We made it to the back door before she spoke. “You should be good from here,” she said. “When he’s home, he usually works late in the barn. It’s just right on the side of the house. You’ll need this.” She shoved a flashlight in my hand. “Mom claims to be a light sleeper, but she sleeps like the dead.”
I grinned at her. “I take it you speak from experience?”
May grinned back. “Always.”
She slid the door open, and I made my way into the night. It wasn’t near as cold as I expected, but the night air up my gown was a little chilly. I clicked on the flashlight and made my way through the yard.
The building they referred to as a barn was really more of a warehouse. The closer I got, the bigger it seemed to get. Several lights were on, highlighting the door. I stepped in and was struck by how much warmer it was.
As my eyes adjusted, I found myself staring at a giant indoor corral for horses. In the back, I could hear the horses as they slept. I walked along the corral as I made my way to the back.
When I reached the back, one of the stalls had a light on. I followed it, my heart beating twice as hard with every step.
I came to the gate and stopped. Dean was talking to a new baby horse. He had traded his pajama pants for jeans and had on a sleeveless shirt. His muscles shifted as he moved around. He looked up, surprised to see me.
“She’s new and I wanted to check on her,” he said. As if he owed me an explanation.
“Beautiful,” I said. I reached in and put a hand on her pretty brown head.
“Let me just put her back with Mom,” he said.
I watched from the wall as he lifted the gate between, so the baby could walk over to the other side. The mother nuzzled her sweet little baby, and it warmed me.
“Let’s go to the office,” he said quietly. “It’s warmer there.”
I followed him to the end of the row of stalls and through a door. On the other side were two doors. One with his name and one with his father’s name.
He opened the door, and we walked in. It was much warmer in the office. I wondered if each room had their own thermostat. I walked around checking things out. My eyes paused on the cot in the corner. It made sense if they were delivering new babies, but my mind went to other uses for the cot. Pictures hung on the wall of different horses. Some with Dean. Some in great races.
“So,” I said after a bit. “Horses.”
He seemed nervous, like I might somehow disapprove. I smiled at him. “They are beautiful.”
His worry faded as he looked at the pictures.
“We’ve been in business for years now.” He smiled. “Dad invested, and it paid off.”
I turned to look at him.
“I can tell you love it,” I said.
He nodded. “I can’t imagine being anything else.”
I smiled. It was clear he believed it.
“How did you know I was here?”
“May,” I said.
He nodded and apparently that was enough of a explanation.
“What’s that?” He tapped the package in my arms.
“Christmas present for you,” I said and blushed.
He took the package from my hand and leaned against his desk. I fiddled with the button on my coat.
The brown wrapping fell to the floor as he studied my work.
“This is amazing,” he said after a bit.
I let out the breath I had been holding.
“Now I just need one of you.” He grinned.
I laughed. “I’m not sure how that would turn out.”
He stepped forward and smiled. “It would be beautiful, just like you.”
I stepped forward but stopped when he held up a hand.
“If we’re doing gifts.” He went around to his desk and pulled out a small box.
I frowned. “But you didn’t know I was coming,” I said.
Dean moved in front of me. “Doesn’t mean I wasn’t hoping,” he whispered.
My hands shook as I opened the little box. Inside was a delicate white gold necklace. As I held it up, I noticed there were several clusters of flowers on the chain.
“Hydrangeas,” I said softly. I ran a finger over the sweet little flowers. “Put it on me?”
I handed him the box, took off my coat and placed it on the cot. I lifted up my hair and turned my back to him.
The cold metal rested softly against my chest.
When I turned, his eyes followed my curves in the gown.
“Beautiful,” he whispered.
I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck. My mouth found his, and I kissed him hard before pulling away.
“I love it,” I said. I brought my lips to his ear and leaned in so my body rubbed against his. “I love you.”
“Grace,” he growled before pushing me back to the wall. His mouth came hard and fast on my own. Leaning forward, he pressed a thigh between my legs, and I moaned into his mouth.
“Shit.” Dean pulled his head back. “You should tell me now if you don’t want to go any further.”
I slowly slid a hand up the inside of his shirt, loving the feel of his muscles constricting as I went.
“Take your shirt off, Dean,” I whispered in his ear.
He grabbed his shirt and roughly tugged it over his head. I placed open-mouthed kisses on his neck before trailing down to his collarbone and back up the other side.
He groaned when I nipped at his neck. He pushed me back against the wall. His hands grabbed mine and pinned them over my head.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” he said, his voice broken from straining. “I don’t want to rush.”
“Well maybe I do,” I said and bumped my hips into his.
He dropped his head to my shoulder. He took a deep breath.
“You are such a troublemaker,” he said and turned me around in his arms. He placed my hands against the wall with my ass cushioned against his cock.
“Dean,” I moaned and rubbed myself against him. “Please.”
I didn’t want to wait. We had already waited so long.
