• Twenty-Six •
“You’re provoking the wrong woman.”
Storm
I glared down at the whiskey in my glass, hating it for not being enough to ease the consistent wrenching in my chest. Nothing was going to work. Breaking shit had done nothing. I was real fucking close to ripping the door off Maeme’s house and going to get Briar.
“I thought you coming in today was a good sign. But breaking Rafe’s nose was unnecessary. Maybe you need to go back home.” King’s voice wasn’t welcome.
“No,” I gritted out.
When I was there, I was only reminded of Briar not being there. Of her leaving me. If I was here, then I was at least close to her. As close as Maeme would let me fucking get.
“Rafe was only getting Noor out because Lula Mae had asked him to.”
I slammed a fist down on the bar, causing the glass to rattle. “Noor isn’t Lula Mae’s horse. NO ONE but Briar rides her.”
Rafe was a good stablehand. I hadn’t meant to break his nose. I’d just seen him getting Noor out and snapped. I’d bought Noor for Briar.
“Yeah. Everyone is aware of that rule now. Come on. I’ll drive you home.”
“I’m not leaving.” I glared at him. “She’s next door. It’s as close as I can get to her.”
King sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “And how long until you crack and go over there? Maeme will put a bullet in you, then call the Doc to fix you up. Don’t test her.”
I picked up the glass and downed the rest of the whiskey in it. “Right now, being shot doesn’t sound so bad.”
King crossed his arms over his chest. “We don’t need you injured. She’s still there, man. She hasn’t left. That has to tell you something.”
I was clinging to that one fact. It was all that was keeping me sane. She hadn’t left yet. She was still here. Not with me, where she belonged, but she was here.
“If she would talk to me …”
“Give her time. Maeme said she’s not doing so good herself. She’s not eating or leaving her room. She loves you. If she didn’t, this wouldn’t be so hard on her. But I mean, Storm, you did some messed-up shit. Like Thatcher level of deranged.”
And I’d do it all again if it got her here. Probably shouldn’t admit that though.
“I did what I had to do. She’s mine,” I said, needing to get out of this room. Outside. Something. I felt caged and unsettled.
“That’s not making you sound better,” King replied as I walked past him toward the door.
I stalked out, heading for the exit. I needed the heat, some air. My lungs were so damn tight that every breath I took was difficult. The pounding in my head hadn’t eased up since she had walked out on me. The only sleep I had gotten was because of sheer exhaustion. I’d eventually crashed while sitting up on the sofa for two hours. I needed to see her. Bury my nose in her neck and smell her. Soak in every detail.
The sun beat down on me as I stepped out of the stables and looked out at the land. Several horses were out. A few had riders. I had thought about riding Poseidon, but decided it was a bad idea. Noor needed to get out today. I’d do that later. The idea of someone else touching her triggered me.
“Storm.” Lula Mae’s voice had become nails on a chalkboard.
I crossed my arms over my chest and clenched my teeth, trying not to grab her by the neck and strangle her. Then at least she’d finally be gone.
“I’m sorry about Noor. I was just trying to help you. She needs to be ridden,” she said, getting entirely too close to me. “I want to help you. I hate seeing you hurting. I made you another casserole. I can bring it for dinner. You need to eat.”
She’d been leaving food on the front porch for the past two days. I’d tossed it in the outside trash, not wanting it in the house. I shook my head, but said nothing to her. I didn’t trust myself to look at her. If I threw her across the yard, that would be frowned upon.
Unable to take a hint, she stepped in front of me. “Storm, you need to talk about it. I can help you. I’ll listen,” she said, touching my arm.
I flinched and glowered down at her. The rage inside me threatened to unleash, fuck the consequences.
“You need to take your hand off him.”
That voice.
Disbelief and pure motherfucking joy rushed through me as I swung my head around to see Briar standing several feet away with her hands on her hips, glaring daggers at Lula Mae.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Lula Mae snapped at her. “You’ve done enough damage.” Lula Mae then put her other hand on my arm.
“No one asked you,” Briar told her. I wanted to go to her. Grab her. Fucking plead with her, but I stayed still. Not moving. Waiting. I couldn’t scare her off. Not now. She’d come to me.
“You aren’t needed. I can take care of Storm properly. In every way,” Lula Mae said running her hand up my arm. As badly as I wanted to fling her away from me, I watched Briar. If jealousy could bring her to me then I’d fucking take anything.
“He’s not interested in you. Your lies and throwing yourself at him just makes you look pathetic,” Briar replied as she narrowed her eyes at Lula Mae.
