Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
HOLDEN
S he’s soothing me. Trying to calm me. It’s as though the last of the anger and fear that I’ve carried my entire life is moving through me, finally being exorcised with the smoke from earlier today, and I can’t control my emotions or my body. I just know that I need her.
“I’m your wife,” she says again, her golden eyes begging me to listen. “We’re a team now, Holden. That ranch isn’t your father’s anymore. It’s yours . It’s ours. And if you’re going to set the whole thing ablaze, I need to know because?—”
Her lower lip quivers, and I can’t take it. I lower my forehead to hers, soaking in her sweetness. “Don’t cry, little rose.”
“Because I was blindsided,” she continues after a breath, “and I thought I might lose you, and I literally got you back three minutes ago.”
Without another thought, I back her up against the counter, drag my hands down to cup her ass, and sink into her, groaning as everything in me focuses on this woman in my arms, and my only instinct is to get inside of her as quickly as humanly possible.
She moans when my tongue laps at her lips and then presses into her mouth, and she pushes her stomach against my already hard and swollen cock. And that’s all I need to know that she needs me just as much.
I rip away her little tank top and toss it aside before I bend over to pull her nipple into my mouth, and her fingers dive into my hair.
“ Husband ,” she moans, and with just that one word, my control snaps.
Her shorts are gone in a flash, and I cover her pussy, push my two middle fingers into her, and press the heel of my palm against her clit, giving her a little shake.
“Fucking hell,” she groans, leaning her forehead against my shoulder.
“This isn’t going to be soft and slow, baby girl,” I warn her. “I’m going to fuck you hard and fast. Stop me now if you’re not okay with that.”
“Never.”
I grin and kiss her neck as she pushes my sweats down my hips and takes my cock in her hand.
I spin her around. “Hands on the counter.”
I drag the head of my cock up and down her slit, watching as it glistens in all of that wetness . And then I’m inside her, my hands on her hips, pulling her roughly onto me, fucking her fast and hard, just like I promised. Jesus fucking Christ, I can’t get enough of her. I can’t stop this constant wanting for her.
“When you ran toward that fire today…” I shake my head as I relive it, terror clutching at my chest. “God, you fucking scared me.”
I slap her ass hard, and she gasps in surprise and then groans.
“And it was the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”
I pull both of her arms behind her and thread my own arm through her elbows, arching her back as my free hand moves down her belly and finds her hard clit.
“Husband!” She’s shuddering, and I know she’s so close to coming, so I stop rubbing that hard nub and bite her shoulder.
“You’re not going to come yet.”
“What in the hell?”
“Not yet,” I repeat with a growl, and she groans as I slide out of her.
She fucking loves the metal in my cock. Which is good because I got them for her.
Before I can boost her up onto the counter, this incredible woman falls to her knees, wraps both of her hands around my cock, and sucks the tip into her sweet, pink mouth, then pushes her tongue over the piercings, and my eyes cross.
I have to lean over her, onto the counter, when my knees threaten to buckle.
“Baby girl.”
She moans, moving up and down on me, taking me so far into her mouth that I hit the back of her throat. Then she relaxes her muscles and pushes down even further, and I can’t resist plunging my hand into her hair, guiding her gently.
She’s going to make me come, and I’m not ready for that, so I take her by the shoulders and pull her up.
“Hey, I wasn’t done?—”
I kiss her roughly, her jaw in my hand, and then boost her onto the countertop and press my hand on her breastbone, urging her to lie back.
With her eyes bright and on mine, her chest heaving with hard breaths, I bring her legs up to my shoulders and slip back inside of her, making us both moan.
“Oh, God.” She covers her own breast and pinches her nipple, and I feel her tighten around me. I kiss her calf and then her ankle, press my thumb to her clit, and fuck her. “Oh, God!”
“Who do you belong to, wife?” I can’t slow down. I slam into her, over and over again, making her tits shake and bounce, and she arches her neck and grips my arm as if looking for an anchor. “Answer me.”
