Chapter Eleven
Eleven
R ight at seven o’clock, Eli pulled up to Willow’s place, the growl of the truck’s engine cutting through the frigid Montana air. Snowflakes danced around the headlights, casting a soft glow on her figure as she stepped outside of the house. She was a mix of cozy and gorgeous, with her wavy hair cascading over her shoulders, her usual subtle makeup and glossy lips, but she was bundled up in a warm coat, plaid scarf and black beanie.
He hurried to exit the truck and met her at the passenger side. “You look beautiful.” He swung open the door, taking in the sight of her—a vision strong enough to make him forget the chill biting at his skin.
“Thank you.” She smiled, climbing into the passenger seat.
He quickly shut the door behind her and then joined her in the truck. A scent of vanilla and sugar filled the cab, and he was certain he’d never smelled anything quite that wonderful before.
As they began driving, Eli stole glances at her while the road stretched ahead, the hum of the tires over the asphalt a steady rhythm beneath the music playing through the speakers. He’d changed the station from his country music favorite to pop music knowing it was her favorite, and she was singing along. Damn, she was cute.
He stayed quiet, listening to her sweet, soft voice, until his truck rolled into Wolf Springs, the larger city north of Timber Falls. The park unfolded before them like a snow-kissed paradise, with thousands of strings of lights draped between trees.
“Wow,” Willow breathed out. “It’s like stepping into a fairy tale.”
“Wait until you see it all up close,” Eli promised, glad he got the date idea right. He parked the truck in one of the available spots. “Stay put,” he told her, before rounding the vehicle to her side.
As he opened the door for Willow, she said, “It’s sweet you open the door for me, but you really don’t need to do that.”
“How about you leave that decision up to me, hmm?” he countered, offering his glove-covered hand to her.
She laughed softly, shaking her head. “Okay.”
He smiled when she took it, and he led her into the heart of Wolf Springs’s Winter Wonderland.
“Look at this place,” she murmured.
“Every year it gets better,” Eli said. “Like I said, I’m not much of a city person, but this is something they definitely get right.”
Christmas music drifted from hidden speakers, filling the space between the laughter and chatter of families and couples. Ahead, people skated on an ice rink with a large decorated Christmas tree in the center.
As they strolled past the food trucks decked out in festive decorations, the tempting smell of sizzling meat filled the chilly night air. “Feeling hungry for a bratwurst?” he asked with a grin.
She nodded eagerly. “I haven’t had street meat in forever.”
“Trust me, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried one from here.” He winked at her, enjoying the flush of excitement on her cheeks as they approached the stand.
“Three bratwursts, please,” Eli ordered, handing over a couple of bills to the vendor who accepted the order with a nod. The flames licked the brats, and Eli’s mouth watered.
“Thank you,” Willow said as she accepted the sausage wrapped in a paper napkin, her breath forming tiny clouds in the chilly night air. He couldn’t take his eyes off her at the way her nose scrunched up slightly as she took her first cautious bite, then her eyes lighting up with approval.
“Good, huh?” he asked.
“Delicious,” she confirmed, her voice muffled by another eager bite.
“Wait right here,” he said with a finger raised. “I’ve got one more thing.”
A few paces away, under the soft glow of a string of lights, a hot chocolate stand beckoned. He returned quickly with two steaming cups, the rich chocolatey scent mingling with the crispness of the winter air.
“Here, this will warm you up,” he said, handing her one of the cups.
“Perfect.”
Her smile hit him like a physical blow, but in the best possible way. He couldn’t help feeling a bit foolish that it took Aubrey’s straight talk to finally make this night happen, where being together wasn’t pretend, but real. Although he would never be happy about Buck’s sister’s text and comment, he had to admit that pretending to be Willow’s boyfriend was what brought them together for this moment.
And this moment felt damn good.
He didn’t want to make any mistakes. But he didn’t want to pretend anymore that he wanted to do things with her. He liked spending time with Willow, as friends, or anything she damn wanted.
They wandered further into the park, finding a secluded bench beneath a canopy of twinkling lights that was covered with thick cushions, heaters installed above providing a comforting warmth. Settling down, he ate his two sausages in the same time she finished her one, as they watched the ice skaters, wonderful memories filling his mind.
“Used to come here every year, my mom and sister and I,” Eli shared breaking the comfortable silence between them. “It was our thing, you know? No matter how busy we got, we made time for this. My mom loved Christmas.”
“Sounds like a nice tradition,” Willow said softly, her gaze meeting his. “My mom makes Christmas a really big thing too. They’re coming to town for this Christmas. It’ll be nice to have them here.”
“I bet it will be.” His heart thumped heavily, a mixture of sweet memories and lingering pain.
