CHAPTER 31
Walker
The repeated bleeping startles me awake before I hear Tally mumble “Make it stop.”
I chuckle and press a kiss to her forehead. “I have no idea where our phones are.”
She whines dramatically, but I don’t blame her.
I can’t imagine it’s past eight a.m., and we didn’t fall asleep until after five.
Pretty sure she closed her eyes and stopped talking mid-sentence.
But I’d take the lack of sleep every day of the week if it meant having another one of those nights.
And it wasn’t just the sex. Though, fuck, thinking about it has me hard again.
I’ve never experienced anything like it.
Our sexual chemistry is insane. Her body, her mouth, her … I’m shattered.
The way she opened up to me is what did me in. And now, until Tally leaves, she owns me. Probably will after that, too.
The phone starts ringing again, and she groans. “Okay, okay,” I mumble, rolling her off me as I go in search of the phones.
The living room is a disaster; wet clothes litter the floor, and the sheet covering the couch is half on. Her purse is in the corner, dropped just by the door. The phone screams again, and I finally locate it in Tally’s clutch.
Mom.
I head back into the bedroom, holding out the phone to her. “It’s your mother.”
She throws her head into the pillow and groans.
“I could answer for you,” I tease.
She shoots up and glares at me. “Don’t you dare.” Then she answers, “Hi, Mom.”
I settle on the bed beside her and press a kiss to her shoulder.
Then her neck. She sucks in a breath, and the sheet that was covering her falls, revealing those perfect tits I’m obsessed with.
I lean down and suck one into my mouth, and she pulls the phone away to hide the hiss that slips out.
Then her mother’s voice booms through the speaker. “Tally, where are you?”
“I’m in bed.”
“Not at the house, you aren’t. I was just there looking for Walker.”
Tally looks down at me, all wide-eyed and panicked.
I, on the other hand, feel perfectly calm.
Last night changed everything for me. Before my allegiance was to Peter and Gail, but now I know Tally means more than all of that.
She may be leaving, but that doesn’t make these feelings any less real.
Gail and I will have to have a conversation. Soon.
“I’m going to shower and then I’ll help you look for him.”
My brows dance as I push her back onto the bed and pull the sheets off her completely, revealing my other obsession. “I’m right here,” I mouth, before putting my lips between her legs.
“Did you go home with someone last night?” her mom asks suspiciously.
“No, Mom,” Tally huffs in annoyance. “I stayed at Penny’s after we went out.”
“I already talked to Penny. She said you left before her and she hasn’t seen you.”
“Traitor,” Tally mouths, and I chuckle.
Tally leans up and smacks a hand over my lips, her eyes like saucers.
“Oh my God, Tally, are you still in bed with the stranger?”
“Not a stranger,” she grinds out.
“Eli, then?” Her mom sounds almost excited, and my entire body goes rigid.
Tally shakes her head and runs her fingers against my lips, like she’s smoothing my frown. “Mom.”
“Well, who is it?”
I realize in that moment that I’m not only hearing her mother through the phone. I shift off Tally, and she grabs the sheets, covering herself. “Mom, where are you?”
“Walking out by the fields, looking for Walker. I can’t find him anywhere. Figured I’d check the cottage he’s been fixing up for his sister.”
“He’s what?” Tally grits out, glaring at me.
Oh shit.
“I’ll talk to you later,” her mother says before the pounding on the front door of the cottage starts.
“Go,” Tally says, pushing me out of bed.
“Go where?” I whisper.
Tally wraps the sheet around her and steers me toward the door. “Go talk to my mother. She can’t know I’m here.”
“Walker! Are you here?”
Annoyed, I stomp to the door and almost swing it open before realizing I’m still naked. But I’m too late because Gail’s already seen the knob turning and pushes it open. I snag the first thing I see, a pillow on the couch, and cover myself.
“Oh my God, are you—”
I hold up a hand. “Just getting dressed. I slept out here.”
“Why?”
Why did I sleep here? Well, because I was fucking your daughter senseless until five in the morning. “Tally brought someone home.”
Gail face drains of color. “Oh, Walker, I’m so sorry. I’ll talk to her. That girl.”
