I placed a few more logs onto the fire and sat back down in the chair. The one that faced Kaylee. She was out, which was probably good. I knew she was in pain, so the longer she slept, the better.
Taking a long pull of beer, I kept my gaze on her. She was so damn beautiful.
Finally, her eyes opened, and in the firelight I could just barely tell she was looking directly at me.
“Ty?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“Why are you sitting in the dark?” she asked, slowly trying to sit up. “Oh, wow, okay, that hurts.”
I stepped over to the sofa and helped her to stand. Once she was up, her body relaxed.
“It’s probably only going to hurt when you go to sit and then stand back up—at least from my experience, that is,” I said.
“Great,” she replied as she looked around the house and pulled a deep breath in through her nose. “So, I have to ask again, why are you in the dark, and what is that amazing smell?”
“The power went out, and that would be vegetable soup.”
She turned and looked at me. The flames from the fire danced in her eyes, and my cock hardened. Bastard.
“We’re going to have to sleep down here if the power doesn’t come back on.”
Kaylee’s mouth opened, then closed. Then she shook her head and asked, “We?”
“I’m not leaving you when you’re hurt, and the snow is coming down so bad I wouldn’t even be able to see to drive back home. Roads are already snowed over anyway, and not a chance in hell snowplows are out in this mess.”
She stared at me with a confused expression, as if she was trying to piece together a puzzle or something. “So, you’re staying here? All night?”
“Until my mom comes over in the morning, or whenever Dad or Brock can get the ranch roads cleared. She said she has some knitting project she wants to show you.”
“I don’t need to be looked after, Ty,” she said as she turned, then walked to the stairs. She looked up the stairway, then back to me. “I’ll just use the bathroom down here.”
With a smile, I nodded. “I’ll make you a bowl of soup if you want. I have some more ibuprofen and a fresh ice pack.”
“How did you get the one out from under me?”
With a smirk, I replied, “I had to get creative.”
Her lips snarled. “Pervert.”
Laughing, I watched as she headed toward the guest bathroom. I made my way into the kitchen and took out two bowls and filled them both almost all the way up. Kaylee had some onion jam she must have bought from one of the local farms, so I put some of that on the sourdough bread and put it on a plate.
I waited for what seemed like forever, then finally went to the bathroom in the hall and knocked. When I didn’t hear a reply, I leaned in and heard what sounded like a sniffle.
I knocked again. “Kaylee, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, Ty.”
Her voice cracked, and I knew she wasn’t fine.
“Did you fall again?”
She didn’t answer. Fuck.
I reached for the doorknob and was surprised to find she had left it unlocked. I pulled out my phone and turned on the flashlight and opened the door. Then I froze.
Holy. Mother. Of God.
Kaylee was standing there, naked from the waist down.
When she looked up at me, my breath caught in my throat. She was crying.
“I can’t sit down on the toilet. Leaning down hurts too bad,” she said softly.
“Let me help you.”
Shaking her head, she held her hand out. “Please, don’t. I’m so embarrassed and was two minutes from trying to step into the bathtub to pee.”
I couldn’t help the slight smile I was trying to hide. “Let me help you, Kaylee.”
My heart hammered in my chest as I walked to her and wrapped my arms around her, helping her sit.
“Jesus, that hurts.”
My legs were spread apart as I gently lowered her onto the toilet. “I think maybe we should have an X-ray done: you might have cracked your tailbone, not just bruised it.”
Kaylee dropped her head toward my body and cried, causing me to stay right where I was. Her half-naked body between my legs and her head lying on my stomach.
Son of a bitch. Don’t get hard . . . please don’t come up, pleeease don’t come up. Think of anything else but the position she is in right now.
Thank Jesus, she peed, and all hopes of my cock coming to life quickly vanished. I’d never been so damn happy for a woman’s full bladder than I was right in that moment.
“I have to wipe . . . will you look away?”
“Um, yeah, of course.”
