Isabella Read online

  She was right about that. “True.” I played with a crumb on the counter. “So, what’s up with Jax and Jake? No girlfriends?”

  My mom rolled her eyes. “Let’s just say that I’m glad I have a daughter, because the two of them may never settle down. I tell ya, just as soon as we start to like a girl, they’re bringin’ home someone else. I’ve given up on it. I just call every one of them honey, so I can’t hurt their feelin’s when I mix up names.”

  We both snickered over it. I would have been devastated if someone I was seeing took me to meet their parents and they called me their ex’s name.

  “It feels good to be back, Mom. I miss bein’ home. All jokes aside, it’s wonderful to sit here in the kitchen and talk to you face to face.”

  She wiped her hands and leaned over the counter. “Is there somethin’ you want to talk to me about?” I smiled thinking about my mother’s southern drawl from growing up in Kentucky, which never seemed to fade away. Mine was the same; according to everyone I talked to, but never as strong as my mom.

  “No. My life is as borin’ as it can get.”

  “No new man to tell me about?”

  “Mom,” I gave her an annoyed sort of grin. “Seriously, you know the answer to that.”

  “Do you hear from Tate?”

  I placed my hands flat on the surface and faked a smile. “So where’s Jake?”

  Her eyebrow cocked right up. “Bella? Don’t tell me you’re talkin’ to him again. Your father will be cleanin’ his guns if he finds out.”

  “Finds out what?” I heard him coming up behind me.

  “Nothin’.” I looked from one parent to the other. “I’m not talking to Tate. I swear.” My lies were getting easier, but the horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach was becoming worse.

  “You better not. That guy is a piece of work.” My dad offered me a threatening gaze.

  I peacefully folded my hands together.

  “I didn’t come here to be lectured like a child. I’m single, so you both can drop the subject now. Are you happy?”

  “We just want to see you with someone that respects you. That’s all. It has nothing to do with you, sweetheart,” he said in a reassuring way.

  “I get it.”

  “No rush, though. It’s okay if you don’t marry until you’re at least thirty seven.” He rubbed my head as if I was a kid at the ball field, who’d just struck out and needed to be cheered up.

  I shoved him away, annoyed by his teasing already. “Go away or I’m goin’ to stay with Mimi and Poppy.”

  My dad put his hands up, surrendering to my promise. I’d won the battle for now, making the conversation about me and Tate get dropped. Still, knowing how adamant they were about the whole situation made me worry about how I was going to sneak to see him. I felt like a teen again, but knew it was the only way. For some reason my parents found it necessary to worry about me more than usual. I wondered why they hated him so much, especially considering that they only knew half of what had happened when I was assaulted over a year ago. Then I started wondering if Noah’s mother, my aunt Van, had spilled the beans to my mom or dad. They spoke all of the time, and didn’t keep secrets. For all I knew it could have been my uncle Colt, Noah’s dad. At any rate, I was almost positive that they knew more than I wanted them to.

  Dinner with my family was wonderful, and with my poppy around my dad backed off on the relationship talks, and the comedy show. He and my uncle Conner talked shop, while my brothers and my cousin Josh played pool. I sat playing cards with my mom, my grandparents, and my aunt Amy. As much as I wanted to see my three female cousins, Callie, Cassie, and Cammie, I appreciated having all of the attention for once. Those three were drama queens, and at the age where everything out of their mouths was ridiculously annoying, even more than my brothers.

  Once everyone started to clear out, I pretended to be exhausted so that I could retreat to my bedroom. The sooner I got everyone to go to sleep, the faster I could sneak out and meet Tate. Realizing that they couldn’t exactly punish me if I got caught, I put on my planned outfit quietly, just waiting for all of the lights in the house to turn off. I was twenty-four years old, and worried about getting in trouble. What was wrong with me?

  Two long hours later I was climbing out of my window and running down the lane, dialing his number while getting further away from the house. Tate picked up after four rings.

