Chapter Five
“Miss June.” Marty tips his hat as I pass through the front doors. “Going somewhere?”
“Um, yeah.” I rest the heavy suitcase at my feet. I have no idea how to explain this unexpected trip to the McCasker farm, so I don’t. “I’ll be back in a couple weeks.”
Just then a familiar white truck pulls up. Edwin kills the loud engine and steps out. He’s really doing this. He yanks his suitcase out of the bed of the truck and climbs the steps toward me. Everything about him coming here to stay and me standing ready to leave seems surreal.
“Mr. McCasker.” Marty moves forward but stops short, seemingly held fast by some invisible force.
Edwin grins and tosses him the keys. “Hey, Marty. You mind valeting the truck for me? Looks like I’m going to be staying a while.”
Marty lifts his eyebrows. “Certainly, sir. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were a guest.” He rushes to take his bag and disappears into the hotel where the bellman waits, leaving us alone.
Edwin looks down at my suitcase. “Looks like you’re ready to go.”
I offer a tight smile. “Sure.”
He meets my uncertain stare. “You okay with all this?”
“I’ve never stayed away from home this long before. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
He rubs along the stubble on his jaw. “I just hope you’re doing this for the right reasons, June. I’m not entirely sure Kase is.”
My heart plummets south, landing like a stone in my stomach. “What do you mean?”
He sighs softly. “It’s a complicated situation. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
In that instant, I’m not sure I know exactly why Kase is sending us all down this road. He’s made his desire for me pretty clear, but under the electricity that crackles between us when we’re close, I sense there’s more behind this plan to bring me to the farm. I could guess all day, but only driving myself down the road to be with him will bring me the truth.
“Honestly, I’m not sure any of us are doing this for the right reasons,” I say. After all, offering up my virginity to secure real estate hardly falls into the category of right. I must be insane, but it’s too late to turn back now. “I can only hope that by the end of it, maybe we’ll all understand each other better.”
Edwin nods with a frown. “I hope for that too. I’ve spent half my life at odds with your father. I’m ready to forgive and forget.”
Forgive and forget? What’s to forgive?
“You and my mother were close,” I say, reaching for the story the photo I found seemed to tell. My heart picks up speed at the knowing look in his eyes. “What really happened between you two?”
His frown deepens. “Not my story to tell, June.” He takes his hat off and brushes over his hair. “Have a nice stay at the farm. Tell Kase to mind his manners.” With a curt nod, he steps around me and disappears into the hotel.
I stand stunned for a moment before a sharp, cool wind makes me shiver in my sleeveless shirt and shorts. Dark clouds are rolling in on the other side of the valley. I walk quickly toward my Jeep in the lot. As I start the drive toward Kase, I wish we had a few more miles between us so I could think. But that’s all I’ve done for years. Think. Wonder. Dream.
Maybe now was the time for acting, doing, and discovering the man Kase McCasker has become. He may get what he wants from me over the next two weeks, but damn it, so will I. I park in front of the farmhouse and climb the stairs with new determination.
I knock lightly on the screen door and peer into the quiet house before stepping inside. I drop my suitcase by the stairs. The cool valley breeze gusts through the hall, guiding me to the open back door. I step onto the back porch. Kase is on his knees just beyond, hands deep in the dirt, seemingly unaware of me. A basket filled with flower bulbs sits at his side.
“It’s a little late for spring flowers, don’t you think?” I lean forward on the railing and look down on him.
He looks up, his blue eyes bright and mesmerizing as always. “Hello to you too.”
I smirk. “I knocked.”
“Sorry. I’m not in the house much.” He wipes his forehead and leans back on his haunches. “And, actually, I’m early with these. Supposed to plant the bulbs in the fall to root before the ground freezes. But I won’t be here then. So, I’m getting them in the ground now.” He stares thoughtfully down at the bed of dirt.
I hesitate, confused. “The house probably won’t be here in the fall. Why are you bothering with flowers?”
