Buckle Down (Memory Grove) Read online

  She stared up at his face. “I want to leave.”

  “Do you? You don’t sound absolute about that.” He leaned forward and nuzzled her neck.

  It felt good but she pushed him back. “Stop that.”

  “See… that’s not convincing either.” He grabbed her hips and squeezed, sliding one hand up her side to cup her breast. “Tell me no. Right now.” He strummed her nipple with his thumb.

  Her body betrayed her and her nipple responded to his touch, tightening and tingling. She tried to stifle her moan by pressing her lips closed. Despite his reputation and all that he just told her, she still wanted him to fuck her. Right there against the door.

  He leaned in close to her ear. “Is that a yes, then?” He squeezed her breast hard.

  She closed her eyes and grumbled before she nodded.

  He lifted her shirt over her head and unhooked her bra. He stared at her breasts. “You’re gorgeous.” He leaned down and sucked her nipple while strumming the other.

  Her mouth fell open and she rested her head against the door. “God. That feels so good.” A tingle started between her legs and she squeezed her thighs together.

  Shane moved back up her body and sucked at her neck, his hands hooking into the waistband of her sweats. In one motion, he dropped Tess’ pants and underwear and she kicked them off. He lifted her off her feet effortlessly and carried her through the living room and into his bedroom.

  His erection pressed against her bottom and she wanted him inside her.

  He set Tess on the edge of his bed and gently pushed her back. He crawled between her legs and spread her open with both hands. He licked her clit and pinched it between his lips. Slipping two fingers inside her, Shane started a rhythm of deep, hard thrusts.

  “You’re so fucking wet.”

  “Mhm. You’re gonna make me come.” She whined and planted her feet on his shoulders and grabbed his head. Her clit throbbed with every touch of his tongue. His mouth was so much better than her fingers had been earlier. She moved her hips in concert with his thrusts.

  Shane looked up at her and fingered her deeper. “Come for me, baby.”

  She panted and her body stiffened. She tried to close her thighs around his head.

  He held her legs open and sucked her clit, stroking it with the tip of his tongue.

  Tess’ pussy contracted, squeezing his fingers and she moaned louder. “God. Oh, God.” Her legs shook and she lost control, her feet slipped off his shoulders as she came hard. Her body hit the flashpoint and burned.

  He lifted his head, still fingering her slowly. “Damn, baby.”

  She tried to move her arms but nothing worked. “I think I’m paralyzed.”

  He laughed. “It’ll pass in a minute and then I’m going to fuck you like I own you.” He stood up beside the bed and peeled his shirt off, revealing a hard chest that had been kissed by the sun to a nice, golden brown.

  She looked down at his abs while he unbuckled his belt. She had never seen a body like that up close and personal. She stared at the tattoo covering most of his upper arm. Her eyes were having trouble focusing on any one thing until he dropped his pants and she caught sight of his thick cock. Oh, damn! She bit her lip as he crawled back up between her legs.

  On his knees, Shane stroked his dick and leaned over to suck her nipples, biting one lightly. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded quickly. “Yes. I want it.” She pulled him up to kiss. She bit his lower lip and stabbed her tongue in his mouth.

  He cupped Tess’ chin and kissed her hard. His fingers found her pussy again and dipped inside where he curled them up and stroked her G-spot. He spread her wetness over her slit and pressed his cock against her cunt.

  She kept her eyes on his and opened her legs wider.

  Shane brushed her hair from her face and kissed her forehead. He pushed into her a couple of inches and pulled back out before entering her again, giving her a little more.

  Tess gasped and held onto Shane’s shoulders, digging her nails into his flesh.

  He moved slowly, going in a little deeper with each thrust. He groaned. “Your pussy is so tight. God damn. You’re gonna make me come quick.” He rocked his hips and buried himself inside her.

  She cried out. His thickness stretched her, filling her completely. He felt so good, so deep and she didn’t want it to end.

  He increased the pace, ramming into her with each stroke.

