11. Decker
Ichug the beer the second she’s back inside, wishing like hell I had another one. I don’t have a plan for all this. Hell, I’m still trying to talk myself out of whatever the fuck it is I think I’m doing.
She knows why I came by tonight. It wasn’t for round two; it was because I had prepared a whole speech I was going to say to her on her doorstep. I told myself I wouldn’t even go inside, because I knew I’d be fucked if I did. But the second I saw her, that speech slipped right out of my mind.
I don’t want this to end yet. I know it’s stupid and risky on both our parts, but now that I’ve tasted her, I can’t force myself to walk away . . . yet.
When the steaks are done, I step back into the house. The sound of distant music plays softly and the lights are dimmed to a more ambient glow. The table is set, a vibrant salad at both of our seats, along with wine glasses. I put the plate on the counter and turn just as Juniper walks back into the kitchen.
“Switching to wine okay?” she asks as she rounds the corner, holding up a bottle of red. “I picked it up from Amelia about a month ago and I’ve been wanting to open it.”
“Did you . . . change?” I cock my head to the side, noticing she’s no longer in her fuzzy socks and oversized T-shirt, but now wearing a simple long-sleeved black shirt and pants, both of which cling to her body.
“Yeah,” she shrugs as she pours the wine, “felt silly being in my pajamas while you’re dressed in regular clothes. Especially while eating dinner.”
She leans across the table to pour the wine into the other glass, her ass lifting a touch into the air. I follow the curve of her back—the way it dips then rounds into her hips. The black material of her pants is shiny and taut, creeping between her cheeks. I can’t stop myself. I reach my hand out, dragging it up her inner thigh and up over her ass, grabbing a healthy handful.
“I’m sorry,” I say just as quickly as I pull my hand away from her. I slowly lift my gaze to see her staring back at me over her shoulder. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No,” she says calmly before standing up and placing the bottle on the table, “you shouldn’t have.” There’s a tension in her voice, an almost lilting seductive tone. “Is that why you came by tonight?”
“No!” I say the word defensively, although I don’t know why. For a second, with the way she was looking at me, it felt like she was hoping that’s exactly why I’d stopped by. “Did you want that to be the reason?”
“I didn’t have a reason for wanting you to come by. I didn’t know you were stopping by, remember?” She has an impish grin on her lips.
“You know what I mean,” I say with a smirk, trying to get her to admit that she wants me too—just as badly.
“Well, again,” she smiles sweetly, “I have no reason to want you to visit or not, but I’m happy to see you, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I should have known,” I mumble, picking up my glass of wine as she takes a seat across from me.
“Known what?”
“You’re one of those girls—the type that likes to play games.”
“No, Mr. Slade, you’re just one of those guys who isn’t used to being told no.”
I chuckle, the tension growing between us sending a pretty solid signal to my cock that my motivation for coming over tonight has officially changed. “And what if that was my intention, Juniper? What if I did come over here tonight to taste your sweet pussy again? Would you deny me?”
She nearly chokes trying to swallow the half-chewed piece of steak in her mouth. “Depends on if I’m in the mood or not.” It’s obvious she’s trying to play it cool, but I can practically see the nervous energy coursing through her.
“If you’re in the mood or not,” I repeat her words back to her, shaking my head. “And what would get you in the mood?”
“I dunno, maybe some effort—a little wining and dining.”
“Is this not wine?” I ask, holding up the glass. “And did I not only bring the dining, but cook it too?”
She narrows her gaze, her eyes squinting. “You know what your problem is?”
“No, but I’m sure you’re about to enlighten me.”
“You rely on the fact that you’re Decker Slade too much.” That makes me laugh. “You know that most women will gladly fall at your feet if given the chance, so that’s what you’ve come to expect. Just because you had me once doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed a second time.” She says the last part with just enough attitude that I know she’s being serious.
“And you know what your problem is?” I don’t actually let her answer. “You’re full of shit.”
“Rude.” She rolls her eyes.
“We both know that if I threw everything off this table right now and spread you out to devour you instead of this steak, you’d be the one dripping from my chin.” I lick a drop of steak juice from my thumb. “Wouldn’t you?”
Her cheeks redden and her eyes dart from mine when I wink at her. “I guess you’ll never know.”
I stare at her for several seconds, trying to figure out if she’s pushing me to make the first move, but I’m not getting that. “So that was it then?”
“I thought we shouldn’t do it, Deck. My daddy might find out.” She pooches out her bottom lip and goddamn if it doesn’t do things to me. I take the final bite of my steak and salad, placing my napkin down and scooting my chair away from the table a few inches.
“You’re a little brat, you know that?”
Juniper rolls her eyes again as she gathers both of our plates and stands up. “And you’re entitled.”
