13. Preacher
13
PREACHER
“S o, where are we headed?”
“Your place.”
“Oh.”
She sounded surprised, so I added, “Figured your boys would worry if you were out late.”
“My boys know I’m grown.”
“Your boys aren’t blind. They know their mother is beautiful and is bound to turn a head or two. Never know when it’s the wrong one.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not.”
“You can take it any way you want, but your boys are right to be concerned about you. They’ve made their fair share of enemies in the area. They’ve gotta watch their backs.”
“Isn’t that what you are for?”
“We’re gonna do what we can.”
On the drive over, she seemed to be holding her own, but I could feel her energy shifting as we got closer to the house. Neither of us spoke. We just kept our eyes on the road ahead, and the tension in the car built with every breath.
I parked, and neither of us said a word as we got out and started up to the gate. She opened the gate and motioned for me to follow as she started up the stairs.
When we got to the top, she opened the door, and I followed her inside.
I took a quick glance around and stopped cold.
Damn.
I knew it would be nice, but I wasn’t expecting it to be a full-blown penthouse. It was incredible. There was a large living room and modern kitchen, along with two full bedrooms. And everything was decorated to the hilt.
The walls were painted a mix of white and gray, and there was an oversized sofa centered in the main room with end tables on either side. There were several large paintings of various white flowers. I didn’t know what kind they were, but they clearly meant something to her.
It was feminine, but not overly so.
It suited her.
All of it.
I was still taking it all in when I told her, “Nice place.”
“You sound surprised.”
“Maybe a little.” I shrugged. “Didn’t know a stable could look like this. You got good taste.”
“Thank you. I’m glad you like it.” She walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. “Wine?”
“Yeah, sure.”
She poured two glasses and handed one to me. Her fingers brushed mine, just for a second, but it was enough to feel the tension humming in her.
I followed her over to the sofa, and we both sat down. She tucked her legs beneath her before taking a long sip of her wine. She stared off into space for a moment too long, and I knew she was struggling.
“Tabitha,” I whispered. “This doesn’t gotta be hard. Just talk to me.”
She looked at me for a long moment, then replied, “I know. It’s just a lot.”
I didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
I just sat there and waited for her to gather the courage to say what she had to say. She took another sip of her wine, then set the glass down and sighed.
“You already know the gist of it. I got married when I was sixteen. It wasn’t by choice.” She fidgeted with one of her bracelets as she continued, “My father made a bad bet he never should’ve made and lost. When he couldn’t pay, he gave them the only thing he had.”
Her voice didn’t crack.
It didn’t shake.
She just said it plain, like she was numb to it all. “It all happened so fast. I was just a girl one day and someone’s wife the next.”
I felt my jaw tense, but I kept quiet.
“I wanted no part of it, and Dimitri wasn’t exactly thrilled about it either. He didn’t want to marry me, but his father forced his hand. Dimitri didn’t like being told what to do, and he took his anger out on me. He was pretty brutal, especially in the beginning. He wanted things his way. He was very controlling, cold, and sex was…”
She paused, her lips pressing into a thin line. “It wasn’t about me. It was never about me. It was about power. About control. About putting me in my place.”
I could feel the burn in my chest.
“Things got better once I started having the boys. He let up some and wasn’t quite so harsh. And after Nikolai was born, something changed. I think he saw me differently.” She shrugged. “Maybe because I gave him what he wanted or maybe I lost my appeal. I don’t know. But he stopped coming to me. Stopped touching me. And I was okay with that. Relieved, even.”
She finally looked up at me with a somber expression. It was tough to see the hurt in her eyes, but I didn’t look away. I kept my eyes trained on hers as she told me, “I had my boys. They were my world. I figured that was enough. Ithadto be . And then…”
“And then?” I pushed.
“I met you.”
