Chapter 26 Cove
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
cove
“You are part of my existence, part of myself. You have been in every line I have ever read.”
Charles Dickens
I knew growing up without the love of a father would become an obstacle I’d someday have to face. But I never expected the loss I once considered a tragedy to become one I’m grateful for.
My father abandoning me led me to this moment right here.
It’s been lonely. And messy. And unbearably hurtful at times. But I’d like to believe with full confidence that I’m coming out on top.
As Stetson leads me by the hand to his en suite bathroom, I feel nothing but peace. Safety. Comfort. Despite knowing the man I’m pretending to date and the father I undoubtedly need something from are right down the hall.
At the end of the day…this is what matters to me. I know Stetson has a plan, and I trust that he’ll make sure my mother is taken care of. Enough that I’m willing to sacrifice this entire plan going to shit, all so I can hear the words acutely sown into Stetson’s heart.
Words and feelings he’s kept safe for me.
I need to hear it. Not because I’m desperate for the confirmation that he feels the same way I do—I feel that every day—but because when a man as gracious and steadfast as Stetson Cole tells you he’s ready to reveal the most vulnerable parts of his soul to you, you wear that honor with pride.
We don’t speak, the only sounds those of his floor fan and the creaking of the hardwood beneath our feet. The bathroom door closes behind us, and I pause, standing still with my back against the door.
“Hang tight,” he whispers before kissing my cheek and turning toward the massive clawfoot tub in the center of the bathroom. Large vanities sit on each side wall, while the tub directly faces a floor-length window, with views of the backside of the ranch.
Does he bathe in this? Surely everyone on the farm could see hi—
“It’s privacy glass. Reflective. We can see out, but no one can see in,” Stetson reassures me, reading my quick thought.
I must have been in a daze from the view because I didn’t notice the running of the bath water, steam filling the large space already.
A round wooden table sits in the corner, tucked against the window with four candlesticks of various heights.
Stetson brings a match to them, and the bathroom lights up with an intimate glow.
A soft smile finds my lips, watching him glide easily around the bathroom, searching cabinets for bath bombs, petals, and even a wooden tray he lays across the tub from rim to rim. “Bergamot?” I ask, already feeling my body relax from one of my favorite smells.
Stetson tosses the pale green bath bomb into the tub, the pressure of the jets swirling it throughout until a haze of color tints the water. Matching colored petals float at the top, mixed with white and soft yellows. “Reminds me of you, in a way. Tranquil. Coastal. Calming.”
After assuring everything is perfect, he turns toward me, his steps closing in faster than my heavily racing heart. “Add that to the list of things I remind you of.”
My tone teases, but I could never forget the first time he compared my eyes to cognac perfectly. The way his deep voice spoke praise across my flushed skin, even then, as a stranger. “How soon before you realize everything you’ve become to me, my love?”
“I’m catching on,” I draw out, eyes suddenly in wonder at him. Stetson’s tentative nature is not something I expected from the billionaire cowboy. Humility is his strongest suit.
“Good,” he praises. “Then listen well.” His hands meet the buttons of my sleep set, undoing them one by one while his eyes stay locked with mine.
There’s a soft gleam from the night sky shining through the window, every detail of his neatly trimmed scruff and the smile lines beside his baby blues highlighted with purpose.
The lines that tell a story of a life he’s lived. I want nothing more than to add to those years of laughter and joy. To be the woman beside him as he adds to mine.
The moment my top falls to the ground, his words reach my ears with exaltation.
“I’ve worked diligently to do right. To slip my boots on, replace my hat, and get after it every day.
You can’t have everything I do without the will to work.
But there was this day…a few months ago…
where everything I thought I knew was put into question. ”
Stetson follows the tracing of his fingers across my pebbled skin with his eyes while his words are the action tracing the confines of my heart—tampering their way in without an exit plan in mind.
My lids lower as he continues, “I was offered a challenge. But little did she know, I considered it a reward. Neon flashing lights telling me this woman is worth the risk. She’s what you’ve been waiting for.
I’ve never feared stacked odds. Especially when I know something is right. ”
He lowers to his knees, sweatpants and bathmat supporting him against the tile, and reaches for the hem of my shorts.