He doesn’t answer or meet my eyes. Instead he involves himself in the task of nesting more bulbs in the black dirt along the back side of the house. Content with the silence, I seat myself on the first step and watch him work. He seems lost in thought, his lips tight and his muscles rippling under his T-shirt with every deliberate motion. In this moment, I’m certain I could watch him work the land for hours on end and never tire of the view.
In the distance, the storm clouds catch on the top of the mountains. I wonder how long they’ll linger there before covering the valley in shadows and rain. Could be an hour or a few. I bite my lip, uncertain what I’ll do when the rain inevitably comes and traps us in the house together.
Rising to his feet, Kase tugs off his gloves and walks toward me. He tosses them on the steps, peels off his shirt, and wipes his face with it. The whole manual labor thing is definitely working in his favor. I clench my teeth to keep my jaw from sagging in awe. He’s the same gorgeous, shirtless Kase I ran into days ago, and the effect on me is the same.
“So what do you want to see first?”
I lift my gaze from his perfect torso to his equally chiseled face. “Huh?”
He gestures to the horizon and the vast, sloping landscape of the McCasker land. “Of the property. I figured I could show you around a bit today.”
“Oh.” I laugh softly, but I can feel my cheeks heating.
“You didn’t think I was going to ravage you the second you walked through the door, did you?”
I shake my head. “I have no idea what you’re going to do one minute to the next, Kase.”
He cracks a small smile. “I like it that way.” He glances over his shoulder and back to me. “Come on. Looks like rain. We’ll start with the house.”
I ignore the jolt of anxiety in my belly and follow him inside to the kitchen.
He washes his hands and opens the fridge. “You hungry?”
It’s past noon according to the clock on the wall, but my nerves must be obliterating my appetite, because all I can think about is Kase’s next move.
“Not really,” I say.
He straightens and shuts it, picking up an apple from the nearby fruit bowl. He sinks his teeth into it and leans casually against the counter. Jesus, how am I supposed to think straight when he looks this good eating produce?
“Do you normally walk around shirtless all day?”
He chuckles. “Is it a problem?”
“It’s distracting.” I fold my arms across my chest and avert my eyes.
“That’s good to know,” he says, setting the apple on the counter.
When he starts moving toward me, my gaze slides to his. His eyes are darker, his lids a little lower. I unfold my arms and step back unsteadily until the wall is behind me.
“What are you doing?” My voice is breathy.
He slows in front of me and props a hand on the wall. “Maybe we should just get this out of the way.”
He’s tall and imposing, threatening and tempting all at once. I inhale a shaky breath.
“You said…” I swallow hard. “You said you’d wait until I was ready.”
Am I?
No. Definitely not.
Well, maybe a little.
He traps his lower lip between his teeth, dragging his hungry gaze up and down my body. “I did. But you’ve been here twenty minutes, and I haven’t even touched you.”
Then touch me already…
He answers my silent demand when he lower
s his lips to mine. Just a brush. The softest touch. The hint of his taste with a rush of his scent, sweat and earth and something uniquely his. I don’t wait for more. I lean in and claim the next sweep of our mouths. The kiss is slow and urgent at once, somewhere between asking and taking and savoring every second of contact. I slide my hands to his nape and bring our bodies closer.
Deliciously deep, our tongues dance and duel. All I can think is more. I need more…
“Kase,” I whimper breathlessly. “Touch me… Please.”
He kisses me again, angling so he can take my mouth deeper. The heat between us builds as we share breath. His hand travels down my body, settling on my hip.
“As soon as I get inside you, June, I’m never going to want to leave.”
I love the sound of that. Endless hours, day after day tangled in Kase’s sheets. I’m nearly writhing against him with the promise of it. I want him. I want all of it. Everything I’ve been yearning for all these years. And I want it now.
“I’m ready,” I gasp, tearing our lips apart. “I’m ready now.”
