27. Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-seven
Phoebe
“ Do you want to do something fun? ”
I was always up for adventure. Growing up on a property so vast, I hadn’t even seen all of it. There was never a shortage of places to explore and fun to be had. The trouble these days was finding time.
I had my Sundays, though, and now that Deacon was a real part of my life, I intended to make full use of them. So I asked the question. Deacon had given a resounding “Yes,” and that was how we ended up on a side-by-side, bumping over the hills and rocks at the ranch.
Deacon was gripping the bar above his head, his eyes wide as he took in the scenery. This part of the ranch was all rocky hills, the occasional pronghorn bounding out of nowhere, and no structures in sight.
Cattle were visible in the far distance, and in a month or two, Caleb and the other ranch hands would probably move them over this way. There was a lot to take in—miles and miles of pristine land—and I was eager to show Deacon all of it.
“Next time, we’ll ride horses.”
He glanced my way. “Never done it.”
“Don’t worry. We have a lot of horses who go on trail rides with tourists. They’re so used to first-timers, they barely have to be guided.”
“I’m guessing you have your own horse.”
“I do, but that’s not unusual. At least half the kids we went to school with had horses at home.”
“Probably. Chris didn’t, but his uncle has stables, so he knows how to ride. What’s your horse’s name?”
“Princess.” His grunt made me laugh. “I know, not very creative, but I named her when I was seven. She’s an old girl now. I don’t ride her anymore. We can visit her before we leave, though. She’s supersweet.”
“Can’t imagine any animal of yours not being sweet.” He turned his head to peer at the land. “Glad you had this life. Sweet animals, gorgeous land, all this freedom. Glad it was you who got it.”
Reaching across the vehicle, I squeezed his thigh. “I’m pleased I get to share it with you.”
When we made it to the bank of the river running through the ranch, I parked the vehicle and hopped out, circling around the back to grab my bag from the open bed. Of course, as soon as I did, Deacon took it from me and slung it over his shoulder, taking my hand in his.
He stared out at the river. “Is the fun freezing our asses off?”
I snorted a laugh. Spring was in full force, but it was still way too cool to take a dip in the river unless…
“There’s a thermal seep at the bank.” I pointed toward the rings of rocks in the water. “A long time ago, my grandad put those rocks there to trap the hot water, and now we have natural mineral hot pools.”
He took a deep breath and exhaled. “I thought that was the cattle I was smelling. It's sulfur, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. That’s the downside, but you get used to it.” I tugged on his hand. “If you hate it, we don’t have to stay.”
He turned to me, scanning my leggings and baggy sweatshirt. Not my usual style, but easier to get in and out of than jeans and a sweater. “Are you going to be wearing a bathing suit?” I nodded, and he grinned. “Then I’m not going to hate it.”
At the water’s edge, he dropped our bag. I didn’t bother hiding that I was looking at him as he undressed, and neither did he. We stood a foot apart, stripping down to our bathing suits—his, a pair of black trunks; mine, a magenta, high-waisted, vintage-style two-piece. Our clothes at our feet, we looked at each other, long and slow. Goose bumps pricked my skin, mostly from the cool breeze but a little from having his eyes on me.
Deacon in his work boots, worn jeans, and snug T-shirts made me weak on a regular basis, but in swim trunks with all his ink on display? Oh, that was something else. I reminded myself he wanted to go slow, and we’d only been back together for a week, so my hands stayed at my sides, but they were twitching to touch him.
Especially with all the heat burning in his gaze. He was making no bones about appreciating what my full body looked like in very little clothing. When his gaze stopped at the apex of my thighs, where my bathing suit disappeared between them, I couldn’t resist rubbing my legs together. His eyes jerked to mine, then he grabbed my hand and tugged, striding into the river.
He had to slow down and release his hold so we could climb over the rocks, but once we were in the little natural pool, he grabbed me again and sank down, me practically on top of him.
