The Stars in the Sky (Giving You ... #2) (7 page)

I wanted to to do that.

She sang a sweet, middle note, and said that his hair sounded "True, passionate, and kind."

Interesting. It was sort of like an astrology reading by hair.

I really only saw Will this week at meal times, when we both had trouble keeping our hands under control. The flirting with him was now a combination of completely under wraps and blatantly obvious. At least I hoped it wasn't obvious. When I got up to refill the water pitcher, for instance, I made it a point to graze his crotch as I got up. He did the same, reaching across my boobs to grab the salt and pepper, and resting his arm just a second too long. And then looking at me, giving me an almost imperceptible eyebrow raise and smirk. And so it went on, in public, playing this game of who can touch the other one the most, without letting anyone else know it.

On Thursday, it happened.

"What's that noise?" asked Clarissa suddenly, her sunglasses on, blonde braids whipping around to turn her ear toward some scrubby bushes growing at the far end of the corral. I walked over to investigate and, holy shit, there was a full-sized rattlesnake right there. Not only could I see the snake, stretched out across the dirt, but also I could hear the rattle. About all that I knew about rattlesnakes came from cartoons, but I figured that just because it wasn't coiled up and ready to strike didn't mean that we should stick around and meet it.

"We're going to get out of here and go inside and I'll get someone to take care of it," I said, more calmly and confidently than I felt. "I think it's a rattlesnake." I also had no idea what I meant by "take care of it," not remembering the protocol I’d read previously, but I had no choice. I couldn't have anyone, let alone a blind child, get hurt.

Just then, Will's truck pulled into the compound.

"There's a rattlesnake in the bushes by the corral," I burst out, and I pointed to where I saw it.

He nodded, said, "I'll handle it," and ran to one of the barns. The caretakers gathered the kids and walked them to safety. Will came back, holding a shovel, with a ranch hand holding a bucket, and Janine holding a rake. My heart clenched. I didn't want them to kill the rattlesnake. It hadn't done anything wrong. But rattlesnake venom could be fatal. This was the part where wanting to save all of the animals in the world was really difficult. I didn't eat animal products, wear any leather, or do anything that would involve animal testing. But here, on the ranch, there was just no avoiding wildlife, and as much as I hated, absolutely fucking hated, what they were going to do—or at least what I thought they were going to do—I couldn't, and wouldn't, stop it. But I also couldn’t let them do it either.

When I got near the corral, Will's head whipped around and he yelled, "Get away, Marie. Go in the tack house."

"No," I yelled back. "I want to know what you’re doing to it."

He looked at me, anger flashing on his face, mixed with something else. Concern? "Stay away, it's dangerous. Right now we have it under control. I'll come talk to you in the tack house when we're done."

I felt so torn. “No.”

I followed him. I knew that some people would say that it's just a snake, but to me, it was important. I didn't want to be responsible for killing any animal, even one that was not cuddly and cute. I didn't even buy tequila with worms in it.

Will turned, deadly serious, and spoke, looking me right in the eyes, and while it was authoritative, he also said it with kindness. “Get in the tack house, Marie. Don’t distract us.”

Okay, fine. I went in and sat on a sawhorse, pissed, scared, and hurt.

After about ten minutes, Will walked in the tack house, and came right over to me, standing over me, panting. He paused and looked down at me sitting. "You're upset."

"Yeah, Captain obvious.”

"Can't have rattlers around here. Not with the Headlands Program. Had to kill it," he said firmly.

I knew he was right, but I didn't like it. "You couldn't have taken it to another part of the ranch?"

He looked at me, his tone kind even if his words weren't. "I'm not driving around with a rattlesnake in my truck. Can't take them somewhere else on the ranch ‘cause they might come back. It’s too far for animal control to come."

I sighed and kicked at the floor. "I know you think I'm crazy, all sad about the life of one snake, but that's just how I'm made."

He smiled and shuffled his feet. "I know. That's part of the reason why I think I like you."

That made my pulse run. Hearing it come out of his mouth was different than me guessing about it. "You think you like me?" I stuttered out.

He gave me his half smile. "The part that cares about everyone and everything? Yeah."

Oh great gobs of gooey goodness. Will Thrash likes me. I felt like I was in seventh grade and he had just asked me to a chaperoned dance. But I was still upset. "Will you tell me what you did to it?"

He looked at me, probing and serious, and reached a finger under my chin. "Do you really want to know?"

I nodded.

He spoke in his slow drawl, gently and clinically. "Janine pinned its head with the rake while I sliced it off with the shovel. We put it in the bucket and buried it out back."

To me, that sounded gruesome, but I suppose it could have been worse. I shuddered.

"That upset you more," he said, still standing over me.

"Yeah." I went to get up, but he put his hand on my shoulder, gently, pushing me down. He gave me a sexy chin lift and narrowed his eyes.

"Stay here for a minute." He left the tack house and after a moment, came back in, carrying something.

"Bought you a present.” Really? I was surprised and touched. He'd been away all day. It was heartwarming to think that he'd thought of me.

"What is it?" I asked, eager to find out what he'd buy me, and feeling a greater thrill than I’d admit out loud.

He handed me the white paper sack and I opened it up. Candy?

"It's from Robitaille's in Carpinteria. It's candy, so I figured you could eat it—no animals in it. I asked and they said these had no milk or butter or anything."

My mouth opened at such a thoughtful gift and I tilted my head to the side. "That was nice of you."

He gave me a wicked look. "Not really. They were the official candy maker of Reagan's second inauguration."

I couldn't help but laugh. Of course he gave me Republican vegan candy.

I raised an eyebrow. "A compromise, Mr. Thrash? I didn't know you had it in you."

