CHAPTER 11
COWBOY
I’m standing in the clubhouse lounge while leaning against the bar. My focus is not on my brothers partying around me. It’s entirely on the entryway. Because I’m expecting Brielle to show up at any moment.
I can’t wait to see her, even though it’s only been a matter of hours since the last time I saw her.
And I spent all weekend with her.
Fuck, it was perfect.
I knew she was nervous to go back to Seneca Falls. It’s not like I could soothe her worries. She just had to see how it went to trust it; my words weren’t ever going to be enough.
Since her family moved away from Seneca Falls only a few years after she went to New York, she didn’t have a reason to head back to our hometown for a long time. And she hadn’t. I would have heard about it if she did.
I probably would have ignored every speed limit just to get a glimpse of her. But I wasn’t given the chance.
My chest expands with a deep breath because now she’s back in my life. Exactly where she belongs.
“Is everything set for Rian’s party?” I look over at Ace who is leaning against the bar next to me.
I narrow my eyes because I didn’t even hear him walk up. How long has he been standing there? The smirk on his face tells me he knows I wasn’t paying attention and he finds it amusing.
While my eyes slide closed, I remind myself that I shouldn’t want to punch my brother. It’s still tempting as fuck though.
“Yeah,” I grunt, my eyes drifting back to the entrance of the room. “Everything is ready. I have a banner and balloons being delivered the morning of the party along with food from our restaurant and a big fancy cake.”
Ace nods in understand. He grins while shaking his head ruefully. “I can’t believe she’s going to be ten. Double digits is a big deal.”
My heart clenches in my chest because he’s not fucking wrong. I rub my chest absently and breathe out, “Yeah. It’s a big deal.”
I can feel Ace studying me, but I can’t pull my gaze away from the entranceway. Brielle should be here at any moment. Taking a long swig of my beer, finishing it off easily, is barely a distraction from the tension I’m trying to ignore in my body.
Because she’s not here. Not yet. But I want her to be here. I’m almost desperate for it.
“How was the weekend at home?” Ace’s voice is full of curiosity without a hint of malice.
I glance his way and his eyes are alight with amusement. As if watching me all twisted up in knots as I wait for my woman is amusing. Maybe it is to him.
“It was good. Rian basked in the attention, and everyone welcomed Brielle with open arms.” I find myself smiling at the memory. It was only days ago, but it fills me with a warmth I can’t put into words.
“Did you doubt they would?”
“No,” I answer him honestly. “I knew they would.” I chuckle under my breath and add, “I didn’t expect my mom to cry though.”
Ace barks out a laugh and shakes his head. “I’m not surprised. Mama Arden doesn’t hide her emotions. Every time she visits us here, I expect her to ask me if I have enough clean underwear.” His voice drops to a whisper, “It’s kind of nice.”
I grin at my brother with understanding. “She’ll happily mother you anytime you need it. She’s good at it.”
Before he can say anything, I straighten where I’m standing because the air shifts in the room. I know she’s about to walk in before I can see her. The moment she does, everything in the room seems to still.
I know it doesn’t though.
The party keeps going.
The laugher is just as loud.
The music is still filling the room.
But none of it penetrates because all I can see is her and the only thing I can hear is a faint buzzing in my ear. Ace’s proximity falls away completely, but I do hear him let out a low whistle which would have me wanting to kill him if I wasn’t so focused on my woman.
When her dark eyes find mine, a slow smile grows on her face, and I take a step toward her without even realizing it. But she’s already heading right toward me.
I glance around the room to find way too many of my brothers watching her close the distance between us. What I want to do is gouge all of their eyes out with a rusty spoon. All I do is clench my hands into fists at my sides.
“Damn,” I hear Ace breathe out behind me.
The only thing preventing me from glaring at him is Brielle stopping right in front of me with our toes almost touching. Her dark eyes sweep over my face and then a small smile that’s just for me lights up her entire face. How does such a small smile do that?
I shake my head slowly, clearing away the cobwebs or maybe the lingering anxiety in my gut from being on edge and waiting for her to arrive.
“Hey,” she whispers, her soft voice cutting through the din of the room with ease.
