by K. Langston
Bringing the steaming cup to his lips, he watches me over the rim. “You ready?”
Holding out my arms, I look down. “Yep, except I don’t have any boots.”
“I see. I think I have a solution.”
He leaves the kitchen and returns with a worn pair of women’s boots. “Hopefully they fit. They belong to my mother. She keeps them here for when she visits.”
Sitting at the table, I toe off my tennis shoe and slip one on. “Fits perfect.”
“I thought they would.”
Pop comes through the back door, another man following close behind him. “Morning y’all,” Pop greets, grabbing a plate from the cabinet. “Dino, this is Selena, the one I was telling you about.”
“Hola,” he greets, eyeing me suspiciously. A shiver runs down my spine from his piercing glare.
“Hola.”
“Dino lives on the property and helps us out here on the ranch but I think Pop just pays him to listen to him gripe all day.”
We eat breakfast, Justin and Pop chatting about some of the horses, but I don’t miss Dino’s constant assessment. It’s as if he knows me, though, if Pop told him who my father was, no doubt he does know who I am.
After breakfast, Pop and Dino head to town and Justin takes a call while I clean up the kitchen, I am nearly done wiping down the counters when he walks back in from outside. His face is hard, concerned, but then it softens when he sets his eyes on me.
“Ready to ride?”
I place the sponge on the tray and wash and dry my hands. “First, let me check your wound.”
“I took care of it earlier.”
I perch my hands on my hips. “May I have a look for myself? A trained eye can spot infection early on.”
He slowly unbuttons his shirt and my breath stalls in my throat when he reveals his chest then his abs before shifting out of it and clutching it in-between his thick fingers. He walks toward me but stalking might be a more appropriate word to use because the way he’s looking at me right now, he looks like he wants to devour me.
“Be my guest.”
His skin tenses beneath my fingers as I carefully peel back the bandage and check the wound. No sign of infection. Nice and clean.
“Satisfied?” he asks in a gravely tone.
“Almost.”
Then I shift him around to face forward and check the back one as well. The bandage is a little loose so I secure it better and while doing so I admire his backside, the slope of it, muscles rippling beneath his smooth skin.
“Now I’m satisfied,” I say, patting his bicep to let him know I am finished with my inspection.
He grunts, shoving his good arm back into his shirt then carefully maneuvering the other in to button back up.
“You’re not wearing your sling today?”
He reaches for my hand after he has the final button in place, pulling me toward the garage door. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
Smiling, I let him drag me away. Perhaps I am just a girl with a foolish heart and foolish dreams, just like my mother, but you cannot stop a heart from wanting what it wants no more than you can stop the sun from shining or sea from crashing to the shore.
We head out into the garage where he leads me to a large side-by-side ATV. Once I get on, he reaches over to secure my seatbelt in place; his face is so close to mine I can smell his aftershave. He still has a light stubble shading his jaw but he’s trimmed his neck and the skin around it.
Pulling out of the garage, he handles the ATV expertly, taking us down a path leading toward the stables. It’s probably less than a mile from the house but the short drive is beautiful. The early morning sun beams down from above, casting its glorious light onto the dozen horses grazing in the pasture.
When we arrive at the stables, Justin walks around the ATV, reaching for my hand to help me off and he doesn’t let go until we walk inside. I follow him down to the last stall and find a beautiful black horse with his head poking out.
“Wow, he’s gorgeous,” I say, reaching out to smooth my hand down his long neck that hangs over the door.
“This is Jack Daniels. He’s mine. He’s a smooth ride but he can be a little temperamental at times. We have an understanding though, don’t we, buddy?” Justin says, patting his neck.
Jack Daniels snorts, bobbing his head.
Justin walks over to the stall across from Jack Daniels to a stunning mare that is white with a huge brown spot on her back. “This is Trixie. She belongs to my mother. She’s gentle as a lamb and isn’t spooked easily. You’ll be riding her today.”
Rubbing her neck, I press my nose to hers, training my breaths to be synonymous with hers, letting her get to know me. When I was little and Teddy taught me to ride, he told me that a horse could sense a human’s fear. I want Trixie to know I’m not afraid.
Justin sets about saddling up the horses and I stand close by, helping him where I can, but he’s so competent and sure of himself, moving with comfort and ease around the horses. I notice his strong arms rippling with his movement, his muscles bunching beneath the fabric of his shirt. Then I remember how they felt moving beneath my fingertips when I had them on his skin earlier.
A burning sensation throbs deep in my belly. That’s been happening a lot lately, especially around him. It seems like everything comes to life in my body when he’s near. I can hear every breath I take and beat of my heart. Like the way it’s pounding now and all I’m doing is looking at his lips. I really like his lips. The way the top one is thinner than the lower one, how it pokes out just enough to be tempting.
“You all right over there?” His deep voice penetrates the heavy fog surrounding me.
My cheeks flush. He’s caught me staring at him. He holds my gaze for several heartbeats before I turn away, focusing my attention on Trixie.
I swallow the thick desire clogging my throat. “How long have you been riding?”
