Chapter 24
Shiloh
After the sun went down, it got quite chilly, and we packed it up, heading back to the ranch for the evening.
I’m still swooning over this well-thought out date he just took me on.
I’ve been on a few dates, but mostly just to dinner and a movie, something cliche, honestly.
This date. This was planned and considerate.
He literally thought of something just for me to try to ease my mind about his bull riding.
Has it cured my fear? Absolutely not, but it for sure opened my heart to him that much more.
Once we got in the truck, I moved the blanket to the side and sat in the middle of the bench seat beside him, and he put his arm around me, driving home.
I love the feeling of being in his arms. I am still wondering what he meant by, “ I think she sent you to save me.” I wonder if things got really dark for him after his mother died.
I still don’t know the full extent of what happened, but something in his eyes tells me he had it rough.
As we pull up to the ranch, he parks beside the barn, and we slide out together.
He holds my hand as I step out and shuts the door.
I turn around, looking at him, and he reaches into his back pocket, pulling out his cigarettes, and he looks at me with a yikes face before he says, “Why don’t you head up, I’ll be up in a minute. ”
“Okay.” I nod, excited that he’s not ready for this evening to end either. If he had dropped me off at my house, I would have gone in, but I would have damn sure been disappointed.
He walks off, and I go to walk up the stairs to the loft.
Once I make it inside, I look down to the booties and take them off, and my feet thank me.
I now know why I opt to only wear sneakers or boots.
Damn these things, although cute, they hurt my feet.
I then look down to the dress and roll my eyes at it too.
I’m ready to be in some comfy clothes. Maybe I should have gone inside and grabbed some.
I then walk to the back bedroom to find 2 suitcases that have yet to be unpacked and a box of buckles with a few trophies.
He has a few photos in the box too, but I decide this time to not get caught snooping.
Sighing, I decide although I want to put a t- shirt on, I will not go through his suitcases.
“Damnit,” I whisper.
Walking back to the kitchen, I decide to get a glass of water instead and just stay in the damn dress until he comes up and gives me permission to look through his suitcase.
As I’m filling it up, the door opens and he walks in smirking, “Sorry, I know that’s a nasty habit,” he shuts the door and walks over to the bar, sitting down, looking as if he’s lost in thought before he says, “When my mom got sick is when I picked it up. It was the only thing that calmed my nerves. After my mom passed, I lost the ranch too. I thought she had it paid off, but,” he chuckles, but it’s far from humor before he says, “She didn’t,” he pulls his silver eyes to mine before he says, “Then my dog died, so it hasn’t been an easy habit to kick, given my bad luck.
” He stands, walking over to me, putting one hand on my hip and the other on the nape of my neck.
I look up to him and he says, “But with you around, sometimes I forget the addiction exists.”
I’m struck silent at this, and I press up on my toes, kissing him deeply. I slide my tongue in his mouth, and he picks me up, sitting me on the counter, and I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him closer, feeling like if he pulls away, I may lose him.
His hand wanders to my thigh until his fingers are at the hem of my panties, and he pulls back, looking at me, “Is this okay?”
“Yes,” I breathe out, pulling him in to kiss him again.
He then trails down my neck, and his hands move my panties to the side as he runs his fingers along my center. I gasp, loving the feeling of his hands on me like this.
He then pulls his hand back and picks me up from the counter, putting me on my feet, and says, “We are not doing this on the countertop, and we are only doing this if you are comfortable. We can take it slow, there is no rush.” He assures me, and it makes my heart melt that he is being such a gentleman.
We make our way to the bedroom, he spins me around, pulling me to him, and we back up until my legs hit the bed. He brings both his hands to the sides of my face, looking me in the eyes before he says, “You’re my addiction now, Shi, I don’t even think I was living before you came into my life.”
I pull him closer until we are laying on the bed, and he hovers over me, kissing me gently. I scoot back, and he brings his hand to my chin, turning my head and kissing along my neck, and I gasp.