I know it’s because I’m attuned to her. I know it’s because I would hear her over any sound. Because she’s mine.
“You’re beautiful, Tiny Dancer,” I rasp and watch as her cheeks pink slightly.
When I tuck her into my side and turn toward Ace, she melts into me and it feels like I’ve just returned victorious in battle. She gives Ace a small smile that makes me contemplate murder. Again.
“Hi, Ace,” her voice is soft and more than a little hesitant.
He blinks at her before giving her a sheepish look. “Have we met? I’m quite sure I would remember meeting a gorgeous woman like yourself,” he flirts with her and I narrow my eyes in warning.
A warning he doesn’t heed.
“We did,” she admits softly, “but it was in passing.”
“Well,” his voice takes on a charming tone while I envision slitting his throat, “I won’t forget again.” He glances at me and winks before adding, “Especially since you’re my brother’s woman.”
Brielle glances at me and the happiness in her eyes has me sucking in a sharp breath. She doesn’t argue when he calls her my woman. She simply smiles.
Something settles inside of my chest, and I pull her flush against my body. I take her mouth in a kiss which borders on brutal. But I’m on a mission to claim my woman.
Every brother in the room will know she’s off limits without me saying a word.
The whistles and catcalls filling the room tell the story. Brielle breaks the kiss and giggles before burying her face in my chest.
“What was that for?” Her words are muffled, but I can hear her clearly.
“You better believe I’m going to claim you every chance I get, Brielle,” I husk and her arms tighten around my waist.
“And claim you he did,” Ace teases. “Damn, that was hot.”
I look over at him, and I feel my woman turn her head to look at him as well. But she doesn’t try and put distance between us and the satisfaction it gives me is dangerous as hell.
Ace is looking around the room with a predatory glint in his eyes. He claps his hands before flashing a grin our way. “You guys have a good night. I think I see someone I need to spend some time with.”
As he walks away, Brielle pulls away enough to look up at me, but I’m already looking at her. I can’t help it. And I’m not going to apologize for it.
“Can I take you somewhere?”
Her eyes light up and the trust there floors me. “Of course,” she breathes out.
It feels like it takes forever to get us down to my bike. She won’t be wrapped around me for nearly long enough, but it’ll have to do. For now.
The moment she slides into place behind me, it’s as if my soul clicks into place. The boy I was. The man I’ve become. The father I strive to be. The man who can love her beyond this lifetime.
I pause before I start up my bike, my hand covering hers and squeezing. Can she feel it?
Her head, helmet and all, rests against my back as she takes a deep breath before letting it out slowly.
Acceptance and love wash over me.
My bike roars to life and then we’re surrounded by Vegas, almost too jarring to be real. But it is. And, in a strange way, it’s home.
Now I feel like I can lean into that feeling fully in a way I didn’t allow myself until Brielle walked back into my life. That doesn’t mean Sagebrush isn’t in my blood. That land is part of me, but I’ve been searching for this feeling of being settled.
And now it’s wrapping around me.
When I pull up to the studio, Brielle’s arms tense. Still, she lets me help her off, but her eyes never leave the building in front of us. It’s as if she already knows.
After I pull off her helmet, she still doesn’t look at me. I can’t help but grin as I watch her face.
Her voice is small, like she’s afraid to give the question more of a stage, “What is this place?”
“Your dream.” I clear my throat, “Your new dream.”
“Everton,” she gaspingly scolds as her head snaps in my direction. Her voice borders on shrill, “What are you even saying?”
I gently lead her closer to the doors and pull a set of keys out of my pocket which I hold them out in front of her. Not dangling in a taunting way, just ensuring she can see them.
“This is your building now. It’s in your name. I also have an account which you will be using to get this place fixed up and your studio off the ground,” my words are measured because I want her to hear each one.
“You can’t be serious right now.” Her hands are shaking as she reaches for the keys, but she doesn’t touch them.
When I press the keys into her hand, her fingers curl around the metal. My voice is a low rumble, “I’m very serious. This is yours. Not the club’s. Yours, Tiny Dancer. Open the door and check it out.”
Her eyes are big and round as she looks up at me. She swallows hard and tries to put on a brave face. But her hand slightly shakes as she goes to unlock the door.
