Kissin' Tell (Rough Riders 13)

“Why does a grown man have a gigantic trampoline?”

Tell shrugged. “I got it for Landon. He loves the damn thing.”

“Sure. You got it for Landon. Like you got the zip line for Landon.”

When he offered that completely sheepish, totally charming grin, she melted. “Busted. I always wanted one when I was a kid and Dad never let us have one. So I’m makin’ up for lost childhood opportunities.”

“That’s sad.” She frowned. “What else did your father deny you?”

“Visits from Santa.”

“No. Really?”

“Uh-huh. No Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy or the Great Pumpkin either.”

“Poor baby.” Joking aside, it caused a dull ache to imagine a young Tell, missing out on some of the best aspects of being a kid. That sense of wonder. And the possibility that magic existed. Her parents had given her that.

“The weird thing? We had dirt bikes. Guess Pop didn’t care if we broke a bone or cracked open our skulls bein’ reckless boys, but stockings filled with candy and toys were dangerous.” He smiled but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“My dad was furious when I made the cheerleading squad. He said it was too dangerous being tossed up in the air. But he had no problem with RJ getting on the back of a bull or a buckin’ horse.”

“That sucks. But on the bright side for me, my dad was an equal opportunity hater. No one got special treatment—we all just got bad treatment.”

As soon as Tell said that, she knew he regretted his honesty. He tried so damn hard to be the happy-go-lucky guy. If she kept thinking about the sweet little boy who’d never gotten a visit from Santa, she might start weeping. So she offered up her own recent parental issues.

“So in the rush to see your half-naked, totally-buff body glistening in the sun, I forgot to share what I saw this morning after I got home.”

Tell kissed her fingertips. “If I didn’t say it, I had an awesome time with you at the waterslide park. Damn near perfect day—you prancing around in a tiny bikini. Me getting to slather sunscreen all over this creamy skin.” He grinned. “I still can’t believe you went down the Turbo-Slam. Twice.”

“I almost lost my bikini bottoms on that butt buster,” she muttered. It had been a great afternoon. Tackling the various slides. Racing him to the bottom. Spinning down the white water “river” in inner tubes. Swimming with Tell was an experience in itself. His hot, wet, muscular body sliding against hers. Being weightless in his arms. Kissing him underwater.

“Earth to Georgia,” he said silkily.

“Sorry. Just flashing back to some of today’s high points.” She smiled. “Anyway, I heard strange noises in the guest bedroom. When I went upstairs to check, I caught my mom and dad banging the holy hell out of each other.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Nope. I asked if they were getting back together and she couldn’t answer. But she had no problem admitting she still loves my dad. And evidently she still loves having sex with him.”

He rubbed soothing circles on the base of her thumb. “Are you freaked?”

“A little. She said some other things about the time after RJ died that caused me to wonder if I didn’t see things clearly because I was in shock. Not Deck stuff, but family stuff.”

“So you needed a dose of fun today.”

She shook her head. “I needed a dose of you today.”

“Anytime.” Tell placed a gentle kiss on her lips. His eyes were all soft and she felt that melting sensation again.

“Do you ever wonder what it’d be like if your parents got back together?”

“Ain’t happening. My folks hate each other. Even when things were shitty at home, they never said the kind of mean crap to each other that they let fly in public now. My mom went through a major transformation and she’s happier, but she’s also very self-involved. I understand why she’s that way, since she did everything for everyone else for so many years and little for herself. But she’s not the same person. Makes me sound like a bratty kid, but sometimes I miss the mom I used to have.”

“I know what you mean.” Georgia’s mother had gone from a reserved Christian homemaker who deferred to her husband in all things to a Russian interpreter with the INS and a vocal supporter of MADD.

“I figured you of all people would.” He tugged on the bikini string hanging around her neck. “Do you know how much I love bein’ able to talk to you? About anything? You never tell me to grow up or chill out.”

Georgia’s stomach flipped at Tell’s admission, and it scared her too because she was starting to rely on him. She’d sworn she would never be that type of woman again, even when her subconscious reminded her she’d never relied on Deck. It hadn’t been love for either of them; it’d been a marriage based on convenience and family expectations. She steered the conversation back to where they’d started. “So do you think all our familial issues could’ve been avoided if we’d had a trampoline?”

“Possibly. After seein’ your mom and dad doin’ the nasty, there’s all the more reason for you to go crazy and bounce that image right out of your head.”

“How often do you jump on it?”

“All the damn time.” He grinned. “Especially if I’ve had a shit day. Hard to be in a pissy mood after bouncing around in the air for a while. So whaddya say? Hop on up. Show me some of them cheerleading jumps.”

“If I pull something, you’d better be willing to rub out any kinks.”

Tell’s blue eyes went from flirty to fiery. “Oh, darlin’, I can get all the kinks worked outta you and then some.”

Her heart rate spiked when he lifted her arm to his mouth and kissed the sensitive skin of her inner forearm. Tell kept his panty-melting gaze on hers as he licked the bend in her elbow. Just the tip of his tongue tracing the crease of her elbow like he was tasting her slit and Georgia felt the answering pull in her sex.

“I wanna see you.”

See me what? Come unglued from you licking my damn elbow? Sure. I’m already there. “See me what?”

“Letting go.” Tell angled forward, dragging his mouth down the side of her neck. “You taste good. Like sweat, sun, suntan oil and chlorine. And wait… Do I detect the taste of…fear?”

She shoved him. “Not funny. I’m not scared. I have been on a trampoline many times.”