TamingTara

Chapter Seventeen

“Of course.” Tara and Joe’s eyes met across the table.

Grandpa turned to Sasha with a frown. “You’re coming home with me,” he said, voice clipped.

Tara’s stomach clenched. Her gaze flickered between Grandpa’s scowl and Sasha’s slightly inebriated pout. Apparently Grandpa had noticed Sasha’s sulky face and rapid alcohol consumption throughout the dinner.

Sasha stood too. “Fine.” She tossed her hair. “I have another party to go to anyway.”

And with a pointed look at Nick, she followed Grandpa out of the restaurant.

At one time Tara would have been delighted to see Grandpa’s disapproval directed at Sasha instead of her for a change. But tonight she didn’t feel delight. She felt…worried. About Sasha. She wasn’t handling her disappointment or hurt or whatever it was she was feeling about Nick very well, downing martini after martini.

There had to be more to it than that. As far as Tara knew, Sasha barely knew Nick. And she’d been drinking a lot for a while now. Clearly, she was deeply unhappy and Tara cursed herself for not realizing this sooner. She watched Sasha and Grandpa leave together with a tight feeling in her chest, then turned back to Joe. He looked at her, eyes alight with…concern?

“You okay?” he asked softly.

She nodded. The other guests decided to leave too and she and Joe finished off the evening together, thanking them for coming, wishing them good night like a host and hostess of a dinner party. Something she’d always found so uncomfortable and excruciating became easy and enjoyable with him there at her side.

Nick excused himself to use the men’s room, leaving them alone.

Joe’s smile deepened as he looked down at her and reached out a hand to touch a loose tendril of hair.

“Did I tell you how hot you look tonight?”

“Um…” She had no idea. She was transfixed, watching his full lips move as he smiled and spoke. He had such a nice mouth…

“Tara?”

“Mmm?”

He bent his head and brushed his mouth over hers, exactly what she wanted him to do. He smelled so good and he was so warm, his mouth firm and gentle on hers. She swayed where she stood.

“You taste good too,” he murmured, and kissed her again. She parted her lips under his, deepening the kiss, and he rested his fingers on her cheek, holding her there gently while he kissed her again and again.

The sound of a throat clearing startled both of them and they turned to see their server standing there with the bill for the evening. He smiled at them.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “I’ll leave this with you and be back in a few minutes.”

Tara mindlessly took the bill from his hand, in a daze and bemused. She glanced down at it, then back at Joe. Smiling, he plucked the bill from her fingers and quickly scanned it. He showed her the total.

“Is that what you expected?”

She nodded. Tyler had given her a price including wine and they’d had a few other drinks on top of that. She pulled her gold card from her purse. It was only a few minutes before the waiter returned and whisked her card away, returning with the credit card slip. She scribbled in a generous tip for the waiter, then scrawled her signature across the bottom.

“Okay, we can go,” she said breathlessly, stuffing the receipt and the card into her tiny purse.

“Where the hell did Nick get to?” Joe took Tara’s arm, then paused. “Let’s go to Le Château,” he said gruffly.

She reached a hand up and pushed that lock of dark hair off his face. His eyes were hot and heavy-lidded, and heat built between them as they eyed each other. She felt edgy, achy, dizzy. She knew he wanted to be alone with her, but… “I don’t want to go there.”

“Why not?”

How could she explain that? Then she realized he thought she meant she didn’t want to be with him. “Let’s go to the ranch,” she said.

His eyes widened fractionally. “The ranch? Now?”

“Sure. We can make it there in half an hour.”

He pursed his lips. “Okay.”

“Here comes Nick.”

They dropped him off at home and Tara waited in the car while Joe disappeared inside and returned with a small bag. Then he drove her home and she too ran in to grab a few things. To her surprise, she met Sasha on the stairs, coming down with an empty wineglass. Her nose was pink and shiny, eyes red-rimmed.

“Sasha. I thought you were going to a party.”

“I changed my mind.” Sasha brushed past her and continued down the stairs.

“Sasha, wait.” Maybe she should stay. Maybe she should try to talk to Sasha about whatever was bothering her so much. She bit her lip.

“What?” Sasha asked, pausing.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course.” Sasha gazed at her defiantly, then continued down the stairs.

“Wait. I’m…I’m going to the ranch tonight.”

