by Jenika Snow
And God, I wanted more of it.
Before I could say anything, though, Deacon moved back, only putting a foot or two between us. Maybe he was waiting for me to say something, and I wished I could, but right now I was speechless. I looked at his hands, which were so strong, so powerful. They were stained from the work he did, but I found that even more attractive.
“I want to pick you up tonight for dinner.”
I found myself swallowing, wanting to agree, to accept, of course. Instead I just nodded. This man was more experienced than me, clearly, in all things. I felt like a schoolgirl compared to him, this innocent little virgin that had never been kissed. Although I was a virgin, I wasn’t a prude. But standing beside Deacon told me that being with him would have me comparing every other man in my future to him.
“Okay,” I finally managed to muster, and the pleasure I saw in his face could have made me a puddled mess.
And then he turned and left me standing there, my body on fire, my hands shaking, and my mind a whirl of confusion and anticipation.
“What in the hell just happened?” Robin asked, and I forced myself to turn around and stare at her. She looked just as dumbfounded as I felt. “Was that Deacon from the blacksmith shop?” She’d been living here longer than me, grew up in town even. Of course she knew about him.
I nodded.
“And he just asked—no, told you he was taking you out?”
I nodded again.
Her eyes were wide. “Do you know what you’ve gotten yourself into?” Her voice held this wonder.
I turned and stared at the now closed front door. “No, not at all.” But I’m sure as hell looking forward to it.
4
Deacon
I stared at Maddie across the table. I lifted my hand and pulled at the collar of my shirt, feeling pretty fucking uncomfortable. It wasn’t because I was here with the woman I desperately wanted, but more that I’d never actually taken a female out on a “date.” I’d never felt a connection to anyone the way I did Maddie, and I didn’t even know her that well. That told me my instinct on claiming her as mine was pretty fucking right.
This was right. Being with her felt so damn good I wasn’t going to let it go.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
I nodded. I was more than good, to be honest. Having her here, just a few feet from me, feeding her, making her content, had me happy. She regarded me with intelligence.
“Is this your first date?” There was a teasing note in her voice. She eyed me, and the grin on her face spread.
“Why would you ask that?”
She shrugged and reached for the white wine she’d ordered with dinner. The place I’d taken her to was the nicest one in town. I’d never been here, because I’d always thought it was too fancy for a rough-ass like me, but I wanted this first time we spent together to be memorable for her.
She smiled, and the sight did something to me. It had my chest aching fiercely, had the possessive side rising up even more. It had the barbarian side in me wanting to keep her close, desperately needing her to only show me that smile, only grace me with it.
“Come on,” she finally said, and I was taken back a bit. “This isn’t you, and honestly, it’s not me either.”
I could have growled in approval and pleasure at the fact she’d seen through this shit and could see I wasn’t this type of man. I was even more pleased that she wasn’t into this shit either. I tossed a few twenties on the table, enough for the drinks and food that hadn’t come yet.
Once we were outside, she turned and faced me. “Take me to Charlie’s?”
“The bar?”
She nodded, and I fucking grinned. Yeah, this woman was definitely mine.
Maddie
I felt like a lush. The fact I couldn’t even hold four beers without feeling dizzy and drunk had me regretting offering to go to the bar. But I’d seen how uncomfortable Deacon was in that fancy place—well, as fancy a place as our town had. Truth was, that restaurant wasn’t me either. It wasn’t a place I would have gone to or even contemplated visiting.
I turned and looked at Deacon. The shadows concealed part of him, but the passing streetlights also washed him in this muted, yellowy glow. All too soon we were in front of my place, the house dark. Robin was obviously out, maybe spending the night with her boyfriend. That had me thinking pretty filthy thoughts, although truth was whenever I was near Deacon, or even just thinking about him, dirty was all that filled my head.
“I’ll walk you to the door.” He was out of the SUV and moving around the front of the vehicle before I could say anything in response. When the passenger-side door was open, he had his hands on my waist before I could get out of the car myself. Not that I complained, because having him touch me in any capacity was like pouring gasoline on a raging fire.
He helped me out, my body brushing along his on the way down. God, the ground seemed so far away, or maybe I just wanted him to keep touching me…to touch me even more. We started walking toward the front door, Deacon keeping a hand pressed to my lower back, flames dancing in my body, along my skin from the contact. When we reached the door, I turned and looked up at him. He stood there, blocking out the streetlight that usually cast a glow over the porch. I felt as if this intimate moment would last forever, change the course of history.
Or maybe I was just drunk.
“Thank you for tonight.” I was proud of myself for saying that with a clear voice.
He didn’t respond but did step close. I watched, my body frozen, as he reached out and pushed a lock of hair off my shoulder. I shivered. I wanted to kiss him. I needed Deacon to lean down and kiss me, to show me exactly what he desired.
And God, I want to give him whatever he needs.
When he didn’t move, didn’t make any kind of motion to kiss me, I threw caution to the wind and rose on my toes, placed my hands on his chest, and pressed my mouth to his. It was a hard act, given the fact he was so much taller than me, but I didn’t care. I just wanted his lips on mine, his tongue in my mouth, his body pressed hard against mine. He was tense, but I didn’t stop, and when he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him while taking a step forward, which caused me to take one back. I knew what heaven was like.
