Runaround

by Jay Crownover

  I grunted. “No, what happens with us when we get back. Are you going to go back to avoiding me even though it’s obvious you can’t stay away? Are you going to pretend none of this ever happened?” I released a pent-up breath and asked what I really wanted to know. “Are you going to compare me to Cy and realize, once we’re standing next to each other, I come up short just like all the other men in your life have?”

  She gasped, and I felt her shake her head. “No. I’m not going to pretend this never happened and I’m not going to compare you to Cyrus. There is no comparison.”

  I jerked my head back reflexively. I’d forgotten how much it could hurt to be told you came up short by someone you cared so deeply about. Every instinct I had was telling me to run, and apparently Ten could sense my violent, visceral reaction, because she threw herself at me. Her hands landed on my chest as she climbed on top of me and pinned me to the bed beneath her.

  “There’s no comparison because I’ve never felt the things you make me feel when we’re together. I already told you, things with Cy were familiar. I know what it feels like to be convenient and forgotten. Until you came along, I had no clue what it was like to feel . . . necessary. I’ve never been with anyone or had someone in my life who makes me feel like they need me to survive the way you do. Not just a warm body to be used for a quick release, but me. No one gave me the words you have, Webb. You come out on top each and every time.” I growled in the dark because I couldn’t see her face clearly. We were going to have to do this in the middle of the afternoon one of these days so I could memorize her expression and the look in her eyes when she got all commanding and serious with me. I also wanted her to see how much I liked it.

  I put my hands on her waist and rolled her until I was stretched out over the length of her long, lean body. Relief at her words made me lightheaded.

  Needing a break from the onslaught of emotions, I tried to turn the mood toward something more playful. “You know, I come when you’re on top, too.”

  I hoped she could see my grin in the dim light. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her she felt as vital as air, as important as food and water, but I wasn’t sure she was ready to hear that I couldn’t survive without her. It was ingrained in me to keep on going no matter what shape my heart was in, but I had no idea how to keep going when I handed it over to someone else.

  Ten

  When I woke up the next morning, I was immediately struck by the fact I wasn’t trying to scratch and claw my way free from Webb’s hold. I also wasn’t holding onto him with everything I had inside me. It was the one and only time I’d opened my eyes to another person sharing my bed, completely content to simply be. I wasn’t worried about the man next to me trying to smother me with unrealistic expectations and outrageous demands. There was still a niggling doubt in the back of my mind he wouldn’t stick around, regardless of how things played out with his crazy family. But rather than focus on the fear, I allowed myself the pleasure of appreciating how good it felt to be pressed up against him for now. I was fully present in the moment, not trying to plan twenty steps ahead or obsessing over the faltering steps I’d taken to reach this place. It was liberating and settled an uneasy piece of my soul I hadn’t realized was jagged to begin with. No wonder my heart always felt like it was bleeding. It was repeatedly getting stabbed by those pointed shards.

  I squinted at the clock, noticing it was well into the morning, fast approaching the noon hour. I wasn’t one who slept in on a regular basis, so the late hour surprised me. I figured all the emotional upheaval on top of all the sexual acrobatics with Webb the last day or so had caught up with me. And him, too, judging by the look of things.

  Webb was on his side, one long arm stretched out so it rested across my hip. His other was bent up under his head, his cheek on his palm. His long, golden eyelashes cast shadows on the sharp curve of his cheekbone, and his typically smirking mouth was open in a slight part, his breath coming in low, soft puffs as he slept deeply. He wasn’t the kind of man who looked young and carefree in his sleep. No, Webb saved the careful mask of indifference and artful disinterest for when he was awake so he could fool the rest of the world. With his eyes closed and his shields dropped, the real Webb Bryant shone through.

  There were lines of tension between his eyebrows, and I could see his eyes twitching behind his eyelids. Occasionally, his fingers twitched and flexed against my skin, and I could tell he was running away from something or someone, even in his dreams. The man didn’t know how to stay still.

