Chapter 8 #2
“I gotta have you, Delilah,” he said, voice cracking while he tore at my clothes.
“I can’t fucking take it anymore.” One of his hands slid down my stomach, popping the button to my jeans with jerky movements.
“Can’t take watching you every day, knowing I can’t have you again.
That you said I only get to have you once. I can’t. I need more.”
I yanked my jeans down with frantic, shaking hands. “Take it. Take me.”
He fumbled with his belt and zipper. Movements hurried.
Breathing ragged. I whimpered at the graze of his fingers when he quickly pulled my panties to the side.
He grabbed my hip, his touch rough and urgent.
Possessive. I was so wound up, I think I could’ve come just thinking about that touch and the pure want that came with it.
“Yes,” I cried out when he filled me with a swift thrust. Finally, after nearly two weeks of feeling empty, I was whole again. I braced against the island while he pounded into me, lost in the way it felt to have him like this again.
“God, you’re so perfect,” he groaned with relief, burying his face in my neck.
I fisted his curls at the root, holding him to me.
His hand landed next to mine on the island with a thud, his body arching over mine.
The sight alone sent another rush of heat through me.
I put my hand on top of his, linking them together, and pushed back against each thrust he made.
“I’ve missed you,” I whimpered, squeezing his fingers. He squeezed back just as hard.
Emmett’s kisses were like sparks scattering along my skin, each one bringing me back to life bit by bit.
His groan vibrated through my back. I tightened around him at the guttural sound.
“You expect me to get this? Feel your perfect pussy and hear the way you moan for me just once, and walk away? No. Fuck that.” He moved faster with a grunt, rocking me up onto my toes.
“You’re out of your goddamn mind if you think I’m giving you up again. ”
My eyes rolled shut. “Don’t. Fuck, baby, don’t ever give me up.
Please,” I begged, my voice a half-sob, half-moan.
His hand left my hip and slid between my legs.
A ragged groan tore itself from my chest when he found my clit, rubbing quickly.
My skin prickled with heat. My muscles burned with effort, trying to keep up with Emmett’s thrusts.
Pleasure built, tight and hot. Every move Emmett made only hurled me closer to pure bliss.
I was so close, my legs shook with the intensity of it.
“Need you to come with me,” he panted, his voice rough like gravel. “Want your sweet pussy wringing out every last drop while I fill you up.”
“Give it to me. I need it,” I panted, clinging to him.
I looked over my shoulder, the sight of him like a lightning strike to my heart.
Muscles flexed, cheeks flushed, desire-ridden eyes.
He was devastating. Absolutely, utterly devastating.
My blood simmered in my veins. My release was about to barrel through me like a storm, and I wanted him to get swept away in it with me.
“Kiss me,” I begged with a breathy whine. I shattered like glass against his lips, coming so hard that he had to wrap a hand around my waist so I didn’t collapse. He slammed into me, going as deep as he could as he came with my name on his lips.
There was no telling how much time passed before I came back to myself.
Emmett’s shuddered breathing was hot on my neck, our skin damp with sweat.
Reality crept back in. The smell of the stables—leather and hay and chemicals—overtook the scent of sex and Emmett’s cologne, and I remembered where we were.
Even in all this chaos around us, I’d gotten completely swept up in him.
My voice was hoarse. “What are we going to do about this?”
“No one needs to know if you don’t want them to, but I meant what I said”—he held me tighter and kissed my shoulder—“I don’t want to stop.”
My lips curled around my teeth so I didn’t grin like a lunatic. “I meant the tack room,” I replied, unable to hide my amusement.
He stilled behind me. “Oh.”
I turned to face him, ignoring the subtle ache between my legs, while I pulled up my jeans that hadn’t even made it past my knees.
“I don’t want to stop either,” I confessed.
“I know we should, but being with you feels too good.” I didn’t care about the consequences anymore—if I could keep my heart out of it or not.
I just wanted him. In any way I could have him.
If he never felt the same, then so be it.
It was setting me up for heartbreak, but I couldn’t care.
Emmett’s eyes softened, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.
My heart fluttered at the sight of him happy.
Something so rare yet beautiful. Placing a finger under my chin, he tilted my head back.
“Think this is the first time we’ve ever agreed on something,” he murmured against my lips before kissing my smile softly.
After we were dressed, we took pictures of the tack room and sent them off to our group text.
“Who do you think did it?” I swept up ruined feed, struggling to wrap my mind around the mess while our phones dinged endlessly with responses.
