Chapter 20
“He’s over here,” I called out to Ray and Teddy as I spotted Ron walking down Foxtrot Road. Albert was in the distance, following in his tractor.
“Ron,” I said, and after a second, he slowly turned toward my voice. “You okay?” I approached him. He had a dazed look in his eyes, and he appeared completely lost.
He had called Ray, saying he went for a walk and couldn’t remember how to get home. Ray and Teddy had headed out to get him, but they couldn’t find him either, and he wasn’t answering his phone. They called Albert, who called me, and we had set up our own search party. It had been two hours. The sun had set, and I was afraid we weren’t going to find him.
I debated calling Brady, but the last update I gave him, Brady seemed annoyed I had brought it up. Not that I could blame him. The childhood trauma he suffered at the hands of Ron wasn’t something someone could forget. I almost hated myself for being kind to him, knowing how he had treated Brady, but so many of his issues stemmed from the deep-seated emotional trauma he suffered in war. It took too long, but he finally got help.
“I took a wrong turn,” Ron said. “I just wanted to go for a walk.”
He had lived in Vine Valley his entire life and only left for his stint in Vietnam. He knew this area better than anyone.
“It’s okay. I’m just happy we found you.” I tossed my arm around his shoulder and headed toward the guys. Ray hurried to us.
“What the fuck, man? Are you okay?” he asked Ron.
“I took a wrong turn,” he mumbled.
“I thought you got eaten by a bear,” Ray shot back.
Ron glanced at Ray, and his vision cleared. “You and I both know I could take on a bear.”
Teddy laughed.
“Let’s get your ass home before you take another wrong turn,” Ray said.
Ray moved to Ron’s side, and I moved away, letting Ray put his arm around him and guide him toward Ray’s car.
Albert made it with his tractor. He said a few things to the guys and rolled up on me. “Hop on. I’ll bring you to your car.”
I held on as Albert put the tractor in drive.
“This seems weird,” Albert said.
“What do you mean?”
“It feels like it should be four in the morning, and you should be missing a piece of clothing.”
“Those days are behind me,” I said.
Albert let off the clutch, and the tractor stalled out. “Since when?” he asked and quickly got the tractor moving again.
“Since I met my match,” I said.
“Met or finally noticed she’s been there all along?”
A smile spread across my face. The old bastard acted like he didn’t give two shits about anyone, but he was very observant. “Something like that.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m trying to figure that out. I broke her trust.”
“Dumbass.”
“Thank you. I’m aware.”
“Maybe it’s time you’re honest with her.”
“I have been honest with her.”
“Have you?”
He didn’t say much else after that. It took us twenty minutes to get to my car. I probably could have made it in ten if I walked, but there was something about being on the tractor, rolling past the trees that would be flaring red, yellow, and orange in only a few weeks that was calming to my soul.
I had a lot of time in my head. I had hoped with time answers would come. But as I climbed from the tractor and said my goodbyes to Albert, I still didn’t have a single one.
The thought of other women didn’t appeal to me anymore. All I thought about was Lainey. But how did I convince her she was all I wanted?
I shoved my hand through my hair and jumped into my car. I thought about heading to the tasting room to check on things, but instead, I sent Chris a text since Donna never had her phone on her.
It took him a bit to get back to me, which meant he wasn’t fucking off on his phone. He said Rhone and Sutton had showed up, and they had everything under control.
Letting other people help out had been hard, but it also had been proving to be a success. I didn’t need to be in the tasting room for every hour it was open. I had a staff I could trust, and it was time I did that. I had asked Lainey to trust me, so how could I not trust others who expected the same of me?
I put my cell in the holder and headed home. It had been a long afternoon, and it would be nice to sit on the couch and relax for once. I pulled into my driveway, and my heart stuttered at the sight of Lainey’s car. Confusion tugged at my eyebrows, but when I spotted her sitting on my steps, my heart damn near stopped.
Her blonde hair hung in loose curls just above her shoulders, and the milkmaid dress she wore highlighted her sexy as sin curves.
She was so fucking beautiful.
She pushed from the stairs and walked toward my car.
I jumped out and shut the door. “What are you doing here?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”
“You looked into my eyes.”
Eyes? What the hell was she talking about? “What?”
