Chapter 33
Not in Front of the Baby
Tripp
Hey Papa Bear! You still thinkin' about getting off the circuit and settling somewhere with Claire? I've got a job opportunity out here for ya.
Brooks Wilder
Would I have to work with your irritating ass?
Ha! I know you've missed me. We're looking for another ranch hand to help out, do riding lessons, maybe some training. You in?
I'll have to think about it.
Come up and see the place. Check out the herd and the horses. Visit the town.
I'll let you know when I've got a couple days free.
It’s been a long day, but by the time we finish working, Quinn has supper waiting for us. It takes everything in me not to grab her and slip out of the house, but she made my favorite again tonight, and this time, she made enough garlic bread for both me and Wes to have plenty.
She reassures Wes the calf is doing well and standing on its own. “I was going to go out to feed him again after I do the dishes.”
“Don’t worry about the dishes,” Wes says. “Sawyer and I can take care of it. Unless you’d rather we feed the calf.”
“I could use a break from the house,” Quinn mutters under her breath, eyeing Pops before shooting me a conspiratorial glance.
“I saw that look,” Pops grumbles. “You coulda just said you’re sick of me.”
“Pops, I’m not sick of—“
He waves her off. “I know I haven’t been the most gracious patient.”
“You can say that again,” Sawyer mumbles.
Pops sighs. “It’s hard not being able to do everything I’m used to. And the tasteless hippie food you’ve been serving me hasn’t helped my mood.”
I glance at Quinn and mouth, hippie food? cocking a brow.
She just rolls her eyes. “Kale and spinach aren’t hippie foods, Pops. They’re good for you.”
“They taste like a combination of rusty nails and sweaty asshole.”
Sawyer snickers, and I choke on my drink. “Christ.”
Quinn groans, but her lips twitch. “You’re impossible.”
She rises to clear the plates, but I don’t let her get far, reaching out to take them. Our fingers brush, and she doesn’t pull away, and neither do I, lingering just long enough for the heat to flare between us again.
Her eyes lift to mine, and I swear I see it—the same need that’s been hounding me all damn day.
Quinn looks like it’s killing her to walk out of the messy kitchen, but Sawyer gives her a nudge. “We’ll clean up. Go feed the calf for us.”
Pops nods in agreement. “I’ll put myself to bed, Quinn. Enjoy your time outside with the animals.” He shoots me an indecipherable look before pushing up from the table.
A few minutes later, I’m quietly sneaking outside. I hope no one notices, but I can’t wait another second to be alone with her. Quinn and I have always hung out here and there. It wouldn’t be a dead giveaway if someone saw me heading to the barn after her.
I will that to be true, because if Wes figures this out, he’s going to kill me. It would go much smoother if we told him before he finds out, but I can’t stand the thought of him telling me I’m not good enough for his sister.
I’m just a desperate man, willing to do stupid, desperate things to get a moment alone with the woman I can’t get off my mind.
By the time I reach the barn, she’s arched over the gate with a freshly made bottle.
The curve of her ass in those damn leggings makes my mouth water.
My insides heat as I watch her feed the calf, who's standing up now and suckling furiously, his tail waggling happily as milk replacer drips down his chin.
“Looks like you both like to get a little messy, huh?”
She jumps and lets out a startled laugh. “Jesus, how long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to be impatient to get my hands on that ass.”
She shakes her head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Hm. It’s this ass that’s ridiculous,” I say, stepping up behind her and palming her backside.
“Wes and Sawyer are still inside,” she warns me. “They could come out here any second.”
I smirk as she shifts, rubbing her thighs together in a move I’m sure doesn’t do nearly enough to quench the ache she must be feeling.
“I know.” I slide a hand around her waist and place an open-mouthed kiss where her neck and shoulder meet. “But I also know you love the idea of this being risky—of possibly getting caught.”
She gasps when I nip at her shoulder.
“It’s number one on your list for a reason.”
She shakily sets the empty bottle on the wall separating the stalls and then turns toward me. “We can’t have sex here,” she says, glancing at the stall behind her. “Not in front of the baby.”
“You’re right. We wouldn’t want him losing his innocence so early,” I say with an amused grin.
