Read Son of a Preacher Man Online

Authors: Arianna Hart

Son of a Preacher Man (10 page)

BOOK: Son of a Preacher Man
3.3Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

“Whoa, slow down there, killer, you’ll break an ankle running in those shoes.” J.T. held her upright when she would have fallen backwards. He took one look at her face, glanced at the door she’d come out of and took action. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Before she could protest, he swooped her up into the cab of his truck, which was parked right next to her car, and backed out of the parking spot. He didn’t try to speak to her, just held her hand and drove like a bat out of hell. Nadya didn’t mind his driving. The faster they went, the more distance she’d have between herself and Hornblower. Unfortunately, he couldn’t drive fast enough to keep the anger from rolling over her or the thoughts spinning through her brain.

He pulled in front of the cabin before she processed where she was.

“Come on, I’ll get you some tea, or a beer, or whiskey. Whatever you want.”

“I want to go to the creek. To my spot.”

“Dressed like that?”

“I don’t give a shit. I need

I just need to go.” She opened the truck door and jumped out. Her heels sank into the soft dirt, and sweat immediately dampened her blouse.

“Hold on a second! At least take a stick!” he called after her.

She ignored him and plowed through the bushes. Branches scratched her arms and pulled at her clothes, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was moving. If she just kept moving she wouldn’t have to think about anything.

Something scurried in the leaves and the birds cawed raucously overhead. The familiar sound of trickling water broke through the storm cloud of anger surrounding her as she hurried along the path. Finally, she reached the clearing.

Her breath wheezed in and out of her chest like bellows, and she realized she’d run the last fifteen yards or so. She was lucky she hadn’t caught her heel on a root and fallen. Without wasting any time, she kicked her shoes off and rolled up her pants. She had a blister on her baby toe, and the cool water would feel heavenly on her overheated feet.

The log had been worn smooth from the weather and bugs and still made the perfect bench. She looked at her reflection in the pool and winced. Her hair had partially fallen out of the twist, sweat made rings under her armpits, her mascara had run and she looked like a raccoon.

She scooped some water in her hands and splashed it on her face. Trying to get the mascara out from under her eyes was almost impossible, but the coolness felt good. Her blouse was soaked by the time she was through, but it would dry quickly enough in the heat. Leaning back, she braced herself against the boulders behind her and let the breeze caress her face. With her feet in the water the heat was bearable so she closed her eyes and tried to absorb the peace of the place.

Thoughts of her father’s letter and will kept intruding. Even the magic of the grove couldn’t calm her down. She was so angry and sad and frustrated she felt like her skin couldn’t contain all her emotions.

“So I take it the meeting didn’t go well?” J.T. stood next to her, holding out a water bottle.

“Jesus,” she practically screeched in fright. “You scared the life out of me. I didn’t hear you coming. Wear a bell or something.” She couldn’t believe he’d crept up on her without her hearing the tell-tale snap of branches.

“Sorry, I hung back until I thought it was safe. You looked ready to chew iron and spit nails.”

“I am.” She took the water bottle and drank greedily.

J.T. tossed his boots by her ruined heels and rolled up his jeans before joining her on the log. His feet looked wide and masculine next to her smaller ones. She waited for him to press her about the meeting, but he didn’t. He didn’t speak at all, just sat next to her while she let the cool water run over her toes.

“I have a punching bag in the cabin if you’re interested in beating the snot out of something.”

Nadya laughed ruefully. “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, actually. I’m so furious, and I don’t know what to do with it.” Sitting wasn’t going to work, so she got up and paced in the clearing. A rock cut the bottom of her foot, and she threw the offending object as hard as she could. “That selfish, arrogant bastard! I hope he’s burning in hell right now.”

“Don’t hold back—tell me how you really feel.”

“It’s not funny. Do you know that son-of-a-bitch owns the cabin? And the land. And this spot. My spot that I went to whenever I felt overwhelmed and angry because of how I was treated because of him. That’s why my mama never had to pay rent. That was his payoff. If she didn’t put his name on my birth certificate, she would have a roof over her head to raise his child.”

