by Maisey Yates
“Go on,” Kate said, looking at Connor. “Hit him.”
“Sorry, Kate,” Connor said. “Jack would have to do something pretty bad for me to punch him. Seeing as I didn’t punch him the time he talked us into skinny-dipping and we got caught by those older girls...”
“You talk about that like it’s my fault. It was embarrassing for me, too,” Jack said.
“You were not embarrassed,” Eli said. “You hit on them. You were a scrawny, naked thirteen-year-old hitting on seventeen-year-olds. You had no shame then, and you have no shame now.”
“That is what my headstone will say.”
Kate shook her head. “You won’t even punch him for your own sister.”
“He isn’t allowed to,” Sadie said. “Because Jack might bleed on the floor. And everything is perfect. I do not have time to go scrubbing bloodstains out of wooden planks.”
“There you go,” Connor said. “The most compelling reason of all not to punch Jack. Sadie would get mad at me, and I am afraid of Sadie.”
“Rightfully so,” Sadie said, making a severe expression that wasn’t all that severe. “Okay, enough standing around. Jack, you’re supposed to be supervising the meat.”
A lopsided grin crossed Jack’s face. “Okay, Sadie. I guess I will go supervise the meat.” He raised his can of soda in salute and walked back out of the barn.
“Eli,” Sadie said, “you probably need to put on something you haven’t been working in. And I probably do, too.”
“Right,” Eli said.
Kate moved toward the barn door. “I might go and see if they need more help with the food,” she said, stepping out.
“I guess we’ll just stay here and wait for people to start arriving,” Connor said.
“Okay, we’ll be back in about an hour,” Sadie said, grabbing Eli’s hand and leading him from the barn.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Liss turned to Connor. “They are just escaping to have sex, aren’t they?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Connor said.
Liss cleared her throat, unhappy to discover that the awkwardness had not escaped the room along with the others. “Everything looks...nice,” she said.
“Are you okay? You’ve been very quiet. In fact, I don’t think you’ve said anything for the past twenty minutes.”
“Sure I have. I asked if you thought Eli and Sadie were going to...you know.”
“What’s up, Liss?”
She sighed. “Well, I knew already that you weren’t drinking. And it’s hard for me to know what to do in front of everyone else. And now that I think about it, I was probably looking a lot more conspicuous than if I had just tried to fake surprise and join in. But I kind of forgot how to act naturally.” She made an exasperated noise. “No, you know, the thing is I didn’t forget how to act naturally. It’s just that what feels natural now isn’t something I can do in public.”
Connor’s eyes darkened. “Oh, yeah? What feels natural to you?”
“This,” she said, closing the distance between them and kissing him.
“Feels good to me, too,” he said, a smile curving his lips.
“We’ll figure it out.” She had to believe that. The alternative didn’t bear consideration.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE ENTIRE TOWN of Copper Ridge appeared to have turned up at Eli’s party. At least as far as the town was concerned, Eli had the vote. But they would have to wait and see what the county decided.
Dinner had been eaten, dancing had been going on for quite some time and most of the pie that had been spread out on the long tables inside the barn had been eaten, too.
And the countdown to the announcement was winding down.
Eli was ahead in the count with most precincts reporting, but Connor knew his brother wouldn’t start celebrating until it was more of a certainty.
Still, Connor figured they would be calling it soon. Even if the counting didn’t finish for another few hours, Eli was ahead by enough of a margin that there would be no way for his opponent to close the gap.
A local camera crew had assembled to film the results, TVs mounted to the walls playing continuous footage of ever-growing percentages. Measures that were passing and failing, city council positions and, of course, the race between Eli Garrett and David Wright for the position of Logan County sheriff.
Eli had a lead of over ten points, but even with that level of certainty, Connor felt nervous. Because there was a lot at stake here for his brother, and he found he cared a whole hell of a lot more than he’d anticipated he might.
It was kind of refreshing. To care about something more than making it through the day.
To feel all right about the prospect of going to bed, and what dreams might find him there.
The screen on the television changed back to the news anchors’ faces, with percentages on the side.
Sadie stood up and started to clank her fork on the side of a Mason jar, trying to get some quiet in the barn. But the noise continued, everyone oblivious to what was going on around them. She tried again, this time clinking more insistently.
Suddenly, a high-pitched whistle cut through the din. Connor turned toward the sound and saw Kate climbing up onto her chair, planting her boots firmly where she had just been sitting. “Hey!” she shouted. “Be quiet now, my brother is about to win an election.”
She tugged down on the brim of her hat, nodded her head and sat.
Connor turned to Liss, who was sitting next to him. “Damn, I could use her to herd cows.”
Sadie turned the volume up on the TV and stood next to Eli, her arms wrapped around his waist as everyone turned their attention to the announcements.