Her lips twitch. “I know you’re making fun of me, but I don’t care.”
“I’d never make fun of you, Quinnie. Come on. If you don’t want the calf watching, then we’ll go out there.” I gesture outside.
“Tripp...”
I grab her hand and haul her outside and into the fading evening light. She trails me to the side of the barn, a spot that can’t be seen from the house, porch, or driveway because while she likes the thrill, I know she would be mortified to actually get caught.
I glance around the corner, making sure nobody’s out here looking for us before I press her to the side of the barn.
“Right here seems like the perfect spot. Don’t you think?” I ask, my fingers splaying across her lower back as I pull her into me.
Her eyes search mine, her whole body humming with anticipation. It’s coming off her in waves. “Maybe we should try it and find out.” She smirks at me, gloriously devious.
God, I love this little naughty streak.
Her fingers find the button on my jeans, but I grab her wrists in one of my hands before she can take me out, even though the amount I’m straining against the denim is getting uncomfortable.
“Kiss me first,” I say, hungry for that connection I feel whenever her mouth is on mine.
Her eyes, impossibly blue, lock on mine as she leans into me, and I meet her mouth in a kiss that's slow and teasing. It’s the start of a slow burn, a spark to the inferno already burning low in my gut.
For all the sex I’ve had, I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone the way I want to kiss Quinn—like I’m offering myself on a platter for her, falling at her feet. It’s not just some primal desire to sate. She’s everything I want. The best damn part of my day.
She came back into my life, and now I don’t want to think about the days without her—past or future. I’m living in the present—desperate to keep us in the here and now and not think about how this will end. I can’t bear it.
Her tongue slips into my mouth, and she swallows the moan it drags from me. My fingers play with the top of her leggings, running back and forth, teasing, not getting any closer to where she wants them.
Her hands go into my hair, tugging gently at the overgrown locks at the nape of my neck. My hips rock forward of their own accord, unable to control what those little tugs are doing to me—pulling me apart piece by piece.
My kisses go from slow and controlled to needy and eager. Lips and tongues and saliva all mingling together in a frantic mess of desire that’s deep and all-consuming.
Her leggings slide down easily, and I nearly groan when I realize she’s not wearing a damn thing under them.
“Planning ahead, huh?”
Her laugh is a breathless pant that makes me weak in the knees. “Maybe.”
She shimmies out of the leggings and awkwardly kicks her boots off in the process.
“Fuck, Quinnie. Such a dirty girl.” My mouth finds her neck again, and suddenly her shirt feels like an obstacle. I strip it over her head and nearly groan when I see her bare breasts in the fading light. No bra. No barriers. Just Quinn—beautiful, flushed, absolutely breathtaking.
I’m not sure what she has against undergarments, but I’m not complaining. I’m an impatient man, and the quicker I can get her naked in front of me, the better.
The sun is setting behind me, painting the sky in shades of pink and purple that are reflected on her skin. A perfect blush of color that makes me want to do obscene things—marking her, filling her, making sure she knows she’s mine.
Because, Christ, I want her to be mine.
She’s pressed against the red wall of the barn, writhing under my gaze, gasping when I finally stop staring like a lunatic and touch her again. My hands grip her ass, spreading her for me as I drag my finger through the crease until she squirms.
“I’m gonna take you here one day, Quinnie. And when I do, I’m gonna stretch this tight little hole and fill it so full I’ll be dripping from you for days.“
“Please,” she begs, pressing back on my finger.
I chuckle at how fucking needy she is for everything I want to give her.
“Not now, honey,” I say, knowing we’ll need plenty of time and lube to prep her for that. “I’ve got other plans for you today.”
She whimpers when I pull my finger away.
Goddamn. I’ve got to be the luckiest son of a bitch to ever live.
Her fingers find my button again, and this time I let her extricate me from my boxers. The second her fist closes around me, I nearly lose it. One stroke. Two. Then she’s notching me at her entrance, desperate to get me inside.
So fucking needy.
“Honey, this is why you were always unsatisfied,” I say, rolling my hips, teasing her slick folds but refusing to give in.
