“Don’t look at him, look at me. What’s your name?” I shake my head, mostly confused…
“What?”
“I said—tell me your name.” His commanding tone pulls me back to the present, not fully, but a little.
“Dixie…” My voice is weak as I try to catch my breath.
“And what’s mine?” He prods me further.
“Boss.” I say, shaking my head as if it should be obvious.
“No, Dixie. Myname.What is it?” His thumbs caress my cheeks, his hands still on either side of my face, now gripping my jaw. His eyes are sweet, but serious. I’ve never called him his given name. I’ve thought it in my mind, but I’m not even sure I’ve ever said it out loud. Felt too personal, too close. I know subconsciously it’s been my way of keeping a distance between us. But he’s asking, and as my chest still rises and falls with panic, I know I need to answer him.
“Chris.” I say on a breath as I look up into his whiskey eyes—my body relaxing, my breathing slowing even further.
My belly flutters and without a doubt, I realize, I’m not thinking about anyone, but Him.He dips his head, then I feel his lips touch my skin when he says, “That’s my girl.” Pulling back, he turns my shoulders around, and walks us both out of the building we only entered minutes ago.
“We’re going to grab drive through food, head back to your place, get out of these damn funeral clothes, and forget we ever walked in that door. Sound alright with you?”
I stop walking and lift my fingers to touch the chin of his beard. “Hell yeah.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
When I realized who she was staring at, I wanted to turn around, drag him out the back door and give him a play-by-play of how his life was about to end—but I didn’t. I knew she was spiraling and about to go into shock. So instead, I grounded her. The same way people grounded me when I would have similar episodes after coming home as a combat veteran.
We picked a local burger place and ate on the way. She doesn’t know what his name is. So even though I want to, finding him wouldn’t be easy without talking to a bunch of people and asking questions. We also stopped for a bottle of Jack Daniels because she insisted. She wanted to make a dent in it before we got here, but I wouldn’t let her. I haven’t had whiskey in years and my rule has always been—never let your wing man drink alone.I won’t overdo it and I don’t have my daughters, so what the hell.
Entering the house, she bends over and rips thevelcro on her walking boot. “I’m sick and tired of this damn thing. See, I can walk just fine without it. I don’t care if I’m supposed to have it on for another week. See…” She kicks it off and walks through the house, swinging her hips as she goes. She stops, pulls the cowgirl boot off her left foot, and tosses it. “There!” She sighs, then turns to look me in the eye. “Don’t you dare call your doctor friend and rat on me.” I roll my eyes, cross my heart with my finger, kiss it, then hold it up high as I follow her to the kitchen.
“So…” She sets the bottle on the granite countertop and picks two short glasses from the cupboard. “How many fingers do you want?” The grin on her face is sly and manic, but why shouldn’t it be? It’s been a hell of a week for her. The phone call, driving all the way down here, sharing her past, seeing her mom and her baby’s grave, watching her father put in his—and then seeingthat son of a bitchafterward.
“Give me two.” I jerk my chin toward the setup, then she pours.
We’ve spent the last few hours sipping on our liquor. I know we’re feeling the effects, because the vulnerability is creeping up on us both. Our boots are off, her hair is down. She changed into a pair of cotton shorts and a T-shirt. I got overheated—so my shirt is on the arm of the sofa, but I still have my pants around my waist. Socks are off, she’s got her head on my thigh, her feet propped up on the opposite arm of this damn couch, and all Iwant to do is drop my mouth to hers and finally take a taste.
“You know…” She sings. “The reason I’ve let no one touch me before, is because I never wanted to find out what another man would do. I had to be cautious, you know? I didn’t know what it felt like to be touched gently—until you.” She sounds a little weepy, but she’s not wasted. She knows what she’s saying.
I sit my glass down on the small corner table next to me and run my thumb across her lower lip. “Wanna see just how gentle I can be?” She stares up at me, then nods her head up and down, still resting on my thigh. I need no more permission than that. So I take my chance to do what I’ve been wanting to since—hell, I can’t even remember when I had the first urge. I lift my knee so she’s a little higher, then with all the gentleness I can muster, I devour her lips with mine. Our kiss starts out slow, chaste and simple. But when she opens her mouth just a little, my tongue dives in without my permission. I haven’t kissed a woman since the night my wife left this earth, and I thought it would feel like betrayal if I ever did. But I was wrong. This doesn’t feel like betrayal, it feels like lightning struck twice. It feels like I’m home—like she’s my second chance and I’m never letting her fucking go.
