"I know. We can leave in five minutes if you want, or if you want to stay for a drink, we can. It's totally up to you."
She pursed her lips, gazing inside the lighted kitchen. I knew she was doing this for me and it made my heart swell.
"C'mon." I held my hand to her and she took it, squeezing me hard enough to make me flinch.
I led her inside where Mom and Sage set an extra spot at the table, and Jake held Macie in his lap while she gnawed on a crunchy piece of crust. Everyone looked to us when we entered and Dax's clammy grip tightened.
"Dax, this is my family. Mom. Jake. Macie. And you know Sage."
"Hey, Dax. Good to see you again." Sage stood up, her smile genuine as she grabbed my arm, holding on to me. "Is Willa behaving?"
"Sometimes." Dax smirked, though the grip she had on my hand nearly crushed me. I tickled her palm and she relaxed a bit.
"What can I get you? Beer? Soda? Something harder?"
Dax glanced at me, and I brought her hand to my mouth to kiss it. "We're going to head out in a minute, Sage."
Dax seemed to relax at that notion and she nodded. "Thanks though."
"Dakota," Mom piped up and it drew all of our attention. "Every Sunday we have dinner together here. Would you like to join us?" Her smile, endearing as always, made me completely nauseous. I looked to Dax, wide-eyed as I awaited her answer.
"I'll think about it, Doctor Hart. Thank you," she said, as eloquently as ever.
"Aunt Willa, your girlfriend is very pretty." Macie giggled, covering her mouth with her hands.
I laughed along with the others while giving Dax's hand a squeeze. "She is, isn't she, little babe?"
"Uh huh." Macie's grin continued while she eyed Dax. "I like her and her gun."
Dax chuckled at that, drawing her gaze from the kid to me. "Cute."
"I trained her well," I said.
"Alright, loud mouth munchkin." Jake scooped up Macie and tossed her over his shoulder. "Off to bed with you. Say goodnight to everyone."
"Goodnight to everyone!" she shrieked and waved like a maniac as he toted her away.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay for a drink?" asked Sage, glancing between the two of us. "Or some pizza? We have a lot."
"I'm okay, thank you."
"Thanks for coming by, Dax," said Sage, offering her a smile as she leaned against the table. "Think about Sunday."
"I will. Nice meeting all of you," she said as I led her away from them toward the door.
Once outside, Dax didn't release my hand until we made it to her SUV. She opened the passenger door for me and I climbed in after grabbing my duffle bag from the back of my truck. Her quiet continued until she joined me in the driver's side and started the engine.
"That was horrifying," she said.
"It was not. Macie called you very pretty." I laughed, leaning over the console to kiss her cheek. "She's right."
She grumbled, but let me dote on her. "I'm keeping you all weekend for that torture."
"You know my mom is going to hound us about dinner, right?"
"I remember your mom. She and my mom were good friends," she said and drove us away from the house. "And my doctor when I was little."
"She called you Dakota."
"I know." She scrunched up her nose. "No one does."
"Do you hate it?"
"Not really. Just when parents call me Dakota it makes me nervous."
"I think that whole ordeal made you nervous. And my hand is going to bruise later." I wiggled my fingers at her and she laughed.
"I can't believe I agreed to that."
"Me either. I do like showing you off a little…" I admitted and she glanced at me.
"Why?"
"Because you're important to me."
She fell quiet for a moment while we drove down the road toward her farm. "You're important to me, too."
It took us another fifteen minutes to arrive and we settled into the living room like usual. I set my bag down by the sofa and watched as Dax headed off to the kitchen. She poured out some cat food, then returned to me, sans boots and with a large ice pack in her hand.
"What's that for?"
"Had a rough warrant," she said, dropping down on the sofa and setting the ice pack over her stomach. "Bastard elbowed me in the ribs before he ran."
"Why didn't you tell me that?" I nearly panicked and sat beside her. "Let me see."
"I'm fine."
"Did you catch the guy at least?" I waved my hands at her stomach. "Up with the shirt."