The groan he released as the water lapped over his shoulders sent waves of satisfaction down my spine. His eyes locked onto mine, something like wonder softening them.
“This is natural?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Only the rock formations are man-made.”
“Christ.” His head fell back as he blinked up at the clear blue sky. “This land…do you get used to it? Or are you always amazed?”
I thought about his question and how I could respond in a way that didn’t make me sound like a spoiled, rotten brat. In a lot of ways, this was my backyard. It just happened to be thousands and thousands of acres. But I understood how vastly different my experience growing up here was from almost everyone else’s—especially Deacon’s.
“As a kid, I don’t think I ever thought twice.” I skimmed my hand along the surface of the water. “It was when I moved away and came back I was really able to appreciate all the beauty around me. There’s nowhere else on earth like this.”
“Yeah.” He rolled his shoulders and let out a long, low sigh. “Remind me to tell your grandad he’s a genius.”
I shifted in the water, my breasts skimming his chest. “Relaxing, right? The minerals are supposed to have healing properties too.”
He lifted his head to stare me down, then he captured me around the waist, plastering me against him. I opened my legs so I could straddle him, settling my ass on his thighs.
He gripped my hips beneath the water, the tips of his fingers grazing my bare midriff. His erection prodded my inner thigh, hard and thick. He had to have been that way before he pulled me onto him. Maybe since we’d taken off our clothes. Since I’d been turned on all this time too, it was only fair.
“I’m feeling healed already,” he drawled.
“Funny, I am too.” I slid my hands along his arms, my breath catching as his taut muscles rippled beneath my touch.
“I’m about to ask something out of jealousy,” he said.
“Okay.” My hands stilled. “You can ask me anything.”
“Have you brought other guys here?”
“No, I haven’t. Well…my brothers, but they don’t count.” I leaned down, my lips over his. “This spot is a little bit of a family secret. I’m not saying other people haven’t stumbled upon it, but we don’t bring anyone here. That’s how it stays special.”
His fingers dug into my flesh. “You brought me here.”
“That’s right. I trust you.” My lips curved. “Plus, I made sure to distract you on the way so you won’t be able to find your way back. You’re going to have to stick with me if you want these hot springs.”
He chuckled. “That’s no trouble. You can throw a bag over my head on the way back. I wouldn't wanna be here with anyone but you.”
“I told you I trust you.” I nipped his bottom lip. “But I do like you being a little jealous. I have to tell you, I’m jealous too.”
His head jerked back. “Of what, sugar? There’s no one else. Never has been.”
“I know, but look at you, Deacon. You walk around looking like a hot, sexy bad boy. You might not notice it, but women drool over you just like I do.”
His lips tipped into a grin as his eyelids lowered to half-mast. “You’re drooling over me?” He sounded more than a little pleased.
“I am, and I’m not ashamed of it.”
He pressed me down on his lap. “I might not be drooling, but you have me at least half-hard most of the time. Right now, with all your soft, pretty skin on display, I’m a rock. You feel that?”
I rocked against him. “I couldn’t miss it, honey.”
He groaned, his jaw rippling as he clenched it. “When you call me that…” He shot forward, burying his face in my neck, his breath warm and heavy. “Jesus, Phoebe, the way you make me feel…it’s like I’m going to burst out of my fucking skin sometimes.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“I don’t know.” He dragged his tongue along my collarbone. “It’s hard to go slow with you when I’m losing my mind.”
“I’m all in for your pace, Deke.” I slipped my fingers into the sides of his damp hair, pulling his head back. “But if you want more, I’m all in for that too.”
He blinked hard. “I want…” His hands slipped from my hips to cradle my ass, then farther, sliding into the valley between my cheeks. “I want to make you come again. This time, with my hand.”
“Yes,” I whispered. “Touch me.”
He slid his finger along the edge of my bathing suit, his eyes studying mine, then slipped beneath the fabric to touch my bare, swollen skin. Our breath caught in unison. When I didn’t stop him, he continued trailing his fingertip along my seam as the heated water slapped against us.
