by Ali Parker
He was still hurting after everything that happened last night. Even though he denied it every time I asked him, I knew his ribs were bothering him. He moved slower than usual and favored his right side. The Bucks had hurt him pretty badly.
I wanted to destroy them.
No, I wanted to destroy their ranch, and then I wanted to mount their heads on spikes at the entrance to their property so that everyone in the surrounding region knew who the hell I was and how vicious I could be when what I loved was threatened. I swallowed.
Loved.
I’d known for a long time how I really felt about Wyatt. He’d won me over hard and fast, with no regard for the fact that there were other men in this. If it bothered him, he didn’t let on. He was sure of himself and confident in our time together, and there was nothing more attractive to me than that. He didn’t treat this like a competition of sorts. He treated it like we were a couple.
I so wished we could be, but it was so much more complicated than that. Not only were there still other men to meet, but they were men who didn’t matter. Just like how in the end, Wyatt wouldn’t matter. Because priority number one was my father’s heart.
I wiped at the corners of my ears as tears formed, and I turned away to lean against the doorframe and look down the hall toward the loft and the living room below.
This ranch had quickly become a home for me. I felt like I belonged here. Like I was meant to be here. To be with him.
“Piper?”
I gasped in surprise and turned back toward the bedroom.
Wyatt was propped up on his elbows looking at me. His dark hair was a wild mess atop his head, and his brow was furrowed. “Is something wrong?”
I shook my head. “No. No, sorry. Did I wake you?”
He frowned. “No, I was in and out for a while there.”
I padded over to my side of the bed and sat down cross-legged beside him to sip my tea. I held it out to him. “Want some?”
He took the mug from me and took a few sips before passing it back. “How long have I been asleep?”
“A little over six hours. It’s just past noon.”
“Damn,” he breathed.
“Why?”
He shrugged one shoulder and winced, remembering his sore ribs. “I have to check on the—”
“You don’t have to do anything,” I said before he got ahead of himself. “Boone and Dodge are seeing to everything today. They told me my one sole responsibility was to keep your ass in this house. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do, no matter the price.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked, arching an eyebrow and smiling a wicked smile.
I shook my head at him. “No, absolutely not. Stop smiling at me like that, Wyatt. You’re hurt. And the last thing we should be doing is—”
Wyatt tore the blankets down to show me his hard on.
I arched an eyebrow at him. “Really? You think that’s going to work?”
“I don’t know,” he said, looking from me to his erection. “Is it?”
I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling as my cheeks started to burn.
Wyatt chuckled. “Piper, don’t play coy with me. We don’t have much time left, and if I’m being perfectly honest, there’s not much I’d rather do than spend it fucking you. So, unless you have any other objections besides, ‘you’re hurt’, I suggest you put that tea down and take those pants off before I do it for you.”
“So bossy.” I giggled.
“Damn straight I am,” he said.
He plucked my tea out of my hands and set it on the nightstand. Then, in one effortless swoop, he brought me down to the bed, tore my pants down my legs, and tossed them to the floor.
“This is not considered relaxing,” I scolded him.
“Bruises go away. I’m not going to let them stop me from savoring every minute I have left with you.”
Wyatt slid an arm underneath me and ran his hand down my stomach. I kept my knees pressed firmly together.
Wyatt kissed me. At first, it was a sweet, soft kiss, and then it grew into something wilder, something desperate, and I cupped his cheek and gave in, letting his tongue slip between my lips as I let my legs fall apart for him.
He massaged my pussy over my panties, and I worked my right hand free from between us to stroke his cock. Like every other time we had sex, all of my worries faded away.
He slipped his hand under my panties to roll the pad of his finger over my clit. I trembled at his touch and whimpered.
He broke our kiss. “God, am I going to miss that sound.”
“No more talking about next week,” I whispered.
“Until when?”
“Until the end.”
Wyatt gazed into my soul. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking or wondering, but I gazed right back, wishing I could get lost in his dark stare and let it carry me away from all things Casanova. Away from hard decisions and heartbreak and loss and confusion and fire.
“Until the end,” he echoed, sealing our deal with a peppering of kisses across my jaw.
I moaned when he eased a finger inside me. I clung to him and lifted my hips, begging for more, and he gave it to me, easing another finger into my pussy and filling me up.
I turned on my side and hooked my leg over his. He continued fucking me nice and slow, and I stroked his cock, aching to have him inside me.
Wyatt got to his knees on the bed. I shimmied down and laid on my back in front of him. He reached down to rub my pussy while I opened my mouth and took his cock between my lips. He thrust his hips gently and slid a finger back inside me.
I stared up at him as he fucked my mouth, and he stroked my hair off my face. I worshipped his cock. He’d gone through hell and back last night, and I wanted to take care of him. I wanted to ease his pains with my body however he saw fit.
His hand between my legs was a nice perk as well.
When Wyatt pulled away, I rolled over and slid off the side of the bed to pad around it to his nightstand. I opened the drawer and smiled at him as he rolled onto his back and watched me.
