Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
TUCKER
T-
In case you’re hungry when you get home, there is chicken salad in the fridge and crackers in the pantry.
You need protein! I did a ton of baking this afternoon, so take your pick from that, too.
I’m upstairs. Didn’t get called out! But so, so tired.
This morning’s nap has long dissipated, and I need to crash.
xo,
D
My beautiful girl is upstairs in our bed, and I get to crawl in with her for the first time in more than a week. Fuck protein, I need her.
But first, I need to shower this day away.
We finally caught the lion and her babies, and the authorities have relocated her to Glacier National Park, where they can safely hunt all they want.
But she was squirrely and difficult, and managed to kill one more of my cattle before we finally trapped her and the babies. It’s been a long fucking week.
After turning off the lights downstairs, I make my way up to the bedroom, and there she is, sleeping soundly in our bed.
My heart catches at the sight of her sweet face, her dark hair spread out behind her.
Her face is buried in my pillow, and she’s hugging it to her, as if it’s a substitute for me.
As if she’s trying to find the last remnants of my scent there.
As quietly as I can, I stumble my way through a shower and brush my teeth.
My body feels so heavy with exhaustion. I don’t know that I’ve ever been this tired, even during calving season, and that’s saying a lot.
But once I’m dry, I pad to the bedroom and slip in behind my girl.
I want to let out a loud groan because it feels so fucking good to have her against me.
She’s not wearing any clothes, something that I learned about her not long after she came to live here with me.
We’re both naked sleepers.
So fucking convenient.
I could curl up like this and sleep for a week. Just hold her to me, her warmth and sweetness a balm to my weary soul, but she lets out a little whimper and wiggles back into me, as if needing to get closer, and her perfect ass rubs against my growing cock.
Apparently, my dick didn’t get the exhausted memo. Or, it just doesn’t give a shit because I finally have Darby in my arms.
Suddenly, she wiggles again, and I loosen my hold so she can turn around, and my lips immediately find her forehead.
“You okay?” she whispers softly, sleepily.
“Yeah. It’s over.”
She sighs and presses a kiss to my chest. “Good. Can’t open my eyes.”
“You’re so tired, baby.” And I can’t stop peppering soft kisses to her head, my hands drifting up and down her soft back. We’re facing each other, hugging, our legs tangled, and it’s the first time in days that I feel calm. Like my nervous system can finally level out again.
I’ve been here, in this bed, every day, but it hasn’t felt like home until this moment, with her.
Her hand ghosts down my back to my ass, and she pulls me to her, trying to get closer, even though we’re already skin to skin.
“Need you,” she whispers in the stillness. It’s a direct hit to my heart.
I glide my hand down her hip, her thigh, and then hitch her leg up over my hip and reach around to drag my finger through her already wet slit. Even in sleep, she’s ready for me.
And I know that she’s not quite awake. She’s in that in-between, when you’re so exhausted that you can’t come fully awake, and honestly, I’m not far from that myself.
But I need her as much as she needs me.
“Gonna slip inside you, Duchess.”
“Mm-hmm.” Her breath catches when I guide my cock to her entrance and push just the tip in, letting her adjust to me. “Monster.”
I grin against her forehead, and then tip her chin up so I can kiss her sweet mouth. “Fucking missed you like crazy.”
Our kiss is lazy, but full of heat and promise. Passion. When we’re usually loud and full of energy, this is quiet and soft, and when I push the rest of the way inside her, and she clenches down on me, we gasp and tip our foreheads together.
“So good,” she whispers.
“Everything.” I cup her cheek and continue to nibble her lips, rub my nose over hers, and slowly rock in and out of her in the slowest, sleepiest pace. I don’t want to wake her up all the way, I want her to be able to go right back to sleep. “God, I love you.”
I pause, but she doesn’t.
Did I say that out loud? Or am I in a crazy dream state?
She’s not freaking out, hasn’t pulled away or even opened her eyes, so I assume I said it in my head. But even if I said it out loud, I’m not sorry. I do love her. I missed her so much this week, I ached with it. I’m not me without her.
“Mm, Tuck,” she whispers, and I can feel her pussy starting to ripple around me. “Mm.”
“Come, baby.” I kiss down to her neck, and she sucks in a quick breath. “Shh, it’s okay. I’ve got you. Come for me, Duchess.”
Her body tenses, her leg tightens around my hip, and she curls into me as the climax works through her. Her pussy is so tight around me, I can’t help but let go, seeing stars as I come inside her.
“Missed you,” she whispers. “So sleepy.”
