5. - – Jules
CHAPTER FIVE
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JULES
“Girl, you sure you don’t want to stay? Keegan’s asleep. You can take the guest room.”
“I appreciate you, Quinn, but after everything lately, I just need my bed.”
I was last to leave. Delaney had a concert in Denver, but would be back to perform at Willow’s.
Finley had mystery plans (not uncommon for her) and left early.
Moira’s baby daddy couldn’t handle Bode preferring Mama.
So thanks to his wounded ego, she went to get her son.
And this is why I didn’t want children… they came attached to men.
“The rain has gotten bad. Be safe, yeah?”
“I’ll go slow. It’s not far. Thanks for listening.”
“Hey, Jules—” She pulled me into a crushing hug. “I’m here… anytime. You’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you. Now let me go before I cry.”
Quinn kissed my cheek and released me.
“Bye.”
Not waiting for a response, I fled, rushing into the rain. The torrential downpour matched my internal conflict. Tonight left me raw—heart cracked wide open and exposed. Solitude and hermit-mode were necessary to recover.
Absentmindedly, I started my truck and headed home.
Five minutes later, the rain started coming down sideways.
The deluge of water obliterated the usefulness of the windshield wipers, and then the unthinkable…
every dashboard light went out, thrusting me into complete darkness—truck dead while rolling along.
“Fuck. My. Life!” I screamed.
The power steering went out. It was hard to pull over, but I managed.
At least the universe kindly provided a wide grassy spot for my life to safely continue sucking ass.
I was soaked to the bone on a darkened backroad halfway between Quinn’s and the ranch.
If I called anyone back home, I risked alerting the aunties.
Snagging the elastic from the gear shift, I tied my hair up and texted the person I ached for but should be last on my list. Who was I kidding?
Me
I need your help.
Immediately the dots danced, followed by the pounding of my heart echoing through the cab.
Dean
Interesting. How may I be of service?
“Ahh! Asshole.” How did I end up here… with him of all people?
Me
My truck broke down.
Dean
In this rain? Where the fuck are you?
I tried to label his response as aggression toward me, but that wasn’t fair.
Dean was protective and had claimed me years ago.
That meant I was his to rescue, to shelter, and to keep from harm.
It’s why I’d shut him out of my life—to save him from himself.
If Dean had been there, he’d razed his world to the ground for me.
I couldn’t have that. Being near him was dangerous, for us both.
Me
On Bearwallow Way.
Dean
You safe for now?
Me
As safe as I can be wet and stranded on the side of the road.
Dean
Be there in ten.
Me
I’m just south of the tracks.
Dean
Hang tight, Princess.
What else was I supposed to do?
He was the last person I needed to see tonight.
Talking with Dee and Quinn reminded me, I’ve always loved Dean.
He’d been my first crush. The man I compared all others to.
When my mother died, he truly saw me. Dean understood my pain.
With Mama gone, I’d lost my only connection to another woman in the ranching world.
This life was already harder on women, and with her gone, I was unmoored.
I’d cried in his arms, and because he had me, I was safe.
Letting this ruse continue would lead to a devastation not even my aunties could inflict.
Headlights lit up the night when a black truck crossed lanes and pulled up next to me—driver’s door to driver’s door.
Dean: Come through my door.
Me: I’m dripping wet. You’ll get soaked.
Dean: Don’t care. Get in.
“Neanderthal.”
I complied by grabbing my things and moving quickly.
Dean swung his door open for me to climb up.
His massive hands lifted me over his body and carefully placed me in the middle of the bench seat.
The door slammed, a blanket was tucked around me, and without a word, he took off.
I sat dazed, lost in the power radiating off Dean. He was a good man—too good for me.
I heard a garage door open, then everything went dark.
I found my voice. “What are you doing?”
“You need to get dry.”
“Then take me home.”
“I’ve called to have your truck towed. Mike will call me in the morning. It makes more sense for you to stay here then?—”
“I’m not staying here!” I whipped toward him just in time to see him hop out of the truck and go inside.
I rushed after him. “Dean, stop. Take me home.”
“Why? Who’ll take you to get your truck tomorrow? Your brothers? One of your shitty-as-hell aunties? They’ll all wonder why you weren’t here. Did you not think about that? This is what I’m supposed to do as your boyfriend.”
“You’re not my boyfriend.”
“But I am, Princess.”
“Fake! This—” I waved my soaked hands between us. “Is. Not. Real!”
“Keep telling yourself that.” He stepped closer. I stepped back.
“We hate each other.”
Dean advanced—I retreated. “I hate you because you stole my choice.”