Her words hung between us. She’d given me the ultimate compliment. Tabitha was a beautiful woman. She could have her pick of men, and yet, it was me that turned her head. I wasn’t sure what to say to that. It was a moment when I was feeling a little proud, cocky even, but that was the last thing she needed.
Especially when she announced, “I don’t know how to do the whole dating thing.”
“Come again?”
“I’ve never done it. I went where I was told and pretended I wanted to be there or paid the consequences.” She took a long sip of her wine, trying to muster the courage to say, “I don’t know how to let a man in without thinking he’s going to use me or hurt me. I don’t know how to trust… And to just get it all out there, I don’t know how to kiss. Not really. Not the way kissing is supposed to be.”
“Hmmm.”
“It’s a lot, isn’t it?”
“It is, but there’s something you gotta remember.” I leaned in and looked her dead in the eye. “I’m not him. I’ll never be him or anything like him.”
“I know,” she said quickly. “And that’s why I’m sitting here with you right now. But you need to know it’s not going to be easy with me.”
“Thanks for the heads up, but I’m good.”
“You sure?”
“Look, I know you’ve been through hell. I ain’t expecting you to run out the gate and fall into my arms. But I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere unless you want me to.”
Her breath hitched, just a little. “I don’t want you to.”
“That’s all I need to know.”
My fingers twitched with the need to touch her, but I didn’t rush it. I leaned in slow, giving her every second to pull away if she needed to.
But she didn’t.
She stayed right there, watching me as I lowered my mouth to hers. When I finally pressed my lips to hers, it was as soft and tender as I could manage. It was a quiet kind of kiss. The kind that didn’t demand or take. It wasn’t about heat or hunger—even though I hadplentyof both for her.
It was about giving her a chance to take in the moment. I was letting her know it wasn’t just about me. I wanted her to know that she had a say and that what she wanted mattered.
She kissed me back, hesitant at first, like she was thinking her way through it. But then she settled in, just a little, but it was enough. And before I knew it, she wasn’t just kissing me back, she was leaning into it. And damn if that didn’t hit me right in the gut.
When we finally pulled apart, her eyes stayed closed for a second, and she inhaled a deep breath. I couldn’t help but smile when I told her, “Thought you didn’t know how to do this.”
“I don’t.”
She let out a shaky little laugh, and it was the sweetest damn sound I’d heard in a long time. “You do, and if you aren’t careful…”
“Kiss me again.”
“Tabitha.”
“I thought you said I was good at…”
Before she could complete her thought, I leaned in and crashed my mouth against hers, silencing her with a kiss.
This kiss was different. This kiss wasn’t laced with doubt or any resistance at all. Instead, it was hungry and possessive and filled with a need that matched my own. I wanted to devour her right there on the spot, but this wasn’t about me or what I wanted.
This was about what she wanted, what she needed, and about me giving it to her. And I wanted to give it without expectation or crossing any of her boundaries. It wouldn’t be easy. She’d made that clear, but I was here for as long as she wanted me to be.
A slight moan slipped through her lips as she wound her arms around my neck. When she inched closer, my hands drifted down to the small of her back, and I couldn’t believe how unbelievably perfect she felt in my arms.
Damn, there was no denying it.
This woman was going to be my fucking kryptonite.
Her body melted into me as her tongue brushed against mine, and I reached my breaking point. I’d taken all I could take. I eased back, breaking our embrace, and asked, “I’m gonna need to know how far you wanna take this.”
“As far as you want to.”
“No, babe. We’re not doing that.” Her eyes grew wide when I said, “This is all about you and what you want.”
“I don’t want to stop.”
“Okay. I can kiss you all damn night, but if you want more than that, you’re gonna have to tell me.”
She nodded, then leaned back in, kissing me once again. It didn’t take long for things to become heated. Tabitha had inched her way closer and was practically sitting in my lap when she gasped, “I want more.”
“How much more?”
“A lot more.”
