Chapter Two
Blake couldn’t believe he’d actually seen Hanna walk into the grocery store as he drove through town.
He’d waited for so long to see her again, and now that she was there, a sliver of anger grew that she’d made him wait as long as he had.
He knew it was unreasonable, but he’d dreamed of her for years.
Once again, he’d let his exasperation show, and it pushed her away again. When was he going to learn?
He watched her drive away and wanted to howl out his frustration. He was mostly pissed at himself for yanking her chain and her for running from him.
But what did he expect her to do?
He’d spent many nights kicking himself for tormenting her. He knew precisely why he’d done it, but it didn’t make it better. He’d wanted her with a passion that had scared him the first time he laid eyes on her.
She was such a meek little mouse, but she was hands down the most beautiful girl around, and he wanted her.
It wasn’t just her beauty that did it for him.
He’d seen how gentle she was, and she didn’t seem to have a mean bone in her body.
When he realized how smart she was, he decided she was the whole package—everything he wanted in a woman.
Yes, he was young. Some people would say that he was too young to think about forever. But the fact that his mother left him when he was a toddler, and he’d never seen her again, made him want a woman of his own. One that would never leave him.
Although he had Dottie, their lifelong housekeeper who pretty much raised him, there had never been a woman around the ranch. After his mother left, his father turned all his attention to the property. Unless his father was good at hiding, Blake surmised he never dated either.
He didn’t want to end up like his father, sitting in his office alone night after night for decades, and then going to bed without a warm body next to him and someone to hold him.
Blake’s problem had always been that the only woman he saw in his life had been Hanna. He tried dating, but no woman held a candle to her.
He snorted. He hadn’t had a real conversation with the woman he’d fallen in love with in high school, but he watched her every second he could.
They had three classes together, and he tried to change his schedule to match hers so he could see her the whole day.
It hadn’t worked out because of football practice.
It took her ignoring him to get angry at her. He’d been an asshole to her, and unfortunately, the class had followed his lead.
He’d watched her get increasingly distant, trying to protect herself, so he got angrier.
He’d tried many times to make everyone stop bullying her, but they saw him continue to scowl at her and call her ice princess, so they also did.
They just took it too far at times, and he always stepped in when he found out anyone had touched her in any way.
He’d even punched a few guys for touching her.
Looking back through adult eyes, he knew he lashed out because she was something he really wanted, but he couldn’t have.
He’d been an immature, selfish son of a bitch and hated himself for it.
He’d grown in both body and attitude. Or so he thought he had until he’d seen her, and she had tried to ignore him.
Jesus, why did one little woman have the power to crush him without even trying?
He’d been amazed and proud that she’d graduated at the top of their class and gotten a scholarship.
He had planned to talk to her and apologize for his behavior at graduation, but she hadn’t been there for the graduation ceremony.
He’d even gone so far as to go to her house and been told by her mother she’d left for college already.
He’d been despondent for days, maybe even weeks.
His father actually started to worry when he showed no sign of wanting to go to his friend's party or even have his own. He’d found out where she went and got angrier that she moved as far from their town as she could and hadn’t been back, as far as he knew.
He wondered why she’d come back. He wanted to drive to her house and ask, but he’d pushed her enough. He’d seen her sister Shasha but wouldn’t ask her for anything. He stayed as far from that skanky bitch as he could.
He’d never understood how two sisters could be so different. Shasha was only two years older than her sister but acted much older.
Hanna was gorgeous and shy, while her sister was bold and average-looking. Hanna was a sweet person and never hurt anyone. Shasha enjoyed the pain she inflicted. She seemed happy only when she was causing problems.
He’d made the mistake of screwing her once. He’d been at a party and gotten drunk. When he’d seen Shasha, she looked enough like Hanna in his inebriated state that he’d fucked her, and she hadn’t left him alone since.
She’d gone to him a month after that colossal mistake and told him she was pregnant with his baby. He’d used a condom. It was second nature even if he were drunk, so he knew she lied, but she pushed it, even going to his father.
She’d had to get a DNA test done in her first term, and it came back negative for being his. He never saw her pregnant and had heard she’d aborted the baby since she couldn’t use it to manipulate him.
Shasha still lived in town. She worked at one of the bars and lived in an apartment over it. She made extra money taking men up to her place and whoring. She was as trashy as a person could get, and he didn’t want her anywhere near him.
Hanna had become even more beautiful, and by the look of her clothing and what she drove, she’d made something out of herself.
He’d bide his time but wasn’t letting her leave again without talking to him. He also needed to get over the anger of her leaving and stop pushing her, or she’d never give him a chance.
Later that night, as he lay in his bed, he came to a massive revelation that he hadn’t gotten married or had a long-term relationship because he had loved Hanna and hadn’t gotten over her.
He wiped a hand down his face in disbelief.
Jesus, could he get any more pathetic? He tried to deny it to himself, but it always came back to his feelings for her.
From the first look at her until that moment, he’d never loved another woman because he loved Hanna, and he knew deep down that no other woman would do.
He’d be a bachelor for the rest of his life if he couldn’t have her.
Shots of her naked and underneath him made his already hard cock throb.
He knew in that state he’d never be able to sleep, so he ran his hand down his body, gripping his cock and stroking it.
He imagined all the things he wanted to do to her, and when he thought about being in her tight ass, the ultimate submission, his cum burst from him, wetting his hand and stomach.
He reached for a tissue and wiped up the mess before tossing it into the trash can.
Blake turned to his side and punched his pillow before becoming comfortable again. He needed to be up before dawn. He had a ranch to run, so he needed to get some sleep. He tried to get her out of his mind long enough to fall asleep, and when he could sleep, he dreamed of her.