Curtis (27 page)

“Starving,” he replied as he crawled over her, forcing her to her back. “But dinner can wait.”

“What’re you doing?” She saw the mischievous twinkle in his eyes and knew he was up to something.

“I got my present; now it’s time for you to get yours.”

“See, I’m thinking I already got my present,” she said with a giggle. After what he’d done to her, it was safe to say that would last her for quite some time.

At least until tonight, anyway.

Curtis settled on the couch beside her, one arm sliding beneath her head. She was staring up at him while he fidgeted with something in his other hand.

“Give me your finger,” he told her.

She held up her right hand.

“Other hand,” he instructed.

Lorrie switched hands.

His big fingers touched the tip of her ring finger, and something cool slid over it before he pushed it all the way down past her knuckle.

There were tears in her eyes before she even looked at it. She didn’t need to see it; she knew what it was. They’d been married for so long now, the fact that she’d never had a ring hadn’t bothered her. Their wedding had been spur-of-the-moment, and though he’d promised he would get her one, she had told him it wasn’t necessary. As far as she was concerned, a marriage didn’t have anything to do with rings or paper or anything else. It was the two hearts joined as one that mattered most.

“It’s simple,” he said, keeping her finger covered. “Because I knew you’d smack me upside the head if I bought you a big diamond.” He smiled sweetly. “I’ve always wanted you to wear my ring, Lorrie. And I know you never would’ve asked for one, but I had to do this.”

While she stared at the glistening gold and the sparkling diamonds in a pavé setting, wrapping around the entire band, Lorrie felt the tears pool, but she fought them. She didn’t need to cry right now. This was a happy moment, one she would cherish for eternity. “Thank you,” she whispered, then looked him in the eye. “But what about you? I want you to wear my ring.”

His smile was slow and sexy, then he held up another ring, this one much bigger than the one on her finger. “I knew you’d say that.”

She laughed, taking the ring, then sliding it over his big finger.

Curtis leaned down and pressed his lips to hers softly. “You are my love that lasts a lifetime, Lorrie. No matter what obstacle we encounter, no matter what path life leads us on, you will always be the most important thing in my life. I’ll give you the moon if you want it. And don’t tell me I can’t, woman, because I’ll damn sure find a way if that’ll make you happy.”

Lorrie laughed. He knew her so well. “You’re all I need,” she replied. “All I’ll ever need.”

And that was the moment she accepted that she would live her life one day at a time, the way she had in the beginning. Back when the only thing that had mattered was Curtis’s love. Everything else would work out the way God planned. And until then, she would be eternally grateful that she’d been blessed with the greatest thing in the world already.

A love that lasted a lifetime.

chapter FORTY-THREE

MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1977

After fifteen years of marriage, the man is still teaching me things I never thought I’d enjoy. And at thirty-two, Curtis Walker still has it going on.

“Have you seen Lorrie anywhere?” Curtis called to one of the ranch hands as he headed toward the barn to see if she was there. He’d searched the house prior to coming out here, a little concerned when he hadn’t found her.

“Not since lunch,” was the answer he received.

“Thanks,” Curtis called back.

He knew she wasn’t at the library, because she hadn’t kissed him good-bye and they made it a point never to leave the house unless they did so. It wasn’t something that he’d ever thought about; it simply was a habit.

When he reached the doors to the barn, he heard a soft sound, almost like a deep, shuddering breath.

He looked up at the loft.

He smiled to himself, making his way over to the wooden ladder that led up to where they stored hay. Trying not to make a sound, he ascended the steps slowly. When he reached the top, he found Lorrie lying on a blanket that had been tossed over the hay.

“What’re you doin’ up here?” he asked, grinning.

She looked so pretty lying there, all relaxed with her hair spread out around her, knees bent, dress lifted slightly but still keeping her decently covered. He wanted a picture of her just like that.

Her eyes widened and she instantly shoved something beneath the blanket.

Naughty girl.

“Are you hidin’ somethin’ from me, darlin’?” He had to bend over to keep from hitting the beams above him as he made his way toward her.

“No,” she said hurriedly. “I was just reading.”

“What’re you readin’?”

