Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
SCARLETT
H ow in the ever-loving hell am I supposed to get back in the sexy-time mood after my dad’s bestie just yelled at us through the damn door?
“Maybe I should head home,” I say, biting my lip and staring down at the sexiest man I’ve seen in, well…ever.
“If Rick’s in bed, you don’t have to hurry.” Tucker’s hand roams from my hip and up over my ribs to my breast. He lazily plucks at the already hard nipple, and I close my eyes with a soft sigh. “We haven’t gotten to the whole slow portion of this program.”
“We wouldn’t want to skip that.”
He grins and sits up, wrapping his arms around me. “No, we definitely can’t skip it.”
He palms my ass and lifts me gently until the head of his cock finds my throbbing pussy. I slowly sink over him, taking him as deeply as I can.
“You’re amazing,” he whispers against my lips. “So much better than any fantasy. You take my breath away.”
I bury my fingers in his hair and kiss him softly, gently circling my hips. The friction is slight but no less incredible than what we did just minutes ago. When the tension builds, I drop my head back, and Tucker’s mouth finds my neck, kissing and licking, sending even more electricity through every damn nerve ending on my body.
“I can’t,” I whisper. “It’s too much.”
“Never.” His voice is like sandpaper, rough and sexy as hell. He nips at my collarbone, and I bear down, ripples already pulsing through my core. “Jesus, Scar, yes. Fuck, yes.”
My body is all raw sensation as I succumb to the orgasm that moves through me like a freaking freight train. Tucker pushes up, hard, and growls with his own release.
We’re a sweaty, panting heap, staring into each other’s eyes as the world comes back into focus around us. He cups my cheek and kisses me, softly at first, and then with more urgency as if he’s afraid I’m going to disappear and he’s memorizing me completely.
Which is ridiculous because now that I’ve found this , not to mention him , I plan to do this as often as possible for however long we can.
“Are you okay?” he asks as he pulls away.
“I am bold enough to say I don’t know if I’ve ever been better,” I reply with a grin and brush his hair off his forehead.
“That’s a lofty statement coming from a woman with a shelf full of Grammys.”
I laugh as he gently rolls us to our sides, facing each other on the bed.
“Exactly. I’m that good. How about you?”
“I’m the luckiest man in the world.” He sighs and drags his fingertips down my arm. The man can’t stop touching me, and I’m not complaining.
“You say some pretty sweet things.”
“I don’t say anything I don’t mean.” He kisses my forehead and sighs.
“As much as I’d like to stay here all night?—”
“You have to get home to your dad.” He nods. “I know.”
We reluctantly roll out of bed, and I pull my dress over my head, step into my panties, and slide my feet into my sandals.
Tucker just pulls on an old pair of sweats that hang low on his hips, barely covering the good stuff.
“You expect me to leave when you look like that ?”
He laughs, tugging me to him for a long kiss. “Trust me, I’d rather keep you here. But you’d better go check on Rick.”
“I’m sure he’s sleeping.” I yawn. “And you’ve worn me out, too.”
“Good.” He leads me to the front door and out onto the porch. “I’ll stand here and make sure you get home okay.”
“It’s almost one in the morning in New Hope, South Carolina,” I remind him, speaking low. I don’t want to wake the neighbors. “What could happen to me in the span of roughly thirty feet?”
He simply leans on the railing and crosses his arms over his bare chest, watching me with a happy grin.
“Fine.” I shrug and saunter across the grass, sashaying my hips back and forth for his benefit. When I reach the top of the steps of Dad’s porch, I turn back and blow him a kiss.
He catches the imaginary kiss with his hand and presses it to his heart. And just like that, I feel myself go all gooey inside.
Is it possible that I’m falling in love with Tucker Andrews?
I open the front door and walk inside. Dad left the kitchen light on for me, and I walk that way, ready for a bottle of water, but when I step inside, I gasp.
“Daddy!”
“I had a bit of a fall,” my father says. He’s sitting on the floor, his back against the lower cabinets. “I couldn’t get back up, but don’t worry, I called Lexi.”
“Oh my God, Dad.” I squat next to him, looking him over. He’s in his pajamas and is missing one of his slippers.
“I tripped on this damn mat.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“You were with Tucker. I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
“I’m calling the paramedics.”
“Just help me up, Scarlett. I’ll be fine.”
“Do you hurt anywhere?”
“My wrist is a bit sore where I caught myself,” he admits. “But I’m fine. It’s just my pride that’s a bit bruised, that’s all.”
“No, I’m absolutely calling the paramedics.”
