The Slade Brothers: A Complete Small Town Contemporary Romance Collection

by Alexis Winter

“I don’t have it in me to walk away again.”

  “Good. We got some catching up to do,” he says, removing himself from me.

  He fixes his pants and grabs his shirt off the hood of my car. I push my wet dress down my legs and he takes my hand, leading me into the house. I kick off my shoes when I walk in the door, not wanting to track in mud and water. He picks me up against him, causing me to laugh as he carries me up the stairs and into his bathroom.

  “Let’s get warmed up,” he says, bending over to fill up the Jacuzzi tub.

  I smile as I pull my dress over my head. He turns around, keeping his eyes on my body as he removes his own soaking wet clothes. When we’re both completely bare, we step into the tub and he pushes the button, turning on the jets. My back is pressed to his chest and his arms are wrapped around me, his chin resting on my shoulder.

  “Do you forgive me?” he asks quietly.

  “Not yet,” I answer, slipping my hand into his.

  He lets out a long breath. “Why can you forgive Julie and not me?”

  “I’m not in love with Julie,” I answer.

  “But you are in love with me?” he asks, pressing a kiss to my jawbone.

  I take a deep breath. It’s been so long since I’ve admitted it to him that I don’t know what to expect. “I am,” I finally breathe out. “For years, I tried to forget you—to run from your memory—but I’ve never been able to escape it for long. That has to mean something, right?”

  “That means everything,” he says, placing his hand on my cheek and turning my head so his lips can find mine.

  Nine

  Wyatt

  Having her asleep in my bed and holding her close to my body almost feels like a dream. One I’ve had many, many times, and one I’ve always wished I’d never wake from. I’ve finally got her here. She hasn’t forgiven me yet, but I pray she will soon. I can envision it now: us together and happy, finally back on track. I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep her with me forever.

  Her heat sinks into me, warming me into a deep sleep.

  I’m heading over to her house to pick her up for our date. Tonight is the night. I just know it. After the other night in my car, when she told me she was ready to take things a step further, I haven’t been able to get her off my mind. I have it all planned out. We’re going to have a picnic dinner on the 50-yard line, where we danced in the rain. I’ve already bribed the groundskeeper to leave the gate unlocked for us. It didn’t take much. Just $50 and a case of beer from the brewery. Dad has cases and cases of the stuff piling up in the house.

  After our picnic, we’re going to the motel in town. I want her first time to be in a bed, not in the back seat of my car. I rented a room for the night under my dad’s name since we’re too young, and I also requested a bottle of champagne. We’ll drink our champagne, and that’s when I’ll give her the promise ring.

  When I pick her up, she takes my breath away. She’s wearing a tight pair of jeans with her favorite cowgirl boots. Her pink sweater stretches over her chest in a sexy way. I can’t see any skin, and yet she’s teasing me.

  “Are you ready?” I ask, pulling her to my chest.

  She smiles and nods as I close the space between us with a kiss. I kiss her softly before pulling away and seeing her blushing face. I take her hand in mine and lead her over to the car. I open the door for her, watching as she slides into the seat. I close the door and run around the car to climb behind the wheel.

  I shift into reverse and start backing out of the drive.

  “What’s the plan for tonight?” she asks.

  “We’re going to have a picnic, and then, if you’re okay with it, I rented us a room at the motel.”

  “You did?” she asks, sounding surprised.

  I nod. “I wanted it to be special.”

  She offers up a smile. “Why don’t we skip the picnic?”

  “You’re not hungry?” I ask.

  She shrugs. “We can have a picnic in the room, after . . .”

  Excitement surges through me and I step on the gas a little bit harder. We make it to the motel within a couple of minutes and I lead her to the door. Inside the room, a bottle of champagne chills on the table. She closes the door behind us and sits on the bed, bouncing up and down nervously.

  “Want a drink?” I ask, picking up the bottle.

  She nods and I open the bottle and pour two glasses. I hand her one and hold mine up. “To us.”

