Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
brOOKS
It’s been a long fucking day.
Long.
Fucking.
Day.
And I’m ready to call it, take my wildfire home, and lose myself in her for the rest of the night. The fact that I even get to do that is still completely foreign to me.
I’m so fucking proud of her.
She didn’t leave and let the guys handle the heavy lifting today.
No, my girl put on a mask, some gloves, and worked her gorgeous ass off right next to the rest of us.
And when the floor was all gone, she jumped in to sweep and make decisions.
She consulted with Connor and his construction foreman, devising a plan.
She fucking blew my mind.
But now everyone has cleared out. My brothers have gone home to their women, and Connor has collected Bee from across the street and taken her home as well.
The crew is gone.
Now it’s time for me to do the same with Jules.
“Let’s hang it up for tonight,” I say as I come up behind her and wrap my arms around her chest, hugging her to me. “I need to feed you, and we should get some rest.”
I lower my mouth to her ear. She’s so fucking short, I have to almost bend in half.
Worth it.
“After I sink inside you for about twelve hours.”
Jules huffs out a laugh and turns in my arms.
“All of that sounds like fun, but there’s something else I want first.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Name it.”
“I’d like a ride on your bike over to Silver Springs so we can get ice cream at Sundae’s.”
“That’s what you want?”
Jules grins and nods, and I can’t help but kiss her forehead.
“Let’s do it, then. I’ll meet you at my place.”
I wait for Jules to lock the door, watching as she checks the lock three times, and walk her to her car. Once she’s on her way, I follow her in my truck.
She’s waiting by the back door when I pull into the driveway.
“I’ll give you a key,” I tell her as I unlock the door.
“Oh, you don’t have to. I probably won’t be here that long.”
Those words coming out of her mouth are like a kick to the jaw.
You’re not going anywhere, Wildfire.
“It will be a while before the crew can get up to the apartment, Jules. You’re here, with me, for the foreseeable future.”
She bites her lip and steps inside, and I cup her chin, making her look up at me.
“Unless you don’t want to be here. I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.”
“It’s not that. I don’t want to take advantage of you. I don’t want to give you another reason to resent me later—”
“Whoa.” Cupping her face, I frown down at her. “I’m an asshole, but I’m not a complete monster. We’re figuring our shit out. I couldn’t resent you for being here with me, when that’s exactly what I want. I don’t want you anywhere else. And if I didn’t want you here, I’d tell you so.”
“Yeah.” She gives me a soft smile. “You definitely would. Thank you. I can sleep in the guest room—”
“We’re going to clear this whole fucking thing up right here, right now.”
Lifting her, I carry her to the kitchen and set her on the countertop so I’m eye to eye with her. Leaning my hands on either side of her hips, I cage her in.
“I want you in my room and in my bed for as long as you want to be here. Does that spell it out for you?”
“Yeah. It’s just …” She nibbles her lip.
“What, baby?”
“I don’t know if I can trust this.”
I frown down at her. “Trust what, exactly?”
“This.” She swallows hard and looks down at my chest. “That you’ll still feel this way in a few days.
That it’s not just happening because we’ve been sort of forced together here and there, and you’ve let your guard down, but when you remember everything that happened, you won’t hate me again, and make me leave, and—”
I rest my lips over hers, kissing her softly, nibbling those perfect lips. And when I pull back, I tip my forehead to hers.
“I. Don’t. Hate you.” I drag my fingertips down her soft cheek, to her neck, and hold her there. Hold her gaze. “I never hated you. I was hurt and angry, but we already said that we’re going to let the past stay behind us and work on something new.”
“Yeah,” she whispers. “Still scares me. Aren’t you scared?”
“Fucking terrified.” Her eyes soften with my admission, and it sets me at ease, too. “But I want you more than I’m scared of it.”
“Okay.” She nods, then leans in and rests her forehead on my chest. “One day at a time. Can I use your super beautiful shower?”
“You can use whatever you want.” I kiss the top of her head and help her off the counter, then lead her down the hallway.
This afternoon, Jules went up to the apartment and packed up the rest of what she could salvage from the flood, and I brought it back here. She finds what she wants to change into and gathers it into her arms.
“You should have everything you need in there,” I tell her, gesturing to the bathroom.
“I’ll be ready to go in about twenty,” she replies.
With a nod, I back out of the bedroom. I’ll shower down the hall. I would prefer to be in there with her, but once we start, I won’t want to let her go any time soon, and my girl wants ice cream for dinner.
