Everything seemed to stop around him as Beck swore while he came, arm still clutching Sierra to him like she was more precious than dragon treasure, more precious than freedom or the wild land he’d called home for so many years.
More precious than life itself.
For a long minute, they just caught up with each other, and Beck enjoyed feeling little aftershocks go through Sierra until she, too, finally slumped against the bed with a long sigh. Then, slowly, he pulled out and went to the bathroom to clean up before coming back into the room.
Sierra just looked over at him with a satisfied, utterly pleased smile that gave him thoughts about doing what they’d just done all over again.
He wanted to just stay here. Hold her forever. Pretend he could live a life that a monster like him had no business having.
Instead, he’d just take the night and hold her close until the dawn came.
So he got in bed, pulled the covers over them both, and did exactly that.
11
Sierra awoke the next morning, fully rested and still in disbelief at how awesome her night with Beck had been.
Beck was an absolute monster in the bedroom, in the best way possible. She’d never known a man could be like that, so tender and so strong yet able to bring so much joy.
It was a night she’d never forget with the best man she’d ever met.
Speaking of, she yawned and looked over to his side of the bed, only to find he wasn’t there. She frowned.
Where is he?
As if in response to her thoughts, he entered the room, already handsomely dressed in his work clothes, holding a large tray arrayed with tasty-looking breakfast foods.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” he said, striding over and setting it on her lap. His gentle grin made warmth spread over her. “I thought you might be hungry after what we did last night.” He stopped to let his steely gaze rake over her. “You sure do look beautiful today.”
She blushed. “Thank you.” Part of her couldn’t believe that they’d actually slept together, but it had just felt so right with Beck, and it felt even more right now.
This sweet man bringing her breakfast in bed after pleasuring her senseless.
“I could get used to this,” she said.
“You better,” he replied, sitting on the bed next to her. “‘Cause now that we’ve done it, I can’t promise we won’t do it again.”
“I’d like that,” she said quietly, picking up her fork. She’d love it.
Beck just nodded and ran a hand through his beard, looking satisfied. “So what’d you want to do today?”
“Well, you’ve been working so hard on the ranch,” she said, taking a bite. “I thought maybe we should go out and have some fun.”
His gray eyes gleamed curiously. “What did you have in mind?”
“There’s a weekly hoedown in town that I always go to.” She grinned. “Think you’d be up for it?”
“Darling, I’m up for anything you want,” he said. Then his eyebrows furrowed. “Still, I don’t remember the last time I went out dancing.”
Sierra laughed at the thought of this big, stoic, grunty man line dancing. “Why? Has it been that long?”
He shook his head. “Nah, it was only a few months ago. Hell, the reason I can’t remember is probably that I did more drinking than dancing. In fact, can’t say I did any dancing.”
“Oh, well, if you don’t like dancing…” she began to say, but he reached out, holding her face in his huge hand and caressing her cheek with his thumb.
“Dancing’s fine.” He reassured her. “I just never really got into it ‘cause I didn’t have a partner I wanted to dance with.”
“And now?”
He smirked and was about to respond when a flash of white caught both of their eyes through the window.
“Oh no,” she said, standing up out of bed and pulling down the window shades to get a better look. “It’s Ross.”
“Ross?” Beck said, scowling as he looked out the window as well. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
But apparently it wasn’t just Ross this time. As he stepped out of his overcompensatingly extravagant car, five of his cronies also exited the vehicle.
“Stay here,” she said, moving to get dressed. “Let’s see if I can handle this peacefully.”
He held out a hand, shaking his head. “No, I’ll take care of this.”
“But—”
“He brought a car with five men to deal with one woman,” Beck growled. “I don’t feel peaceful about it. Stay here.”
“What’re you gonna do?” she asked.
He put on his hat and tipped it. “Whatever I have to do to keep you safe.” With that, he was gone.
She dressed furiously and raced down the stairs just in time to listen and watch from the front windows.
“Y’all need to leave. Now,” Beck was saying menacingly.
Ross looked unmoved. “Haven’t you heard? I’m Ross Clarkson, my daddy owns the town, and soon, I’m going to own this ranch.” He licked his greedy lips. “And its residents.”
“No the fuck you ain’t,” Beck returned coolly. “I’ll be damned before I let a silver-spoon jackass like you take Sierra’s home from her.”
Ross’s eyes flared with anger at the insult, and he cocked an eyebrow. “You and what army? It’s five to one. You’re outnumbered.”
“You’re right,” Beck said confidently, striding out to face them. “It really isn’t a fair fight. You couldn’t even take me if it was a thousand to one.”
“Cocky bastard. Get him, boys!”
With a loud shout, the first goon ran at Beck and tried to throw a punch, but Beck swiftly dodged to the side and grabbed the guy’s arm. Then he spun and sent the goon flying back at Ross’s fancy car. He bounced with a dull thunk off the roof and rolled into the dirt.
“That’s one,” she heard Beck mutter.
He didn’t even look fazed.