"I did. I had backup." She lifted her T-shirt to show me the bruise on her side. It didn't look too terrible yet, though it was right over her ribs which I knew must've been painful.
"How much pain are you in?"
"A little."
"Let me check you?" I shifted closer and she nodded, though her lips pursed the way they did when she was nervous. "When I examine you, it might hurt a little. I don't want it to be a surprise."
"I've had a cracked rib before," she said, voicing her understanding.
"Okay." I examined her side, checking her ribs and muscles around it. As expected, Dax's core muscles poked to the surface, giving her the toned look that made my insides quiver with delight. My fingers grazed her side, though all of her felt intact. "No breaks. Just bruised."
"Thanks, Doctor Hart the Third." She smiled at me, dropping her head back on the sofa as she put the ice pack back after lowering her shirt.
"Want me to get you some ibuprofen or something?"
"I took some on the way home, but thank you, Will." She held her hand to me and I took it. "I'm okay. Honest."
"I forget that your job can be dangerous."
"It can, though not as much as it used to be. I'm very part-time now."
"I kind of guessed."
"I stopped being a cop after everything. How could I trust the department after that? So I joined the U.S. Marshals and flipped them the bird." She smirked while she said it. "I like the part-time piece of it."
"I can tell." I pulled off my boots and set them by my bag. When I made to sit down again, she held her hand up.
"Don't stop there. Keep going."
"What?" I laughed, holding my hands at my sides palm up.
"Keep going. The taking things off." She gestured up and down my body. "Go on."
"You mean not just my shirt?" As expected, I pulled my shirt off my head and my bra followed. Dax's eyes settled on my breasts and it softened her expression like she'd just downed a mouthful of tranquilizers. Seeing me topless soothed her, and I was beginning to understand this.
"Yes…"
I unbuttoned my jeans, her eyes following my movements, and then stepped out of them as they slid down my hips. I pulled the ponytail from my hair and watched as a glaze fell over her eyes. Her lips parted and she swallowed hard while watching me like I was the best drug in the world. I tucked my thumbs into the waist of my panties and paused there.
"You're sure?"
"I want to see you. Please."
"You can see me anytime you want." I slithered out of my panties and stood there, allowing her to see all of me. The smile that made it to her face also brought shimmering to her eyes. She held her hand to me and I took it.
"You're incredibly beautiful, Willa. Completely unblemished."
"And less hairy. Last time you snuck up on me." I sat beside her and she laughed hard, her face reddening with her amusement.
"I like you however you are. Hairy or unhairy," she said, then nodded to the pillows. "Lie back."
"Bossy." But I did it, and sprawled on my back against the pillows, draping my legs over her lap. A soft sigh left her, and her hand fell to my naked thighs.
"You're not shy at all…"
"Not with you."
"Why not with me?"
"Because you appreciate it. What if I asked you to take off your shirt?"
"I would…"
"Will you?" I smiled at her, and she nodded.
With one hand, she
tore it off her head and tossed it on top of my clothes on the floor. Her black bra cradled her breasts as she set the ice pack aside.
"Come here, honey." I held my hands to her and, without hesitating for once, she rolled to her knees and crawled over me. Instead of lying beside me, she nudged my legs apart to lie between them despite her bruised rib. The second her bare stomach pressed against my pussy, a hard quiver tore up my center.
"Hmm. Feels like you like that," she said, resting her chin on my chest. "Your body is very warm."
"Arousal will do that." I tucked her hair behind her ears and she kissed my hand when it neared her lips.
"I'll go with you to the parade and street fair tomorrow," she said, out of nowhere.
"You will?" I grinned as I gazed down at her. "And we can eat all sorts of junk food from trucks?"
"Oh yeah. That's the whole reason for my agreement. Fried food and funnel cakes."
I laughed and it bounced both of us a bit. "Sold."
Her smile, lighter than it had been in recent past, brought a stroke of joy to my heart. In just the few months that I'd known her, Dax's true nature began to emerge, unlocking her from the stasis she'd been trapped in. She kissed the space between my breasts, and I bent my knees around her.
