Chapter 14 #2
Jade lingers at the edge of the clearing but not hiding. Her gaze locks on the skeleton frame of the treehouse. There’s something about the way she’s looking at it, even from this distance, I can see the haunted look stealing her features.
I know why.
And maybe that’s why I brought her here.
Revenge is sweet, and I find myself hurting her once again.
I know I’m the bastard, but there was a time when I had no other choice.
So I wear the practiced and perfected lie on my face before exiting the truck to face her.
“Did you follow me here?” I shout to her, snapping her attention away from the treehouse and to me.
“I followed the log you stole.” She holds herself motionless at first and then slowly guides the horse into a steady trot.
I don’t flinch.
“The log?” I say it like she’s crazy, and quite frankly, chasing me down over a log is crazy.
“You were on Fox property.” She holds the reins like she holds grudges, tightly and without apology. “Don’t pretend you didn’t notice. The fence line has been carved into this land, and into us, forever.”
I hold back a smirk, knowing exactly where we’re standing. My brother’s ranch sits squarely on Nofarre Stretch, the lone thread of earth that had kept the Wilde and Fox properties apart for centuries. Until my brother and Hope were given the land as a wedding gift from the town.
Now, it’s a silent bridge between two families torn by years of feuding.
A bridge I didn’t fucking make.
A bridge I watched being erected with an anger simmering inside me, I will never rid myself of.
I rest my arm on the log in the back of my truck. “You talkin’ about this log?”
“Put it back on my property.” The slight tilt of her head says more than any words ever could.
I lean my hip against my truck. “You’re really gonna make a scene over one log?”
But I knew she would.
She swings down in one clean motion, all sinew and certainty. It’s like watching a storm roll in over dry land.
Untouchable.
Meant for someone better than me.
You don’t catch that kind of wild. You just stand there and feel it pass through you.
Dust swirls at her boots. She sets her stance, shoulders squared, hands resting loosely at her hips, as if she’s ready for whatever comes next.
“I shouldn’t be surprised a Wilde would want to add log thief to their list of accomplishments. It suits, considering y’all are known for stealin’ cattle.”
I shrug, noting the ancient long feud really doesn’t hit me the way it used to. But then again, up until last year, I thought we were all fighting over the stolen cattle our ancestors claimed. To my surprise, I discovered I wasn’t the only Wilde to fall for a Fox—and neither was my brother.
The revelation hit me like a punch to the gut. I’d spent my whole life shaping my future around a feud I believed defined everything. Only to learn Pa broke the one rule he’d given me. He’d been involved with a Fox in his youth, and her death drove our families further apart.
Now, I’m stuck in this loop where I continue to make sure Jade sees me as the asshole I’ve always been.
“Speaking of which, how was your night in jail?” Her lips curl into a smug smile.
Another shrug. “Ain’t the first time. Doubt it will be the last.” I strum my fingers on the log. “Not sure why you’re upset. It’s just a log, sweetheart.”
She steps close enough that I can smell her. Lord, she smells so fucking good, like wildflowers and fresh cut hay.
“That’s not the point.” Frustration rings in her voice. “You can’t just take things that don’t belong to you and fuck off like nothing happened?”
“Are we talking about the log or your virginity?”
Her hand swings up and slaps my face.
Shit.
I wince.
It stings, and I deserve it.
“Virginity it is.” I rub my jaw.
I half expect her to slap me again. But she finds her control.
“From my side of that sexual experience, it seems I wasn’t the only one to lose my virginity that night. You were hard for a solid minute before coming like an amateur.”
Ouch.
She leans closer, all confident. “You took my virginity, but my first orgasm remained a distant dream.”
The words are a hard blow to my gut. She didn’t orgasm.
Wait, what?!
No. Yes. No?
I’d been young, but she wasn’t my first, and none of the other gals had complained, but then she wasn’t like all the others.
She raises both hands at different levels, as though weighing two choices. “I guess you could be proud you took my virginity, but I don’t envy the ladies you’ve bedded since. Turns out you’re a selfish lover.”
My insides flare.
“And a selfish prick who spouts off verses from a book he shouldn’t.”
I let out a dry laugh. “I’m a selfish prick? You’re taking off with my brothers to complete the bucket list.”
“Because you deciphered a page for them, dipshit!” She’s losing her cool. “If you hadn’t gone and flapped your big mouth, I wouldn’t be finishing the bucket list with them.”
“Not that you can actually finish it.” I fold my arms over my chest. “Even if you did get on that Ferris wheel, you wouldn’t be reaching your peak at the top.”
“Do you really think you could make me come in that short of time?”
“Fucking right.”
“Okay, big man. I’d have better luck just rubbing one out myself.”
That unwelcome vision slams into my head.
“You know what, have a great time only half-ass finishing the list.”
“I never said I was half-assing it. You’re not the only man on the planet, Hart. Last I heard, Bronx is coming, and we all know he’s open to a good time.”
I see red.
Every damn shade.
“No strings attached. Or strings, if you remember bucket list challenge number ten.”
I remember exactly what challenge ten is, but envisioning another man tying her up causes all kinds of disruptions inside me.
She wouldn’t dare.
She smirks. “Yeah, that one. I think Bronx can handle it. So don’t you worry about me not completing it. I’ve got this, just like pleasuring myself when you couldn’t.”
I need to cool the fuck down.
She needs to cool the fuck down.
My hand catches her wrist. In one smooth move, I hoist her off the ground and over my shoulder. She lets out a startled yelp, her feet kicking in the air. Her Stetson hits the ground at my feet.
“Hey! Asshole! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
I can’t tell her not to do the challenge with Bronx, or any guy for that matter.
I want to.
Lord knows, I want to.
“Hart? Put me down!”
Aw, hell, the way she says my name.
My hand brushes over her back pockets, the denim tight and smooth. I can’t ignore the swell of her jeans hugging her curves.
“What the hell are you doing touching my ass, pervert?” she demands, squirming more.
“Lookin’ for your phone.”
Her voice hardens. “It’s in my saddlebag, genius.”
“Good, ‘cause I reckon I’m going to toss you in the pond.”
She gasps. “Don’t you dare.”
“You need to cool down, sweetheart.”
Her weight shifts against my shoulder with each step.
“Don’t call me sweetheart. I am not your sweetheart.”
She’s a feisty one, squirming like a fish out of water. Her hands pound on my back, forcing me to tighten my grip.
“You ain’t Bronx’s sweetheart either.” It’s out of my mouth before I can stop it.
“And you can’t just—”
“Watch me.”
We reach the waters’ edge. “And, sweetheart, we’re on neutral ground.”
“Hart, I swear to God—”
And with that, I toss her into the pond, and the echoing splash swallows her last attempt at a protest.