by Peyton Banks
Joy sat up, recognizing his silly side.
She yelped and tried to roll away, but he snatched her from the bed and dragged her out, swinging her up and into his arms.
“Wade!” she cried. Her arms flew around his neck so she could hold on.
“Can’t get enough of hearing you scream my name, darling. Before I feed you, we need to shower.”
“My hair is going to get wet,” Joy cried out, holding on for dear life.
Wade’s strong arms held her tight to him. He stepped into the bathroom and turned his confused gaze to her.
“What’s wrong with that? It’s water,” he stated matter-of-factly. The room was very spacious, and tastefully decorated. There was a separate soaking tub, and a double vanity with a walk-in shower. The toilet was hidden away in its own little room.
Joy was in love with the space.
“You wouldn’t understand about a woman’s hair.” She buried her face into his shoulder.
He stopped outside the shower and put her down.
She stood before him, his arm still around her while he reached into the stall. It had twin showerheads on opposite walls. The sound of the water spray filled the air. Wade focused his attention back on her.
“What’s there to understand? Is your hair going to fall off if it gets wet?”
“No.” Joy punched him on the arm. He grinned at her and shook his head.
“Then what’s the problem? If it gets messed up, and it’s going to, just fix it.” He shrugged and pulled her to him.
Of course it was no big deal to him. He was a man, so what did he know about a black women’s hair? She was not a wash-and-go girl. Usually, when she washed her hair, it took her about two hours to wash, dry, and flat iron. She didn’t have any of her supplies here, so she’d have to figure it out.
Later.
Wade closed the gap between them. Joy watched, fascinated, as his gray eyes darkened with lust.
“I won’t have a choice,” she murmured. She would have to do something to it later before it dried. She doubted he had a blow dryer around.
Wade swooped down and captured her lips with his. A moan slipped from him while his tongue immediately took control of the kiss.
It was quite easy to get lost in a kiss with Wade.
He bent down and hoisted her up. Her legs automatically wrapped around his waist as he walked into the shower. The warm air surrounded them, but Joy paid it no mind.
Her body was awakening to the feel of Wade pressed hard against her. The warm water ran down her back, and the thoughts of her hair were long forgotten.
The feeling of his long, firm shaft brushing on her filled her with excitement. Wade walked over and pushed her to the wall.
A gasp escaped her from the chill of the tiles.
Wade tore his mouth from hers and went on an exploration of his own. His lips moved up her jawline and down to her neck. She dove her fingers into his thick hair. The dark curls had been driving her crazy.
His body leaned into hers, crushing her breasts between them. The water skated over their bodies, and their hands slid easier.
Joy tightened her legs around Wade. She was amazed at how easily he was able to hold her up. He pressed hot kisses along her skin. Joy threw her head back to allow him to reach any part of her he so desired.
“I can’t get enough of you,” he murmured, his hand cupping her breast. It filled his entire hand while he massaged and played with the nipple.
Joy met Wade’s intense gaze and didn’t know what to say. It was the same for her. She’d loved every minute they had spent together.
Returning to his place, he had blown her mind. She had thought the electricity between them had been hot at the bowling alley.
She had misjudged it.
They had literally scorched the sheets. It was a wonder the bed didn’t catch fire. The sex between them was worthy of a ten-alarm fire.
Had the fire department arrived, there wouldn’t have been any explanation they could have offered up.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she admitted. It was the truth. There was something between them, and they would be fools to ignore it. Her heart raced while watching Wade lower his head to her.
The kiss was deep and sensual. His tongue took full advantage of her lips parting. It goaded Joy to come out and play.
Her body was heating up. The warmth from the shower was increasing her temperature. Her hair was plastered to her head, but she didn’t care.
All she could think of was Wade.
He was filling her every thought. All the past fighting and arguing was just foreplay for what was to come. She understood that now. He’d get on her nerves, and she the same for him. It was a tale as old as time.
And currently, he was hers. She didn’t know what the future was going to hold for them, but there was one thing she knew for certain.
She needed him inside her.
Her core clenched with need at the feel of his cock brushing against her.
“Is that so?”
Wade lined up his cock with her opening. Her muscles tensed when he surged forward. She released a cry at the sensation of his thick cock stretching her channel. He paused and brought her face to his. He covered her mouth again with his.
Joy groaned and rotated her hips. She craved a release from him. The loving he’d put on her the night before had her waiting for the next big orgasm.
“Whoa, there.” He gripped her hips in his hands. “You keep that up, and this will be over sooner than it needs to be.”
“What?” She flexed her inner muscles by doing a kegel, grinning playfully. “This?”
Wade growled and nipped her chin.
She squeezed again.
“You think you’re funny.” A teasing glint appeared in his eyes. He withdrew from her and thrust forward.
Joy released a grunt at how deep he went.
Oh boy.
Maybe she shouldn’t have teased him so.
His strokes were long and sure. Joy hung on, clamping her arms around his neck.
Their eyes were locked together, and she couldn’t look away if she tried. Her heart was pounding. She gripped his hair and brought him close to her. She trailed her tongue across his lips and tightened her fingers in his hair, holding his face to hers.