  I lifted a hand and rubbed my fingers over the furious V arrowing over his nose. I wanted to stand between whatever it was that always seemed to be chasing him and all his vulnerable places. The man’s heart was surprisingly soft considering the beating it’d taken over the years. His armor was much thinner than my own. It was a disconcerting feeling, wanting to protect someone I cared about. I’d gotten so used to forcing myself to function alone, convinced myself I was better off shutting my emotions down, because all they ever did was get me in trouble or land me in a puddle of heartache. I wasn’t ready for Webb to blast his way into the guarded parts of my heart so easily. I wasn’t sure I was ready to let go of my strongly held belief that I simply wasn't meant to share my life with another person. Hanging my future and my happiness on a man who had never called one single place home for very long was quite possibly the riskiest thing I’d ever contemplated doing. And I’d faced off with bears and mountain lions, not to mention two-legged predators who were armed to the teeth.

  I dropped my fingers to his mouth, tracing the shape of his lips. I missed the arrogant smirk, and the soft smile I swore he reserved only for me.

  I yelped in surprise when wet heat suddenly surrounded my exploring digits. Webb curled his tongue around my index finger, and his sleepy, cerulean gaze hit mine with the force of a punch to the gut. I vaguely wondered if I would always react so strongly to this man, if he would always have the ability to catch me by surprise and steal the breath from my lungs. I hoped so. It was a nice change of pace to be breathless with anticipation instead of fear.

  I stroked my thumb along the curve of his bristly chin and gave him a crooked grin. “Morning, sleepy head.”

  His eyes darted past my shoulder to the clock. His eyebrows winged up when he caught sight of the time. “Good thing our flight isn’t until later.” He let out a yawn and rolled over onto his back, using his hold on my wrist to take me with him. I ended up sprawled across his chest, his hard erection prodding insistently at the inside of my thigh. “What time do we have to check out of here?”

  He corded his fingers through my hair at my temples, the sleep in his gaze chased away by a burning, sapphire heat I was starting to recognize very well. I let him use his knee to press my legs open wider and settled more fully on top of him. Every time he took a breath, my nipples hardened at the abrasion from the dusting of his tawny chest hair they were pressed against. Webb must’ve felt them bead up because a wicked grin slipped into place on his too-handsome face. I tried not to arch like a cat when one of his hands skimmed down the length of my spine. I was only partially successful.

  “We have to be out by noon, and we still need to turn the rental in.” Our flight wasn’t until late afternoon, which gave me plenty of time to psych myself up to get on another plane. Even though the flight was short, I was still dreading it. I was ready to be home, though. Well, back in Wyoming. I missed the wide-open sky, the dirt beneath my feet, the relative predictability of my days. I missed the sense of safety I’d found when I returned home. However, the idea of going back to the ranch, returning to my childhood bedroom in my parents’ house was even less appealing than it had been for the last few years. “You’re still planning on checking into the Lodge in Sheridan when we get back?”

  There were a couple of different places in town where he could stay if he was dead set on staying away from the Warner Ranch. It wouldn’t take his long-lost brother long to track him down if he set his mind to it. I was
worried about Webb making himself such an obvious target, but I was also selfishly irritated he was going to be more than an hour’s drive away from the ranch if something went wrong. He was also going to be too far away if I wanted to touch him, to kiss him, to hold him.

  Webb nodded, hands landing on my backside as he pulled me closer to all the hard parts of his body practically begging for attention.

  “Yeah. It’s in the center of town and close to the sheriff's office. Hopefully, there will be enough foot traffic to keep the crazy bastard from doing anything too violent if he does come for me.”

  I huffed out a breath and pushed up off of his chest so I could sit on top of him. I loved the way his big body rippled with strength underneath me. I put my hands on his tight abs and watched as his eyes zeroed in on the slight bounce to my breasts as I hovered over him. The tip of his tongue darted out to slick across his lower lip. His hungry response to the sight of my body sent a surge of feminine power pulsing through my veins. I loved knowing I wasn’t the only one undone by our undeniable connection and chemistry.