His hand wanders to my neck, and he pulls back, looking in my eyes, seeking permission to go further, and I nod.
He brings his hand to the top of my dress and unbuttons it slowly, leaning down, kissing my chest. He pulls the dress down, discarding it to the floor, and he takes me in, looking me up and down as I’m left in my bra and panties.
“You’re so perfect, baby,” he whispers under his breath, making goosebumps erupt all over me.
I smile, and he lays down beside me, running his calloused hands up and down my frame, stopping at my bra strap.
Looking up to me, and he pulls it off completely, revealing my breasts.
My stomach is in knots as he leans down, kissing and sucking, and my back arches.
He brings his free hand to my stomach, making his way down, lingering over the hem of my panties, always going slow, making sure I’m comfortable.
Slowly, he dips his hand inside and spreads me, running his fingers along my folds, and a moan escapes me. “Verge.”
He looks up at me, smirking and kissing my lips as his fingers continue to trace every inch below.
His hand roams in all the right places, and it feels so damn good.
He then sits up, pulling my panties off, and leans down, kissing my thighs, and I take a deep breath as his mouth collides with my center and I lose it.
As his tongue dances below, I arch my back, and I close my eyes as my orgasm takes over, consuming me, feeling like I can’t catch my breath in the best way.
After I come down, he lays beside me, smirking from ear to ear.
“Damn,” I say, panting and laughing at the same time.
I roll over, snuggling up to him, and go to grab his belt to return the favor, and he stops my hands and says, “Don’t worry about me tonight.”
I look at him, confused, before he says, “Shi, I assure you I’m fine, baby.”
I sit up, putting my hair behind my ear, feeling a tad guilty before he sits up, kissing my shoulder. “When the time is right, baby, but I want you to be sure before you give me something you can never get back, okay?”
I turn to him, kissing his head, and he stands, saying, “I’m gonna grab a shower. Feel free to grab any clothes from my bags if you wanna stay.”
I nod, smiling, and he grabs a towel from the closet, slipping into the bathroom, shutting the door.
Smiling, I walk to one of his suitcases, opening it up, and on top is a Sublime T-shirt, folded, and I chuckle, going through his t-shirts without unfolding them. I find two more band t-shirts: Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Trapt.
I grab the Sublime shirt and put it over my head, finding a pair of boxers and sliding those on as well. While I’m waiting, I grab my panties, bra, and Tyler’s dress and fold it neatly, putting it on the nightstand, and crawl into bed, looking around while I wait on him.
About 15 minutes later, he opens the bathroom door as steam comes out behind him.
He has a white towel draped low on his hips.
I’ve seen him shirtless before, but it hits different when he’s soaking wet.
The scent of old spice hits me as he walks in the room, and I’m not gonna lie, I am 100% checking him out, letting my eyes roam every inch.
The tattoos and the scars; I’m observing him.
He reaches in his bag, grabbing some boxers, looking up and smirking at me, saying, “I gather you like my band T-shirts.”
I shrug. “I didn’t peg you as such a music enthusiast.” I laugh.
He chuckles. “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, baby,” he says, winking and grabbing his toothpaste and brush and heading back into the bathroom.
It’s then I realize I need my toothbrush. I instinctively smell my breath. It's not bad, but shit, morning breath is not cute. I hear the faucet turn on in the bathroom, and I scramble to grab my phone, calling Cash. It’s 9 pm, and he may be asleep, but I give zero fucks right now.
“Hello?” He answers in a sleepy voice.
“Cash,” I whisper-yell.
“Shiloh, are you okay?” He says, his tone morphing to worry. He’s gonna be pissed that I woke him up like this for a toothbrush, but again, zero fucks, right?
“Yeah, um…Can you bring my toothbrush out to the loft?” I ask nervously.
“Really?” He says, and I cover my mouth, giggling.
“Please?”
