CHAPTER 13
ELIZA
Dinner has been cleaned up for a while, but Kendrick wanted to go out and check the fence line shared with the land Ford Conners owns.
Even though it was a little strange that he was so insistent, I didn’t question him about it.
I had enough to keep me busy, and if he needed to check the fence to put his mind at ease, who am I to question it?
As much as Harold tries to fight me, I managed to help him into bed.
I even got him to take some medication for the pain I know he’s in along with the rest of the pills he’s been prescribed for his heart.
The man was laid up in a hospital bed for days and he’s not as young as he once was.
He might be expecting to bounce back from his heart attack, but no one else thinks it will be easy for him to do.
As I helped to get him comfortable in bed, which included fluffing his pillows much to his dismay, I gentled my voice, “You don’t have to be a superhero, Harold.
” The admonishment was soft, but he heard it anyway.
“You’ve been working hard for years, it’s okay to slow down.
Kendrick is here to help with the ranch. ”
“I know,” Harold’s voice had a faraway quality to it that had me keeping my mouth shut because I had a feeling he wasn’t done.
“He’s doing a damn fine job, too. Cliff has been keeping me updated.
” He shook his head and glanced at me with a sheepish expression on his face, one that reminded me of his son.
“I know he’s worried about what has been going on around here, and it’s not just about keeping the ranch solvent.
He doesn’t want you to be in danger. My boy is smitten with you, young lady. ”
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face even if I tried, which I didn’t even attempt. “I’m smitten with him, too,” I admitted.
“I know.” Harold tried to hide his smile, but I saw it peeking through. “It’s clear with the way you dote on him,” he teased me.
With a gasp, I pressed my hand to my chest. “Are you talking about Kendrick, or yourself?”
Harold barked out a quick laugh and grinned. It made his weathered face light up and I found myself wondering when he had smiled last.
“I won’t argue with a little doting,” he told me. “I have been taking care of this land for about a lifetime now.”
He was joking, but I couldn’t stop myself from pointing out, “And now you don’t have to work so hard. You have Kendrick,” I swallowed hard and added, “and you have me.”
“Do I?” He looked at me and studied my face for a moment before giving a sharp nod.
“It seems I do. Have you told my hardheaded son that you’ll be taking him up on his offer to stick around and take care of the home here.
” Before I could answer he added, his voice weighted with importance, “It’s more than a home, you know.
It’s the heart of the ranch, the heart of the land.
Without a home where a cowboy can rest his head, the land is soulless and so is the cowboy. ”
I wondered if he was talking about Kendrick or himself, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask.
It was clear the man was still in pain over the loss of his wife; I could see the depth of it in his eyes.
Kendrick told me about how he couldn’t really remember his mom and how Harold tried to give him the best childhood he could, even if much of it revolved around Watts Ranch.
I patted Harold’s shoulder and let him know, my voice full of sass, “I think I might let him stew for a little while longer.”
Harold grinned while trying to fight the wave of exhaustion that washed over him. I could tell the pain meds were working as his blinks became longer and longer. When I brushed a kiss across the older man’s forehead he didn’t even stir.
As I tucked him in, I was filled me with a sense of purpose. I could be here for him and make a family for myself all at the same time.
Clearly, my parents aren’t the people I need them to be. Not as I step into this next stage of my life. They hope I leave Seneca Falls and go to college. But it’s the last thing I want to do, especially now.
I want to stay right where I am. I want to see the ranch flourish. I want to bring life back to this farmhouse which has probably felt hollow for a long time. Soulless.
It’s almost like you can feel the reverberations of Kendrick’s mom when you first step into a room. Then it’s gone before you can really grab hold, like the sound of laughter in the distance that evaporates without letting you in on the joke.
Maybe I can bring laughter back to this place.
It feels like a much better use of my time and effort than college. I don’t even know what I would study if I went off to school, but I can make a difference here. I can build a life.
I’m sitting on the edge of the bed and rubbing some moisturizer on my face after washing it when the bedroom door opens and Kendrick steps into the room like he’s trying not to wake me. When he looks up and meets my eyes, the smile that breaks out on his face has my heart pounding in my chest.
When I think about it, I can’t remember a time someone has looked as excited to see me as this man does right now. And I know I won’t be keeping my decision from him. He deserves to know, and I’ve never been good at keeping secrets anyway.
My face gives me away. Every time.
“I’ll quit,” I blurt as I stand up.
Kendrick freezes for a moment and then his eyes darken as he looks me over. I’m wearing another one of his shirts, but I’m not wearing panties this time.
“You’ll quit?” He asks the question as if he’s not sure whether he heard me correctly or not.
I nod slowly, my fingers twisting together in front of me as we stand facing each other with only a few feet between us.
“I’ll quit,” I reiterate. “I’m needed here.
You need me and so does Harold. I’ll keep the house functioning and take some of the worry off your shoulders.
Maybe I’ll start a small garden out in the back of the house,” I muse.
Kendrick shuffles closer and cups my face in his hands. “If you want a garden, I’ll make sure you have everything you need,” he promises. “I’ll always make sure you have everything you need.”
His words have me closing the distance between us completely until our bodies are pressed together. His hard length presses against my belly making it very obvious how much he wants me. I let out a soft moan as I rub myself against him, unable to stop myself.
“Kendrick,” I plead, “I need you.”
“I’ll take care of you,” he vows. His words hold weight, reverence, and a gratitude that takes my breath away. “I’ll always take care of you, Baby.”