“Who is he? You haven’t said.”

“Haywood Masterson. You ever hear of him?”

J.T. let out a low whistle. “I sure as hell have. He owned a horse farm that has had some Derby contenders. His place is on the other side of Canton. I didn’t realize he owned land here, but that makes sense. Bill told me there used to be a lot of hunting cabins out here, back in the day. Little by little, the state has absorbed the acreage to add to the state forest.”

“Well, now I own it. Guess I’m your new landlady.”

“Good, the refrigerator is on the fritz and I want to paint the kitchen.”

Nadya laughed and felt some of the tension loosen from her shoulders. “I’ll get right on it.” She stopped her pacing and sat on the moss. “I don’t understand it. How could a forty-five-year-old man seduce a sixteen-year-old? And then abandon her when he got her pregnant? She lost everything—everything—and he lost nothing but his hunting cabin.” The sky darkened with an approaching storm, echoing her mood.

“He lost you. He lost the chance to watch you grow into the beautiful, successful woman you are today.”

“Thanks for that. Apparently, he was stirred to help there too. Some of the grants I got weren’t just because I scored well on my SATs. He created them so I would get them. They didn’t pay for everything, but they helped. He said he was proud of me when I graduated. Like he had any right to be proud. He should have felt ashamed.”

“Men like that don’t feel shame.”

“Obviously.” She threw another rock into the creek. “He had a wife and two sons and went chasing after my mama. And he had the gall, the absolute nerve to say he fell head over heels in love with her and it was the best time of his life. She was sixteen.” Tears leaked down her cheeks and she didn’t try to stop them.

Before she knew it, J.T.’s arms encircled her and she was sobbing into his chest. She cried for her mother who’d lost her family. She cried for herself and all the abuse she’d taken over the years. She cried at the unfairness of not being able to strike back at her father and hurt him as much as he’d hurt her.

Eventually, even the greatest storms blow themselves out, and her tears tapered off to sniffles and slowly stopped. The shoulder of J.T.’s white T-shirt was soaked through and had streaks of her makeup staining it. “I ruined your shirt,” she said, her voice still thick with tears.

“It’ll wash. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up and I’ll take you back to your car. Mary Ellen has probably worked herself into a frenzy by now.”

“Oh God, I told her I’d call her after the meeting.” She searched for her cell phone but realized she must have left it in her purse in J.T.’s truck.

“Don’t worry, I called her and said the meeting didn’t go well. She’s making brownies and brought home a bottle of wine.”

“Bless her.” Nadya accepted J.T.’s hand and he pulled her to her feet. They gathered their shoes and were just about to put them on when the skies opened up.

Thunder crashed in the distance, coming closer by the second. Sheets of rain poured down on them, soaking them instantly. Wind whipped the trees and leaves flew around them.

“Run!” J.T. shouted and they bolted for the path.

Sticks and prickers stabbed her bare feet as they ran. J.T. was ahead of her, leading the way. She had no idea how he could see anything through the rain streaming over them. Lightning flashed and the thunder nearly deafened her. He shouted something, but she couldn’t make it out over the ringing in her ears.

Soon, they broke through the bushes that hid the path, and J.T. scooped her up to carry her over the gravel driveway. He deposited her on the front porch where they were finally out of the fury of the storm. The rain beat down on the metal roof like gunfire.

Nadya took one look at J.T., soaked to the skin, leaves sticking to his neck and water running off him like spring snow-melt and burst into laughter. She didn’t just chuckle, she howled. Apparently, she didn’t look any better, because he let loose with a deep belly laugh and pointed to her hair.

She turned to look at her reflection in the window and saw her twist had come completely undone, and she had twigs and leaves caught in the curls sticking to her face and neck. Mud splattered her pants practically to her shins. This caused her to whoop even harder until she was doubled over.

“It’s

really…not…funny,” she gasped out. “These…were…Dolce and Gabbana.”

“Now they’re rags.” J.T.’s laughter trailed off to chuckles. “Wait here, I’ll get us some towels.” He stripped off his now thoroughly soaked T-shirt and dropped it with a plop onto the porch.