Measure 62 passed and so did measure 64. Connor felt slightly guilty at the realization that he had no clue what in hell those were. Measure 47 failed. Most of the city council positions remained the same. And when the results for sheriff flashed up on the screen, it was with a kind of anticlimactic speed. There was no pause or drumroll, just a clear and quick announcement that Eli Garrett was the new sheriff of Logan County.
A cheer rose up through the barn, hats flying through the air, and the sound of thunderous applause echoing off the walls. Eli grabbed Sadie and kissed her, dipping her low, which only caused everyone around to cheer louder.
He looked over at Liss, and he found he wanted to kiss her, too. But he didn’t.
Instead, he stood and joined in the clapping and boot stomping.
Liss was beaming, and he could’ve sworn he’d never seen a more beautiful sight. “He did it!” she shouted over everyone else.
He couldn’t kiss her, but hugging her, putting his arm around her, would be normal enough. She was right; it was hard to know what to do.
He moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, squeezing her tight. She leaned in, putting her hand on his chest, and he felt a rush of desire flood through him.
He pulled away from her and she looked at him, hurt and confusion visible in her eyes.
He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “It’s too much for me to handle.”
“Then maybe we should go somewhere more private.”
He should say no. He should absolutely not sneak out of the barn during his brother’s moment of triumph. Not for something as base as sex. Saving a kitten from a tree, or a puppy from a sinkhole, sure. But sex? No.
“Let’s go,” he said.
Of course he was going to do it. Whether he should or not. He couldn’t say no to this. Couldn’t say no to her. And he didn’t want to.
She gave him a look that lit him on fire from his chest down to his toes.
And then she turned and walked out of the barn, weeding through the crowd of people. And he followed. Because he could do nothing else.
He tipped his hat and smiled, and tried to look as if he was paying attention as people greeted him, all the while keeping an eye on Liss. The back of her. From the glossy waves of copper hair to her perfectly rounded ass.
He didn’t want to lose sight of her.
She managed to slip through the thickest part of the crowd, and he stopped making eye contact with people. No, now he was just busting through. Every man for himself.
And to hell with them if they thought he was rude. He didn’t care. Not right now. All that mattered was Liss. All that mattered was this.
She flicked a glance at him over her shoulder, the Mason jar lights from overhead casting a golden glow onto her hair, making it shimmer like it was on fire. He hoped she was on fire. Because God knew he was. He was burning. Burning like his barn, and he didn’t know if there was any chance of him ever being rebuilt. But if not, if in the end all that was left was a big pile of ash, it would be worth it. For this. For her.
He was moving forward, one foot after the other. Him after her. After a feeling that he’d thought was long dead. She made him want. Made him need. Made him crave when for a whole lot of years he’d been trying to sink into the cushions of his couch and dissolve completely.
She made him want to feel when he’d spent years bathed in an alcohol haze. He didn’t want a haze when he was with Liss. He wanted her, all of her, burning hot and bright and sharp. Pleasurable, painful, anything and everything.
And that scared him. Scared him to death.
But there was still nothing he could do but follow her.
They escaped the lights in the crowd, the noise and music fading behind them. And when he was confident no one was around, he closed the distance between them and took her hand in his. She looked up at him, her smile stoking the fire inside him. He loved that he could make her smile like that. He could even smile back, and it wasn’t hard.
They walked down the dirt road that led to the old barn. He didn’t use it for anything anymore, and the red paint was faded, worn and revealing the natural wood planks beneath. There were a couple of holes in the roof, which he’d been meaning to fix, because he didn’t want the place to fall into total disrepair.
This was the barn that had been the center of his father’s ranching operation. The one that had become Connor’s responsibility at a very early age. Part of the reason why the Garrett Ranch lived inside him. Why the dirt on his hands had settled down beneath his skin, gotten into his blood. Yes, he’d poured too much into it and not enough into his marriage, but the fact remained he would always pour into this place.
Because it was home. Because it lived all around him and in him.
And coming here with Liss now felt right. Possibly because they were going to have sex, and nothing at all felt wrong about that right now. Seeing as he had spent so much time feeling as if everything was wrong, he would take this whatever the significance was.
He pushed open the side door and pulled her inside and up against his body.
“Finally,” she said, the word almost a purr.
It slid down his spine, settling in the pit of his stomach and down lower, his cock getting hard just thinking about kissing her, touching her, having her. “My thoughts exactly,” he said, holding on to her hips tight, walking them both backward against the rough wood siding. This was what he wanted. To screw her up against a wall. To show her just how desperate he felt. Just how much he needed her. Another thing he’d never done before.
Because he was always lost, halfway somewhere else, his brain on the cows, the weather, the land. But he was in it right now, in it with her, and he couldn’t spare a single thought for anything that wasn’t Liss.
“I have a feeling this is going to be quick,” he whispered, kissing the side of her neck and reveling in the sound she made.
“That’s fine. I’m feeling pretty quick myself,” she said.