I took two steps away from her, turned, and stared ahead. There was a painting on the wall, and it looked like the mountain range to the north of the ranch. I leaned in closer and saw four men on horseback riding toward the ranch.
Why had I never seen that painting before? The details were hard to make out in the semidarkness, but the painting was amazing.
“Where did you get this painting?” I asked.
The toilet flushed, and she said, “Can we just get through this extremely awkward moment before I answer that? I need your help getting up, Ty.”
Turning, I looked back down at her. “Right. Let me help you up.”
After getting her back up, we both looked down at her yoga pants and—fuck me—her pink thong. It might’ve been dark in there, but I sure as hell could see a pink thong.
“I don’t think I can bend down to get them, and I swear to God, if you make eye contact with me or so much as glance at my female parts right now, I will cut off your dick. Well, I’ll do that once my tailbone isn’t hurting anymore.”
My eyes snapped back up from her panties, but I didn’t make eye contact.
“I won’t look,” I said, my voice cracking like that of a teenage boy who’s gotten his first glimpse of boob.
Why, God, why are you punishing me? Why?
Chapter Nine
TY
I squeezed my eyes shut, leaned down, and felt for her panties.
The dryness in my throat made me feel like I was about to die from dehydration. I couldn’t have produced spit in my mouth to save my life right then. This situation had literally robbed me of my breath.
I slid her panties up high enough so that she could reach them. Pulling that pink lace over her luscious thighs and possibly grazing her ass with my hands would’ve caused me to stroke out, that much I was sure of.
“Okay, pants now,” she said.
Doing the same thing, but this time opening my eyes, I lifted her pants and got a view of her pink panties covering all the parts that I was fixated on. The dryness in my throat was immediately gone, and I was pretty sure I was drooling now.
“Ty?”
Holy shit, I could see her blonde curls through the lace of the fabric. Fuck, I shouldn’t have looked. I. Should. Not. Have. Looked. When I’d walked in, I’d done the gentlemanly thing and kept my gaze away from anything below her waist. But now? Now it was right there, in my face.
The urge to push that lace to the side and lick her from stem to stern swept over me. It was almost an urge I couldn’t fight anymore.
“Ty!”
What would she taste like? I couldn’t even imagine. It would be sweet . . . it had to be. Kaylee cared deeply for people, and that made her sweet.
I swallowed hard, my mouth moving closer to her core. A magnetic pull that I wasn’t strong enough to fight.
“Ty Shaw, stop staring at my pussy and give me my pants!”
Oh, fuck. I snapped out of it and lifted her yoga pants.
“Shit, sorry. Sorry!” I said as I stumbled to a standing position. I buried my face in my hands and groaned.
“That groan could go either way, so I’m hoping my vagina doesn’t repulse you like my kissing did.”
I dropped my hands and looked directly into her eyes. Her words didn’t make any sense, and I wondere
d if I had heard her right. “What did you say?”
“Can we please leave the bathroom now?”
“Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry.”
I took a step back and let her walk out first.
“It doesn’t hurt too bad when I walk, but trying to sit down or stand up hurts like a bitch.”
My eyes focused on her ass. She had a great ass, even in the dark, and those yoga pants hugged it in all the right ways.
“That smells so good. I forgot I had this jam!”
Forcing myself to stop staring at her ass, I pulled out a chair at the dining room table. I was glad she had little cushions on them so she wouldn’t have to sit on the hard wood. “You okay sitting here, or should we go back into the living room, where it’s warmer?”
She shook her head. “No, this is good.”
She reached for my arm and slowly lowered herself into the chair. Once she was settled, I got the two bowls and placed them on the table, then put the bread down.
I sat opposite her and watched as she took her first bite. I had lit a few candles in the kitchen, so I had a better view of her than I had in the bathroom. Kaylee also had a few oil lanterns. One was in the kitchen, one in the living room, and those were lit too.
“Ty, oh my gosh, this is so good! Who would have thought you knew how to cook!” Her eyes closed, and she let out a moan as she pushed another spoonful of soup into her mouth.