Just as she rounds the table to walk past me toward the kitchen sink, I grab her around the waist and pull her into my lap. I glide my hands down her arms to her full hands. “Sounds like we’re a match made in heaven then.” I take the plates from her. “Allow me.”
She releases the plates into my hands, her head turning slightly until her eyes are focused on mine. Her lips part and I feel her breathing pick up slightly when she glances at my lips.
“Juniper?” I say her name softly, my cock pulsing against her ass.
“Sorry!” She finally jumps from my lap, grabbing the wine glass and following me to the sink. “Thanks again for stopping by and bringing food. And cooking it,” she adds, smiling.
I can take a hint, and as much as I’d love to follow her upstairs and spend the night buried inside her, I know when I need to leave.
“Anytime. Thanks for hosting me. You sure you don’t want me to do the dishes?”
“That’s okay, the dishwasher’s got it.” She laughs and I take the moment to reach my hand out and cup her cheek. I don’t mean for it to be intimate, but it is. But just as quickly, I drop my hand and grab my hat and keys, walking back toward the door.
“Have a good night, Juney.” I walk out, closing the door behind me and climbing into my truck.
Everything about this woman has me confused. She’s spent years pining for me, and once we finally connect, it’s a frenzied sexual electricity I’ve never experienced. And then this . . . I shake my head, running my hands through my hair as I let the crisp evening air blow through the cab of my truck.
Maybe it’s just the thrill of the chase for her—the forbidden. Maybe now that it’s happened, the fantasy is fulfilled, but something in the way she looks at me, the way she has to practically pull herself away from me . . . I know there’s so much more beneath the surface of Juniper Riley, and I’m determined to find it all.
“Hey,Pops, does Mom know you’re dicking around out here?” Ranger slaps our dad on the shoulder, giving him a hearty squeeze.
“Why, is she here?” He glances quickly over his shoulder.
“Damn,” I whistle, “didn’t realize Mom had gotten so strict since we moved out.”
“We both know your mother has always run the household.” He chuckles for a second. “Listen up, boys,” my dad grows serious, using that familiar tone he always used growing up when we were goofing off too much, “Drake and I are heading to Denver for a meeting with the governor. We need to make sure our interests stay protected in this upcoming election,” he grumbles. If there’s one thing my dad hates more than people (or the government) being in his business, it’s dealing with politicians. “And you boys are coming with us.”
“Whoa, whoa, since when did we get roped into the red tape? I thought Tyler was handling that?”
“He is, like usual, but that’s not how this family works and you know it. It was never just your Uncle Drake or me running things here; it’s always been all five of us brothers, and it’s going to be all of you. You need to learn how things are handled outside the walls of business. My assistant will send you both the details.”
He gives us each a single squeeze on the shoulder then walks back to his truck and drives off.
“All you had to do was stay in Texas and you’d have gotten out of it.”
“He’d have dragged my ass up from there too, and we both know it. Speaking of Texas, I talked to Aiden last night.” Our youngest cousin, Aiden, is one of a set of triplets, and he’s currently working at our Texas ranch. “He said he and Ethan,” another cousin, “are never moving back up here. They’re like full Texans now.”
“I could see that. Aiden always loved being with cowboys at the rodeo, plus with Ethan’s roping skills, you know they’re already training for tryouts.”
We both laugh at the thought of them in the rodeo. They’d be good at it, but they could also seriously get hurt as a couple of late 20-somethings who still have that insane, fearless mentality of a 15-year-old.
“Their moms would lose it,” Ranger laughs. “Shit, man, being a dad, it makes me nervous just thinking about stuff like that. It’s crazy how that just changes after kids: One minute, you don’t think twice about doing something stupid, and now, I’m always thinking about how this will impact my wife and daughter.”
“Yeah, I bet.” Before he takes this conversation where I already know it’s headed, I change the subject. “I’m going to the cowboy house. I’ll be working the pastures again with Carl and Teller,” our two head cowboys.
“Now, hang on,” Ranger pulls his hat off his head, the usual sign he’s about to get serious, “so what happened after Juney’s birthday party? I heard you stuck around.”
“Nothing,” I shrug, “just made sure she got home safely.”
“Yeah?” He laughs. “And did she get home . . . safely?”
“Of course.”
“Really? Nothing?” Ranger shakes his head. “You two are so full of shit, it’s ridiculous. Just admit you’re in love with each other already.”
“She’s a woman with a crush, Ranger. We aren’t talking about a love story here, so chill. Besides,” I tug on the brim of my hat, pulling it down a little tighter, “you told me she had a boyfriend.”
His face falls. “Shit, I forgot about that. Why wasn’t he there?”