“Did your sister like Christmastime too?” Willow asked, after a sip from her cup.
“She loved it all, especially baking cookies,” he explained, stretching his arm across the back of the bench. “She would’ve liked you.”
“Can you tell me about her?” Willow asked gently.
It almost felt like Miranda was there next to him, urging him to let Willow in. “She was...vibrant. Always laughing.” His gut tightened, but he pushed through the emotion, wanting Willow to know his life. “She would always wake me up at the crack of dawn for Christmas morning, no matter how old she got. I always tried to ignore her, but she’d jump on me until I got up so we could open presents.” He laughed, warmth filling him at the memory.
“Sounds like she was a special person,” Willow murmured.
“Beyond special.” Eli cleared his throat, focusing on the skaters twirling below them. “It’s tragic what happened to her.”
“Very tragic,” Willow said.
He took a deep breath, sliding his arm behind Willow on the bench. “Her death was violent,” Eli confessed, the admission feeling like shards of glass scraping his throat. “Senseless. And none of us knew, not really knew, how bad things were for her with her boyfriend.”
Willow’s voice trembled with empathy. “I’m so sorry, Eli.” She placed her mitt-covered hand on his leg.
He managed a half smile that felt more like a grimace. “I found out when I was miles away at a rodeo. A call from my mom in the middle of the night. I’d never heard a cry so gut-wrenching. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that sound.”
The memory surged through him, vivid and relentless, the helplessness he’d felt then mirrored now in the tightness of his chest.
“I won’t ever understand why Miranda didn’t come to me,” he continued, his gaze fixed on the skaters. “She always put on such a strong front. It blindsided us all when we learned the truth—the horrifying texts he’d sent, the damage to their house, the fear she masked with smiles.”
“Abuse thrives in silence,” Willow whispered, her voice carrying a depth of understanding that warmed him.
Eli gave a bitter laugh. “Silence can kill.” He lifted his cup for another sip and continued, “I thought rodeo was the life. Going from town to town, always chasing that next win.” His eyes briefly met Willow’s, filled with understanding. “But while I was out there, chasing fame, my baby sister...was fighting for her life, and I didn’t even notice.”
“You couldn’t have known,” Willow countered. “Believe me, I’ve been Miranda, and the shame in the abuse, it’s all so easy to hide.”
“Doesn’t stop the guilt,” Eli confessed, the words easily tumbling out now. “I should’ve been there, should’ve seen the signs.”
Willow paused for a moment, then said softly, “Your sister probably didn’t want to burden you, especially since you were living out your dream.”
“I imagine that you’re right,” he muttered. “My mother took it very hard. After Miranda passed...she just faded away. The doctors said it was a heart attack, but I could see the grief draining her from the inside out.”
“That’s just so sad,” Willow whispered.
He nodded in agreement.
Time slowed as Willow removed her mitt and lifted her hand to his cheek. In her touch, Eli found something he hadn’t felt in a very long time—warm affection.
“Thank you for sharing all that with me,” she said, her gaze never leaving his.
“Only seemed right,” he admitted, the raw truth of his own words surprising him. “You’ve been brave enough to share your story. I want you to know mine—all of it.”
He had met many individuals throughout his lifetime, but none quite like her. She possessed a unique combination of sweetness and strength that drew him in inexplicably. It felt as though the universe itself was guiding him toward her, perhaps even his own sister and mother were nudging him in her direction. With her, he felt at ease and protected, as if she were his safe place to land and he was her shield against the world.
He exhaled a low, slow breath. “Would you like to go skating?” he asked.
She nodded eagerly in response, but it was the sweetness shining in her eyes that truly captured his attention as they made their way to the rental booth together.
A smile that he knew he would never forget.
The frosty air nipped at Willow’s cheeks as she stepped off the ice, her skates dangling from her fingers. Eli was beside her, his breath visible in the cold night. Together, they left the laughter and music of the skating rink behind, their boots crunching on the snow-covered path that wound through the quiet park.
“Thanks for tonight,” she said, smiling up at him. “I haven’t been skating in years.”
“I enjoyed myself too.” His voice was a low rumble. He glanced at her with a look that sent a shiver down her spine—not from the cold, but from the heat that always seemed to simmer between them. “Up for a drink at my place?” he asked.
“Definitely,” she said.
They reached his truck, and the ride back to his house was as comfortable as the drive there.
Pulling up to the log house, Willow felt a sense of warmth bubble inside her as she exited the truck. It wasn’t grand or modern, but it was inviting, with its cozy wraparound porch and the faint glow of light seeping through the curtains.
“Sorry, I don’t have much in terms of fancy cocktails or drinks,” Eli said as he unlocked the front door.