  “I was wondering when you were going to call. I’ve been waiting for hours.”

  “Sorry. Just come get me. I had to wait until they were all asleep.”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Start walking. I’ll see you and pull over.”

  Did he know how dark it was in these parts? “I am not walkin’, Tate. A trucker could hit me or kill me. You can come and get me. I’ll wait at the end of the lane for you. Hurry up!”

  I hung up the phone and looked back at the farm. My family would be so disappointed in me, especially Noah, if he ever was to find out. This was something that I was going to have to deal with if I wanted to be with Tate. My heart was telling me one way to go, while my mind was fighting with that same decision. I was so confused, and had nobody to talk to about it, because there wasn’t one person on the planet that understood how much I was in love with him.

  I looked down at my phone to check the time. He’d already been twelve minutes. Then I told myself that if he didn’t show up in the next five I was going back to my house and telling him to go to hell.

  He pulled up three minutes later.

  Chapter 3

  Isabella

  When I climbed into the passenger seat the first thing I noticed was the smell of one of those hanging tree air-fresheners. It was so overwhelming that I almost considered holding my nose. “What took you so long?” I leaned over and hugged him, waiting for a long awaited kiss. His hand reached into my hair, pulling me toward his lips. It was just as I’d remembered kissing him a million times before, but I was taken aback by the way it made me feel to be able to do it again after so long.

  Tate pulled away, and we both began opening our eyes. The smile on his face let me know that he was just as happy to see me. “I missed the hell out of you, Bella.”

  I bit down on my lip and felt a wave of butterflies rush into my stomach. “I missed you too. It’s been way too long.”

  He started to pull away from the shoulder of the road. “I need you naked.”

  I started lifting off my shirt as we drove away from the ranch. If he wanted me without clothes than he was going to get that wish, because nothing was going to stop me from being intimate with him. I’d waited too long to see him, to touch him, and to be alone with him.

  He took one quick look at me and realized what I was proceeding to do. “In a hurry?”

  “Yeah, you could say that. You’d better drive faster, or else we’re goin’ to have to have a quickie before we even get where we’re goin’.”

  I slipped my shorts down off of my legs, sitting there in only my underwear and bra. Tate reached over and started running his fingertips across my thighs. He traced the lace to my panties and growled with anticipation. “I’m going to fuck you so good that you’re never going to go back to Kentucky.”

  In so many ways I hoped that would happen. Even though I’d moved my whole life to get away from him, he’d be the deciding factor for me to come back home to stay. In fact, I knew that if Tate asked me to, I would never leave again.

  We pulled up at his apartment, quickly exiting the car. I managed to grab my clothes before running towards the door, so that nobody would see us. I don’t know why I was worried. His neighbors had moved out months ago, and there wasn’t another house for at least two miles. Since there were no street lights, there wasn’t any way for someone to notice that I wasn’t fully clothed, anyway. He opened the door and I walked inside, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the light again. Tate picked me up, grabbing both of my legs and wrapping them around his back. I knew where we were headed, and it didn’t
even bother me, because I wanted precisely the same thing.

  Admittedly, it was probably the first time that we’d been on the exact same page.

  We fell down easily onto the mattress of his bed, and I immediately got to work ripping off his shirt, then using my legs to tug down on his shorts. Time had stopped and nothing existed except for the two of us. This man that I’d fallen in love with so long ago had captivated my soul, teaching me everything that I understood about love, and especially sex. I needed him to be inside of me, reminding me that once again we were really together.

  I felt my panties being tugged on, then heard the sound of the elastic giving way. He continued doing it until I knew they’d been ripped off of me. Tate then took his hand and grazed it over the smoothly shaved skin of my pussy. I let out a loud moan as our lips came in contact. His hot breath fueled me to seek out his tongue and mingle it with mine. The obvious erection he now had pressed into my leg as our embracing intensified rapidly. I jerked when his finger slid inside of my folds for the first time. He pulled away from our kiss to speak. “You’re so fucking ready for me, Bella. I knew you’d be back.”

