Homestead

Chapter Thirty-two

Clay took Tess’s hand as they walked from the truck to Tess’s front porch, unable to remember a time when she’d been as happy. The sunrise blossomed over the treetops to the east, splashing the same blazing reds and oranges across the morning sky as the fire had painted the night’s. The rain had fled at dawn, and only a faint mist shrouded the tall stalks of corn in the fields. The creek running adjacent to Tess’s house was swollen nearly to the tops of its banks, rushing to drench the bordering pastures, finally bestowing the crops with the nourishment the farmers had been awaiting so long.

“Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day,” Clay said, sliding her arm around Tess’s waist.

“Mmm,” Tess murmured, slowing to lean her head against Clay’s shoulder. “It already is.”

Clay kissed the corner of her mouth. “You look beautiful. I like seeing you at sunrise.”

Tess blushed and kissed Clay’s throat. “Do you remember our first?”

Clay chuckled. “You mean the morning when I couldn’t get the outboard’s engine started, and we were stuck on the island until a fisherman came by and gave us a tow?”

“Yes,” Tess said, laughing too. “I was so worried I was going to lose my job when I didn’t get back to the lodge until nine, but Leslie had covered for me.”

“She never did find out you were with me, did she?”

“No,” Tess said. “I told her I went out boating and got stuck for a ride back, which was technically true.” She shook her head. “I’m not sure why I didn’t tell her about you, but I always had the sense we were a secret.”

“That was my fault.” Clay sighed. “I should have told you who I was right away and maybe none of this would’ve happened.”

“Oh, if it was going to happen, it would have whether you told me or not. Maybe even sooner.”

“I would have told you, you know,” Clay said, “before summer ended, but we ran out of time. I just had this feeling that summer was the last thing I’d ever have that was all my own. And you were a big part of it. I knew what my father had planned for me, and it’s not like I didn’t want to take on the responsibility of working for the company, but I knew I would always be following his path.”

“Are you sorry?”

“I like the work—I know it’s hard for you to understand, but I believe in it. We’re not perfect, we make mistakes, but we’re trying to get it right, and in the end, I think we’re going to do something good on a lot of levels.”

“And what about for you, personally?”

“NorthAm is my job. But I found something at the lake no one else could touch, something all my own.” She kissed Tess softly. “Was I right?”

Tess turned into her, threading her arms around Clay’s neck. The press of Tess’s body, the soft swell of her breasts, and the perfect fit of her hips sent a shiver of recognition and sublime contentment arrowing to Clay’s heart.

“You’re very right,” Tess murmured against Clay’s mouth, sliding her lips slowly over Clay’s and teasing her with the tip of her tongue. “I’m all yours if you want me.”

“I love you. And I want you every second of the day.” Clay cupped Tess’s ass and kissed her again. “And I don’t mind saying it over and over, because it sounds really good to me.”

“To me too,” Tess said. “But you know, I think I’d like to hear it upstairs after a shower. In bed.”

Tess pulled Clay down the hall to the mudroom. “Toss your clothes directly into the washing machine. I’ll get the shower started.”

“Okay,” Clay said, unbuttoning her shirt.

Tess paused, half-undressed, distracted by Clay’s naked body coming into view. Even soot streaked and dead tired, Clay was the most beautiful woman Tess had ever seen.

Clay grinned at her. “What?”

“I don’t even care that we’re all kinds of grimy right now,” Tess said softly. “I want you.”

Clay’s eyes went from playful to smoldering in a heartbeat. “Anything.”

“Shower. Hurry.” Tess quickly shucked her jeans and the rest of her clothes. “Or I might have to start without you.”

“Not a chance.”

“Oh yeah?” Tess raced for the stairs.

Clay followed at a gallop seconds later, and Tess, laughing, careened around the corner into the bathroom. She yanked open the shower door, flipped the dial to hot, and shrieked when Clay caught her around the waist and dragged her into the still-ice-cold spray.

“Wait, wait,” Tess cried, trying to escape the icy needles.

“You’ll be warm enough soon,” Clay said and kissed her.

Clay was right. As soon as Clay’s mouth covered hers, she didn’t feel the water anymore. She didn’t smell the smoke in her hair or the lingering odor of burning wood and rubber and other things. All she tasted, all she knew, was Clay’s essence drenching her mouth, saturating her psyche until she overflowed. Her thighs softened and she leaned into Clay, growing wet and hard and needy in a heartbeat. She wrapped one arm around Clay’s neck for balance, kissing her more deeply, and searched for Clay’s hand. Finding it, she drew it between her legs and pressed Clay’s fingers high between her thighs. “Don’t make me wait. Not this time.”

Clay turned her until her back was against the tiles, never relinquishing her mouth, and filled her up in a swift easy glide. The pressure was exquisite, too perfect to contain.

Tess pulled her mouth away and gasped. “Oh my God. You’re so good. I already want to come.”

“Good.” Clay’s mouth was on her neck, sucking, biting gently. Her breasts were pressed hard against Tess’s, her stomach and thighs gliding over hers. Clay’s thumb rested on her clitoris, massaging it with every deep, sweet stroke.

“I will come,” Tess warned breathlessly, “if you keep doing that.”

“Then I guess you will,” Clay muttered, kissing down the center of Tess’s chest until she reached her breast.