The side of the house stopped our retreat. I liked the roughness on my back, the feeling of being helpless. He groaned, this rough, almost primal sound that had my pussy becoming so wet, my nipples so hard. I opened for him, sucked his tongue into my mouth, showing him exactly where I wanted this to go. If not for the alcohol running through my veins, I wouldn’t have ever been so bold or wanton, but right now this felt like the most natural thing.
But he stepped away far too soon, and I was left feeling bereft, like a piece of me was missing. I touched my lips, the tingling and warmth that covered them reaching the very recesses of my cells.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “You don’t want me?” My cheeks heated at the idea that maybe he didn’t desire me in that way, despite the vibes I got from him and the fact he’d invited me out. I also blamed the alcohol for me opening my mouth and even asking.
But Deacon had his body pressed to mine a second later. I gasped from the contact, from the feeling of his massive, very apparent erection currently digging into my belly.
“Does that seem like I don’t want you?” He thrust against me, and I felt my mouth go slack. “Does this feel like I don’t want to take you right up against the house, not giving a shit who saw?”
I didn’t know what to say, so I just closed my mouth. He cupped my cheek, smoothing his finger along my skin and sending shock waves through me.
“Tell me if this doesn’t feel like I want you.” He continued to run the digit along my face, over my lip, down to my pulse, which beat erratically.
“It feels like you want me.”
He growled out low, a sound that was so feral, extremely delicious. “Yeah, I want you really fucking badly, Maddie, but you’ve been drinking, and I’m
not going to cross that line.” He stepped back then, gave my pulse one last smooth over with his finger, and dropped his hand to his side. “But we aren’t going there. I’ll call you tomorrow, yeah?”
I nodded. Not only was he the manliest man I’d ever met, he was also a gentleman. I turned and unlocked the front door, stepped inside, and stared at him, watching. He’d waited until I was in the house before he went back to his SUV. I was still standing there long after he’d driven off, knowing that I’d fallen hard for Deacon, and that there was no getting up from it.
5
Deacon
The next day
I felt the moment Maddie walked into my shop. It was like my entire body was in tune with her, lighting up, becoming bigger, ready. I knew my woman was near. Hell, I might not have claimed her in the way that left us sweating and gasping for filthier fucking, but I would soon enough. I’d planned on calling her when I closed shop, or maybe just showing up at her place. I was desperate to see her, to even just hear her voice. There was something about her that got under my skin, that made me hungry, thirsty … drugged for her.
I grabbed a rag and wiped the sweat from my face. The sound of a few of the guys who worked for me hammering out metal played through my head, not drowning out the beating of my heart. The fucker started in like a war drum, pounding against my ribs, a mantra to go take her.
I noticed movement to my side. I watched as Brendan started making his way toward Maddie. I didn’t know why she was here, but that didn’t matter. The grin on Brendan’s face told me the fucker was going to try and lay some game on her, and I was not having that. The possessive side of me reared up, and I was more than ready to let that beast out and make it known she was off-limits to anyone but me.
I set my tools down and took a step toward them, but found myself stopping when she smiled at him. It was innocent, a gesture of friendliness, but it still had my blood becoming ice.
Brendan had this stupid fucking grin on his face and the “I want to fuck her” look in his eyes. It pissed me off. I pushed through my feelings and walked over to them.
“I’d be more than happy to help you with whatever you need,” I heard him say to Maddie. She was looking at me, though, her eyes wide as I stopped behind Brendan. I towered over his five-foot-eight frame by well over seven inches, and where he was lean muscle, I was all bulk. He looked small compared to me, and I fucking wanted him to know it.
Brendan might be one of the hardest workers I had, and I might have known him for years, but he needed to back the fuck off Maddie before I lost my shit. When it came to her, I didn’t mess around, not with other guys sniffing at what was mine. He kept talking to her, his voice smooth, his desire for her coming out loud and clear, pissing me off even more. Maddie was watching me, despite the fact that Brendan was trying to be all smooth, even if he didn’t know why the hell she was here.
“I’m actually here to see Deacon,” she said, her focus on me. But Brendan was oblivious to the fact.
“I can help you with whatever you need.” He moved a step closer. “The boss is probably busy anyway.” When he went to take another step toward her, I reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, making him stop. He turned, this annoyed look on his face until he saw it was me.
“You got work to do,” I said, letting go of his shirt, my voice flat, my expression mimicking my indifference to him, although inside I was jealous and possessive and wanted Brendan to know he had overstepped a big fucking line. “And she’s off-limits.” I didn’t hide the steel in my voice, the seriousness of what I was getting at. I watched as he swallowed, realizing I wasn’t joking. “Get back to fucking work.” I tipped my chin toward where the other guys were. When he left, I turned my attention to Maggie. I could see she was shocked.
“That was…” She looked down but glanced up at me a second later. “That was barbaric.”
I didn’t move, didn’t even respond. I realized when it came to Maddie, I was pretty fucking barbaric, a caveman at his worst. And I didn’t apologize for it.