“Since I can remember. My brothers and I used to come visit for two weeks in the summer when my grandmother was alive. We spent hours riding. I think I was the only one with a passion for it though. My brothers preferred riding the ATVs but I always liked being out here with these guys. I don’t know, I just understand them, I guess.” He shrugs. “Okay, we’re all set.”
Justin walks Trixie in a circle before stopping her right in front of me.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” He pulls a black ball cap from his back pocket. “To keep the sun out of your eyes.” Putting it on my head, he pulls it down low. I laugh at his playfulness then lift it up to tug my hair through the hole in the back. “Ready?”
I nod, placing my foot in the stirrup, then reach up to grab the horn of the saddle and throw my leg over. When I feel his hands on my hips to guide me, I suck in a sharp breath. Justin’s hand moves to my thigh as he hands me the reins.
“You good?”
“I’m good.”
He grins then gives my thigh a gentle squeeze before he walks over to Jack Daniels, easily mounting the horse.
Wow.
Justin is handsome in whatever he does but seeing him on a horse is something entirely different. He sits tall in the saddle, his strong fingers loosely holding the reins as he leads us out of the stables and down the dirty path. It takes me a few moments to get comfortable but Justin is as patient as ever. “Just hold on and let her do the rest.” I relax my shoulders, letting Trixie take the lead. “There you go.”
We ride the trails along the property for about half an hour before we come out to a clearing that is covered in bluebonnets.
“This must be where Bluebonnet Ranch comes from.”
“This is the whole reason they bought this place. My grandmother saw it and fell in love.”
“I am so sorry you lost her. How did she die?”
“Lung cancer. As soon as she was diagnosed she went downhill fast.”
“How long were they married?”
“Fifty-six years. He still loves her. I don’t think he will ever get over her but he finds
different ways to honor her memory. Justin leads me over to a bench near the edge of the water. On the back there’s an inscription.
Dance on the ripples.
Feast on the trees.
My heart every morning.
Bluebonnets in spring.
Curled around the beautiful words, as if they are hugging them, are hand painted bluebonnets. On the front are the names Frank and Ellie and the year 1942.
We take a seat on the bench and a strange sense of belonging washes over me. Like the warm breeze rippling off the pond, my heart surges with longing.
“This is beautiful.”
“Pop made it for her when they first bought this place.” He motions for me to sit and I do, folding my hands in my lap. He takes a seat next to me, close enough that I can smell him but still too far away. He stretches his arm out behind me, looking out over the water. “They were just a couple of kids, living on a prayer and a dream.”
His fierce blue eyes are trained on me and they hold that fire. The one I saw in the basement, the one in the hospital, the one last night. Every single one is like a confession, a wordless need.
Another warm breeze kisses my face, tiny strands of hair lapping at my skin. Justin reaches up to pull it away as if it were something he’s done a million times before. I lean in closer, seeking his touch. It feels like electricity, but when his gaze moves to my lips, my heart thunders in my chest like a raging storm.
The combination causes my breathing to turn shallow. The earth stops moving and possibly so does time as he leans in slowly, pressing his lips to mine. My body freezes as all of the blood rushes through my limbs, heating every inch of my skin straight down to my core. His hands move to my face, holding me in place as he tenderly kisses my bottom lip then my top. I part them wider, wanting to taste more of him, and he blesses me with his warm tongue, darting out to sweep against mine. Justin scoots in closer, bringing his hard body flush with mine as he wraps an arm firmly around my waist. I melt against him, bringing my hands between our bodies to cradle his face. A thrill shoots through me as he squeezes me tighter, fisting his hand in my hair and deepening the kiss.
Oh, this kiss.
This kiss is like a spark of life.
A beacon of hope.
Everything I ever wanted and never knew I needed lies in a single soul-bearing kiss. My hands drift up farther, burying them in his short hair. There’s barely enough on top to cling to so I do just that, thinking if I don’t I will surely plummet off of whatever mountain I am climbing.
My body heats further when his hand tightens a little more on my hair before he loosens his hold, his hand drifting down.
Down.
Down.
To my hip, giving it a hard squeeze.
After a few beautiful moments, he tears his lips from mine and gives me a pained look, his breath coming in hard pants as he grips my shoulders. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
My breath comes just as fast, my body still reeling from his touch.
His kiss.
“Why not?”
“Because you’re not ready for this.” He stands up, running a hand down his face. A dark cloud looms over us, a rumble of thunder in the distance.
“Come on. Let’s get back before the bottom falls out.”
He’s quiet on the way back, and I begin to feel like I did something wrong. I have never kissed a man before so I have no idea if I was doing it right but it felt like I was. It felt like we were the only two people left in the world and that by some beautiful, divine intervention, our mouths, our bodies, our souls had been made for one another.
Built for that very moment.
“Is everything okay?” I ask as he helps me down from Trixie.
“Yep,” he snaps, not sparing me a glance.
It doesn’t feel like he’s okay. He seems upset with me and with himself. Tears spring to my eyes so I leave him to take care of the horses and wait in the ATV until he’s finished.
