Chapter 23
I finish washing my hands and take a long, hard look at myself in the mirror. I don’t recognize the person staring back at me, she feels like a stranger, and it doesn’t matter how fake the smile I wear is, on the inside I feel like I’m drowning.
Seeing Wade here tonight and not being able to be close to him feels like even more of a punishment than Caleb bringing me here tonight.
I just had to sit through a dinner with the pastor who’s gonna marry us and his wife, and I swear Caleb brought me here dressed this way just to humiliate me.
If he’s trying to break me, I won’t. I’m made of tougher stuff than that.
I take a deep breath before I open the door and prepare to head back out.
Before I can take a step into the barroom I feel a strong arm wrap around my middle and drag me into darkness.
The smell of disinfectant sticks to the back of my throat before I feel lips pressing tight against mine.
The lightbulb above my head flickers on and when I see Wade looking down at me and the shelves that are tightly packed around us, I realize he’s pulled me into the maintenance closet.
“Wade!” I push against his chest. This is far too risky.
“I just had to kiss ya,” he tells me, delving back onto my mouth and kissing me again. There’s something urgent and desperate in the way his fingers grip at my skirt and it makes me forget where we are, and who’s beyond the door he’s got me trapped against.
“Ya miss me?” he asks with a cocky smirk that remains tight against my mouth. I could curse myself for not realizing before how incredibly hot this man, who’s been right there in front of me for so long, is.
“Yeah I missed ya,” I admit, reaching my arms around him and letting myself savor the warm kisses he places over my neck.
“You want me to send you back out there with a reminder of who ya belong to?” His mouth whispers against my skin as he fists the hem of my skirt and pushes it up my thighs.
“We can’t,” I tell him, knowing it's wrong, not to mention careless. It would be so easy for us to get caught.
“I didn’t ask ya if I could, I asked if ya wanted me to.”
His hands slide into the waistband of my panties, dragging them down my thighs and there's nothing I can do to stop him, not with my heart thumping and my pussy pulsing to feel his touch.
His palms slide under my thighs, cupping my ass and lifting me off the ground, and I have to bite on my lip to stop myself from squealing.
“This is gonna have to be real quick, and when we’re done you’re gonna go back to that table and you’re gonna smile like the Leia Walker I fuckin’ know,” he growls into my ear, holding me against the wall with his body while he unbuckles his belt.
I feel him, hard, and pressing beneath me, and when he lifts one of his hands back up to frame my face, he strokes my cheek with his thumb.
“Show me… show me that smile.” He narrows his eyes at me as he shifts his hips and teases my entrance with his cock, and when I let my lips raise, I notice the way he focuses on them.
“You're perfect the way you are, and I won’t have anyone make ya feel any different.” His fingers slide into my hair roughly, shaking it out, and ruining the pleat Mom took such care and attention into putting in place.
When it's completely free, he grips it in his fist and uses it as leverage to drag me down onto his cock.
I moan in relief as he slowly fills me, and when he reaches the hilt he holds himself steady and growls.
“I need ya to say it. Tell me you’re mine, Leia, because seein’ you out there with him is sendin’ me all kinds of fuckin’ crazy,” he whispers in my ear, and I nod my head against his grip, grabbing his face in my hand and forcing his head back so I can look into his beautiful brown eyes.
“I’m yours,” I promise, kissing him hard and moving my hips to create enough friction between us to make that spark in the pit of my stomach start to burn.
Wade fucks me with long, hard thrusts that make me forget the world outside this closet. He’s forceful and erratic and when he takes my chin in his mouth and scrapes it with his teeth, my hands clench at whatever I can grab when I feel myself falling over the edge.
“Mine.” His fingers grip my jaw as we come together, and feeling the heat from him spread inside me, makes my eyes widen in shock.
“Wade, I’m not on anything,” I gasp as he keeps me pinned to the wall with his body, catching his breath and holding me tight.
He pulls his cock slowly out of me, and when I feel his release trickle out with it, I start to panic.
Wade doesn’t seem to be sharing my horror, in fact, he smiles as he crouches onto his knees and slides my panties back up my thighs.
Once they’re back in place he cups his hands between my legs, as if attempting to keep himself inside me.
“You just remember what I said.” Wade shakes at my hair again to remind me before he opens the door, checks the coast is clear, then leaves.
