Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
TUCKER
She holds the tub out to me, her eyes wide and innocent, but there’s nothing innocent about this.
And I fucking love it.
“Yeah, I can help.”
I walk around the counter and take the tub from her. She licks her lips before turning away from me, showing me her back. The wound from last week is doing well. She doesn’t need the Steri-Strips anymore, but I can see that it’s still tender.
I’ve done my best not to hurt her. I hardly sleep at night because she wants to be in my arms, which is exactly where I want her, but I’m afraid I’m going to hurt her by accident, and the thought absolutely terrifies me.
So I’ve kept sex on the back burner because she hasn’t felt well, and I’m not an asshole.
But fuck if I don’t miss her.
“Wait, let me do you first.”
I almost groan at her choice of words as she spins around and takes the salve from my hand.
“This way you can see how much to use. A little goes a long way. Strip.”
I lift an eyebrow, and she blinks, as if she doesn’t know exactly what she’s doing.
We’ll play this game, sweetheart.
“If you want me to fuck you against this counter, just say so, Duchess.”
“Oh, I absolutely do, but first we need to do this because I’ve been meaning to for weeks and I didn’t have any of this left.” She wiggles the tub in front of my face. “Take it all off, Hotshot.”
With a smirk, I reach over my head and whip my shirt off, sending it to the floor. Darby’s eyes skitter along my skin, and she swallows hard, and I fucking love it when she looks at me like this. Like she needs to get her little hands on me. Like I’m the best damn thing she’s ever seen in her life.
“Pants too,” she whispers and then clears her throat. “I have to get your hip and leg.”
“Don’t want to miss those.” With my eyes pinned to hers, I unfasten my jeans, kick off my shoes, and step out of the denim, standing before her stark-ass naked. “Do as you wish.”
Her eyes fall to my already-hard-and-ready cock, and I grin down at her.
“Did you miss my cock, baby?”
“Fuck yes, I missed it. You’ve been withholding sex from me, Tucker.”
I grip her chin in my hand and tilt her head back, my other hand going into the hair at her nape and holding on tight.
“I’m not withholding anything. You were hurt, baby.”
“I’m doing much better now.”
My lips drift over hers so lightly, it’s barely a kiss, teasing her. “There’s nothing I want more than for you to be pain-free and healthy. Now, let’s do this fascinating witchy-gunk thing so I can get inside your pretty little pussy.”
“How dare you, sir. This is not gunk.” She winks at me and then holds up the tub and swipes her finger through it. “See? Just a bit to start.”
Her hand falls to the scar that bisects my abdomen, and my muscles ripple when she rubs over it.
She takes her time, making sure to massage her magical potion into the scar, then drifts down my hip and upper thigh, also working it into the tissue there.
It feels fucking amazing. I don’t usually like to touch the scars, but she has a technique that makes them feel better.
When she’s satisfied with her work, and my cock is so hard it could pound nails, she leans in to place a kiss over my heart and then turns around.
“Okay, my turn. Use the same amount that I did to start.”
Honestly, I wasn’t looking. I was too lost in her, too fucking turned on by her, but I don’t admit that out loud.
Instead, I gather some of the oily balm on my fingers and start at her shoulders. She’s right, a little goes a long way, and it spreads easily over the skin, melting right into the tissues.
“You can go over the fresh ones,” she murmurs. “They’re closed now, so the sooner the better.”
My teeth clench as I lightly drift over the new injury, but Darby doesn’t stiffen. She sighs, as if it feels good.
“I’ve never been able the reach the ones in the middle by myself,” she whispers.
I take my time, sure to cover every inch of her back, and then I work her leggings down and get the marks on her butt and thighs too. Now that it’s soaked in, neither of us is a greasy mess. The skin is soft but not oily, and I can see why she loves using her concoction.
After making sure I haven’t missed anything, I set the tub aside and move into her, caging her in against the counter, letting my hands roam everywhere.
“You never answered my question,” I whisper against her neck. She tilts her head, giving me more access, and I drag my teeth over her sensitive skin.
“What question?” Her voice is raspy, and her hips move back so she can grind against my cock, and fuck, she feels so damn good.
“Do you understand that you’re mine, Duchess?”
My hand comes up to circle around her throat, and I feel her swallow hard against my palm.
“I know you say it when we’re having sex, but—” She whimpers when I slide my cock through her thighs, against her already wet slit. Fuck, she feels so fucking incredible.
“But what?”
“Maybe that’s just something you say in the heat of the moment.”