She tsks and I hold up a hand once again, not wanting to continue this conversation. Not just because I’m naked. But because if she says anything negative about Tally, I might lose it.
I’d never raise my voice to a woman, but if anyone makes Tally feel bad after everything I learned last night, we’re going to have a problem.
“It’s fine. She’s a grown woman. She can do what she wants.”
“I’d rather she didn’t bring strange men into my house.”
“It was a woman.”
Gail’s eyes bulge.
Fucking A. “I mean, I think it was just a friend. They were loud and giggling. It was probably Rosie.”
She sighs. “Oh, those girls can make a lot of noise.”
I nod, my jaw hard. “Well, if you don’t mind.”
I’m not sure how I keep finding myself naked in front of the Darling women, but it needs to stop. Well, except for one.
“Right,” Gail replies. “When can we go over everything for the festival?”
Fuck, it’s going to be a long day.
I promise Gail I’ll come find her when I’m showered and wait for her to leave. Then I grab my jeans, which are mostly dry, pull them on, and head back to the bedroom.
When I enter, Tally is in bed, texting furiously. When she sees me, she sets down the phone to give me her full attention.
We have a lot to do, and obviously Gail’s interruption was not how I wanted to start the day, but I refuse to let panic ruin everything about last night.
So before Tally can open her mouth and tell me how she wishes we didn’t almost get caught, how we need to be more careful, or God forbid, how this can’t happen again, I stalk toward her, lift her chin, and press my mouth to hers.
Every ounce of stress, every insecurity, every worry, leaves my body with that simple connection.
She hums against my lips in response, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me down on top of her, deepening the kiss.
Time seems to suspend when her mouth is on mine.
When she’s in my arms, life isn’t so complicated.
Spend my days on the farm; spend my nights with this woman. Smile more.
Hell, I can’t think of a better dream if I tried.
She pushes me down and straddles me, but I hold her head, keeping our lips together. Tally sighs against me, and I feel the tilt of her mouth as she smiles.
“Now that’s how I wanted to wake up,” she says, her eyes still closed.
I kiss her once more before releasing my grip on her.
She blinks her eyes open. “So.”
I press a finger to her mouth. “Don’t ruin it.”
A surprised gasp-like laugh leaves her mouth. “By speaking?”
I stare her down.
“Fine.” She twists her lips. “Well, if I can’t speak, what do you want me to do?”
I grin. I can’t help it. This girl makes me happy. And I haven’t had something that was just mine make me happy in a very long time.
“Did you know you have dimples?” She pokes my cheek like she’s inspecting it.
My laugh takes me by surprise, and her eyes dance in response.
“You should take a bath.”
Her brows rise.
“I’ll go up to the house and grab you clothes since you can’t go walking around the farm in your dress from last night.”
She grins wickedly. “I don’t do the walk of shame, Walker. I strut like a peacock.” She shimmies her shoulders and throws herself back, exposing that beautiful body to me again.
I pinch her nipple, and she squeals. “You can strut like a peacock in dry clothes. I don’t want you getting sick. We’ve got a festival to host, remember?”
Her mouth falls open. “Oh my God, the festival! Shit, you’ve got to go.”
“That’s what I said.” I laugh as I pull her down to kiss me once more. “Go take a bath. I’m sure you’re sore from last night.”
She hums as she rolls her hips against me. “Awfully cocky there, Cowboy.”
I smirk. We both know I stretched her in ways she’s never been stretched before. Worked her over for hours. There’s no way she’s not sore. I’m going to love watching her walk around today, knowing why she’s wincing.
“Don’t think we’re not going to talk about what my mom said,” she says as she shifts off me. “About this place being for your sister.”
“I know.” My chest strains because the lies are starting to bleed together and I’m not sure what’s the truth anymore. “I promise we’ll talk later.”
She bites on her lip and nods. I don’t like leaving her this way. Don’t like that we can’t just live in the bubble we created last night for a bit longer. Before I make it past the door, she calls after me. “Hey, Walker?”
I grip the door and turn back to face her. “Yeah, Tal?”
She smiles at me. It’s big and gorgeous, just like her personality. “I had a really nice time last night.”
My heart takes off at a gallop. “Me, too, Wildflower.” I knock my fist against the wall. “Me, too.”