Southern Seduction (26 page)

Kip slides his hand over mine, gripping it gently. His thumb rubs back and forth over the top. I fight the urge to pull back. Of course, that’s not the only urge I’m fighting. As soon as grace is said, I try to tug myself away, but he holds on and gives my hand a final squeeze before letting go.

“Son, why don’t you walk Shelby home after dinner tonight?” Alma smiles at Kip.

“Uh, I would, Mama, except I can’t tonight.” He shifts in his chair.

“Uh-oh, you going on one of your secret dates?” Keith laughs.

“Shut up!” Kip hisses at his brother.

“Which cologne is it goin’ to be tonight, big brother?” Todd joins in on the banter.

“I said, shut up,” he seethes. I can’t help but glance over at him. Oh, he’s looking very uncomfortable now. Just as I thought—
a player
.

“Hey, Shelby?” Seth grabs my attention.

“Yes?”

“If you see Missy tonight, can you tell her I said hello?” He asks. Seth definitely seems to be the shyest of the Taylor brothers. His ears redden, which tells me he’s got a thing for Missy. I wonder if he’s her secret beau. He’s awfully cute, with black hair and the most piercing blue eyes I think I have ever seen.

“Seth, how old are you?” I tilt my head, trying to guess his age myself.

“Twenty-two. Why?”

“I was just wonderin’.” I shrug.

Kip clears his throat a bit. “Why, um, why were you wonderin’?” he stumbles. I look at him and can see anticipation on his face. I shrug again like it’s no big deal.

“Well, how old are you, Shelby?” Keith asks.

“Almost twenty-five.”

“Hmm,” Keith murmurs.

“What’s that?” Kip asks him. “What’s that ‘hmm’?”

“What’s up with you, big brother?” Keith furrows his brow.

“Nothin’,” he says quietly and shoves a forkful of food into his mouth.

The rest of dinner is uneventful. The Taylors tell me more about what they do on the ranch, and I tell them about my interest in equestrian massage. I’m almost certain Kip kicked Keith under the table when he mentioned how he suddenly wishes he were a horse.

“Now, what made you decide to go into that field?” Alma asks. Alma does all the asking around here. Chris Taylor is a quiet man, but you can tell he will command your attention when he does have something to say. The way he looks at Alma from across the table—his eyes full of warmth, a soft smile on his lips when he watches her laugh—you can tell this man is still very much in love with his wife.

“I’ve always loved horses. They calm me. I was watching an animal show one day and they discussed horses and massage therapy. I thought it was interesting, so I looked into it.” I set my fork down and lean back against my chair.

“Did you have a horse back east?” Kip asks.

“Um, no. I used to volunteer on a ranch that helped kids with special needs. Nate and I spent every day after school there, and most weekends, too,” I sigh. If I close my eyes, I could see him now—laughing at and loving on the animals.

“Is Nate your man?”

I can’t help but laugh a little at the way he asked me that. Not
boyfriend
.
Man.
I don’t know; it just strikes me funny.

“No. He was ... is my brother.” I correct myself.

“Well is he or isn’t he your brother?” Todd laughs.

“He’ll always be my brother,” I say steadily, feeling tears build up. “Excuse me; I need to head home now.” I scoot my chair back away from the table and stand with my plate. “Alma, thank you so much for dinner. It was delicious.” I try to smile.

“Shelby, you all right, baby girl?” She stands up with me. I shake my head quickly and head out to the kitchen. I wash off my plate, put it in the dish drain, and head out the door without another word to the Taylors.

Kip

Let’s see, which scent is it going to be tonight? I lift them up. Ah! May gave me “Cowboy” cologne. I open it up and spray it on. Funny—it don’t smell like horse shit and sweat! Apparently, all of these cologne companies think cowboys smell fancy. Ha!

I glance over at my clock and realize I have another fifteen minutes before I have to leave. I can’t shake this nervous energy. I can’t stop thinking about Shelby and how she left so quickly after mentioning her brother. She was clearly upset. I wanted to chase after her, but Mama wouldn’t let me. She said she didn’t think it’d be a good idea.

Ugh! I don’t even want to go and meet May tonight. I wish I could somehow cancel. Maybe, just maybe, she will be the distraction I need. I need to get Shelby off of my brain. I can’t believe what an idiot I made out of myself—several times today! What
is it
about this woman?!

Good Lord, I think that’s it!
She’s a woman.

Well, shit.
Ask and ye shall receive. Only, I don’t know if I will actually ever receive anything from her. I know she feels the same pull I do, but she’s definitely got a wall that she keeps throwing up to block it—and me. I need to be smart. I can’t act the same with her that I do around the Johnson girls. Nope. She’s a different breed, and that means I got a whole lot of figurin’ out to do. Hmm.

“Kip! Kip!” May calls out in a whisper as she walks along the stream.

“Right here, Angel.” I grab her waist from behind, causing her to jump and screech.

“What have I told you about sneakin’ up on me?” She smacks my hands.

“Sorry,” I mumble against her neck.

“All right now, c’mon, I set us up a little picnic blanket so we can lay back and look up at the stars.” She pulls away and turns to me as she starts walking backward.

“Oh, we jus’ gonna look at the stars, or you wanna
see
stars tonight?” I give her my playful smirk.

“A little bit a both, honey.” She winks.

We head over to the blanket right next to the stream and sit down. May reaches to the side and pulls over a tote bag. First, two beers come out, then a can of cashews. My favorite. I study her as she opens everything up. May is a sweet girl. She’s gonna make some guy very happy one day. She’s not drop-dead gorgeous and some might not think she’s even that cute, but I think she’s beautiful. There’s something very soft and genuine about her. She’s awful smart, too. It saddens me to think about how much her daddy holds her back. I try to convince her all the time to do the schooling she wants to. She won’t listen, though.