He wasn’t hitting any of my most sensitive spots, but I was already panting, and my stomach ached from how tight it was knotted. It wouldn’t take much. Not much at all. Then again, we’d been kissing for weeks. I was primed for him.
I didn’t rush him, though. The sweetness of his exploration was part of the pleasure, and the look of pure awe on his face would stick with me long after this moment was over. I couldn’t remember a time I’d felt this desired.
He dipped his face to my throat, kissing along my collarbone and chest. I let my head fall back, giving him all the access he wanted. His kisses started sweet and light, then he became more firm, adding teeth and tongue when I moaned for him and told him it felt so good.
His other hand glided over my breast, hesitating at my bikini top. I arched into his touch, giving him permission to touch me everywhere. That was all he needed. In the next breath, he tugged my top below my breasts.
“ Jesus ,” he gritted out. “Holy fuck.”
He dropped his head to my exposed breast, rolling his cheek along the top. His stubble rubbed my soft skin, causing a delicious friction that made me moan. Then his mouth covered my beaded nipple, so warm and wet I felt like I was melting.
I grabbed his shoulders so I didn’t float away and rocked my hips languidly with his roving hand. He slid his arm around to my front and into my bathing suit bottoms. Finally, finally , his fingertip pressed on my pulsing clit.
“Yes,” I cried. “Right there, Deacon. Keep going.”
His mouth on my nipple, finger on my clit…I flew high, riding a powerful wave of bliss. A spool within me wrapped tight, tight, tight, until there was no more, and with a snap, it unraveled.
Deacon curled his fingers around the base of my neck as I pressed myself onto his other hand, taking all he had to give me. Black, then bright white, flashed behind my eyelids as I spiraled into a soul-shaking climax.
All the while, I felt him, his thighs quaking beneath me, arms trembling around me, his panting breath hot on my skin. The way my coming affected him only spurred me on.
My eyes flashed open to find his wild and slightly feral. “Deacon,” I whispered.
He looked away, his jaw sharp and tight. “I gotta get out.”
“Are you—are you okay?”
He shook his head. “If you don’t get off me, I’m going to lose it, baby. I need—”
Understanding dawned. I put my hand on his abdomen. “Sit on the rock. You can lose it in my mouth.”
His head whipped around, and I took back my thought of him being slightly feral. There was no “slightly” about it. My sweet Deacon had been overtaken by a powerful need my mouth was watering to slake.
“Do it,” I urged softly.
He shoved himself out of the water to sit on the flat rock right behind him. I pushed his knees apart, fitting myself between them, and hooked my fingers in the waistband of his trunks.
I looked up at him. “Can I pull these down?”
“You can do anything you want,” he rasped.
He lifted himself up a little to help me yank them down enough to free his thick, angry erection. I’d take my time admiring it later. Deacon was on the cusp of desperation, and I refused to make him wait a second longer.
One hand braced on his thigh, I wrapped the other around his base and lowered my mouth over his smooth tip. The groan he unleashed sounded like it’d come from the center of the earth. Primal and deep, I felt it in the pit of my belly.
Not wasting a single moment, I took him all the way to the root, wrapping my tongue around his hot skin. He jerked in my mouth, hitting the back of my throat.
“Sorry, fuck…I’m sorry,” he scrambled. “I didn’t mean to—”
I sucked him deeper and squeezed his thigh, assuring him he’d done nothing wrong and I was all in. I wanted him to stop thinking and lose it for me the same way I had minutes ago with him.
His fingers threaded through my hair, pulling it back from my face. I flicked my eyes up to find him watching me, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, a flush crawling up his cheeks. He looked both enamored and out of control. It was such a turn-on, I would have slipped my fingers between my legs if I hadn’t been devoted to giving him the best first taste of everything he’d been missing out on.