  She scratched at his chest and moaned louder.

  The louder Tess moaned, the harder he fucked her. He covered her mouth with his, stifling her cries as he pounded into her. On every upstroke, his cock slid over that sensitive spot inside her. She whined and pulled his hair. Her pussy tensed, clamping on his cock as her eyes rolled back and she sucked in her breath.

  “Jesus.” Shane panted and moved a little slower as she convulsed around his dick. He sat up and gathered her legs over his shoulders, stroking her skin with his fingertips. “You’re beautiful.” He firmly grabbed her thighs and pulled out before plunging back in, deep and hard.

  She turned her head and screamed, squeezing her eyes shut. The sweet mix of pain and pleasure nearly rendered her unconscious.

  He groaned low and guttural and slammed into her again. His cock pulsed and his warmth seeped inside her. After a few seconds, he gently lowered her legs off his shoulders and rolled them both to their sides. He kissed her cheek and smoothed her hair. He pulled her back against him and wrapped his arm around her.

  She didn’t want this moment to end. It felt so good to have him wrapped around her as her body cooled from the blazing heat he had just created. The soft touch of his fingers on her arm gave her chills.

  “Are you cold?” His lips grazed the back of her neck.

  “No. I feel good.”

  They must have dozed off. The insistent pounding on the door dragged her out of her slumber. Blinking, she sat up, just as Shane bolted upright.

  “What the fuck?” He scrubbed his hand over his face and looked at his watch. He picked up his jeans and pulled them on and strode out of the room.

  Tess’ heart thudded in her chest as she glanced around the room for her clothes. Shit. They were still on the floor by the front door. She jumped up and looked for something to put on.

  Phoebe’s screechy voice carried through the apartment. “Is she here?”

  “Now isn’t a good time, Phoeb.” Shane kept his voice even and low.

  “I knew it. I knew that first day. The way you were looking at her. You just can’t keep your dick in your pants.”

  Tess pulled on Shane’s t-shirt and stood in the hallway, just out of sight and listened.

  “What I do with my dick is none of your business,” Shane retorted. “Now, I’m busy. So, I’ll talk to you later.”

  “It may not be my business but make sure that little bitch knows you were sticking it in me, too.”

  “Goodbye, Phoebe.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Always so classy.” Shane slammed the door and almost ran into Tess in the hallway. “I’m sorry. Jesus, she’s a bitch.”

  “I need to get my clothes.” Tess slipped by him to grab her stuff and went into the bathroom. She tried not to cry while she got dressed. As long as he lived there, Phoebe would be a thorn in her side and right up in the middle of Shane’s business. She had that entitlement complex and was actually a little scary, like restraining order scary.

  She found Shane sitting on the bed when she came out. “I’m going. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.”

  “Tess, wait.”

  She held her hand up. “No. I have to go. I won’t compete with her. She ruins everything.” Grabbing her purse, she left before Shane could respond.

  Chapter 4

  Tess’ resolve crumbled when she hit the highway and a sad country song came on the radio. “I’m such an idiot,” she said out loud and banged her fist against the steering wheel. The tears stung her eyes and she didn’t try to hold them back. Listening to Phoebe
and Shane had been the proverbial slap in the face. She could not have sex with him knowing he was probably sleeping with Phoebe, too. She thought it wouldn’t matter. She was wrong. Dead wrong. She would not let herself get hurt. Not anymore than she already was.

  Her cell phone rang and she checked the number. Shane. She rejected the call and turned it to silent. His voice was the last thing she needed to hear. She stopped at the liquor store outside of town and bought a bottle of wine and went home to drink him out of her head.

  ****

  Olivia called and invited Tess to go out to lunch with her and Ella. Tess had not spoken to either of her brothers since the confrontation in the kitchen, but she loved Cade’s wife and their little girl. Tess had been moping around the house for over a week and decided she should get out, so she accepted Olivia’s offer.

