Chapter 23
JULES
I t took very little time for Jules to remember where she had slept. The familiar scent of stables filled her senses before she had even opened her eyes. What stood out to her when she did crack them open was that she was alone with Lucky.
The foal was sleeping soundly now after more than one night feeding, so she was as quiet as she could be rising and folding up the bedroll. She took the canvas pack and carried it out to the aisle, closing the stall door behind her.
She stood in the center of the aisle, her lips pursed and hands on her hips.
There was a distinct pull nagging at her to go find Riley, and it was frustrating her.
She was leaving this town at the end of summer—something that was creeping up on her with a vengeance.
Yet she found herself wondering what this pull could mean, nonetheless.
The decision to follow the invisible force was decided for her. Because as Jules stood there contemplating the path she was heading down after last night, Riley rounded the corner and appeared in the wide-open barn entrance.
With the sun still low in the sky this morning, it outlined his broad shape in a warm glow. He looked like a golden god—blond and tanned and flashing one of his sunshine smiles.
“Mornin’, Juliette,” he drawled. “Sleep well?”
“Very well. But did you sleep at all?” Her brow dipped in concern as she considered him.
In appearance, he seemed well rested. But she was starting to learn that he was impressive at putting up an easy going front.
Even when he was struggling, say from a back injury for example.
Did sleeping on the ground like that make his pain worse?
With a relaxed stride, he closed the distance to meet her in the center of the barn. “I had a great night,” he replied. “What’s got you bothered?”
“What makes you think I’m bothered?”
He responded by smoothing out the pinch of her forehead. “A few hints,” he answered with a soft smile.
The sound of a familiar country ballad being whistled drifted through the air. Peering over his shoulder, she spotted Cooper approaching the stables. Riley turned to follow the melody as well, a sigh escaping him. “I still want that answer,” he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
“Ry! Grey says we’re needed for an overnight to move some of the herd to the other side of the lake. Tack up,” Cooper announced in lieu of a greeting. His eyes bounced between them, as if contemplating what he might have just walked in on.
As the wrangler, she knew these times would come up for Riley. That was why she was here. She would be the hands at the compound while he was up in the mountains. But that would mean more nights sleeping on the ground after he had a significant back spasm.
Tension coursed through her body. She bit the inside of her cheek to bite back her reaction. Of course, the cowboy at her side didn’t miss any of it. He pressed his hand to the small of her back and told Coop, “Sure, just give us a second.”
Cooper studied them for another beat before he shrugged, apparently unconcerned about what was happening in the moment. “Yeah, whatever. All I know is that we’d better be back for my birthday. Jules, you’re still coming out for it, too, right?”
She smiled back at him. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
He nodded, appeased, and turned to leave the barn once again. The second they were alone, Riley spun, taking her face in his hands. “What’s going on?”
“I just keep thinking… what about your back?” she blurted out. “It was so bad just yesterday . And then you are going to go and sleep on the ground every night after apparently.” She threw her hands up in the air, exacerbated by how unconcerned he seemed for his own well-being.
He flashed an unrestrained smile back at her, one of his hands sliding around to cup the back of her neck. “You worried about me, wild thing?”
“Someone has to be.” She narrowed her eyes, fighting to ignore the flutter in her heart.
Leaning in, he hesitated as his lips neared hers. “I’m real happy that someone is you,” he said matter of factly. Then his mouth claimed hers.
The desire from last night surged, taking her brain in a chokehold. She didn’t want to be away from him for days on end while he was up at camp. Space sounded like torture with these feelings surging.
She heightened the kiss, one hand burying in his hair, the other grabbing a fistful of his shirt.
Riley responded in turn when her teeth pulled on his lip and he pressed her closer to his body as a groan escaped him.
This was about the point where she’d pull back.
Stop him. Realize that it was getting too heated, too invested.
As if having the same thought, he seemed to hesitate. Riley was waiting for her to take the lead, and this time, she wasn’t going to waste that opportunity by stopping. She couldn’t stand the idea of sending him off to camp with these feelings tugging at her.
Instead, with the fist tangled in his shirt, she pulled him towards the tack room. He followed with wide, hopeful eyes. Happily at her mercy.
Once inside, she closed the door and slid the metal trough they used for drinks up against it, giving them some semblance of privacy. At least this time another cowboy couldn’t walk in and interrupt them because Jules had no intention of stopping this time.
“What are you doing?” he asked cautiously, his gaze darkening into something molten and spine tingling.
“Something I should have done some time ago.”
She crossed the room to where he leaned against the wooden table. His hands held the edge of it behind him, his stance open. She stepped in between his legs and began undoing his shirt, working her way down with precision. Riley remained still, watching.
