Chapter Three
Cherry
I’m in a strange bed, the sheets soft and warm against my skin. My body sinks into the mattress below a heavy comforter, a comforting weight that pulls me deeper into its soothing cocoon. I take a slow breath, inhaling the scent of the pillow beside me, a mix of something sweet and musky that feels like home, even though I can’t quite place why it’s familiar.
“Hmm,” I moan, burying my face deeper into the pillow, and suddenly, a flicker of panic jolts through me. I sit up, the sheets slipping down my shoulders, and my heart begins to race. The room is dimly lit, shadows dancing along the walls, and it takes a few moments to remember where I am and how I got here…
Dane.
The name pops into my thoughts like a jump scare. I quickly take stock of myself and look around for my luggage. I have all my clothes on and my suitcase is sitting on a chair across the room. The only thing missing is my shoes, but everything else is here. I search my foggy brain, trying to piece together how the hell I got here. The last thing I remember was going with Dane to the bakery and choosing some treats, then getting back in his truck to drive to his ranch. I remember resting my head against the window and thinking how soothing his voice is and then…nothing.
“Oh good, you’re awake. You must have been tired. You were out like a light.”
I jump, my heart racing when I hear a voice, deep and calm, cutting through the thick haze in my mind. I look up and spot Dane standing in the open doorway, one shoulder propped against the frame. He doesn’t fully enter the room and he’s backlit by the hall light, so it takes my eyes a few moments to adjust before I can make out the contours of his handsome face.
It still floors me that a man can be this good looking. There has got to be something wrong with him.
The universe can’t be so unfair as to make him both perfect and totally out of my reach.
“How did I get here?” I ask, brushing my hair from my face before looking around, taking in the personal touches to the room. “Is this your bedroom?”
“You fell asleep in the truck, so I carried you up here.”
“To your bedroom?”
There is a pause before he nods. “Yes.”
I wait for an explanation. For a man with a ranch, I would assume he has plenty of spare rooms, hadn’t he even said as much? So why did he carry me to his bedroom? I want to ask, but before I can pry, my stomach picks that exact moment to interrupt, grumbling loudly in the silence of the room. The sound is so surprising that it catches me off guard. I feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment, and I want to hide back under the covers and never come out.
I haven't had anything to eat all day, too nervous over the trip.
“Um.” I glance down at my hands, fidgeting with the sheets and trying to hide the awkwardness that washes over me. “Sorry.”
“We have the pastries we got from Annie’s. I personally know the owner, and she makes the best sweets in town. I’m certain you’ll love what we picked,” he says, straightening and walking into the room, stopping at the foot of the bed. “My chef also prepared a chicken pot pie for dinner. She made it for the ranch hands, but if you want something different, I’m sure I can whip something up.”
“No, chicken pot pie sounds good.”
In fact, it sounds more than good. I can feel the soft rumble of my stomach at the thought of hot, homemade food. I haven't had a homemade meal in ages. My parents worked all the time, and growing up, I survived mostly on takeout. I tried learning how to cook so I could take care of myself, but after an incident that triggered the fire alarms and brought the firetruck to my home, my parents banned me from the kitchen.
I fall back on the bed with a sigh. I’m running out of time! It’s only a matter of time before I am picked up and sent away from the only home I have ever known. Deported? I still can’t wrap my head around that word. Not when I have spent my entire life in this country.
“Is something wrong?” Dane asks gruffly, and I look up, my breath catching in my throat when my eyes lock with those moss green ones intensely watching me. God, this man is gorgeous, carved to perfection for a special girl, one that is not going to me.
“I…I just realized that I need to figure some things out. I was hoping Paula could help me, but I’m worried I won’t have enough time now.”
“You don’t want to wait for Paula to get back then?” Is it disappointment I catch in his tone, or is that just wishful thinking on my part? “Let’s talk about it over a warm meal.”
I sit up quickly when a thought strikes me, a grin spreading over my face. “Wait, maybe you can help me. Paula said I should talk to her dad, that he might be able to help. That’s your brother, right?” My eyes are hopeful as I stare up at him. “Can you get me in touch with him?”
Dane doesn’t respond, choosing instead to stare at me with a confused expression, like what I’ve said makes no sense. Maybe he’s right, maybe I’m grasping at straws by assuming Paula is right and that her father can help. But I’m desperate, and this is the only option I have.
If I’m being honest with myself, I am terrified of getting sent away and starting over in a country I know nothing about and with no money. I’m scared of losing everything by leaving, and what happens if I am never allowed to come back?
“Cherry,” Dane says carefully, reclaiming my attention. “My brother Derek, Paula’s dad, is out of town at a conference. He won’t be back until next week.”
My heart stops, then drops to my stomach. Paula’s dad isn’t even in town? I mean, I knew he doesn’t live in Valor Springs full-time. He’s a prominent prosecutor in the city, but Paula seemed certain he’d be here. It’s why I came! Panic wells in me just like it did at the bus stop, and I can’t catch my breath. Why would Paula tell me to come here? I’ve wasted so much time for nothing!
I gasp, my heart hammering hard in my chest when Dane suddenly yanks the comforter away before climbing onto the bed. He gathers me in his arms and pulls me onto his lap. I don’t even hesitate to wrap my arms around his shoulders and bury my face in his neck. He doesn’t say a word, but rubs my back in slow, soothing circles. After several minutes, I start to calm down, but as I do, new feelings begin to take hold. Suddenly, I’m aware of the heat of Dane’s body, the feel of my chest pressed tight to his, and the scent of his cologne easing the last of my panic.
