Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4
WAYLON
M y heart pounds when I drive into the Heartland Hardware lot and see Angelica standing by her car. The memories of us as teenagers come flooding back, but I push them aside. We have work to do.
“Hey,” she says, her voice soft and a bit uncertain.
“Hey,” I reply, adjusting my grip on the toolbox. “Ready to get started?”
She nods, and I follow her inside.
“This place hasn’t changed much,” she remarks, looking down the aisles we pass.
“I expect you’ll get to know everyone here.” I chuckle, stroking my beard. Being this close to her again stirs up emotions I thought I’d buried.
Angelica smiles at me. “I bet you’re right.”
The silence between us stretches with tension. I clear my throat, trying to break the awkwardness. “How long are you planning to stay in town?”
She hesitates, then shrugs. “I’m not sure yet.”
I nod, but my mind races with questions. Why is she intent on fixing this old place up? Why did she really come back? Is she planning to stay? And why did she call me for help? Did she know I wouldn’t be able to refuse her, no matter how gruff I was when we talked?
“So, you never told me,” she begins, “what have you been up to all these years?”
“Army,” I reply. “Spent a good chunk of time overseas. Came back and took over my dad’s work. We watch over the mountain and run a few rental cabins.” I almost tell her about Creek Ravine but pause. I know Angelica isn’t the type to spread information, but sharing our work there is too big a step right now.
“That explains the muscles,” she teases, giving my arm a playful squeeze.
I chuckle, though my heart is pounding. Everything in me is hungry to wrap my arms around her and hold her. I want to feel her soft body against mine and fall into her like I did when we were young. I could always tell her anything. Some days, she felt more like home than my own family. We fit together so perfectly that I wondered if one of us had been adopted because while our families hated each other with a hellish fury, Angelica was my angel. We loved each other fiercely, no matter how many times our families warned us to break things off.
“And you? What brought you back here? You’ve been gone a long time.”
She sighs. “Family business, mostly. After my parents passed, I had this urge to come back and...I don’t know, try to make things right.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your folks.” They may have taken Angelica away from me, but I know what it’s like to lose your folks too young and how much it must have hurt Angelica to go through the same thing.
We work our way through the hardware store, filling up the oversized basket.
After we check out, Angelica suggests we have dinner together. “I bought way more food than I needed the day I saw you in the grocery store. Let me cook dinner for you.”
I hesitate, knowing all the reasons I should say no. “I don’t know, Angelica…”
“Please,” she says, her voice soft. “I just want to spend a little more time with you.”
I look at her for a long moment, getting lost in her eyes. Eventually, my heart overrules my head. “Sure, dinner sounds good.”
She beams at me, and I feel like a teenager again, hopelessly in love with the girl next door. The way her hair falls over her shoulders, the brightness of her smile, the sparkle in her eyes…I can’t say no. The force of how much I’m still attracted to Angelica is staggering. She’s even more beautiful than she was in high school. Now, she has the mature curves of a woman, igniting my caveman instincts.
I don’t know if I can continue to resist my feelings for the only woman I ever loved.
After I help Angelica clear the table, she grabs a couple of fresh beers from the fridge, and we sit on her porch to watch the sunset.
Angelica leans forward, her eyes locked on mine. “Waylon, can I ask you something personal?”
“Depends on what it is,” I say, half-joking. Truth is, I’d answer any question.
“Are you married?” she blurts, her cheeks turning pink.
The question catches me off guard. “No, I’m not married. Why do you ask?”
“I saw you at the grocery store with that man, and you were buying tampons?” she questions, looking flustered.
I can’t help but laugh. “You mean Harley? He’s my friend. I was helping him with something.” It’s not a lie, but also not the whole truth. “There’s no one special in my life right now.”
Relief washes over her face, and she smiles. “Good to know.”
“What about you?” I ask. I suspect I know the answer to my question, but I still have to ask. “You have a family back home?”
A pained look crosses Angelica’s face as she shakes her head. She picks up her beer and takes a long drink. “No. I almost got married a couple of times, but…” Her eyes swim with memories, her words careful as she says, “It never worked out. I’m not seeing anyone.”
She meets my eyes with startling openness, and something inside me shifts. She’s still interested. I’d be blind not to see the chemistry and attraction that still exists between us. I’ve always wondered what would’ve happened if her family hadn’t sent her away and forbade her from seeing me.
I think it’s high time I found out.
“Come here,” I say, standing and holding out my hand.
“Waylon, I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too,” I confess, squeezing her hand gently as she places it in mine.