I’m so confused. I don’t know what I did wrong. My thoughts plague me all the way back to the house, and once we are inside, I head straight upstairs to take a shower. But it’s only to mask my tears. That kiss felt like the prayer I’d been praying for nine long years had finally been heard. And judging by the possessive way Justin’s mouth claimed mine, I thought he might feel the same way, but clearly, I misjudged his intentions.
Stepping out, I reach for a towel to wrap around my body then realize in my haste I forgot to grab my clothes. I open the door to walk into my room but Justin is standing right there.
His eyes darken, taking on a color I’ve never seen before. “I’m sorry,” he says, running a hand through his hair.
“It’s okay,” I whisper.
“No, it’s not. I shouldn’t have acted that way, it’s just, I don’t know what’s happening here.”
My lips still tingle from his kiss and I crave to taste him once more. “I’ve never been kissed like that before,” I confess, my heart beating with anticipation as I lower my eyes.
He groans as if in pain then his warm fingers move to my chin. I lift my hand to cover his wrist.
“Justin.” I plead with my eyes because I have no idea how to verbalize what I need from him.
There’s a hum of anticipation low in my belly as he steps closer, forcing me to take a step back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Then his mouth takes mine, a possessive kiss that nearly causes me to crumble there on the floor. His hands fist in my wet hair, twisting and angling, yielding me to his wondrous mouth. The towel around me becomes unraveled but I have no forethought to care because my body is burning with heat and desire.
His hungry mouth moves to my neck. “You taste so goddamn good.” Then his lips move lower.
Lower.
Across my collarbone then lower still.
Teeth scrape across my fevered flesh as he sucks my nipple into his mouth, lashing at me with his hot tongue. “So fucking sweet.”
I gasp, threading my fingers through his hair to hold him there. My entire body is on fire and my heart cannot resist the flames. It yearns to be one with his, just like my body.
Moving his mouth back to mine, he kisses me deep.
Long.
Hands on my hips, he lifts me to sit on the bathroom counter, falling to his knees in front of me.
I tense.
Justin freezes.
“What is it?”
Licking my lips, I swallow hard. “I’ve never—I’ve never been with a man before.”
His eyes flash with heat and possession as he leans down to kiss my inner thigh. “You mean this is all mine? No one has ever touched you here?”
I shake my head.
“Christ.” He takes a deep breath, looking up at me from between my thighs. “Say the word and I’ll stop. I don’t want to pressure you.”
I shake my head again. “I’m not going to tell you to stop and you’re not pressuring me.”
He lets out a low curse and the next thing I know he’s running a finger up and down my slit, spreading my arousal before leaning in to kiss me there. “You feel that ache, baby?”
I nod, biting my lip.
“I’m going to take care of that for you,” he says, applying pressure to the tight bud that begs for his attention. Then his finger moves lower, pressing the tip in and out, teasing me. His eyes lift to mine. “I’m going to save this for later though, when you’re ready, but right now I need to taste you.”
His mouth descends on a single quest to destroy any preconceived notions I have about sex.
This isn’t sex.
This is something entirely different.
His warm tongue devours me, sucking and licking and bringing me to the edge of ecstasy. Something in my belly tightens and I moan with pleasure. Justin lifts his head, his wet lips stretching into a wicked grin. “You gotta keep quiet, baby. We don’t want Pop to hear you.”
I nod. “It—it just feels so good.”
“I’ll make you feel ev
en better, baby, just hang on.” Justin reaches over and grabs a clean washcloth, handing it to me. “Here, put this in your mouth. I’m about to take you over the edge, and I have a feeling you won’t be able to control yourself when I do.”
Blinking, I do as he says, biting down on the washcloth as his mouth descends but this time with a lot more vigor. The whiskers of his stubbly cheeks scrape my inner thighs, and I shiver as his tongue dips low, pushing in and out of me slowly before dragging his tongue back up to deliver all of his attention to the one spot I need him the most.
My hips buck, seeking something, anything.
More.
A tightening in my lower belly becomes more intense and my hands move to his head, shamelessly holding him in place as he lashes my flesh with his expert mouth.
I let go and succumb to the enormous feeling that’s been building inside of me. I moan around the terry cloth in my mouth but it sounds like a growl, and I am now so grateful for Justin thinking about it, because otherwise, Pop would surely have heard me screaming his grandson’s name.
Embarrassment heats my cheeks but it’s quickly forgotten when Justin does exactly as he promises and pushes me over the edge. Stars dot my vision as I fly weightlessly through the sky, streams of beauty and light surrounding me. Justin continues his assault, slowing his efforts little by little as I flutter back down to the ground.
He gets to his feet, pulling the cloth from my mouth and kissing me hotly. I can taste myself on his lips, relishing in the erotic moment.
His lips meet my cheek. “So fucking beautiful.” My neck. “I could watch you come all day.”
“Is that what it always feels like?”
His voice rumbles with a deep, throaty laugh. “Yeah and it gets a hell of a lot better,” he replies, pressing his erection into my thigh.
I don’t know much about pleasing men, but with him, I certainly want to try. Only, I have no idea how or where to even start. I just know that I want to make him feel as good as I do right now.
I want us to feel this way together.
Relying on my instincts, my hands drift to his jeans, but Justin gently closes his fingers around my wrist before they make the journey down.