Hannah #2
“Feeling better?” I jolt so quickly water spills onto the floor, a deep voice startling me and making me scream out.
“Fuck, Dean,” I huff, leaning back against the tub. The water started to turn cold about twenty mins ago, but I couldn’t make myself get out.
“I wish you would,” he says under his breath, his long legs carrying him towards me.
I watch from the corner of my eye as he slides down the cream colored cabinet under the sink and sits across from me.
I watch as he bends one knee in front of him, leaning forward to rest his elbow against it and run a hand through his wild hair.
I have to drag my eyes off his bare chest and the way those gray sweats seem to be tailored to his hips perfectly.
“Don’t say shit like that, ok?” My words taste sour leaving my lips, but deep down I know we need to get it all out in the open.
“What if it’s the truth?” he mumbles, his fingers twist in the piles of the rug that he sits on. My blood boils so quickly that I don’t think twice before I fly out of the bathtub.
“Stop!” Blindly, I fumble for the towel hanging beside me and wrap it around my body. Rivers of water run down my legs and puddle around my feet. His blue eyes cloud over, flicking down my body before snapping back up to my face as I tower over him.
“Darlin’.” He starts to stand up, but I stretch my leg out and push a foot against his chest, shoving him back down into place.
His eyes flare at the contact, and my skin burns with the intensity of his skin on mine.
Carefully, as if he’s trying to calm a wild mustang, his hand comes up to cup the back of my calf and runs along my leg.
His fingertips drag slowly over my skin and I fight to keep a moan from leaving my lips.
“No.” Firmly, I place both feet back on solid ground, sitting back on the edge of the tub and pinch my nose between my fingers.
“You lied to me! That’s…” Blowing out a deep exhale, I drop my hands as I look back at him.
His eyes are full of regret and apology.
“That’s not something I will forgive easily.
” He nods a few times before pushing to his knees.
He rests back on his heels for a moment before slowly closing the space between us.
“You’re right. And I can’t even begin to beg for your forgiveness.
I’ll fall to my knees every day until I earn it.
” Slowly, his hands pull mine into them.
“I was ashamed of how I left five years ago, and the longer I was away, the easier it was for me to pretend that I didn’t have a family anymore.
” His voice shakes on the last few words, and it physically hurts to hold back from leaning into him and pulling him closer.
“When they showed up, I didn’t realize how much I missed them, and Hannah,” a tiny piece of my heart breaks at the tears that slip down his cheeks, getting lost in the overgrown scruff that covers his jaw and crawls down his neck, “I kept that truth from you because I was so scared that you’d hate me for it if you found out.
And we grew so close so quickly, I couldn’t find the right time to bring it up.
And well, you ended up finding out in the worst possible way.
” His callused hands frame my face. “I’m so, so fucking sorry.
” He leans in to kiss me, and with a great deal of effort I turn my face away.
I can feel his body deflate, but he doesn’t push me, just leans in and kisses the corner of my mouth.
The kiss is soft, so intimate that I want to cry.
“I’m not ready for that yet, Dean.” He nods, sitting back, putting much needed space between us.
“I understand why you didn’t tell me…” When a flash of hope lights up his blue eyes, I hold up a finger and quickly add, “I don’t know how I can forgive you for keeping something from me that you knew sits so close to my heart.
” His face falls so quickly I cringe, looking away from him so I don’t change my mind.
Nodding a few times, he drops my hands and pushes to his feet, pausing at the door he looks back at me.
“Get dressed and meet me outside, I want to show you something.” Then he’s gone.
I take my time drying off and walk out of the bathroom to a pile of my clothes on the bed.
He must have gone back and picked up my trailer while I was sleeping.
Slipping on a pair of loose jeans and my baggy Sleep Token shirt, I walk to the front door, finding my boots lined up neatly by the door.
I tug them on as I step out on the porch and instantly my jaw drops.
It’s like I’m home again. I don’t remember any of the drive here last night, and this morning was spent in a haze in bed.
This is the first time I’ve stepped outside that I can fully feel the openness and freedom before me.
The breeze makes the long grass wave like the ocean on a breezy day.
Tall trees line a dirt road in the distance and cows meander in the field across from the cabin.
But what really steals the air from my lungs is the vibrant red and orange painting the sky.
The colors streak across an endless sky, blending into each other before dipping below the horizon.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Dean rounds the porch with Queen's lead in one hand and Ghost’s in the other.
He’s changed into a pair of dark wash jeans that mold to his thick thighs and ass like they were made specifically for him.
A signature black tee hugs his broad chest and wide shoulders, giving me a glimpse of those tattooed arms that only a day ago were wrapped around my body.
A fresh wave of tears spills over and down my cheeks as I race down the wood steps and crash into Queen’s chest. Her velvet nose bumps my shoulder, holding me back.
“Thought you’d like to go for a ride.” His voice is so close I can feel the heat of him on my back.
Wiping tears from my face, I grab the rope from his hands, careful not to make contact with him.
He chuckles, shaking his head turning towards Ghost. I guide Queen over to the steps so I can easily climb on her bare back, nothing but a small wool blanket laying across her back.
Dean does the same and we quickly mount our best friends who have each been there for us in our darkest moments.
I lay across Queen’s back and run a hand over her shoulder.
She’s been recently brushed and a couple braids have been carefully intertwined in her mane.
Looking back over my shoulder, Dean quickly looks away from us.
His jaw firmly set, his eyes looking out over the acres before us.
I can’t look away from him and that damn black cowboy hat he’s pulled over his brow.
“Where to?” I ask, sitting up and pulling the lead rope into my lap. He simply lifts a hand and motions in front of us.
“Wherever the hell you feel like going,” he says with a shrug, earning him a smile. Those stormy eyes roam over me for a moment before he says with a wink, “Careful, darlin’. You look like you’re rethinking those rules you made for us.”
Giving him a dramatic eye roll, I say, “I’m thinking I need to make some new ones.” My smile slips off my face when he turns and walks Ghost over to me so close that his leg brushes mine, causing my lungs to stop working.
“Good, I’ve been wanting to add one myself.” His voice is so low it makes me tingle.
“Oh yeah?” Tempting him, I lean closer, watching his eyes sweep to my lips and back up to my eyes. “Let’s hear it then.”
My heart jumps out of my chest when he puts his mouth against my ear and murmurs darkly, “You will end up with me, Hannah Harlow.” His tongue sweeps along the shell of my ear, making my skin break out in goosebumps.
“Maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, but one day soon, you will be mine again.” My eyes drift closed at the promise his filthy mouth holds.
And then he’s gone, pushing Ghost into a fast trot, leaving me in a cloud of dust and rethinking everything that’s holding me back from chasing him down and pulling him back into bed.