CHAPTER 15
ELIZA
Even though I’m trying to keep things on the simple side, today is Thanksgiving and is there anything truly simple about a proper holiday menu?
While I’m not cooking an entire turkey, because I wasn’t interested in basting for hours, I do have a few turkey breasts ready to go in the oven.
I’m very thankful I helped Mom in the kitchen while growing up because it is coming in handy right now.
It’s a lot of pressure cooking for the ranch, but at the same time, it doesn’t scare me. The guys are going to love anything I put on the table in front of them. And they’ll eat it all.
As I’m mixing up the green bean casserole, I can’t help but think about yesterday. Kendrick drove me to the market before he hit up the Sherriff’s office to give a statement about Cody concerning the arrest. My boss wasn’t happy about me leaving, but he seemed resigned.
If he had seen the writing on the wall, I wish he would have warned me because I was completely blindsided by how quickly things have moved with Kendrick.
And I don’t regret it at all. Not even a little bit.
Everything feels right when I’m around him. Something has settled inside my chest while being at Watts Ranch. The land is beautiful and the more I learn about this life, the more it feels like I’m where I should be.
It’s no secret that the place needs a woman’s touch.
Strong arms wrap around my waist, and I melt back against the hard chest pressed against my back.
I know who it is just by the way it feels having him pressed against me.
It’s also not difficult to figure out, considering there aren’t a lot of men around the ranch and none of them would cross Kendrick.
He buries his face in my neck and takes a deep breath. I can’t help but do the same and take in his clean scent with pine and pepper. His skin is still warm and a little damp from the shower he took after getting some work done around the ranch this morning.
As much as I didn’t like him sliding out of bed before the sun came up, I didn’t complain. Life doesn’t stop around here, not even on holidays. That’s just the way it is.
“Do you have a moment?” His voice rumbles against my skin and I shiver in his arms.
“I just need to put the turkey in and then the rest of the sides will go in to cook or warm back up. The pies are already done and cooling,” I nod toward the kitchen island where three pies are sitting.
He groans and nips at my neck. “Tell me one of those pies is cherry.”
I gasp and turn in his arms. “Cherry? I hope you’re not implying something naughty, Kendrick,” I admonish him with a big smile on my face.
“I would never,” he insists, but it’s complete bullshit, before he adds, “but it is my favorite.”
“I do recall you mentioning something about that,” I admit while tilting my head to the side and tapping my chin.
Kendrick swoops down and presses his lips against mine for a quick kiss. Too quick, really. As he pulls away, I chase his mouth and lean completely into him.
Then I’m unexpectedly airborne which has me shrieking and gripping his hips upside down and backward which is strange to say the least. “What are you doing?”
Kendrick chuckles as his hand rubs over my ass while he makes his way through the house and out the back door. “You said you had a few minutes,” he reminds me like it wasn’t just a few minutes ago and I’m being silly, “and I have something to show you.”
“I wasn’t aware I would be hanging upside down,” I sass him, but there’s no real heat behind my words.
His hand rubs over my ass, but this time he gives a squeeze. I’m surprised, well even more surprised, when he doesn’t move far from the back door. As he slides me down his body, I feel every inch of him.
Every. Inch.
And more than a few of those inches are due to his hard cock.
When I look up at him, his dark eyes are taking me in. It’s one of the things I’ve noticed—he’s usually looking at me like it’s his first time seeing me. It’s a heady feeling and makes me want to be better, to be worthy of his attention and focus.
The way he takes up the expanse of my vision should be intimidating and scary, but it’s not.
My hands slide up his chest until they wrap around his neck. Our bodies are pressed together closely; we just fit.
“I’m proud of you,” I whisper the words, and he startles before his eyes soften.
“You came back here, even though you hadn’t planned on it, because your dad and the ranch needed you.
There was no way you could know what you were walking into, good or bad, but you did it anyway.
When you found out just how bad things had gotten, you stepped up and showed everyone who matters exactly the kind of man you are. ”
“Everyone who matters, huh?”
“Mm-hm,” I agree and pull him down to me until our lips meet.
I intended for it to be a soft kiss filled with gentle affection. It is not what happens, and I probably should have known better.
The moment our lips meet, our mouths open and we deepen the kiss. His tongue finds mine and they twist together like it’s a dance they can’t help but engage in. It’s hot and I find myself clinging to Kendrick’s shoulders as he slows down the kiss and pulls away.
I’m breathing heavy as he presses his forehead against mine. “Don’t distract me, Baby,” he admonishes teasingly, “I have a surprise for you.”
My eyes snap open and I squeak, “A surprise? For me?”
“Oh yeah,” he assures me. “You’ve earned a surprise. You’ve taken to ranch life like you’ve always lived it. I don’t know how you managed to do it in such a short time, but you’ve made this place feel like the home it was just waiting to become.”
I feel my cheeks heating with his praise and I’m sure they’re turning pink. The affection shining in his eyes as he looks down at me is something I never want to forget.
“Close your eyes,” he insists.
I don’t hesitate to follow his direction, but his hands come up to cover my eyes anyway. I giggle and insist, “I’m not going to look.”
“Can’t take any chances,” he grumbles.
Then he’s turning us together, his hands still over my eyes even as he moves behind be and presses the warmth of his body against my back. I lean my head back against him, my eyes still closed while happiness bubbles up inside of me.
