Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The Ranch
“It’s good to be home,” Dad said, leaning his head back against the pillows.
He was tired and every now and again he winced, but he didn’t complain. Tempest was curled up next to him in bed and his hand was on her back.
Jane hovered over him while the rest of us filled the empty space of his bedroom.
“There’s a bell on your nightstand,” Muddy said. “You ring it if you need anything.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Dad said. “I’m not gonna ring a bell.”
“You’ll ring the bell,” Muddy insisted. “You don’t need to exert energy yelling for anything, you understand?”
“Okay, Mom,” he said with a rueful smile. “If you say so.”
“How Downton Abbey is this right now?” Hadley asked.
“Right?” I laughed.
“You sure you want me to . . .” Jane asked.
Dad’s eyes flitted to mine quickly before darting back to Jane. “Yes. I want you to stay.”
It felt like a knife to the ribs.
“I love having a full house,” Muddy said with a smile.
Jane leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to Dad’s forehead. “I’ll go home and pack a bag right now.”
“Bring the cat,” he said.
“You sure?” she asked.
“I’m sure,” Dad replied.
His eyes began to droop and it was the sign we needed to leave the room. We trailed out and Muddy closed the door behind her.
“You want to stay for dinner, Jane?” Muddy asked. “Bowman brought food from The Diner.”
“No thanks. I’m going to get home and pack,” Jane said as she jogged down the stairs. A moment later the front door opened and closed.
Hadley’s lips quivered.
“You’re about to cry,” I said with a frown. “Why?”
“Because,” Hadley blubbered. “Dad’s home.”
Declan wrapped an arm around her, brought her to his chest, and placed a kiss on her head. “You’re okay.”
“Hormones,” Hadley sniffed.
“Well, I’m hungry,” Muddy said as she shot Hadley a sympathetic smile. “What about you, Salem?”
I shook my head. “I think I need to go for a drive.”
Jane was moving in.
And I didn’t expect her to move out.
I went down the stairs and into the kitchen. Cas was getting plates out of the cabinet and setting them on the counter.
“How’s he doing?” Cas asked.
“Sleepy.”
My sister and her fiancé came into the kitchen behind me, along with Muddy.
“See ya later,” I said.
I took my father’s truck keys and headed out.
My feet dangled in the cool water of the lake. Unfortunately, it was doing nothing to cool my anger.
I’d been off-kilter since Cas and I had talked in the barn loft the other night. I felt rearranged, like parts of me no longer fit where they should.
The sound of footsteps along the path had me frowning. I wanted to be alone, and I’d purposefully walked halfway around the public lake to a secluded spot so I wouldn’t be disturbed.
But now a stranger out for a late afternoon stroll would intrude on my serenity.
I turned to see who approached and my mouth gaped. “What are you doing here?”
Cas came to stand next to me. “Mind if I sit?”
I shrugged.
“What a warm welcome,” he joked as he settled himself beside me on the bank. “Though I hardly blame you for your attitude. I knew you wanted to be alone.”
“I did. I do.” I picked up a pebble and tossed it into the lake. The water rippled, but a few moments later it smoothed out. Once again, the surface was placid.
We sat in silence, but Cas didn’t try to get me to talk. I hated that I found his presence a comfort.
“Why is it called Lavender Lake?” he asked. “I don’t see any lavender.”
“The sunset,” I said. “The sky turns lavender during the summer evenings and the light reflects off the water.”
“Are we going to sit here until sunset?”
“No. It won’t be dark for hours.”
“I know. But if you wanted to sit here for hours, I’d sit with you.”
I swallowed hard and tears threatened to burst from me. “How did you know I was here?”
“Muddy.”
“Muddy? Really? How did she—”
“Because she knows you. She knows where you go when you need time to think.”
“Why would she tell you?”
“Really, Salem?”
I looked at him and waited.
“She knows about us.”
“Us? There’s an us?”
“Of course there’s an us,” Cas said quietly, peering into my eyes.
“Cas,” I began.
“I love when you say my name. I love when you scream it. And I love when you say it when I’m deep inside you.”
I shivered.
“What do you think the other night meant? The night in the barn?”
“We’ve had several nights in the barn.”
“You’re being purposely evasive. Too many feelings all at once, huh?”
I glared at him.
“Let’s start with the reason you’re pissed.”
“At you?” I clarified. “You know why.”
“Amber.”
I didn’t reply.
“She had a flat tire. And because she didn’t have a spare, I offered her a ride.”
“There wasn’t a tow truck available?” I grumbled.
He set his hand on my leg. “Look at me.”
“No.”
“Salem, look at me.”
With an annoyed sigh, I looked at him.
“Nothing happened with Amber.”
“I know.”
He raised his brows. “Do you?”
“Yes. I know when she’s trying to get my goat.”
“Well, she might’ve gotten your goat, but she didn’t get me. So you don’t have to be mad at me for that.”
“This isn’t all about you, you know!” I snapped.
“I know.” His tone didn’t change and he kept his eyes on me. “It’s about your dad and Jane, and the fact that no one asked you if you wanted to share space with your father’s girlfriend.”