I pause, and then I turn her around and boost her onto the counter so I can look in her eyes when I say this.
“I’m not inside you yet—”
“And that’s a shame.”
“—and I’m telling you, right now, that you’re mine.
Christ, I’m so in love with you, I can’t see straight.
You’re mine, and everything I have and all I am are yours.
My home, my heart, my family. If you want it, I’ll make sure you have it because there isn’t anything more important in my life than making sure you’re taken care of.
Does that make my intensions crystal clear? ”
She bites her lip, and her fingers come up to my face. “Yes.”
“Good. Now, it’s been hell keeping my hands to myself for the past week, and I’m about to make up for some lost time. But if I do anything that hurts you, I want you to speak up.”
“I love it when you get bossy.”
I laugh as I cup the globes of her ass and pull her to the edge of the counter. I run my fingers through her slit, then push them inside her, making her moan.
“Oh God.”
“He’s not here, sweetheart.” I nibble my way down to her breasts and pull a nipple between my teeth, then suck it hard. “You’re so fucking delicious.”
“Please, Tucker.” Her hands are in my hair, holding on as she rides my fingers and my mouth journeys over her skin. “I need . . . oh fuck.”
“What do you need, baby?” My lips drift up her neck, and I nuzzle her ear. “Tell me and I’ll make it happen.”
“I need you buried inside me. Please.”
With one smooth motion, I push inside her, not stopping until I’m seated fully, and we both groan.
“Goddamn it, you’re perfect. Your pussy is perfect for me.”
“Don’t ever make me wait like that again.” Her voice is firm, and she sounds so perturbed, it makes me smile against her lips.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She’s so warm and slick and tight, and I can’t stop myself from picking up speed, fucking into her like it’s the only thing I need. Because right now, it is.
“Gonna need you to come for me, beautiful girl.” I nibble her lower lip, and she squeezes down. “Fuck, I love it when you do that.”
“Shit, I’m gonna—”
“Go over, love. Fuck, go over, and take me with you.”
The climax rocks through her, and there’s no holding back. I follow her, rocking into her as I come and come, and when we’re finally calming down, my girl smooths her hands over my face and down my chest.
“I love you, Tucker Hendrix.”
Christ, it just destroys me every fucking time.
I kiss the fuck out of her, biting that lip, licking inside her mouth, and then with her hands wrapped around my wrists as I frame her face, I lean my forehead against hers.
“I love you too.”
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Darby asks me as I pull onto the road that leads to her brother’s house.
“It’s just dinner,” I tell her, squeezing her hand. “Like, we’re not doing anything illegal, right?”
She laughs and then shrugs. “Of course not. But it’s my whole family, together at once, and it’s a lot. And my brother might interrogate you again, and my sisters will be nosy, and—”
“I can handle it,” I assure her as I bring her hand to my lips and nibble on her knuckles. “You’ve spent a lot of time with my family since you came to the ranch, and you’ve hardly seen yours. Plus, we’re a team now.”
I glance over to find her blinking at me, her beautiful face so sober. “Yeah, we’re a team. It’ll be fine. Holden probably won’t kill you.”
“Great.” I smirk and park next to another truck near the new farmhouse. It’s a gorgeous day out here, and I can see smoke billowing from the back of the house, likely from a grill. “Did you grow up out here?”
She doesn’t move to get out of the truck. “Not far from here. The old house has been destroyed. Holden had it burned after Dad died. So the property doesn’t really look the same anymore, and we don’t go over there. It’s a pasture now.”
She swallows hard and then looks over at me.
“But the ghosts are here, you know?”
“Then why are we here, baby?”
“Because my family’s here, and I have you with me, so that makes me feel better.”
My chest fills with her admission, and I lean over the center console to kiss her lips.
“We’ve got this,” I assure her, and she smiles with more confidence than I suspect she feels right now.
When we get out of the truck, we circle around the house, which has amazing views of the mountains, and see that everyone has gathered out back.
I’m used to big crowds when it comes to family dinners, and really, this isn’t all that crazy. Holden’s at the grill with Bridger. Charlie is chatting with Alex and Alex’s two husbands, and Dani’s holding a sleeping baby while Millie braids a little girl’s hair.
The little girl in question comes running over to us to say hello, the braid falling out as she bounces along.
“Aunt Darby!” She hugs Darby around the waist and then turns to me. “I’m Birdie.”
“Hi, I’m Tucker.” She smiles, and I think I just fell in love with her. She’s fucking adorable.