His Southern Temptation

chapter Twenty-Four


“What are you so afraid of, Taylor?”

Her chin jutted out like all the damn Elliotts’ when they were up against a wall. She shook the hair out of her eyes, their fire daring him to challenge her. She might leave, but not without facing some truth.

“Well, how about this for starters?” He advanced two steps forward, coming nose-to-nose with her defiance. “For such a kick-ass woman you’re a total coward. You’re scared we’re going to be a statistic and end up like your parents. Am I right?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “Well, sweetheart, you’re out of luck because there are no guarantees. This is scary shit and you might get hurt, but you’ve gotta get over it.”

That woke her up. “You think it’s that easy? You can just spout some Dr. Phil bullshit and suddenly everything is okay? Well, f*ck you.”

“Nice. I must be getting pretty close to the mark if you’re cussing me out already.”

“You act like it’s nothing for me to stay here and start over.” Taylor choked on the last word, her fist covering her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes and hung on her lashes.

She turned from him, hiding her face and heading for the stairs. Lucky followed her, unable to watch her walk away like this. She was hurting—hell, he felt like someone had taken a chainsaw to his chest—but if she was this upset that meant she cared. As long as she was here in Elliott, he had a chance to make sure she stayed.

“Taylor, baby.” He caught up with her at the stairs, looping his arm around her waist and pulling her up against his body. She fought him a little, her body tense and refusing to yield to him. Lucky nuzzled along her neck, kissing the sensitive flesh behind her ear, biting at the taut muscle underneath, making her moan and arch against him.

“Stay,” he growled against her skin and felt her shiver under his touch.

“Lucky. I can’t.”

He turned her, cupping her face in his hands. His heart breaking with the sadness on her face. “Don’t you feel this? Can you really walk away?”

With a groan, she pulled him down to her, capturing his mouth in a kiss, more tender than carnal. Her fingers wove through his hair, holding him in place as if she thought he could possibly walk away from her right now. He wanted this to last, wanted them to stay in this moment before she blew them apart.

“Lucky. Make love to me,” she murmured against his mouth.

He should say no. He should push her away and walk away before he created a moment he knew would haunt him until the day he died.

He didn’t.

His hands roamed, cupping her breasts, playing with her hard nipples under the fabric of her dress, caressing the silken length of her thigh. He ground against the sweet cleft of her body with his cock, groaning himself at the shocks of pleasure reverberating up and down his spine. The momentum of their movement propelled them forward until she was leaning against the stairs and he was curved over her.

“Stay.” Lucky’s demand was repeated against the sweet skin of her shoulder as he trailed fingers along the inside of her thigh, caressing her wet folds and slipping inside the tight wet clasp of her body.

Taylor clutched him wherever she could find purchase, simultaneously pushing him away and dragging him closer—her body echoing the turmoil in her heart. She leaned back, her mouth claiming his in a kiss as carnal as the way his fingers penetrated her sex and stroked against her *. She moaned and he took her pleasure in his mouth, swallowing the sounds that told him she was lost deep in this frenzy with him.

Her body clenched around his fingers, signaling the impending break of her climax. Desperate to feel her come apart all over him, he pushed deeper into her, curling his fingers to find her sweet spot and press until she shattered like glass. It was beautiful, the way she gave herself over to the sensations and called out his name, still claiming him as her own.

“Stay.” He bit her earlobe, soothing the spot with his tongue as she came down from her pleasure. She still didn’t respond, her body melting into his own, muscles turned to mush by the orgasm.

Withdrawing his fingers, he pushed her down until she sat on the stairs, panting and wild. He greedily soaked her in. She was wanton, dress rucked up around her waist, one shoulder strap dangling down low enough to expose her breast to his hungry gaze.

Lucky’s hands shook as he undid his belt, lowered the zipper and shoved his jeans down until his thick cock was exposed to her gaze. Taylor had watched the progression of undressing and now she stared at his erection, licking her lips when he stroked his length, savoring the electric rush caused by her wanting. When she looked up, the need in her eyes brought him to his knees on the step in front of her. He tried to be gentle but his touch was rough, frantic when he dragged her under him and entered her in one thrust.

