Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Haven
I haven’t taken my arm from around Prescott since we arrived.
We charged back to the wedding, driving separately so her car wasn’t stuck on the side of the road all night.
The ceremony hadn’t started yet when we arrived.
The cheers that went up when I pulled into the parking lot and ran to the lodge with Prescott were a good clue that they were waiting, just like Campbell said.
We found a ranch employee to watch over the kitten for us and procure some food for it while the wedding was going on. Prescott already named it Windy, for Chicago, the Windy City. Then we dusted ourselves off and went out to the pavilion.
Prescott sat next to her dad for the ceremony. I was at the front with my brothers, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Her fiery hair made her easy to pick out, but I’d find her anywhere. I’ll make sure that I don’t need to.
Now we’re milling around, but there’s something I have to tell her.
The two of us are a small island amid the other guests.
The food has been served and the dancing will start soon.
Before the sun sets, Durban will ride off with his wife, and the rest of us will return to our lives.
Prescott and I will head out to Chicago in the morning. After I take her home.
“About the night before my birthday,” I start, my words halting. She’s quiet and waits. “Mom asked for more money, and instead of giving in, I cut her off. She reminded me that she never wanted me.”
Prescott’s lips part, and she puts her hands on each side of my face. “You are the most wanted man. Your brothers love you. All the Baileys love you. This town loves you. I love you. I’m not even counting all the animals who eat out of your literal hand.”
My nose burns and heat pricks the backs of my eyes. Fuck, I needed to hear that. “Maybe I can get you eating out of my hand.”
She rises to put her mouth close to my ear. “I have a better idea of where to put the food.”
Hell yeah.
But before I can carry her off caveman-style, her dad stops by us.
Silas scratches the side of his neck. He oscillates between scowling at me and looking delighted to have his daughter around. “You moving back in?”
I hug Prescott closer to me. “She’s staying with me. When we get back from Chicago, I’m not letting her go.” His eyes narrow. “Unless she wants me to.”
“No,” she says, smiling at both of us. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His bushy brows rise. “You’re both going to Chicago?”
“I don’t want to live there again.” Prescott puts her hand on my chest. “This guy said he’d build me a studio, but I might only need really good Wi-Fi.”
“So you’re staying?” he asks gruffly. “Here in Huckleberry Springs?”
“Yeah, Papa. I am. I’ve got some bartending shifts to cover.”
“Good. Good.” He sniffs. “Maybe we can hire someone. So you can run that rescue thing. I might need you to look at the books too. You know, if you’re not too busy.”
She bites back a smile. “I’ll make it work.”
“Glad you’re back.” He nods once and shuffles to the wet bar.
“Wow,” she says on an exhale. “That’s the most I’ve ever gotten out of him.”
“He loves you.” I tip her chin up. “He might not know how to show it, but I’m going to spend a lot of time doing just that.”
Mae leaves the circle of Foster brothers and crosses to us. Her kind smile heals old wounds inside me. From now on, I’m only going to surround myself with those who want to be with me. “Nice to see you again, Prescott.”
I glance at Prescott, surprised. “You two have met?”
“She came into Bootleg last night.” Prescott’s expression says the encounter gave her some things to think about.
“I had my suspicions she was the girl you kept mentioning.” Mae beams at me, then at Prescott.
I’d be embarrassed, but not with Prescott’s astonished expression. “That was me trying not to talk about her all the time,” I grumble.
Mae chuckles. “But I didn’t realize Prescott is also the photographer who did the new shots for Foster House Gold. They’re amazing. Teller wants to hire you for a Copper Summit overhaul.”
Prescott’s eyes go wide. “Oh my—that would be an honor.”
“Afterward,” Mae says, “we’ll have a get-together at my place. It’s too quiet with all the kids gone. I’ll supply the food as long as I get to see all the shots you take.”
“You should see the ones she took of me.” I’m digging out my phone when Prescott stiffens.
“Um, maybe send her one later,” she whispers.
The alarm shining in her eyes makes me pause. “I have the gallery?—”
“I added some,” she blurts, her gaze darting to Mae and back to me. “From the bar.” Her eyes are pleading with me to remember.