He looked for a moment like he was battling with himself to say something, but didn't. He blinked and he pressed his mouth together. Then he stood up, looked down at me, said, "See you later," and walked away. But I heard him mutter, "I know what I want in you."

Dirty motherfucker. I smiled.

The candy was delicious, though I still felt bad for the snake.

A Horse and a White Bikini

ON FRIDAY MORNING, THE kids left, I wrote a report of what we did, and then I packed up a daypack with a huge towel, sunscreen, water (in a reusable BPA-free bottle), organic berries from the ranch, my phone, and my e-reader. I put on my white bikini under my cut-off jean shorts and white t-shirt and set off to the beach, a hot twenty-minute walk.

This beach featured a small cove, with bluffs on all sides and rocks heading into the water, no one around on any side for miles. I lay out my towel, stripped off my shorts and t-shirt, and ran into the water to cool off and wash off my sweat from the walk. Oh, was it cold! Although it was a sunny June day, the Pacific Ocean felt arctic. I splashed around for just a minute, did a handstand on my way back to my towel, and flopped down on my back, sunglasses on, and my earbuds in with dance music on my phone. Goosebumps covered my skin from the frigid water and my nipples puckered. I wanted the sun to warm me up, and fast.

After a moment, I sensed a shadow over my face.

I opened my eyes and saw Will standing over me, wearing a green Justin Workboots trucker hat, which barely controlled his hair, a tight, faded red t-shirt, and his usual jeans and boots. I tore out my earbuds and hoisted myself up on my elbows, looking up at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Heard you went to the beach," he said, his expression unreadable. "Thought I'd give Thor some exercise."

"Your horse is named Thor?" I laughed, took my sunglasses off, and looked around. He'd tied the horse to a post at the edge of the small beach area.

He ignored my comment and looked my body up and down, his dark eyes now intense. "You can't do this to me," he said, and he crouched down next to me, rocking back on his heels.

"Do what?" I asked, only partially innocently, since I was sticking my chest out at him, determined to mess with him every chance I got. Guess this was also my way of getting him back for his naked torso display the other day.

He shook his head. "Display your sexy body like that and not expect me to touch you."

"Go right ahead, cowboy," I said, and the words were barely out of my mouth when he took off his hat, put it on backwards, kneeled, leaned over, and kissed me, pulling my wet body to his dry one and holding me to him.

This was a sweeter kiss than the one we shared almost a week ago, but no less energetic. As he kissed me, with plenty of tongue, I kissed him back, feeling his hot lips on my cold ones. I was getting his t-shirt wet, but, typical Will, he didn't seem to care. Instead, he ran his fingers from my ear down my neck to my shoulder, and he broke apart from me, looking to trace the dove tattoo on my collar bone. Without saying anything, he pushed me gently back down on the towel, threw his hat down beside us, and trailed his fingers down my side, lingering on the Noah's ark and all of the animals. Then he leaned over and traced this tattoo with his tongue and his lips, talking against my skin, "You taste like the ocean but it's so good."

Fuck.
This man
. So fucking sexy.

I let him touch me and felt the sensations of his rough hands going over my body. He moved his body over mine, between my legs, careful not to get any sand on the towel, holding himself over me, kissing me from my belly to my face. Then he brushed a hand over my left breast, holding himself up with the other one.

"Yes," I whispered, and then any self-control we had—minimal as it was—snapped.

He pushed my bikini top to the side, and cupped my breast, sucking my nipple hard, harder than it’d ever been sucked before, and fuck me, I loved it. It sent a sensation down my body straight between my legs. After lavishing attention on one side, he switched to the other, and the sucking made me wet, this time from me, not from the ocean.

"You taste so fucking good," he said against my breast. "Salty but not. It's so good.” He nibbled his way up my chest and to my ear, which he bit lightly, and sucked.

Fuck, that felt good too.

His hand started to wander, as he felt my shoulder, grazed my arms, and held my hand, squeezing it gently.

He held my hand.

And then, he moved his hand over to my belly and kept going down.

I got wetter.

"I don't have a condom," I whispered.

"For what I'm thinking, we don't need one," he whispered back. "I wanna taste you."

Fine by me.

His hand went into my bikini bottom and aimed for the exact right place. I let out an involuntary breath. He rolled my clit with his thumb while he stuck two other fingers inside me, and that felt amazing. He rhythmically stroked me with his fingers, and then he stopped, kissed me again on the lips, and headed down my body. Leaving me turned on and bereft, he grasped the sides of my white bikini bottom in both hands and gently nudged it down, fully exposing my star tattoos on my hip bones. He let out a breath and reverently kissed one and then the other, and then pulled my bikini down all the way off of me, kneeled between my legs, and started licking me, clutching my ass with one hand.

He lapped me the entire way up my sex, tongue wide and wet, and I almost lost it just from that move alone. Then he did some sort of swirly, rolly thing with his mouth. I don't know what it was, but I didn't want him to stop and I told him so, loudly. He kept his fingers going for good measure. So, between the wide lapping of his tongue, the swirling and teasing, and his fingers in the exact right spots, it didn't take me long to come.

When I come, the world shuts down. I can't hear anything, I can't see anything. There is only my body, there is only tension, there is only the sensation of clenching all over, and then there is this sweet release, that lets it all out, flooding my entire body with pleasure.

God, that felt good.

But Will Thrash wasn't done with only one episode of Sex on the Beach. He kept going with his tongue and his fingers, and he brought me over the edge again, and again.

Oh my God.

Finally, I had to tell him to stop because I thought I was going to die from the pleasure.

He leaned back on his heels and looked at me closely, a satisfied look on his face, dark hair messy.

"I want nothing more than to bury myself in you. Go out to dinner with me tonight. Want you in my bed after."