“Lucky. Yes. Please.”

Taylor was vocal, her gasp descending into a whimper of pleasure. She clutched him, legs wrapped around his waist, arms locked around his neck as her wet, slick channel held him tight.

Lucky remained still, watching the sensations flicker across her face until she settled with a shudder and opened her eyes. The green of her hazel eyes was bewitching, the dilated pupils a testament to her arousal.

“Stay.” He emphasized his plea with his first thrust, a deep, slow glide in and out of her sweet body. Taylor bit her lip, keeping whatever response she had locked inside.

Stay. The word became a mantra, spilling out of his mouth in a cascade of longing that rode the waves of sexual hunger rolling through his body. His universe narrowed down to the small staircase, the moist heat between her thighs, the clutch of her embrace. He drove into her, everything standing out in fine relief in his sensory-overloaded brain. The hardness of the wooden stair under his knees, the smell of sweat and coconut on her skin, the velvet of her tongue as it tangled with his.

His release, when it arrived, was swift. Lightning. Sparks. Fire. He felt the clasp of her muscles as she came, and he drove deeper one last time as he emptied into her body. It was the sweetest agony, the closest thing to heaven on earth. He was humbled by her power over him. Only she did this to him. Every. Single. F*cking. Time.

Lucky clasped her face between his hands, cradling her jaw as he pressed soft kisses on her lips, brows, cheekbones, and chin. Taylor responded sweetly, her mouth open and tender for him.

“Stay.” He pulled back far to see her face, look into her eyes, and let her see that he believed enough for both of them. “I love you. Stay.”

The time between his plea and her answer was not more than a heartbeat, but it felt like everything stood still. As if the universe knew his world was about to collapse and it wanted to spare him the inevitable.

She smoothed a trembling hand along his face, burying her fingers in his hair as a tear spilled over and rolled down her cheek. She was really sorry, he read it in her eyes, but it didn’t stop her from saying the words he would have given a million lifetimes never to hear.

“Lucky, I can’t stay.”

“So, you’re gonna do this? You’re afraid, so you push me away before I can walk away from you? You expect people to let you down, so you hide behind your job when it gets too scary to risk your heart.” Her eyes were wide with pain, but he couldn’t stop. “You’re convinced that being with you will never be enough to make anyone want to stay. I can’t change that if you won’t give me the time to prove you wrong.”

He stared at her, willing her take that leap with him. This wouldn’t work with just one of them believing. Taylor only stared at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand. She was leaving. She didn’t believe. He wasn’t worth the risk. With that one look, he knew it was over.

He’d lost her. She was already gone; whatever she felt for him was not strong enough to overcome her fear. He’d bet his life that she loved him, but if Taylor didn’t believe that it was enough, he had nothing. He couldn’t make it work when he was the only one trying.

Lucky withdrew from her body and uncoiled from her embrace. With shaky hands, he pulled up his pants and proceeded to methodically fasten each button and buckle his belt. The routine movement helped him gain his center, his balance. Heat stung his throat as he attempted to speak. It took two tries before he was able to get anything out that remotely resembled his own voice.

“When will you leave?”

“The day after tomorrow. There is a morning flight out of Roanoke,” she said in a flat, small voice.

She sat on the stairs, looking a little dazed and shell-shocked. He knew what that felt like.

“I know I promised to drive you the airport, but I can’t do it. I can’t keep my promise,” he said.

As his words sunk in, Taylor met his eyes, and he started backing up to make his escape before this scene got any worse. He drank in the sight of her and imprinted it on his mind, because if he was to have any chance of moving on, this had to be the last time he ever laid eyes on her.

When he heard her call out his name he broke into a run and never looked back.

A good soldier knows when to make a tactical retreat in order to fight another day.