“It’s stupid. And I’m being selfish,” I lashed out.
“I get all that. And yet, I can’t—I can’t believe she’s going to be sleeping in my father’s bedroom—the bedroom he shared with my mother—and I’m going to have to see her in the mornings and I just—God, I hate myself for being such a brat, but I can’t help it! ”
“Salem?”
“Yes?”
“Take off your pants.”
My eyes widened. “What?”
“Take off your pants. The only way to deal with you when you’re like this is to lick you or fuck you. Now take off your pants. I want my tongue inside you.” He began to unbutton his flannel shirt.
“What are you doing?”
“Giving you something to lay down on.” He stripped off his shirt and revealed his sculpted, gorgeous chest.
His words short-circuited my brain and before I knew what I was doing, I was unbuttoning my jeans and laying back on his shirt.
Cas knelt on his haunches and positioned himself between my thighs. He slid his hands beneath my ass to raise me toward him.
“You’re in your head too much, so I’m going to force you to think of nothing but my tongue between your legs.” He nosed my underwear and breathed in. “God, your scent . . .”
He tongued me through the lace, causing me to quiver. It was both too much and not enough, the teasing, the licking of his tongue as he pleasured me through the fabric.
I wanted more and I wanted it all.
“Cas,” I whispered.
He sucked the lace into his mouth and sparks of pleasure erupted between my legs.
“You promised,” I moaned.
“What did I promise?”
“Your tongue. Inside me.”
“You’re not in control here. I am. And you’re being a menace.”
“Only you can make it sound like a compliment.”
“It is a compliment. Because now we both win.”
He dove back into his task with enthusiasm and verve. My inner thighs were wet with my desire and I knew he could see it.
And still he wouldn’t take off my underwear.
I was going to punish him. I was going to punish him like he was punishing me.
He played my body, slowly, as if he didn’t care that we were outside in public. And even though we were off the beaten path and there was hardly any foot traffic, the thrill of being caught heightened my awareness, heightened my pleasure.
Finally, finally, he slid my panties off and tossed them aside. And then he began to feast. He pressed his tongue flat against me, sliding between my lips to find my clit. He sucked it into his mouth which made me buck against him.
“Fuck, Salem,” he whispered.
My fingers plowed through his hair, gripping his head, keeping his mouth against me while I came with a gush.
He ate me. Greedy. Licked me clean. And left me a quivering mess.
I loosened my hold on him, and he lifted his head. His mouth was wet from me, his brow furrowed.
“Now who’s in their head,” I rasped, tracing his forehead with my finger.
“You taste different,” he announced.
“Different? Different how?”
“Tangier. Not bad. Just different.”
It was my turn to frown.
He would know, too. One of his favorite hobbies was making me come just using his mouth.
Cas’s fingers drifted over my hip bone, and then toward the apex of my thighs. My deliciously languid body hummed with pleasure. Somehow wanting more.
“Don’t,” I warned.
“Don’t what?” He slid two fingers inside me.
I quivered. “Fuck.”
“Yes, exactly.”
He gently thrust his fingers, gliding them against my flesh and grazing that elusive spot that was so difficult to find on my own. My second release was soft and not nearly as powerful; my body already wrung out from pleasure.
“Taste,” he said, removing his fingers and bringing them to my lips.
My mouth enclosed his fingers and I licked them clean.
“Better?” he asked.
I nodded, and then sat up.
He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “I’m tired of sneaking around. I’m tired of lying.”
I winced as I shoved my legs back into my jeans. “You make it sound sordid.”
“It is sordid,” he said. “And I don’t want it to be. Don’t you get it? I want to take you to Hadley and Declan’s wedding. As my date.”
“Why are you doing this?” I demanded, rising and pulling up my pants the rest of the way and buttoning them. “Everything was going great, and then you had to ruin everything!”
“How am I ruining everything?”
“I’m going back to New York. And you’re going back to the circuit. This can never be anything more.” I picked up his shirt and shoved it at him. “This is all I can give you. This is all I’m capable of giving.”
“Bullshit,” he snapped. “You’re afraid. You’ve been afraid of me since the first night we met.”
“I don’t do afraid,” I yelled.
“You wouldn’t wake up with me,” he pointed out. “You snuck out of my hotel room like a—a thief!”
“I was supposed to wake up with a complete stranger?” I demanded. “You’re out of your mind!”
“You make me insane!” he snapped. “So God damn insane, I can’t even see straight!”
“Then why the hell would you want to be around me anyway?” My cheeks flashed with heat and my blood boiled with emotion.
“God damn it, she was right,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Who was right?”
“Hadley.” He shook his head. “She told me to stay away from you. She told me you would chew me up and spit me out. And you wouldn’t even do it on purpose. That it’s just the way you are.”
I swallowed. “Hadley told you that?”
“Yes. So I have no one to blame but myself. I just never expected . . .”
“What?”
“To fall so fucking hard and fast for you.”
“You can’t. You don’t feel that way,” I insisted.
“I don’t?” He smiled slightly. “God, this sucks. You don’t feel the same. Do you?”
I didn’t reply.
He shoved his arms into his shirt and stalked away. “See ya around, Powell.”