A shudder rippled through his body. Wade’s lips parted to allow his groan to escape.
She ground her hips against him, her body moving in sync with the rhythm he set.
“Wade,” she chanted.
He snatched her off the wall and brought her to him. Joy held on with her arms around his neck. She wasn’t going to question the strength this man had to hold her up when the sensation of him sliding inside her was heavenly.
His thrusts became harder.
The air rushed from her lungs.
Wade Brooks was consuming her, and she didn’t want it any other way.
Joy’s eyes fluttered closed as an electric current rushed through her. Her orgasm was coming for her, and there was nothing to stop it.
She threw back her head, crying out as an intense climax overtook her.
Wade’s hoarse yell followed her.
Their bodies slowed to a halt.
Still, he held her up as if she weighed nothing.
Her legs remained locked around him, as were her arms.
She leaned her head down and rested her forehead on his. The emotions rolling through her left her speechless.
His large hand roamed her back, sending chills through her body.
She opened her eyes and found him staring at her. She smiled and shook her head.
“Wade, this was…” She didn’t know what to say. The man had worked her body in ways she’d only dreamed of.
“Perfect,” his deep voice rumbled.
Her breath caught in her throat. She agreed. Today had been the best day she’d had in a long time.
She didn’t know what this was between them, but she was determined to explore it. There was just o
ne problem.
Her family.
10
“Y’all ain’t going to find out the sex of the baby?” Carson asked incredulously. He scratched his head and turned to Parker with a confused look.
Wade, Carson, and Parker stood outside the corral watching Tyler ride atop of Rocky. Wade observed his nephew with pride. The kid had taken to riding a horse just as he thought he would.
What Jonah Brooks had done was unforgivable.
Wade still couldn’t believe the lengths his father had gone to to keep Parker from Maddy. Had she not moved back to Shady Springs, they may not even have known Tyler existed.
“What are you hoping for?” Wade asked.
It would be nice to have a little Brooks girl running around with pigtails. Jonah was one of four boys. Out of all the Brooks cousins, there was only one girl.
“All we want is a healthy baby,” Parker replied. He, like his son, had on his beat-up Stetson. Tyler was the spitting image of Parker. When Wade had first met Tyler, he couldn’t stop looking at the child. Maddy had been so flustered and trying to leave that Wade hadn’t asked any questions.
He wasn’t shocked when it was revealed Tyler was Parker’s son. It all made sense.
“If it’s a girl, I say we go stock up on more ammunition,” Wade teased.
Each of the Brooks brothers loved to shoot. It was a pastime of theirs. They were ranchers, and had to know how to use a gun. There were plenty of predatory animals out in the wild who tried to come onto the land to steal animals.
Parker visibly swallowed hard. Apparently, he hadn’t thought of what having a girl would mean.
“Fuck, yeah. Y’all know how we were chasing girls when we were younger,” Carson chuckled.
Wade joined in. Carson was speaking from experience. He’d been chased off a ranch before by a farmer with a gun.
“Shit,” Parker cursed. He yanked off his hat and tunneled his trembling hand through his hair. He pushed his hat down onto his head and leaned against the fence. “They might as well bury me under the jail now.”
Wade slapped Parker on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, brother. We’ll put aside bail money for you.”
“Y’all remember when Uncle Henry caught Haley on her first date?” Carson snickered.
Their poor cousin was the only girl in another family of all boys. Her father, Henry, Jonah’s brother, showed up at the party she was at with a shotgun and her three brothers.
“Damn, I had forgot about that.” Parker scoffed.
Wade grinned. Haley and he were the same age. Wade had been at that party and almost died from laughter. His uncle and cousins hadn’t dragged Haley away from the party. Oh no. They’d stayed and stood in the corner the entire time overseeing the date. Haley had rushed away, embarrassed.
“I wouldn’t show up with a rifle.” Parker sniffed. He scrubbed a hand along his face and shook his head. “Nope. I’ll have my Glock in my holster.”
“Parker!” Eliana called from the back door.
Parker released a deep sigh and turned, glancing over his shoulder. “Keep an eye on him. I have to go do payroll with Pa.” He pushed off the fence with a look of dread on his face.
“Want me to do it?” Wade asked. Tensions were still there between Jonah and Parker. The day Jonah had the heart attack was the day everything had been revealed.
Wade had never seen such rage in his brother before. It had taken everything Carson and Wade had to keep Parker from getting his hands on Jonah. But after hearing the entire story, Wade sympathized with this brother. With the family business, it wasn’t as if Parker could totally avoid their father.
Parker could have walked away from Blazing Eagle Ranch and started over, but this was his birthright, just as it was for Carson and Wade.
None of them could just walk away.
He and Carson tried to be a buffer between their brother and father.
“I’m good.” Parker shook his head. “This shouldn’t take long.”
Parker spun on his heel and walked toward the house. Wade turned around and watched his brother. He couldn’t even begin to fathom what was going through Parker’s head whenever he looked Jonah in the eye.