Oh . I clear my throat to cover the lust taking root inside me and growing, whispering exactly how long it’s been since I’ve been inside Prescott. “Gotcha. I’ll send you one, Mae.”
A knowing glint lights Mae’s eyes. “Can’t wait.” She gives Prescott’s arm a squeeze. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” Then she grabs me in a big hug.
I close my eyes and soak it in. This is the type of embrace a mom gives. It’s the type of love I deserve. This pavilion is full of everyone who matters to me in the world. Anyone else doesn’t deserve my time.
After Mae leaves, I spin Prescott in my arms. “Red, I’m gonna need to see those pictures ASAP.”
“I can’t believe I did that.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t know. I would’ve been jacking off to them every night.”
“Haven.” She glances around to make sure no one’s within earshot. “First, my underwear?— ”
“You mean this underwear?” I dig in my back pocket and withdraw the neatly folded wad of satiny material.
Her eyes fly wide. “Haven!” she whispers.
“I couldn’t stand the thought of you leaving today, so I kept these with me.” I grin and tuck them into her hand. “I told you when I gave them back, you’d know everything I did with them, but I want to drag you home and show you.”
Her eyes simmer with affection. “As much as I want that, as much as I want to be under you and screaming your name, this is a big day for you. Your brothers are important.”
“But you’re coming home with me?” I might ask her five more times before the night is over.
She pulls me toward the makeshift dance floor. “I’m not going anywhere. Think of the rest of the night as foreplay.”
“As long as it ends with you in my bed.” I keep an arm around her waist and clasp her right hand in mine. “And me waking up to you in the morning.”
The alarm goes off, and I crack an eye open. Half the blankets are kicked off, and I have an armful of warm woman. Prescott’s ass is pressed into my groin. We’re both naked from the shower we took together after a sex fest last night, and her hair is spread across the pillow and under my cheek.
She lets out a little moan. “It’s early.”
“We’ll be able to stop and see some sights on our drive.” I nestle my nose into the crook of her neck and shift my hips enough that my dick notches between her butt cheeks. Fucking perfect.
She rocks just enough to tease the hell out of me. “How was last night? And this morning?”
“You mean, do I like bringing a sexy woman home to fuck all night long?” I push my erection between her legs and let her ride it without pushing inside. “And then waking up to her in the morning to devour her again?”
“Is that what’s going to happen?”
I nip her shoulder and cup her breast when she giggles. “It’s going to happen once. I can’t be in a car with you for hours with a hard-on. It’s not safe driving.”
She rocks her hips, slicking her wet heat across my cock. “We’ve gotta be safe.”
“Yeah, we do.” I push her legs apart with my knee and position my dick at her entrance.
“As for your question—last night? This morning? You, in my bed? It’s what I’ve been waiting for.
” I thrust inside. She groans and undulates.
“You, in my house. You and the cats you come with. I’ve been waiting for you. ”
“ Haven .” She reaches behind her, pulling my hips closer.
I pump in and out, stroking us both higher. She’s so wet and ready. This woman was made for me. “You’re mine, Red. You’re my person.”
“You’re mine,” she says on an exhale, writhing against me.
“All mine.” I slip my hand down her abdomen and slide my fingertip onto her clit. “This pussy is only mine.”
“Yes.” She bucks against me. The sensations coursing through me swell into an intensity I’ve never experienced before. She’s hotter, wetter, and?—
I freeze, and she gasps, looking back at me .
“I’m not wearing a condom.” After last night, do I have any left? “I thought you were leaving, so I didn’t replenish my stock.”
She melts against me. “You’re still saying sweet things.”
Lust hammers into me, but I don’t move. I’ll pull out if she tells me to. I can’t deny how right this feels. How…significant. “I love you, Prescott. I want you in my life for forever, but we’ll go at your pace.”
“What if my pace has waited a long time for you?”
My hips twitch, and I groan at the ecstasy slipping and sliding through my veins. I withdraw and thrust inside—hard. “Then I’m gonna make sure I keep up.”