“When we had sex. You looked into my eyes.”
I wanted to understand what she was saying, but I was as lost as Ron was. “Where else would I look?”
She ran her fingers up my jaw to behind my ear. I inhaled, tilting my head toward her palm and savoring her touch. Her thumb glided across my cheek. My eyes snapped to hers, so blue and so mesmerizing.
A slight smile curved at the edge of her mouth. “You don’t look other women in the eyes, but you looked me in the eye. You saw me, and you wanted to see me.”
“Always, Lanes. Always.”
“A part of me thought maybe you didn’t want to see my body.”
I shook my head, lips parted, but she cut me off.
“It was easy to convince myself that’s why you left. The sun rose, and you saw what you were trying not to see.”
“You’re fucking gorgeous, Lanes.”
“And that’s not why you left.”
“No.”
Albert’s words slipped into my head. It was time I wasn’t only honest with Lanes, but I was honest with myself.
“I was scared,” I said. “Terrified actually. I let what Franc said have so much power.”
“What did he say?”
“That I wasn’t good enough for you. Don’t be mad at him. He was just protecting you, just as I would have. But I was convinced you could do so much better than me. That I would inevitably fuck up and hurt you far worse than if I just ended things before they began.”
“How’d that work out for you?” she asked.
A laugh slipped out. Lanes could always make me laugh, even in the worst moments. “Fucking terrible. I let fear control me, and in the end, I wound up hurting you, anyway. I hate myself for that.”
“Don’t,” she said.
“But I do. If I’d stayed, if I didn’t let fear run me out that door, you could have been in my bed every night. You could have been in my arms every morning. We could have been happy. You’re my match, Lanes, and I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it. But that night together, I did look you in the eyes. It’s when I realized you’d been there all along. That you were it for me.”
Her hand slipped behind my neck, and she yanked on my head. Frustration sparked in her bright eyes.
“I can’t reach,” she grumbled. “I’m trying to make this hot and sexy, and I can’t reach your lips.”
I barked out a laugh then captured her lips in one smooth motion. She gasped; a slight squeak muffled between our mouths. Not wasting any time, I swiped my tongue along her seam. She parted for me and curled her hand into my shirt, backing me toward the house.
I tripped over the cobblestoned path, keeping my hand tight on Lane’s ass to make sure she didn’t fall.
“Wait,” she said against my lips. “Chris said you had to help a friend. Is everyone okay?”
“Everyone is fine,” I assured her. “I’ll tell you about it later.” I dug my fingers into her curves and continued to back her inside the house. I kicked the door shut and spun her, slamming us into the wood.
I pulled my mouth from hers and gazed at her gorgeous tits. “This dress should be illegal.” I yanked it down, revealing a light pink bra with black lace. A growl rumbled my throat, and I dipped my head, dragging my tongue along the spot where lace met skin. “God, I’ve missed these.” I buried my head in the crease and kissed my way out.
My lips moved to her shoulder, and I slipped her sleeve over her arm, my mouth following.
“Screw this,” Lanes said and shoved her dress to the floor.
My mouth agape, I stared at her, taking in every luscious curve. Her thick thighs practically begged for me to touch them. My eyes followed the indents of her hips. Her tits, two mounds of heaven called out to my mouth to devour them.
“I did that to hurry things along. You standing there is defeating the purpose.”
“I’m enjoying the view.”
“Well, enjoy it over here. Front row seats.”
“The front row isn’t always the best view. You miss all the little details.”
“Nero Francis, if you don’t kiss me right—”
Her words cut off as I grabbed her waist, yanked her into me, and crashed my lips to hers. Her hands thrust into my hair, tugging my strands then hauling me closer.
My hand glided over her breast, following the hourglass lines of her body. My fingers dipped into her matching panties, sliding through her damp folds. She gasped, nails digging into my shoulder as I kissed a descending line along her neck, sucking and licking her sweet vanilla skin.
She arched into my palm, begging without words. But I didn’t need her to tell me what she wanted. I swiped my pointer once, twice, then thrust inside of her. Her entire body tightened, her fingertips leaving indents in my shoulders. I slipped in and out, her body relaxing against my ministrations.
