Chapter 6
CHARLIE
Everyone arrived at the ranch. The cars pulled in beside my house and parked one next to the other. The air went quiet as the engines were shut down. My brothers had ridden together in Wyatt and Mason’s trucks, while Dallas and I had been in mine.
The girls were in a sporty little Mercedes and Liam, a friend of theirs, was with a couple other people in another truck. Once the last engine had turned off, the familiar sounds of the ranch at night reached my ears and it was like my soul finally exhaled.
As much as I liked Honky Tonks, I liked coming home just a little bit more.
The steady chirp of crickets rose. The occasional rustle of leaves whispered across the property, along with the soft sigh of the wind moving through the grass.
In the distance, the low hum of cicadas created a constant buzzing pulse.
Even the owls were out tonight. A hoot echoed from the tree line.
Any moment, the soft lowing of cattle would remind me that life on the ranch didn’t stop when the sun set.
I smiled and slid my hands into my pockets, watching as the women climbed out of their car, their brand-new boots meeting dirt for the very first time.
All around the exterior of my cabin, warm, orange spotlights pierced the dark night. It allowed me to see the wonder on Liv’s face as she paused in the open door of her car, taking a long look around before she stepped away and shut the door.
I waited as she strode my way, her dark blonde hair glowing gold in this light. A tiny smile was etched onto her plump, shiny lips and her hips swayed just so as she walked. She cocked her head when she reached me.
“This is quite a place you’ve got here, Cowboy.”
“Thanks. We sure like it.” I offered her my arm, half because I wanted her to be touching me and half because I had a feeling she’d need help navigating the uneven terrain in the dark.
We walked side by side around the house into my backyard, where I’d built a fire pit a few summers ago. “Have you ever been to a bonfire?”
She didn’t look at me. Her gaze was too busy scanning the area as she took in the enclosed patio, the barbecue off to one side, and the view that stretched for miles beyond what she could see.
“I haven’t been to a bonfire like this, which is what I think you were actually asking.
” Finally, her big eyes came up to mine, a sharp intelligence in them as her gaze swept across my face. “Who lives here?”
“I do,” I said without offering any further explanation. She might be new in town, but she would hear about my family sooner or later. For now, I was enjoying the anonymity of just being Charlie. “Come on. Let’s get the fire going.”
She tightened her grip on my arm. I led her to the pit, then waved for her to take a seat on the bench I’d built around it.
I went to work grabbing some kindling that I kept ready and stacked nearby.
To my surprise, Liv didn’t go sit down, choosing to walk with me instead and even picking up a few smaller pieces of wood herself.
I glanced at her as she carried them to the pit and set them down beside my pile. “You’re not afraid to get your hands dirty.”
A soft smirk danced at the corners of her lips. “In more ways than one, Cowboy.”
I nearly groaned out loud but caught the sound in my throat and busied myself with building the fire so I wouldn’t drag her to my bed and make her prove it.
The sounds of laughter and banter drifted through the night air from where my brothers were opening the doors that led out here from my kitchen and living area.
“Do you all stay in that house together?” Liv asked as she finally took a seat. “How many bedrooms does it have?”
“Four.” I lowered myself to my haunches to light the fire. “They’ve all got their own places, though. That house is only mine.”
“We have stuff to make s’mores!” one the girls, London perhaps, called as she descended the few steps from my patio. “When was the last time we had s’mores, Livvy?”
I glanced up to see her shrug at her sister. She had a curious expression on her face as her gaze came back to mine. She responded to London’s question, but she never broke eye contact with me. “It’s been years. I can’t even remember the last time.”
“This is so cool.” London took a seat next to her sister and immediately kicked off her boots to cross her legs underneath her.
It had become rather obvious as the night had gone on that she was the carefree one while Liv seemed to be the thinker, the older, more responsible sibling who watched out for the younger one and, in doing so, allowed London to be able to remain carefree—though she would probably never realize that she wouldn’t have had that luxury without her sister looking out for her.
I knew these things because in my family, I was Liv. I just had a few more siblings to watch out for.
“Whose property is this?” Lacey asked when she and Dallas joined us.
