Taboo

Keywords: Dire, 21, Straits, Ch.,

" Thanks go to Techsan for his editing skills. A special thank you to Daniellekitten for her invaluable insight, all the help with plot details and the time she has taken to read through my work. Working with you is fun, Dani.

Copyright SweetWitch April, 2007

The author asserts the moral and legal right to be identified as the author of this work.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any real events or people is purely coincidental. I doubt anyone would survive long living like the characters in this story anyway."

***

Chapter 21

The silence was oppressive. Even the birds in the trees seemed subdued by the loneliness that permeated the farm without Dixie and Judah and the love they shared.

Kyle finished laying the last piece of siding, completing the repairs to the old house where he and all his cousins had spent their childhoods in innocent delight. He so wanted for his own children to know the kind of wild happiness that comes from the freedom of long summer days in the open fields and cooling forests. He breathed another short prayer that Emmeline would pull through; there would be no home without her.

As the days had passed, the news from Springfield was always the same. There had been no change in Dixie's condition though she continued to hold her own. Jersey and George had returned from church this morning with their heads low, the sadness evident in their eyes. The congregation had devoted the entire duration of the services to praying for the safe return of Emmeline Dixon to good health.

"The stock's fed," Junior muttered as he passed Kyle by. "I'm headed to Plea'ant Hill. They took Tara home this mornin'. I told her folks I'd stop in to see her. I'm takin' George with me. He was invited to dinner with the preacher and his family. Don't know when we'll be back."

"See ya, Junior," Kyle called over his shoulder, wiping a smudge of dirt off the siding he'd just put in place.

He gathered up his tools, carrying them to the garage to stow away. The completion of a job worth doing usually brought a certain satisfaction, but this one only left him feeling empty. With the repairs done, he'd have too much time on his hands for contemplating the ugly turn life had taken.

Deciding that he needed to find more work while the sun was still high in the afternoon sky, he stalked to the barn to see what needed to be done there. As he threw the door open, he discovered the building to be as empty as the rest of the farm. The bare horse stall only served to remind him how much his cousin had suffered for all of them.

"I miss her, too," a soft voice broke into his thoughts.

He turned to find Jersey standing in the doorway, the sun tracing blue lights into her raven hair. The full force of her enormous eyes landed on his face, causing his breath to catch in his chest. Even as forlorn as she was, she was still the most astonishingly beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

"I know, Sweetheart," he returned, watching her hypnotic eyes from across the distance of the interior.

"I miss you, too, Kyle."

"I've been right here, Jersey."

"No, you haven't. I can't reach you. No one can."

Her words startled him. Thinking back over the past days, he realized just how little he'd spoken to his housemates. He'd struggled so hard to keep a tight rein on his emotions and the news from the Helm farm that he'd been shutting himself off.

"I'm sorry, Baby," he said, walking to her with his arms spread wide. "I didn't mean to shut you out. I love you too much."

Falling into his arms, her body shook almost violently.

"I just needed to hear ya say it," she murmured, burying her face in his shirt.

"If you ever doubt me, Honey, you just go up side my head with a two-by, okay?"

Giggling, she pulled back, her enormous eyes capturing his again.

"You know I'll never do that, Kyle."

"True," he chuckled, letting his fingers dance over her back. "You're too gentle a woman for that."

"I'm not as gentle as you think," she whispered, the smile leaving her face, emotion smoldering in her black eyes. "Sometimes I got thoughts about you that ain't gentle at all."

Kyle frowned, confused at the meaning behind her words. The look in her eyes was very nearly predatory, effecting his body in such a way that he was almost embarrassed by the protrusion that dug into her belly.

"'Fraid you're gonna have to explain that one, Sweetheart."

"I... I don't think I can," she breathed, her lower lip trembling. "I want something that I can't put into words. I love the way I feel when you got your arms around me like now. When you touch me, I feel like I can crawl outside my own skin."

His eyebrows shot upward, a wide grin spreading over his face.

"Are you tryin' to tell me you're horny?"

A bright flush unfurled under her skin, but her eyes never left his when she nodded.

"I guess that's what I'm trying to tell you. I... I want you, Kyle."

"Whoa, Honey," he said, taking a step back, allowing his hands to slide down her arms to entwine in her fingers. "That's a pretty big thing, you know. After everything you been through, after what Larry did to you..."