Jesus, my heart is hammering so hard in my chest, it’s a wonder Tucker can’t hear it. I reach for my phone and call 911. Once the call is made, and the ambulance is on the way, I sit on the floor with Dad and hold his hand.
“I don’t want to move you in case you’ve injured something.”
“Scarlett, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“But you are the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. You’re causing a fuss for nothing.”
“No, I’m not,” I insist. The next ten minutes are a blur as the ambulance arrives, and four men come rushing inside with a gurney and all kinds of equipment.
Most of them know my father, and they chat with him, keeping him at ease as they check him out.
“How long have you had this bruise on your knee?” One of them asks my father, making him frown.
“Oh, I must have gotten that when I fell.”
“We’re going to take you to the emergency room, just to have your wrist and knee looked at,” the paramedic named Jimmy says. “I know that’s not how you planned to spend your Friday night, but it’s really for the best, Mr. Rick.”
“Thank you,” I say before Dad can complain. I follow them out of the house, just as Lexi is hurrying out of her car and rushing up to meet us. “Lexi, I was just about to call?—”
“What the hell is going on?” she demands, her face white as she approaches Dad on the gurney. “Dad, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he assures her. “I had a little fall, and Scarlett is just being cautious by calling in the troops.”
“What did you do?” Lexi rounds on me, pushing her face to mine. “You have one job, Scar. Watch Dad, make sure he’s safe and well taken care of.”
“He had poker night, and I went out with Tucker?—”
“This is so you,” Lexi interrupts with a humorless laugh. “You let someone else take care of your responsibilities while you go off whoring with him. ”
She points behind me, and I turn, surprised to see Tucker walking up behind me.
“Watch yourself, Alexis,” Tucker says, his voice and eyes hard.
“It’s true,” she insists.
“They’re loading him,” I say, pulling out of Tucker’s grasp as he takes my hand in his. “I’m going with him.”
“The hell you are,” Lexi says, but I’m already climbing into the ambulance, and the doors are shut before Lexi can say anything more or try to join us. I take Dad’s uninjured hand in mine and watch out the back window as Tucker and my sister fade from view.
“She’s just upset,” Dad says. “She’ll cool off.”
I smile down at him because I don’t want to upset him, but when it comes down to it, Lexi isn’t wrong. It is my job to take care of our father, and instead, I spent the evening with Tucker. I even stayed after I knew that Dad was home alone, and that’s on me.
This is all my fault.
I need to refocus and remember what’s most important: my father, not my libido.
“Hey, Dad, are you and Gretchen okay?”
“We’re fine, honey,” Gretchen says, waving me off. She’s Dad’s in-home physical therapist. “Rick’s all mine for another ninety minutes.”
“I’ll be back well before then,” I assure them both before walking out the back door. I saw Tucker in his garage a little while ago, and I figure now’s a good time to go talk with him.
Not that there’s ever a good time to have this conversation, but Dad’s with Gretchen, and I don’t think Chloe’s home from her friend’s house yet.
Last night was simply relentless. That’s the only word I have for it. My emotions were all over the place. I had the best sex of my life with a man I respect and like , who I trust wants to be with me for all the right reasons and not just because I’m Scarlett Kincaid, international superstar.
But then I had the terror of finding Dad on the floor, and everything that happened after. To say it was a rollercoaster would be the understatement of the friggin’ year.
I hear clanging coming from Tuck’s garage, and when I come around to the big door and find it open with Tuck sitting on the floor beside his lawnmower, my stomach takes a dive to my feet.
Dear sweet Lord in Heaven, the man is gorgeous.
He’s sweaty, and a little dirty, thanks to the tinkering and the oppressively hot South Carolina summer weather. And when he looks up at me, his eyes narrow.
“How’s Rick?”
“He’s home. With the physical therapist now, actually.”
“Wanna tell me what happened?”
I swallow and nod, not at all happy with the distance in his voice, which makes me a complete asshole because I’m about to tell him I can’t see him anymore.
“When I got home last night, I found him on the kitchen floor. He’d fallen sometime after Phillip left and before I got there. I panicked and called the ambulance.”
“But you didn’t call me.”
I tip my head to the side, watching him. “Well, no. It happened really fast, and I was just worried about Dad.”
He nods once, using a wrench thingy on the mower. “Go on.”
“Well, you saw most of the rest.” I twist my hands at my waist, more nervous than I’ve been in a long time. “We went to the hospital, and they x-rayed the wrist and knee. He didn’t break anything, thank goodness. He’s a little sore today, but I think it just scared us all more than anything.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I also came over because I need to talk to you.”
“I figured.”