She turns to face me. “Do you think… Maybe…”
Her eyes search mine, and I realize how much I still love her. Despite the years apart, despite the family feud, despite everything, my heart still belongs to Angelica Reynolds.
I pull her into my arms and kiss her with all the passion I’ve suppressed since we were teenagers in love. I kiss her with intensity, trying to make up time for the past twenty years.
Her lips are soft and warm, her taste sweet and familiar, sending shockwaves through me. I tighten my grip on her waist, tugging her closer, our bodies flush. Her heart thuds wildly against my chest, matching the rhythm of mine.
Angelica trails her fingers up my roughened cheeks to tangle in my hair, holding me to her. Our tongues dance together like they never stopped, and two decades were merely the blink of an eye. I swallow her gasp greedily. I don’t want to miss anything about her.
She clings to me fiercely, her fingers curving around the back of my neck, nails scraping lightly against my skin. The sensation sends shivers down my spine, every nerve ending alight with sensation. I want more. Need more.
“Waylon,” she breathes against my lips, drawing out raw emotions I never thought I’d feel again.
“What is it?” I manage to say, pulling back enough to see her expression. Her cheeks are flushed, eyes sparkling with what I can only describe as pure love.
“I... I never stopped loving you.”
I run my hands up her body, cupping her full breasts.
“Neither did I, Angelica,” I confess in a ragged whisper. The truth of it burns a brand in my heart, searing through any remnants of hesitation.
She gasps softly as I stroke her nipple with my thumb through the thin fabric of her blouse. Her breath hitches as she arches her body into mine, and I give into the desire that’s been raging in me since she came back. I snake a hand down to her plump ass, pulling her closer. Her soft curves mold to my body send a rush of desire straight to my cock.
I walk her backward until she’s pressed against the front door. Her blouse pulls taut, and I can clearly see the outline of her lacy bra underneath. I groan and grind my hips into hers, pressing my cock to the heat between her legs. Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she bites down on her lower lip, a sign that she’s holding back a moan.
The sight drives me crazy.
Her moan escapes as I slip my fingers under the edge of her blouse. “Make love to me, Waylon.”
Without hesitation, we move inside. Angelica giggles as she takes my hand and leads me to the bedroom. Once there, we quickly shed our clothes and fall into bed.
“You are so fucking beautiful,” I admire, running my hands over her soft curves.
She reaches between us, and I jerk as she strokes my cock. I’ve dreamed of this moment for so long.
“Please,” she whispers, pressing her body against mine.
My hands trail down her body and between her thighs, finding her already wet for me. She gasps as I slowly circle her clit, her eyes heavy with desire. She spreads her legs for me, and I can’t hold back any longer.
I run the tip of my throbbing cock through her juices and push inside her. She whimpers and throws her head back, her nails digging into my shoulders. The sensation of her tight heat is better than I remember. No words can describe the sheer pleasure coursing through me as I plunge deep inside her. She urges me on, her tight walls clenching around my cock.
“Oh God, Waylon,” she moans, wrapping her legs around my waist.
I set a slow pace, wanting to savor this moment as long as possible. Our bodies quickly find the same rhythm, and we move together like we haven’t been apart for twenty years. I press my forehead against hers, our breaths coming in shuddering exhalations.
Angelica’s hands roam over my back, tracing the outline of my muscles. Her fingers thread through my hair, pulling me closer as her lips find mine in a heated kiss.
“Angelica,” I gasp, tearing my mouth from hers to press a trail of kisses down her neck.
I nip gently at her collarbone, relishing her moan as she tugs at my hair and guides me back to her lips.
Urgency takes over as we cling desperately to each other. Our bodies move faster and faster, every thrust driving us further into ecstasy.
Angelica tightens around me and cries out, sucking me deeper into her delicious heat. I follow her lead, slamming into her with a force that makes the bed creak and the cabin walls shake.
Her body quakes beneath mine, and she holds me tighter. Her gasps become high-pitched moans, intensifying with every push and pull of our bodies.
I press my lips to hers again, swallowing her cries as her body tightens around me once more. With a few more strokes, I push her over the edge. Her quaking body clutches at mine, and I follow her into bliss, spilling inside her.
Breathless, we lie in each other’s arms, our bodies intertwined. Angelica rests her head on my chest, tracing lazy patterns on my skin with her fingertips. I inhale the scent of her hair as the certainty that I’m in love with her settles over me.
“Stay with me tonight,” she whispers, hugging me close.
I lean in to kiss her slowly and deeply. “Of course.”
Angelica is a fucking dream. I can’t believe I was so lucky to have her walk back into my life.
Nothing on this earth will convince me to let her go again.