  She blushes as she clinks her glass off of mine. We both take a sip and make a face at the taste.

  She laughs. “This tastes like shit.”

  I nod and swallow down the rest. “I should’ve just grabbed us some beer from my dad’s stash.”

  She laughs and sets her glass down. “I don’t need alcohol; I just need you.” She wraps her arms around my neck, bringing her lips to mine. I get lost in this kiss: her smell, her soft lips, her sweet tongue.

  Gently, I lay her back, covering her body with mine. I fit perfectly between her parted knees. Our hands are a tangled mess as we try to remove each other’s clothing. It’s only now that I notice how badly hers are shaking.

  “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. I can wait.”

  She shakes her head. “No. No more waiting.” Her eyes are shining with honesty, love, excitement, and fear.

  I pull away long enough to slide on the condom. Taking my place back on top of her, I kiss her lips. “Let me know if you want me to stop. I’ll stop,” I promise.

  She nods and takes a deep breath. “I love you, Wyatt.”

  “I love you too. Always,” I promise, sliding into her. She’s tight and hot around me, and she sucks in a deep breath from the pain of being joined together as one. I go even deeper, and she lets out a muffled cry.

  My hips freeze with that sound as I kiss her, letting her body adjust to mine. A tear slides down her cheek and I wipe it away. “I love you so much, Destiny.” I pull out only to move back in. With each thrust, I feel her begin to loosen around me. Her body becomes softer as the pain begins to fade.

  I want to make sure she gets what she wants, but she feels too good, too tight, too perfect. It’s like her body was made for mine.

  “Wyatt, I’m going to . . .” she breathes out, just as her hips start to move along with my own.

  As I see her start to enjoy my body as much as I do hers, I can’t fight off my release any longer. Just as her moans fill the room around us, my climax washes over me. My hips jerk erratically as I fill the condom with every last drop.

  Lying in bed with her in my arms feels amazing. I know I never want this with any other person. It only reminds me of that promise ring in my pocket. I get up, grabbing my jeans off the floor.

  “What are you doing?” she asks, sitting up to watch me with the bedsheet wrapped around her chest.

  I pull out the ring and move back to the bed. “I bought this a while ago. I’ve just been waiting for the right moment to give it to you.” I show her the gold ring. It’s just a small band with a tiny diamond in the center. “I already know I don’t want to be with anyone else. You’re it for me, Destiny. Please, take this ring and know that one day I’ll replace it with an engagement ring. I love you, baby.”

  She smiles as she holds out her hand. I slide the ring onto her finger and she moves her hand from side to side, watching as the diamond catches the light. “I love it. I’ll never take it off,” she promises, pulling me in for another long kiss.

  I wake in the morning and the first thing I see is her left hand lying on the bed. No ring. I wonder what she did with it. Knowing her, she probably took it off and threw it into the nearest body of water. Deep inside, I know it’s only a matter of time before I put another ring on that finger of hers.

  She stirs in my arms and I tighten my hold on her. Her eyes flutter open, brilliant blue staring back at me.

  “Let me take you out today. What do you have going on?”

  She stretches and shrugs. “I need to go by the house and check o
n my parents—make sure they don’t need any help.”

  “How’s the farm holding up without your dad?” I ask.

  “My cousin comes by to feed and water the horses, but I overheard him talking to my mom about selling most of them. My mom wants to keep Daddy’s horse, because he likes to feed and pet him. Today the stalls need mucking and the horses need some exercise.”

  “I’m coming with you. You can check on your parents and I’ll muck the stalls. Then we can go for a ride and let the horses stretch their legs.”

  “Really?” She smiles up at me and I nod.

  “Come on, we have a long day ahead of us.”

  We both move to get dressed, but I forgot to throw our wet clothes into the dryer last night. I toss her a pair of my basketball shorts and a T-shirt that comes down to her knees.

  When we walk into her parents’ house, her mom gives her a funny look as she takes in her ensemble, but then she sees me and gets distracted.

  “Is that Wyatt Slade?” she asks, rushing toward me with outstretched arms.