She can have anything she damn well wants.
And when I’m inside her again, it’s not going to be a quick, angry fuck in my garage.
Not that there’s not a time and place for that, and I look forward to it happening again, when she doesn’t run out on me after.
This time, it’ll be in my bed, where I can fucking devour her.
Thirty minutes later, I’m pulling the bike out of the garage. I pass the helmet I bought for Jules to her, and her eyes go big.
“This fits me.”
Suddenly, as I’m tying the chin strap, her eyes narrow and go sapphire blue.
“Wait.” Her hands cover mine, stopping my movements. “Who the fuck did you buy this woman-sized helmet for? I don’t want to wear something that you bought for someone else, Brooks—”
“Stop.” I hold the chin guard of the helmet and make her look me in the eyes. She’s glaring at me, and fuck if it doesn’t make me hard.
There’s my wildfire.
“Number one, I’ve never had another woman on my bike. Not once, Juliet.”
Those eyes widen, her jaw goes slack, and I keep talking.
“Two, I bought this for you last week.”
“B-before you knew I’d be staying here.”
“Yeah. After I had you on the back, I knew I needed something for you.” At the time, I considered it to be a weak moment because I wanted to hang on to my anger.
“Three, and I want you to listen really carefully to this one.”
She bites her lower lip, watching me with those wide eyes.
“We aren’t talking about the past and who we might or might not have been with. Was I celibate? No. I wasn’t. I won’t lie to you about that. But that’s not now, and it doesn’t matter. Fifteen years is almost a lifetime, baby. But I’ll tell you this: you’re mine now. No one touches you but me.”
“Yeah, well, same goes.” She narrows her eyes again.
“I think I like you jealous. Makes me hard as hell.” I kiss her nose and finish tying the strap, then we get settled on the bike.
I push off from the house and turn onto the street. Jules wraps those arms around me, holding on.
When we hit the long stretch of highway, the wind blowing around us, and the sun just starting to set, I reach back and hook my hand under her thigh, tugging her closer to me.
I want to feel the heat of her pussy against my ass, her tits on my back, and fuck if I just don’t love having her pressed against me again.
The ride into Silver Springs takes less than thirty minutes, and I pull up in front of Sundae’s, an ice cream place that’s been here since long before I was born.
Jules and I used to come here every weekend. It was our thing.
She swings her leg over and steps off the bike, and I follow, helping her with the helmet. Moments later, we’re walking into the scent of sugar and waffle cones.
“It always smells so good in here,” Jules says with a happy sigh as we step up to the counter. This place offers about ten flavors that remain constant, then rotates a half dozen seasonal flavors as well.
“Hi, welcome in. What can I getcha?” the young woman behind the counter asks.
“I’d like two scoops of huckleberry in a dish,” Jules says. “Please.”
“You bet.” The girl looks up at me expectantly.
“I’m going to try that apple pie a la mode. Two scoops, also in a dish.”
Once I’ve paid, we find a table and I have a seat next to her, rather than across.
Just like before.
“Mmm, so good,” Jules says, closing her eyes, and my dick twitches.
I’m going to make her make that noise later with my face between her legs.
“How are your parents?” she asks before scooping a bite of purple ice cream into her mouth. “I haven’t seen them much since I’ve been back.”
“They’re doing well. They retired a few years back and moved to Florida because of Mom’s arthritis, but they had serious FOMO and moved back last year.”
Jules frowns. “Your mom has bad arthritis?”
“Yeah, but she does okay. Blake keeps an eye on her.”
“I still can’t believe that Blake’s a doctor.” She grins and turns so she’s facing me. “It makes me happy that everyone is doing so well. Billie’s bookstore is my favorite place in town.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Even over your restaurant?”
“Yep. Favorite place by far. I always loved to read, you know that.”
“Sure, but your restaurant is fucking amazing.”
That has her blinking up at me, and then she leans over and kisses my shoulder.
“Thank you for saying that. I had a vision for it, you know? I knew what I wanted the vibe to be for so many years, so seeing it come to life was exciting. I love that people like Birdie can eat there without worrying about getting sick.”
“What made you decide to start a clean kitchen?” I ask her as I finish my ice cream and toss the paper cup in a nearby can.
“I have sensitivities,” she says. “No official diagnosis, but it wouldn’t surprise me if I have celiac, like Birdie. It started right after college, and just got worse with time. It helped to cut out the gluten, but sometimes something would set me off.”
She looks like she wants to say more, but presses her lips together.
“You can tell me anything.”