  “I want to be there if he comes for you. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I want to stay with you in town until your brother is in custody, or until we figure out how to find him. I hate the idea of you hanging your ass out there with no one to watch your back.” If things went bad, they were going to go really bad if Webb’s penchant for finding trouble held true.

  Webb’s entire face softened slightly, and his expression went from lecherous to thoughtful in a blink. He gave my waist a squeeze as his brows winged upward. “You don’t have to do that, Ten. You have a life to get back to. You don’t have to hang out in Oz with me until I drop the house on the Wicked Witch. I appreciate all you’ve already done, more than I can say.”

  “I know I don’t have to, Webb. I want to.” I actually wanted him to want me there, as well. I wanted him to trust me enough to keep him safe because I was starting to believe he might be the only one I’d be willing to hand my heart over to.

  His expression switched back to one full of lust and longing. I let out a surprised squeak when I suddenly found myself underneath miles of masculine muscle and impatient hands. “If you want to be where I am, the door is always open. As long as you want to be there for more reasons than to make sure I haven’t tripped over another bad decision that’s gonna bite me in the ass. I need you to want me, Ten, not just want to keep me safe.”

  If his insecurity didn’t mirror my own, it would have been tiresome and annoying. I leaned up and placed a kiss on his chin. “Look where we are right now. The last thing on my mind right now is keeping you safe.”

  He lowered his head, and I felt the bite of his teeth against the curve of my ear. The tiny sting sent a shockwave of pleasure firing through my body. “What’s on your mind right now, Tennyson? I’m dying to hear whatever it is.”

  He flirted as easily as he breathed, so it shouldn’t be the turn on that it was. I couldn’t deny that when he cranked on the charm, I fell as easily as everyone else. I doubted anyone was immune to those blue eyes and his wicked grin.

  “I’m thinking it should be impossible to want you again this soon.” I curled an arm around the back of his neck, as he started to nip his way up and down the side of my neck. I tilted my head to the side to give him more access and let out a small hiss in response to the shift of his hips, which put his steel-hard erection right at the apex of my thighs. I was slightly tender from all the insatiable action last night and the end of a dry spell that was longer than I wanted to admit, but I wasn’t about to tell him to stop. “I’m wondering why I convinced myself you were a bad idea when you always made me feel like I was someone special.”

  His tongue stopped to pay particular attention to the pulse fluttering erratically at the curve of my neck. “I am a bad idea, but I’ll always be good to you. You gave me a reason to try to be better than I was before. I like the man I am with you.”

  I used my free hand to push my fingers through his golden hair. “I like the man you are with or without me, Webb. I may not have trusted you from the get-go, but I always liked you.”

  He lifted his head and smiled at me. “You pretended not to.”

  I rolled my eyes and shifted my legs impatiently along the outside of his. “I’m not pretending anymore.”

  His gaze shot down to where we were pressed intimately together. “You’re not.” It was a statement filled with confidence and pride. “There’s no hiding how much you like me anymore.”

  The lightly taunting words were followed by his hips pressing into mine as his teeth grazed my collarbone. I felt his hardness drag through very sensitive places, but my body didn’t seem to mind. My breath hitched, and my legs parted even more of their own accord. I felt my insides pulse in awareness and heard Webb grunt in satisfaction when the sweet spot he was rubbing against started to warm and wet. I wrapped a leg around his lean hips, heel digging into the top of his flexing backside. No, there certainly wasn’t any way to hide just how strongly and quickly I responded to his touch and his low growl into the hollow of my throat.

  The very tip of his cock found the notch where my clit throbbed between the damp folds. We both gasped as his hips kicked forward, the contact sending pleasure spiraling between us. I rolled my body against his in reaction, and soon we were nothing more than writhing limbs and a tangled, incoherently panting unit. It was hard to say who was working harder to find release first. Both of us were heedlessly seeking any kind of relief from the heat and tension steadily building between our flushed bodies. It shouldn’t be so easy, so comfortable to take without giving, but Webb didn’t seem to mind. He was working on his own agenda, one we both had to put the brakes on when more than just the tip of his now anxious, leaking cock found its way inside my tight and tender entrance.