Her chest heaved with each ragged breath as I built her closer and closer to the edge. A tremor ran through her, and I was about to move us to the couch when her hands found my waistband and fumbled with my button. She popped it open, yanked on my zipper, and reached into my boxer briefs, taking hold of my throbbing cock.
Her hold tightened, and my body tensed at the overpowering pleasure racing through me. “Jesus, Lainey,” I said, falling forward and resting my forearm on the door above her head.
She stroked me, and I thrust a digit deep inside her. She cried out but didn’t let go. If anything, she held me tighter, stroked me faster. We met each other’s pace, both racing for a release. But I didn’t want to come in her palm. I wanted to be inside her.
I slipped my hand from her panties. She whimpered, but I tugged the silk down until they were nothing more than a pool of material at her feet. She went to kick off her shoes, but they were sexy, and I wanted them on while I fucked her.
“Don’t.” I shoved my pants and briefs to the floor and ripped my shirt over my head.
My finger glided over her arm to her back, hooking her bra strap and snapping it free with a flick of my wrist. The cups fell forward and landed at her feet.
“Impressive,” she said, but my eyes were glued to her pale pink nipples and the small freckle just to the left of her right one.
Time didn’t exist in that moment. I was too consumed in her beauty. She shifted on her feet, and her arms lifted to cross, but I stopped her. “What are you doing?”
“You’re staring and not saying anything.”
“I told you. I’m taking in all those details I missed last time.”
I lifted my hand and brushed my thumb over her nipple, getting a thrill when it tightened beneath my touch. “Did you know you have a freckle right here?” My finger drifted over the small brown dot
“I don’t usually look at myself.”
“Why not?”
She blinked, her blue eyes locking on mine. “I’m confident with clothes on because I can create illusions, but when there’s nothing there, it’s easier to see all the things I wish I could fix.”
I took her hand and pulled her through the hallway and up the stairs.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she hurried behind me. “I thought we were about to have sex.”
“We are, but I want to do something first. Plus, I need condoms. Unless you want the potential of another one of me running around.”
She stopped, bit her lip. “I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
I had never wanted kids. It’d never even been a thought in my mind, but as soon as that confession left her mouth, my entire vision for the future changed. I wanted all of it with Lainey. Marriage, kids, big family get togethers and knowing my night would end with Lainey in my arms.
“You okay?” Lainey asked.
I shook my head, fully aware I had stopped. “Never better.” I guided her into my room and paused in front of my full-length mirror.
“Oh no,” she said and turned away.
I kissed her cheek, then lifted her chin and kissed her lips. “You’re beautiful, and I need you to trust me.”
She told me she had lost trust in me, and I would spend the rest of my life rebuilding what I had lost. I inhaled, waiting for her to decide. She could grab her clothes and walk out of my life, but if we were going to do this, I needed her to see what I saw. To understand that everything I needed was right here in front of me in a five-foot-three package. That there was no one else in this world who could ever tempt me more than her.
Time slowed, and my heart picked up speed. I could have destroyed it all in the matter of one bad decision, but then Lanes nodded, and she turned in my embrace, facing the mirror. I wrapped my arms around her neck, leaned down, and kissed her shoulder. “You have a freckle here, too,” I said. I kissed along the nape of her neck toward her bicep. “And a scar here that you got when you fell off—”
“My bike,” she finished for me.
“Landed sideways on a rock and nearly scraped your skin off.”
“You left me with Shelly, and you and Austin ran home and got your grandpa.”
I continued my trail to her hand and lifted it, running my thumb over her pointer. “You still have a scar here from when you were dicing strawberries and got distracted.”
“By you,” she exclaimed.
“All I did was walk into your kitchen.”
“I wasn’t expecting you. You scared me.”
“I don’t think I scared you. I think you saw me and momentarily forgot where you were.”
She poked my side, and I jumped out of the way. “Shut up.”
I kissed her throat. “Your laugh is and will always be my favorite sound.” I cupped her breasts, lifting them as they overflowed from my hands. “The first time you wore a pushup bra, I nearly choked on my lemonade. You walked into the barn at the vineyard, and it took everything in my power not stare. It was my first summer home from college. I jerked off to you that night.”
She elbowed me. “You did not.”
