The Deputies: 3 Novella Box Set (12 page)

He stood up straight and braced himself for the blow. Inside he was shaking, terrified she might leave him but he had to do this. As a man, he had to know if she was staying because she loved him or some other misguided attempt to have the family she never had.

“So I did hear the word divorce out of your mouth when you were talking to Seth.” Alyssa pushed off from the tree and began to pace back and forth. “I can’t believe you said it out loud, Hank. You can’t throw the word around like that. Once you say it, you can’t take it back.”

She whirled around, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Do you want one or do you think I want one?”

“It was my fault you got in the accident,” he said. Offering her freedom might be the right thing to do, but it was painful as hell. His heart felt like it was about to be ripped out of his chest.

“How is the accident your fault?” she asked, her frustration clear in the tense line of her shoulders. “By its very definition, it was an accident.”

“You wouldn’t have been out if it weren’t for me.” Hank scraped his hand through his hair trying to push away the images of her hurt. “You have every right to hate me.”

Alyssa shook her head and took a step toward him. “Hank, listen to me very closely. It. Was. An. Accident. It was nothing you did or didn’t do. For all we know, I would have found another reason to go to the grocery store that day. It didn’t have anything to do with our argument that morning. I was done being mad before you even got to the station. I realized you were afraid that I would hurt you again. I knew I needed to be more patient. I don’t hate you.”

His shoulders sagged in relief—weeks of hating himself and not knowing had taken their toll. Funny how things could turn on a dime. Not long ago, he couldn’t imagine ever saying these words again. Now he couldn’t hold them back.

“I love you, Lis.”

Her slow smile gave him an ache in his chest. “Thank you. I love you too, by the way. I haven’t said it for awhile. Not because I didn’t feel it but because I wasn’t sure you wanted to hear it.”

“I wanted to hear it more than you could possibly imagine. Seth’s right. We’ve been at cross-purposes for too long. It stops now.”

Hank took a few steps closer to her. He could smell her perfume and feel the heat from her skin.

“A few times I lost faith that you still loved me, and then you would do something that made me believe again. Presley reminded me that men communicate with actions, not words.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his body. “Clever Presley.” He buried his face in her neck. “Thank God you didn’t want a divorce. I don’t know what I would have done, Lis. I felt it was the honorable thing to offer it to you, but if you had taken me up on it, I think I would have gone crazy.”

Her hand slid around him and her head tipped back so she was looking up at him. Even in the moonlight he could clearly see her happy and serene expression. “Not going to happen. You’re stuck with me. I suppose you’ve been torturing yourself since the accident with this instead of just talking to me about it.”

“I can laugh about it now but yes, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.” Hank chuckled and nipped at the soft skin of her shoulder. Lifting his head, he looked down into her eyes. “From now on we talk. About everything. Your family, my job, Luke, the dog, the price of eggs. Whatever it is we don’t hide it anymore. Deal?”

“Deal. I love you so much. I’m sorry but I can’t stop saying it. The time we were apart was so lonely and dark. I missed you but I knew I couldn’t come back until I could stand on my own two feet. I couldn’t ask you to deal with my parents and our issues any longer. Do you understand, Hank?”

Seeing the difference in her now from before, he did. She hadn’t been selfish as he’d thought, but had actually been self-sacrificing. She’d put him and their family first in the only way she knew how.

“I love you too. I needed to grow up as well, I think. I wanted everything my way too and you were just supposed to fall in line. Marriage doesn’t work like that. I guess I fooled myself into thinking that when I married you, I married
only
you, not your family.”

Alyssa giggled and his heart flipped in his chest. She was everything and her happiness was paramount. “I don’t think Mom and Dad will be coming around much, although Caroline might. I got a call from her a few days ago and she’s starting to see how our parents are manipulating her and Mark.”

“I look forward to seeing her again.” It was a trifle surreal saying it but it was really true. Caroline and Mark were good people in a tough situation.

Alyssa played with the snaps on his Western shirt. “I’ve been thinking about that baby. We need to get to it if we want another one.”

Just the thought of Alyssa carrying his child made him hot and hard in a split second. He reached for the keys in his pocket.

“I can have us home and naked in twenty minutes.”

Her gaze dropped to his crotch and then back up. She was licking her lips and his cock twitched in his pants, swelling even larger.

“I don’t think we have time,” she breathed. “I think I need you now.”

How did he get so lucky? His wife was not only beautiful and sexy, but she had a little danger in her soul. They were far enough from the dance that no one would know as long as they were quiet and stayed behind these trees. Being married to Alyssa was never going to be boring.

Pulling at the material of his shirt, the snaps easily gave way. “Slip off those panties, honey. You’re right, we’ll never make it all the way home.”

Everything was going to be okay between them. They’d finally put to rest the ghosts that kept them apart and now they could forge a new beginning.

Hank didn’t allow Alyssa time to savor their victory over the past however. His rough hands were sliding under the skirt of her sundress sending delicious tingles to some very private places. Her breath caught as his thumb slid inside her already soaked panties and brushed her swollen clit.

“You don’t listen worth a damn do you?” Hank’s voice was amused, not annoyed. “This scrap of lace is just in my way.”

