Chapter 37
37
AURORA
Frost shifts beneath me, her thick, powerful muscles contracting as we trot through the field back to the stable. I’ve grown far more comfortable in her saddle and am looking forward to not having to waddle around tomorrow morning.
We pass the raspberry bushes, and Frost makes one hell of an effort to grab a mouthful. I let her this time, not having it in me to deny her of the treat, and Johnny laughs, clicking his tongue to encourage Joker to join her.
“You give in too easy,” he tells me.
“She’s been good tonight.”
“Yeah, she has. She can sense your mood.”
“Is that a fact?”
“It is. They’re used for therapy sometimes.”
I rub Frost’s neck, feeling the tickle of her mane on my knuckles. “Is that why you brought me out here? For horse therapy?”
“In a way. Frost’s a good girl, but I also thought a ride might help. The fresh air helps clear my mind when I’m upset. I wanted to see if it did the same for you.”
I nod. “Eliza shouldn’t have called them without asking me first. ”
“She shouldn’t have,” he agrees.
“But I’m also glad she did. At least now, I can learn what I need to and move on.”
“Is that what you want? To learn and move on? What if they turn out to be really good people and want to be in your life? They looked real happy to see you, darlin’.”
“Then I’ll think about letting them in.”
His exhale is heavy, weighed down with emotion. “You’re more incredible than you believe you are, Aurora. It fuckin’ kills me inside that you don’t know your own worth. They would be lucky to spend time with you.”
I wish he wasn’t so far from me. The brim of his hat droops into my eyes again as I watch him. I push it up with the back of my hand before tugging softly on Frost’s reins.
“I’ve been wearing this hat for a lot longer than I thought I was going to,” I state, changing the subject to something safer.
His brow jerks upward as he rakes his fingers through his loose waves. “Oh? I just figured you’d give it back when you wanted to.”
“I don’t want to give it back.”
It’s adorable how innocent he can be sometimes. Like he doesn’t expect me to want him the way I do. It’s a shame, really, because I don’t just want him. I ache for him. I’m beginning to think that’s all I do.
“Be careful what you say, Rory. I’ve been rock-solid from the moment you set that hat on your head, but I’m tryin’ to be polite and respectful, given what happened today,” he warns, his tone a deep rumble in the night.
“That’s a shame. I want you to do very non-polite things to me right now.”
I watch as he drops a hand to his groin and curses, eyes flashing. My nipples are hard as rocks against my dress, and I’m seriously considering how easy it would be to hop off Frost right now and have him bend me over against a tree .
“You ready for a run, darlin’? This won’t be a slow trot back.”
Digging my heels into Frost, I wink at Johnny. My heart pounds in my chest, excitement making my blood sing. “Race you.”
My laugh is loud and free as we take off, the steady thump of Frost’s hooves in the earth creating a beat that I feel deep inside of me. The wind flows through the ends of my hair, and I clap a hand down on Johnny’s hat to keep it from flying away.
Frost knows the way back to the stable better than I do in the dark, and she takes us there without hesitation. Joker runs after us, a whinny sounding when I glance over my shoulder and see them catching up.
I can’t tear my eyes away from Johnny, not once he gets close enough I can make him out in the dark. His body sways in the saddle, but he moves with the horse in a way that I’m still trying to replicate. It’s like they’ve moulded together, and that connection must play a part in how quickly they catch up to us.
Frost returns the whinny, and Johnny comes up beside me, leaning over to swat at my thigh.
“Got you.”
“You’re a cheater.”
“I’m not a cheater. You’re just not as good as me.”
I hum, shaking my head despite my smile. “Sure.”
The solar lights spread throughout the ranch illuminate the gravel road as we grow closer to the stable. We pass the guest house with the lights on and Poppy’s red car parked out front. The fact Garrison still lets her drive that shit box is hard to believe.
Johnny slows Joker to a trot, and Frost follows suit. Her training is extensive, far more than I can comprehend. Maybe one day, I’ll understand how much goes into training a horse.
“We’ll tie ’em up outside for now,” he says, leading us around the back side of the stable instead of to the big sliding door in the front .
“Alright.”
Crickets chirp in the fields, and the lack of other noise settles something in me. A final piece slotting itself into a puzzle I hadn’t known was unfinished until I arrived in Cherry Peak.