"That gun is going to leave a permanent indentation on my leg."
She laughed and pulled it from her pants to tuck between the sofa cushions. Every night that I'd stayed with her, we'd slept on the sofa. I hadn't spent more than five minutes in her bedroom yet. She placed a few more kisses on my chest along my collarbone and I gnawed at my bottom lip while running my fingers through her hair. I grazed the curve of her shoulders, and the moment my fingers tickled her back, her movements slowed but didn't cease.
"It's just me. Here with you." I repeated the gesture and she nodded. Her body shifted as her breathing picked up.
"I'm not going to be able to stop," she said, gripping my hip as she lifted me some.
"Then don't." I bit my lip as she met my gaze, and I gulped down the moan her lips on my nipple brought to me.
Dax moved up my body, capturing my mouth in a heated kiss. It stole my breath and I buried my fingers in her hair. My legs writhed with hers as she rolled her hips against me. I never wanted anyone more in my entire life and my body told the tale. Ache rattled my core, my heart slammed in my ears, and I hungered to touch her. All of her. I wanted her to melt in my palms, and to taste the sweetness of her flesh. Her tongue poked between my lips to explore my mouth and I moaned against her.
She gripped my breasts, pinching my nipples between firm fingers and rolling them with expert precision. Our kiss ended when I gasped, tossing my head back when she licked and nipped my neck. Her hand pressed my stomach, sliding downward toward my pussy and I cried out before she even touched me.
"Dax," I moaned out her name, though right before she made contact with the apex of my thighs, she stopped. My body shuddered and I nearly collapsed on the sofa. A whine made it to my throat, but I stopped it before it let loose.
She panted heavily against my chest, retreating from the urge to grab at me. Her eyes met mine and she stroked my cheeks with both of her thumbs. "I won't fuck you. Not like that."
"How then?" was all I could manage between bated breaths.
"The way you deserve," she said, brushing her lips over mine.
I couldn't stop myself from hugging her and her return embrace nearly crushed me. I wrapped my legs around her waist and she buried her face against my neck while I kissed her shoulder. My thumbs hooked into her bra, releasing her from the binding that prevented me from feeling her. She allowed it and pulled the fabric away to fall on the floor.
A sniffle left her and when she leaned back, she brushed my hair away from my face. Between my thighs, her body burned almost as much as mine. Every time she moved, her stomach rolled against my pussy and that time, I sucked in my breath.
"You're so wet," she said, laughing softly against my neck.
"Dax." I squeaked out her name and squirmed. "It's your fault. Again."
"I want you to feel good, but the right way." She kissed me once before releasing me to crawl down my body. Every inch of the way, she kissed along my skin. Between my breasts, around my navel, then the space above where I wanted her the most.
"God," I moaned, arching toward her.
Like the bossy thing she was, she pushed my thighs apart and took me as I deserved. I covered my face, nearly shouting out the pleasure that a single lash of her tongue brought. Her hands slid under my rear and she held me to her face while she kissed and sucked my folds. Every neuron in my body fired, snapping luscious pleasure through the farthest recesses of my flesh. I couldn't hold on to the sounds that rose in my throat as her lips wrapped my clit, and her tongue flicked wildly over it. My hips rocked against her, all reserve lost to the momentum of the climax she coaxed from me.
"Dax, I'm—" I cried, and lost myself in a heated burst of bliss that had me holding my breath and arching my back.
She worked me through it until I exhaled, then broke into a round of gasps as my body writhed under her affection. Lips released my clit, and her tongue lashed over my folds in slow, sensual strokes as she brought me down slowly. Sweat beaded my brow and I reached for her, my fingers in her hair.
Her attention didn't stop. Instead, she kissed my inner thighs, brushing her lips over my tender, most intimate places before resting her head on my stomach. She wrapped her arms around me, holding me to her while I did the same to her. I wanted nothing more than for her to feel the same release, the same deep pleasure that brought me a sense of connection and belonging.