Maddie
I had no idea what in the hell had just happened or what was going on, but the little scene Deacon had made with the guy named Brendan—who had his name stitched on his shirt—made me feel all kinds of strange things. I’d come here because truth was I wanted to be the one to make plans for us to see each other again. I wanted to take control of my life. I wanted to show the man who’d ensnared me in such a short time that I wanted this too. I was still a bit embarrassed by last night, at my drunken come-on, but I was also feeling pretty incredible. Deacon had showed me he wasn’t the type to take advantage, even if it wouldn’t have really been like that, since I was more than ready for him. Hell, I’d wanted him since well before that night.
“I…” I wasn’t sure what to say, how to react to the possessive side he’d just shown me. Maybe I should have been wary of the fact he’d all but staked his claim on me to that poor worker. Sure, Brendan had been laying it on thick, and it was something I’d seen in his expression well before he even started speaking to me, but that wasn’t the point. It had been harmless, and Deacon had been so territorial.
And then there’s the part of me that melted at that, the part that got turned on, wanting to see how far he’d go to make it known I was his.
“I don’t know what to say about that,” I said and glanced at Brendan.
“He wouldn’t have treated you with respect.” Deacon crossed his arms over his chest. “He would have just tried to get between your legs.”
I bristled at that. Deacon would know his worker better than me, and maybe Brendan would have tried that, but acting like a caveman about it? No, not cool, logically.
“Even so, I can handle myself. I don’t need a guard dog.”
Even if said guard dog is super sexy and makes my insides tighten with awareness.
And Deacon’s response? He smirked at me. I should have been annoyed, but that smile looked good on him, so good.
“I didn’t expect you here,” he said and started cleaning off his hands with a rag that already looked dirty as hell.
“Maybe I wanted to keep you on your toes.”
The look that came over him told me I was affecting him, maybe in a way he wasn’t wholly ready for. Good.
“You’re certainly doing that ten times over.” He grinned then, and the sight totally transformed him. He didn’t look so hard-ass right now, didn’t look like he could kill a man with his bare hands. He looked almost human. I liked it, but then again I liked the other side of him too, the raw and rough part that made me feel like a woman.
“But Brendan needed to know his place.” He tossed the rag aside. “He needed to know you’re not his.”
I stared at this beast of a man, all raw power, his attitude telling me and everyone else he did what he wanted, when he wanted. He wore this apron, one that looked heavy-duty, stained and worn. His shirt was pushed up, his forearms strong, thick. “I’m not his?” I asked, not realizing I’d actually said those words until they were out.
Deacon took a step toward me, lifted my head up with his finger under my chin, and said, “No, you’re mine.”
This full-body shiver wracked me, and I inhaled sharply. He moved back, maybe knowing I needed some air, maybe knowing the effect he had on me.
I blinked, trying to clear my head.
“Not that I don’t like having you here, because I really fucking do…” He trailed off, and I snapped out of the trance I was in.
“I came here to see if you wanted to come over for dinner tonight.” I ran my hands over my thighs. I was nervous, so nervous despite the fact I knew I shouldn’t be. “My roommate is staying with her boyfriend tonight, so we can have a quiet meal.” Of course I was thinking about far dirtier things than eating, but I hoped I didn’t show it. Deacon, on the other hand, looked like his skin was too tight for his body.
“You want to cook me dinner?” The way he said it almost seemed like he was shocked. I didn’t know if tha
t was because he thought I was too young to cook, or maybe no one ever did that for him.
“I do. I figure maybe we can get to know each other.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’d like to get to know you better.” I’d like to really know who you are, what you feel like on top of me, possessing me, making me come.
I’d like to know what it feels like to be yours.
6
Deacon
I could hear her cursing the second I was in front of her door ready to knock. I smiled, something I found myself doing a lot when I was with her, but also when I just thought of her. She’d consumed me for a long time, far longer than when she first got into my car. I stood there a second, listening to her swear at whatever she was making. I had a feeling she didn’t do this…ever. But she was making me dinner, going to the trouble to feed me. To say I felt something pretty fucking strong for this woman was an understatement.
It might seem so small to some, but no one had ever taken care of me like that.
I knocked then, took a step back, and held the bottle of wine in my hand so tightly I thought the fucker would break. Wine…who the fuck drank wine anymore? I sure as hell didn’t. But weren’t you supposed to bring something to dinner? Didn’t women like wine, or was I being one of those stereotypical assholes? I glanced down at the bottle, not even knowing what kind it was. The guy at the store had picked it out, saying it was popular. What the fuck did I know about this shit? I was a blacksmith who drank whiskey or beer if I wanted a buzz.
The front door opened, and my heart stalled a little. The sight of Maddie did something powerful to me. She was mine, had been mine before we’d even said two words to each other. I’d always kept to myself, not wanting nor needing a woman to make me feel whole. But the very idea of Maddie not in my life, of her with someone else, was not something I’d entertain. Making Brendan back off was just the tip of how far I’d go to ensure anyone and everyone knew who Maddie belonged to.