Chapter Six
~Ryker~
The few days since meeting Scarlett have been spent either at the ranch with her or back at my motel, wishing I was with her.
My mornings are spent looking for homes in the area for the two of us to start a life in, though none are very enticing, so I started to look for land in the area to just build us a house on.
Twenty years of earning a nice paycheck and living frugally have earned me a fairly impressive nest egg, so building a house of our own wouldn’t be much trouble financially.
The real problem might be in convincing Scarlett to move out of her family’s homestead. As much as she complains about her brothers, she also speaks very fondly of them, her sisters-in-law, and her two nephews.
It’s not that I want to take her away from them, and I’m not entirely opposed to living there, but a little more privacy than a room in a crowded house would be nice. I meant what I said about wanting to be able to shout her name, and I want her to be able to scream mine just as loudly.
God, just thinking about how she came like a goddess the other day has me ready for another round.
We haven’t been able to do much since that day in her office because anytime I come to the ranch now, there is a steady stream of visitors stopping by to ask her a question or just come in to say hi.
I’m pretty sure her brothers are coming just to keep me in line.
Over the last two days I have met each member of her family as well as a few of the ranch hands.
Keeping all the names straight at the barbeque I’m heading to now might be a challenge, but I’ll try my hardest to remember who is who and impress every last one of them if it means getting them on board with me and Scarlett being a couple.
Making her choose between me and her family isn’t an option, so I need to do whatever it takes to make things go smoothly.
Taking Scarlett back to my motel hasn’t really been an option either. By the time the end of her workday rolls around, my little Firecracker has lost a good amount of her spark to weariness and after taking her out to dinner, I promptly deliver her back home for a good night’s sleep.
A parting kiss is all we’ve gotten to do the last couple of days, but I make them count.
After thoroughly working the two of us up into a tizzy, I lightly spank my girls’ bottom and watch her walk into her home before making a beeline back to my room and jerking myself off multiple times to images and memories of what we have been able to do together.
My body is basically in a constant state of arousal around my woman, but it’s something I’ll need to get under control and quick.
As I pull into the drive at the ranch, I smile at the sight waiting for me on the front porch. Scarlett is waiting on the steps, her curvy little body encased in a flowery dress that hugs every delicious inch of her body.
As she smiles and approaches the bike, I notice the little buttons that trail all the way up and down the front of her dress, and my fingers itch with the need to undo every one and spread her out before me as I nibble on every inch of her pale, soft skin.
“Hey, honey bear,” she says sweetly before wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me down for a kiss.
After a few moments of making out, she finally pulls back, her skin flushed red and a smile on her face. “Hey, yourself,” I say with a smile as I toss my helmet on the back of the bike. “If that’s the greeting I get every time I drive up, I might just have to start doing donuts in the driveway.”
Scarlett giggles and bumps me with her shoulder.
“I wouldn’t mind that one bit,” she tells me, biting her lower lip and her eyes rake up and down my jeans and t-shirt.
I’m not wearing anything special, but the way she’s looking at me has me wondering just how she’d react if I busted out my dress blues.
“You look sexy as hell on that bike. I don’t know which one I want to ride on more. It, or you.” She reaches a finger out and trails it down my torso, her eyes widening as she goes.
My dick is like a damn baseball bat in my jeans, and the last thing I need today is for her brother’s to see me walking around hard as a rock all day. Grabbing her finger, I bring it up to my mouth and kiss the tip before releasing it.
“Save that for later, little Firecracker.” When she pouts again, I just chuckle and shake my head.
“It’ll be worth the wait, darlin’,” I promise as I draw her in close and whisper in her ear.
“Next time we’re alone, you can touch me wherever you want and I’ll return the favor by making you go off like the Fourth of July. ”
Scarlett trembles in my arms and I smile as I lean back and kiss her forehead. Stepping back fully, I reach into the saddlebag of my bike and grab one of the items I bought earlier that day. When I plop the cowboy hat on my head, I hear my girl snicker and smile at me wryly.
“What do you think you are doing with that? You playing cowboy now, honey bear?”