“Ugh, Shiloh, come on.” He groans.
“I’ll love you forever.” I laugh.
“Give me 5 minutes,” he says, hanging up.
As I hang up, I continue to laugh, and Verge opens the door, smirking at me when he asks, “What are you laughing at?”
“Cash hates me, but I needed a toothbrush, so I called and asked him to bring me mine.” I smile.
He bites his lip, looking down at his other suitcase. “What?” I ask, confused.
He bends down and pulls out a whole pack of toothbrushes, and my mouth falls open before I ask, “Why do you have so many?”
“I’m always traveling, and with how much I smoke, I don’t ever wanna forget one. It’s kind of a habit I picked up after I started smoking like a fucking freight train.” He shrugs, and I hear a knock at the door.
“He’s gonna kill me,” I laugh, throwing the covers off and walking to the door.
I open it, and Cash is in sweatpants and a hoodie, his muck boots on and his hair wild from sleep, and I decide to just not even tell him Verge has extras. He shoves it in my face, rolling his eyes, and I laugh. “Thank you, big brother.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he says, turning around and heading down the stairs.
I turn around, taking a deep breath, and head back to the bathroom, glancing in the bedroom to see Verge in the bed, and I hold up my toothbrush in victory, and he covers his mouth, laughing.
After I brush my teeth, I walk to the bedroom, where Verge is looking at his phone. I slide in bed with him and scoot closer, asking, “What’cha looking at?”
He shrugs. “Just the standings. That 84 knocked me into second.”
“You’ll be back on top next weekend,” I assure him.
He locks his phone, looking over at me, half smiling, before he says, “We shall see.”
He then reaches for the lamp, cutting it off, and extends his arm, offering for me to cuddle up and lay on his chest, and I gladly take the invitation, laying my head over his heart, tracing the scar on his abs with my fingers.
“Curious, are we?” he asks, grabbing my hand, and I look up at him, putting my chin on his chest, and I shrug innocently.
He chuckles before he says, “That actually wasn't from a bull, believe it or not.”
“Enlighten me,” I playfully say.
“It’s not even a cool story. I wish it was a bull.” He laughs.
“Come on,” I beg.
He looks at the ceiling and then back at me before he says, “I ran into the tailgate of my mom’s truck when I was playing with my dog.”
I burst out into laughter before I say, “Okay, I need more than that.”
“I was running from him, I had a stick in my hand. I was probably 16. He was chasing me, and I was running backwards. When I turned around, I slammed into the open tailgate and had to get like 6 stitches. ” He laughs.
“I got bucked off a pony once,” I laugh.
“A pony?” He laughs.
“Okay, but you know as well as I do that ponies are evil. Cross bet me $20 to ride him, he was a little shithead.” I giggle, getting lost in the memory.
“Did he ride him?” He asks.
“Yeah.”
“And?” He asks.
I suddenly zip my lips, not wanting to admit that Cross won the bet. He tickles my sides until I say, “Okay, okay, yes, Cross rode him and didn't fall off. He felt bad, though, when I had to go to the hospital.” I laugh.
“He really is your best friend, isn’t he?” He asks.
“Always has been,” I admit.
“I was jealous of him at first,” he says.
“Why?” I ask, knowing exactly why, but I want to hear him say it.
“Because he always had his hands all over you, well, his arm at least, and you two seemed together.”
I lay back in his arms, laughing, and he tickles me again before I say, “I assure you he’s like a brother to me, but I’ve never really had any girlfriends until Tyler.
Cross has always been there for me. Cash is the best brother, don’t get me wrong, but our age gap made it harder for us to play, and Cross and I were always together as kids.
I couldn’t imagine my life without him, as goofy as he is. He's always been there.”
He hugs me and kisses my head and mutters with his lips still lingering, “He’s growing on me too.”
I look up to him, kissing his lips, and we lay there in a comfortable silence until I fall asleep wrapped up around him.