  I hug her. “Yes, ma’am. How have you been?”

  She pulls away and starts fussing with her hair. It’s amusing to see that she still has a crush on me. “Oh, I’m just fine. What brings you all the way out here?”

  “I ran into Destiny and she happened to mention that the stalls need mucking. I’ve got two good hands.” I hold them up, showing her my palms.

  “Yes, you do. Everything you need is in the barn. You get to work and I’ll bring out some sweet tea and some lunch.”

  “Mama, he’s fine. We just ate.”

  “Shush it. He’s always hungry for my cookin’, ain’t that right?” she looks up at me.

  “Yes, ma’am,” I say, turning for the door.

  I manage to get one stall cleaned out before Destiny is carrying over a pitcher of iced tea and a plate of sandwiches.

  “Mama wanted to bring these out herself, but I talked her out of it.” She smiles and shakes her head. “I can’t believe she still gets all jittery around you.”

  I laugh. “I do have a way with women, you know,” I tease, sitting down beside her and grabbing a glass of tea.

  She hands me a sandwich and picks up one for herself. She takes a big bite and I see that it’s peanut butter and jelly. I laugh. “Some things never change.”

  “Mama wants you to stay for dinner. She thinks Daddy will enjoy seeing you.”

  I nod. “What about you?”

  She looks up at me, face full of questions.

  “Do you want me to stay for dinner?” I ask.

  She tears her eyes from mine, looking down at her sandwich. Finally, she nods. “I would like that.”

  I shoot her a smile. “Then I’ll stay.”

  Ten

  Destiny

  After Wyatt and I eat our sandwiches, I take everything back in while he goes to finish the stalls. I help Mama change Daddy’s bedsheets, I clean the downstairs bathroom, and help her throw a roast in the oven for dinner. With everything done for a while, she goes to lie down and I head back outside. Wyatt is still mucking one of the stalls, but now, his shirt is off and thrown over one of the railings. His back and arms flex with his movements, only making me squeeze my thighs together to delay the flood of want I’m sure will come.

  I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to this man, but I also don’t care anymore. I tell myself not to worry about creating a label for what we are. There’s no sense in counting my chickens before they hatch. I’m worried that putting a label on us will confuse me further. I still haven’t forgiven him for prom, and I don’t know if I ever will. Not only did I lose my boyfriend that night, but I lost my best friend, plus the wonderful memories of looking back on my senior prom. Those memories, and all this time I’ve spent running, are things I’ll never get back. I don’t know if I can forgive, but I know I can try to forget, especially if he’s here with me.

  He catches me watching him and shoots me a grin and a wink, making me giggle. He tosses the shovel. “See something you like, sweetheart?”

  I bite my lower lip. “Well, you know how much I love watching my man work with horse shit,” I joke, feeling my face flush when I catch the term I used: my man.

  He quirks an eyebrow. “‘Your man’? I like the sound of that.” He reaches out and grabs my wrist, pulling me against his sweaty chest.

  “Eww, you’re sweaty,” I say, trying to get away, but not trying all that hard because the man is sexy.

  “You’re not going anywhere,” he says, lips closing in on mine. My heart starts pounding a little harder.

  I pull away and smack him playfully. “Let’s get these horses some exercise.”

  I start heading toward my dad’s horse to get him saddled up, as Wyatt looks over the other horses and makes quick work of saddling another one. We both climb up, and I have to admit he looks really good.

  “Wanna race?” I ask, knowing I have the faster horse.

  He scoffs. “You’ll lose.”

  “How much you wanna bet?” I ask, lifting my brows.

  He thinks it over for a minute. “If I win, you go out on a date with me.”

  “And if I win?”

  He shrugs. “Whatever you want.”

  This could be fun. I smile. “If I win, we’ll still go out on that date, but you’ll be dressed like a woman. Deal?”

  He laughs and shakes his head. “Fine, but there’s no way I’m losing. Ain’t that right, Honey?” He pats the horse. “Honey and I have got this in the bag.”