Parker was one hell of a man to sit across from the person who had forever changed his life. Not that Jonah was one hundred percent to blame, but had he not interfered, Maddy, Parker, and Tyler’s lives would have come out much differently.
“Hey, Eliana!” he called out.
Carson echoed out a greeting, too. Carson moved next to Wade and rested his foot on the fence.
Tyler and Rocky trotted over to them. Rocky was a wise, older horse Parker had found on a farm who practically gave him away when they heard it was for a child.
“Looking good, fellas,” Wade praised.
“How am I doing, Uncle Wade?” Tyler asked, pushing back his hat. His eyes, the same as all the Brooks men, landed on Wade.
“You’re doing well. I’m so proud of you, kid.”
“Want to see a trick I taught Rocky?” Tyler’s gaze darted between Carson and Wade.
“Of course. Show us what you got,” Carson encouraged.
Wade loved his nephew as if he were his own son. It was good to have a youngster living on the ranch. Even though they had Kiddie Camp yearly, it was nothing like having Tyler there.
Wade hoped to one day have a son of his own.
Flashes of Joy’s face when she’d climaxed came to mind. Their night together had been one he would never forget. He couldn’t get enough of her. He’d lost track of how many times they had made love.
Her body had been warm, inviting, and so responsive to his.
Wade couldn’t stop thinking about her. He’d only just taken her home a few hours earlier after they’d finally left the bedroom. He’d made them a late breakfast, and had managed to keep his hands to himself.
The kiss in the car almost had him pulling her over and onto his lap, but he resisted.
Already, he was getting aroused thinking of their shower. Honestly, the plan was to just take a shower, but the second he’d got her in there, all thoughts left his brain. Seeing her naked curves lit a fire in him.
Wade blinked and focused on Tyler. He had to stop thinking of her, or he would be walking around with raging erection all day.
Rocky pranced away to the middle of the corral.
Tyler called out to Rashad, who had just arrived on horseback.
“What’s up, buddy?” Rashad said, a hand who had worked for the ranch for years. He was a lead hand, and was very trustworthy. Rashad had grown up in Shady Springs, and was a few years older than Wade. They had gone to high school together, but Rashad had graduated before Wade.
Wade’s curiosity was piqued. What was Tyler up to? His nephew guided Rocky around with his rope in his hands.
“I want to show them what I’ve been working on,” Tyler replied.
Rashad’s grin widened. Glancing over at Wade and Carson, he tipped his hat to them. “Be right back.”
He trotted off, and disappeared around to the other side of the barn.
“I need to ask you something,” Carson murmured.
“What’s up, little brother?”
“Not that it’s any of my business, but I saw you leaving this morning, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought it was Joy Whitaker in your truck.” Carson turned his curious gaze to him.
Wade froze. He hadn’t thought anyone would have seen them. Not that he was trying to hide her.
“What if it was?”
“Makes no difference to me, but our families have been feuding since before any of us were born.” Carson shrugged. “You sure that was a smart move?”
Wade skated a hand over his jaw and thought about it. The feud wasn’t them. They didn’t hate the Whitakers. They had grown up knowing of the feud, and naturally sided with their family.
He and Joy had their quarrels and arguments throughout the years. Even though there were times she got on his nerves, he had actual
ly enjoyed it. Seeing her pissed off was the highlight of his days, but now, seeing her orgasm because of him was now his favorite pastime.
“Joy and I have buried the hatchet,” Wade responded.
“Does Dad know?”
“None of his business,” Wade snapped. He was a grown man, and didn’t have to explain what he did or who he hung out with to his father.
They all knew what their father was capable of.
Jonah Brooks didn’t need to know about everything going on in his sons’ lives.
“Hey, don’t get pissed at me. I just asked a question.” Carson held his hands up. “What changed her mind? She always—you know what? Never mind. I don’t want to know what you did to change her mind,” Carson chuckled, shaking his head.
Wade snorted. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”
His brother was smart, and he’d let him imagine what he wanted. It wasn’t a secret about the Brooks brothers. They had a way with women, and that was how it had always been.
What it was, Wade didn’t know.
Could it be their looks?
The money?
Cowboy life?
Women flocked to the three of them like flies on cow dung.
He remembered back in the day when he and Carson would go with Parker on the circuit. The buckle bunnies were out in full flock.
There was never a day there weren’t women around.
But now, there was only one woman who was capturing Wade’s attention.
There was no way in hell he would be sharing with his brother the things that he and Joy had done together. There were just some things he did not speak about.
“There are plenty of things from the past that needed to be changed. New beginnings,” he said.
Wade caught sight of a little calf Rashad had let loose in the corral. Wade tapped Carson on the shoulder and pointed. Rashad stood on the other side of the fence, laughing.
“Well, I’ll be…” Carson cackled.
Tyler guided Rocky around. Concentration was on the kid’s face as he raced after the calf. He and his horse moved as one. His rope was in the air, just as he had been taught. He swung it, and waited for the perfect time, while holding the extra length in his other hand.
Rocky picked up speed and was right behind the small cow. Tyler tossed his rope. Wade watched with bated breath as it landed around the cattle’s neck.