Nadya had bent over to squeeze some of the water out of her hair. As she straightened, she caught a full on view of J.T.’s bare chest.

His naked, muscular, tanned chest.

All laughter died instantly as her mouth watered. He’d been well built as a teenager, but as a grown man he was god-like. Light hair spiraled down from a mere dusting over his pecs to a thin line that disappeared into his jeans. Muscles rippled everywhere she looked. His abs were clearly defined, as was the scar that ran between his belly button and his hip bone. The cold had his nipples puckered, and she wanted nothing more than to lick the tiny, brown nubs.

Her brain stuttered to a halt as she drank him in. His arms bulged, and she noticed he had two tattoos. On one arm, he had a ring of barbed wire encircling his biceps. She couldn’t see the other one as well and was too stupefied to move closer for a better look. He was hard as a rock with not an inch of spare flesh on him anywhere. She knew she was staring but couldn’t seem to stop.

Tension thickened the air as the silence grew. Finally, she tore her eyes from the wide expanse of his chest to meet his gaze, and saw him just as dumbstruck as she’d been. He was staring at her with a hunger that was almost palpable.

She glanced down and was shocked to see her soaked blouse had gone completely transparent. Her lacy bra was visible, and her nipples poked through the thin satin, standing out as clearly as if she wore gauze.

Heat spread like wildfire, igniting every cell in her body until she thought she’d go up in flames from the way his eyes burned her. Time seemed to stand still as neither one of them moved. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed on its heels. Nadya jumped slightly, and that was all it took to break the spell. She was in J.T.’s arms, his mouth covering hers in a scorching kiss that incinerated every atom of her being.

She dug her fingers into the muscles of his back, clinging to him as he destroyed her with his lips and tongue. She couldn’t get close enough to him. She wanted to feel every last part of him against her. Her shirt was a nuisance, in the way of feeling skin against skin.

J.T. must have agreed because he tore the sleeveless blouse off her like it was made of tissue paper. He unhooked her bra in seconds and flung it away until they were finally bare flesh to bare flesh.

Another bolt of lightning and clap of thunder shook the earth around them. J.T. lifted her in his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist. As he fumbled to open the door, she attacked the strong column of his throat, licking the cord that ran down to his muscular shoulders. She wanted to eat him up, to devour him.

Finally, they were through the door. J.T. kicked it shut behind him and carried her to the nearest flat surface, which happened to be the kitchen table. With one arm, he swiped off the newspaper and a coffee mug that thunked on the linoleum floor. He set her on the table and Nadya reached for the button of his jeans even as he was unhooking her slacks. In seconds, he’d yanked off her pants and underwear and was shoving his jeans to the floor.

Nadya let out a low hum of pleasure as his erection sprung free. The length of him was impressive, and she couldn’t wait to explore him. J.T. didn’t give her a chance for a better look as he pulled her hips to the edge of the table and stepped between her legs.

Every sense exploded as his muscular thighs rubbed the inside of hers. He gripped her behind in his strong hands and tilted her so his shaft rubbed along her clit, sending sparks dancing along her nerve endings.

“You have the sweetest ass. I’ve had dreams about this ass,” he murmured as he licked and sucked his way down her throat to her breasts.

She fell back and braced herself on her elbows, which thrust her chest out even more. It was J.T.’s turn to hum with pleasure as he feasted on the lower swell of her breast. Nadya arched her back even more as he delicately nibbled his way to her aching nipple. Instead of drawing it into his mouth like she wanted him to, he blew a stream of cool air over it, tightening the bud further.

Tension had her insides in knots. Hot, lava-covered knots. She could feel his shaft as it glided along her mound, but she was empty inside. Empty and aching and desperate to be filled.

BOOK: Son of a Preacher Man
3.3Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Facing Unpleasant Facts by George Orwell
The Rose Garden by Marita Conlon-McKenna
Weird Tales volume 42 number 04 by McIlwraith, Dorothy
Inevitable by Louis Couperus
Romeo & Juliet & Vampires by William Shakespeare
A Lover's Call by Claire Thompson