“You. I belong to you.”
“That’s right. You’re mine. God damn, you’re so fucking beautiful. So fucking amazing . ”
“I’m going to come. Please, can I come?”
With a grin, I press my thumb to her harder. “Go over, my love. Do it.”
She is a goddess when she comes. She cries out, arches her back, and squeezes my dick so hard I see stars, and she pulls me right over the edge with her.
As we catch our breath, I plant kisses on her legs, then slip out of her and pull her up to sitting and kiss her sweet, swollen lips.
“Do you feel better?” Her question is whispered against my lips, and I wrap my arms around her and hug her close. “After everything today, I mean, not just this.”
“ This made everything much better,” I confirm and press my lips to her forehead.
“I want a tattoo.”
I frown at the simple statement and then pull back so I can look down at her.
“No.” I shake my head and drag my hands down her arms. “I don’t want you to ever feel pain, baby girl.”
She lifts an eyebrow. “It’s just a tattoo, you know. You have a million of them.”
“And you know why.”
Her eyes soften as she traces the lines of the rose on my arm, then down to my hand, and brings it up to her lips before covering her heart with my palm.
I’ve never loved anyone or anything more than I do my wife in this moment.
“What would you get?” I ask her softly, brushing her hair off her cheek.
“Our wedding date.” She swallows hard. “On the inside of my left wrist.”
Staggered, I tip her chin up and look into those beautiful eyes. “Millie.”
“Because,” she continues, her voice growing softer, and I have to lean in to hear her. “Even if this is only for a year, it’ll be the most important year of my life.”
The breath leaves my body as I lower my forehead to hers. The vulnerability in that one sentence is staggering.
“I’m not letting you go in a year, wife. I’m not letting you go in a hundred years. I belong to you, heart and soul. You’re the reason for everything I fucking do.”
She wraps her arms around me and hugs me so tight that it seems she wants to crawl inside of me.
And I can’t blame her because inside of her is my favorite place to be.
“If you want the ink, you should get it,” I whisper into her ear. “Maybe I’ll do the same.”
“Matching tattoos?” She smiles up at me. “How fun. Where will you get yours?”
“Over my heart, of course.” I kiss her softly and then help her to her feet. “We need to clean up. Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving. There are leftover taco fixings in the fridge.”
“You go put on clothes that aren’t ripped, and I’ll take care of everything else.” I run my hand down her hair as she walks away and then use the next couple of minutes of alone time to clean the cum off the floor, wipe myself off, and then heat up the taco meat for the leftovers.
By the time she comes back, my system has leveled out.
“Hey, I have a question,” she says as she ties up her hair into a bun.
“Ask away.” I lick some queso off my thumb and turn to look at her, then freeze with my thumb still in my mouth. “What the fuck are you wearing?”
She frowns and looks down at the white T-shirt that’s so thin, I can see the outline of her pretty pink nipples as clearly as if she was naked.
“Just a ratty old shirt. This might be the most comfortable thing I own.”
“Jesus, wife, you’re a walking wet dream.”
The grin that spreads over her face is full of satisfaction. “I still have a question.”
“The answer is yes.” I can’t take my eyes off her tits. “Absolutely yes, whatever you want.”
Now she laughs and reaches for a tortilla chip. “You’re such a man. ”
“Never claimed otherwise.”
“Hey, my eyes are up here.” She bends to catch my gaze in hers, still grinning. “Don’t be rude.”
“I’m not being rude. I’m admiring my wife’s amazing body.”
“Dude. We just had sex two seconds ago. Focus.”
“I am focused.”
“Holden.”
Now my eyes find hers and narrow.
“Husband, I have a question.”
“Fine.” I sigh and go back to work building a taco. “What’s up?”
“When do you guys brand and castrate at your ranch? Isn’t it almost time for that?”