“Nothing.”

That made him laugh.

Rather than let her get out of it, he moved closer, then dropped to his knees, crawling forward and hovering directly above her as he stared down into her eyes.

“Are you lyin’ to me?” he teased.

She shook her head.

“What if I wanna know what you’re readin’?”

Her eyes were still wide, her face flushed, and that was when he knew.

“Is it somethin’ I’d like?” he probed.

She shook her head, but not a sound came out of her. He knew.

“You’re readin’ a dirty magazine, aren’t you?”

She didn’t have to say no; the blush on her cheeks was all the answer he needed.

“You dirty, dirty girl.”

Taking her hands, Curtis lifted them over her head, pinning her to the blanket beneath his body. He pressed his nose against her neck, brushing his lips over the sensitive skin and inhaling her. A rumble emerged from deep within him. She brought out the animal inside, and all it took was her scent.

“If I slip my hands in your panties right now, you’ll be wet, won’t you?”

Lorrie didn’t respond, but the way her breaths were coming faster told him what he’d already known.

“Is that what you want me to do? Want me to slip my hand in your panties and finish you off? Make you come on my hand?”

She moaned, a sound so damn sexy Curtis’s cock jumped behind his zipper.

But as intriguing as that sounded, he actually did want to know what she was reading. While he continued to tease her, trying to get her mind off the magazine, he released her hand and then reached for it.

“Curtis!” Lorrie squealed when he grabbed it and sat up on his knees, flipping through the pages.

“Damn, baby. I can see why you like this one.”

He peered over the edge of the magazine to see her staring back at him.

“I just wanted to see why
you
liked it, that’s all,” she huffed.

“Me?” Curtis flipped the magazine closed so he could look at the front. “Baby, this ain’t mine.”

“It’s not?”

He shook his head. “No. But now that I know you like ’em, I’ll be doin’ a little shopping next time I’m in town.”

“Whose is it?” she questioned.

He shrugged. “Where’d you find it?”

“Behind the tools,” she said, nodding down to the main floor of the barn.

“Interesting.” If he had to guess, one of the ranch hands was doing some light reading on his off time.

Figuring he might as well have some fun with it, Curtis fell onto the blanket beside her and opened the magazine, looking at the pictures, making sure he held it so that she could see them, as well. He could tell she was trying not to look, but her eyes still slid toward the pornographic images.

“What are you doing?” she whispered loudly.

“The same thing you were doin’. Readin’.” He wasn’t reading, that was for damn sure.

When Lorrie went to move, he grabbed her arm and pulled her down beside him.

“You ain’t goin’ nowhere yet, darlin’. I haven’t figured out what your punishment’s gonna be.”

“My punishment?” She sounded outraged.

Curtis reached down and ground his palm against the rigid length of his dick. He was hard as fucking stone, and it had nothing to do with the pictures he was looking at. Okay, well, mostly nothing. Her eyes followed his movement, focused on his crotch.

He held up the magazine, which reflected a picture of a woman going down on a man, his big dick inside her mouth. “Is this what you like to look at?”

Lorrie’s cheeks turned red.

Interesting.

“Come over here, baby,” he said firmly, pointing to the spot between his legs. “I’m not sure I’m gettin’ the full effect of this. Maybe you can demonstrate.”

Knowing he could very well push the limit with his wife, Curtis made sure she saw the heat in his gaze. More than anything, he wanted to feel those pretty lips wrapped around his dick.

She did as he said, crawling between his legs, kneeling there, but not moving.

“Take my cock out,” he instructed, keeping his tone low and gentle.

To show her he was more interested in her, he dropped the magazine when she reached for the button on his jeans. He sucked in a breath when she managed to free his dick. She kept her eyes locked on his face as her soft hand slid over his rock-hard length.

“I love your hands on me, but I love that sweet little mouth, too.”

Her gaze slipped to where she was currently jacking his dick, then back to his face. A sexy smirk curled the edges of her pretty lips.

“Fuck yes, baby,” he whispered, sliding his hand in her silky hair when she bent over and took him in her mouth. “Damn, you don’t even know how good that feels.”