“Sleep, sweet girl.” I kiss her lips once more, and she nuzzles against my chest. I’m still inside her, but neither of us has the energy to move, and it feels so fucking good, I might insist that I sleep inside her every fucking night.
Her breathing has evened out again, and I follow her into sleep.
Finally, things have slowed down and gone back to normal.
Three days later, Darby and I are just putting the finishing touches on dinner when the doorbell rings.
All my siblings have learned to ring the bell when they show up unannounced to ensure they never get a glimpse of something they’d rather not see.
“Not sure who that is,” I tell Darby.
“Go find out. I have to toss this salad so the dressing doesn’t all settle and get soggy.”
I grin and kiss her, then walk through the house and open the front door, stopping cold when I see who it is.
“You missed me. I can see it written all over your ugly face.”
Zack never just shows up. My famous friend doesn’t have the luxury of doing things on a whim. His life is too regimented.
“Holy shit,” I reply and step back so he can walk in.
“I love a good surprise,” he says. “And something smells fantastic. I’m fucking hungry.”
“Come on, there’s plenty.” We’re already walking back to the kitchen. When we get to the doorway, I start to say, “I’d like you to meet—”
When Darby interrupts with “Holy fucking shit, you’re Zack Prescott.”
Her blue eyes are wide and pinned to my best friend, who immediately slips into charming-movie-star mode.
“Guilty,” he says, his grin the exact same one that’s made him a gazillionaire.
“Tuck, why is my hall pass standing in your kitchen?” Darby asks, not taking her eyes off Zack, who just busts up laughing, and I scowl at him. “Am I hallucinating? What was in those brussels sprouts we just had?”
“So, I’m your hall pass?” Zack asks, and Darby goes bright red.
“Did I say that out loud?”
“I will fucking kill you,” I say calmly, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Which one?” Zack asks.
“Both of you.” Jesus. But Darby gets herself together and clears her throat.
“Sorry, wasn’t expecting this. I had—anyway. Are you hungry? We have plenty.”
“Starving,” Zack confirms and then turns to look at me. “Don’t worry, I won’t—”
“Not fucking funny,” I reply before he can finish his thought. “This is Darby, my Darby, and you’re welcome to stay for dinner and tell me what the fuck is going on.”
He blinks at me, looks back at my girl, who’s busy getting the last of dinner finished, and then back at me. “It’s like that.”
“Yeah. It’s like that. Duchess, this is Zack. He used to be my best friend, until I found out you’d like to fuck him.”
“Tucker!” She spins and then starts to laugh. “I do not. Well, not anymore.”
“Hey, that hurts the ego,” Zack says, pressing his hand to his chest as if she just shot an arrow through his heart.
“Sorry, if you’re my man’s best friend, you’re off limits.” Darby shrugs. “It is what it is. When you’re a man that I’ll never in a million years actually meet, you can be a hall pass.”
“Do you have others?” he asks her.
“Nope. You were it. Guess I’ll just have to be content with the monster dick over there.” She smirks, her eyes full of mirth as she tosses a cucumber in her mouth. “Come on, let’s eat.”
“I like her,” Zack murmurs as we follow her to the dining room. “She’s good for you.”
“You have no idea.”
I grilled steaks and made extra with the idea of having beef stir-fry tomorrow, but this works perfectly.
“So, how do you guys know each other?” Darby asks as she cuts into her steak.
“Known each other since kindergarten,” I inform her with a smile. “Zack grew up here.”
“Huh, I didn’t know that. Of course, I don’t really pay attention to media, I just watch movies. You’ve made some good ones.”
“Thanks.” Zack grins at her.
“You’ve made some bad ones too.”
The smile widens, and I want to kiss the hell out of her.
“Can’t deny it,” Zack replies. “You can’t win them all. So yeah, grew up here, went to LA right out of high school. The rest is history. But I come home pretty often—”
I snort.
“—and check in with this one.” He nods his chin at me. “My mom’s in assisted living in Bitterroot Valley, so I check on her too.”
“Is she okay?” Darby asks around a bite of salad.
“She has memory issues,” Zack replies. I’m honestly surprised because my friend doesn’t give personal information to strangers.
But, he also knows that if Darby’s mine, she’s safe.
“So she rarely knows who I am, but I still show up. Sometimes, she thinks I’m my dad, and well .
. . that’s a whole can of worms. Anyway, pretty Darby—”
I growl, but he ignores me, and Darby reaches over to put her hand on my thigh.
“—tell me about you. Are you from here?”
“Bitterroot Valley,” she confirms and her phone rings. “Sorry, I’m on call. But this isn’t Dr. Fisher.”
