Never Stopped Loving You (22 page)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Wade pulled the swabs out and winced. His nose was swelling, would maybe bruise a little. The chance to get his arms around Kara, even for seconds before she bloodied his nose, made it worth it.

He tossed the swabs in the trash, but was careful not to touch his face or the bleeding might start back up again. It’d taken twenty minutes for it to stop. Twenty minutes of being alone in his bathroom and noticing that Kara hadn’t come back yet. Which meant she’d seen a chance to run and got the hell out of there.

When she fled the bathroom, he was on the fence about whether or not she’d return. The deep flush that had traveled all the way down her chest as she’d stepped in the bathroom was impossible to miss, even with him facing the ceiling.

He wanted to tell her welcome to his world, because every time he had to step foot in his room, he could imagine her everywhere. From bending over naked to get clean sheets to getting down on her knees and taking him between her pink lips.

What blood was left in his body filled his cock and had him groaning. He closed his eyes and tried thinking of non-Kara things so he could get back to the campout. It wasn’t even a week since she’d talked to John. To his knowledge nothing had changed about her reputation in town. That could only mean one thing: he was in for more waiting.

From everything Patrick had with Tasha, waiting still seemed more than worth it. If he could talk her into sex once every two weeks at least, the waiting would be considerably easier. That wasn’t likely to happen.

His bedroom door tipped closed and he looked up in the mirror. Kara stood in the doorway, smiling a little. She held up a bag of cookies. “There were a few left.”

“I thought you’d forgotten about me.”

Color went through her cheeks and any hope of not having his cock harden went out the window. She opened the bag and dug out a palm-size cookie. “I was in the kitchen with Whitney. Tate is settling the boys down in the tent and Whitney was picking things up.”

He reached for the bag and she brought it to him, then turned and hopped up on his bathroom countertop. He wasn’t sure what that was about, but by the looks of things, he could tug her ass to the edge of the counter, strip her pants off and have access to everything on her. Could get between her knees and taste her, or open her legs wide and stand between her thighs.

Sweat peppered across his brow and he leaned his back against the counter with enough respectable space between them. “I probably need to get back down there. This was my idea to have the kids over.”

“It was nice. I’m sure Tasha and Patrick appreciate the night alone.”

He dug a cookie out and took his time eating it, if anything to drag this out. They were in silence, both eating, but it was comfortable silence. At least for him. If it was awkward for her, she didn’t seem to show it in the way she lightly swung her feet.

She finished her cookie and dusted her hands. “I should have brought some milk to go with these.”

He was tempted to fill his mouth-rinse cup with sink water, but that might look a little desperate. So he zipped the bag closed instead and pushed off the counter. “Heading downstairs anyway.”

“Hey, Wade?”

He stopped at the door and turned back. She was still on the counter, feet still swinging. Her fingers were curled around the edges of the countertop as she looked at him and said absolutely nothing.

He figured he could leave. But he didn’t want to. “Yeah, Kara?”

“How slow do you think slow should be?”

He chuckled. “Say that five times fast.”

And that got her to smile. “I’m being serious. What is slow?”

He hoped she was talking about them, as in a possibility they’d be naked again soon, but since he wasn’t supposed to talk about that stuff and had promised to be friends only, he played dumb. “Well, a tractor in first gear is pretty slow.”

“Does it still get the job done?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Depends on the job. If you’re tilling up some hard ground, slower the better. If you’re driving across town to help someone pull their truck out of the mud, slow isn’t going to get you there.”

“So this...hard ground. How slow would you do it?”

Now he was totally and completely confused, but they were talking. Which was progress compared to some days. “If it’s hard and dry, go over it a couple times. Water it maybe. Maybe fertilize it and go over it some more until it’s richer dirt. Really depends on what you wanted to do with the dirt. If you planted something with a shallow root system, you’d do less work. Take a couple days.”

“And if it was something deep? Like potatoes?”

