Chapter 15 #2
“The fuck, Lady!” Lennox smacked her in the back of the head. “Now, you may speak.”
“I-I only wanted Trucker.” She admitted. “You don’t deserve him. And you weren’t going to coorporate. I mean, why should you have him?”
“I thought I made it clear.” I growled. “What? You didn’t hear or understand me when I said no thank you?”
“I thought, Ryan wanted Taji, and I wanted Trucker so if Ryan and I worked together, we could both get what we wanted.” Esther tried moving backward as Taji stepped toward her.
Lennox pushed her back in place.
“You tried to kill me over a penis?” Taji wanted to know. “I should kick her ass.”
“I had nothing to do with you being run off the road!” Esther held up a hand. “That was Ryan. My idea was to tell Trucker what happened to you and hope he’d find you disgusting. Ryan is crazy.”
“I don’t want to talk to her anymore.” Taji turned and pressed her body into me.
Lennox looked to Kaos then at me. “What are we going to do with them?”
“From what I hear, the sheriff here is useless.” Kaos spoke. “I have a friend in federal. We’re going to have to tell the Sheriff. But I’m not leaving until the system hands them over.”
“Wait, what? I can’t go to prison for fighting with a love rival!” Esther pointed out.
“Love?” I scoffed. “You overestimate your importance in all of this.”
“Rival?” Taji lifted her head to glare at the snivelling woman. “For you to be a rival, you would have had to be on my level.”
“I’m prettier than you!” Esther flipped her hair from her shoulder.
Taji scoffed.
She shook her head and laughed out loud.
“To a good man, a real man?” Taji leaned in. “It’s not what’s on the outside that counts. And you may be prettier than me on the outside, but where it counts, you’re disgusting.”
Esther tried getting up again.
A glare from Lennox brought her down.
“Let that keep you while you’re in a six by eight being someone’s bitch!” Taji laughed.
If looks could kill.
Taji lifted her head then. “Kaos, Lennox, get them off my property. Once you have them settled, come back and I’ll cook for you.”
“As you wish, m’lady.” Kaos smirked.
“You’re very lucky you’re married, sir.” Taji wagged a finger at him. “You could turn a girl’s head like that.”
I grunted.
Taji giggled and headed for the house.
I stayed behind to help get an unconscious Ryan back into the trunk of the Mercedes Maybach S-Class. Once both Esther and Ryan were set in the vehicles, I hugged Kaos and bumped fists with Lennox.
“See you soon.” I told them. “We’ll have dinner waiting.”
Kaos winked at me, and I watched as they drove from the yard.
I didn’t go inside right away. Instead, I stood where they left me, hands on my hips, eyes lifted upward trying to push down the anger that was pulsing through me. All this trouble because Ryan and Esther wanted what wasn’t theirs.
“Trucker?” Taji’s voice was quiet.
“Gimme a minute.”
“Are you okay?”
“No.” I exhaled.
She wrapped her arms around me from behind and pressed her cheek against my back. I melted into her chest and used her closeness to push the anger down.
“I wanted to kill him.” I admitted. “I wanted to wrap my fingers around his throat and squeeze—to watch the life drain out of his eyes. I wanted him to feel the pain and the fear you must have felt as he took—”
She stepped around me, framed my face and kissed my words into her mouth. Closing my eyes, I fell into the kiss until she pulled back.
“But you’ve won, Mayson.”
“How? I’m so angry.” I admitted. “I feel like he ripped my heart out and spat on it.”
“You’re the one I’ve surrendered to.”
“That’s not how it works.” I pushed. “I don’t want you to surrender, Sprite. I don’t want you to—especially to me.”
I dragged a thumb across her cheek.
“I want you strong and bold.” I cleared my throat.
“In your bed, Trucker.” She blushed. “I don’t mind surrendering because I know I can trust you with my body, with me.
When I look into your eyes, I know I can trust you.
So, you’ve won. And every time I remember what he’s done and feel scared, I’ll come to you. Are you cool with that? Can I do that?”
“Of course.”
“Are you sure?” Taji smiled at me.
“I’m sure. And I’ll make you forget.”
Taji smiled wider as tears slipped down her cheeks.
“And you’ll make me forget.” She whispered, pushing to her tiptoes and hugging me. “Now, come inside and help me cook. I put the fruit tray in the fridge—we can share it as dessert. Later, I’ll make you forget.”
I looked down into her face and couldn’t help the warmth that she sent through me. Before I did as she asked, I kissed her, gently at first, then deeper and deeper until I knew my head would explode if I didn’t breathe.
Picking her up, I loved the little squeal of surprise that echoed in the air before her laughter bubbled from inside her.
When I set her on the sofa, I wanted to keep her there. But she’d promised to cook for Lennox and Kaos. I settled into holding her for a few minutes, wrapping my arms around her and kissing her forehead over and over.
“Are we officially an item?” I asked.
“Honestly?” Taji exhaled loudly. “I want us to be. But we still haven’t even been on our first date yet. Everything that’s been going on—I told you I was—”
“That’s not your fault. It wasn’t because of what you were wearing, what you said, what you were doing or not doing. A person is allowed to go out alone with the right to be left alone.
Tears filled her eyes again.
“Do you hear me, Sprite?”
Taji nodded.
“Don’t nod. I want to hear you tell me you understand.”
Taji kissed me softly. She then used her thumbs to smooth the flesh between my eyes.
She nodded.
“I understand.”
“Good—as for our first date. That was your responsibility, wasn’t it?”
“I’m bad luck.” Taji laughed softly. “Every time I come up with a plan, something happens—something bad.”
“Life happens.” I smiled. “Sometimes more bad than good. But just so you know—so you don’t have to guess what’s going on in my head. I want us to be a couple.”
“You do?” Taji pushed to her elbow to look down into my face. “I don’t want you to give up your station for this town. Once you’re here, you get stuck.”
“But you’re here.”
“I can live anywhere—work from anywhere.” Taji caressed a finger across my forehead.
“Your grandfather’s house—”
“Will always be here. I’m not saying we will move in together right now and have two point five kids—”
“I want the two point five kids.”
“Mayson Calhoune.” She smacked my shoulder. “Behave.”
I kissed her nose and grinned.
“I want two point five kids too. But what I’m saying, let’s date.” She continued, squinting at me. “Long distance will suck but we need to get to know more about each other. Take it step by step. See if you’re really okay with my past. I’m not even okay with it.”
“Sprite—if I wasn’t okay with it, I would have told you so.” I frowned. “I’m a little old for games, don’t you think?”
“I think so.”
“Now, you’re calling me old.” I pouted. “Great.”
Taji smiled at me before kissing me gently.
“Better?” She teased.
“A little. More later.”
I wiggled my brows until she laughed and snorted.
So cute.
“And you won’t feel a way about this?” I wanted to know. “You’re really okay with the way we know things are going to happen.”
“I’m a very patient woman, Trucker.” Taji brushed her lips across mine. “I’m not going anywhere because you’re the man I want.”
“Taji Sloane?”
“Mm?”
“Would you be my girlfriend?”
She giggled, blushed and pressed her forehead to mine.
I waited.
Taji flailed around in my arms, laughed then rained kisses down against my face.
“Is that a yes?” I asked, laughing.
“Of course, it’s a yes! I’m no fool.”