“Why you lookin’ at me like that, Kip?” She passes me a beer.

“You’re just so gosh-darn pretty, May.” I lean over and kiss her on the cheek.

“That’s how you’re gonna greet me now? Like we’re teenagers on our first date?”

I lean in again and softly capture her lips with mine in response to her sassin’ me. Suddenly a twig snaps, and I jerk back.

“Did you hear that?” I whisper.

“Yes.” She looks around.

I stand up and start heading in the direction I think the sound came from. “Hello?” I call out. Nothing. “It must’ve been an animal, Angel.” I turn and head back to her.

“You sure, honey?” She looks up at me, seemingly still nervous.

“Yes. I’m certain.” I sit back down. “Now pass me those cashews, please.” I tap her leg. She hands me the can, then crawls between my legs and rests her head against my chest. We sit like this, quiet, for a while. There’s something so relaxing about sitting by the stream at night, listening to the water slowly flow downstream. A serenade of crickets and tree frogs dances through the air. Every few minutes, an owl or two chimes in. It’s absolute audible poetry. Yeah, I like poetry—so what? I wrap both arms around her waist and hug her to me. May leans forward and pulls her summer dress’s straps down. As usual, she has no bra on. She’s a tiny thing in the boobie department, but you know what? I like it. I know... I know. Most men prefer bigger boobies. But there’s just something so sexy about hers.

“You want me to touch you, Angel?” I whisper in her ear.

“Aw, Kip, I’ve been dyin’ all day to have your hands on me. Touch me, honey, please.” She crooks her neck and nuzzles her face in. Good Lord, this girl knows how to beg so sweetly. My hands slowly glide up her torso until I reach her breasts. She pushes forward against them. I begin a cycle of rolling, tugging, and pinching at her nipples, and she goes wild.

Oh yeah, there’s something you should know about May. She’s a comer. The girl comes at the drop of a dime—and sometimes just as I enter her. It’s quite amazing, actually, though it can be a bit annoying because she’s so dang loud. I spend half the time covering her mouth and holding her flailing body down. It breaks a man’s concentration, if you know what I mean.

“Kip, honey! Kip, honey!” She gyrates her body. Aw hell,
Kip, honey!
—that’s the other irritating thing. I hear it every time she comes, which is a lot! It turns me the heck off. “I want you to fuck my pussy hard, Kip. My ass, too,” she groans against my neck. But then there’s that, so it all balances out in the end. Ahem ... no pun intended.

My right hand glides back down her body and onto her thigh. I hike her dress up and just as I’m about to slide my fingers into her panties,
it
hits me and I quickly pull my hand away. What is
it
, you ask? My fucking conscience. Yeah, what the hell is up with me having one of those?!

“Kip?”

“I can’t do this, May.” Did I just flippin’ say that?

“You can’t do what?” She turns and kneels in front of me.

“This. I can’t do this anymore, May! I don’t want this. I don’t want to have to sneak around like some thief in the night anymore! This sucks!” I run my hand through my hair.
Shit, Kip, pull yourself together or she’s going to think you’re looking for more ... from her!

“Kip, I can’t—”

“You don’t have to, May. You don’t have to tell anybody about us. We’ll let this be our secret, but it’s over. It just doesn’t feel right anymore.” I get up and brush cashew crumbs off my jeans.

“What’s changed in a week?” She gets up as well, pulling her dress straps back up and onto her shoulders. I can tell she’s trying to keep her composure. Typical May. She’s going to want us to step back and analyze everything. “Last week everythin’ felt fine when you were bangin’ the shit out of me on this very spot!” she bites. “What is differ—oh my God! There’s somebody else,” she almost whispers the last sentence.

Well, shit. I guess there sorta is.

“May, if I was seein’ anybody else, you would’ve heard about it around town.” I roll my eyes.

“You have feelings for somebody else; don’t deny it! Your body language gave you away the moment I mentioned it!” Her chin begins to quiver and she slowly shakes her head. “This is all my fault,” she says, as if she’s come to a realization. She rubs her temples and looks up at me. “Kip, what can I do? Tell me, please. I will do anythin’ to fix this.”

“May, I want you to think about somethin’.” I grab the blanket and begin folding it for her.

“What, honey?” she asks, seemingly hopeful.

“If I was
the one
for you, we wouldn’t be hidin’ our relationship. You wouldn’t care what your father said or what he would do.
And
—” I hold my hand up to stop her as she is about to speak. “And if you were
the one
for me, I wouldn’t have allowed any of this, either. Think about it. You know I’m right.” I grab her hand in mine and squeeze for emphasis.

“No. You’re wrong. Kip, I love you.” She chokes on her tears. “I will tell everyone tomorrow—tonight, even—that you are my man and I plan to spend the rest of my life with you.” She stands straighter, looking determined.

“May, I’m not the guy you should make that stand for. It’s not me, Angel. We both know it. You jus’ don’t want to see it right now because you’re upset. I’m sorry, May. I’m sorry for hurtin’ you. I never intended to.” I pull her in for a hug and kiss the top of her head. She lets me hold her for a few minutes, but then pushes me away.

“Give me that!” she snaps and grabs the blanket from me. Seizing the tote from the ground, she stuffs the blanket in, turns on her heel, and walks away from me.

“May?” I call after her. She doesn’t answer me or even bother to glance back. I stand around like a jackass and wait for her to turn at some point. She doesn’t, and now she’s walked out of view.