But what would we do when I graduate? Wilder will never leave his job here at the ranch.
“I know,” he murmurs, his lips brushing the shell of my ear as he shifts slightly, still moving back and forth with his hips, cock sliding in and out lazily. He’s still hard, still lingering, like he’s not ready to let me go just yet despite the storm brewing behind and between us. “I’ve already come, yet I can’t bring myself to pull out. Whatever this is between us… it feels right.”
His words strike something deep within me, and I can’t helpthe soft smile that spreads across my face as I nuzzle my cheek against his. The sky flashes with heat lightning, illuminating the pond and the wild Texas plains around us. A low rumble of thunder rolls in the distance, a subtle warning of the metaphorical and physical storm approaching. Maybe we should heed it, but right now, neither of us seem to care.
“We should probably go,” he whispers, sighing as he finally pulls away. The absence of him leaves me aching and sore, but he’s already reaching for his jeans and sliding them back on. He shoots me a devilish grin as he tugs on his shirt. “I’m taking you back to the pool house, though, because this? This thing between us isn’t over yet.”
Wilder packs up the 4-wheeler quickly, and I climb onto the back, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist and letting him take the drive back. The engine roars to life as he takes off across the fields, the wind whipping through my hair. The darkening sky crackles with energy, and the first hot raindrops sting against my bare skin.
The thunder grows louder, the air electric with the promise of a storm that’ll keep us up all night, but I’ve never felt so alive. My fingers dig into his sides as I cling to him, the adrenaline coursing through me blending with the aftershocks of what just happened.
I don’t know what this is between us—how something that started so fast could feel this intense—but I know one thing for sure: he feels it too and isn’t ready to let go.
Three days with this man and is it possible to be falling in love?
Chapter 14 – Teagan
It’s so damn hot in here.
I crack my eyes open and see that the digital clock next to Wilder's bed says it's only five in the morning.
Wilder’s strong, muscled arm is draped over my waist, his body curled close only intensifying the oppressive heat that’s filling the pool house that we slept in last night.
Did we lose power during the storm?
I wriggle carefully out of Wilder’s grasp, his arm heavy around my hips like he’s trying to keep me tethered to him even in sleep. Once I’m free, I glance back at him, still sprawled out and breathing deeply, completely unaware that I’ve escaped. Last night’s storm had been a wild one, but we’d hardly noticed, too caught up in our own storm—the kind you feel deep in your chest, the kind that changes everything.
We haven’t said the words, not yet, but I know. He feels it too. Something had shifted, like the air between us is different now, charged with the same electricity that had lit up the sky outside. I’ve always loved the way summer rain smells, the wayit clings to your skin and feels like it’s pulling all your hidden emotions to the surface. That’s what it felt like last night—every crash of thunder and flash of lightning matching the intensity of our bodies joining together. Every drop of rain felt like it was washing away the walls I hadn’t realized I’d built to keep men out.
It wasn’t just sex we had last night—it was something deeper, something I don’t have the words for yet, but I know it’s there. And it’sreal.
I grab one of his flannels off the floor and pull it on, wrapping myself in the soft fabric that smells like him. Then I spot the boxers he’d stripped off last night and step into them, tying the waistband tighter as I walk out to the kitchen.
The thought hits me before I can stop it: in a few days, I’ll be back in Houston. What then? How do we end this—or do we even have to? Could I ask him to come to Shawna’s wedding in Pennsylvania? Keep in touch? Two hundred miles felt like a lot when I first got here, but now, it feels like something we could handle—at least, I want to believe we could.
I spot the thermostat blinking on the wall by the fridge.No power.The temperature inside reads 90 degrees, and the air feels thick and heavy.
“Shit,” I mutter, opening the fridge on instinct before remembering the power’s out. I check the cabinets for instant coffee, anything to bring me back to life, only to find an empty canister.
Great. No electricity means no coffee unless I can figure something out quick to get the power back on.
The breaker for the pool house is probably in the main house, and his parents most likely have coffee. If I’m quick and quiet, I can slip in, grab what I need, and reset the breaker without anyone noticing.
Still barefoot, I step outside and cross the damp grass, the stormstill rumbling softly in the distance. The worst of it is over, but the air still feels heavy with the lingering scent of rain. I push open the first set of sliding glass doors that I see, stepping into a spacious living room that spills into an open kitchen. The house is silent except for the hum of the fridge, which means the power’s working here.
I quietly open cabinet after cabinet until I find what I’m looking for—a half-full canister of coffee. Tucking it under my arm, I scan the kitchen for the breaker box but don’t see it. My eyes land on a side door that looks like it might lead to a garage. I step toward it but freeze when I catch movement out of the corner of my eye.
In the middle of the living room stands a little girl, maybe five or six, with big, green, round eyes. Her dark brown hair is a tangled mess, and she’s wearingPaw Patrolpajamas, clutching a stuffed cat in one hand while sucking her thumb with the other.
She blinks at me, wide-eyed and curious, like she’s trying to figure out if I’m real or just some ghost who wandered into her home.
“Hi,” she says in a small, sweet voice.
“H…Hi,” I stammer, forcing a smile.
"I'm Willow."
"I'm... Teagan," I respond.