“Dunno.” I turn toward the cowboy house and start walking. Yeah, I’m lying to my twin brother, but I have no idea what this situation even is between Juniper and me. I’m not about to drag a bunch of others into it, especially if it means screwing up my chances of having her again.
“Hey,” he says. I stop dead. He has that tone—the same one he used when we were teenagers and one of us already knew something.
“Yeah?” I turn around to look at him.
“If anything did or does happen between you two, you better not break her heart.”
I don’t respond this time—just give him a slight nod and walk away.
“Yo,Deck, when are you gonna settle down? Feels like there should be a Slade wedding sometime soon. Been at least a year since we had one.” Trevor, the newest cowboy hire, snickers at me, poking one of the other cowboys in the ribs.
“Listen up,” I ignore his comment and the other laughter, “we’ve got about 10 days’ worth of work on these pastures that we have to cram into three, so let’s cut some of the shit and focus this morning, hmm?” I spend the next 15 minutes going over responsibilities before exiting the cowboy house.
“Damn, what happened to you down in Texas?” Teller asks with a lifted brow. “You used to be fun.”
He’s not wrong. Ranger and I have always been the cut-ups—the ones ready to tease our friends or prank them. But lately, yeah, I feel my mood shifting and I know damn well why, but I don’t want to admit it to myself.
“Just getting older, man. Maybe my patience is thinner.”
“Nah,” he spits, wiping away a stray piece of tobacco from his lip, “it’s a woman, and we both know it.” He turns when Carl calls his name, then he jogs over to the barn.
“What the fuck?” I mutter. “Does everyone know my goddamn business in this town?”
For the rest of the day, I’m left with nothing but my horse Clementine, barbed wire, and my thoughts—a scenario I used to long for, but now it doesn’t matter what I’m doing since all my thoughts are on her.
I replay the way she looked back at me when I grabbed her ass. The look in her eyes begged me to keep going, or maybe they were daring me.
“Shit.”
Maybe I completely misread the signals that night. Perhaps she wanted me to push her, chase her. Clementine chuffs, stomping her hoof at the ground in frustration that we haven’t started moving.
“Easy, girl,” I pat her neck, “I know you’re antsy to get to work.” I refocus my attention back on the task at hand, trying my damndest to push any and all thoughts of Juney from my mind.
I stand up and stretch after being bent over on the ground for probably hours. When they say ranching is backbreaking work, they’re not kidding. I signal to Teller and Carl that I’m heading back down and they should finish up and follow. By the time I make it back to the barn and put Clementine away, the sun is setting and all I want is a hot shower and a cold beer.
“We getting drinks tonight, boys?” Trevor asks the cowboys as I’m walking by their house.
I’m about to tell them to take it easy tonight, because the next two days are going to be hell, when I hear one of the others say something that stops me. “You know I’ll be there if Juniper’s there.” My chest tightens.
“That’s the only reason to go to the bar and drink: to see her shake that juicy ass!” Trevor’s high-pitched laugh follows his comment, and I have to hold myself back from kicking through the back door and dragging him out by his throat.
“Keep walking,” I grit through my teeth as I walk to my truck and drive over to my house. During my shower—and the entire time I’m getting dressed and walking back out to my truck to go to the bar—I tell myself not to go, that this isn’t a fight I want to get involved in.
But 15 minutes later, I’m sitting outside the bar, my heart beating in my chest. When I swing the door open, I’m immediately met with the loud laughter of cowboys and locals, with some pop-country ballad blaring over the speakers. I keep my head down but watch for Juniper in my peripheral as I walk to the bar and take a seat.
“Evening, Decker. How ya doin’, sweetheart?” Bernice, one of the long-time bartenders, gives me a smile as she opens the same Slade IPA I always drink and slides it across the bar to me.
“Doing all right, Bernice. How you doing? I like that lipstick on you.” I wink at her, making her laugh, as she launches into her same old if I were twenty years younger speech. “I’m serious,” I tell her, “it looks good with your skin tone.”
“Well, aren’t you a sweet-talker, you and your twin? Always have been. If my third husband were still around, I’d be telling him to watch out for you.” She wipes the counter down and takes someone else’s order before walking back over to me. “Speaking of which, I heard you came back to town single. Tell me how that’s possible.”
I can’t do anything but laugh and shake my head at this point. It feels like everyone is going to have an opinion on my love life, no matter what I do or don’t do. Back when I had a different woman in my bed every night, everyone had something to say about it. Now that I’m single, they seem to think that’s a problem too. My thoughts are pierced by the sound of Juniper’s laughter, followed by Trevor’s. My eyes dart over to where it came from, and I see them laughing about something, but I turn my attention away just as quickly, back to the bar.
“So, Bernice, with summer winding down, are you getting ready to host the beer tent at the Fall Fest in a few months?”