  They met at the diner in town, just down the street from Luke’s wife’s office. Olivia and Ella stood out front. When Tess stepped onto the sidewalk, Olivia let go of Ella’s hand and she ran to Tess laughing. Tess scooped the toddler up.

  “Hey, princess.” Tess kissed her cheek.

  Ella wrapped her arms around Tess’ neck and squealed. “I’m princess Ella and mommy is the queen.” She pointed a chubby finger at her stepmom.

  Olivia came closer and hugged Tess. “How ya doing, sweetheart?”

  Tess forced a smile. “I’m okay.”

  “Let’s go inside.” Olivia hooked her arm.

  They sat at a booth toward the back of the restaurant with Ella perched in a high chair. Olivia gave her the child’s menu and crayons the waitress had left on the table. Ella scribbled over pictures of chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese before haphazardly coloring the dinosaur yellow. She bit her lip in concentration just like her dad did when he was younger.

  The waitress returned and took their orders and brought their drinks. After she left, Olivia put her elbows on the table. “Wanna tell me what’s going on?”

  Tess sighed. “I don’t even know where to start. What did Cade tell you?” She pulled the wrapper off and dropped a straw into her tea.

  Olivia pushed her red hair off her shoulder and offered Ella a drink. “He told me that he and Luke went over to your house and made complete jackasses of themselves. He also told me that Natalie read Luke the riot act over it and told him to keep his nose out of your business.”

  Tess nodded. “It doesn’t matter. It’s over already.”

  “Not because of your two knucklehead brothers, I hope.”

  “No. There’s another woman involved. I can’t deal with that.” Tess laughed without humor.

  Olivia reached out and touched her hand. “I’m sorry. It’s his loss, honey.”

  Tess didn’t know why it hurt this much. She barely knew Shane. But she had shared her body with him. Not something she took lightly and, for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why she had done that. Everything about him said he was wrong for her, but when he touched her he ignited some primal flame that only he could extinguish. And the sex had been phenomenal. It was purely an animal attraction.

  Sadly, that was what kept coming back to her mind. Could she be so shallow to just use him for sex? Even knowing he was probably fucking Phoebe, too? Her jealous heart said no, but her body said yes. She laughed.

  Olivia smiled at her. “Penny for your thoughts.”

  Tess rolled her eyes and picked at her sandwich. “It’s just…” She lowered her voice to whisper and shielded her face with her hand to keep Ella from hearing or seeing. “The sex was really good.”

  Olivia smiled and raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, that can muddle the mind sometimes.”

  “Please don’t tell me anything about my brother. I’d like to be able to finish my food.” Tess shook her head and already started to feel better.

  “Yeah. Totally not going there.” Olivia popped a French fry into her mouth. “So, are you rethinking your position?”

  Tess almost spit out her tea and wiped her mouth with her napkin.

  “I didn’t mean that kind of position. Jesus. Maybe you should rethink this.” Olivia winked at her and flashed a smile.

  She reminded Tess of the classic pretty girl who lived next door. Dark red hair and a few freckles across her nose. She wore little makeup and didn’t really need it. And Cade loved Olivia more than anything. His little family was his entire world.

  “My body says I’m a fool if I give up, my mind says don’t be stupid.” Tess poked the pickle spear on the edge of her plate. “Why can’t I find someone like Cade? He’s the sweetest guy I know. He always has been.”

  “I’m lucky to have him and Ella. You’ll find someone, Tess. God, you’re what…twenty-two? You’ve got plenty of time. Finish school and enjoy your freedom. You don’t know what I’d give to go back and change the choices I made when I was your age.”

  Tess knew about Olivia’s past. The abuse she had endured at the hand of her ex-boyfriend was unimaginable. Tess had never been in a fight with, let alone hit by a man. If anyone deserved someone like Cade, Olivia did.

  Ella dipped a chicken nugget in ketchup and licked it.

  “You need to come stay with Aunt Tess soon, my little princess.” Tess rubbed Ella’s leg.

  Ella nodded and smiled before chomping on the chicken nugget.