My hand covers hers to steady it and we both feel the lock click open. I watch her face as she steps inside and I flip on the lights. She can see it. I don’t know how I know, but I know.
She can see the room filled with dancers. She can hear the laughter of girls finding confidence through movement. She can feel the joy, the purpose.
“Everton,” she breathes out.
When she looks at me, her eyes are glassy with unshed tears.
“I know it’s a lot and I know you’re going to try and fight me on this. But you need to understand something, Brielle. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. I can give you this dream, please let me.”
Can she hear the way I’m begging her?
“It’s too much,” she whispers.
“No,” my voice is steel, “it’s not too much. It’s not nearly enough. You don’t understand,” my voice is ragged, “I plan to slip a ring on your finger very soon and make you my wife.”
Her eyes widen and she breathes out, “What the fuck is going on right now?”
My hands cup her face, her skin soft under my calloused thumbs, “I’m telling you that I have loved you since I was a boy and I never stopped.
Not even for a day. We had to take different paths, but we’ve found each other again.
With all the possibilities of where our lives could have taken us, we’ve been brought back together.
I’m giving you the account which linked to our past, to Sagebrush.
I get a percentage of the business, and I’ve never touched the money. I never needed to.”
“It should go to Rian,” her voice is fierce and I fall in love a little more with my woman.
I smirk and assure her, “She’s good. My trust was signed over to her and has kept growing. I never needed that either. I’m good with what the club provides for me.”
“I think you’ve lost your mind” her voice is dazed.
But she doesn’t look away from me. She doesn’t try to hide.
“No, I’m just not willing to lose you a second time.” I lean down and press my forehead against hers. “I wouldn’t survive it.”
Her arms loop around my neck and she blows out a shaky breath, but I can feel her steadying. Processing. Taking in what I’ve laid at her feet. And she’s accepted it.
My heart fucking soars. I don’t need the words, even though I’ll soak them up when she’s ready. I know; I can feel it.
“I never stopped loving you either, Everton,” her words are a whispered vow. “Thank you for letting me go, even though it hurt, even though it was hard.”
“Never again,” the words are a baptism. They wash over us with certainty. With righteousness.
“Never again,” she echoes.
This time when I kiss her, there’s a tenderness, a longing which has been satisfied for the first time in far too long. It’s slow at first, but then it builds. The fire between us ignites and blazes with an undeniable beaty.
I pick her up and carry her back to the office without needing to look where I’m going. I’ve already memorized the steps because I plan to spend as much time with her as possible. No matter where she is.
I’m grateful as fuck that the desk was left in the office. I plop her down on it and pull back enough to take in the way her lips are swollen and pink from our kisses. Her brown eyes are half-lidded and filled with desire.
Just how I want her.
Everything blurs as clothes fall away and the room spins with the need spilling out of us with every breath. The moment I thrust into her and the walls of her pussy stretch around me, a gasp falls from her lips.
And everything comes into spectacular clarity.
“Brielle,” I grit out through my teeth, my jaw clenched because being inside of her is too good, “that’s it. You’re so close, I can already feel it. You need to get there, I’m barely hanging fucking on.”
Her fingers curl around the edge of the desk and I grip her hip to hold her in place, to hold her steady.
Every thrust inside of her is hard and every ragged breath is a plea for me to move faster. To chase our pleasure. To make her scream my name.
We cling to each other, moaning and pleading as love is branded on our skin.
When we come together, I roar out her name as she whimpers while her pussy squeezes my shaft.
My eyes roll back in my head and the grip I have on her body is the only thing keeping me upright as my knees go weak with how hard I come.
We’re panting, the sweat on our bodies cooling as I press my forehead against her shoulder. “This place is yours. Please make it into your dream, give our girl a place to dance and teach her how to fly.”
Her fingers run through my hair and she sighs, “I love you, Everton Connors. You’re too much sometimes, but I’ve loved you forever and I don’t see it changing any time soon.”
I kiss her shoulder and whisper, “I love you, Tiny Dancer.”
And, bonus, she’ll be off Elysium’s stage. I don’t say it out loud, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Brielle already knows about my ulterior motives.
I’m not even sorry about it.