“You’re in such a hurry to feed my cock into that pussy you’re skipping steps.
” I drag myself through her wetness, slow and deliberate, and her body bows into mine.
“Take your time. I can wait until you're good and ready for me.”
I slide a hand between her thighs and bask in the hitch of her breath as my fingers spread her wide.
She’s already trembling. So damn responsive, like no one’s ever taken the time to learn her body.
I stroke her inner walls as my lips close around the tightened peak of her nipple, and a startled sound escapes her throat.
Her hips jerk against my hand, and when I circle her clit with my thumb, her nails dig into my forearms, desperate to hold on.
“Shit. I’m close,” she gasps.
“Already?”
She nods vigorously, and I pull my fingers away.
“Please?” she begs. “I want to—“
“Come on my cock, honey. I want to feel you when you do it.”
I notch myself at her entrance, then hold her gaze as I spit into my palm and slick myself.
She squirms against me. “Oh, fuck. Why is that so hot, Tripp?”
I chuckle. “I don’t know, but I love how much you love it.”
I grip the backs of her thighs and haul her up, pressing my cock against her soaked opening. One thrust, two, and then I’m finally buried inside her, The feeling is pure bliss.
I’ve waited five years for this moment with this woman. Maybe I didn’t know I was waiting for her, but Christ am I glad I did—being inside her is better than anything I’ve ever felt in my life. I’m completely ruined for anyone else now.
I hold myself still, breathing through the pleasure zipping up my spine, unable to move without coming apart at the seams. She squirms in my arms, impatient for me to fuck her.
Finally, I can move without exploding the second I do. I pull out and rock back into her again, rolling my hips so I’m buried as deep as I can go.
She cries out, and I arch a brow. “Shhh. We don’t wanna get caught now, do we?”
She shakes her head, eyes wide. I use the barn wall to help me hold her up as I slowly move inside her. “Look at us,” I groan, watching as I sink into her again. “You feel fucking unreal.”
Quinn’s eyes drop to where we’re joined, and she watches, gripping my shoulders as she rolls her hips into mine. “Oh God,” she gasps, an awed look on her face. “I’ll never get enough of this.”
The pleasure running down my spine is a warning. I’m not going to last long buried balls deep inside the woman of my dreams.
I spit on my fingertips and circle her clit. Her legs shake as I keep up a punishing pace. My thighs burn, my arms scream, but at the same time, everything about this moment is heaven. She’s fucking perfect, and being inside her is the closest thing to nirvana I’ve ever felt.
“Yes, yes,” she chants with every thrust, and I feel her inner walls tighten around me.
I’m fucking gone.
“Fuck. Just like that, Quinnie. Squeeze my cock with that perfect pussy.”
We are a tangled, wild mess of limbs as she claws at my forearms, scrambling for a grip as she coils tighter and tighter like she’s waiting for me. I’m hanging by a damn thread, but Quinn comes first.
“You let go when you’re ready, honey. I’m right there. I’m just waiting for you.”
It’s as if all she needs is my permission, because the second I give it, she clenches around me, strangling my cock with every spasm, and then I’m coming too, painting her inner walls with every pulse.
My forehead falls forward, connecting with hers, and her fingers go to my cheeks. We’re both still breathing heavily, chests rising and falling in tandem as we linger in the afterglow for a little longer.
“That was amazing.”
It wasn’t just amazing. It was everything. It was every bit as perfect as I thought it would be. And now I know I was right to put this moment off.
“Yeah,” I say breathlessly. “Amazing.”
We gather up the clothes on the ground—most of it Quinn’s. Once she puts herself back together, I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and cup her face like I’m studying the most exquisite piece of artwork I’ve ever seen. Like a complete sap. I can’t help it.
It’s like the axis my world has been spinning on suddenly shifted. I’m not revolving around the sun anymore—it’s her. She’s my sun. And now that I have her, I’m never going to want to let her go.
But Quinn Dawson is destined for greater things—bigger and better things than Cottonwood Creek. Than me.
And I can’t hold her back from the life she wants—the life she deserves.
So I kiss her again, cherishing this moment like it’s my last, because I know that it’s only a matter of time before she finds a new job and is gone again.