  In all my years of being single, not once had I gotten so caught up in the moment I forgot to be safe. The horrified and rapid apologies that burst out of Webb told the same story. There was a brief pause where we both took a second to recognize there was something extremely powerful at play when we got together. It was nothing more than a silent look we shared, but it spoke volumes. Somewhere in between slow, bewildered blinks, it was understood we would one day return to this place, nothing between us. Bare. Uncovered in so many ways. It would be a huge step, one which spoke of trust and faith on a level neither of us had ever experienced with another person before.

  All of the things rushing at us were overwhelming, so I closed my eyes once Webb had himself covered and situated and let myself sink into both the pleasure and promise I’d only experienced with the man moving above me. There was a touch of pain as Webb’s body overtook mine. A reminder I was going to feel him later and be unable to forget what we’d been doing, what we were going to do again. As forceful as his thrusts were, his touch was gentle as a hand skimmed over my face and stroked my skin. It was a heady feeling to finally be enough for someone. Not too much, and not lacking in any way. It was a sweet sensation to finally find a place where I fit, not too big, not too small.

  Just call me Goldilocks, because I’d finally found the one who fit me and whom I fit just right.

  Webb

  When there was a knock on the motel room’s door not even an hour after I’d checked in, I expected to see the sheriff of Sheridan, Wyoming, standing on the other side. Wyatt had gone radio silent after our late-night chat, which wasn’t unusual after he got a new assignment, but I still fully expected him to flex his big brother muscle and send the local law to keep an eye on me. I actually fell back a step in surprise when instead I came face to face with Cyrus Warner. I wasn’t aware he’d gotten back from his honeymoon already, but then again, I’d had bigger things than his happy ever after on my mind. I liked to pretend I wasn’t intimidated by the stern older man, but it wasn’t true. There was something about the oldest Warner, my current boss, which made me want to stand up straighter, speak more clearly, and generally be less of a loser than I’d always been. H
is eyes were an unusual gray, sharp and cutting. The man appeared to see right through everyone standing in front of him, and I’d yet to see him run up against a challenge he couldn’t work his way around. He was a dangerous combination of fierce loyalty and ruthless focus. Lord have mercy on anyone brave enough to get between this man and the people he loved.

  I reached out to pull the door open wider in welcome and told myself not to shift nervously under the weight of Cy’s probing stare. He made me feel like a little kid who’d just gotten caught with his hand shoved in a cookie jar.

  “Cy. It’s good to see you, man. I owe you and Leo a huge apology. I should send her flowers or something to make up for the scene at the wedding reception.” It was Cy’s second wedding, but it was Leo’s first. She was an amazing woman and deserved to have the most special of days. I fully expected Cy to punch me in the face for ruining it for her once we were face to face again.

  The big man moved quietly into the room, eyes immediately landing on the second pile of clothes. Ten had wanted to check in with her family and with work, not that she seemed particularly excited about either chore.

  “Leo knows it wasn’t your fault. Lane’s kept us updated about what was going on with you while you and Ten were running around the South. We were hoping for a quiet resolution by the time you made it back home.” He put his hands on his hips and turned to face me. His expression was unreadable, and I felt pinned in place as he watched me fight not to squirm in front of him. Lane was the youngest brother and the easiest going of the bunch. It didn’t surprise me at all that he’d been tasked with keeping tabs on me and Ten while we were out risking our fool necks chasing ghosts from my past.

  I scoffed and cranked my neck to the side, sending a popping sound through the room. “I have never in my life been lucky enough to be on the winning side of a quiet resolution. You know me, Cy, I tend to be a hail-of-bullets and blaze-of-glory kind of guy.” When trouble was your one true love, those kinds of endings were inevitable. I’d gotten used to the noise and chaos.