Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The Ranch
“You’re insane,” Hadley said, pushing the front door open.
“Yep,” I said as I hobbled up the porch steps after her. My ankle had twisted sometime during the bar brawl. “You guys go. Check on Tempest. Get some sleep.”
“You sure?” Hadley asked, biting her lip.
I nodded. “If I need any help doctoring, I’ll wake Muddy.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” Hadley said.
“I’m sure.”
She reached out and gently hugged me. I winced but kept quiet. “You’ll tell me later. What she said to make you fly off the handle.”
“Nope.” I pulled back and smiled at her. “It’s not worth repeating.”
Declan looked at me as he wrapped a protective arm around Hadley. “Must’ve been bad.”
“Amber Winston was a nasty teenager. Now she’s a nasty adult.” I shrugged.
Hadley giggled. “If anyone asks, I don’t condone this kind of behavior. But in private, I’m Team Salem.”
The two of them left and headed toward the guest cabin. I hobbled toward the bench and sat down. Without a word, Cas kneeled in front of me and gently removed my boots.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“You twisted your ankle the night we met in the hotel bar,” he said, stroking the outside of my foot, up my calf.
“I remember,” I smiled slightly. “You seem to have a habit of checking to make sure I’m okay.”
Adrenaline was still buzzing in my blood, along with the last vestige of rye.
I leaned over and cradled his cheek.
“Let’s get some ice on that ankle,” he said.
He helped me up from the bench, quickly took off his boots, and then aided me inside. The house was quiet—my grandmother was likely asleep.
“What do you need first?” Cas asked. “Ice for the ankle? Aspirin?”
“My neck stings,” I remarked. “I think she used her claws.”
“Oh, yeah, she did.”
“There’s witch hazel in the cabinet,” I said. “And cotton balls.”
Cas went to the cabinet, and then said, “If I ask you something, will you answer truthfully?”
“Depends.”
“What did you say to Amber that made her lunge for you?”
“What makes you think I said anything?” I asked, feigning innocence.
He set the bag of cotton balls on the table, and then opened the bottle of witch hazel. “You’re not as feral as you let people think. I think you want them to believe that so they don’t know the truth.”
“Which is?”
“You’re protective of those you love. Everything you do, you do for them.”
I nibbled my lip. “Yeah, I do.”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve been protective of Hadley.”
“No. Definitely not.”
“So, what happened?”
He dabbed my neck and I hissed at the sting. He blew air across my skin, soothing it instantly.
“She said unkind things about Hadley getting pregnant . . . and a shotgun wedding. And I might’ve touched her eyebrow and said it never did grow back all the way. Then she went crazy.”
“I see. What else have you done in the name of protecting those you love?”
“Hmm. Let me see . . . the list is long.”
He laughed and began to clean up.
“Oh, here’s a good one. Wyn was dating a guy and she found out he was cheating on her. But instead of confronting him, she cooked him a nice dinner at his place . . .”
“Weird sort of punishment.” He dumped the cotton balls into the garbage and put the witch hazel back into the cabinet.
“I wasn’t finished. I had this idea to put laxatives in his wine.
And it was also my idea for her to put a can of sardines deep in an air vent where he couldn’t get to them.
And while he was fighting for his life in the bathroom, she found the girl’s social media on his computer and left it open so he would know why he was suffering. ”
“I bow at the feet of the master,” Cas quipped.
“You did that earlier,” I reminded him.
“You want to ice your ankle down here or upstairs?”
“Depends.”
“On.”
“Are you going to help me get ready for bed?”
“How sure are you that your grandmother is asleep?”
I smiled. “I’m pretty sure. Besides, she wears ear plugs.”
“Does she?”
“Yep.” I grinned. “And the walls are thick. This house was built to last.”
“I’ll sleep next to you tonight, but I’m not putting my hands on you. Even I have some sense of decorum.”
I snorted. “Well, I don’t. You’re really not going to touch me?”
“I’m really not going to touch you.”
I grinned.
“What?”
“We’ll see.”
“If you don’t behave, I’ll sleep in my own bed.”
“Fine, I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
“Good.”
“And I’ll even wear pajamas.”
“Salem,” he warned.
My smile widened.
“What?” he demanded.
“You called me Salem.”
“I did.”
“You’re not going to be able to resist me.”
He took my elbow and led me toward the stairs. “That, I already know.”
“Salem,” he growled.
“What?”