"Larry didn't do anything to me," she was quick to point out. "Tara told me he didn't do nothin' while I was drugged. And it wouldn't matter if he did -- unless you don't want me anymore."

Her eyes dropped at that last statement as she tried to hide her fear. He captured her chin with one hand, lifting her face, forcing her to look at him.

"No, Baby. I told you before. I love you, no matter what. I'll always love you. And I want you, too. I want you more than I can tell you, but, Jersey, it's a big step. I want to be sure you're ready."

Pulling her chin free, she lifted a hand to stroke his face. She tried to say with her eyes what she'd been trying to tell him with her words.

"I never felt like this before, Kyle. Other men tried to touch me but they only made me feel like runnin' away. You're the only one who ever gave me these kinda feelin's. I don't know how much more ready I can get."

Her breathing had changed, her breasts swelling, rising and falling faster than before. That succulent little morsel of a lower lip was still trembling, inviting him to kiss her, to devour her in ways that he'd scarcely dared to dream. The mesmerizing light in her eyes drew him in, his head bending low to press a barely-controlled touch of his mouth against hers.

Jersey melted against him, a soft whimper sounding in her throat. Her arms encircled his neck, a tremor coursing through her body, transferring to his. With a low, growling moan, he pulled himself back from her, gazed into her impassioned eyes.

"Babe," he rasped, "you have to be sure. I don't want you to look back and regret this."

"I don't know how much more plain I can be, Kyle. I want you to make... make love to me."

Pressing his forehead against hers, he breathed in the clean scent of her, felt her heat rising to meet him. The emotions sweeping over him were staggering, leaving him more than a little shaken.

"But," she whispered, causing him to tense against the disappointment he knew was coming. "Em told me that I should talk to you about... something important before we did it."

"What's that?"

"Sh... she said," Jersey blushed, her voice growing softer, "said we need to talk about b... birth control."

He grinned, grabbing her up into his arms. Carrying her, he ran for the house, setting her on her feet when he got the door open.

"You go inside," he growled. "I'll be back in a little bit."

"Where ya goin'?" she asked, a sudden frown wrinkling her forehead.

"To the drug store. I won't be long," he chuckled, dashing for his Blazer.

Finding himself oddly pleased that the local police force was busy elsewhere, he broke several traffic laws racing to town. It seemed strange, but he felt like a teenager getting ready for his prom date. He reached the Best Buy Pharmacy on Washington in record time, practically running through the door once he had his vehicle parked.

"Hey, Graham," Lem Jaccard called out as he entered. "Heard about what's been going on at your cousin's. How's she doin'?"

Kyle barely glanced at the old man behind the counter as he walked straight to the condom display.

"She's holdin' her own, Lem. It's been a rough few days for her, though."

"You done good, killing that Larry Helm. The man was a stain on this town."

The small box of prophylactics falling from his fingers, Kyle turned to face the old druggist.

"Is that what people are sayin'?" the younger man asked, his voice pitched with disbelief. "I didn't kill anyone, Lem. Larry died in his own hell."

"Now, just take it easy there, young fella," Lem said, holding up two gnarled hands. "I didn't mean no offense."

"Sorry, Lem. Guess I'm just a little touchy these days."

Snatching the box off the floor, Kyle carried it to the counter, stopping when something caught his eye. He walked to the display case in the corner, a grin spreading over his face at what he saw.

"I'll take that ring there," he said, pointing at a small box inside.

Taken by surprise, the old man hobbled around the counter to open the case. He pulled out the shelf that held the rings, laying it on the counter for Kyle to inspect.

"So the rumors about you are true, huh?" Lem said, winking. "I heard that some young thing finally caught you. In all the years you been coming in here I never knew you to buy one gift to go with those rubbers."

"Just wrap it up," Kyle retorted, handing the man the box he'd pulled out.

Chuckling, Lem rang up the purchases, throwing in a small gift bag for the velvet box.

"That'll be forty-one, fifty-three," the old man grinned.

Kyle paid, snatching his change up and stalking back out to his Blazer. He couldn't help the happy smile that spread over his face or the lighthearted feeling that seemed to be wrapping itself around him.

It seemed to take forever for him to get back to the farm, back to Jersey and the love he saw in her eyes. When he finally arrived he knew a sudden disappointment when he walked into the kitchen to find it empty.

Keywords: Dire, 21, Straits, Ch.,