Kendrick came out of nowhere and changed my entire life. He’s the last person I would ever expect to fall in love with. But I have. I desperately love this man and there isn’t a doubt in my mind that I will spend the rest of my life loving him. He’ll do the same for me.
“You ready?” He breathes the question against the shell of my ear and my nipples pebble.
“Yes,” I chirp and reach up to grip his wrists as I dance on my tiptoes with excitement.
The longer he has me standing here while facing the unknown, the more anticipation has me on the edge of my proverbial mental seat. He rumbles out a laugh that vibrates through my body and causes me to let out a sigh of contentment.
Then his hands fall away and he murmurs, “Open your eyes, Baby.”
After my eyes open, I have to blink a few times to get used to the sunlight bathing the area between the back of the house and the barn. In front of me is the shed which used to be on the other side of the barn. I wondered what was inside when he gave me a tour of the ranch, but I didn’t ask.
“Why did you move the shed over here?” I’m also curious about how it’s my surprise. And it has to be since nothing else is different back here.
“It’s not a shed,” Kendrick tells me which only makes me more confused. I turn back toward him and tilt my head to the side in obvious question. He gives me the lopsided grin that makes me want to drop to my knees for him. “It’s a stained-glass studio.”
It takes me a long moment for his words to sink in. When they do, I let out a loud as hell gasp and then spin around to look at the shed again.
My voice is shaking, “It’s a stained-glass studio?”
“It’s your stained-glass studio,” he reiterates.
I look back at him over my shoulder, and he grins before nodding in the shed’s direction. I don’t hesitate and rush toward it, swing open the door, and step inside.
The shed has clearly been refinished on the inside. It smells like the fresh, white paint on the walls. There are tables built on the inside along with a bookshelf.
But that’s not what surprises me the most. No, what has my mouth falling open are the boxes sitting in the middle of the shed. It’s all of the supplies Nana Z left me. They’ve been sitting in my parent’s garage for years.
But now they’re here.
Knowing he’s standing close by and watching my reaction, I croak, “How?”
“I went by your parent’s house and told them I wanted the supplies Nana Z left you. I remembered you telling me about them and knew how important they were. I figured you’d want them in your studio first and then we can build from there.”
I whirl around toward him and leap.
He catches me easily, only taking one step back to maintain his balance. My face finds the crook of his neck and I take a deep breath of his scent.
“You went to my parent’s house and did that? For me?” My lips brush against his skin with every whispered question.
“Of course,” he assures me, “I’d do anything for you.”
I slam my mouth against his, kissing him hard and hoping he can feel just how much he means to me. “I love you, Kendrick,” I whisper the words against his lips, and he freezes.
He wrenches his mouth away from mine and demands, “Say it again.”
“I love you, Kendrick,” I repeat while looking into his dark brown, intense eyes. I want there to be no doubt about the sincerity of my words, of my feelings.
He turns and presses my back against the wall of the shed while he fumbles with pulling the door closed and sliding the lock into place. “I’m going to get you the studio you deserve, the one in town you’ve always dreamed of.”
I shake my head slowly, “I don’t need that studio.
This is more than I thought I would have.
” I bite my lip and look up at him, my legs wrapped around his waist and his hard bulge pressing right against my clit.
“Maybe,” I muse, “it would be better to wait anyway.” He arches an eyebrow in question, and I explain, “You know, until we have a kid or two.”
“Fuck,” he bites out.
That’s the only warning I get before he puts me down on my feet, but only to strip me from the waist down. Then I’m back up in his arms and he’s pressing me against the wall.
His cock slides inside of me with a fast, hard thrust. I gasp against his mouth, and he swallows down the sound. I only get the span of a single heartbeat to get used to the way he stretches me.
When he starts to move, it already feels like I’m teetering on the edge. The way the crown of his cock rubs against a special spot inside of me has me seeing stars and gasping for breath while clinging to his shoulders.
“Yes,” I hiss, my head falling back and hitting against the wall with a thud.
He growls, the sound a warning, before his hand comes up and cups the back of my head, his fingers tangling in the strands of my hair and holding me in place.
The way he touches me is rough, but there’s an awe to it which makes me tighten my hold on him.
I want to always hold him as close to my heart as he does with me.
“Fuck,” Kendrick grits out, “you feel so fucking good wrapped around my cock. I want you coming all over me,” he demands.
He pumps into me harder with every thrust and I’m gasping for breath as I teeter on the edge. Every time he’s buried all the way inside of me, he grunts under his breath and circles his hips against my clit.
It’s too much.
And not enough.
“Come, need to feel it,” he growls as he buries his face in my neck and bites down.
My body locks up and then releases in a wave of pure pleasure and passion. I’m lost to the feeling as I float amongst the clouds. He doesn’t stop and keeps fucking me right through my orgasm.
Then his movements stutter and he growls against my flesh, “Eliza.”
His cum fills me, every jet powerful as it splashes against my walls. My body goes limp as my head falls against the wall but still cradled in his hand while my eyes roll back in my head.
Our panting breaths are labored, but when I look up at him, he has a goofy as fuck grin on his face. I’m sure I have the same smile on mine.
We could be caught at any moment, and I have work to do in the kitchen, but none of it matters. The only thing that matters is us and the love we share.
“Thanks for breezing into town and changing my life,” the words are husky, and I have to swallow past the lump of emotion in my throat.
“Thanks for giving me something to be thankful for, Baby.”
I have a feeling we’ll find a lot of things to be thankful for throughout the years. I can’t wait to find out just what is in store when it comes to our future.