I frown over at her. “Yeah, it’s actually on Thursday.”
“Like, three days from now?”
“Yes.”
She blinks. “I want to help. It’s my favorite time of year.”
Stunned, I stare at her. “You want to help?”
“Of course, I do. I’ll have to go get my horse. I’ve been wanting to do that anyway. I miss her. I know that Lucky and the kids are taking good care of her, but this is the longest I’ve gone without seeing her. Anyway, what can I do to help before Thursday? Do you have the food tent ready to go?”
“What food tent?” My head is spinning. My wife wants to help me on one of the most important days of the year on my ranch. I always have the Blackwells come help, and a few other neighboring families, but never the women.
My dad would have blown a gasket.
“The food tent.” She frowns at me. “Don’t you feed all those hungry cowboys?”
“I usually order sandwiches or something.” I shrug, suddenly feeling like I’ve been missing something important.
“Okay, I’ll handle the food. Erin and Summer will come do that. I’ll be working with you, though. I’m a cowboy, not a helper.”
I raise an eyebrow at her. “You’re a cowboy?”
“Hell yes, I am. Just wait and see. You know, you should invite your sisters out to see what it’s all about. I assume if they weren’t even allowed to ride horses, they weren’t allowed to help on the most fun day of the year, either.”
I raise my eyebrows. “I guess I should invite them.”
“I’m going to offer to teach them how to ride.”
Stunned, I push my plate away and cross my arms over my chest. “Why?”
“Because they grew up on a ranch, and they never got to enjoy it. They’re going to now, if I have anything to say about it. Actually, Jake is really great at teaching people to ride, and they have a bunch of awesome, gentle horses at Ryan’s ranch, so I’ll see if your sisters want to go out there. It’ll be fun.”
She takes a bite of her taco, and, oblivious to the fact that she just keeps saying all the things that make me fall even more in love with her, she keeps going.
“What time should I have everyone come out there?”
“Huh?”
“What time do you start on branding days?”
“Around eight, I guess.”
“Easy peasy.” She licks some salsa off her hand. “I’m excited. I hope I can help at my family’s ranch this year. My dad might not let me.”
“No, your dad won’t let me ,” I remind her gently. “You can go, baby girl.”
“Not without you.” She frowns down at her half-eaten taco. “I’ll talk to him.”
In a daze, we finish eating, tidy the kitchen, and then head for bed. It’s after nine, and we both have early mornings.
Not to mention, I want to make love to her once more tonight.
So, in the dark, after she’s shed her lounge clothes and we’re under the covers, I roll over her and nestle myself between her thighs.
“Now it’s going to be soft and slow,” I whisper against her lips. “I’m going to make love to you, wife.”
“Oh, that sounds nice.”
She grins, and I slip inside of her, wiping that sassy smile off her delectable lips.
With long, slow thrusts, I move inside of her. “You’re so incredible.”
“ You’re incredible.” Our voices are hushed in whispers as we make love in the quiet.
She wraps herself around me, holding me to her, and I bury my face in her neck.
“Can’t get close enough,” I murmur.
“I want all of you.” She kisses my cheek. “Give me all of you.”
“You have it. You’ve always had it.”
She clenches down on me, and I come just as hard as before, rocking into her wet heat.
Later, after we’ve cleaned up yet again and are curled around each other, we lie still; the only sound in the room is our breaths.
Suddenly, in the quiet, I hear her whisper, “I love you so much.”
My throat closes, and I have to swallow hard before I tug her close, tip her chin up, and in the moonlight whisper back, “I love you, too. So much.”
Her eyes widen. “I thought you were asleep.”
A chuckle escapes my throat. “You only whisper sweet nothings when I’m asleep? I’d better start staying awake longer.”
“It’s not nothing.” She cups my cheek in her little hand. “It’s the biggest thing.”
Full of emotion, I kiss her palm and then her lips. “It’s everything.”