His fingers hooked on the sides of her panties and they glided down her legs. He balled them up and shoved them in his pocket before backing her up against the tree.

“Are you sure you’re up for this, Lis? I don’t want to hurt you.” His voice was rough and his hand shook as he pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. Her big manly husband wanted her as much as she wanted him but he was holding himself in check.

For her.

Because he loved her.

Her heart seemed to expand in her chest and butterflies danced in her tummy. Hank loved her. She felt a little silly now that she’d made such a big deal about the words. She knew men that said it without feeling it, and that would have been worse.

All those long lonely months they’d been apart seemed to drift away from her memory and only the present and future existed. They would build a strong marriage and family, teaching their children about honesty and love. But first they were going to make love.

“I’m completely healed. I can take whatever you’ve got to give, Hank.”

Her free hand explored the chest muscles he’d revealed and then went to work on his belt buckle. It took a few tries and a couple of curse words but she finally had his button fly open. She reached into his jeans and found his cock. Hard and pulsing in her palm, she caressed him up and down, especially around the head, drawing a groan from deep inside of her alpha husband.

“Fuck, Lis. Where’d you learn to do that with your fingers?”

“You taught me.” She whirled her tongue around a flat male nipple. “I want to make you feel like I feel.”

Suddenly she was lifted off her feet, her back braced against the tree and her legs circling Hank’s waist. His hands had tugged down the halter top of her dress and his lips were doing amazing things to her nipples. She dug her fingers into his dark hair and whimpered as his tongue and teeth tortured the hard buds.

“I think you feel pretty damn good, Lis.” His breath was rough and she could feel the thick length of his cock pressed against her ready pussy. The time for foreplay was over. She felt empty and wanted him deep inside of her. She’d missed this and him these last weeks. Marveling at how she’d ever done without him, she ground her clit against his crotch making both of them moan and pant.

“Fuck me,” she whispered into his ear, hoping her dirty talk enflamed him even more. His finger pressed inside of her and she gasped at the twin sensations of his mouth on her breasts and his thick digit rubbing her G-spot. She wiggled her hips, the bark of the tree rough on her skin and adding an extra level of sensation.

Pulling his lips up to her own, she fused her mouth with his. His tongue played in her mouth with a hot and raunchy rhythm that left her in no doubt as to what was on his mind. Reaching between them, she tugged at the denim of his jeans wanting to rid them of the thick barrier between their bare flesh.

His strong hands curled around her hips, holding her steady. She sucked in a breath as he entered her in one strong thrust. Biting down on his shoulder, she managed to quell the scream of pleasure that had risen from deep inside of her.

They fucked hard and fast, each stroke sending Alyssa closer to climax. The only sounds she heard were the rustle of the leaves in the wind mixed with their labored breathing. The smell of sex and Montana wildflowers hung in the warm air and teased her nostrils.

“Now, Hank.” The words were barely intelligible but he seemed to understand her plea. He sped up thrusting harder and faster until she finally splintered apart, shattering into a million pieces. Lights whirled and flashed in front of her eyes and the world spun on its axis.

Hank threw his head back and uttered an oath as he filled her with his hot seed. His cock seemed to swell and jerk as his orgasm took him. She watched in fascination as his eyes closed and his muscles tightened. He was the most beautiful of men although he might not appreciate her description.

He was hers.

Eventually they were able to catch their breath, their limbs languorous. Hank let her feet touch the ground but held onto her until she could balance. She giggled as she fished her panties from his pocket and brushed bark and leaves from her hair.

“They’re going to take one look at us and know what we were doing,” she declared as they walked hand in hand back to the barn dance. It felt so good and right, her fingers entwined with his. Hank made her feel loved and safe.

“I don’t give a damn what people think.” Hank’s firm tone sent more shivers down her spine. They’d just made love and she already wanted him again. “I love my wife and I don’t care who knows it.”

The bright lights of the barn made her blink a few times after the darkness they’d shared. Presley and Seth hurried over to them, both wearing a curious expression. Presley’s eyebrows shot up as she plucked a twig from the skirt of Alyssa’s sundress.

“Out for a hike in the moonlight?” Presley asked, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s a lovely night for it.”

Hank put his arm around Alyssa’s shoulders and pulled her into his warm, reassuring body.

“It is a nice night isn’t it? You’ll have to excuse us but we’re headed home.”

“Already?” Seth asked. “It’s early.”

Presley elbowed her husband hard in the ribs. He appeared confused and then his expression cleared and a smile bloomed on his face. “On the other hand, there’s much to be said for hitting the sack before ten.”

Alyssa felt her skin heat all the way to the roots of her hair but Hank simply tugged on a few strands so she couldn’t hide her face.

“See you Monday,” he replied cheerfully and they walked back to the truck. He helped her into the cab and climbed in next to her.

“Where to, Lis? Your wish is my command.”

Her husband had a sexy smile on his face and she hoped she would see it every day for the rest of her life.

“Home,” she answered, her throat swelling with emotion. For awhile it hadn’t looked like she would have a home with the two most important men in her life. Three, if she counted Hershey.

She was lucky. They’d been given a precious second chance and somehow they hadn’t blown it. They were a family and she would never take it for granted again.

The End

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Deputy Sam Taylor – Springwood, Montana

Chapter One