A slow pull reveals my now naked body, every feeling and sound heightened in this moment.
Stetson is no stranger to my nakedness, yet something about his not touching me sexually just yet, mixed with the importance of his words, brings tears to my eyes.
I’m finally experiencing love stripped to the bare bones. The ability to surrender control and power, all for the simple act of reminding the person you love why you love them. Showing them with action. And I can’t wait to be able to do that for Stetson.
His forehead meets the center of my belly as he exhales. “I can’t promise you I’ll be perfect, but I’ll damn near try.”
“I don’t need perfect,” I tell him, running my hands through his hair softly. “This. This is what we both need. Honesty. Pursuing each other equally.”
“I’ll love you well, Cove. I’ve got more than enough of it to give.
” The gentleness behind his words. The appreciation of love he knows we can have if we just accept it.
I feel that. “There was a point where I felt like my chance at a real relationship had passed. Why would any woman ever want to be with an old cowboy like me? No one wants this life. It’s not extravagant or fast-paced.
It’s simple—I’m simple. But if love is what matters to you, that’s something I’m confident I have in spades. Especially for you.”
My hands find his cheeks as I pull him to stand.
“You listen here, Stetson Cole. You are enough. I want you. Only ever you. Wanting you was never the issue, it’s keeping you for myself that was.
But I’m tired of wanting you only to be told I can’t.
I just want to love you now. Can we do that, please?
” There’s a mixture of anguish, hope, and desire in my words.
I’m desperate for a life I never expected to find myself in.
Desperate for him.
“Yeah, baby. We can have it. We can have it all.” Stetson’s lips crash with mine, and the passion between us burns to an inferno of grit and eagerness.
Without warning, I’m cradled in his arms as he lowers me into the steaming bathwater.
A pillow at my neck assists me for support, and Stetson slides the wooden tray closer to the end of the tub, giving himself enough room to adjust me comfortably.
“I want you to be able to relax, okay? Don’t think about anything but me taking care of you. ”
I hum, the smell of bergamot with a hint of eucalyptus permeating the fogged air.
“Thank you,” I whisper as my eyes fall closed.
A loofah touches my chest softly before the squeezing of hot water drips onto my skin and rolls down my stomach.
It feels heavenly. The silence of the night makes this time together feel much more sacred.
Gone are my worries about Austin searching for me or Nathaniel finding me.
I feel relaxed for the first time in years, but like always, when I’m anywhere near Stetson, I’m also turned on. My core buzzes with the need to be filled. Deeply satisfied.
I wait for his cue that he wants this to move further.
“Ever heard of the five love languages, Cove?”
Old man generation. I hold back my giggle, too curious about where this could go. “Of course,” I mumble, appreciating the way he pays equal attention to every part of me. Stetson washes my arms, hips, the crevice of my neck, and even down to the tips of my fingers.
I’m ten seconds away from shoving that loofah between my thighs.
If it’s even possible, his voice lowers to a throatier timbre.
So deep my eyes can’t stay closed long enough to miss what his face looks like, too.
His lashes flutter in a way that shows he has nothing but time for what’s next.
The fullness of his lips draws into his mouth like, despite his desire to go slow, he struggles to hold himself back.
Well, that makes two of us.
“Although I lack relationship experience, I’ve always known my love language. Can you guess which it is?”
“Physical touch?” I guess on the angstiest whimper.
Stetson shakes his head, and I know the smirk that follows represents something I’ll enjoy very much. “Acts of service.”
Oh, sweet baby Jesus. Please.
The loofah in his hand caresses my core as his words penetrate.
“Should we find out if that is yours as well? Tell me, how can I serve you, my love? Should I eat your pussy or feed you my cock?” Abandoning the loofah altogether, one thick finger glides up my center.
Just one. He doesn’t enter me, only teases my swollen slit as he waits for me to answer.
As much as I love when Stetson goes down on me, the thought of sucking him dry makes me wild. I’m losing bits and pieces of my resilience, and I can’t find it in me to care. All I feel is relief. I’m relieved to trust him enough to call the shots. “I think I’ll take your cock, cowboy.”