They were holding hands. Judging by the way he was looking at her, he didn’t mind that I’d been the best man when it had come to capturing Liv’s attention. I met his gaze but then smiled as I responded to her question.
“It’s mine.” I left it at that, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dallas nod. Evidently, he understood that I didn’t want them knowing any more than that right then. I shot a look at the house, where I could see my brothers moving about in the kitchen. “Who’s bringing the beer?”
“Colt’s packing a cooler.” Dallas smiled at Lacey as he led her to the bench across from the one where Liv and London were sitting. “They said they’d be out in a minute.”
Flames started licking around the kindling and sending that glorious crackling sound into the night air. Striding around it, I grabbed the open space next to Liv before any of my dickhead brothers did it. Almost immediately, she relaxed her leg so that it would brush casually against my own.
My cock swelled at the feel of her heat radiating through the layers of denim between us.
I scooted a little closer so our arms were touching too, but I didn’t take it any further.
There was some definite chemistry here, but being the gentleman my mother had raised me to be, I wouldn’t take her to bed the first time we met.
I wanted to, though.
My brothers joined us and started passing around beers. I grabbed one, but Liv didn’t, and the laughter and banter started up again. Mason put on some music on a portable speaker and the strumming of guitars formed a backdrop to our little group winding down for the night.
The whole night, Liv and I had been with them, but we mostly only spoke to one another and that didn’t change now.
“I wouldn’t have guessed this was your property,” she said as she angled herself on the bench to face me. “The pockets of your jeans have holes in them.”
I chuckled. “That’s because they don’t make denim strong enough to hold up to what I put it through on a daily basis. Besides, I don’t go shopping very often. I like it when they’re worn in.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” She moved her gaze away from mine to sweep it across the house behind my shoulder. “This must be an amazing place to live. I love just being able to see gardens out my windows. I can’t imagine what it must be like not to even see another house.”
“Well, if you do decide to take me up on my offer to stay over here, there’s a room with a view that I can put your name on.
You won’t have to imagine it. You’ll get to experience it for yourself.
Hell, I can even wake you up in a few hours when I leave for work, and you’ll get to the see the sunrise. ”
Contemplation softened her features. Then she refocused on my eyes and nodded. “That’s a surprisingly tempting offer. Although, when you say there’s a room with a view you can put my name on, it’s not your room, is it?”
“Nope.” I looked deep into her eyes, the heat of her still seeping into my skin as our legs pressed closer together. “I’m not like them big city boys you’re used to.”
I had been known for being exactly like that.
Just not recently. Having put the days of messing around behind me, I now preferred to get to know the women I climbed in bed with.
It’d been a novel concept at first and I wasn’t looking to settle down, but I’d realized that nameless, random sex just wasn’t quite cutting it for me anymore.
Liv arched a manicured eyebrow at me. Barely restrained laughter shimmered in her eyes as she called me out on it. “I bet you’re just like them.”
“Not tonight.” I sipped my beer and leaned into her side, amazed at how comfortable and familiar it felt to be with her when I didn’t know much about her at all. “So, what do you say? Am I waking you up for the sunrise?”
She took a moment to consider it before she smiled. “Yes, I think you are.”
Turning to her sister and her friend, she made sure they were comfortable with the arrangement as well. Then she looked back at me. “What time do you wake up?”
“Four.”
Her eyes widened. “Every day?”
“Every darn day of my life.”
“Wow.” She braced herself on her palm as her gaze fixed on mine. “That’s intense. Why on earth do you have to wake up so early?”
I shrugged, then deliberately moved my gaze into the darkness beyond the pools of light surrounding the house. “There’s more to being a cowboy than riding a horse into the sunset. Occasionally, we do have work to do.”
She chuckled but inclined her chin in acknowledgment of what I’d said. “I suppose a property like this requires its pound of flesh. I’m sure it keeps you plenty busy.”
“That, it does,” I agreed easily. “It’s worth it, though. Every drop of blood, sweat, and tears is worth getting to see that sunrise. You’ll see.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” She smiled up at me. Seeing that expression on her features urged something deep within me to keep saying stuff that would make her smile just like that.