When she reached his belt and quickly unsnapped that, his hands shot out around her, enveloping her in his embrace.
When she undid his jeans, he asked again, “What are you doing?” This time his lips tickled her ear, one hand already sliding up under her shirt.
“Sending you off to camp the right way,” she replied with a devious smile. Her hands on his hips, fistfuls of material, she pulled down, freeing his stiff cock. Reaching out, she cupped his balls before sliding her hand up his shaft.
He was fully at her mercy, either desire or surprise keeping him still. With her other hand, she began to remove her own jeans. “Unless you don’t think?—”
“Yes. Fuck, yes.” He reacted with fervor, reaching out to finish the job of removing her pants before walking her back and spinning her to face the wall.
His hands slid up her sides, taking her shirt with them before quickly freeing the hook of her bra.
Once given the green light, he moved with such purpose her mind had gone blank.
And she was happy to let him take the reins.
Positioning her between two saddle racks, Riley pressed in behind her.
One hand dropped between her legs, dragging along her entrance and teasing at her clit.
She sighed, it had been far too long since she had felt him there.
Need caused her body to sink into his embrace as his other hand wrapped around her front, grasping her breast. He pinched at her nipple at the same time that he slid a finger inside her.
She let out a greedy whine when he withdrew it and slid in again, this time with more force. And was that two fingers? She could feel him glide through her wetness, her body more than ready for him.
They didn’t have time to tease and savor one another. There was a team of cowboys outside expecting Riley to appear with their tack. The urgency of the situation only caused the desire to increase its hold on her. She needed to be thoroughly destroyed by him, and fast.
“I’m on birth control,” she offered breathlessly. She was hopeful he’d understand everything she was trying to say. That she wanted him now.
And he did understand. Riley always seemed to be fully in tune with every one of her thoughts and desires. “Hands on the racks,” he commanded in his deep, raspy voice that made her knees weak. She obliged. Then his fingers were replaced by his shaft.
A moan escaped her at the sweet fullness between her legs. He buried himself in her, his body pressed flush against her, his hand gripping her ass. Riley was fully in control as he guided himself out and slammed back in. She smiled at the sound of her ass bouncing against him from the force.
The hand on her breast slid upward, wrapping across the front of her neck.
He had a thorough hold on her, keeping her steady as he repeatedly thrust into her.
His power was intoxicating. Addicting. His mouth dropped to her shoulder, kissing and biting and overwhelming her senses.
He was taking hold of every inch of her.
And she never wanted that hold to loosen.
Jules tightened her grip on the saddle racks and tipped her head back in ecstasy as her orgasm built. She was so close, and he was moving faster and harder still.
“Come for me, wild thing. Soak my fucking cock so I can feel you with me when I leave,” he growled in her ear. She was right on the edge of doing exactly as she was told. And that commanding tone was enough to cause her to slip into sweet release.
“Oh my god,” she moaned, unconcerned if anyone could hear her.
“That’s my girl,” he replied, pulling out long enough to spin her around. He lifted her up, adding, “Keep holding onto those racks and wrap your legs around me.”
She felt her release spilling out as he adjusted their position. Then she felt him filling her again. With her back pressed to the wall, she clutched at the racks as he thrust upward into her, holding her up with a strong grip.
His mouth crushed over hers. The kiss was wet and messy, and matched the power of his thrusts. “I want to feel you come for me again. I want to feel you shutter around my cock again,” he breathed between kisses.
“Okay,” she managed. “Yes. Yes.” She was already right there at the brink again. It wouldn’t take long to give him what he wanted.
He smiled against her lips as he pounded into her with more urgency. They were nearing his own release, and the possessive side of her wanted to know that he left himself inside her when he left for camp too.
“Come with me,” he instructed. And her greedy body obliged. Greedy for his commanding presence, greedy for his dick. She threw her head back and moaned his name as they came together. Twin shutters and heavy breathing, perfectly in unison.
Riley pressed his forehead against hers, still cradling her against his body. Her legs had dropped from their tangled hold around him, too tired to hold on any longer.
But he had her.
Riley was steady. And steadily carving out a space in her heart.
He kissed the tip of her nose. Her cheek. Her closed eyelids.
She opened her eyes to catch his expression. It was soft, admiring. “Riley—” she started as a knock on the door filled the air.
“Seriously. I won’t be able to keep your secret if you’re doing this shit,” Cooper’s voice shouted through the door. “Put your dick away and let’s go.”
She dropped her head back as a laugh escaped her. “I guess it’s time for you to put your dick away and go.”
But damn, she was just close to telling him things that had been on her heart.