She frowns and answers the phone, and Zack and I share a look.
“Hey, Dani, what’s up?”
Her sister, I mouth to my friend.
Hot? He mouths back.
Married.
He shrugs, and I smirk.
“Yeah, that sounds fun. I’ll be there. Love you too. Bye.”
She hangs up and smiles.
“Sister lunch tomorrow. I haven’t seen them much since I’ve been home.”
“How many sisters do you have?” Zack asks her.
“Three. I’m the oldest sister, and we also have an older brother. Do you have siblings?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, enough small talk,” I cut in, and Zack chuckles. “What’s going on with you? You never just show up out of the blue.”
“Oh, if you guys need to talk, I can go—”
“No, stay,” Zack says, shaking his head. “I don’t think you have the tabloids on speed dial or anything.”
“Not anymore,” Darby says, making us both laugh. “I’m a vault, but honestly, I don’t mind letting you guys talk.”
“You’re sweet,” I murmur to her.
“I don’t mind having you here,” Zack says. “I like you, and I’m glad Tuck found someone. About time. Anyway, Mom had a stroke, and I had to come home to see her and make sure that she’s getting the care she needs since she can’t really advocate for herself.”
“What?” I feel my heart jolt. “You should have called me, and I would have gone over there.”
“I know, but I was able to charter a plane and get here in a matter of hours.”
“When did this happen?” Darby asks softly.
“Last night,” he replies, and drags his hand down his face, and I see the worry and exhaustion there. “I’ve been with her since I got to town, but the nurses suggested I leave for a while since she was sleeping. So, I came here.”
“Should have fucking called me,” I say again. “Seriously, man.”
Zack blows out a breath. “I’m her son. If something happens, it’s on me to help her.”
“Did you have to leave work to get here?” Darby asks, mirroring my thoughts.
“Yeah. The producer is pissed, but it is what it is.” Zack cringes. “I’ll be here for a few more days to make sure things settle down before I go back. And trust me, they’re reminding me that they’re losing millions every day that I’m gone.”
“That’s so kind,” Darby says with a saccharine smile. “How lovely of them to treat you that way. Assholes. You can stay here.”
Then her eyes go wide, and she looks over at me in horror.
“I’m so sorry. I should not be offering up your house to people.”
It’s our house, she just doesn’t know it yet.
“Zack knows he can always stay here, he just never takes me up on it.”
“Actually, I might this time,” he says. “Because frankly, this shook me, and I don’t like the idea of staying at the hotel.”
I eye my best friend and see the fatigue, the worry. His mom is worse than he’s letting on, and I’m irritated as fuck that he didn’t call me as soon as it happened. I should have been there with him last night.
“The cabin is empty and clean,” Darby says.
“And it’s yours, if you want it,” I tell my friend. “Are you going back to see her tonight?”
“No. I think I’ll crash and go back in the morning. They have my number and will call if anything happens.”
“I’ll go with you tomorrow,” I inform him, and he doesn’t fight me on it, which tells me he’s more shaken up that he wants to admit.
Darby’s phone rings again.
“Damn. This is Dr. Fisher.” She answers, and her shoulders slump. “Hi, Dr. Fisher. Yep, I can be there in less than thirty. Send me the location. Okay, see you soon.”
“What do you do, Darby?” Zack asks.
“I’m a large-animal vet. Well, an intern,” she says as she finishes the last of the food on her plate and stands. “It was nice to meet you. Sorry about the hall-pass comment.”
“I’m not,” Zack replies, and I narrow my eyes at him.
“And I’m very sorry about your mom. Let me know if you need anything.” She turns to me and kisses my lips, then my cheek, and whispers, “I’ll see you later.”
“Be safe, sweetheart.”
When she’s left the room, Zack’s smile is all-knowing.
“You owe me a thousand dollars.”
“Why?”
“Remember about ten years ago when I said that you’d get married before me, and you said, ‘I’ll bet you a thousand dollars you’re wrong.’”
Shaking my head, I let out a laugh. “Dude, that was ten years ago.”
“We shook on it.”
“I haven’t proposed to her.”
He shrugs. “You will. You’ve never looked at anyone like that, and she’s great. I don’t even know her, and I can see that she’s great. And beautiful. And she’s gone over you. Wife her up, man.”
“Maybe.” He lifts an eyebrow. “Probably. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“No, being my best friend is the best thing that ever happened to you.”
“You seriously have a huge ego. You know that, right?”
“I’m being paid twenty-five million dollars to play a superhero. Of course I have a big ego. It’s part of the job, you know that.”
I shake my head. “Come on. You’re doing the fucking dishes.”