“You’re not.” He nips at my lower lip.
My desire morphs into something else—something needy and defensive. “How do you know I’m not ready?”
“For one, you’re not begging me to fuck you.”
Aren’t I? I feel like I am, with every touch, every breathy moan that escapes me when we’re touching this way. Is he really going to make me say it out loud?
“That’s what you want? You want me to beg you when I’ve already promised you everything.”
Something dark and mischievous glimmers in his eyes. “I can be a little demanding.”
“I figured that out.”
He’s been nothing but bold and demanding since I walked back into his world.
He shakes his head slowly. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
I close my eyes a moment, because something inside that threat makes me want to come apart on the spot. I’m convinced I could drown in his intense stares and dark promises right now and die a happy woman. “Why don’t you show me?”
He tightens his grip on my hip. “You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
“I’m still asking.” Emboldened I begin to unbutton my poplin shirt. I don’t know who this wanton woman inside me is, but I’m past caring.
His gaze drops to where my fingers work the buttons. “Are you trying to seduce me, June?” His voice is dangerously low as his possessive touch falls away.
“Maybe.” I release the last button, ready to peel the garment off and press our bodies together once more.
“Stop.”
I freeze, paralyzed by his sharp tone. “Why? I thought—”
“Fold your arms behind you. Hands to your elbows.”
I hesitate, even though I’m ready to crawl across the floor if it means getting him to touch me again. Reluctantly I do as he asks. The movement parts my shirt, revealing most of my white lace bra. The heat in my cheeks creeps down my chest. My heart and lungs are working overtime to keep up with the effect he has on me.
He trails his fingertip between my breasts and down my belly. “My God, June, you’re beautiful. All you have to do is breathe and I want to rip your clothes off.”
“Then do it,” I beg. “What are you waiting for?”
“You’re not ready for me yet.”
“I am,” I groan, pent-up frustration making every second without his hands on me nearly painful.
I need to feel him. I shift to move my arms, but he drops his hand from the wall, cinching my forearms together behind me in the space of a heartbeat. His hold is strong, as uncompromising as his tight expression.
He kicks my left leg out a few inches and tugs at the top button of my shorts. He dips his hand beneath the band, dragging his fingertips down the front of my panties. Lower and lower, until he finds his mark between my thighs where my clit throbs for his attention. Then he adds just enough pressure to make me cry out. My head falls back.
He brushes his lips along my jaw and whispers against my ear. “This is nothing. You know that, right? The things I’m going to do to you… I’m not going to hold anything back. We’re going to shake the goddamn walls.”
I’m speechless, enslaved by the promise. I barely stifle a groan as he ventures lower. He slides my panties to the side so I feel his flesh on mine.
He exhales roughly. “Jesus. When did you get wet for me?”
“Probably the minute I saw you.”
He strokes me slowly, making me shiver every time he grazes my clit. I could come this way. I’ve done it a hundred times by myself, but somehow I know when Kase gives me an orgasm, it’s going to turn me inside out like nothing ever has.
I roll my hips in time to his rhythm. He tightens his grip on my arms, and that reminder of his strength shoots a hit of something strong into my veins. My head is buzzing when he sinks his fingers lower…deeper.
He’s barely penetrating me when he speaks again. “You’re testing my patience, June.” His tone is low, laced with lust and barely harnessed restraint.
I blink up at him, more than aware of the erection straining inside his jeans. “I wasn’t aware you had any.”
The muscles in his jaw flex, drawing my attention to the perfect lines there. Only one of the perfect, lickable lines of his body that I could spend hours studying…
“Before you started undressing in my kitchen, I did. But this…”
He sinks in a little deeper. I tense against him when I feel the sting of discomfort.
“This is why you’d better pray I have patience when I take you. Because right now the last thing I want to do is go slow. I want to fuck you against this wall and obliterate anything that comes between me and being as deep in you as I can get.”
