Morgan’s tummy fluttered in anticipation as she drove over to Tupelo to meet TJ at Texas Roadhouse, the spot they’d agreed upon earlier. Apparently, her Texas cowboy enjoyed a Texas-style meal. That suited her just fine, as she was a fan of the fluffy hot rolls the restaurant offered everyone as an appetizer. And to be honest, she had always been a steak and potatoes kind of gal. As she pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, she noted it was right next to a hotel. He’d thought of everything.
After dinner, they barely made it inside the hotel room that he’d already checked into before crashing together in urgency. Morgan didn’t want to waste another minute. She’d spent all week in such close proximity to him, but unable to have the intimacy she craved. Hopefully her pent-up frustration at not being able to have the closeness she desired was about to be released. After scrambling out of their clothes and boots, leaving a trail of discarded items in their wake, she pushed TJ on the bed and climbed on top of him. Rubbing herself against him, she moaned in pleasure, desire humming through her veins.
“Your skin feels so good against mine. Know what would feel even better? You, inside me. NOW.” Her body screamed for relief as she impatiently waited for him to don a condom. “Please hurry.”
After returning to the bed, he flipped her onto her back and slid inside in one smooth motion, then began moving in and out in a sensuous rhythm. Her brain turned to mush as his tongue began loving on her mouth, pulsing to the same tempo as his cock. As the intensity started to build, her moans of pleasure turned to cries, begging for release. Desperately craving the high that climax would bring, she stroked herself between her drenched folds. She was ever so close as TJ gazed into her eyes, urging her on. “That’s it. Come for me. Comewithme,mi amor. His sexy voice sent her tumbling over the edge, and he followed right behind her.
Later that night, after a session of slow and leisurely lovemaking, she was contentedly lying in his arms, skimming her fingertips across his chest which was sprinkled with tiny tight curls of hair. Breaking the comfortable silence, she spoke. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”
He pulled her face up to his and kissed her sweetly. “How do you feel, my sweet? Tell me.”
Even though she’d exposed every inch of her body to him and had freely expressed her feelings for him in a physical way, her face grew warm as she struggled to communicate verbally. She took a breath for courage and focused on his dark eyes, finding strength in their depths.
“I feel a connection with you. Like we are meant to be together. When I’m with you, I feel safe. I feel whole. I feel complete.” She couldn’t bring herself to say the wordloveout loud, but it was there, nestled in her heart.
“I feel the same way. I don’t make connections easily. I’ve been a loner pretty much all my life. But I don’t want to be alone anymore. This”—he motioned between the two of them, just as she had done that first morning after—“feels good. It feels right.”
Despite his declaration, she detected a sadness in his dark brown eyes. “Why have you always been a loner? What happened to make you that way?”
He pulled her in close so that her ear rested atop his heart. As he cleared his throat to speak, she was lulled by the steadythump-thumpof his heartbeat.
“I’ve always been this way. I’m the only child of parents from opposite sides of the tracks. My father is Mexican-American and my mother comes from a wealthy white family. They fell in love, and were shunned by both sides. I guess no one thought their love would last. So they struck out on their own and left everything and everyone behind. I’ve never even met any of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins.”
He paused and let out a breath as he stroked her hair. “My parents were so into each other, they shut the whole world out. Including me. I was a lonely kid, and always felt like the third wheel with them. As soon as I graduated from high school, I enlisted in the Army and never looked back.”
Her heart was breaking for him with every word he spoke, in sharp contrast to the steady beat of his heart and the unemotional way he told his story. She raised her head so he could see the sincerity in her eyes as she cupped his cheek. “I’m sorry that happened to you. And thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. You’re not alone anymore. I’m here for you. And I trust you, too. So I’m gonna tell you why my dad is so protective of me.”
“Okay. You can tell me anything.”
She laid her head back down on his chest, needing the comfort of his steady heartbeat as the words poured out. “It’s been just me and Dad since I was six years old. My mother walked out on us in the middle of the night. I haven’t seen or heard from her since then. I barely remember her. My dad has always been there for me through everything. He’s been both my father and my mother. So I never felt like I was missing out on anything. He made sure I always knew I was loved and wanted. But I didn’t realize until recently how deeply my mother’s abandonment affected him. It broke him.”
“But he has Angela now. They appear to be very happy.”
“Yes, they are. But it was a rough road to get there. After my mother, he hadn’t been in any real relationship with a woman until Angela. He didn’t trust women. And he was afraid to get involved with Angela because he thought she would leave him like my mother did. I think that’s why he doesn’t want me to have a boyfriend—because I’ll either leave him behind or I’ll get hurt like he did.” She sighed in frustration. “I really love my dad, but I don’tlikehim right now.”
“Your dad is a good man. He has integrity and character. Maybe we should just talk to him together.”
Once again, she made eye contact with TJ, wanting, no, needing, his strength to help her get out the words that were so difficult and personal, but that she felt compelled to share with him.
“I can’t talk to him about us right now. He’s been keeping a secret from me, and I’m afraid that if we get into it and things get ugly, it could be life-changing for both of us. And not in a good way.”
He cradled her face in his hands. “Tell me, Morgan. What’s got you so upset with your father?”
She leaned into his touch, marveling at how gentle it felt, despite his work-roughened hands. “I always thought my dad never had any contact with my mother after she left. But not long ago, I found divorce papers that were issued recently. Meaning they’ve been in touch. Yet neither mentioned it to me. So that means my mother stayed away from me by choice. She never came back for me or contacted me.”
A single tear slowly fell, dripping onto his hand.
“My own mother didn’t want me. And my dad kept that from me.”
TJ eased her back down to his chest and wrapped her in his arms. “I’ve got you,querida. I’ve got you. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I’m definitely no expert on family dynamics, but from what I can see, your dad loves you very much.”
As he spoke, she drew comfort in the steady beat of his heart and the strong arms wrapped around her. This is where she belonged. He understood her in a way that others could not.
“What did I do to deserve you?”
“No,querida, What didIdo to deserveyou?”
14
