“I’d start at the head and kiss it and then get you nice and wet so that my lips will slide over it slick and smooth.”
Ash smiled in remembrance. “I love the way you do that.”
“I love the way you taste. I might suck on you a little, listening to your sounds to see if I’m doing it the way you like it. I can tell because you groan deep. Yes, like that,” she whispered at his heartfelt groan. He could practically feel her lips sliding over him. He stretched out and turned off the lamp, so the room was lit only by the moon.
“If I was there, Juliana, what would you have me do? Tongue that hot little pussy, or would you want me to use my fingers first?”
“I’m spoiled by you. I want both,” she replied, her breathing sounded a little shaky. “I want you to suck on my clit, over and over, while I suck your cock, and then I want you to slip a finger inside and strum my sweet spot.”
“Are you wet?”
“I’ve been wet since I got undressed and dialed your number. Now I’m drenched.”
Ash groaned deep. “I love the way your silky, wet pussy sounds when I stroke it. Turn the speaker phone on and put it down there where I can hear. Use two fingers and stroke yourself.”
“Ooh. Okay.” Her voice trembled noticeably then he heard a moan and a rustling sound as she turned the speaker phone on and positioned it so he could hear.
She whimpered when he growled, hearing the slippery, wet sounds as her fingers slid over the damp lips of her pussy. He could swear it sounded like she’d grown even wetter. The sheets rustled more, and she moaned again.
“If I was there, darlin’, I’d be licking up all that cream and stroking your sweet spot for you. Does it feel good?”
He closed his eyes in pleasure as his cock surged in his fist. When she groaned in frustration, he backed off on his stroking so she could come with him.
“I know what you need, darlin’. Put your phone on your abdomen and use your other fingers to stroke your clit for me. Use two fingers, one on each side the way you like it, up and down.” She moaned harshly and more rustling sounds could be heard. “Mmm, I love the way your back arches when it feels just right to you. Does it feel just right, now?”
“Yes,” Juliana whispered. “Oh, Ash, it’s so right. I wish it were you here right now.” She cried out again, and he resumed more purposeful stroking on his cock.
“That’s it, darlin’. Keep stroking and let me know when your close.”
He listened for the next minute as her fingers slid in and out of her wet pussy until it sounded like it was flooded with her juices. Her voice softened and grew huskier as she fingered herself with his encouragement. Her breathing changed, and he could barely hear her whisper, “Ash! It’s—”
“Yes,” he murmured as he stroked his cock hard, his balls drawing up. “Come hard with me, now.” He held back, waiting for the sounds of her ecstasy. A dam broke inside him as he heard her voice change to high-pitched, whimpering moans as her orgasm took her over into bliss. His cock jerked, and his cum pulsed in hot streams onto his abdomen and his hand.
He laid there sated, catching his breath as he listened to her sultry moans and panting as her climax went on and on. It filled him with satisfaction to hear her like that. The only thing better would have been if she were there with his cock embedded inside her, lying panting on his chest.
He listened to her as she caught her breath and sighed, before switching off the speaker phone and putting the phone back to her ear.
“Ash?” Her voice was a satiny whisper in the stillness.
“Was it good?” he asked as he wiped his cum from his belly with tissues.
She sighed shakily. “Yes, but I…”
“What, darlin?”
“I feel lonely now.”
He responded quietly, “I don’t want you to feel lonely. Why don’t you get under the covers and warm up a bit? Tell me why you’re feeling lonely.” He did the same as he waited for her to get situated.
When she settled and put the phone back to her ear, she sounded like her nose was a little stuffy.
“Are you all comfortable now, nice and cozy?”
“Uh-huh,” she murmured, her voice hitching a little.
“Are you crying?” Her sounds tore his heart out, and he thought about getting up, dressing, and getting in his truck to go to her. The sound of her fighting tears made him feel territorial and protective.
“No…yes. Ash, I miss you. Even when you’re not with me, you still make me feel good. I don’t know why I’m being like this,” she replied with a hiccup. “I want you so much right now, just to put my head on your shoulder and have you hold me. I just…need you.”
“Is it like how I feel? My body is satisfied, but my heart wants you cuddled up, with your head on my chest. I miss your scent. If I could hold you, I’d be all right.”
“Yes. That’s how I feel.”
“I’m sorry. The phone sex was supposed to help us feel better. I didn’t mean to make you feel worse.”
“I think I’d be feeling this way, regardless of whether I’d come or not. I’m just sentimental and foolish.”
“I guess we both are. Do you think you can sleep?”
“Yes. Talking to you helped, knowing you feel it, too.”
“I do.” To him, it sounded like she was still trying to hold herself together. “Maybe the release will help you drift off faster. I hope you feel better in the morning. Then it’ll only be a few hours until you’re home.”
“You’re right,” she said, her voice hitching again. “I have to go in to the store after lunch tomorrow, but maybe we can see each other after I get off work. I’m visiting with my family for a little while in the morning.”
“Good. That’ll get your mind off the blues. I’ll see you after work. Get some sleep.”
“Okay, honey, I—”
“Yeah, darlin?”
