Chapter 15
JULES
I f there was one thing she missed when traveling to more remote areas, it was a coffee shop that offered lavender lattes. She didn’t ever turn down a classic tin cup of black coffee, but being able to step inside the chic white brick café of West he didn’t notice Maddie’s white Jeep leaving the ranch. He skidded to a halt at the basin’s edge, turning to see Cooper coming to a stop only second behind him.
Wiping at the mud hanging from his eyebrow, the younger cowboy asked, “Double or nothing? First one back to the compound gets the rounds at our next two nights out.”
A relaxed laugh rumbled in his chest. “Double or nothing,” he agreed.
He took off once again, confident he’d win a second time. And he would have, if his attention hadn’t been raddled by the return of the white Jeep, this time with a black Mustang in tow.
Riley hesitated, and it was only when Cooper raced by him that he picked the pace back up. He caught up enough to yell to his friend. “Finish is at your cottage this time!”
Cooper threw up a hang loose hand sign in confirmation. With his focus elsewhere, Riley hit a rut, getting himself stuck for just a minute. But it was enough that he blew his chance at a win.
Two cottages sat off the side of the compound from the main house.
Raised up on their own little hill, one belonged to Cooper, and the other Grey and Maddie.
A large turnaround drive connected the homes with a lip off the edge that led down to the river.
It was the perfect natural ramp to get one last jump in before landing on the drive, which is exactly what the cowboys did before making sliding stops.
“Hi, boys,” Maddie greeted them cheerily as she jumped down out of the Jeep.
Grey sat on the porch in a rocking chair, his cattle dog, Pippa, watching them curiously from her spot at his feet. “Riley’s buying next round, then?” he guessed correctly. There had been plenty of times Grey sailed by them, leaving them in his dust on ATVs.
The only person who hadn’t addressed them was Jules, who leaned back against the grille guard at the front of her friend’s Jeep and crossed her legs at her ankles. In denim cutoffs, her legs went on for miles, and he wanted nothing more than to have those legs straddling him once again.
Remaining silent, she was watching Riley with a burning intensity that sparked a primal need in his chest. He rubbed the heel of his hand against his sternum, as if attempting to ease the pressure there.
Without breaking eye contact with her, he replied to his team lead.
“Yeah, I’ve actually got the next two, if you want to join. ”
“I’ve made plans with the ladies tonight,” Grey responded neutrally.
He wasn’t surprised, Grey tended to avoid the crowded bar. It was a horridly kept secret that Riley learned early on.
“We’ll pour one out for you,” Cooper offered.
In a swift motion, Riley jutted his elbow out to connect with Cooper’s ribs.
“Ouch. No, I mean, I’m sure you’ll have a good time tonight.
Having a girl is great.” He turned to Riley and raised his eyebrows, as if to ask for approval of his corrected response.
With a small nod, Riley dropped his attention to the mud caking his jeans and his soaked through T-shirt that clung to him like a second skin. He always kept a change of clothes in the truck, and a quick rinse in an outdoor wash stall would take care of the mess covering his skin and hair.
“I’m going to go clean up.” He flicked both hands over his torso. “But have fun,” he offered genuinely, looking at all three of them. His attention settled on Jules last, lingering.
She offered only a small smile in return, the intensity of her gaze still smoldering him.
Without another word, he threw his leg back over the ATV and guided it down to the barns. Parking the vehicle back in its spot, he started across the compound to the wash stalls, pain creeping up his spine with each step. And there was that numbness in his legs the doctor asked about.
Fuck.
He tried to focus on the ranch around him instead of the pain. His boots crunching the earth below with each step, a quiet neigh inside the stables, the smell of dirt and grain and of dust and horses.
Reaching the wash stall, he leaned forward, pressing his palms against the wooden wall at the back of the structure. He took a long, steadying breath. Then another. The heat from the water would bring relief, he reasoned.
Carefully, he peeled his shirt off over his head and started undoing his belt buckle as a seductive voice clued him in to the fact that he had company.
“You’re wearing the lightning bolt necklace,” Jules said, satisfaction dripping from her tone.
Still in pain, he turned to face her, leaning on the edge of the stall to support himself. Despite the ache in his back, he was overcome with satisfaction from the way her gaze raked over him. “I was told that I should. Something about how it looked good on me.”
“Mm, especially like this,” she hummed in approval. Taking another step, she came within arms reach, and his hands itched to grab for her.
“What brings you down here, Juliette?”
“I was at the garage today. Apparently, my car was ready in record time. And it’s wild, the special part they needed for it didn’t cost an arm and a leg like I expected. On top of that, they didn’t charge me for the labor. Would you know why that is?”
Pushing off the fence, he closed the remaining distance between them until her billowy tank top brushed against his chest in the gentle breeze. “I’m a man of many talents,” he rasped. “But convincing a mechanic to fix your car for free isn’t one of them.”
“I’m familiar with a few of your talents.” Her chin jutted out ever so slightly as she responded, and he seized the opportunity to reach out and take it between his thumb and index finger.
“What made you think it was me?” he asked, keeping her face pointed upwards at him.
“Who else knew my car was there?”
He hesitated, knowing that she could easily confirm with the garage that he had stopped in and talked to them about handling her car with extra care as a personal favor to him.
She could also confirm that it was possible for him to do so because the owner of the garage was his cousin.
“Anyone who worked there could have simply set their price,” he replied innocently.
“How—”
“Can I ask you a question?” he challenged, suppressing a shiver produced by the flutter of her hair against his bare chest.
“Okay…”
“Why come ask me now instead of at work tomorrow?”
One of her hands came to rest on his abdomen. Her touch warm and gentle. “Honestly, I don’t know. I just had this feeling it was you. And then seeing you today, I watched you leave and before I knew it, I was following you to be sure.”
“And now that you’re here?”
“Now that I’m here, I’m thinking this was a mistake.” She sighed, her bottom lip pouting outward against his thumb. He dragged it along the curve of her lip, noticing the way she seemed to tremble at his movement.
“Juliette, you are making this impossible for me.” Adjusting his hand, he slid his palm up her jaw and tilted his head until his lips skimmed hers. Not enough to consider it a kiss, though it was taking all his self-restraint to keep it that way.
“I know, I know.” She pressed her other palm to his skin, mirroring the first, and turned her head to plant a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll go. But thank you for looking out for my car, it means so much to me.”
Riley closed his eyes as her lips made contact with his skin. And by the time he opened them again, she was gone.
Shedding his jeans, he reached for the cold water and killed two birds with one stone. Juliette Graham was going to be the death of him.