CHAPTER 14
ARDEN
I’m not sure what woke me up, but I know I need some fresh air. I pull an oversized shirt out of my overnight bag, which we grabbed after our naked talk, and pull it on. Okay, Ford grabbed it after threatening me about getting out of bed or putting any clothing on.
I almost giggle while thinking about how he would agree with me about putting clothes on to sit on the front porch swing. When I see the notepad, I swipe it along with a pen and grab a blanket before flipping on the light and heading out to the porch. The light is soft, but it’s enough.
Sitting out here in the pitch dark, considering the lights in the distance are few and far between, isn’t really an option.
After turning to a new page, I start writing a letter because it’s the way I know I can get the right words out. I doubt this letter will see the inside of a mailbox though.
Dear Cowboy,
First things first—Happy birthday!
By the time you’re reading this, it’ll definitely be the day. This year is a little different than last year, huh? I think if you had told me a year ago that we would be here, I wouldn’t have believed it.
I realized something really important and I think it’s what woke me up.
I love you.
I didn’t say it earlier, not in so many words. I danced around it and I alluded. But I didn’t say it.
I love you.
I’ve loved you for a long time.
The future you talked about? The family? The ranch? The land? The legacy that might just be manageable together? I want all of it with you.
All of it.
I’m in.
And no, this isn’t your birthday gift. I have something else for you. Get your head out of the gutter, it’s nothing naughty.
I also want you to know, to see the words written out. I am so proud of you.
Today you pushed someone out of your life who isn’t good for you. I can’t imagine she’d be good for anyone.
But you kept the door open for Crystal. I’m going to be looking for shooting stars to make wishes on that she comes back here, to Sagebrush. She’s the one who has to make the choice though.
I love you, Cowboy.
Arden
Just as I’m about to pull the paper free of the pad and fold it, the door creaks open. Ford, his hand rubbing over his jaw and then his eyes, blinks when he sees me. He scowls slightly, “It’s cold out here, Sunflower. Why aren’t you inside? Like in bed where it’s warm?”
“You mean in bed with you,” I tease him and he grins as he slides into place next to me on the porch swing.
“Maybe,” he agrees, his amber eyes sparkling as he looks at me.
I ease in the crook of his body easily, fitting against him perfectly. He kisses the top of my head, the affection easy between us in a way I hope we never lose. I don’t think we will.
“What are you doing out here, tell me,” he gently prods.
“I just needed to think and get some air,” I admit.
He makes a humming sound, and we sit in silence for a few moments, his foot rocking us gently. It’s comfortable and I know, without a doubt, I want to hold onto this feeling for the rest of my life.
“I realized something,” I start, my voice small. Ford looks down at me with a curious expression on his face. “I didn’t say it back.”
I watch as realization dawns on his face and his lips press into a line before he swallows hard. “I didn’t say it just for you to say it back. You will when you’re ready, when you feel it.”
“I love you, Ford. I’ve loved you for a long time and building a future with you is one of my dreams coming true.”
A smile stretches across his face and I cup his jaw, bringing him closer before kissing him softly. It’s not a surprise to me when our kiss turns hungry. How he slows it down and pulls away, I’ll never know.
“I love you, Arden.” He whispers the words, each one precious and worthy of being cherished.
I feel them slide under my skin, taking root and mending some of the pieces of me which have felt broken for so long. Nothing can be fixed overnight, but it’s a start.
It’s enough.
We settle back in the swing, but I can feel how fast his heart is racing. I can’t say mine isn’t doing the same because it is.
Desire is circling me and making it hard to focus. Will it always be this way with him? Before I become a puddle of need, I remember something very important.
I sit up straighter, “Oh! What time is it?”
Ford leans forward and peeks out from under the porch roof. “Looks to be after midnight.”
When he sits back, my eyebrows furrow while I stare at the man for a beat. “Did you just look at the placement of the constellations like you’re on the high seas and know what time it was?” He smirks and I shake my head, “The placement of the moon in the sky?”
He tucks me deeper into his side, cocooning me in his warmth and making me melt into him. “I don’t really know, but is that the answer you were looking for?”
My cheeks heat, but I don’t even care. “Yes,” I breathe out. When I move to straddle his lap, I’m clumsy, but he helps me and guides my body like he was made to do it. Maybe he was.
“Ford,” his whiskey-colored eyes find mine and for a moment I’m lost. The longer I look into his eyes, the more it feels like I’m getting drunk on them.
But there’s something more here too. Because out here, with the house that could feel like home cradling us, I know this is where my future begins. “Happy birthday.”
So many emotions flit across his face. It’s overwhelming in the sweetest of ways. His large hands cup my cheeks, and he presses a soft kiss against my lips. It’s over far too soon.
He tries to hide it, but I see the sheen in his eyes when he looks down at me.
“Thank you, my Sunflower.”