Clay’s lips tugged at Tess’s nipple and she gripped Clay’s shoulders, needing to fill her hands with Clay’s warmth, needing to surrender to Clay’s strength, needing her—needing to be hers.

The storm gathered, the fire raged, and her orgasm broke with the ferocity of dawn shattering the dark. Her hips surged on their own, taking Clay deeper, and she cried out, again and again. When she finally stopped coming, she was dizzy, ecstatic, shuddering with pleasure. “I love you so much.”

Clay buried her face in Tess’s neck. “I want you too. I need you too.”

Tess gripped Clay’s ass, urging her to straddle her. “I want you to come all over me. Hard, so you can’t think of anything except me.”

“I don’t. I can’t.” Clay braced her arms on either side of Tess’s shoulders, pressed her mouth to the angle of Tess’s neck, and thrust against her. “I love you. I always will. I promise.”

“You’re mine,” Tess whispered fiercely, burning with an ancient need to claim, to hold, to own and be owned. “Mine.”

“Yes,” Clay groaned, slick and hard and so vulnerable. “Yes. Please.”

“That’s it, that’s right,” Tess urged, lost in power that blazed like white lightning through her mind. “That’s just what I want. You. Just you.”

“So good, baby, so good.” Clay’s arms trembled.

Tess dug her fingers into Clay’s ass and tensed her thigh between Clay’s legs. “I love you.”

“I’m going to come,” Clay warned.

“Harder,” Tess said. “I want to feel you all over me. Harder.”

Clay threw her head back, her face tight with pleasure. Hips pumping, she came with a shuddering cry.

“Oh yes.” Tess held her tightly, kept her from falling. “I have you now.”

“Always,” Clay gasped. “All yours.”

Tess lay with her head on Clay’s shoulder, stroking the center of her abdomen, entranced by the way Clay’s muscles flickered at her touch. “I love your body.”

Clay laughed softly and stretched, curling one arm around Tess’s shoulders. She kissed her temple. “I’m glad. I love your hands on me.”

“I want you again.” Tess pushed up on her elbow and kissed Clay softly.

Smiling, Clay tugged Tess on top of her. Their legs automatically entwined as if their bodies knew they belonged together. “Anytime. Always.”

Tess rested her forehead on Clay’s for an instant, her eyes hazy and satisfied. “We should sleep, but I don’t want to.”

“I need to get back to the job site,” Clay said. “Things are a mess there, and I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get it straightened out.”

“I know you need to go. I just don’t want to let you out of my sight.”

“Believe me,” Clay said, running her hands up and down Tess’s back, arousal stirring again, “I don’t want to leave. But I can come back, right?”

Tess’s stomach tightened for an instant, then she reminded herself the future was theirs to write. “I want you to come back.” She nipped Clay’s lower lip. “In fact, I insist on it.”

“I know it’s probably too soon to talk about the future—”

“Really? You can say that?” Tess shook her head. “I’ve waited for you almost all my life. It’s not too soon.”

Clay ran her fingers through Tess’s hair. “I love you. I always want to come back here, to you.”

“I’ll always be here, and as far as I’m concerned, you belong here.” Tess’s brow furrowed. “Will you be happy here?”

“Yes,” Clay said instantly. “You’re here, and I love you. And I love this farm, this place, this land that’s yours and part of you.”

“Even when your job here is done?”

“Then I’ll go to the next job, and I’ll be away for a while, and I’ll miss you so much. And when I come home, I’ll show you how much every minute for a month.”

Tess shook her head and Clay’s heart sank.

“No?” Clay asked softly.

“Two months.”

Laughing, filled with the joy she’d thought she’d lost, Clay rolled Tess over and pinned her hands on either side of the pillow. She kissed her mouth, her neck, pushed her down on the bed and kissed her nipples.

Tess arched beneath her, moaning softly. “Stop unless you don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.”

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I need to find the sheriff and talk to him about Jimmy. We can’t just let him go, but maybe we can work something out so the charges aren’t too bad.”

“He needs to be held accountable,” Tess said.

“I know. I’ll do what I can.” Clay pushed lower and kissed Tess’s belly button, settling her breasts between Tess’s thighs. “I’ll call you when I know how long I’ll be gone—if there’s any service yet.”

“You’ll be careful, won’t you?” Tess cupped Clay’s chin and tilted her face up until their eyes met. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Nothing will.”

“Are you sure—about the agreement with Pete, and my land, and—”

“I’m sure. I’m sure about everything.” Clay kissed the curve of Tess’s inner thigh, moved up beside her, and pulled Tess into her arms. “One of the things I’m going to do after I get things organized back at the camp is call my father and tell him he doesn’t need to send his attorneys up here. Then I’ll get Ella to set up another town meeting and talk to the community about our plans. We might not win them all over right away, but it will be a start.”

“What do you think your father will say to your decision about my land?”

“He won’t like it, but I don’t think he’ll fight me. I closed the deal with Pete, we’ll get what we need to drill, and he owes me.”

“I don’t care about the past.”

“I know, but I didn’t stand up for us then, and I will now. It’s important to me.”

“Then it’s important to me too.” Tess stroked Clay’s chest. “But just know, all that matters to me from here on out is us. What we mean to each other and what we do about it.”

“I love you. I want to be yours every day for the rest of my life,” Clay said.

Tess smiled. “Then all you have to do is come home to me.”