A growl leaves my mouth as I draw her back into me. I love hearing her call me by her little nickname for me, and the feisty look in her eyes has me wanting to skip this barbeque and go straight back to my motel for a little feast of our own.
“I’ll play whatever part I have to in order to make you mine.
If that means wearing a cowboy hat so I fit in a little better with your family, so be it,” I pull her bottom lip between my teeth and nip it a little, earning myself a little growl in return.
“Now, be a good girl and don’t tease me about the hat, and I’ll let you dress me up in whatever you want later. ”
Scarlet smiles and runs her hands down my back until she’s cupping my ass. “What if I want you in nothing at all?”
“Then that’s how you’ll get me,” I tell her before taking her mouth with mine once more, driving my tongue into her mouth like I plan on driving my thick cock into her later on.
Scarlett whimpers and grinds her belly against my hardness, and for a minute I seriously consider forgetting all about her family barbeque to drag her back to my motel room and finally seal our relationship in way I’ve been wanting to since I laid eyes on her.
The only thing that stops me is remembering I want her for all time, not just for one night, and this gathering is important to making that happen. With a will I didn’t know I had, I pull away from my Firecracker and smile down at her, loving the lusty look in her eyes. “Later. I promise.”
Scarlett blows a slow breath through her rosy lips and shakes her head. “That is a promise you better keep, mister,” she commands before lacing our fingers together, and I grab the other item I bought from my saddle bag before my girl starts dragging me around the back of the large house.
I chuckle as we walk, loving her take charge attitude. When we finally round the corner, my eyes widen at the sight before me. Having met each member of her family, I knew there were quite a few, but seeing them all together is an entirely different thing.
Scarlett’s brothers are all gathered around a fire pit, arguing lightly about something, and her sisters-in-law and nephews are all moving around a long table, placing food and plates all around as they chat and laugh.
My throat gets thick as I think about joining such a big family, people who care for and look after one another.
I had that in the Marines, but having it permanently sounds a whole lot more enticing.
My eyes drift down to see Scarlett beaming up at me. “Come on,” she says, tugging on my hand.
Following her lead, I say hello to all the women as Scarlett introduces me once again. “This is Ryker. He’s my…” she trails off and looks up me. “He’s mine.” With those two words, she’s captured my heart forever.
“I am yours,” I tell her before tipping my hat to the ladies and presenting them with a box of chocolate from the candy store downtown. “Scarlett told me that you all had a sweet tooth and a particular love of all things chocolate.”
Sawyer’s wife, Hannah accepts the box with one hand while holding her little boy in her other arm. “Thank you,” she says, passing the box over to Brooks’ wife, Lacey. “That’s real nice of you to think of us.”
“Yes, very nice,” Lacey says, balancing her own baby on her hip as she rips the ribbon off the top of the box and opens it, grabbing a chocolate truffle and popping it in her mouth. Violet and Georgie follow her lead and nod their heads in agreement. “You got yourself a keeper here, Scarlett.”
Scarlett shrugs a shoulder. “I know,” she states, leaning up on her toes to kiss my cheek. “He’s pretty special.”
The smile that overtakes my face could light up the darkest night, but when I see her brothers approaching out of the corner of my eye, my happiness dims slightly. These fellas are the ones I’m going to have to work hard to win over.
Disentangling my hand from Scarlett’s, I offer it up to the first brother to approach me.
Mav is easy to remember. With scars that come up across his cheek and the slight limp in his gate, it’s not hard to pick him out from the rest of the brothers who are all basically carbon copies of one another.
The man stares at my hand for a moment, but one fierce look from the lady by my side has him grabbing on and giving it a firm shake. “Nice to see you again, Ryker,” he tells me despite him trying to squeeze the life out of my hand.
“Likewise,” I return, not letting up one inch as I squeeze back.
“Oh my god, enough,” Scarlett says before she slaps our hands away from one another. “And I’m the young one.”
Her brother and I chuckle and the rest of the handshakes go by without incident. Next thing I know we’re all seated at the table, passing around platters of steaks, potatoes, cornbread and a bunch of other barbeque fixings that smell so good my stomach can’t help but growl.