“Don’t know,” Emmett said, throwing out the saddle pads and blankets.
“We’re gonna have to ramp up security, that’s for sure.
” The way his eyes darted around the room, I could tell he was already thinking of ways to do just that.
“I’ll have to talk to Colt.” Guess being buddies with the sheriff had its perks.
It wasn’t long before car doors slammed outside, followed by pounding footfalls. Beau’s face was the picture of fury when he saw the wreckage. “What the fuck happened in here?”
I tensed for a brief second, thinking he somehow knew about Emmett and me, but then I realized he meant the room. “We don’t know. Emmett found it like this just a few seconds before me.”
Claire followed Beau inside, skidding to a halt beside him. Her jaw went slack, eyes wide. “Holy shit.” She crept into the room slowly, scanning every surface. “Everything’s ruined.”
Weston and Savannah were only seconds behind them, both equally horrified. “Jesus Christ,” Weston murmured, lifting a split bridle before letting it fall to the ground. “Who the hell would do something like this?”
“Aren’t there cameras in here? We can see if they caught anything.” Savvy said, instantly jumping into lawyer mode.
My blood turned to ice, and Emmett froze, glancing over at me. I wasn’t sure he was breathing. The last thing we needed was for everyone to see us fucking. There were bigger issues at hand.
Beau pinched the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh.
“They aren’t hooked up to the system yet.
” I knew I shouldn’t be relieved since it’d help figure out who was behind this, but I was.
And given the slightly guilty look on Emmett’s face, he was relieved, too.
“I’m gonna call first thing in the mornin’ to get them to come set it up. ”
Another set of car doors shut outside. Tess and Levi appeared moments later with bewildered expressions.
“You can’t be in here! The baby!” I yelled at Tess right as her foot was about to cross the threshold. She shouldn’t be around the chemicals. I slammed my hands over my mouth with a gasp, the broom falling to the ground with a smack. God, what have I done?
Tess went stock still, all the blood draining from her face, and Levi’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Claire frowned. “What? Baby? What are you talking about?”
I shook my head, my heart in my throat. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered to Tess, my hands muffling the words. Emmett took a step towards me, looking concerned.
Tess glanced up at Levi, a silent exchange happening between them. Levi placed his hands on Tess’s shoulders, giving them a squeeze. But then he smiled at us, a kind of smile that was bursting with pride and joy. A kind of smile I could only dream of someone having because of me one day.
“Tess is pregnant.”
“What?” Savannah shrieked. Claire gasped, staggering back into Beau, who was grinning almost as much as Levi.
Weston blinked quickly. His mouth hung open. “Goddamn, you two move at the speed of light.” A laugh bubbled up out of me just like everyone else. It really was insane how quickly their relationship had progressed.
“It’s really early,” Tess said, placing a hand low on her still-flat stomach. “I’m only seven weeks, so there’s still a chance—”
“You’re having a baby?” Emmett’s voice cracked on the words.
My chest tightened when a single tear slid down his cheek, and everything fell out of his arms. He was in front of Tess in two seconds, so much bigger than her that I couldn’t even see her past him.
“Yeah,” Tess replied tearfully. “Ready to be Uncle Emmy again?”
She squealed when he scooped her up in his arms, spinning her around just like he did on her wedding day, not even three months ago. Watching them together always made me feel good. She laughed, smacking his shoulder. “Put me down before I puke!”
“She’ll do it too. Just ask the feed bucket out by the corral,” I teased. I went over to her, wrapping her in my arms. “I’m so sorry. It just slipped out.”
Tess took my hands, giving me a gentle squeeze. “It’s okay. I was going to tell everyone soon anyway.”
“How long have you known?” Savannah asked from behind me.
I spun on my heel, wincing as I dragged out the words, “Just…three weeks, maybe?”
“I know we need to deal with this,” Beau said, waving a hand to the wreckage, “but I think we all need a little happiness, and we’ve got somethin’ to celebrate, now. So I say, we go back to our place and celebrate the new member of our family.”
Beau’s idea of celebrating sounded good. Tess and Levi deserved it. But as everyone left the tack room one by one, I couldn’t stop staring at the wreckage. At the ruined saddles, the torn bridles, the dark stains on the blankets.
My chest tightened. I wanted to hold onto the happiness, to Tess’s news, to the warmth of Emmett’s kiss still on my lips. But deep down, I knew this wasn’t over. Whoever had done this wasn’t finished. And next time, they might come for more than just the tack room.