“I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”
“G’night, darlin’” he murmured, smiling into the darkness. I love you, too.
* * * *
Juliana couldn’t deny that her heart had throbbed a little harder with each mile that drew them back to Divine from Tillman. Everybody had chatted quietly on the way back, but her mind had been filled with thoughts of Ash and her conversation with him the night before. Their phone sex had been outrageously hot and her heart pounded with the memory of the way he’d talked her down from it afterward, when she’d missed him and needed him so much. The need she’d felt last night echoed in her body now.
She’d wanted so much to say those words and would’ve if he’d been there with her. The love she felt for him made her feel vulnerable and her chest ached. She felt exhausted from the last couple of days, but her heart was in a full gallop as Adam pulled the SUV onto the long curving drive to the Divine Creek Ranch.
A ranch hand came to check in with Jack, and Juliana heard the hand tell him that Ash was in Divine running errands. Her eyes stung with suppressed tears as she loaded her things into her car and bid everybody good-bye. Her eyelids felt like sand coated them as she squinted out the windshield. She squelched the urge to tear up because she had to go in to work. There was no point in arriving at the store looking like a tear-stained drama queen. She wondered if perhaps she should call Dr. Guthrie and hoped that she wasn’t coming down with a cold or the flu.
She did her best to focus and by the afternoon she felt much better. She had catch-up work that needed to be accomplished today and thought about the plans she’d made to visit Discretion with Grace and Teresa. They’d told her about the store, and she’d been intrigued by the concept and was looking forward to meeting the owners in the near future.
She needn’t have worried about the store. All was in order, and the stockroom and sales floor were both running like a well-oiled machine. Leah and Evelyn greeted her in her office, and she gave them the highlights of the last twenty-four hours, minus the more personal details regarding Michael’s monstrous grandparents.
&
nbsp; When she saw Ash that night, he was his usual, attentive self. After supper, they made up for the night before, by going to bed early and staying entwined after making love until it was time for him to get up and return to the ranch before dawn.
Chapter Eighteen
The following week, Juliana got a call from her cousin Allen. He would be in Divine on official business and called to find out if she wanted to meet him for an early lunch. She happily agreed to meet him at Rudy’s. She and Allen had always been close growing up, working together in the restaurant, doing the same jobs. He was the one who’d taught her to dance, and she looked forward to introducing him to Ash. He’d told her he was bringing a surprise with him.
Allen took one look at her and said, “Okay, spill your guts.”
Juliana sighed as she sat in the round corner booth at Rudy’s, and Allen scooted in beside her. “I can’t hide anything from you, damn it.”
“You look miserable. What’s eating you?”
“About six foot, three inches worth of big, handsome, blue-eyed cowboy, that’s what.”
“Um, I think that might be a little too much information.”
Juliana suppressed a small smile and thumped him in the ribs. “You know what I meant.”
“So there’s someone in your life again? That’s good news, if he’s treating you well, that is.”
“Ash is great. He’s Jack, Ethan, and Adam’s foreman out at their ranch. He’s hard-working and has good manners.”
“That’s great news. Somehow I could never picture you with that other guy, the real estate agent. He seemed too…”
“Soft and smarmy? Yes, I agree. Lying, cock-sucking, cheating bastard.” Juliana said it with a smile, realizing she hadn’t thought of Lawrence at all in weeks.
Allen grinned and chuckled. “Damn. Tell me how you really feel.”
“Ash is awesome.”
“I’m sensing a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”
She nodded tensely. “I’ve gotten myself into a situation.”
The waiter approached to take their orders and bring their drinks. Once he left, Allen turned to her, speaking quietly because the restaurant was becoming more crowded.
“What’s up? You want to talk about it? You know you can tell me anything.”
“Well, as you can probably tell, I’m head over heels in love with him, but I haven’t told him.”
“Why?”
“Because the time never seems right, and when it’s right, we were usually talking on the phone like when I was in Tillman. He told me he loved me on Valentine’s Day but said he didn’t want me to say those words until I was really sure. With our work schedules, we haven’t been able to get together much, and when we are…I just chicken out every time.”
“He’s giving you the chance to tell him without feeling prompted. With all that red hair and Grandma Lila’s temper, I’ve never known you to be a chickenshit before. That’s new.”
“Shut up!” She felt her cheeks heat up. That sounded exactly like something Ash would say. “So what’s my surprise?” she asked eagerly, changing the subject like the chickenshit that she was.
“Mom and Aunt Violet went through Grandma Lila’s jewelry box.”
“Really?” she asked, her surprised exclamation drawing the momentary attention of several diners. She lowered her voice. “And everybody was okay with that?”
“It’s been a while since she and Grandpa passed. Everybody agreed it was time. Before she passed away, Grandma Lila made a list of things that she wanted to go to specific people. It’s a good thing, too. Otherwise, there’s no telling if these would’ve come to you,” he said as he pulled her grandmother’s engagement ring and wedding bands out of his pocket and held them out to her. She started crying and he added “My gut tells me you’re going to need these soon.”
She held the rings in her fingers and looked at them before she reached over to hug Allen. Of all the things that could’ve been passed down to her, these rings were the most precious.