“A few? It’s less than two months away, and no, I’m not ready. I could really use extra help with the tent this year. The last few years have taken a toll on me.”
“Why don’t I help you?” I offer. “I haven’t been assigned a task yet, as far as I know at least.”
“I would absolutely love it if you could.” Her face lights up. “Lord knows, we could use your arms to haul the kegs around, but you better check with your mom or sister and make sure they didn’t offer you to someone else first.” Her attention is pulled away by a few of the cowboys clamoring for shots.
“What brings you out on a school night?”
I can’t even hide the grin that takes over my face the second I hear her breathy voice. I slowly tip my bottle toward my lips, taking a long pull while I let my eyes take her in. She leans her elbows on the bar, her dark hair with purple streaks still in it cascading down her bare back.
Fuck.
She’s wearing a cute little top that leaves her entire back exposed and stops a few inches above her low-slung black denim shorts, which hug her hips.
“School night? You’re not that young,” I snark.
“But you’re that old, so what brings you out on a weeknight?”
I roll my eyes at her comment. I know she’s still being petty about our conversation earlier regarding the reasons we shouldn’t pursue this.
“Am I breaking some rule by being out?” I sit back and look at her. “Better yet, why are you out? Don’t you have a business to run, young lady?” I give her my best stern look that makes her laugh—the same laugh I heard her give Trevor earlier. That tightness in my chest comes back.
“You know, at some point I realized I need to go out and just dance if I’m feeling overwhelmed, then I can just pick it all back up tomorrow.” She shrugs.
“Well, seems we both needed a night to just let loose.”
We’re staring at each other and I know she feels exactly what I’m feeling right now, because her face says it all.
“Is someone feeling . . .” she reaches her hand out and slowly drags her finger down my thigh, “frustrated?”
“You’re something else,” I shake my head with a stupid fucking grin on my face that I know spreads ear to ear, “you know that?”
But less than 10 seconds later, our moment is ruined when Trevor’s arms come around Juniper’s waist and pick her up. She yelps then laughs when he puts her on her feet and spins her into a dance.
I finish the beer, slamming it a little too hard on the bar top, but the jealousy flipped to anger about two seconds ago when Trevor’s hands wandered past her waist and down to her ass. I watch her grab his hands and attempt to pull them up, but he just grabs harder, leaning in. Half a second later, I’m off my stool and across the dance floor.
“You’re done.” I push Trevor off with one hand, grabbing Juney’s hand with the other. “Don’t ever put your fucking hands on a woman without her permission again.” I point my finger in his face and he steps back with his hands up.
“Sorry, boss. I was just playing around, I swear!”
“What the he?—”
Juniper’s words stumble when I pull her across the floor and out the back of the bar. I don’t wait for her to finish or explain as I press her against the building wall, my tongue already demanding entrance to her lips. Her hands are in my hair, and my hat’s on the ground behind me as I fuck her mouth with my tongue.
She’s clawing at me like she can’t get enough. I press my thigh between hers as her hips grind down on it, her warmth against my jeans making my cock grow even harder.
Seconds later, she’s pushing against me until we’re both panting. “Funny . . . you just gave Trevor a speech about touching a woman without her permission.”
“You did give me permission,” I take a step closer to her, “the second I walked into that bar tonight and saw the way you looked at me.” I tip her chin upward with just the tip of one finger. “You want me to take it, don’t you, baby?”
“I said on my terms,” she says. I give her a questioning look. “I said it has to be on my terms.” She gives me that flirty, coy grin she gave me at her house when I grabbed her ass. Like she’s completely unfazed—like her pussy isn’t wet and throbbing for me.
I narrow my gaze, stepping closer to her until her back hits the bricks behind us. I’m towering over her slight frame. I slide my hand up her chest, pressing her against the wall with one hand as the other slides down the front of her shorts and panties and right into her wet, warm pussy. Her lips part and she gasps when I slide my ring and middle finger deep inside her.
“You wanna try explaining that to me again?” I hold her in place, watching her as I pump my fingers in and out of her, only leaning in just enough for her lips to barely graze mine. “We both know that none of those boys in there can satisfy you like you need.” My fingers continue their slow, deep strokes. Her eyelids flutter, her fingers attempting to curl against the brick wall behind her.
“Please.” It’s so hushed it’s almost a prayer.
“Please what?” I whisper against her lips.
“Kiss me.”
“Look at me, Juniper,” I demand, and her eyes widen.
“I’m not interested in games, so I’m going to spell this out for you.” I deepen my strokes, rubbing my thumb against her clit in small circles. “I’m the one taking you home tonight. I’m the one fucking you tonight. I’m the one whose name you’re going to be saying.”
“Yes, yes, yes!” The cries eventually devolve into mumbled groans as her teeth sink into my shoulder.