The rest of the men shot wide-eyed looks at their grounded compatriot before two of them ran at Beck at the same time. Faster than lightning, he dodged underneath one punch and slammed his fist into the man’s jaw just in time to spin and duck and deliver a clean uppercut to the other man’s chin.
Sierra gasped as the guy soared up into the air before landing back on the ground on his back with a loud thud.
The other lackey still wasn’t done, however. He stood back up, holding his jaw as he spit blood into the dirt, then came back for more. He was careful this time, but it still wasn’t enough.
Beck dodged the first punch, then retaliated with a hit so fast Sierra could hardly see it. All she heard was a loud crack as the goon screamed and fell back, holding his face as blood streamed down it.
It seemed Beck truly liked to fight.
His prey tried to crawl back and away, but Beck was ruthless. He stepped forward and grabbed the guy by the collar and held him up, showing his bruised and bloody complexion to Ross and the rest of his goons.
“This is what happens when you bring five men to pick on one woman,” Beck said. Then he slammed the guy’s face into the dirt where he stopped moving.
“Don’t listen to him,” Ross snarled to his goons. “He’s all talk, and he’s just getting lucky hits.”
Anyone could tell that was bull crap. Beck had just hit a guy so hard he turned into a human rocket.
“All talk?” Beck asked, his lips turning up in a smile. “Come fight me yourself, and we’ll see who’s the one that’s all talk.” His eyes flickered over to the window where Sierra was watching, and she could have sworn that he winked at her.
The last two guys moved forward carefully, surrounding Beck on both sides and moving in a circle around him. Then the first goon joined the circle, looking a little worse for wear but still very angry.
All of a sudden, two of them ran at Beck, one punching high, aiming for his head, the other going low and for his stomach.
With a calm smirk, Beck just stepped back quickly, and both men mis
sed him. But while he was doing so, the other man managed to get behind him, and he had pulled out a knife.
Sierra wanted to warn Beck as the man ran at him to try and stab him, but she found it wasn’t needed. Beck turned amazingly fast and grabbed the guy’s wrist and snapped it, then took the knife and threw it at Ross.
It flew at Mach speed, catching Ross’s fancy suit coat and pulling him back as it embedded right through the car’s bumper like it was cotton candy.
As the other goons advanced, Ross reached down and tried to pull the knife out of the car, but he couldn’t. It was stuck.
Sierra almost laughed. It was so comical, Ross stuck to his fancy car by his own man’s blade. He winced and howled at his lackeys to get him out, but most of them were unconscious.
Served him right.
The last two men were warily circling Beck again. But he just stood there folding his arms and looking cool as day.
“I can go from dawn until dusk, fellas,” he said with a grunt. “I ain’t got no problems defending what’s mine, and I’m just getting warmed up.”
Mine.
The word reverberated through Sierra’s mind, a pleasurable feeling settling in her stomach.
She was his?
She didn’t have time to think about it, however, as both of the men let out frustrated shouts and ran at Beck. Surprisingly, one of their punches landed to Beck’s chest, and she gasped but was relieved when the guy stood back, wincing and shaking his fist.
Sierra could confirm. His pecs were rock hard.
The other one tried again, this time with a rope in his hands. He lunged forward in an attempt to get it over Beck’s neck, but Beck just reached up, grabbed the rope, and yanked the guy over his shoulder and right into the other dude.
Sierra winced at the resounding crash, and with super-human strength, Beck picked up both the guys and tossed them like sandbags at Ross’s feet.
Eyes wide with fear and pain and resignation, both men stood up and furiously began to help Ross out of his predicament.
“Is that all you got?” Beck called out. “You could have at least given me a chance to warm up!”
“I’ll be back. This isn’t over!” Ross shouted vehemently once his men had gotten him free. He pointed a finger at the house. “You better watch your back in town, Sierra. I wouldn’t dare show my face if I were you.”
Beck just stood, folding his arms and staring them down like the mountain man guardian he was as Ross shouted at his men to gather up their unconscious compatriots and get in the damn car.
Then Ross was gone, tearing down the dirt road like a bat out of hell. A minute later, there was no trace of him and his lackeys except for a few swirling dust clouds.
Ross had wanted Wild West rules, and Beck had just handed his ass to him.
Sierra couldn’t be more satisfied by the whole situation.
With adrenaline still pumping through her veins, she stepped out onto the porch.
“I don’t care if we can’t go into town for the dance. That was awesome. Beck, you’re incredible!”
Beck shook his head obstinately. “Oh no, sweetheart. You’ll go to that dance and dance as much as your pretty little heart desires. No one will ever scare you again, not while I’m here.”
Sierra stepped into his arms and laid her head against his beautiful, hard chest.
Safe. She was safe with this big, strong, handsome man. At least while he was here.
She’d said last night that she didn’t care about the future, that she only wanted this moment with him. But after sleeping with him, having him fight for her and call her his, she wasn’t sure if her heart could be satisfied with just this moment.
Not while I’m here.
She’d kinda wanted to hear that he would always be around.
“I think you were asking me something, missy, before we were so rudely interrupted,” Beck said, cocking an eyebrow at her.