“What are you up to?” he asked.
I found a condom and pinched it between my teeth as I took off my shirt, panties, and bra. Then I climbed back up onto the bed, swung one leg over him to straddle him, and tore the condom wrapper open. After tossing it aside, I rolled it on him and lifted myself up to rub my pussy up and down his shaft.
“Are you teasing me?” he asked, resting his hands on my thighs.
“Maybe a little.”
“I’m an injured man. That hardly seems fair.”
“Oh. Now you’re injured?” I giggled. “You don’t get to play it both ways, mister.”
He looked down as I lifted up and sat on his cock. I eased him inside me, one slow inch at a time, and once I held him deep in my pussy, I rocked back and forth and rolled my hips, taking it easy on him.
He watched me the whole while. I took my time.
I felt sexy under his gaze. And strong. I loved the way his eyes raked over me, tracing the lines of my shoulders and the curve of my hips. He squeezed my thighs and my ass like he was committing the feeling of my flesh in his hands to memory.
Wyatt surprised me by rolling us over and pinning me beneath him. My giggle was breathless as he pushed himself deep inside me. My breath hitched in my throat when he quickened his rhythm, and I gripped his wrists when he planted his hands on either side of me on the bed.
He rocked his hips against me, grinding slowly and stimulating my clit. I gasped and trembled as pleasure rippled through me. I was so close to an orgasm. I tightened my grip on his wrists.
Wyatt’s jaw was tight. I knew he was seconds away from coming too.
I lifted my hips to him and pulled him down to me for a kiss. I moaned into his mouth when my climax hit me. Wyatt held me close and drove himself into me as he lost control, and the two of us descended into ecstasy together.
When we returned to ourselves, we fell onto our backs to stare up at the ceiling and cat
ch our breath. I rolled into his side to rest my cheek on his chest and listen to his heartbeat. We stayed like that for a long time.
“I want to spend the rest of the week with you,” Wyatt said. “I’ll deal with the barn and the Buck brothers later. When I have time. But right now, I just want to make the most of the time we have left.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
There were so many things I wanted to say. So many things I knew he should hear.
But it would only make things harder on both of us.
If I told him how I truly felt about him, it would only crush him in the end. And I couldn’t bear that.
Chapter 25
Wyatt
Piper’s last day arrived, along with sunshine and songbirds outside the bedroom window.
I stayed in bed with her, rubbing her bare shoulder with my thumb as she slept curled against my side, and I thought about how the last week had been.
I had kept my word and spent every minute of every day with her. I didn’t do any work on the ranch, and even though Boone and Dodge were exhausted and looking forward to me starting back full time with them tomorrow, they assured me they wouldn’t have allowed it to go down any other way.
Piper had said her goodbyes to my two ranch hands last night. It had been an emotional, tear-jerking farewell, and I suspected Dodge would bully Boone for the rest of his life about the tears he shed saying goodbye to Piper.
Today was our day.
I had plans to take her out to one of the fields. We would ride Millie and Myrna out to a shady spot and enjoy a picnic together. If we were lucky, time would slow down, and we would have the time to say all the things that needed to be said. If we were unlucky, the day would pass quickly.
As it was, I’d already been lying awake in bed for half an hour, and it was already nine-thirty in the morning. I didn’t usually sleep in, but we’d had a very, very late night last night.
I rolled toward Piper and kissed her forehead. She stirred with a sleepy moan and rubbed at her eyes.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” I said, watching as her eyes fluttered open.
“Good morning,” she said, her voice thick with fatigue.
I smiled and pushed down the thought that this was probably the last time I would wake up beside her.
“Are you ready for the day?” I asked.
“What are we doing?”
I patted her bare thigh. “Join me in the shower, and we’ll start things off on the right foot. And then I’ll show you what we’re doing.”
Piper gave me a sleepy smile and slid off the bed. I followed her to the bathroom and turned on the shower. The glass clouded with steam, and I made sure to leave an imprint of her naked body on the glass while we made love in the shower.
Afterward, we got dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen, where we packed a light lunch of cheese, crackers, fruit, and water.
Neither of us spoke much while we packed the bag. We bustled around each other in the kitchen, working seamlessly together without having to say a word. When we were done, Piper and I headed outside, down the porch steps, and to the outbuilding closest to the house where I had spare saddles and riding gear.
I slung two saddles over my shoulders and handed Piper the reins. Then we made our way out across the field to the loafing sheds where the horses were grazing.
The horses greeted us with tosses of their heads and happy whinnies. I showed Piper how to put their reins and saddles on, and then I helped her up and into the saddle on Myrna, the oldest, somewhat slower horse.
Piper adjusted herself in the saddle.
I smiled as I looked up at her. “You look like you were born to be up there.”
“Do I?” she asked, lifting her chin confidently. “It feels pretty good. It’s the first time I’ve ever been on a horse.”
I clicked my tongue. “You city slickers need to get out more.”
“Agreed.”