“Would you say yes if he asked?”
She nodded happily. “Yes! I would.” She felt her cheeks tingle when several restaurant patrons looked over in curiosity.
“Grandma must’ve known that special things like this would be a bone of contention. Personally, I think it’s pathetic that it took this long for them to agree to deliver the items on the list to their rightful inheritors. Grandpa must’ve made a list at the same time because they gave me Grandpa’s wedding band.”
“Wow. I can imagine the big stink all this caused.”
“No, I think Grandma and Grandpa got it right. We’re the youngest of all the grandkids and the least likely to inherit much, but we’re also the only ones that are still unmarried. And yeah, Tillie was pissed as hell. She thought for sure all the wedding bands would go to the oldest grandchild, whether they were already married or not.” Tillie was Allen’s much older, married sister. He held out the weathered, plain man’s gold band to her.
“It’s not right that they should be split up, Juliana. I want you to have it, as well.” Juliana was struck dumb by his selflessness. “Besides, I have no immediate plans to marry,” he said softly as he opened her shaking hand and placed it in her palm. She could hear the regret in his voice.
She closed her hand and put her arms around his neck and whispered, “I’m so sorry, Allen. I know how much you loved her.”
“I let her down. I had no idea what she was going through until she was gone. I never told Teresa how I felt about her. She deserved better than someone who couldn’t even put two intelligent words together in her presence. I kept thinking she’d come back. She looks so happy with her men, and I think they’ll make fine fathers to Michael.”
“Allen, the right woman is out there for you. Shouldn’t you hold on to this for when she shows up?”
“No, I want the rings to stay together. And I’m happy knowing you’ll have them. Plus, it’ll really piss Tillie off when I tell her that I gave it to you,” Allen added with a dry laugh.
Juliana wiped tears from her cheeks as she snickered, “Well, you know what they say? It’s better to be pissed off—”
“—than pissed on. Tell the man you love him. If you’ve learned anything from my wretched love life, it’s that you need to learn to trust your feelings and go for it.”
“Yeah. There’s just one little hitch that’s presented itself to my happily ever after,” she whispered so that there was no chance of being overheard.
“Now what?”
“Ash is going to be a daddy.”
Allen looked down at her sitting beside him in the booth, smiled, and kissed her forehead.
“I found out this morning.”
“You’re going to have to buy me dessert if you want me to not go blabbing that news to your folks.”
“Don’t you dare. Not until after I talk to Ash and they have a chance to meet him. I guess I have to go pay a visit to him after we eat, huh?”
“Sooner, the better. When do you expect the new arrival?”
“Late September, early October. Plus, I have other changes to make in my life. I think I’m ready to move on from my current position.”
They talked while they ate then Allen grabbed the check off the table before she could. He hugged her again after he paid the bill, and they parted ways to go back to work.
Back at work, the break room was abuzz with plans for a going-away party for an employee who was moving out of state. Her husband was in the military and being reassigned to a base in North Carolina. Several of the ladies had planned a surprise send-off for her that night at The Dancing Pony.
When Evelyn asked her, Juliana allowed her to load all the decorations and housewarming gifts for the young lady’s new home into the trunk of her Camaro to take over there that evening.
Distracted, she tried out different lines to tell Ash the news. She grew more and more regretful that the news that she truly loved him had to come with the news she was also pregnant.
She was grateful that she hadn’t had any morning sickness. Although if she had, she might have tumbled to the fact that she was pregnant a little sooner. She was already two and a half months along. Her stomach twisted up in knots imagining all the scenarios and Ash’s reaction to the news.
She finally gave up trying to concentrate on work. Finishing what absolutely had to be done, she told Evelyn and the other employee planning the going-away party that she’d see them at The Pony at the appointed time that evening.
* * * *
Juliana took the opportunity to stop in and say hello to Teresa, hoping to find some courage along the way. A little while later, three of Teresa’s homemade tacos in hand, Juliana drove around to the first red barn and pulled up near the door. There were ranch hands going about their day, and when she asked one of them where she could find Ash, he pointed through the side door of the barn to the corral located there.
Carrying the tacos, she made her way through the pristinely clean barn and out the door. Ash stood by the corral, presumably watching one of the other ranch hands working with a lively young colt.
Her phone rang in her pocket, and she slipped it out to answer it. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Allen. Mom would kill me if I forgot to mention it, and I almost did. When she was looking at Lila’s ring, she thought that one of the diamonds felt a little loose in its setting. You might want to have a jeweler take a look at it. That’s it.”
“Are you on your way back?”
“About halfway there now.”
“Will you thank your mom for me? And thank you, Allen. You’re very special to me.”
His deep, raspy laugh came through clear on the line. “It’s because I’m just so fricking precious. You tell your man the news yet?”
Over the knot of nervousness reforming in her throat, she said, “I’m about to.”
Box Set: The Divine Creek Ranch Collection, Volume 2 [Book 4 - Rosemary's Double Delight (MFM), Book 5 - Spurs and Heels (MF)] (Siren Publishing Romance Collection) Page 36