32. Sarah
Chapter 32
Sarah
I wasn’t sure if it was divine intervention or some stroke of luck, but nothing had changed by way of my bakery being busier than ever after my mother sent those threatening text messages. And every night since then, Ranger and I had split time between our two places, exploring one another in the best way possible.
I’d never been a fitness babe, but I was finding that I might need to increase my cardio to keep up with the man’s salacious appetite. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other it seemed. Not that I was complaining. He was fucking hot as hell. If I could live with him between my legs, I would.
Lost in my debaucherous thoughts, I knocked over the tub of buttercream that I was using to fill the piping bags. “Shit!” Icing was everywhere and I was already behind on this order for a baby shower.
The door to my kitchen creaked open behind me as I grabbed the container from the floor. I looked over my shoulder to see Ranger assessing the damage all over the kitchen tiles.
He must have come straight from the ranch because his shoulder-length curls were peeking out from under his black cowboy hat. A shadow of stubble lined his lower cheeks and jaw. My center throbbed as I remembered what it felt like to have his stubble graze the inside of my thighs. How his lips felt pressed against my core as his tongue worked on me, drawing blissful pleasure with each stroke.
A clatter sounded from next to me and I jumped. I’d dropped the container of icing too far off the counter and it clanged against the metal, hitting the wooden spatula next to it.
“Need some help, sugar?”
Raising my frosting covered hand, I showed him the mess before I turned toward the sink.
A hand reached out and gently grabbed my arm, stopping me.
His voice was guttural as he said, “I think we can remedy that.” He took two steps closer to me. I backed up, feeling overwhelmed by his presence and insecure with the amount of baking ingredients that were splattered all over me. I definitely wasn’t looking my best and certainly wasn’t worthy of this man’s presence given my current state.
I watched as he tucked the long strands of my loose hair behind my ears and then he took my icing covered hand, raising it to his mouth.
My hand felt so small between both of his large ones as he gently massaged my open palm. A storm of desire turned his blue eyes molten like a flickering flame as he brought my index finger to his lips. I gasped in complete awe as he opened his mouth and placed my finger inside and sucked.
“Oh,” I moaned, letting my eyes close as I felt the swirl of his tongue along the length of my finger. His mouth was warm and his tongue gentle as he worked every bit of icing off. I pressed my thighs together in search of any friction that might grant me release from the growing ache for him to put that tongue to work somewhere else.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself leaning into him. Needing something sturdy to keep me from toppling over.
Satisfied with the first finger, he moved on to my middle one. This time, a moan escaped him as I wrapped my other arm around his waist and slid my clean hand into the back pocket of his jeans. I’d lost all sense of reality as I watched his cheeks hollow slightly as he suckled the tip of my finger.
Heat soared through me. Squeezing my thighs together, I tried to create more friction with the inseam of my jeans. Anything that would ease the ache between my legs as he continued down the line of my fingers. Paying special attention to every single one until he finally released my pinky from his mouth and my hand fell slack to my side as his hands roamed my back and he pressed me flush against him.
“That’s certainly one way to greet a lady.” My voice came out sultry. I hardly recognized it.
“I’ve been missing you,” he whispered against my neck, his breath tickling the rim of my ear.
“You just saw me this morning,” I teased.
His eyes were bright as a fresh spring sky after the haze of winter when he said, “No amount of time with you could ever be enough.” Then his lips were on mine, tender at first with featherlight kisses against each corner.
I needed him closer, needed his body pressed against mine without anything between us. We’d had our fun tasting and exploring, but I wanted more. I wanted everything he was willing to give me.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, he grabbed my ass and lifted me onto the counter. His tongue moved against the seam of my mouth, a thrill shot up my spine wishing his tongue was lower. Wanting to feel his hot mouth against my clit. I couldn’t get enough of him as I deepened the kiss, opening up for him, his fingers digging into my hips on the verge of pain that felt so fucking good, I dropped my hands and pressed his harder into my flesh.
Scooting to the edge of the counter, I ground my hips into the fly of his jeans. I was feral, wildly moving against him as he pressed against my back, his open palms sliding up and down.
We were practically panting when he broke the kiss, his forehead coming down to mine. “I have another surprise for you this weekend.”
I groaned. “Can’t we just spend all weekend in bed?”
His chuckle was throaty and warm. “My little vixen.” He nipped my bottom lip with his teeth. “I think you’ll like this one.”
“Promise?” I pouted, blinking my eyelashes at him.
“Promise.”
“Good, because—” The door to the kitchen swung open so hard, that the metal slapped against the wall with a resounding thud. I looked past Ranger’s shoulder to see my mother burst through the door.
A yip shot out of my mouth as I jolted off the counter and out of Ranger’s hold. I stared at her wide-eyed, not knowing how or why she was standing in my kitchen again.