I swung myself up onto Millie. “She’ll follow my lead. You won’t have to guide her at all. Just hold the reins loosely, and if she starts to fall behind, give her a light tap on the sides with your heels. She’ll catch up.”
“Okay,” Piper said.
I patted Millie’s neck and watched as Piper did the same. “You can talk to her if you like. She likes that. And it might help you feel more connected to her.”
Piper nodded.
I gave Millie a light tap with my heels, and she started forward, lifting her hooves lazily at first and then speeding up to a comfortable, even gait. I glanced over my shoulder to see Piper following closely behind. Her lips were moving as she said something to the horse that I couldn’t hear, and I smiled fondly.
It had been a relief when the local veterinarian came to the ranch at the beginning of the week to check on all the animals that had been in the barn the night of the fire. They were all cleared as healthy after detailed examinations, and that had been a huge relief.
My checkup at the hospital had also gone well. Piper talked the whole drive home about how grateful she was to have come with me and heard it from the doctors rather than having had to leave without knowing how my checkup went. I told her she was stressing over nothing.
We rode for about twenty minutes until we arrived at the desired location. It was in the far corner of one of my fields. On the other side of the fence was a willow tree, and one of the branches hung over my property, offering a small patch of shade from the afternoon sun. I rode Millie straight through the hanging branches, and Piper followed.
The space between the fence and the willow branches was probably about eight-by-eight feet. I got off my horse, helped Piper get down, and then held the branches open for both Millie and Myrna to go wander the field and graze.
I let the branches fall like a curtain and turned toward Piper. I shrugged our picnic bag off my back and opened it up. We’d packed a blanket, which I handed to Piper. She fanned it out across the grass and sat down. I joined her, and we unpacked the snacks.
I was aware of how quiet she was being. Normally, she would be a chatterbox, but there was a dark cloud hanging over both of us today. Somehow, I needed to break the silence and her sadness. I didn’t want our last few hours to be wasted on us being sad. We could be sad after when it was all over. But now was still our time.
“Are you looking forward to seeing your family?” I asked.
Piper popped a strawberry in her mouth. I watched her lips as she chewed. “Yes. Very much so. I miss them a lot. But I only get to see them for a day.”
“A day is better than no time at all.”
She gave me a sad smile. “You’re right. Of course. I think I’m just feeling sorry for myself.”
“It’s all right. What about Janie? Will you get to see her?”
“I think so,” Piper said, picking at a loose thread on the picnic blanket. “I mean, I hope so. She has this way of making everything better. It’s hard being away from her like this.”
“I can imagine.”
She tucked her hair behind her ears and studied me. “What are you going to do about the Buck brothers?”
I shrugged. “I’ll figure it out. We don’t have to talk about them right now.”
Piper pursed her lips. “I worry about leaving you like this.”
I moved to sit beside her. “Piper, you don’t need to worry. I’ve handled far worse than the likes of them.”
She drew her bottom lip between her teeth. “I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”
“I have Boone and Dodge. Remember how they went off? Like two rabid dogs?”
She giggled softly and nodded. “Yes.”
“They have my back, Piper. I’m not alone out here. There are a lot of people who have rallied behind me who also want to get rid of Elias and Hank. This was the final straw.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Somehow, even more time had passed. Neither of us had eaten much of the food we brought. I suspected her stomach was as uneasy as mine.
&
nbsp; Goodbye was just around the corner. Only hours away.
I swallowed and shifted closer to her. “Piper?”
Piper turned to face me. Her knees pressed against mine. “Yes?”
“We’re running out of time.”
Her soft smile fell, and sadness flooded her eyes. “I know.”
“Then you know there are some things I have to tell you.”
She shifted nervously. “You don’t have to say anything, Wyatt. We can just sit here. We don’t need to make this any harder than it already is.”
I knew where she was coming from. This was hard for both of us, but I couldn’t let the day pass without telling her exactly how I felt.
I took her hands in mine. “No, I can’t just sit here.”
Her eyes flicked back and forth between mine, and her breathing quickened.
I held my resolve. “Piper, you’ve changed everything for me. And hear me when I say this. I’m not trying to put pressure on you. I’m not trying to get anything from you at all. But like I told you on our first official date, you have to tell people how you feel. You have to tell them the things you will regret not saying if life sweeps in and throws you a curveball.”
“Oh God,” Piper whispered.
I didn’t let it slow me down. “Piper, I’m in love with you. And it scares the hell out of me to say it. It probably scares you too. And I’m sorry. But I couldn’t let you leave without saying it.”
She was smiling at me. Then her smile crumpled and broke, and she buried her face in her hands as the tears started to flow.
I gathered her up in my arms and pulled her into my lap. “You don’t need to say anything back, Piper. Please stop crying. I’m sorry.”
She shook her head as her tears soaked through my shirt. “It will just make things harder.”
“What will?”
“If I say it back.”
I pressed two fingers under her chin and lifted her face so I could look her in the eyes. “Then don’t say anything,” I whispered before kissing her.