“I did. You might think I’ve never noticed you before, but I did. I ignored it, pushed it down deep, because you were Lanes, my little sister’s best friend. It was almost as if I was protecting you from the animal I was turning into.”
She twisted into me, cupping my jaw and swiping her thumb along my stubble. “You were never an animal. At least I never saw you that way.”
“You always saw the good in me. I could never understand why.”
“Just like you see me, I see you.”
I kissed her again, this time longer and more tender before squeezing her ass.
She yelped and laughed.
“And this,” I grit out through my teeth, sinking my fingers into her lush ass again.
“If you bring up the time Austin accused me of farting at Rhone’s fourteenth birthday party, I’m going to kill you with my bare hands. It was the chair!”
I tilted my neck back and let out a laugh. So many could have been turned off by her statement, but this was exactly why I was head over heels for this girl. I spun her around to the mirror. I met her eyes in her reflection. “You always make me laugh. It could be the absolute worst moment, or the most inconvenient one, but you always find a way.”
My teeth nipped her ear, and I leaned in and whispered, “And I know it was the chair. We all did. Austin just liked to rile you up.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I’m going to kill him.”
I kissed her neck, sucking on the sensitive skin of the crook. We were losing the plot, and I needed to get us back on track. She melted into my arms, her sigh a direct link to my cock.
“As I was saying,” I said against her skin. “Your ass made me the hardest I have ever been.” I grabbed a handful and pressed my cock along her backside.
“T-That’s hard,” she stuttered. “I mean… difficult to believe.”
“Believe it.” I pressed into her to emphasize my point. “You make me painfully hard.”
“We should do something about that.” She reached behind her and wrapped around my length. She held my gaze in the mirror as she stroked me.
Searing hot pleasure shot through me, and my hold on her ass tightened. I inhaled, settling the raging desire consuming me. I skimmed my hand across her belly. She stilled for a moment, her body tightening beneath me.
“Relax,” I ordered.
“Sorry, it’s a built-in reaction.”
“We need to work on breaking that habit, then.” I ran both hands over her stomach, loving the softness. “Because I plan on touching it every chance I get.” I parted her folds, thrusting my finger into her slick heat.
She cried out, her lips forming a sexy O as her eyes narrowed but didn’t close, continuing to hold my gaze in the mirror. I brushed my thumb over her clit, my fingers working in unison with the stroke of her hand. My head dipped, kissing a line from her neck to her ear.
Her teeth slid over her lip, and she rocked against my palm. A pretty pink blush spread through her neck and across her cheeks. Her blue eyes were a portal to everything good, everything I wanted… to a future I didn’t know was possible. But now that I could see it so clearly, I couldn’t imagine my life any other way but with Lanes.
“See what I see,” I said against her ear. “See this body that makes me so horny I can’t see straight? See the scars as a roadmap of our history, each one telling our story?” I pumped into her, my thumb circling her swollen bundle of nerves. Her breathing picked up, her chest rising and falling with each ragged inhale. “See the woman of my dreams?” I thrust up, hitting her G-spot, and her hand tightened on my cock while the other slapped against my arm and squeezed.
I slowed my pace, dragging out her pleasure, watching her watch herself.
“You’re the only woman I want, Lanes. You’re the only woman I see.”
She spun, grabbed my face, and pulled me to her mouth. Our lips crashed in a fiery passion that set my veins ablaze. Determined, she pushed me toward the bed, never breaking our kiss. The backs of my legs hit the mattress, and I collapsed onto my comforter.
Her knees came down on either side of me, her ass landing on my lap. She rocked and swiveled her hips, her wet heat sliding across my length. My body tightened as the intense pleasure flooded through me, drowning me in pure desire.
“Condom.” Her voice muffled, since our lips couldn’t seem to pull away from each other.
I shifted my weight toward the nightstand. My pointer hooked the handle and tore the drawer open. I fumbled inside, refusing to stop kissing Lanes.
“No,” she said, grabbing my arm and pulling it toward her. “I want to feel you. All of you.”
“Lanes.” I rested my head against her forehead. My eyes blinked up at those beautiful blue orbs that were the only eyes I ever wanted to see.
“I’m on the pill.”
“I’ve never not used a condom. Ever.” I was careful. Always.
She cupped my face, a smile gently curving at the edge of her mouth. “Then let me be your first.”