Without saying anything more, she reached over, took my hand in hers, and stood. I followed suit, and as soon as I was on my feet, she led me to her bedroom. When she reached the center of the room, she stopped and turned to face me. Without batting an eye, she reached for the hem of her shirt and slowly slipped it over her head. She sat down on the edge of the bed, and when she started taking off her boots, I asked, “You sure about this?”
“No,” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I want to stop.”
“Tabitha.”
“Look, I’m not making any promises…” she reached behind her and unhooked her bra, letting it fall to the floor. “We may have to stop, but I want to try.”
“Okay, but we’re gonna take this thing slow.”
From the moment we’d first kissed, she’d had me all tangled up, and now, I was in complete knots. I closed in on her and slipped an arm around her waist, easing her to lay back on the bed as I hovered over her. I dropped my mouth to her neck, and when I started kissing along her shoulder, she shuddered beneath me.
“So damn beautiful,” I said against her collarbone as I moved down further. When I reached her breast, I closed my mouth over her nipple, and she immediately arched her back. I almost lost it when I saw how her body responded to my touch. Her hands dove into my hair, then down to my shoulders. She was all over me.
She wasn’t just into it. She was hungry for it.
“Oh my God,” she breathed as I kissed down the flat of her stomach.
I undid the button on her jeans and inched them, along with her panties, down her long, lean legs. I felt almost feral as I stared down at her in nothing but those black lace panties waiting for me. The years had been kind to her. She was absolutely exquisite. She was the kind of woman a man didn’t just want to touch. He wanted to worship, and my God. I wanted to worship every inch of her.
My hands slid down between her legs, and the second I raked my fingers across her wet center, she inhaled a deep breath and hissed, “Oh. My. God.”
Hearing her start to unravel spurred me on. I licked the length of her, teasing her in a steady rhythm before I focused on her clit. After a minute, I increased the pace, and she started to stiffen.
“Oh, God. I think I… I’m going to…” she broke off as I sucked down hard, my fingers slipping in, sending her over the edge. Her thighs squeezed as she contracted around me, and a deep-seated moan vibrated through her as she arched off the bed again.
When I moved up over her, she was motionless, and her eyes were hazy and sated. I brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, and she searched my face with an awed expression. “Oh, my. That was incredible.”
It most certainly was.
Damn. She was killing me.
My laughter died as I moved over her again and kissed her with her taste still on my tongue. In a matter of seconds, she started writhing beneath me again. She seemed into it, really into it, and I was too. Hell, I wanted her more than my next breath, but I didn’t want to push her. “We should probably stop.”
“What?” She looked up at me with furrowed brows. “No.”
“We’ve got time, Tabitha.”
Without saying a word, her hands dropped to my belt, and she fumbled around, but she wasn’t getting anywhere. With a soft chuckle, I lowered my hand and snapped open the buckle.
I eased off my boots, then pulled off my jeans along with my boxer briefs. I quickly fished out a condom from the pocket, and a spark of anticipation flashed through Tabitha’s eyes as she watched me roll it on. I eased back on the bed, and her hands moved to my hips as I settled between her legs.
Her eyes locked on mine, and her breath hitched as I raked my cock against her center. She lifted her hips towards me, urging me on as she cried, “Yes!”
“Fuck me,” I choked out. “You’re killing me here.”
With one hard thrust, I buried myself deep inside her. I’d been too rough, or at least, I thought I had. When I didn’t move, she groaned with need and shifted her hips, taking me deeper.
And just like that, I lost what was left of my restraint. Fuck .
A rush of air hissed through her teeth as I withdrew and drove into her again. I didn’t know what it was about this woman, but she had me spiraling out of control. I couldn’t get enough of her.
With her arms wound tightly around my neck, I growled into her shoulder and started thrusting harder and deeper, building up to a relentless pace. I glanced up at her, and when I saw that her eyes were clamped shut, I said, “Open your eyes… Look at me.”
She blinked her eyes open, her pupils were huge, and her cheeks were flushed. Her breath caught when I added, “I want you to see who’s fucking you.”