He stands, and with one hand, he whips his shirt over his head and proceeds to wipe his sweaty face with it. My tongue is now permanently stuck to the roof of my mouth.
For the love of Mary and Joseph, the man has abs for days. And I remember how they feel under my fingertips. How they move when he’s thrusting in and out of me, and… why did he take his shirt off ?
He wipes his hands, then walks over to the sink in the corner of the garage and starts to wash them.
With his shirt off.
“I’m listening,” he says.
I shake my head, trying to pull myself out of the sexy fog that seeing his bare torso dragged me into.
“Well, I had a lot of time to think last night, and you know, Lexi’s not entirely wrong. It is my job to look after Daddy. And I really shouldn’t be letting myself be all distracted by you and your—” I gesture to his body when he turns to look at me, watching me with hot eyes as he dries his hands on a towel.
“My what?”
“Your sexy ways,” I say with a deep sigh. “It’s not fair to Dad, and I just think I need to be focused. I need to worry about him and getting him well. I can do other things in my spare time, like write songs and maybe weed the garden or something. I have enough on my plate, Tucker.”
“I see.” He nods and leans on the workbench, crossing his arms over his bare chest.
“I’m glad you agree.” I nod once and turn to leave, but he stops me in my tracks with his next words.
“I don’t agree. Everything you just said is complete bullshit.”
I spin around. “It is not bullshit.”
He walks toward me, slowly, his hands curling and uncurling into fists at his sides as he approaches. I step back, but he cages me against the wall, one hand planted next to my head, and the other cupping my cheek.
“I don’t believe a word of it.” His voice is a hoarse whisper. His eyes are pinned to mine, and I’ve never been so damn turned on in my life. “I know you’re used to dishing out the orders and having everyone bend to your will, but I’m not your employee or your minion, Scarlett. I was buried deep inside you not twelve hours ago, and you know as well as I do that it wasn’t a casual fuck for either of us.”
“Tuck, I just?—”
“I listened to you. Now, it’s your turn to listen. You walking out of here and never speaking to me again is not how this is going to work. Not today or any other day.”
He leans closer and presses his lips to that spot he found last night, the one just under my earlobe. But he doesn’t kiss me there. No, he whispers against my skin.
Because I didn’t already have gooseflesh all up and down my damn body.
“You can be a good daughter and be in a relationship, Scar.”
“Is that what this is?” My voice sounds breathless to my ears.
“How would you describe it?” He lifts me effortlessly, and with my back propped against the wall, and my legs wrapped around his waist, his thumb makes its way under the hem of my little cut-off shorts and finds my wet panties. “I don’t think just anyone does this to you.”
“That’s just sex,” I insist, then moan when he makes light little circles over my clit. Even through the thin material of my panties, it makes me crazy. My nipples immediately pucker, and my legs tighten around him.
“Tell me what you feel is purely physical,” he challenges.
“ You tell me .” I watch his face, unwilling to be the only vulnerable one in the room.
“I’ve never felt for anyone what I feel for you,” he growls. “It’s not just the sex, although it’s the best fucking sex of my life. I told you last night, it’s you. You make me laugh and think. I’m so damn proud of you, and yes, you turn me on.”
He presses his hard cock against my core, dry humping me against the wall, and I’ll be damned…he’s about to make me come just like this.
“Tuck,” I whimper, cradling his face now. “Damn you, Tucker.”
“I’m not letting you do this, Scar. You’re not going to walk away from this. You’re not going to walk away from me , damn it.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I blurt, frustrated beyond belief. “Everything I do is wrong. Lexi reminds me almost daily that what I’m doing for Dad isn’t enough. So, I came here to tell you that I can’t see you anymore, but that doesn’t feel right either.”
“Because it’s not,” he agrees. “You can have both. You don’t have to choose between me and your dad, Scar.”
I tip my head back against the wall and swallow hard. I don’t want to give Tucker up. God, I just found him again, and being with him feels so right.
“I have to do right by my dad,” I inform him.
“You’re already doing all the right things,” he reminds me. “Lexi’s an angry woman. Don’t let her ruin everything for you. You’re home, for the first time in a dozen years. Enjoy it, baby.”
I hug him, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding on for all I’m worth. He feels so damn good against me, but more than that, being with him just feels right. He soothes me in ways I didn’t know I needed.
He’s my best friend and my lover.
And I’m not giving him up. Not for Lexi. Not for anyone.
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Trust me.” He kisses my cheek sweetly. “You’ve got this. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
I nod and smile down at him, brushing my fingertips down his rough cheek.
“We’ll figure it out,” I say.
“Oh, yeah. We’ve got this.”