I take a few minutes to catch my breath and pull myself back together.
My heart is thumping so fast, I’m shaking.
What just happened was exhilarating and I should be real mad at Wade for being so careless, but I’m not.
I like how it feels to be owned by him. It feels like a fuck you to the man who brought me here, to my favorite bar, in front of all my friends, dressed up like a good little housewife.
And as I straighten out my skirt and ruffle my hair, I open the door and stride out of it with confidence.
The place has gotten busy, you can’t see across the room for people anymore and when I get back to the table, Caleb is checking his Rolex and looking unimpressed.
“What took you so long?” he asks impatiently as I take my seat opposite him. I can still feel Wade inside me and it takes all of my willpower not to look across the bar to where I know he’ll be sitting and watching me.
“Girl stuff.” I smile unapologetically.
“What happened to your hair?” Caleb stares at me looking confused.
“It was uncomfortable, and I don't think we need to keep up any pretenses here.” I look over my shoulder at the people around us. Cahoots isn’t exactly a classy place.
“That’s where you're wrong, darling, we always gotta put on a pretense.” The way his hand slides over mine and he pulls it up to his lips makes me shudder.
“I thought your brother had already left to start competing?” I make polite conversation when I notice Leonard over at the bar.
He’s being loud and obnoxious as always, doing all he can to draw attention to himself.
Him and Wade were rivals back when Wade used to compete.
He was a cocky asshole before, he’s an even bigger one now he hasn’t got much competition.
“He’s been doing a lot of training back at the ranch, he leaves next week,” Caleb tells me, eyeballing Wade, Noah, and Zane as they start heading toward the door to leave.
“Figures, I show up and you leave,” Leonard calls out after them, and when Wade stops moving forward and slowly turns around, all the butterflies still beating in my stomach from our encounter quickly turn to nerves.
“Whatcha say?” Wade asks, looking baffled.
“I’m saying, you're a pussy.” Leonard steps up to him bravely, and I can tell by the way he’s stumbling that he’s drunk.
“I’m a pussy?” Wade huffs a laugh, and suddenly the whole room goes silent.
“You left just as I was reaching my peak, ‘cause you knew it was only a matter of time before I had you beat,” Leonard goads him, and when I look to Caleb, hoping he’ll step in, he sits back in his chair and folds his arms over his chest proudly.
“That ain’t why I left.” Wade slides his hand over his mouth, doing a real shit job of hiding his smirk.
“Sure it is, you were too proud to be beat, so you bailed out just like your fuckin’ mama bailed out on ya.” Leonard way oversteps the mark, and although I can see Wade wants to swing for him, he somehow manages to hold himself back.
“You're drunk, you should go home before ya find yourself in trouble,” Wade tells him calmly, and I can already see Noah and Zayne getting ready for the brawl that’s inevitably coming.
“Don’t you fuckin’ tell me what to do, Carson.” Leonard steps up into his face so they’re nose to nose, and Wade doesn’t budge, staring him right between the eyes.
“Like I said, you’re a fuckin’ pussy,” Leonard snarls, and instead of backing down like I expect him to, he shoves Wade hard in the shoulders.
Wade manages to hold himself firm, and when he takes a calming breath, I’m wondering why he’s not retaliating.
“Hell, this yellow-belly don’t even wanna get in a fight with me. I thought that's what you Carson men were supposed to be good at!” Leonard calls out across the room so everyone can hear him, and I notice Wade’s chest rise and fall as he tries to stay in control.
“I guess your daddy would be proud of you, after all.” Leonard laughs, and when he goes to throw his fist at Wade's face, Wade quickly catches it in his palm. Then he crushes it in his own hand and twists Leonard’s arm awkwardly ‘til his ass is on the floor.
“I ain’t no pussy, and I sure as fuck didn’t quit ‘cause of you. I’m happy to prove that.
Noon tomorrow, your yard. You choose the Bronc, I choose the stake,” Wade calls him out and releases him.
I don’t miss the tiny snigger Noah and Zayne make at each other while the room awaits Leonard’s response.
He gets back on his feet and dusts himself off, all while still attempting to look cool.
“I’ll guess I’ll see ya at noon.” He holds out his hand accepting the challenge.
Wade shakes his hand and nods his head, giving me one final glance across the room before he leaves.