“Dean.” His voice is so familiar, despite me not hearing it in years. “I miss you, man.” My heart caves in.How can he miss me?
“Go home, Owen.”
“Dean, stop it.” He turns and puts his hands on my chest. He’s stronger than I remember, and it stops me in my tracks. “I just came to talk to you. I…fuck man.” Pulling his hands away, he puts them up in surrender. “I miss you.”
I memorize his face, not knowing if I’ll ever see him again. He’s clean shaved, his hair shorter on the sides and longer on top. He wears a casual white tee and dark jeans, Wrangler boots underneath. Just like he’s always worn. The memory of his boots beside mine on the porch is like a gut punch when I’m already broken and humiliated.
“Are Mom and Dad ok?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest in an attempt to barricade my pride.
“Yeah, yeah they’re good. They miss you, too.” I scoff, tossing my head back.
“It’s true! What happened is in the past. You’d know that if you called us back or answered any of our texts!” His voice rises, anger filling the cracks in his voice.
“I changed my number,” I state dryly.
“I know.” He gives me a glare that I try to ignore. Letting out a deep sigh of defeat, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a slip of paper. “Please, Dean. It’s in the past.” He shoves it at my chest, but I don't grab it, letting the scrap fall to the ground between us.
As quickly as he appeared, he was gone. I stood there for a long time, reeling at the fact that my baby brother was just here. Red hot rage fills me, heating me up so quickly I have to shrug off my vest and drop it to the ground next to the paper. How can he forgive me? How can I forgive myself for holding onto this false idea that my family hates me? How did I let him walk away? And how will I ever explain to Hannah that she thinks my family is dead when I’ve effectively just cut them out of my life?
Guilt plagues me as I look down at her sleeping face. I reach into my jeans and pull out the paper Owen threw at me. His number is written below his name, same as it’s always been. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t forget those numbers. But I never typed them in and hit call. Never entered them in and hit save. Not once, until now. Saving his number, I tuck my phone back in my pocket and look back up to the endless speckles of stars above us. The paper between my fingers tries to wiggle free when a breeze picks up, and I let it go, watching as the paper swirls away before disappearing into the night.
Hannah shifts beside me, and I pull the blanket up around her shoulder to keep the cool draft off her. Her stomach presses against my side when she snuggles closer to me.It’s only a matter of time before I put a baby in you.My words from our ride together whisper in my mind. Running a rough hand down my face, I scratch at the overgrown scruff that dusts my chin. I contemplate if that would really be the worst thing to happen. Seeing her pregnant with my child has me feeling all sorts of ways. If that happened, at least she could never be rid of me. Pushing the thought from my mind, I watch her as she sighs, her lips parting slightly, hair wildly flung around her face. Fuck her rules. Fuck feeling any sense of guilt for what I’ve done to keep her by my side. There isn’t a chance in hell she’s getting away from me. Baby or not, she’smine.
“Dean.”Hannah’s fingers trace over my chin, waking me from a dreamless sleep. What is there to dream about when you’re holding it in your arms all night? I pretend to sleep a while longer before I can’t stand the idea of not seeing her face firstthing in the morning. Cracking one eye open, I peek over at her, chin resting on my chest, gazing up at me with a grin on her face. If I kept her here a while longer, I could count each freckle that dusts her skin. Those big brown eyes do me under every time I look in them.
“Mornin’, darlin’.” Leaning down, I waste no time dragging her lip between my own. Her soft sigh against my skin lights a fire that I have no desire to put out. Rolling her to her back, I tuck a knee between her and push it against her center. The sun has just popped up behind us, painting the sky in reds and pinks. Pushing a strand of brown waves behind her ear, I give myself a minute to memorize the way she looks in the first light of day. When she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, I can’t help but lean down and drag it out with my thumb, then pull it between my lips again, sealing us together. We’re hungry for each other and waste no time shedding pieces of clothing until we’re left naked under the scratchy wool blanket. My dick begs me to sink into her, but my heart beats harder to take my time. Hannah arches under me, rubbing against me. “Greedy woman,” I rasp before flipping onto my back, hauling her on top of me. She lands against my length, causing us both to moan in pleasure. The rising sun sends streaks of light around her silhouette. “You’re stunning, Hannah.” Her eyes flash to mine and she opens her mouth like she’s about to remind me of her rules, but instead, she licks her lips and rocks over me.
Throwing my arms behind my head, I lean back into them and look up at the curves of the woman on top of me. “Ride me, baby. Take what you need.” Her pace quickens, soaking my dick in her arousal. After a few strokes, she plants her hands on my chest, fingers running over my ink in the way that I’ve become so obsessed with before lifting her hips and sinking down over me, slowly taking me in inch by inch. Her eyes roll back as I stretch and fill her, and I fight my own desire to reach out and grip herhips, focusing on the way her fingers curl into my flesh with each thrust.
“God, Dean,” she moans, her hips moving frantically with her climax.
“Go, baby,” I encourage her, feeling her flutter around me. Gritting my teeth to hold off until she’s reached her high first, I lift my own hips, powering into her, matching her.
“Yes…” Panting, I hiss as her finger nails rake over my abs, her whimpers coming erratic and breathy. With one final snap of my hips, she shatters around me, throwing her head back with waves of hair catching the light, illuminating the hues of brown and red that streak her curls. Finally pulling my arms free, I reach out and pull her down on me, running my hands over her back and kissing her sweaty forehead. We stay like that until the sun becomes too hot, then we silently dress and climb back in the cab of the truck.
I think that’s what I love most about this woman—the effortless way we exist with each other. We drive in comfortable silence, windows down, music just loud enough for us to get lost in our own thoughts. Before too long, the arena comes back into view. Reaching out, I turn the music down and reach over, twisting our hands together.
“Are you doing ok today?” We’ll both be headed to Utah. The anniversary of her parents’ death is this weekend.
Her eyes are clear when she sets them on me. “Yeah, being with you helps.” Then she leans over, gives me kiss on the cheek, and hops out, walking to her trailer to check on Queen. I watch her for a while as I load up my trailer, my phone vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out, there is a text from my agent, Seb.
Don’t forget you’ve got a photoshoot tonight in Utah.
Fuck.
No way. You aren’t backing out. You’ll be there. 6pm. I’ll forward the email…again.
Fuck.
You said that already. Another rider will be there. Behave yourself.
Fuck.
Kasey James, is his name. I gave him your number.
“Oh fuck,” I say aloud this time. My phone vibrates, and an unknown number pops up top.
Well, well, well…looks like we’re friends after all.