  He was being cocky, not that I cared. His words were like the mumbled ones you hear on a cartoon. I knew that he was speaking to me, but nothing he actually said mattered. I was too caught up in having hot sex with him again.

  With us both finally naked, he reached down and positioned himself to be pressing on my sex. Right away I began to worry. “Wait. What about protection?”

  Tate let out this sarcastic laugh. “Baby, come on. How many times have we done it without a condom?”

  I shoved him away and rolled over. “This is different. Things have changed.” In no way was I going to let him stick that used thing inside of me without covering it up. I skidded off the bed and put my hands on my hips. “You knew I was comin’ over. How could you be so careless?”

  He cackled again, showing me that my concerns didn’t amuse him. “Bella, come on. Don’t get all whack about this. Nothing’s changed. I want you and you want me. Come back in this bed, and I’ll make you forget all about it.” He went to grab me and I pulled away, hugging my arms around my body.

  “No!” Tears filled my eyes. It may have not been a huge thing to him, but after finding out he’d cheated on me I’d felt dirty and violated. “It’s not happenin’!”

  Tate got up on his knees and reached for me again. I backed up against the dresser, as far as I could go. He hopped off the bed and went from cocky to annoyed in just seconds. “I didn’t drive out to that farm to pick your ass up for you to reject me. Get back in this bed with me, right now. Quit playing these head games. I know you want me, and I want you. I’ve waited a long time for this.”

  I pushed him hard onto the bed, feeling like for the first time I was uncomfortable being alone with him. “Seriously, Tate. How hard was it for you to get a condom? I know you keep them in your drawer. We bought a new box right before I left.” I should have said that I’d purchased them, because his pussy ass refused to go to the local pharmacy and do it himself.

  He tossed his hands into the air. “You know what? If you want to be a fucking bitch than I’m taking you back home. I ain’t got time for this bullshit.”

  My heart jumped at the mere mention of going home. I’d come all of this way, waited so many months to see him again, and he was telling me that he wanted to take me home. I couldn’t let that happen. In a matter of two short minutes he’d changed my mind, with little effort. Out of my own stupidity I fell into his arms. “I’m sorry.” We looked into each other’s eyes, and I caught him forming a half-smile over his lips. “Don’t do that.”

  He leaned forward and kissed me softly. “What?” After placing a few more pecks to my lips he let out an air-filled laugh. “I want you, and I know you want me. We’ve waited a long time to have this again. I’m sorry about the rubbers. I threw them all away a couple of months ago. Since we never used condoms before I honestly didn’t think it was a big deal. Now, can we please get back in this bed and be together?”

  The butterflies were back in my stomach, giving me the nervous push that I needed to proceed with our night. I could have remained standing there adding up all of the reasons why I shouldn’t have gone through with it, but I knew if I didn’t I’d regret it. He was right. I wanted this, and the longer I complained about the little things, the less time we’d have to be together.

  I shoved Tate back down on the bed, climbing on top of him. My legs spread apart, hovering over his stiff cock. I rocked myself back and forth, teasing him with the base of my entrance. While biting down on my lip, I moaned and threw my head back, giving into the temptation of intimacy.

  He penetrated me with little effort, getting into a pace easily. While he thrust himself inside of me, I became over emotional. Tears streamed down my eyes, so much that I couldn’t see clearly. There was no question whether I wanted to be with this man. I just needed to figure out how to make it happen. I had to find a way to make my family see that he’d changed; that he deserved a second chance.

  Tate buried his face in between my breast, licking the underneath of my skin there, before sliding his tongue up to the tips of my nipples. They hardened immediately, forcing me to cry out while the sensations traveled throughout my body. He lifted my legs, holding them up on his shoulders as he began pumping at a rapid pace. Immediately he started to tighten up, holding me still while he filled me with his release.