  “First to the pond?”

  He nods and gathers the reins.

  “On your mark. Get set. Go!” Our horses take off, galloping across the field. The wind in my hair feels amazing with the sun high in the sky, warming it. I’m in the lead and I can hear Honey getting closer, but I force Thunder to go faster. Honey is fast, but there’s no racing Thunder. He’ll beat every horse we have. Daddy used to barrel race him back in the day. Though it’s been a while since he’s run like this, he’s loving it. I can feel it.

  In the blink of the eye, I see the lake getting closer and closer to me. As we approach, I pull back on the reins and Thunder slows to a stop at the water’s edge.

  I laugh when Wyatt stops next to us, both horses leaning down to drink. “So, tomorrow night?”

  “Fuck,” he groans, throwing his head back. “Tomorrow night,” he agrees, causing me to laugh harder.

  “I already know the perfect thing for you to wear.”

  He laughs and rubs his eyes. “You’re going to put me in a dress, aren’t you?”

  I can’t do anything but laugh until tears are streaming down my cheeks and I’m breathless.

  When my laughing dies down, I look over at him and he’s just sitting on top of his horse, watching me with a small smile on his face.

  “What are you staring at?”

  “You’re beautiful when you laugh like that.”

  I roll my eyes. “Yeah, right. I bet I look real good with mascara running down my cheeks.”

  “You’ve always had a way of stealing my breath when you laugh.”

  I can’t hold back the smile that forms from his words. “Come on, let’s go for a ride.” I tug on the reins and direct the horse to the trail on my right. As we ride on the trail, we finally get a chance to talk about what we’ve each been doing since high school.

  “So, what have you been up to?” I ask him. “You travel a lot?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been lucky enough to be able to work remotely, so I’ve been traveling, seeing the world. A lot of times, I’ll check out local bars and introduce them to our product.”

  “That’s awesome. I have to admit, I checked out your Facebook page. You have a lot of pictures on there. Some beautiful beaches and gorgeous women.”

  He lets out a nervous laugh. “They were just women I ran into on the beach or in the bar. They weren’t all . . .”

  “Fuck buddies?” I answer for him.

  He shakes his head. “No,
” he answers, plain and simple.

  I can feel the awkwardness setting in. “If you don’t want to talk about this, it’s fine. I was just thinking that if we’re going to be doing . . . whatever it is we’re doing, it should be discussed.”

  He clears his throat. “There have been a few, but not nearly as many as I made it seem. That was all for appearances.”

  I nod. “Got it.”

  “What about you? How many guys have you been with since me?”

  “A few,” I lie. Sure, I’ve dated, but I haven’t been with anyone other than Wyatt. Ever. I gave him my virginity and haven’t been with anyone since. I couldn’t let my guard down long enough. I couldn’t even think about letting another man touch me—not while I was still in love with Wyatt.

  “Any I know?”

  I shake my head. “Any I know?”

  He pulls his eyes away from the trail to look down at the reins in his hands. “I had a thing with a girl in town for a while after you left for college. I broke things off with her when I decided to travel.”

  “Who was it?”

  “Are you sure you want to know?”

  “Of course I want to know,” I answer, already running through names in my head.

  “Ashely Smithston,” he says quietly, already looking like he’s going to flinch.

  “Ashely Smithston? Are you kidding me, Wyatt?” I nearly yell, and he flinches.

  “I know, I know.” He hangs his head.

  “Ashely was the biggest whore in high school!”

  He laughs. “I know. I’m not proud of it, okay?”

  I shake my head, feeling irritated. I knew she was going to try to snatch him up the moment I left town. She always did have a thing for him—always flirting with him right in front of me. “Of all the people, you had to pick her?”

  He shrugs. “I was heartbroken; what do you want from me? I wasn’t feeling like myself and she was there. She was always there, no matter where I went. It was like she had a tracking device on me or something.”

  “Probably did, just waiting to catch you at your weakest moment. So, was it just a hookup or did you two actually date?”