I lowered my mouth to her neck, kissing her as I drove deeper, harder. Her head reared back with a sated groan when I whispered, “I want your eyes on me when you come all over my cock.”
“Oh, God. Oh… God.”
That was it.
That was exactly what I wanted to fucking hear. Her nails dug into my lower back as her hips rocked against mine, meeting my every thrust with more intensity than the last. I could feel the pressure building, forcing a growl from my chest.
I hooked one of her legs over my arm as my hips started driving into her harder, faster, and she started to tighten around me. “I’m going to…”
She panted wildly and hooked her other leg around my hip when I increased my pace. She was close, so I lowered my hand between her thighs, raking my thumb across her clit.
That was all it took.
She let out a small groan as her back bowed off the bed. The muscles in her body grew taut as her orgasm took hold. Watching her and feeling her pushed me over the edge, and I came right along with her.
I released her leg and collapsed onto her, letting her take my weight for a moment before I pushed up slightly to scan her face. Her cheeks were flushed, and her breath was ragged as she muttered, “Wow.”
“You liked that, huh?”
“Ummm, yeah,” she scoffed. “It was even better than I thought it would be.”
“Oh, so you doubted me?”
“No, it was me that I doubted.”
“Well, I never doubted you for a second. I knew you would be incredible.”
I dealt with the condom, then laid down on the mattress next to her.
I was still trying to catch my breath when Tabitha curled up next to me and rested her head on my chest. I covered us both with the comforter. I could feel the nervous tension in her again, feel the frantic beating of her heart, and stroked her back to try to help her settle. “I know you don’t believe it. I know you don’t trust me yet. But I will prove it to you.”
She kept her face buried in my chest and hidden from me.
I didn’t say anything else.
I just let her have her moment. Eventually, she whispered, “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Everything.” She glanced up at me with those gorgeous hazel eyes and said, “For not giving up on me, even when I gave you no reason not to. And for listening to me, really listening, and making me feel like what I have to say matters.”
“Right back at ya, beautiful.”
She closed her eyes, and it wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep.
It was quiet. Not the restless kind of quiet, but the one that brought peace. Real peace. The kind that settled in your chest like it had always been there. It felt good. She felt good. She had one arm slung across me like I belonged to her. And I liked it. I liked it a lot, so much so, I didn’t want to leave.
But I had to.
Her boys were right next door. If they saw me walking out of here in the morning, they would raise ten shades of hell. I needed to go, but I didn’t move. I just laid there, for over an hour, listening to the soft sound of her breathing and feeling the warmth of her body next to mine.
Eventually, I forced myself to shift enough to slide out from under her arm. I tried not to wake her, but as soon as I got out of the bed, her eyes flew open. “You’re leaving?”
“Afraid so.” I pulled on my boxers as I told her, “It’s almost daylight. I need to get back to the clubhouse.”
“Okay, but how will you get back? You drove my car, remember?”
“Yeah, I’ll have one of the boys come get me.”
She nodded, then eased the covers back and slipped on her robe. She sat at the foot of the bed and watched as I finished getting dressed. I would’ve told her to go back to bed, but something told me she wouldn’t do it. My girl would want to walk me to the door, and I was good with that.
Once I was ready, she followed me into the living room, and before I walked out, she reached up and gave me a hug. “Thank you for tonight.”
“I should be the one thanking you.” I hugged her back, then said, “Have dinner with me tonight.”
“Okay. Just tell me when and where.”
“My place. I’ll pick you up at six.”
“Sounds good.”
I let my hand linger on her shoulder as I passed, memorizing the feel of her under my fingers. Then I opened the door, glanced back at her one last time, and said, “Lock up after me.”
She gave me a quiet nod, and as I stepped out into the night, my heart was pounding in a way it hadn’t in years. I left there not knowing where this road would lead, but for the first time in a long damn while, I was looking forward to the ride.