He presses his forehead against mine and I remember how he told me he loved me just this morning. I want to say it back; the words are right there on the tip of my tongue. When he shakes his head, it’s obvious that he’s reading my mind. How he does it, I’ll never know.
“You know, I’ve never been the kind of man to have much to be thankful about,” he muses, “until you came into my life.”
I don’t need to hear any more, but I do need him.
My arms wrap around his shoulders, and I cling to him as I tip my head back and find his lips with mine.
It’s like something snaps inside of him and the kiss becomes feral in the span of a heartbeat.
His hands slide up underneath the shirt I’m wearing and grip my ass to hold me against him.
As if I have plans to go anywhere, which I don’t.
He growls against my lips before deepening the kiss and kneading my ass cheeks in his large, rough hands. It’s pure fucking heaven.
“You’re not wearing panties,” he rasps against my lips. “What a naughty fucking girl.”
His words send a shiver up my spine, and I’m not prepared for him lifting me and tossing me onto the bed. I let out a yelp of surprise as I bounce and look at him with wide eyes.
I’m riveted as he starts to peel his clothes off his body to let them fall to the ground.
Unlike the clothes he was wearing all day, they’re not covered in grime since he showered and changed before dinner.
It’s a damn good thing because the man was filthy and I wouldn’t have allowed him at my table until he was clean, but I didn’t even have to ask.
I didn’t have to ask Cliff either who showed up fresh and clean right as I was serving dinner up at the table.
Watching Kendrick strip down, I’m in awe. The man’s chest is a work of art, and I desperately want to feel the smattering of hair on his chest against my skin again. I tug the shirt I have on off and toss it toward him.
With a chuckle, he catches it midair and then tosses it over his shoulder. “Won’t be needing that tonight,” he rumbles, and I feel it all the way to my toes.
My nipples are hard and begging for his mouth as I lay back on the bed and widen my legs while he pushes his briefs down over his hips.
When his cock springs free, hard and ready, I let out a whimper.
It’s the first time I’ve seen him naked and he’s bigger than my ex.
It’s not surprising, I already knew he was after feeling his hard length rub up against me, but seeing it is different.
We’ve already had all the important conversations about how I’m not a virgin and am on birth control. He didn’t look happy when I admitted that I lost my virginity to my ex, but it’s not like he had a lot of room to talk.
My legs widen without me thinking about it and Kendrick’s eyes turn molten as his gaze travels down my body to stop between my thighs. I wonder for a moment what he sees, but then he moves and he’s hovering above me before my next breath.
His fingers find my dripping wet pussy and two of them slide inside as he lets out a grunt of approval. “Wet and ready for me,” he growls.
My hands grip his shoulders, and my nails dig in as my hips roll to chase the pleasure his touch promises. “Kendrick,” I gasp, “please.”
“Don’t worry, Baby,” he coos.
He readjusts until the head of his cock is at my entrance. I don’t need him to work me up, I’m ready for him. And he knows it.
I sigh as he starts to push inside of me, my walls stretching around his girth. The burn of it is almost too much, but it’s also delicious in a naughty, decadent kind of way. I tilt my hips with the hope of spurring him on.
After taking a deep breath as if he’s centering himself, he punches his hips forward and fills me until his balls are pressed against my ass. I let out a keening sound, the pain and pleasure of being filled by him battling without caring who wins.
Lust and need has my eyes rolling back in my head as he starts to move. It’s too much. And not nearly enough.
“Give me your eyes, Eliza,” he growls the words, the demand in his voice causing my eyes to snap open and meet his.
Kendrick looks down at me with love in his eyes, but it’s not all I see. I see need, pure fucking need. It coats my skin and makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. This feeling could have me conquering distant lands, if I wanted to be anywhere but here.
He starts to fuck me harder and faster, my legs coming up and wrapping around his waist as my heels dig into his ass. The way he grunts every time he’s buried to the hilt inside of me is pure sin.
My back arches and my breasts press up against his chest, my hard nipples scraping against the hair there and making everything feel like more. When he kisses me, it’s soft and sweet, totally at odds with the way he’s pounding into me.
“Never felt anything so fucking good,” he grits out, his jaw clenched as his head tilts back after breaking the kiss. “Could live inside of your sweet pussy.”
My walls start to flutter around his length as he reaches between us, and his thumb finds my clit. It doesn’t take much to have me falling over the edge. Through the lust haze clouding my vision, I can see the way the muscles of his neck are strained, like he’s trying to hold himself back.
With a roar of my name, he loses that battle. He plunges his length inside of me as deep as he can get, and I feel every jet of his cum painting my walls. The sensation somehow heightens the feelings of a pleasure I’ve never felt before.
My chest is heaving as he starts to plant kisses all over my face and it’s like my soul floats back down into my body. I don’t know where it went, but it must have been amongst the stardust because everything tingles and I feel like glitter.
When I open my eyes, Kendrick is looking down on me with a mixture of concern and pride.
“Woah,” I croak, “is it always like that?”
A serious look comes over his face as he shakes his head. “Only with you.”
It’s a promise. It’s a vow.
It wraps around my heart and makes itself at home there. Right where it belongs. Right where he belongs.
After he gets me cleaned up with a washcloth from the bathroom, the last thing I feel before I drift off to sleep is Kendrick wrapping his arms around me and pulling me against his chest.
I’ve never slept better or more soundly.