He pushed her top up, exposing her lace-covered breasts. He tugged the bra down, exposing her skin, her perfect, rosy nipples. Damn, he loved breasts. He couldn’t believe he had gone this long without seeing them.
More specifically, he loved Liss’s breasts. So damn much that looking at her hurt. So damn much that he doubted he would ever be able to look at her again without thinking about her like this. Without picturing this.
He pushed that thought out of his mind, because it was irrelevant right now. Because right now she was getting naked for him. Right now he could look at her if he wanted to. He could taste her. And he did. Lowering his head and sliding the flat of his tongue over her nipple. She arched against him, a hoarse cry escaping her lips, and he sucked the tightened bud in deep, grazing his teeth over it lightly, relishing the moment she dug her fingernails into his shoulders.
He unbuckled her belt, undid the snap on her jeans and pushed them down her hips. “Those are gonna have to come off all the way, honey.”
She made quick work of undressing while he shoved his pants halfway down his hips, taking his wallet out of his back pocket and fishing out a condom and rolling it on.
He cupped her ass and slid his hand down to her thigh, hooking her leg up over his hip, opening her to him as he thrust deep inside. He pressed his lips to her neck, holding her tight as he withdrew and thrust harder. “I’ve never done this with anyone before,” he whispered. “I’ve never wanted someone so badly I had to sneak out of a party, fuck them up against a wall.”
He didn’t talk to women like this. He didn’t do shit like this. But someone had broken free inside him, a beast that was on the loose now, prowling around, chasing after him while he tried desperately to stay ahead of the jaws threatening to close tight around his throat.
She shuddered beneath him, rolling her hips in time with his movements. That, combined with the tight, hot clasp of her body, sending him straight to the edge. He held on tight for as long as he could before he couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Connor.” She shuddered, her internal muscles tightening around his cock as she came hard.
Her name on his lips, the force of her release, cut his control loose. His blood was roaring in his ears, his release coming on with all the force of a freight train. And all he could do was hang on tight while he was consumed.
When it was over, he was shaking, unable to catch his breath. But so was she.
He kissed her lips, moving away from her and disposing of the condom in a bin in the corner.
“Aren’t you worried about foxes?”
He turned to face her. “Who the hell can think about foxes with you standing there looking like that?” he asked.
“Well, a couple weeks ago you could.” She moved away from the wall, wincing. “Now you really will be picking splinters out of my ass. And my shoulders.”
“Shit,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she said, bending down and collecting her jeans, putting them on quickly as she righted her top. “I’ve never done anything like that, either. With Marshall it was all comfortable. And...I should not be talking about this right now.”
“Why not?” he asked. “I always talk about my stuff. Talk about your stuff.”
“There is not much stuff. I mean, I stayed in a relationship for far longer than I should have, because...because I didn’t know what other relationship I would ever have. There wasn’t one I wanted to be in more. At least, not one I could have. And he...he likes to be taken care of. He needed it. And that made me feel needed. And when I feel needed I feel secure. At least, I did. Because if someone needs me they can’t get rid of me. And dammit, I should have wanted to get rid of him. Instead, he left me. And he took my truck and ruined my credit. Because I am a pushover who put up with a whiny baby of a boyfriend who was really bad in bed.”
“I’m better in bed than he is, right?”
“On riverbank, against barn wall. And I really shouldn’
t prop up your ego like this.” She pointed her finger at him, and he reached out and grabbed it, tugging her close and nipping the tip. Her eyes widened. “You bit me.”
“And you liked it,” he said, smiling.
He liked this. The intensity, followed by talking, and then something fun, funny. It was all the pieces of his relationship with Liss coming together and making something that he hadn’t even known could exist.
“Fine,” she said, leaning forward and kissing him. “I liked it.”
“Yeah, you did,” he said, kissing her back. “Never settle. I mean it.”
“I won’t.”
He cupped her chin and angled his head, kissing her deeper, longer. He could drown in this, in her, and be happy with that.
The sound of the door opening caused him and Liss to break apart, jumping back as though they’d had cold water thrown on them. Jack was standing there, a woman Connor couldn’t name standing with him, both their eyes wide.
“Hi,” Jack said, looking between Connor and Liss.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Connor asked, the question coming out a little bit harsher than he’d intended. But seriously, what the hell was he doing here?
“I...” He indicated the woman standing next to him. “I think we had the same idea.”
“Jack,” the woman said, “I’m going to go.”
“No, don’t go,” Jack said, with very little conviction to the words.
“I didn’t realize we would have an audience.” And with that she turned on her heel and walked back down the path.
“Jack,” Liss said, her voice small. “Don’t you need to go after your...”
“No. She’ll be fine. I don’t even know her name. So this is where I say what the hell?” He turned his focus entirely onto the two of them.
“There is no hell to what the,” Connor said, clenching his teeth. “You didn’t see anything.”
“Fine,” Jack said. “I’m only one of your best friends, and I would’ve thought we could talk like adults.”
