Chapter 25
Parker
Igripped the seat of the ATV as we rode over the rough ground across the ranch fields.
We weren’t on any established path, though the grass was a bit more worn down than other areas I’d seen as we passed.
I assumed this was a place he traveled occasionally, but not often enough to wear it into dirt.
I didn’t ask where we were headed, choosing instead to just enjoy the ride in silence.
After we’d stopped by the diner where I met a very lovely older woman by the name of Grace.
She made sure we had our meals packed up tight after Dante told her what he was up to.
With a knowing smile, she gave me a wink, then she slid two slices of pie into the bag with our sandwiches.
“For dessert,” she declared. “You can’t have a lunch date without pie.”
While we were saying our goodbyes, Grace surprised me by pulling me into a tight hug.
“You take care of those boys. They need a strong woman with a good heart.” There was that word again.
She pulled back and held me by the shoulders as I took her in myself, noticing her kind eyes and genuine fondness for Dante as she glanced over at him.
Then she looked back at me, giving a decisive nod.
“You’ll do.” Maybe I should have been offended. Instead, I felt honored.
“Thank you for the pie. I’m sure it’s delicious.”
She just grinned. “Of course it is, honey. I made it.”
I smiled as I thought of the exchange. When I’d asked Dante about it in the truck, he told me that she was Gage’s grandmother and related to the sisters at the inn. I’d sat there in stunned silence for a while before Dante started laughing.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t realize you’d be meeting family?”
I just shook my head. Had she really given her approval? She said “those boys”, plural, knowing that Gage was already in a relationship. “Dante?” I finally called out.
“Yeah, baby girl?” The endearment caught me off guard and made me flush while warming my chest. I cleared my throat.
“Why did it seem like she was setting me up with all three of you? Doesn’t she know that Gage and Ry are in a relationship? I mean, they are practically married, right?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, Cherish, she knows. Do you know anything about Gage’s parents?”
I shook my head and turned to look at Dante expectantly. “He has two dads, babe. They were already together long before his mom came to town.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Yep, for years, ever since high school. His mom helped push the three of them together.” He smiled at me, his long hair escaping his hairband and teasing his face.
It made my breath catch at how beautiful he was.
Even as the twisted skin from the burns pulled with his grin, he couldn’t help but admire how gorgeous he was.
He made me think of a warrior. He would look amazing wearing armor. “You already know one of his dads.”
I furrowed my brows as I thought, then shook my head, unable to think of anyone I met who he resembled with his tall, golden good looks. “Who?”
“I’m assuming you never asked what Gage’s last name is. It’s Hardgrove-Mason.”
I sat there for several seconds before a lightbulb went off in my head.
“The Chief of police is Gage’s dad?” Holy shit.
I didn’t see that coming. I laughed and shook my head.
“Wow.” Then I realized everything else he’d revealed.
“You’re telling me that a small town in the state of Texas is okay with having a bisexual Chief of police who is involved in a polyamorous relationship?
Well, blow me over with a feather. Maybe there’s hope for this world after all.
” Dante just laughed at me, then reached over to take my hand in his.
I rode the rest of the way to the ranch with a small smile playing on my lips and butterflies dancing in my stomach. I felt like a sixteen-year-old girl riding in the truck with her first crush. Or third. I’d lost count of who I’d fallen for first.
The ATV came to a jerking stop, pulling me from my admiration of the landscape. It was so beautiful and peaceful. A far cry from the city where I’d grown up, and definitely different from where the FBI headquarters was located.
Dante hopped down, so I did the same, taking in the area he’d brought us to.
We were parked next to a small copse of large trees that provided ample shade next to a thick patch of grass.
Wildflowers were in bloom throughout the area, making it a breathtaking sight that could have belonged in a painting.
There was also a large pond just a few feet away.
As I watched, a small fish jumped out of the water to catch a flying insect.
“This place is so pretty,” I said, glancing over to Dante from where I stood near the bank of the pond. “It would be so nice to just spend an entire day out here.”
“That’s the plan,” Dante replied with a wink. He set down the bag of food and spread out a blanket that he’d stored in the back of the ATV.
I sighed, already disappointed. “As much as I’d love to, I still have work to do. We are all needed to help catch the killer.”
“I’ll take you back as soon as you say the word, Cherish,” Dante said as he walked over to me. “Just give me a couple of hours.”
I nodded, looking up at him. “I’d love to.”
He took my hand and led me over to the blanket. I sat down, getting comfortable as Dante also lowered himself to the ground. I watched as he gave a slight wince while straightening out his leg.
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” I asked quietly.
He shook his head. “There’s nothing you can do.
I have bad days sometimes,” he shrugged like it was no big deal.
“Most of the time it’s fine.” He leaned his back against a large tree trunk.
“Come here,” he held out a hand, and I obediently took it, scooting closer to him, but once I was at his side, he lifted me until I was cradled against his lap. “That’s better.”
Ignoring the tingles across my skin at our nearness, I grabbed the bag with our lunch and began taking out the containers. There were two bottles of water at the bottom, so I handed Dante one while I twisted the top off of mine and took a sip.