“Actually,” Willow began, following him inside, “do you have any whiskey? My dad and I always share one on ice. It’s kind of our thing.” She shed her jacket, revealing the soft sweater that hugged her curves beneath.
“Whiskey, I can do.” A grin tugged at the corner of Eli’s mouth.
As he moved to pour her a glass, Willow let her gaze travel over the interior of his home. It was sparsely decorated, with hints of Eli’s life—an old bronc riding trophy perched on a shelf and photographs of Eli bull riding. Yet, there was a tenderness here, a vulnerability in the way he cared for this space, and that he’d built it all with his own hands—that made her heart swell.
“Here you go,” Eli said, handing her a glass with a single cube of ice clinking softly against the sides.
“Perfect, thank you.” She took a sip, the whiskey warming her from the inside out, spreading a slow, delicious burn through her veins.
While Eli fixed them a fire in the fireplace, Willow moved to his worn-in couch and nestled deeper into the soft cushions as she savored the whiskey’s lingering heat. The dim lighting of the room cast a golden hue on their surroundings, and with every breath, she inhaled the faint scent of leather and pine that seemed to emanate from the very walls of his home. And him .
When the fire caught, Eli sank down beside her, an easy silence stretching between them before he turned to her with a gentle curiosity in his eyes. “You talk about your family a lot,” he observed. “They mean a lot to you?”
“More than anything,” Willow admitted. “When I told my parents I was moving to Timber Falls, my mom thought I’d lost my mind—like I was having some kind of breakdown.” She laughed softly at the memory. “But then they saw how much I needed the change. They know how important it is for me to stand on my own, especially after... everything .”
Eli inclined his head in understanding.
“But I think it’s more of the story behind how we found Timber Falls and the pact and everything that they had trouble following,” she said.
“What was the pact that you made again?” he asked, before taking a sip of his whiskey.
“Right after college, Charly, Aubrey and I came to Timber Falls on a girls’ trip to celebrate graduating. We made this silly pact that if any of us weren’t happy with where we were in life by the time we hit twenty-eight, we’d pack up and move here.”
“Sounds like destiny to me,” he commented, but there was something powerful in his statement.
“Maybe it was,” she mused. “Maybe it was even the legend. It brought us here, and then it saved me.” He stared at her intently, and she liked the way he watched her, always so focused. The familiar heat rose between them, like it always did. Unyielding and overwhelming. She leaned forward slightly getting closer to his warmth as she shared her truth. “I think there’s something magical about this place. It drew me here...for a reason...like I needed to be here.”
He stared deeply into her eyes, as if suddenly everything made sense to him, a clear awareness on his face. “Maybe it brought you to me too...to this moment...”
She couldn’t help it. Her gaze fell to his lips, and with just them there, nothing stopping them from embracing the heat sizzling between them, it didn’t seem like it was a question anymore.
She wanted those lips on hers.
She wanted them everywhere .
And she could no longer find a reason to not let that happen.
Their eyes locked, their breaths mingling, and in that moment, she knew. There was no shoving him away this time. His eyes, usually so guarded, now burned with a hunger that mirrored her own.
The air between them crackled, charged with an electricity that Willow could almost reach out and touch. She felt the warmth radiating from Eli’s body against her side, igniting a flame within her that she thought had been long extinguished. Her breath hitched in her throat as she realized how close they were—so near she could count every shade of green in his eyes.
With a shaky exhale, she leaned in, closing the space between them, and her reward was immediate. Eli’s arm enveloped her, their bodies pressed impossibly close as their lips met in a fiery kiss. Heat exploded through her veins as his mouth moved against hers, each caress, each nibble, igniting a fire she only wanted to burn hotter. His hands roamed her back, leaving a trail of shivers in their wake, and she instinctively arched into him, craving more of him.
He plucked her glass from her hand and set it next to his on the table, as Willow’s hands found their way into his hair as she pulled him closer, her need growing with each passing second.
His kisses trailed down her jawline, his stubble leaving a delicious trail of goose bumps on her sensitive skin. “Eli,” she breathed, hearing the desire in her voice.
“Shh,” he whispered against her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. “I’ll take care of you,” he murmured, trailing his lips along her collarbone.
She couldn’t get enough as his hands moved to her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt his hard cock against her sex, her core throbbing in response.
“Eli,” she breathed again.
He deepened the kiss, his tongue delving into her mouth, exploring every corner, teasing and tasting.
She whimpered, tangling her fingers in his hair, holding him close. He grunted, and in one fluid motion, he rose, laying her out on the couch before him, his hips grinding against her core. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted this,” he growled, his voice raw with need. His hand slid up her thigh, lifting her leg to wrap around his, pressing himself even closer.