As much as I want that too, I get it. He’s trying to make this good for me. The hint of pain is sobering, but not enough to make me want to stop where this is going.
Letting go of my arms, he withdraws, gently leaving my body. He takes a deep breath. As he does, I worry I’m losing ground.
“You don’t have to go slow,” I say, unable to hide the desperation in my voice. “I want this.”
“How about lunch?”
He wraps his lips around his fingers, sucking my arousal from them. Even the wall may not be able to hold me up at the sight. Blood rushes to my arms where he held them so tightly. Every place he touched me still feels him, craves more of him. I’m little more than a ragdoll here, a puddle of unsatisfied need.
“Are you kidding me?”
He buttons my shirt up, one pale ivory button at a time. “I’m a shitty cook. And it’s going to rain all afternoon. Let me take you out for a decent meal.”
“You’re really going to leave me this way?”
“Technically, I’m taking you with me this way.” He sighs as he fastens the last button. “Trust me, I’m ready to crawl out of my skin right now. But I care about you enough to wait until I can do this right.”
I shake my head, unwilling to accept this truth. “I thought that was up to me. That’s what we agreed.”
“It’s a two-way street, beautiful.” He leans in and kisses me gently. “Patience,” he whispers.
And as he pulls away, putting unwelcome space between us, there’s no question, I have absolutely none of that.
Chapter Six
Kase pulls onto the main road that goes downtown. We’re in his truck—which is only in slightly better condition than Edwin’s old work truck—a steel blue with a matching interior leather seat.
For now, I’m grateful to be out of the house. Kase didn’t give me the full tour, and I didn’t ask for one, lest we get delayed in one of the bedrooms. I don’t even know where I’m sleeping tonight, but if it’s within two feet of him, I’m not sure how I’ll survive.
“Where do you want to go?”
I think for a minute, mentally cataloging the sparse offerings downtown. “Mackie’s, I guess.”
Their
pub fare is good. Maybe I’ll catch Julie. Then again, I’m not thrilled with the way she preened like a peacock in front of Kase yesterday. Without a doubt, I’m staking my claim on Kase. At least until I know where this stint at the farmhouse will lead.
“It can get kind of crowded.” Kase’s focus stays on the road, his brows knit together.
“Late lunch on a Tuesday? I doubt it. Plus, there’s no place else good to eat except the hotel. I’m guessing you don’t want to go there.”
He purses his lips. “Mackie’s it is, then.”
In a matter of minutes, we’re pulling into the parking lot of Mackie’s. We walk in together. Kase takes my hand as we weave through the tables in the barroom area. There’s no sign of Julie, but I recognize her friend Priscilla behind the bar.
“Hey, Kase.” She winks at him and heads toward us with menus.
Kase’s grasp on my hand tightens. He turns to me as she approaches. “You sure you want to eat here?”
Before I can answer, she’s right beside us. “Kase, what’s up? You guys eating lunch?” She looks down at our clasped hands.
“We are,” I say, drawing her attention back up.
“Great.” She smiles tightly and gestures to a nearby table.
We take our seats. There are only a few things on the menu, so we give Priscilla our order, though her eyes rarely stray from Kase. When she leaves, the air is thick with a different kind of tension. I don’t care for this kind as much.
“Do you know her?”
“Not especially well. Do you?” Kase raises an eyebrow, like he’s challenging me.
“She’s friends with Julie. I see her around from time to time.” I strum my fingertips on the lacquered table. “She’s really pretty,” I add, throwing the challenge back to him.
Kase doesn’t take the bait. Instead he clears his throat and leans in, resting his forearms on the small table.
“We have a lot to catch up on, June. I don’t really want to talk about Priscilla. I want to talk about you.”
He pins me with his blue-eyed stare. His hair falls in loose golden curls against his forehead and at the tops of his ears. A perfectly imperfect mess that I ache to run my fingers through.
Misadventures of a Virgin Page 4