Sasha paused again at the foot of the stairs, turned and peered up at her. “Now?”

“Yeah. I’ll be back tomorrow. Or maybe Sunday. Can you let Grandpa know?”

“Sure.” With a hitch of her shoulder, she turned and walked away. Tara gazed after her, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. Oh lord.

“Do you want me to drive?” she offered when she climbed back in Joe’s Porsche. “I know the road better than you.”

“That’s okay.”

“I can get us there faster,” she said persuasively.

He laughed. “I can get us there alive.”

“You were nervous when I drove out to the ranch, weren’t you?”

Still smiling, he shifted gears smoothly as he headed into the mountains. “Nah.”

“Yes, you were.” She smiled, warm inside. “I’m a good driver.”

“Sure you are.”

She grinned, liking the easy teasing between them, but then she started thinking about Sasha again and her smile faded.

“Hey.” Joe reached his hand out and took hers. His fingers were warm against her cold flesh. She curled her fingers into his, wishing it didn’t feel so comforting, wishing she didn’t actually like him so much. “What’s wrong?”

She sighed. “I’m kind of worried about my sister. She’s been drinking too much and she’s gone back to hanging around with Baxter the Bastard.”

Joe laughed.

“I call him that because he treated her like crap,” she said. “They broke up, but lately she’s been seeing him again. And I think…” She bit her lip.

“What?”

“Well. She really likes Nick and he turned her down. She was definitely not herself tonight.”

“She did seem different.”

“I don’t suppose…” Her voice trailed off.

“What?”

“Could you talk to Nick? She’s really hurt by him telling her to stay away from the center.”

Heavy silence filled the car. “He had to do that,” Joe said quietly. “It’s the law.”

Tara sighed. “I know. But he didn’t have to turn her down for a dinner date.”

Joe’s mouth tightened. “You think he should go out with her just because she wants to?”

She bit her bottom lip. “No. Of course not.”

“He has his reasons for not wanting to get involved with her. It’s not our business, Tara. It’s between them.”

Tara stared out the dark side window. “I know, but…she’s my sister. Grandpa was angry at her tonight. I could tell.”

Joe’s silence encouraged her to keep talking.

“Usually she’s the one who can do no wrong,” she said softly. “And I’m the one who does everything wrong. Tonight it wasn’t like that.”

She felt his glance, but still he said nothing.

“I thought that would make me happy, but it doesn’t. I’m worried about her.”

“She’ll be okay.”

She turned to Joe. “Yeah. Probably. It’s just…weird.”

The drive through the dark mountains on the winding road went quickly, the tension in the car humming and building as they neared the ranch. Tara’s tummy fluttered with nerves and anticipation. Soon they turned off the highway onto the road to the ranch and the mill. The branches of the old olive trees formed a twisted, lacy black canopy against the star-dusted sky. When Joe pulled up in front of the house and killed the engine, it was so quiet and peaceful they sat there for a minute looking at each other.

What was she doing here with him? This was insane. But the aching emptiness was still there inside her and every time she thought about Joe’s kiss at the restaurant, she was flooded with wet longing, her insides low down cramping with desire.

“Come on,” Joe said and opened his door. She opened her own door before he could come around and stepped out of the car.

They were barely inside the door of the house when they were in each other’s arms. His hands were all over her as they groped and kissed and staggered down the hall to the bedroom.

Joe found the side zipper of her dress while her fingers fumbled with the rest of the buttons on his shirt and shoved it off his shoulders. His beautiful shoulders, dark skin smooth over hard muscle and bone. Her hands lingered there admiringly and she leaned down and sank her teeth into one firm muscle. He jumped at that, giving a little growl low in his throat, then his hands slid down her sides, pushing the dress down her thighs until it dropped to the floor.

His hands found her ass, bared by her thong underwear, and cupped it. Then fire flashed over her butt as he laid his hand on her in a gentle smack.

She cried out. “Joe!”

“That’s what you get for biting me,” he growled and laid another warm caress on her other cheek. Heat radiated from his hand over her flesh. Liquid flowed between her legs. She moaned. Oh God.

She kicked off her stilettos just as Joe picked her up and tossed her on the bed on her back. She let out a little cry of surprise, watched him with wide eyes as he shucked his pants and underwear, and then he was over her. He had a condom in his hands.