Fuck me every which way to Sunday. At this rate, my cock was going to combust if she didn’t stop whimpering and moaning. I mean, it wasn’t like I hadn’t just seen her half-naked and had my face mere inches away from heaven.
“Are you having sex with it, Kaylee, or eating it?” Holy shit, that just slipped out. I just made a bad situation even tougher by bringing up S-E-X.
She looked at me, hurt in her eyes. I hadn’t meant for my words to come out so cold and harsh, but my still-hard cock was pissed with me for not taking care of him.
With eyes downcast, she focused back on the soup and took another bite, quietly eating, and I wanted to tell her I was sorry. But my pride and pent-up frustration wouldn’t allow it. So, I didn’t.
“So what’s with the bidet up in your bathroom? I saw it when I ran up there earlier,” I finally said, hoping to move on. The problem was, I kept picturing those panties, the smell of vanilla from her soap or maybe from some lotion she probably used. It made my damn head feel foggy and put me on edge.
With a shrug, she answered, “I wanted one, so I ordered it.”
“I can hook up the water for you once the sun comes up. I wasn’t sure where your tools were, and I already felt like a jerk looking around your place for candles.”
A small grin played at the corners of her mouth. “They’re in the laundry, under the sink. I’m still learning what is what, but I’m getting the hang of it.”
“Okay, I’ll take a look at it in the morning. It’s too cold up there right now, and obviously pitch black.”
“Honestly, I can take care of it. YouTube has been a lifesaver for me when I don’t know how to do something around here,” she said, still giving me a slight grin.
There was no sense in arguing about it with her. I’d just do it, and she’d have to deal with it.
We finished the dinner in silence. After I took our bowls and put them into the sink, I helped her stand up.
“I think I’m going to try and walk up the steps and shower. Maybe the hot water will lessen the pain some.”
“Kaylee, there’s no power. The pump on the well can’t bring any water up to the house, and not to mention the water heater is off.”
Her lower lip jutted out into a pout. It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. “Then what do we do?”
“Do you have any board games?”
Her eyes seemed to light up at that, or maybe it was simply the candlelight flickering in her eyes. “Ty, you don’t have to stay.”
I handed her more ibuprofen and a bottle of water. “I honestly am stuck. I went outside before you woke up to go get more firewood. It’s really bad out there. I could hardly find my way to the barn to get the wood and back to the house, it’s snowing so hard.”
“Yikes. What happens if you can’t leave in the morning?” she asked, chewing nervously on her lip.
“It’ll be fine. Tanner or Brock will get the plow out and make a path. Don’t worry.”
She nodded, then said, “I’m going to go find some warmer clothes. I don’t have anything for you to wear. I’m sorry.”
“No worries, I’ll be fine. I’ve got some sweatpants in my truck. I’ll run out and get them. You might want to make any calls you need to, especially before your phone dies. If the cell coverage is even working. It’s hit or miss when it snows this heavy. Maybe to Lincoln, or to Channing—let him know you’re all right. My signal wasn’t working earlier, so I had to use your phone and saw you had some missed calls, but it’s working now.”
Kaylee stood there for a moment just staring at me before she finally spoke. “Right. I’ll do that.”
Then she walked out of the kitchen, and I closed my eyes and internally cursed myself. Why did I have to bring up Channing? Probably because he’d called her earlier while she was asleep. My phone wasn’t working, so I borrowed hers, and when I’d glanced down at it, I’d seen his name.
Dick. Asshole jerk.
I used to like the guy until I saw him kissing Kaylee and walking into her house. The thought of him with her made my stomach roll with nausea.
After using a bottle of water to rinse out the two bowls, I stacked them in the dishwasher, then put on my jacket to head out to my truck. When I got to the front door, I heard Kaylee talking to someone, and my curiosity got the better of me. I quietly made my way up the steps. It was freezing upstairs.
“I’m fine, honestly. No need to bring the fire truck, but it’s sweet of you to offer to come warm me up.”