His warm hands trailed up the back of my thighs. I shook when he reached my center.
“You aren’t wearing panties,” he said, his voice full of disbelief.
With one finger, he traced the seam and easily slipped along to my clit. I gasped when he nudged it a few times.
I reached around and rubbed the length of him outside his pants. When I reached the head, he slipped a finger inside me. In time with my hand, he worked the finger in and out, bumping my clit as he went. I could feel my orgasm building and yanked away suddenly.
“No,” I said, shaking. “I want to come with you inside me.”
“Fuck,” he said and ripped at his pants. Within seconds, he was naked.
I felt the head of his cock at my opening, gently probing.
I huffed loudly and pushed myself back hard onto him. We groaned when our hips met.
“Shit,” Dean said behind me and stilled. “Grace, I didn’t put on a condom.”
I moved forward a little and then slammed back on him again.
“I’m on the shot,” I said. “Now don’t you dare fucking stop.”
He chuckled, and I could feel it inside.
His warm hands caressed my hips as he surged into me. At first slow and steady, but building each time. He sped up inside me. I leaned against the door for support. My climax was so very close.
My insides fluttered, and Dean grunted as he slammed into me, the slapping of our skin and breathing the only sounds in the room.
“More,” I groaned.
Dean reached around and pressed hard on my clit, rubbing it in hard circles.
I clenched hard around him as I came. Wave after wave of bliss rolled through me, and I tried to continue breathing.
Dean continued to pump in and out but at a slower rate.
I stepped forward, and he slipped out of me. Not slowing down, I pulled him to sit in his office chair. The si
des were open, and it was ideal for what I had in mind. I hit the lever on the side, and the chair sank lower, low enough that my feet could touch the floor. I toed off my shoes and stepped over his thighs. I stood over him for a moment before tossing my nightgown off.
I reached down and stroked his throbbing cock. My thumb swiped over the tip a few times.
“Grace,” Dean said between gritted teeth.
I leaned over and kissed him. Our tongues mated as I slid down on him all the way to the root. I moaned in his mouth when he was fully inside me.
I moved myself up and down on him. Each time I sat myself fully on him, taking him in so deep that he would rub my cervix as we moved.
His hands worked their way from my breasts to my hips, guiding me along as I moved.
“I’m close,” he whispered.
“Me too,” I said back.
I reached my hand down and slipped two fingers around him as he pumped into me. As he moved, I moved my hand back and forth over my clit and his cock.
“Fuck,” he groaned and gripped my hips tightly.
The faster he moved, the faster I moved.
I could feel it coming. Our climax. He swelled inside me at the same moment I felt my insides start to flutter. Dean arched his body to push himself as deeply as he could and let loose.
I felt him twitch as his climax leveled out, my inside clenching him with every movement.
I leaned forward and rested my head on his shoulder.
“I love you,” I whispered in his ear.
He turned his head and kissed me gently. “I love you.”
***
Chapter Twenty-Two
We stayed like that, joined in body and soul, for a few minutes, trying to catch our breath. When my heart returned to normal, I stood and slipped off him. Dean grabbed a few tissues off his desk for us to clean up.
I found my nightgown and put it back on.
When I turned around, I found Dean watching my movements with open fascination. “Do you wear this kind of stuff to bed all the time?”
I looked down and then back up to him. “For the most part,” I said.
He stood and slipped back on his underwear. I watched his muscles as he moved around the room. Dean came to stand in front of me. A finger traced the flowers on the necklace, and I smiled. It really was amazing.
“I love it,” I said after he had looked at it for a bit.
“Really?” His face lit up.
I covered the hand at my chest with my own. “Of course,” I said. “You got it because of the painting. It means you pay attention and care.”
I leaned in for a kiss but was stopped by the sound of my phone.
I pulled back and frowned. Who would call me this late?
I fished out the phone from my pocket but didn’t know the number.
“Hello?” I said and looked over to Dean.
“Grace,” a male voice said over the phone. “You told me to call. She’s here, and it’s not good. Something’s wrong.”
I sat down on the cot. “Nicky? What do you mean something’s wrong?”
“She’s not responding to anything.” His voice was panicked, and Nicky didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who got panicked easily. “I think she may have taken something,” he said quietly.
“Like what?” I said into the phone.
“I don’t know, maybe pills. I get my hands on Tom, and he’s a fucking dead man.” His anger bled into the line. At this point, I wasn’t far off from taking care of Tom myself.
“Okay, here’s what you’re going to do. Take her to the Children’s Hospital. I’ll call to let them know you’re coming. I’m going to get a hold of Chance, and I’ll meet you there as soon as you can.” I hung up the phone. Dean sat quietly beside me, just rubbing my back.
I dialed up Chance.
“You should have fucking told me, Grace,” he shouted into the phone.
“I couldn’t,” I said. “She was hurting and needed time to heal.”
“Bullshit, you didn’t know what to do, so you just pushed it off,” he lashed out.