He rolled it onto his erection, tugged her tiny thong underwear to one side and fingered her.

“Are you wet, Tara? Ah, yes you are. Good girl.”

Liquid pleasure slid through her veins, making her helpless and weak.

He pushed into her slowly, stretching her, filling her. Sensation exploded in her, raced through her bloodstream and heat rolled over her skin. Her hips lifted against his in a mindless, seeking rhythm.

He was on his knees and he lifted her legs, pushing her thighs back against her chest, giving him deeper access. Then he turned his head and, hands on her ankle, he lifted one calf and pressed a long, slow kiss there.

Her world slowed and thickened at that moment, watching him press a kiss to her calf with closed eyes as he filled her. Her heart tilted and her mind spun. He rubbed his rough cheek against her leg, opened his eyes and met hers and something shifted in her, made her breath stop. Their eyes connected and held as he lowered her calf, held both legs with his big hands and thrust harder into her.

God. She wanted to close her eyes against the intensity in his eyes, the frightening intimacy of having him inside her while looking at her like that, but she couldn’t look away, held captive by his gaze.

“Come for me,” he growled. “Come now.”

She slid her hand down her body, found her swollen clit and rubbed. He pushed in again, faster, harder, once, twice, three times…and she came hard, ecstasy crashing over her, stars sparkling behind her closed eyelids.

He tensed and then vibrated inside her as he came too, in long, wrenching shudders inside her. When she could once again see, she watched his face, contracted in near-pain, a low guttural sound coming from deep within him. He was incredibly beautiful and triumphant, feminine joy overcame her that she could do that to him, make him feel so much.

“Holy Christ,” he said long moments later. He withdrew from her slowly, carefully, then slid off the bed to go to the bathroom and get rid of the condom. Tara lay there panting, heart still racing, wet panties twisted. Her breasts heaved and quivered in the lacy cups of the bra she still wore.

What had just happened? That wasn’t sex, it was an earthquake rocking the nearby San Andreas fault.

She blew out a breath, trying to get control back, limp and blissful. When Joe came back, she watched him cross the room on long legs with thickly muscled thighs, admiring his narrow hips and waist with those rippling abs and impossibly wide shoulders. Not to mention his impossibly thick penis, still partially hard.

“You okay?” he asked, sliding down beside her, resting his head on his hand, elbow bent, and pressing one hand to her abdomen. “That was intense.”

“Yeah. I’m okay. I think.”

The warm weight of his hand on her tummy was reassuring, tender. It made things soften inside her even more. She closed her eyes against the sensations and emotions assaulting her, gulping for air.

“Did you bring lots of condoms this time?” she whispered.

He choked on a laugh. “Like you wouldn’t believe, baby.”

She sighed and snuggled closer. “I did too.”

He laughed again. “Tell me now,” he said softly, his hand still moving in slow circles on her stomach. “Why did you join Le Château?”

She sighed, closing her eyes against the warm intensity in his. “I wanted…something. More than just sex. I’d been having dreams about…domination. Holding someone down, making them totally surrender to me, making them do whatever I wanted.” She peeked at him.

He lifted a brow.

“I wanted to explore that. I felt like something was missing from my life. I-I’ve had relationships, but…the last guy I went out with broke up with me because…” She swallowed. “He said I made him feel I was cutting off his balls. Emasculating him.”

Joe snorted and she lifted her eyes back to his.

“He obviously wasn’t man enough for you.”

She fought the smile tugging her lips. “And you are.”

“Hell yeah.” He frowned, his hand still petting her tummy in gentle, reassuring circles that made her tingle as they edged lower. “So you thought you needed to dominate someone.”

“Yes. I found a place where I could go and be in control and men would love it.”

“And did you love it?”

She lowered her gaze again, her chest tightening. “I…”

“Honesty, Tara.”

“I…I didn’t love it. But that’s just because…I was new to it.”

He looked at her still, saying nothing, and she wanted to squirm away from him and those see-inside-her eyes, inside her to things she didn’t want him to see.

He lowered his head to the pillow and reached for her, circling her with his arms in a protective embrace. Thankfully it didn’t seem he was going to try to convince her yet again that what she really wanted was to submit. Perhaps he had finally accepted her for who she said she was.