  I nestled my head on his neck and kissed him on the chin. “I missed you so much. Sorry about earlier. If we’re goin’ to be together again I need to learn how to trust. I want this to work between us, because I feel so empty without you in my life. I’m so in love with you, Tate, and I’m tired of denyin’ it.”

  “Don’t worry about it, baby. All is good. We’re going to work everything out.” He kissed me on the top of the head. “You know you’re my one and only, right?”

  It felt so good to hear him say that. I wanted to believe it. Another bout of emotions took over as I started to sniffle. “Yeah, I know that.”

  He sat up and moved away, as if we weren’t having a serious conversation. “I’m just going to take a piss real quick.”

  After he’d made that announcement, he climbed out of the bed and went into the bathroom, saying nothing else. I sat up and looked around for something to put between my legs to clean up with. That’s when I spotted his phone blinking on the floor. It was half hanging out of his pocket. A message had just come through and the name from the sender displayed Jennifer. Once I’d checked to make sure he wasn’t coming out of the bathroom, I opened it up to peek.

  I can’t wait to see you, baby. I’ll be home in two more days. My parents keep asking about you. They love my engagement ring. – Jenn

  I put my hand over my mouth to keep Tate from hearing my shock. While trying not to sob, I scrolled through the old messages. He’d deleted everything except the last few, which he probably hadn’t had time to do yet.

  I hate that I had to take this trip without you. My whole family is so excited for us. – Jenn

  I can’t wait to watch you walk down that aisle. It’s like we always planned. – Tate

  Loving you is so easy. I’ll be the best wife. I promise. – Jenn

  I’ve loved you every single day of my life, Jenn. Come home soon. I can’t sleep without you in my bed. - Tate

  I was in such shock that I hadn’t heard him come out of the bathroom. He startled me when he called out my name. I dropped the phone on the floor and turned to him with tear-filled eyes. “You’re engaged to her?”

  He put his head down and shook it. “It’s not what you think. I planned on telling you.”

  “What? When? After we had sex?”

  “Oh, come on, Bella. It’s not like that.”

  “Does she live here now?” I stood up and looked around the room. It was dimly lit, but I could clearly see no evidence of a female in plain sight. So I walked to the closet and opened the door. Rig
ht away I noticed dresses that were hanging. I held my lips tight to prevent from feeling them quiver. Then I rushed over toward the nightstand and pulled it open.

  Tate grabbed my arm and spun me around. “Bella, please. Listen to me, baby.”

  I pulled away from him. “Don’t you dare baby me.”

  Looking in that drawer and seeing the slew of pictures that had been removed for my visit made my stomach turn. I picked one up and looked at the happy couple. “Is this really happenin’? You hid her stuff so that you could fuck with my head again? You did this to be able to fuck me?”

  I slammed the picture down on the table, listening to the glass shattering all over the place. Tate hugged me from behind, desperately attempting to get me to calm down, but the damage was done.

  “My family was right about you. They saw what I was too blind to see.” I started putting my clothes on, silently thinking of ways to get home without his assistance. “Don’t you ever try to contact me again, Tate. We’re done.”

  He fell back on the bed and rubbed his hands over his face, as if this was all some kind of joke. Little did he know that I was about to walk out of his life forever, no matter how much it hurt to do.

  Before walking out of his bedroom, I leaned over and picked up his cell phone, sticking it in my pocket so that he didn’t notice.

  Tate stood up and grabbed his pants, pulling them on. “Just wait, Bella. I’ll drive you back. Don’t do anything else stupid. You know we can work this out. We always do.”

  I pointed toward his face. “No. This time I’m done, for real. You’ve destroyed me for the last damn time. If you try to follow me, I’ll tell my brothers. Hell, I’ll tell my father. I’m sure he’d like to light your ass up for what you’ve done to me.”

  Tate put both hands up and backed away. “Whoa. This is between us. Don’t go getting your crazy family involved.”

  I kicked him in the balls so hard that it injured my ankle. After watching him fall to the floor beneath me, I turned and walked out of the apartment, hoping that he wouldn’t be able to follow me.