With my face still tucked in his neck, I brush my lips against him without conscious thought. Before I’ve even realized what I’m doing, my tongue darts out and meets his salty skin. He inhales sharply at the move and tightens his arms around my waist. His embrace pulls me tighter against him, and I move to straddle his hips without lifting my head.
With a low growl, Dane pulls me tight against him, raising his hips as he does, and I can’t help the cry that leaves me when I feel something hard press against my center. Heat rushes through me and wetness pools in my panties.
“Dane,” I whisper breathlessly, before the air rushes from my lungs as I suddenly find myself on my back with Dane above me.
He drops his forearm above my head and leans down, the intense green in his eyes sending a shudder rocking through me. A hoarse whimper slips past my lips when I inhale his strong, warm scent, far more potent than it was on his pillow. It smells so good, and I barely catch myself before I can push up and press myself against him. Another whimper escapes when he presses me into the mattress with a thick thigh between my legs, his delicious weight sending a storm of heat flooding my stomach. “W-what are you doing?”
“I need to know,” he says roughly, his eyes dropping down to my lips before lifting back to mine. “I have to know what kind of spell you’ve cast on me.”
“I…I don’t understand.”
“I was happy with my life as it is,” he growls, the green in his eyes darkening, and I gasp when I feel his hands slowly slip under the hem of my dress, rucking it up my thighs. The slow glide of his calloused fingers causes a rush of dampness to spread over the lining of my panties.
“Dane,” I say breathlessly, fisting my fingers in the sheets in an attempt to stop myself from reaching up and touching him. “W-what do you mean?”
His words should be enough for me to push him away, but he's so big and he feels so good as he settles his weight over me, the heavy press of his erection against the valley of my covered sex sends little sparks shooting up my abdomen. I shift my hips, and the slight friction draws a pained growl ripping from his throat and a whimper out of mine.
“Oh God,” I whimper, arching up to repeat the motion, and there’s that delicious friction again. We’re breathing against each other’s lips. I can practically taste his mouth on mine, but I make no move to close the distance and kiss him, and he doesn’t either.
Dane grinds his erection over me, and my breath hitches in my throat as he presses hard against me. His darkened eyes are ablaze with desire and locked on mine as he slowly rocks his hips against me, picking up speed by the second.
I finally give in to the need to touch him, bringing my hands tentatively to his shoulders and tracing them down his broad back, feeling his muscles tense beneath my fingertips. I want to strip him and touch his naked muscles, bury my face into his neck, and inhale his scent…
“Fuck, sweetheart, I want to be inside you. Tear off your panties and bury my cock in your hot little pussy,” he growls, shifting his hips a bit, and I gasp when he trails his finger over the valley of my sex. “You’re wet. God, tell me you want this too.” His breathing is as ragged as mine. I bury my fingers into his shoulders and bite hard into my lip when he slides his thick digit under my panties. He uses his thumb to part my feminine lips before rubbing the digit over my slick flesh. My hips jolt off the bed when he grazes my clit, causing moisture to flood my sex.
“Dane!”
“Fuck me, you are dripping,” he chokes out, dragging his calloused digit along the seam of my sex, teasing the sensitive bud at my core and sending a flood of sensations crashing through my body. “I need to be inside you. I’ll fuck you hard and make you feel so good…erase the touch of any other man that’s come before me and ruin you for anyone who might come after. I’ll make you forget everything.”
God, I want that too. I want to forget all the troubles that have been hounding me these past few days.
Troubles that will not end tonight. Forgetting them momentarily will do me no good. Tomorrow I'll be back on the bus, heading toward an uncertain future. I'll leave this little town and this man behind, and then what?
Reality slams into me with the vengeance of a sumo wrestler, and I quickly shove Dane off me, scrambling away from the man. He backs away quickly, raising his hands in a gesture meant to put me at ease. Judging by the stunned look on his face, I can tell I caught him off guard. My nipples are aching and my sex pulsates with need, begging for his touch, but…I can’t.
God, I want to, but I can’t. Giving myself to Dane only to leave him in the morning would destroy me. It’s better to never know than to mourn the loss of him. I’ve barely known him for a few hours, and the thought of leaving him already makes my heart ache. If we go further, our eventual separation will only hurt worse.
The tie holding his hair in place must have fallen out because his dark brown hair spills over his rugged face, framing it in a way that makes my heart race. The strands brush his strong jawline, accentuating the well-defined angles of his cheekbones and his strong jawline. He looks effortlessly hot, but his eyes are now partially obscured by the tousled locks. I can't tell what he is thinking.
Is he angry? Upset that I stopped him before he could…
“I'm sorry,” he rasps, pushing his hair from his face and lifting those gorgeous eyes to mine. The tortured look in them makes my breath hitch. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
He’s not…mad?
His eyes still have that heated look in them, but nothing to indicate that he’s mad that I stopped this. Something about his quick acceptance and apology soothes to me. I once had a guy curse me out and call me a tease just because I refused to give him my number. A part of me was terrified about how Dane would react, but he seems more disappointed in himself than anything.
“It’s fine,” I whisper, tugging down the hem of my dress. “T-things just got out of hand; it’s fine.”
Dane doesn’t say a word as he climbs off the bed, making no effort to hide the massive ridge on his pants. I flush as the sight of his cock, and knowing that I caused his arousal sends some pride rocking through me.
“You’re hungry, I promised to feed you.”
Right, I forgot about that. “Uhm, I… Is it okay if you give me a moment to myself? I'll join you in a few.”
“Sure, take your time.”
And then he’s gone, and I’m alone to sort through all that just happened.