“What happened?” I asked with as much authority as I could.
“She sat my parents and I down tonight and told us,” he yelled into the phone.
I winced. “What did they say?”
He gave a bitter laugh. “They said don’t make waves. Just let it go.”
I froze. This wasn’t right.
“She sobbed. Said she knew no one would be on her side. Didn’t matter how much I told her I was. She ran out after that,” he said.
“I know,” I replied.
“What do you mean you know?” Chance’s voice took a turn I had never heard. Anger and hurt were new to us.
“Nicky called. They are on their way to the Children’s Hospital.”
“What?” Chance yelled into the phone. “What’s wrong?”
“Alcohol and maybe pills,” I said. “We don’t have time for you to be pissed at me right now. Go to the hospital. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I hung up the phone, cutting off all protest. I dialed up the hospital. They didn’t seem thrilled with my phoning them until I mentioned I was Grace Locke. It was frustrating to know that a person had to name drop to even get someone to listen.
Dean sat quietly beside me.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No,” I said. “Things are not okay.”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me onto his lap.
“What can I do?” he whispered into my ear.
I took a deep breath to steady my nerves.
“I need to fly back,” I said and sighed. This was not how I wanted to spend our first night together. “I’ve got to call Grandmother and see if she can charter the plane.”
“Do you think you’ll need to?” Dean slipped on his pants, leaving the button undone, and sat at his desk.
I shook my head. There wasn’t time to be distracted.
“Are there flights out of the local airport at this time?” I asked. I looked over his shoulder as he pulled up the airport on his computer on his desk.
“Not until six.” He sighed.
I pulled out my phone. “It’s not soon enough,” I said.
The phone rang a number of times before Grandmother answered.
“Grace?” she said. Her voice was hoarse from sleeping. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m fine Grandmother, but I need help.” I went on to explain about Vivien.
Grandmother listened quietly on the other end until I had finished.
“I’ll call the charter service and see what they can set up,” she said. “Has anyone called her parents?”
I paused. I had avoided going into details on what led to this.
“They haven’t been very proactive in all of this,” I said.
“Well,” she said. I could hear her moving around and knew she was getting dressed. “Someone has to call them. I’ll also call the hospital and notify them I’m on my way.” She paused. “If there’s anything I can do, I will.”
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
I hung up and turned to Dean.
“She’s calling the charter,” I said. “I’ve got to get dressed.”
I stood to gather my coat and shoes. My legs shook slightly, and I dipped for a moment
I blushed and looked over to him. I wasn’t in much shape to go running around after practically running a marathon with him. Dean slipped on his shirt and grabbed my shoes off the floor.
He placed them on my feet and tied them. With ease, he stood me up and wrapped my coat around me.
“Now, let’s go get you ready,” he said and kissed my forehead.
* * *
I surveyed the room one last time. Everything had been done at record breaking speeds. Showered, dressed and repacked in the span of twenty minutes.
I jumped when there was a knock at the door.
“Grace?” Judy said quietly.
I ope
ned it and found Judy standing there, slightly sleepy but very motherly.
“Oh, Judy, I’m so sorry,” I said and started to explain.
“It’s okay, sugar. Dean came and told us the situation. You just go help that girl. Sounds like she could use a friend.” She gave me a hug. “I’m real glad we got to meet you.”
She stepped back and smiled at me. “He’s a good man. He’ll stand by you no matter what. Lean on him a little. Love and life are about knowing you have people to share both the good and the bad with.” She squeezed my hand. “Now come and visit us again soon.”
I nodded silently and watched her walk out the door.
I gathered the last of my things and silently maneuvered through the house to the front door. Once outside, I could breathe a little easier. Soon, I would be on my way. The charter service had called. The plane would be ready to go by the time I got there. Hopefully, I wouldn’t get lost again on the long, dark farm roads.
I stopped at the car and found Dean loading luggage into the back. I frowned.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
He came to where I stood and took the suitcases from my hands.
“Loading up the car,” he said and lifted a basket from the back. “Mom packed some things to eat on the plane.”
I stood in awe as I watched him. He hadn’t asked, or even tried to find out, but there he was, ready to go as if he had heard the thoughts floating around in my head.
He shut the door and came to stand in front of me.
“But you hate Chance,” I said in wonder.
He shrugged. “I love you, and if that means dealing with Chance, that’s the price I’ll pay.” He frowned. “Besides, his sister has nothing to do with that. Something bigger is happening here, and if you’re involved, I’m involved.”
“But I didn’t tell you why.” I could feel the tears sting my eyes.
“I don’t need to know why,” he said. “You need me right now. I know you do, and if I wasn’t so jealous earlier, I would have seen that then.”
I launched myself into his arms, knocking us back a few feet.
“I do need you,” I whispered.
He held me close for a few moments. His arms were like a warm barrier between me and everything that was to come. When his arms pulled away, I could still feel their warmth circling me.
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