“Lies huh? Tell that to his pierced cock,” Lula Mae’s words sent ice cold fear shooting through my chest. Briar would think shit that was so far from the goddamn truth. I had to fix this. If Briar walked away, I would kill Lula Mae. My hand went to grab Lula Mae’s arm so that I could toss her lying ass to the ground but I paused as Briar bent down and slipped her hand inside her boot. I knew what she kept in there. I released Lula Mae’s arm as I watched the most beautiful, poetic shit I’d ever seen as Briar stood back up and pointed that pistol of hers at Lula Mae, looking like an angry angel.
“You’re provoking the wrong woman. I killed my own father, and I am done with your shit.”
Lula Mae’s hands flew up as she let out a cry.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Briar. Even if she hadn’t come to see me, she wasn’t letting someone else touch me. That was a good sign. A real fucking good sign.
The sound of clapping interrupted the scene unfolding, and I barely flicked my gaze to see it was Thatcher walking out of the stables, his eyes on Briar. My eyes went right back to her. Seeing her soothed all the demons that had been clawing inside my head.
“That’s the crazy bitch I knew was in there,” Thatcher announced as he stopped in front of Briar. “You just needed a little nudge.”
What the fuck was he talking about?
He pulled out a cigarette and lit up, then glanced over in this direction. “Go on home, Lula Mae, before either Briar or Storm kills you. I’d say right now, it’s a toss-up,” he said, then walked off toward the house.
“Are you not gonna stop her?” Lula Mae asked beside me, then let out a sob.
“Nope,” I replied, a grin tugging on my lips as Briar lowered the gun, still glaring at Lula Mae.
“Fuck no,” Thatcher’s retreating form called back.
The other woman finally let out another sob and ran off toward the cars.
I took a step in Briar’s direction. “You just pulled a gun on a woman for touching me.” The amusement in my tone was unavoidable. I wanted to fucking laugh.
Briar tucked it back into her boot then straightened and looked up at me as she raised her eyebrows. “She was touching you and she knows your cock is pierced.”
That’s real good, baby. Keep on admitting that shit. I need to hear it.
“She hasn’t seen my cock since I was fifteen, but she grabbed my damn crotch awhile back and felt the piercing.”
“Guess I should have shot her,” Briar replied lifting her chin a slight fraction.
“Some would consider that reaction a touch psycho,” I pointed out even if her saying it was fucking hot as hell.
She licked her lips, then held her shoulders back as she met my gaze. I took another step toward her.
“I guess I need to be,” she said. “You know, be a touch psycho. If I’m in love with one.”
It took all my self-control not to go grab her and throw her over my shoulder and run.
I took the next few strides until I was in front of her, not taking my eyes off hers. Needing to make sure I wasn’t reading this wrong. “Did you come here, looking for me?”
She nodded, and relief poured through me. My damn knees felt like they might give out from the force of it. She was here for me.
“Why?”
“I realized something.”
“Go on,” I urged, feeling anxiety creep in.
What if this wasn’t what I thought it was? I couldn’t watch her walk away from me again.
“I can’t live without you. Even if you’re psycho. You’re my psycho.”
Unable to hold back anymore, I grabbed her hips, jerking her against my body, and covered her mouth with mine. The first taste of her, and I shuddered. She slid her hands up my arms and squeezed, pressing closer to me. There was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her with me.
She broke the kiss, but didn’t pull away from me. “We still need to talk about things. Draw some lines,” she said, breathless from our kiss.
“I won’t have anyone ever shoot at you again,” I replied.
“It’s more than that. No more lies,” she said, looking up at me, pleading.
“No more lies,” I told her.
“No more manipulating the situation so you get what you want.”
I ran my hand under her shirt and up to cup her breast. “I can’t promise that. But I’ll try.”
“I don’t have anything to hide, so if you want to see all my calls and texts, I don’t care. But don’t keep any from me. That’s not okay.”
I pressed a kiss to her lips, needing to feel them against mine again. “Okay,” I agreed.
“And what did you do with the money?”
I kissed her jawline. “High-interest savings account in your and Dovie’s names. I figure one day, she can use it when she goes to college. The other nine thousand you should have gotten from the diamonds you pawned is also in there.”
She grabbed my face, stopping me from kissing further down her neck. “What do you mean, the other nine thousand?”
God, she was beautiful. Breathtaking. Mine.
“You got gypped, baby. I went and got the rest of the money they should have given you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Before or after I told you about my pawning the jewelry?”
I smirked. “Before.”
She let out a soft laugh and shook her head. “You knew the minute I did it. I should have known.”
“Thank fuck,” King’s voice called out, and I pulled her to my chest as I looked over her head to see him coming outside the stables. He pointed at us. “That what I think it is?”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t mess shit up this time.”
I dropped my eyes back to her. I’d spend the rest of my life making sure she never walked away from me again.