Johnny slips off Joker’s back and loops her reins around a post before taking Frost’s from me and doing the same. Once he’s finished, he offers me his hand, and I take it, dropping to the ground beside him. My dismount is still shaky, but I catch myself easily this time around, no longer swaying as I adjust to the sudden change.
“You have a habit of leaving these two outside together. They’re going to think you don’t like them anymore,” I say.
He chuckles low in his throat. The sound makes me break out in goosebumps, the hairs lifting on my arms.
“They’ll survive. I’ll tuck ’em in after.”
“After?”
He’s in my space in an instant, the close proximity making it hard to breathe with the all-consuming attraction I feel for him. I’m already wet between my legs from earlier, somehow never having come down from that state of arousal, even as my head filled with too many other things.
I tip my head back and curse this damn hat for blocking my view of him again. He smirks at my frustration and reaches behind me to push the back down, lifting the front. Without it in the way, he snares my eyes, and my stomach tumbles at the blatant need in his stare. The overwhelming possession and desire. It’s hard to suck in full breaths.
“Do I need to spell it out for you?” he asks, his drawl thickening.
“I wouldn’t mind the clarification.”
“Mm, right.” Every step he takes toward me, I take one back. His smirk widens. “It would be easier to show you what I want.”
My chest rises and falls rapidly in time with my breaths. “Show me, then.”
We’ve wound up behind the stable, with nothing around us but endless miles of grass and the stars above us. Johnny pins me beneath his gaze, and I go still. He sets a hot palm on my waist and turns me, pressing my back against the stable wall. The siding is rough against my arms, and I arch into his chest on instinct.
“I told myself I was going to wait. That I’d take us back to my place and have you ride me proper, my hat on your head and nothin’ else. But fuck me, darlin’. I can’t wait. I’m too goddamn hot for you,” he rasps, shaking his head like he’s angry.
If he’s angry about wanting me this badly, then I’m furious.
“Poppy told me that men love sundress season,” I whisper, tipping my head back to kiss the underside of his jaw. “Is that true?”
“I love every season when it comes to you.”
I smile, curling my fingers around his bicep. “That’s not what I asked.”
His Adam’s apple bobs as he drops his head and kisses me softly before pulling back. I chase his lips, leaning forward to taste him again. I’m buzzing beneath my skin and between my legs. If I hadn’t worn panties tonight, I’m positive I’d be dripping down my legs at this point.
“I can’t speak for all men, Rory. And right now, the thought of other men taking up space in that head of yours makes me want to fuck you like a beast, and I’m not a beast, darlin’. That’s not me.”
“You make me feel like one too,” I admit softly, drifting my touch down the length of his arm and circling his wrist.
He drops his eyes to where I hold him, watching with strained focus as I guide his hand to my chest, between my breasts, where I know my heart thumps for him. His breaths are huffed, growing louder in the silence the further down my body I bring his hand. I shiver, unable to help it.
“Are you going to let me take you here, beautiful? Because if not, I need you to stop.”
I don’t think I’ve ever heard his voice so garbled and strained. Not even our first time together. This is different, heavier. Something almost permanent about it.
Gathering the bottom hem of my dress with my opposite hand, I bring his to rest between my legs, answering him without words. I witness the moment he feels how wet my panties are. His pupils expand, jaw straining with tension. A hot, damp puff of air hits my lips a second before he’s kissing me hard and dipping his tongue deep, stroking mine with it.
I lose grip on his wrist when he twists it and tugs my panties to the side, exposing my bare pussy to the evening air. The first stroke of his finger along my slit has me jerking against the wall.
“Wanted to slip my hand beneath your dress all day. But this . . . this is worth the wait. All of this is for me? Fuck, I’m a lucky man.”
“I’ve ruined my panties.”
“No,” he mutters, moving his finger from where I want it. Suddenly, I feel a sharp sting on my hip before the sound of ripping fabric hits my ears and a cool breeze rushes over my entire mound. “Now they’re ruined.”
He lifts my pink panties between us, his eyes crossing slightly before he brings them to his mouth and sucks the gusset. My cheeks flare with heat as he pulls my arousal from the fabric and groans as he does it.