She nodded, smiling up at him hopefully. “Be my partner for dancing tonight?”
His eyes gleamed as he leaned down to take her lips with his. “It would be my pleasure.”
12
That evening, after they’d both gotten ready, Beck took Sierra to the hoedown she’d brought up at breakfast.
In the back of his head, he wondered if this counted as a date or not. Granted, dancing had never been the mountain dragon’s thing, though Clancy had dragged him to a few community socials a long, long time ago.
Jealousy burned in his chest thinking about whether Clancy would be there, and as they pulled up to a big, freshly painted barn where the dance was being held, Beck was silent. Around them, dozens of cars were parked, and people were filtering in and out of the well-lit building. Inside, he could hear a live band with a fiddle playing, punctuated by shouts and cheers.
Beck had never been good with people. But he was especially bad with crowds. He’d never fit in, and thus far in his life, he didn’t much care about that anymore.
But as he looked over at Sierra, her blue eyes beaming as she bounced a little in her seat with excitement, he realized that he’d rather have the chance at spending more precious time with this small woman that was becoming his everything than giving a damn about what the world thought.
“Let’s go. You’re coming, right?” Her hand was on his, tugging him eagerly, and he tried to hold back the small grin that seemed intent on creeping up his lips whenever she was near him.
“‘Course I am,” he said, getting out and coming around to open Sierra’s door and help her down onto the ground.
She was utterly beautiful tonight with her hair done in soft waves. She had on blue jeans and cute little boots and a light-red flannel shirt over a white tank top that hugged her curves perfectly.
He wanted to take her home right now and show her all the things he wanted to do with his gorgeous cowgirl, but this was their evening together.
Beck hesitated as he stared up at the barn, hearing the hollering and clapping to the rhythm of the music.
Then he felt Sierra’s hand clasp his, and she tugged him forward with the barest effort as he followed her inside.
Once they came through the big, wide double doors of the barn, bright lights shone down on them both. The barn had been decorated with twinkly lights that hung from the rafters, and there were hay bales set up along the walls where small groups of people chatted and watched and drank.
At the back, there was a table where snacks and beverages had been set, and there was a small stage where a live band was playing a lively song.
And in the center of the room, a space had been cleared where there were currently thirty or so people moving in unison. They clapped their hands at different intervals while they stepped, leaned, waved, and made other gestures with their bodies in time to the music, and it was all so homey and rustic that Beck felt a strange nostalgia for this human tradition that had been going on for much longer than any of these people had lived.
“Want a drink?” Beck asked, feeling like a giant in a room full of ants.
Sierra looked up and nodded, and hand in hand, they went over to the back table where he bought two beers for them. Then they made their way over to an empty haybale and sat down on it, enjoying the refreshing taste while Beck considered what the hell he was going to do next.
“More people here than I expected.” Sierra sat right next to Beck, hip to hip, and it warmed him to think she still wasn’t scared of him even now.
“Expected?” he asked, downing the rest of his beer in nervousness.
“Oh yeah, there’s some family in the area hosting a dance or get-together like this every month or so. I like the excuse to get out, be around people because it gets so quiet back at the ranch.” She watched the small throng move as she spoke.
Beck smiled inwardly. They’d been anything but quiet lately.
“That makes sense. Good to be out and around your kind, I suppose.”
“You mean our kind?” she asked playfully, then laughed. “The wa
y you talk sometimes, it’s like you don’t even count yourself as a person.”
He didn’t. But she didn’t need to know that. “I mean out with other folk. Not alone.”
“Well, I used to come to these alone. But I have to admit it’s nice to come with someone I like.” She flushed.
“I think we’re far past the likin’ part,” he said low so no one else could hear, and she giggled in response.
They were interrupted by a host of titters and gasps, and Beck looked up to see Clancy strutting into the barn, dressed to the nines in his nicest western apparel. Clancy looked out over the crowd as all eyes that weren’t dancing in the line seemed to go to him. Then his green eyes fell on Beck and Sierra.
Clancy tipped his hat, then winked directly at Beck before moving toward a small group of women that were already fawning and looking ready to faint at any moment.
Beck felt the beer in his hand crack, and he set it down before he shattered the damn thing and made a fool out of himself.
“Does he show up to these often?” Beck asked with a grimace. He didn’t know what had gotten into him lately. Clancy was his friend.
But whenever he was near Sierra, it was like Beck’s dragon didn’t remember that fact.
“Once in a while, I think I’ve seen him,” Sierra said. “But we were never introduced.”
Beck growled.
Of course Clancy was out strutting around like a peacock, probably breaking women’s hearts wherever he went.
But that wasn’t fair, he realized. It was Clancy’s choice to do whatever he wanted. Just because Beck was a monster didn’t mean he wasn’t jealous of the ease with which his longtime friend dealt with people.
Kinda like TJ.
The music started to slow. Then the song stopped as the room clapped for an encore. There was a pause, and then a new song immediately started, a little faster and livelier than the last.
Sierra leaped to her feet, gaze full of excitement, and she grabbed both of Beck’s hands in hers.
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