Curtis watched as she worked his dick with her mouth, sucking him as she moaned softly. The vibrations went straight to his balls.

He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Such a sweet mouth. Take more of me, baby.”

She eased down until she gagged, then promptly pulled back. The sight alone made his dick jump.

“Fuck, you make me so goddamn horny.” He reached for her, pulling her over him before crushing his mouth to hers, holding her head as he thrust his tongue past her lips, her teeth, fueling the flames that had started from that dirty magazine.

Lorrie whimpered as she began humping his thigh.

“Is that what you need? You need me to make you come?”

She nodded.

He nibbled her ear. “You want my dick or my mouth, baby?”

“Both,” she whispered, her voice raspy with need.

“I can definitely do that,” he assured her. “But I’ll only do it if you strip that pretty little dress off.”

He knew he was asking for a lot. They were in the barn, and it was the middle of the day. The ranch hands could show up at any time, which for him only heightened his desires, made his dick throb harder. The idea of them possibly getting caught was hot as hell.

He just wasn’t sure she’d given that any thought.

“Come on, baby. Lemme see those sweet tits. Lemme tease ’em with my mouth.”

Lorrie sat up and stared at him.

And just when he thought he’d gone too far, his dirty girl proved she was definitely naughty.

Lorrie didn’t know what had come over her. She wasn’t even sure what had prompted her to pick up the magazine when she’d seen it beneath a pile of rags on the floor near the tack. But she had and here she was.

When Curtis had found her, she’d been embarrassed to the roots of her hair, not sure what he would say when he realized what she was doing. Truly, she had thought the magazine belonged to him. The fact that it didn’t wasn’t even her concern. What mattered was how turned on she’d gotten by looking at the images. She’d always heard that women were more visual than men and that was proven by how her body had responded to looking at those dirty pictures.

“That’s my girl,” Curtis grumbled when she pulled her dress up over her head, tossing it to the side.

Without waiting for instruction, she removed her bra and panties. She was burning from the inside out, desperate to feel him, aching for his touch.

She shivered, only partly because of the cool air that wafted over her skin.

“Lemme warm you up,” he said, reaching for her hand and pulling her forward.

Before she could lean down to kiss him, Curtis stopped her, shifting so that he could take her right breast in his mouth. She groaned as the warmth of his tongue along her flesh sent an electrical current directly to that aching spot between her legs.

Curtis pulled back momentarily. “You gotta keep quiet, baby,” he said faintly. “You wouldn’t want one of the hands to hear you.”

Oh, God.
She hadn’t even thought about that. Hadn’t considered the fact that they were in the barn and at any moment someone could walk in. Oh, no. Someone could even come up to the hayloft and find them…

Curtis’s mouth was on her again, sucking her, teasing her nipple, and every thought momentarily fled her mind. The only thing that mattered was what he was doing to her, how incredible he was making her feel.

He released her nipple with a light pop and looked up at her, grinning.

“Now I need to taste your pussy.”

Her body trembled, the dirty words hitting that spot the same way they always did. How those crude words could make her body burn hotter, she didn’t understand, never really had, but she’d never questioned it, either.

Curtis took control, repositioning her so that she was straddling his head. She started to pull away, embarrassed by what he was going to do out in the barn, but he held her thighs firmly but gently.

“Don’t move.”

She was paralyzed in place. The husky rumble of his voice made her skin tingle at the same time his tongue made other parts of her body tingle. He lapped between her thighs, licking her, sucking her, thrusting into her until she was wild with the need to come apart. Only it wasn’t enough. He was keeping her on the edge, holding her there, tormenting her in the most exquisite way.

Just when she was about to tell him she needed more, she heard voices coming closer.

Curtis stopped what he was doing, shifting her off him, and she thought for a moment he was going to hand over her dress so she could cover herself, but he didn’t. His hands were rough as he repositioned her so that she was on her belly, leaning over a bale of hay that the blanket was covering, her bottom sticking up in the air.

Her naked bottom.

His warm body covered her, his shirt buttons scraping her bare back, the denim of his jeans brushing the insides of her thighs, his mouth by her ear. He was fully dressed still.