Her arms reach up, her fingers moving through my hair. She said her lips have never been touched, but damn, it sure doesn’t seem that way. Her tongue is tangling with mine and my dick is so hard it's begging to spring free. There’s no way in hell I’m coming out of this unscathed if I don’t get to have her. Thunder suddenly cracks, the windows shake and I can’t decide if I’m pissedor grateful. Because we both jolt and our kiss breaks. She sits up and scoots away, but not far. The rain comes down hard above us, and I refuse to let this thing we just started get away from me.
“I’ll stop if you tell me to, but I’m done giving a fuck if I’m your boss—or if I have two little girls at home who need aresponsiblefather. Right now it’s me, you, the whiskey and the rain—and no one within a thousand miles who’s going to tell us not to be stupid. But if making love to the first woman I’ve had feelings for in years is that, then I’ll gladly be damned.”
My arm lunges forward, wrapping my hand around the nape of her neck and gently, but fiercely, bringing her back to me. My mouth swallows hers and she gives herself to me. “Chris,” She catches her breath as she pulls away to say whatever is on her mind. “I want this too. Will you show me what it’s like?” Her feminine hands cling to my chest and shoulders as she swings her leg over and sits on my lap, her mossy green eyes burning with need.
I grit my teeth and place my hands on her waist as I slowly slip them underneath her shirt, grazing the warm skin there for the first time. “To have someone make love to you? Yes.” I growl, then confess, “I’ll show youexactlywhat it’s like to have a man who’s possessed, hungry, and completely out of his mind in love—own and worship your body.”
Her chest heaves and her eyes scream,do it,as she crosses her arms and lifts her top completely over her head, dropping it to the floor. Though, I hardly notice where it lands because there are two stunning breastssitting right in front of me. No covering, never touched, begging me to devour them. “Take me however you want, Chris. I surrender.” And that’s all the reassurance I need to slide my burning hands up the sides of her ribcage. My thumbs trace along her middle, then up and over the two rose-colored nipples taunting me. The gasp and the moan that escapes her throat as I suck one hard pink bud into my mouth, has my cock on fire. Her head falls back and her hands grip my shoulders as she rocks back and forth on my lap. I know my fingers must feel rough on her soft skin, but I can’t resist cupping her breasts and massaging them as I suck. “Holy shit!” She groans. “Keep doing that!”
I let go of the nipple in my mouth, then run the tip of my tongue along my lower lip and grin, “My fucking pleasure, blondie.” Then pull her opposite side into my mouth, nipping with my teeth before giving her exactly what she’s begged for. She continues to ride my lap and I continue to feel like a caged beast needing to be set free. “Undo my jeans, Dixie.” I command as I continue to run my lips, my nose, and my beard all over the tender flesh I’m holding. “My cock can’t take it anymore. I need you to touch me. Love making is a two-way street baby, do whatever you’ve been dreaming of doing, but do it to me.”
Her fingers are swift as she pulls the button through the hole and zips down the fly. I let go of her and she lifts herself as I push my pants over my hips, down to my knees, then use my feet to kick them the rest of the way off. I could’ve left ‘em halfway on, but it’s been a long ass time, and I need to spread my knees wide. My chest falls in relief at the complete freedom I feel being naked. I’dsay there’s no better feeling on earth—except I know the moment I come inside Dixie Wilder, that statement becomes a lie.
“Make me an honest man tonight, blondie. Show me the best feeling in the world is waiting for me inside that pretty pussy.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I’ve never seen something as magnificent. Thick and veiny and as tall as his damn belly button. I’ve been riding his lap so hard, I felt it underneath me, but I couldn’t have imagined it like this. If I’m being honest, they've always looked pitiful and gross on the cowboys I’ve seen. This one is like a black Andalusian horse—rare and intimidating. I’ve still got my tiny shorts on, but they’re completely soaked and I know I need to rip ‘em off. I’m sure I could sit on that thing and it would slip right in. Although I’m also certain I’ve never stretched to that degree. But if I’m going to climb off to get completely naked—I wanna taste it first.