I shook it off, changing the subject to lighter stuff instead. It wasn’t long before my brothers started begging off, heading to their places to go to sleep. Liam and the others took off too, and Dallas showed Lacey and London inside next.
I turned to Liv when she made to follow them. “Want to put the fire out with me?”
“Sure.” Her teeth sank into her lower lip. “How exactly do we do that?”
“Water,” I replied simply. “You see how it’s burned down to mostly ash?”
She nodded, and I strode over to the canister I kept out here for this very purpose. I lifted it, bringing it back to the fire and slowly dousing it before stirring the ashes with a shovel to ensure all the embers would be put out too. I glanced at her. “Care to try?”
Without hesitating, she came closer and took the canister from me, repeating the process until the area was cool and wet. She grinned at me as she finally set it down. “That was pretty cool. I’ve definitely never done that before.”
“Happy to be your first.” I winked at her and extended my hand, jerking my head at the little speaker that was still playing. “One last dance before we call it a night?”
She blinked a few times but raised her hand and gently placed her palm in mine. Under the stars twinkling above, I pulled her to me, tucked my cheek against her temple, and inhaled the faintly jasmine scent of her hair.
Her body melted into mine. Her softness was so gloriously tantalizing that I wondered if I should take her to bed after all, but I kept myself in check. No matter how badly my body wanted hers, I was a gentleman at heart—these days, anyway—and this woman was no warm body to bury myself inside.
As the song faded, I kept hold of her hand as I wordlessly led her inside and walked her to her room.
Thankfully, the master bedroom was on the first floor and my guest suites were on the second.
If nothing else, that would put a little distance between us that would hopefully quell the urges racing through me right then.
There was only one I didn’t fight. When we reached her bedroom door, I took her face in my hands and lowered my lips to hers. She tipped her head back in response. One of her arms looped around my neck and she pulled me to her.
My mouth met hers and it was like being struck by a bolt of lightning, but instead of pain, all I felt was pleasure. It zapped through me like a wildfire, stoking my desire for her to an inferno that heated my veins and made me deepen the kiss.
Liv moaned into my mouth. The sound almost made my knees buckle while simultaneously giving me a raging hard-on that I didn’t even try to hide. She brought me closer to her, her chest mashed against mine, and she angled her head to give me full access.
The pull I felt to this woman was powerful as hell, deep, and insistent, and practically impossible to ignore, but as soon as I realized that, I broke away from her. Breathing hard and still cupping her cheeks, I looked into her eyes.
“Good night, Liv. I’ll see you at sunrise.”
A slight furrow appeared between her eyes, as if she was either dazed or confused, or possibly both, but I’d meant it when I told her I wasn’t taking her to bed tonight.
She seemed to see my resolve as she looked back at me.
“Good night, Charlie. I’m looking forward to seeing if this sunrise is everything you made it out to be. ”
“It is,” I promised, then brought my lips to her forehead and placed one last kiss there before I turned and marched to my room, forcing my feet to move even though it was the very last thing I wanted to do.
As soon as I shut my bedroom door behind me, I stripped and collapsed into my bed.
I hadn’t even turned a light on, but I didn’t need to.
I would lie there in the dark until my body calmed down and my mind stopped racing, but if I switched on a lamp, I might as well give up on the idea of sleep and head out to get an early start.
As I stared at the wooden beams of my ceiling, illuminated by ambient light from outside, I wondered if I might as well head out anyway.
There were only a couple hours left as it was and I doubted I’d be sleeping for any of them.
I was still hard as a rock, and with the memory of her soft lips on mine so fresh, I knew it wouldn’t be getting better anytime soon.
Liv really was something else. Something worth staying awake for.
From the little I’d learned about her tonight, she seemed incredible.
Strong. Assertive. Funny as hell and sharp as a tack.
Seeing as how I was pretty firm and assertive myself, I was sure that the two of us could be like fire and gasoline if we ever got together.
It had only been one night, but if it was meant to be, we’d see each other again, and if we did, I certainly wouldn’t stop at kissing her good night outside her bedroom door.