Then I saw Stephanie peek around the corner. “I’m sorry, Sarah. I tried to stop her, but she darted right past me.”
My mother sneered. “No one can stop me from going where I want to go.”
“It’s okay, Steph,” I said, voice shaky.
I felt Ranger step up behind me, his large frame was a comfort at my back. My mother didn’t take her eyes off me. She ignored him completely and it pissed me off.
“When you didn’t respond to my messages I knew I needed to address this in person. Your complete disregard for our family’s legacy needs to come to an end.”
“He wasn’t right for me, mom.” My voice was small when what I really wanted to do was yell. To scream that he put his hands on me and made me feel trapped. That he was awful and I hated her for putting me in the position to know him.
But I didn’t say any of those things. Even with Ranger placing a reassuring hand on the small of my back, I couldn’t stand up to my mother.
“You don’t know what’s right for you. You may be thirty years old, but you still act like an indolent child. Never willing to do what’s necessary. The only person you think about is yourself. ”
“Indolent? I built a business from the ground up without your help. I work nearly seven days a week. How is that not enough for you?”
Just tell me I’m enough , the thought sank its teeth into my mind. The same thought I’d had most of my life. It was the only thing I wanted from my mother. The one thing I knew I would never get.
She scoffed like my accomplishments bore no weight in her eyes. “I don’t understand, after all your father and I gave you, the life we provided you, how you could ruin it all by sullying yourself with the trash in this town.” Her cold stare finally settled inches above my face where I knew she was looking at Ranger.
Something in me snapped. I’d taken so much of her emotional abuse over the years. Dealt with everything she threw my way and somehow buried it deep. Hoping that one day she would see the mistake she was making. The second she said Ranger was trash , the leash on my emotions broke.
“He’s not trash,” I seethed, my entire body feeling hot.
My mother took a step forward, her finger pointing at my face. “He’s an ex-convict who spent ten years in prison, Sarah. He was born on a failing ranch with no penny to his?—”
“Stop!” I screamed, the echo of my rage rang throughout the small space. She pursed her lips, eyes growing wide. I’d never yelled at my mother before. Never raised my voice. Not once.
“You can say whatever you want about me. Tell me how much of a disappointment I am to you. How I failed at being your perfect daughter. But I’m not going to let you talk about him that way.
“Ranger is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. He’s shown me love and kindness and support. Things I never received from you or dad. If you think I’m a failure, that’s fine. But I hope one day you can look in the mirror and know that the truth is that you failed me. You were so wrapped up in conjuring a plot to get me to do what you wanted that you never stopped to assess whether or not Jones was a good man.”
I stepped out of Ranger’s space and towards my mother, feeling a sudden strength I didn’t know I had. “Jones hurt me, mom. He grabbed onto me and wouldn’t let me go even when I begged him to. That’s the kind of man you sent your daughter to.”
“Maybe he didn’t mean to do that.”
A menacing laugh ripped from my throat. “Even now, you would defend him. Why? Because his family has money?” I tossed my hands in the air and let them drop with a slap against my thighs. “You know what? I don’t care anymore because I’ve finally realized that you and dad will never change and I’m not going to be a part of your world. I won’t sacrifice my integrity just to save face with people who don’t care about me. I won’t do it.
“So, get the fuck out of my kitchen, and don’t ever come back here again.” I pointed toward the door, my finger surprisingly steady.
Her mouth popped open like she wanted to say something, but I didn’t waver. I kept my arm outstretched, finger pointed toward the door until she finally spun on her stiletto heel and left.
When the door slid to a close, I exhaled loudly and my shoulders drooped. Strong arms wrapped around me from behind and I let myself melt into Ranger’s embrace.
“I’m sorry you had to do that,” he whispered against my hair.
“I’m not.” I turned in his arms so I could look into his eyes. “It’s been long overdue. She walked all over me for way too many years. I could have taken it. But not when she started talking about someone I—” Love? Did I love Ranger? Everything I felt for him certainly painted the picture of love. I hated that I couldn’t say it out loud. I hated that I questioned whether or not he felt the same for me. Not because he didn’t show me through his actions, but because I was terrified of letting someone be that close to me.
My gaze darted back and forth between his eyes, the word I wanted to say lodged in my throat. His low chuckle was a balm to my nerves. “You don’t have to say it, sugar. But I feel it too.”
My heart fluttered when his lips grazed mine in a sweet kiss. “We’re definitely crazy,” I murmured against his mouth.
His palms met the sides of my face. “If being crazy means that I get to be with you, then I don’t fucking care.”
I laughed as he pressed a kiss to each one of my cheeks. “Touché, cowboy. Touché.” I reached up and covered his hands with mine. “I think I’m actually looking forward to your surprise this weekend after all that.”
“Me too.”