He placed a hand on my hip. “Settle.”
I sighed and rolled over onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. It was dark in the middle of the night, and I should’ve been asleep.
But I couldn’t sleep because there was a big, brawny bull rider in bed next to me. And even though I was wearing pajamas, he had stripped down to his boxers, so every time I moved, I grazed warm bare skin.
“Tell me a bedtime story,” I commanded. “Something boring that will put me to sleep.”
“I could explain how a combustion engine works,” he said.
“Yeah, tell me. That’s boring as fuck.”
Cas started talking, but unfortunately it had the opposite effect from what I had intended. He was speaking technical jargon, but I was busy visualizing him working on said engine with a wrench in his hand and grease on his arm.
Shirtless.
Fantasy Salem brought him a bottle of beer, wearing a pair of cut-off shorts that showed a little cheek, and a threadbare tank top without a bra.
And suddenly Fantasy Salem was bent over the hood, getting railed from behind.
Cas fell silent, and then whispered, “You asleep?”
“No.” I placed my hand on his chest and began tracing a pattern on his skin.
He grabbed my fingers to stop me. “No? You were actually interested in what I was talking about?”
“I had a nice visual of you working on a truck engine. And then my imagination got away from me. You want to hear my fantasy?” I asked.
“I’m begging you not to tell me.” He groaned and released my hand.
My fingers inched lower. “What if I told you I still have bloodlust from my fight? And that I need to work out my aggression.”
I slid my hand into his boxers and grasped him. He was hard and ready and my fingertip grazed the head of him.
“Fuck it,” he muttered. “I’m only human.”
I released him, and then slithered out of my pajamas, and then pulled back the covers. He took off his boxers and reached for me.
I slid my leg over him and grasped him again, guiding him inside me. I sank down on top of him, loving the feel of him stretching me, filling me.
His hands went to my waist, clenching my hips and urging me to ride him.
I leaned over and pressed my breasts to his chest and our lips met. His tongue plunged into my mouth as his hands skated up my ribs and toward my head. His fingers plowed through my hair as he angled his mouth.
He stole my oxygen, but gave me pleasure.
“Salem,” he whispered, tearing his lips from mine and bathing my cheeks in kisses. “My pull-out game isn’t strong.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” I placed my hands on his chest and pushed up, forcing his hands to drop from my hair. I arched my back. “I’m on birth control.”
His hands cradled my breasts, his thumbs grazing my nipples. “I need to taste these.”
“Later. I’m close, Cas.”
“Then use me,” he commanded. “Use me all you want.”
I picked up speed, undulating and grinding against him. Clenching and gasping, desire shivered up and down my spine, prickling the back of my neck.
I bit my lip to stifle my scream as one of the best orgasms of my life ripped me apart. And while I was still convulsing, Cas grabbed my hips and rolled me over so I was on my back and he loomed over me.
He lifted my leg, wrapped it around his waist, and then he drilled into me. Mindless, determined.
His lips met mine again as he slid his hands beneath my ass, angling me just the way he wanted me. I was overwhelmed, overstimulated. He assaulted my senses, but he knew what my body needed.
“Cas,” I gasped.
He covered my mouth with his hand to silence me, and then somehow, he continued at a breakneck pace. He didn’t stop. Not even when I clenched around him again, not even when I felt him spill inside me.
Cas wrung every last bit of pleasure from me, finally stilling. We were still connected when he bit my shoulder, causing another wave of pleasure to shoot through my core.
“How’s the bloodlust?” he whispered in my ear.
“Manageable,” I said with a grin.
He pulled out of me, slowly.
“We made a fucking mess,” he said. He reached over the side of the bed for a shirt and handed it to me. I shoved it between my legs, and then hobbled my way to the bathroom.
I cleaned up as best I could, and then headed back to my room.
“Your turn,” I said.
He shook his head and grabbed my arm, pulling me back into bed. “Roll over,” he commanded.
“Cas—”
“Roll over, Salem.”
His commanding tone had me shivering.
I gave him my back.
He scooted closer and I felt his erection pressing against me.
“How are you—”
I gasped when he slid back inside me.
“Go to sleep, Salem.”
“But you’re—”
“You’ll take what I give you. I want to be deep inside you, and when you’re half asleep, I’ll make you come again.”
He brushed his lips across the shell of my ear.
“You need to be fucked deep and often,” he whispered. “And I’m man enough for the job. Go to sleep.”