  Olivia paid for lunch and kissed Tess on the cheek, promising to bring Ella over.

  Tess felt more at ease after talking with Olivia. She was more than just her sister-in-law, she had become her friend.

  Every time Tess’ mind wandered to Shane, she tried to think of something else. He had called a few times and sent a few text messages, which she had ignored. He finally stopped. The championship started in a few days, so surely he was busy prepping. He didn’t need her complicating things for him.

  She missed Tippi, but going to the ranch meant she was sure to run into Shane or Phoebe and she did not have the want to deal with either of them.

  Her parents would be back in a few days, so she cleaned the house and changed into shorts and a t-shirt to wash her dad’s truck. The hose was coiled beside the house and she unwound it and turned the spigot on. She squirted some dish soap into a bucket and filled it with water. Kicking her flip flops off, she dipped a sponge into the suds and ran it over the hood of the truck. Her dad kept his truck meticulous, which was nearly impossible living out in the countryside. After she finished rinsing and drying the outside, she pondered vacuuming the inside, but didn’t relish the idea of dragging the shop vac from the garage and through the house since the garage door still would not open.

  A truck pulled in behind her dad’s and kicked up a cloud of dust.

  “Dammit, Luke. I just washed dad’s truck.”

  Her brother grinned. “Sorry, short stuff.”

  “I’m not short.”

  “Sure, whatever you say.” He moved closer and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry about the other day. I was being an asshole, but I worry about my baby sister.”

  Tess tried not to hug him back, but she couldn’t resist and wrapped her arms around his torso. “Don’t let it happen again.”

  “Promise.” He released her and stepped back. “Nice job. Wanna wash my truck now?”

  Tess stuck her tongue out at him. “No. But, hey, the garage door won’t open. Can you take a look at it? I’d hate for dad to have to come home and fix it right after his vacation.”

  “You’re home for a couple of weeks and already tearing the house up.”

  “I didn’t break it.”

  “I’ll check it out.” Luke disappeared inside the house.

  Tess was wiping down the inside of her dad’s truck when the garage door engaged and slid open.

  Luke walked out. “Didn’t check the breaker box, huh?”

  “Breaker box? You mean all this time, it was just a tripped breaker switch?”

  He nodded. “Happens sometimes during the storms.”

  “I almost called a repairman out.”

  “Good thin
g your big brother looks out for you.”

  “Luke, you are both a blessing and a curse.”

  After he left, Tess opened a can of soup and sat at the table with her laptop. She perused her email and dropped goldfish crackers into her chicken noodle soup. Nothing interesting jumped out. A few jokes from her roommate back in California and then a message from Dex:

  Hey T,

  How’s your summer? Kind of miss your smile. Give me a call sometime.

  Love,

  D

  Tess sighed. Sometimes she missed Dex. They’d had fun together. He had a wicked sense of humor, but could not keep his dick in his pants and couldn’t tell the truth to save his own life. She hadn’t been able to find anyone who was happy with just her. They all had to have someone else, even Shane. She wondered if she would ever be enough for anyone. Her appetite wasn’t great and she finished about half of her soup before giving up.

  She shut her laptop down and put her dishes away. She poured a little bit of cat food into Gypsy’s bowl and went upstairs to get her purse. Despite her misgivings, she needed to go see Tippi and spend some time with her. If she ran into Shane or Phoebe, she’d just have to deal with it.

  The radio played country songs that all sounded the same, like stories out of some teenage love confession magazine. There was the girl with a broken heart who threw her engagement ring into the river and some cowboy who was tired of playing the field and looking for a nice girl. Tess’ mind was preoccupied with revenge fantasies of what she might say to Phoebe or Shane or both if she happened upon them, especially if they were together. She imagined turning her nose up at them and telling them they deserved each other.

  Of course, she wouldn’t do that. She’d be nice because that’s who she was. Sweet Tess. She parked her truck in the empty lot. With the big competition starting in a few days, she figured no one would be here. They’d be off at the arena in Little Rock.