“When we have kids, they’ll have to know about the day that gets to share their Daddy’s birthday, which will always come first,” I assure him and consider if I’ll need to change every calendar in town to get the point across.
I can feel how thick and hard he is underneath me as I pull the blanket around us, wanting to feel like the rest of the world can’t touch us. Because it can’t.
My lips meet his, and something ignites between us and catches. My hips rock against his and swaying us gently with the motion. His hands are everywhere and when he slides his palms up my thighs, I know what he’s going to find.
The moment he finds me bare and wet, he plunges two fingers inside of me. My back arches and my hair flies back as my thighs shake.
“I need you inside me,” I pant out the words, my hips grinding down as I take his fingers deeper.
“Arden,” he barks out my name and my eyes snap open. When I meet his amber gaze, it’s intense. Demanding. Needy.
I breathe out, “I want this. I want you. I’m ready for everything.”
He groans and then he’s practically ripping my shirt up and over my head. Where it lands is a problem for tomorrow, in the daylight. Hopefully, it’s nowhere embarrassing, but I’ll live with it.
“Fuck,” he grunts, “your breasts are perfect.”
His head dips and he sucks one of my nipples into his mouth, the cool night wrapping around us and helping to cool my overheated skin. It’s the way I always feel around him, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon.
I push the sweatpants he has on down enough to free his cock. I grip the base of his shaft and give a squeeze that pulls a low groan from the back of his throat. It makes me feel powerful.
But I’m also feeling far too empty.
“You better slide down my cock, Sunflower,” he warns me with a growl.
The crown of his cock is an angry purple color and he’s leaking pre-cum. I’m tempted to taste him but my pussy clenches and my clit throbs. I need him inside me.
As I hover above him, we lock eyes before I sink down his length slowly. The stretch is so damn good. I moan out his name, Sagebrush the only witness to the connection between us.
His large hands clamp down on my hips, and he holds me in place for a moment while his nostrils flare and his jaw clenches. I lean forward and lick along his neck, right where his muscles are strained and corded.
Ford lets out a grunt and then he’s using his grip on me to move me up and down, riding him slowly at first, but it’s not enough.
For either of us.
Whenever I rise, his length glistening with my arousal, I slam back down, the jolt of it runs through me and makes my nipples harden even further. The bite of it. It’s delicious.
“That’s it,” his words coax me, my hips moving faster and harder, “take your pleasure from me. You have no fucking idea how beautiful you are right now, Arden. Wild. Mine.”
He grunts and I swear I can feel his cock swell inside me. I know how close he is and I’m right there. Almost. Right there.
When Ford reaches between us and flicks my clit, I shatter.
The only thing keeping me from falling off his lap is the way he’s bouncing me on his cock and holding me in place.
My hair tumbles, an unrestrained mess of strands. I huff and blow it out of my face, my body still trembling and riding through the last of my orgasm.
Then Ford growls, “You ready to take more of my cum, Sunflower?”
“Yes,” I gasp as warmth fills me and he grunts and hisses, his grip on my body tight while he holds me down on his lap to ensure he’s as deep inside of me as possible.
I find Ford’s deep voice telling me about his cum and where he’s putting it, especially now that he voiced how we’ve been completely unprotected, to be insanely sexy. My pussy clenches around his length as he empties himself inside me.
When I’m a boneless mess, he pulls the blanket back up and around me, protecting me from the cool night air. But his body heat is enough for me.
“When is your birthday?”
“Christmas Day,” I mumble the words, the blissed out feeling making my blinks a little long.
He chuckles, the rumble of his chest soothing, “Of course it is.” With a shake of his head, he kisses me softly and vows, “We’ll make your birthday special, Arden. Christmas ain’t got nothing on my woman’s birthday.”
I laugh softly and nod, liking the sound of it.
The notebook on the bench catches my eye and I make some sort of hand motion toward it.
“I wrote you a letter.” I can practically feel the way he perks up, and I can’t help but smile as I burrow deeper against his chest, my eyes sliding closed.
“I was going to fold it up and find an envelope, but…,” my words trail off and I shrug, letting them hang between us as I close my eyes.
I’m not even a little bit concerned about falling asleep out here. I know Ford’s got me. He’ll carry me inside and tuck me into bed.
The crinkle of the paper has me peeling one eye open. I watch Ford’s face as he reads my letter, my heart soaring at the soft look of love on his face.
This man. My man.
When he glances down at me and sees me watching him, the smile he shoots me is shy and boyish. “I love you, Arden.” He stands up and kisses my temple, as I tighten my hold on him. “You’re more than enough as far as gifts go.”
“I think you’ll like it,” the words come out slurred and then I’m being laid down in bed before Ford’s strong and steady presence wraps around me.
I fall asleep thinking about balloons and Valentines. And mistletoe and birthday candles.