Rolling my eyes, I made a silent gagging motion. I hated the thought of that asshole being in her bed. Warming her up. Inside her. My fists balled at my sides.
“No, it’s painful to sit or stand, but walking seems to be okay. I’m going to stay down in the living room tonight where the fire is. Yes, I’ve got plenty of firewood.”
It wasn’t lost on me that she hadn’t mentioned I was there.
“No, Ty started it for me a few hours ago. He stopped by to make sure I had enough.”
Still no mention of me actually still being there. Interesting . . .
“Honestly, Channing, I’m fine. I don’t need you hauling out the fire department simply for me. It’s dangerous on the roads, anyway. Besides, I’m not helpless.”
Even I could hear the frustration in her voice. Kaylee didn’t like to feel useless, or be made to feel weak, and I admired that about her. She could own up to her weaknesses when she wanted to, which wasn’t often, yet she wasn’t prideful either.
“Let me go ahead and let you go; I don’t want to use up all my battery. I’m going to shut off my phone, so if you try to call or text, you’ll know why I’m not answering.”
Turning, I quickly headed down the steps to the front door, seeing as she was getting off the phone. Once I stepped outside, I sucked in a breath, then coughed.
“Holy crap, it’s freezing out here,” I said out loud.
I carefully made my way down what had once been the steps, but they were covered with so much snow I couldn’t see them. The snow was now already halfway up my tires. I opened the back door and smiled when I saw my gym bag.
“Thank you, God.”
Now I had a change of clothes and a sweatshirt I could wear. I grabbed the bag and trekked back up toward the house. I looked to my left and couldn’t see anything but white, everywhere. Thank God I didn’t park that far away from her front porch. We were in a whiteout, and I made a mental note to check the weather on my phone.
When I got back into the house, I shook the snow off, removed my jacket and boots, and made my way to the guest bathroom to change. I was rea
dy to get out of these jeans and into some more comfortable clothes. Sleeping in the living room wasn’t looking so bad after all, now that I knew I wouldn’t have to wear my jeans.
As soon as I got into the bathroom, I slipped out of my jeans and tossed them to the side, then removed my boxers. Kaylee had some of those little wipes, so I thought I might as well clean myself up a bit before getting dressed again.
Reaching behind my back, I pulled the shirt over my head and dropped it next to my jeans. I grabbed a couple of wipes and started to clean off my body . . . but my damn mind betrayed me once again. I couldn’t help but think back to Kaylee in here and those pink panties right there in my face—
The door to the bathroom swung open, and Kaylee walked in, quickly coming to a stop when she saw me. Standing there. Naked. With a few wipes in each of my hands.
“Wh-what . . . why . . . what’s . . .” Her gaze drifted down. “Oh, my . . . okay, wow.”
Her eyes were now locked on my cock, which had already started to come to life from my dirty thoughts only seconds ago. He appeared to really like having her eyes on him, so he decided to amp up his game a bit. I almost passed out from all the blood rushing directly to my dick.
Traitorous bastard.
“Is that a bad wow, or a ‘Holy shit, you’re the biggest I’ve seen’ wow?”
My voice pulled her eyes off my dick and to my mouth, then up to my eyes. “What? Oh my gosh, you really are an asshole, ya know. Why are you holding wipes in your hands?”
“I was cleaning myself off. What did you think I was doing with them? Did your perverted mind have other ideas?” I looked at her and smirked.
She looked down at the wipes in my hands and quickly zipped her gaze back to mine. Then she frowned and looked pissed off. “Nothing . . . I, um . . . that’s actually a good idea.”
“I do come up with them every now and then.”
Kaylee stood there, staring at me.
I leaned my head a little toward her. “Kaylee, was there a reason you just walked into the bathroom?”
“Um, I don’t really remember why I came in here.”
There was no way I could stop the smirk, nor did I want to. “Maybe you want to strip naked, too, and clean yourself off. We could help each other out, ya know. I wash your back, you wash mine.” I couldn’t help it. I had to go there and watch her get flustered.
Always Enough Page 8