When I calmed, I urged her back up my body where she grabbed me in a fierce hug, turning both of us on our side to face each other. Dax's breath puffed against my shoulder as she panted, her hands firm against my back. I kissed her cheek, and stroked the length of her torso in slow, even drags. She draped her leg over my hip then leaned back to kiss me.
I caressed her cheek, ending our kiss when she smiled. "Hi."
"Hey," she said, her smile soft though her eyes shimmered.
"I want you to feel good, too." I ran the knuckle of my index finger around her navel. Her stomach fluttered under my touch and she took my hand, bringing it to her lips.
"Not yet," she said, and I swiped the tear from her cheek.
"Not even a little?" I pouted at her, then brushed the back of my hand over her nipples. A smile curved her lips and she kissed my nose.
"Not yet."
"Okay, honey." I traced her lips with my finger and she kissed it. "Then how about I cuddle you to sleep?"
"Yes." Relief left her on the tails of her affirmation. She shifted her knee between mine so that my leg draped over her instead, then curled up against me. Her thigh pressed my core and I shuddered at the way her jeans felt against me.
"Do you sleep when I'm not here, Dax?" I pulled the blanket over us, and the way her weight fell against me, I knew she must've been exhausted.
"Not really." She curled up with me so tight that I worried I'd hurt her bruised rib. "You're a gift to me, Willa."
"How?" I caressed her arm as she let it fall against my chest. For the first time, she didn't sleep with the gun attached to her or within finger’s reach. I pressed my lips to her forehead, and she let out a soft sigh as she closed her eyes.
"Safe," she said, her voice barely a whisper.
"You're safe with me, Dax," I said, and she laced her fingers with mine. Her body grew heavier against me, and I held her as the heat between us nearly melded us together. "You're a gift to me, too, and you don't even know it."
In her sleep, a small smile tugged the corner of her mouth and it told me, that on some level, she heard what I said.
Chapter Nine
"I always consider this town exceptionally small compared to Seattle," I said to Dax as we walked from our parking spot by my sister's house to the main streets of town where the parade would take place. "Until we have a festival an
d there are forty-million people everywhere."
Dozens of people flooded the streets around us carrying camp chairs, strollers, coolers, and everything in between. In the distance, the rumbling beat of drums and fanfare filled the air.
"I'm regretting my decision to accompany you on this endeavor." She adjusted her hat as we walked side-by-side on the crunchy gravel before making it to the pavement of town.
I laughed and held my elbow out to her. "C'mon, pretty. Let's get 'er done."
"You think you're a funny little redneck, do ya?" She linked her arm with mine and scowled.
"I reckon I am."
People covered nearly every inch of downtown. Every shop, with their doors wide opened and welcoming, displayed all of their goods and services. The tea and candle shop offered free samples of their dozens of tea flavors and scented candles. Clothes and scarves sat between displays of pastries and empanadas. The mixed fragrances of sweet and savory had my mouth watering before we even hit the sidewalk.
On the other side of the long road, tents and tables interspersed between shops, alleyways, and parking lots. Nearly every inch of the sidewalks had people gathering and waiting for the parade. Unlike bigger cities, there weren't any barriers holding people back. Instead, the relaxed atmosphere had a more inclusive feel.
"Do you want something to eat?" I asked, glancing to the quiet woman gripping my arm. She shook her head and I gave her hand a pat. "If you feel the urge to bolt, just let me know and we'll bail. Okay?"
"Yeah. Same for you."
I laughed at her return. "I might take you up on that. Did you ever come to this stuff as a kid?"
"All of them. You?"
"Same. Though sometimes I was grumpy about it."
"I usually liked it," she said, pointing out an empty spot on the curb up ahead. "My dad would be happy that I came this year."
We headed in that direction between a group of folks clamoring around a falafel stand.
"Mine, too."
Dax sat on the curb, her knees bent with her elbows on them. I made to sit beside her, but she held her hand to me. "Sit in front of me."
"Right into cuddle mode? I'm in." I tucked myself between her legs and leaned back against her. She kept her elbows on her knees, her arms dangling in front of me. With her on the curb and me on the street, she could rest her head on top of mine without me blocking her view.
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