We ate in silence, the simple grilled cheese sandwiches hitting the spot in my hungry stomach perfectly. When I was done, I wiped my mouth and took another drink from my water bottle. Curiosity finally got the better of me.
“Dante, how did you find out what my first name is?” Surprisingly, I wasn’t mad.
It was actually a little nice being called by my first name after so many years of avoiding it.
The name was embarrassing. I’d been teased all throughout school and tried shortening it, but the name Cherry just brought a whole different type of teasing.
Dante didn’t look the least apologetic when he told me, “I did a background check on you.”
I should probably feel offended, or even violated, that he’d dug into my life. Instead, I understood. I had nothing to hide from him, and I could tell that the man was fiercely loyal and protective. Once the other two started getting close to me, he probably did it out of precaution.
“Did you find anything interesting?” I asked as I stared out over the water.
Dante gently gripped my chin and turned my face to look at him.
“Everything about you is interesting, Cherish.” He pressed his lips to mine, a soft, gentle kiss, unlike the ones we’d shared previously.
He pulled back only a fraction, his lips separated from mine by just our breaths. “Can I touch you, baby girl?”
As if I had it within me to ever say no.
Without hesitation, I brought our lips back together, this time taking the lead as I also took his hands and brought them up to cup my breasts.
Pulling back, I looked him in the eyes, seeing the small flecks of dark green and gold hidden in the darker brown. “You can do more than touch.”
With a hungry growl, Dante seemed to lose any restraint he’d previously had.
In one heartbeat to the next, my shirt was unbuttoned before I could blink.
My bra was next, tossed aside carelessly.
I was pushed, a large hand on the center of my chest, and my back hit the soft blanket.
Dante took in every curve as I lay there exposed to him, my chest moving rapidly with my breaths.
“You’re so goddamn beautiful.”
Then his hands were on my slacks, tugging them open and sliding them down my legs. Dante’s hands were shaking as he ran them over my body as if taking in the pleasure of just feeling my skin beneath his palms.
“I’m going to worship every part of you,” he promised, his voice husky with need. “I need to taste you,” he murmured, as if he were speaking to himself. “I need your taste on my tongue when I sink inside of you.”
All I could do was cry out as he yanked my legs apart and lifted my ass, bringing my pussy to his mouth. His tongue delved deep, spearing me without hesitation. The effect was immediate, causing electricity to race over my skin and heat to flood my veins.
I gripped his head, threading my fingers through his long hair, using it as an anchor.
Every move he made with his mouth was deliberate.
His tongue, teeth, and lips, all working perfectly to not only bring me to an almost instant orgasm, but to throw me over a cliff so high that when I fell back down, I was left gasping and trembling, my throat raw from my screams. I was dazed at the suddenness, at the skill he possessed to ravish me so thoroughly with his mouth that I couldn’t bring a single coherent thought to my brain.
In seconds, I was raised back to a sitting position, my body still trembling and my limbs feeling like jelly.
It took me a few seconds before I understood, as Dante guided my knees to rest next to his hips.
With his help, I raised up high enough for him to grip his thick cock, purple and throbbing, aimed for my entrance.
“Just relax, baby girl,” he said against my ear as I shuddered with aftershocks. “Just enjoy the ride.”
Using his strength, he sat me down, impaling me on him.
I flashed back to last night in the bathtub, to the way Ry had taken me the same way, and heat flared in anticipation.
As my body took him in, I released a long breath as, once again, I was stretched so thoroughly I wondered how it was possible.
Dante gave me a second to adjust to the fullness, then leaning forward, he captured my lips, taking my cries into his mouth as he began fucking me like a madman.
Sparks flew behind my eyelids that were too heavy to keep open.
I was unskilled at sex, only having been with Ry and Gage the night before, but even I could tell that he knew what he was doing.
Every thrust was precise, meant to give the most pleasure, drawing out the intensity. Screams were dragged from my already raw throat as his cock found every sensitive nerve ending inside me.
I found myself chanting his name over and over, repeating his name like my own personal mantra.
His lips descended to my neck and then my breasts, taking a nipple into his mouth as he bit down lightly while flicking his tongue over the tip.
Everything he did heightened the sensations, sending waves of heat and electric pulses of pleasure through my veins on a loop.
I couldn’t take it. It was too much. So much pleasure, I thought it would kill me if it didn’t stop. I clawed at his back and shoulders desperately as he switched to my other breast, torturing me.
“Dante,” I sobbed. “Please! Fuck!” Then I threw my head back. The scream that tore from me was ragged and raspy. My body tightened like a spring wound too tight, about to break from the overwhelming pressure.
Finally, finally, it broke. I found myself free-falling into an abyss so deep, I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to recover. I leaned my forehead on Dante’s shoulder, gasping and sobbing as the pleasure seemed to go on forever, his cock dragging it out from me in relentless waves.
I squeezed my eyes closed and allowed myself to float, to just feel. I listened to Dante’s grunts as he chased his release, goosebumps covering my skin at how animalistic he sounded, how lost he was in me.
“Look at me, Cherish,” he demanded. I pulled back, blinking my unfocused eyes, trying to take in his handsome face. “You’re mine,” he declared. “Ours,” he amended without hesitation. Then Dante emptied himself inside me with his teeth bared in a fierce snarl.