The contact sent shivers down her spine, and she ground against him. “I want this,” she told him. “I want you.”
With a groan, Eli’s lips skated down her jawline, kissing a trail of fire along her neck, each touch causing her to rub herself harder against his hardened length. Her breath caught as Eli’s hands now moved with tender precision to lift her sweater, pulling it over her head. Then he reached back and started on her bra. Each flick sent another blast of heat overwhelming her, until the fabric peeled away.
His gaze never wavered from hers, hungry eyes blazing a trail of silent promises, and in their depths, Willow saw not just desire but safety.
As her bra fell away, a shiver ran down her spine—not from the chill, but from the heat of Eli’s gaze examining her. His lips found the column of her throat, warm and insistent, mapping a path of desire that set every nerve alight. His tongue flicked out, a brief taste that promised more, and fire curled within her belly, sending ripples of pleasure coursing through her veins.
Then his mouth descended. Each brush of his lips against the swell of her breasts left her moaning in urgency.
She’d never wanted anyone or anything this much. She felt a flood of emotion wash over her. It had been so long since she had felt this safe, this cherished. Slowly, she let her guard down, the walls she’d erected for so long crumbling under his tender touch.
His hands traced the contours of her body, drawing lines of fire across her skin. Her world narrowed as he reached between them, removed her jeans and then her panties. She shivered against the weight of his gaze holding a promise she knew he’d deliver on. She ground against him, a silent plea for more .
The side of his mouth curved slightly, and his skilled mouth trailed a path of heat down her abdomen, worshiping every inch of her. When he met slicked, hot flesh, she gasped, arching up. Each kiss was a spark, each brush of his tongue a flame, and she tilted her head back. His mouth, sure and knowing, teased her, coaxing forgotten pleasure. The sensation of being devoured by such careful attention sent her soaring.
“Please,” she whispered, trembling. Her fingers weaved through his hair, anchoring him to her as she spun wildly out of control. His mouth was warm, insistent, worshipping with intensity.
Overwhelmed by pleasure, Willow felt her body respond with a primal urgency, her hips arching instinctively toward his mouth.
“Please,” she repeated. She was so... close .
The earnestness in her plea, raw and unguarded, seemed to ignite something within him. His movements became more purposeful.
And when his fingers slid inside her, pumping hard and fast, Willow spiraled upward. She clung to him as wave upon magnificent wave crashed over her, until at last she shattered, crying out her pleasure.
In the stillness that followed her release, Willow’s chest heaved against Eli’s as she fought to steady her breath. “You,” she gasped. “I want you.”
He kissed his way back up her body. “Are you sure?” he asked, his voice hoarse, his eyes dark, filled with desire. “I don’t want to rush you.”
“I’m sure,” she said, her voice firm. “I’ve never been surer.”
He cupped her face in his strong hands and claimed her lips in a searing kiss that left no doubt of his desire or his feelings. His tongue danced with hers, tasting and exploring, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. Willow’s fingers tangled in the short hair at the nape of his neck, her other hand resting on his chest, feeling the muscles contract underneath her touch.
“Condom,” he managed to grunt out. He rose and stripped, and she happily took her fill. Eli was all man, thick and hard, in every place that counted. He grabbed his wallet from his jeans, took out a condom and sheathed himself.
Returning to her, he lifted her hips, positioning himself at her entrance. “Tell me you want this,” he said, his eyes boring into hers.
“I want this—”
With a growl, he slid into her in one deep, slow thrust, filling her completely. His eyes never left hers. She gasped, her nails digging into his shoulders, her body arching to meet his. Heat coiled low in her belly, pleasure like she’d never known before coursing through her veins.
His response was not in words but in the shift of his body, the way he owned the pleasure. His hands, those strong, calloused hands, steadied her hips as he looked into her eyes. His gaze darkened, heavy with want and soaking in emotion.
He moved slowly at first, their gazes locked, matching each other’s rhythm as the pleasure built. “Fuck,” he groaned, his voice rough.
“Faster,” she begged, lifting her chin, his hips picking up speed.
With each measured thrust, she clung to him, her fingers digging into the muscles of his back. The strength in his arms, the tenderness in his touch, they were all answers to questions she hadn’t known how to ask.
“Willow,” Eli groaned, his voice strained with passion, his hands gripping her hips, guiding her up to meet him.
“More,” she begged. Her body arched instinctively, wanting him deeper, her movements becoming more urgent as something wild rose within.
His pace quickened and became frantic. Every slide, every retreat, every slam of his body against hers, brought her higher and higher.
Until she shattered, obliterating all thought, all restraint, and he followed her over the edge.