Pulling them from his mouth a beat later, he licks his lips. I watch as he tucks my panties into the back pocket of his jeans and lowers himself to his knees in front of me. My nails dig into the thick material of my dress, keeping it up so I’m bared to him.
“That was good, but you taste so much better like this,” he mutters before parting my pussy with his thumb and forefinger and licking up the length of me. “Fuck yeah, that’s it.”
I gasp an inhale and release my dress, slapping my hand to the wall instead. The material falls over his head, draping over him as he feasts on me, knowing exactly what to do to drive me to the edge quicker and quicker each time .
Two fingers slide inside, stretching me as he flicks my clit with his tongue. Curling his fingers, he applies pressure to my G-spot and strokes it over and over until I’m crying out.
“Shh, you’ll draw attention to us,” he warns, teasing his teeth over my clit.
I shake, biting down on my tongue to stifle my moans. I’ve never done anything like this in public before, and even though we’re hidden, it wouldn’t be hard for someone to find us here. Why does that make me ache even more?
“I need you to come for me now, darlin’. I’m close to comin’ in my pants, and I don’t want to waste it in my briefs instead of buried deep in your cunt.”
“Your mouth is fil—” I start before losing the words.
A third finger drives into me, and I lose my vision as my mind gets swept out from under me. I scream without sound, my throat bared to the sky. Johnny’s moans vibrate over my clit as he sucks hard until I push him away, too sensitive.
He pulls his head from beneath my dress, expression feral with the desire for more. I’m a rag doll for him, allowing him to move me every which way when he gently grabs my arms and twists me to face the wall. With a hand to my spine, he encourages me to bend.
“Put your hands on the wall, baby.”
The siding scrapes at my palms as I do as I’m told, too blissed-out to argue. There’s no reason to, anyway. I’m too empty, ready and desperate for him to slide deep. To feel that connection that only him buried inside of me brings.
“You’re a vision,” he mumbles, almost to himself.
I moan mindlessly, closing my eyes. My dress is flipped up, my bare ass exposed before he’s dipping his hand between my legs and stroking me again, spreading my wetness around.
The sound of his belt buckle clacking and his zipper lowering blows on the wind, and then he’s there, the soft head of his cock spreading me and sliding between my lips. He nudges it inside of me, giving me a sliver of pleasure before taking it away and pulling back.
“Please, Johnny,” I breathe out.
“I’m the one that begs. Not you. Not ever you.”
“So beg. I need you now.”
He pulls my hair to one side, baring my neck before bringing his lips to it and sucking on my frantic pulse. “Please let me fuck you. Please let me pleasure you the way you deserve. I want to fill you up with so much cum it drips down your thighs the entire way home.”
“Yes. Yes, you can. Do it now,” I order, the sharpness in my voice only seeming to turn him on more.
“Fuck,” he spits before sliding in, every inch of him filling me to the point I wonder if he’ll be imprinted there for days.
I drop my head forward, his hat slipping again. The feel of it brushing my forehead serves as another reminder of him, and I know I’m going to come soon, quicker than I ever have before.
“You’re my paradise, Rory. The only place I ever want to be,” he swears, slipping a hand around my front to tug at my clit while fucking into me harder and harder, not stopping once. “I’ve never felt like this. Not once.”
“Me either,” I whisper, his thrusts making my breasts swing beneath me. They’re so heavy, so sensitive. “My safe place.”
He drives harder while slowing the pace. Every forward glide steals my breath, the pleasure turning my vision spotty.
“Right there,” I gasp.
Repeating the exact same motions, he asks, “Right here?”
Tears fill my eyes, the pressure on that perfect spot inside of me bringing me ecstasy. “I’m coming.”
“I feel it. Squeeze me and take my cum, sweetheart,” he grunts before I feel a blast of warmth deep inside of me.
His hand slides up my front and rests over my heart, slowing his thrusts until he stops completely. I don’t bother pretending I’m not gasping for breath as he keeps his hand on my chest and feels the thrashing of my heart beneath it .
“You’re my forever girl. My wish on a shooting star,” he says, the words spoken like a prayer. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
My tears aren’t from pleasure this time. Just happiness. Love. They drip down my cheeks as I nod frantically.
“I was waiting for you too.”