“What?” I shook but not from the cold.
“You heard me. Eight years ago, you shut me out. No warning followed by lethal silence. I called, texted—you changed your number. I went to Stanford—you moved. I had to either hate you or break, Princess.” He was in front of me, my back to the wall.
“I couldn’t.”
“Couldn’t what?”
“Be with you.”
“Why?”
I turned my head. Flashes of what happened when I returned to college after Mama’s funeral started to surface. Fuck that. I pushed him. I wasn’t strong enough to move him, but he went willingly.
“This isn’t a battle, Princess.”
My eyes burned from the treacherous tears threatening to burst free.
My throat tightened as a primal howl for vengeance crept up.
That bastard took more than my innocence.
He robbed me of this beautifully strong man who still loved me.
Dean was wrong. This was a battle. A war I’d been fighting for almost a decade, and if I let him in, I’d lose.
“The fuck it isn’t,” I roared.
“It doesn’t have to be,” he bit back.
“We’ve been at war for years.”
“Then I call a truce.”
“No.”
“No, huh? Are you ready to be defeated then?”
“Never.”
“Well, Princess, there’s a first time for everything.”
“Not for me. And not for you.”
Dean placed his hands on the wall at my back, framing me in, then leaned forward. The scent of him crept into my nose like a drug, bending me to his will. “I’ll get you to beg.”
“No… you won’t.” Leather invaded my senses, followed by earth and sandalwood. My shoulders relaxed.
“Oh, how you’ll beg for me… for my cock,” he purred into my ear. His breath was warm.
“You wish.” The words were breathy—closer to a moan.
“And you’ll kneel, Princess.” The featherlight touch of his lips on my earlobe sent chills down my spine and straight to my clit. “But only ever for me.”
“Not… going to… happen… asshole,” I panted.
“You’re almost there.” Dean dropped a kiss to my neck. “You’ll bow.”
I fisted his shirt in my hands. To push him away or pull him closer—I didn’t know. “When hell freezes over,” I growled. I tugged him closer. “And not even then,” I whispered.
“Jules, I’ll teach you to submit. One way or another.” He sank his teeth into the flesh where my neck and shoulder met.
“Impossible.” I was caving, and he knew it.
He kissed the bite better and cupped my ass to pull me into him. He was impossibly hard—so ready. Just feeling his massive dick pressed to my stomach was going to make me come.
Running his nose up my neck, he continued speaking in a low rumble. “Princess, I spend every day taming beasts… What makes you think I can’t do the same to you?”
I dropped my head back, giving him access. I wanted to be mad, but his scent and warmth made me stupid. “Did you just compare me to a fucking horse?”
Using his rock-hard body, he pinned me to the wall, released my ass, and cupped my face.
“Temperamental, wild, majestic, intelligent, strong, loyal, and beautiful—yes, I guess I did. Because you’re those things and so much more.
” He dropped a kiss to the tip of my nose. “Speechless looks good on you, Jules.”
“Fuck you.”
Was I angry? Yes. No. Maybe. Did I care anymore—absolutely not. Not with him smelling like heaven and his body awakening my carnal desires with a primal promise to seduce and satisfy every craving.
“I accept.”
“Accept, what?”
“You can fuck me.”
“Dean… I meant fuck off.” But did I really? The current state of my panties called me a liar.
“Not what you said though.” He kissed my forehead. “I’ll fuck you once you beg.” Another kiss to my cheekbone. “And kneel.” A chaste kiss to my lips with his eyes locked on mine. “And bow… And when you admit who owns you, I’ll take you deep, hard, and fast, Princess.”
“Not. A. Fucking. Horse. Or a possession, Dean.”
“If it makes you feel better, horses are better than most humans and more worthy of my time.”
“It doesn’t, you pompous dick.” My words were sharp, but my body was surrendering.
Dean abruptly stepped back, leaving me to stagger forward, almost falling to my knees. “What the hell?”
“We’re at an impasse.” He walked into his kitchen. That’s when it hit me. I’d never been here, in his massive, wide-open rustic home.
The wood was distressed and exposed with high ceilings, and a loft that ran along the entirety of the main living space. “Dean, is this the old barn we used to play in?”
“It is.” He leaned against the counter, drinking bourbon.
“Who converted it?”
“I did.”
“It’s stunning.”
“Was that a compliment?”
I smirked. “I am capable of giving them.”
“Not to me.” He took a deep pull of liquor. “You’re wet.”
My thighs clenched. How did he know my pussy was dripping?
“Your clothes, Princess. You need to take them off.” He downed his drink and headed toward the staircase.