“And what did she say?”
“Nothing really. I think she will be harder to win over than you.”
I brushed her hair back with my fingertips.
“Actions speak louder than words. She did stick up for you at dinner, though.”
Taylor rolled her eyes and shook her head. I knew she meant that it shouldn’t have been necessary for her to do it.
“She did admit she had no plans for a party. It was all a ploy to get us back together.”
I pulled her closer. “It worked.”
She nodded and smiled. “We are going to organise a small pizza party, so your mam doesn’t get suspicious.” She rested her hands on my chest. “A party would be good for everyone; I think it would be good for morale.”
“Good plan.” I bent my head to hers and tugged at her bottom lip.
“You know what else is a good plan?” she asked as she ran her hands over my chest. She pushed herself against me.
“What?” I rasped out.
“We get naked and go shower,” she whispered against my lips.
I grabbed her arse and pulled her against my hard-on. “We’ll save water showering together.”
“We can get all hot and sweaty and clean at the same time.”
Fuck me if my dick didn’t get harder. “Twice in one day.” My voice was unsteady.
“Need to make up for all the good times we missed out on,” she said, before she brushed her lips against my neck.
I held her close. “Is this how you’re going to win me over?”
“Is it working?”
“Fuck yeah.”
I pulled her along the hallway to our room, switching off the lights as we went. Taylor was already on her way to the shower before I stripped off my clothes and left them in a pile on the floor. She turned the water on and beckoned me in. I watched as she soaped herself up, running her hands over her body, massaging her breasts and teasing her nipples. I swallowed as I stared at her. Her hand drifted lower, rubbing circles on her stomach with the soap, bubbles emerging and disappearing within moments. She glided over her hips and over her small birthmark. Her hand slipped between her legs.
The way she watched me watching her was seductive. Her teeth grazed her lip. A tremor ran through me. My dick pulsated as she sighed. Only a small sigh. I wanted to beat my chest, knowing she’d only given herself a little bit of pleasure compared to the hot orgasm I’d given her earlier.
She handed the soap to me, her fingers lingering on mine, sending a shiver through me. All I wanted to do was wash myself quickly so I could sink my dick deep inside her. But she wouldn’t appreciate my eagerness. Her gaze followed my hand down my stomach. She swept her tongue across her lips as I went past my belly button. Her breath came in heavy pants, shooting excitement through my body, moving my hand towards my dick.
Her hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. “Not there.”
“What?”
“I don’t want a mouthful of soap.”
She sank to her knees.
“Wha—”
She peered up at me as she took my dick in her mouth.
“Fuck.” I grabbed at the wall and tried to find the soap holder. I shoved the soap in the general direction and missed. It thudded onto the floor. Taylor tightened her lips, gliding along my length. She twirled her tongue around the head.
“Fuck my mouth, Ciaron.”
I nearly exploded on the spot. My legs were as weak as they’d been the first time I’d ridden a horse.
She wrapped her lips around me again and moved her hands to my hips. I curled my fingers around her head and pumped into her mouth. Holy fuck. She groaned and the vibration ran through my dick.
My hands tightened. I was conscious of not hurting her. I knotted my fingers in her wet hair, trying to get some purchase. The suction of her mouth increased. A small gag escaped as I pumped a little too hard. Without missing a beat, she adjusted the tilt of her head.
My fingers squeezed as the pressure inside me built. My legs tensed. She sucked harder. I exploded inside her mouth. My dick jolted as I kept hold of her head.
“Fuck.” I could barely breathe.
“Fuck.” I let go of her head and grabbed at the wall, willing my shaking legs to support me.
Taylor disengaged her mouth from my dick and stood. Her tongue darted up my chest and across my collar bone before she sucked on my neck, sending another tremor through me.
She whispered in my ear, “Kissing and making up is fun.”
I woke with Taylor wrapped in my arms. It was in these quiet moments in the morning I’d think about our future. At the beginning, when my arm was around her, the thoughts were all positive. Then, as we’d drifted apart in life and in bed, they became tainted. Now, as I lay here, they were hopeful.
I wasn’t ignorant of the fact that we had a long way to go. A few sincere discussions and some hot sex wasn’t going to fix all our problems, but they were a good start. And not just for me. Because every positive step in our relationship was a positive step for the kids. The changes she made were for all of us. The problem now was sustaining them. I needed to step up too. I needed to be the man she’d married. The strong one. The one who would do everything he could to keep her.
Before, I wasn’t sure she’d ever change. She hadn’t made any effort after we’d split. Most other people would have panicked and held on tight. She’d actually seemed to get worse. Now it was the total opposite. It was as if a switch had been flicked. But a switch could be flicked off just as fast.
Taylor moved beside me and stretched. I kissed the top of her head. She gave a contented sigh.
“You should have a girl’s day,” I said. “Go buy a dress for this party.”
Her eyes met mine. “Isabelle would like a new dress. I’m sure we can find something that won’t break the bank. Or maybe we can get a couple of new accessories instead.”
The drought meant we were always watching our money. We’d had so many plans for improvements around the farm, including my taking a university course in pasture management. All we knew had been passed on. We’d thought it was important to get some science behind it. But all of that had been put on hold. And as much as I knew Taylor tried not to dig into those savings, it had been unavoidable. Taylor would be thinking that a dress was a frivolous expense. And she wasn’t wrong.
“Isabelle loves op-shopping,” I said.
“Do you think your mam will enjoy a day out with us?”
“Yes, she’ll love spending the day with Isabelle.”
All I could hope was that she would play nice. She seemed to push Taylor’s buttons a lot.
“OK. I’ll ask Isabelle.”
“A new dress, a day off school, time with you. I doubt she’d say no.”
Taylor kissed me softly. “Thank you for your support. Will you be OK to cover my jobs today?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem. The feed runs will take a little longer and I can shuffle a couple of people around. One day won’t kill us.”
She rolled out of bed. “I’m going to see if Isabelle’s awake.”
I sat up and swung my legs out of bed. “Looks like we won’t be kissing and making up this morning.”
She smirked. “I was just thinking of your well-being.” She leant down to kiss me.
“Getting it on three times in twenty-four hours might be a bit much for you.”
“Nice of you to care.”
“Rest up for later. I’m going to see Isabelle.”
And with that, she was gone. My dick may have been disappointed, but my heart was happy. She was excited to spend time with Isabelle and she’d said ‘later’ with such confidence I had no doubt we were on the road to recovery.