“Phoebe…I’m so close, baby.” He cupped my jaw as I slid down his length. “I don’t want it to end, but I’m gonna lose my mind if I don’t—”
I sucked him deep, cutting off his words—and hopefully his thoughts. I wanted him to only think about how damn good I was making him feel. My toes curled from the pleasure I was giving him .
His stomach contracted, then his hips rose, pushing his slick cock deeper into my mouth. I hummed around him and cupped his tight sac in my palm. The noises he made were almost inhuman, the release of pain and desire from somewhere buried deep within him.
He gripped my hair into his fist as my nose hit his abdomen and he surged upward, going as deep as he possibly could and staying there. I lapped at his pulsing cock until he let out a crackling roar. Hot liquid hit the back of my throat, and my mouth filled with him until I swallowed every drop.
Slowly, his grip on my hair loosened, and I eased up his length. He didn’t pull out, and I was in no hurry to lose him. I suckled him gently, stroking his stomach and thighs as he began to soften. Emotion struck me out of nowhere. We’d just shared something brand new, solely mine and his, and we’d done it in one of my favorite places in the world. He’d trusted me to give him this, and I loved that I’d been the one to take care of him this way.
Finally, I made it to the top, and he fell free from my lips. I placed a soft kiss on his tip, and a shudder ran through his body.
“Phoebe.” He took my hands in his, pulling me upright. On my knees in the water, he curled forward, putting us face to face. He touched his lips to mine and sighed into my mouth. “There aren't words.”
“There don’t need to be, honey. I felt it too.”
He went in to kiss me again, but the sound of a rumbling motor had us both whipping our heads to the side. Still in the distance but getting closer by the second was another side-by-side, and if I wasn’t mistaken, my brother was the driver.
I yanked on his hand. “Get down in the water with me.”
Without a beat of hesitation, he slid back in and righted his trunks. “You know who’s coming?”
“Pretty sure that’s Caleb. Let’s thank our lucky stars he wasn’t a few minutes earlier.”
Deacon shoved his hair off his forehead, looking at me with wide eyes. “Don’t even say it. I’m having enough trouble figuring out how to act normal. I can’t have that in my mind.”
I leaned into him, grinning wide. “You’re really cute when you’re panicking.”
He wrapped his arm around my waist. “Glad you’re amused.”
I snickered. “I really am.” I couldn’t even say why I found the situation funny, just that once I’d started laughing, I was done for. Caleb parking and hopping out of his vehicle made me laugh harder.
He stopped at the bank of the river, his hands on his hips. “What’s she laughing at?”
Deacon shrugged. “Can’t say I know. She’s got the giggles.”
I snorted, making me laugh even harder. I tried to greet my brother, but I couldn’t collect myself enough to get any coherent words out. Beside me, Deacon chuckled, but he didn’t give in to the complete mayhem that’d overtaken me.
Caleb shook his head. “I expect this lunacy out of Hannah.” He watched me for a beat then grinned softly. “I like seeing it out of you, Phe.”
“I do too,” Deacon agreed, pressing a kiss to my temple.
Caleb tipped the bill of his hat. “My guys told me you’d taken one of the side-by-sides out here. Thought I’d check in, say hey since I was nearby. Looks like everything’s good. I’ll leave you to your soak.”
I waved. “Bye, Caleb. See you soon.”
“See ya.” He nodded toward Deacon. “Keep her laughing like that; we’ll all be happy to have you around.”
Then he strode off to his vehicle and rumbled away, leaving us alone again.
I grinned at Deacon. “If only he knew I was laughing because he almost caught me blo—”
Deacon smashed his lips to mine, cutting me off. “You’re killing me, sugar. You gotta stop.”
“Okay.” I pecked the corner of his mouth. “I don’t want to kill you. I like you too much.”
He rubbed my bottom lip with his thumb. “Like you too. More than words.”
I closed my eyes, happy and calm in his arms. “Remember? Words aren’t necessary.”
He wrapped me in his arms, illustrating my point, and held me close and tight, letting me feel exactly how much he liked me…
And it was a whole lot.