“Still take a few days to set that up, but potatoes are pretty well a plant-it-and-forget-it-after-they-take-off type of plants. It’s produce on top of the ground that you have to maintain. You already know that.”

She nodded. “Because of bugs and wildlife.”

“Right. Deer aren’t going to dig up my potatoes when there is a big juicy watermelon right there. Does that answer your question?”

She fidgeted with her lips. “Now I think I’m confused.”

“Good. That makes two of us. What is this about?”

“I’m really not sure where I was going with that.” Back to swinging her feet, but this time she stared at his bathroom floor. “I’ve been thinking a lot this week. About us. What we talked about, what’s happened. Where we are. What I hope happens. What could happen. What can’t happen.”

He walked forward and hugged her. Her head fit against his shoulder and arms tucked up against his side. “You think about a lot of stuff.”

“I have a lot of things I want that I could lose. It’s hard trying to figure out the right thing to do.”

Right. All the slow talk made sense again. “Take it slow. One day at a time.”

She nodded, her cheek rubbed against his chest. “That’s what I want, but I don’t want to risk losing what could happen with us by going too slow.”

That struck hard right in the center of his chest. A hard, hot ball that about broke him. “Plenty of time, Kara.”

She swallowed, hands slid down his sides and she sat back. “But what if there’s not?”

“But I’m telling you there is.”

“But what if a pretty girl walks onto the farm tomorrow?”

He could already say there would be one, because Kara would be here. “You have a lot of ‘what if’ questions.”

“I know. You should see the ones that come out when I’m trying to sleep.”

He chucked her under the chin. “You’ll get there.”

She nodded. “I’ve thought a lot about what you said too. About what others have said. I can think all day long and miss my chance.”

“I told you—”

“No, I mean, I could think forever and never do, and then one day I could look back and regret never doing anything.”

“You’re confusing me again.” He cupped her shoulders. “Say what you want.”

“I want to try. With us.”

He watched her, but wouldn’t jump the gun on what he hoped that meant. “Try what?”

“A relationship. Take a chance on us. A very slow-moving chance.”

He pulled his hands off her before he pulled her to his chest. “Last week I thought we were doing this. Then the next day, you changed your mind. I can wait. Or we can try. But I won’t be jerked around.”

“I’m sorry.” Her eyes got big and a little watery at the corners. “That’s not what I want, not what I wanted to do to you then. I’m not sure I want the whole dinner and movie four times a week and stuff. I can’t say for sure I even want to window-shop downtown while we hold hands. I still want to fix my reputation and I don’t want us jumping together so fast that it could ruin what little good I’ve done. Slow and quiet and easy. Can we do that?”

It sounded like she wanted sex only and he was all on board. It was something. And he would take it. He stepped back between her thighs and cupped her face, turning her up to face him. “Slow, quiet and easy. That’s all?”

She nodded. “No expectations about two weeks from now or long-term plans.”

“Well, Mom would probably like to see you at the holidays if you’re still hanging around town.”

She grinned. “I’m in for that, no matter where we are, because Whitney already said it’s okay for me to be here. She said as long as I don’t become a douche, then I was welcome here no matter what. Oh, and I guess as long as you don’t become one too.”

He’d remember to hug his sister later for that. For now, he leaned forward and touched his lips to Kara’s. She tasted of sweet cookie crumbs and she shuddered in his arms as she wrapped around him.

He grabbed her by the hips and lifted, carrying her to his bedroom. “We don’t have a lot of time because we have to get back downstairs.”

“I know.”

“So this is going to be fast.”

“Yes.”

His heart pounded against his ribs. “But tomorrow night we’ll fix that.”

“Yes. I’ll be here.”

He smiled and sat. “Good.”

He started to roll her beneath him, but she pushed on his shoulders and straddled his lap. “I think after the beating you’ve taken, it’s time for some TLC. Even if it’s quick.”

He grabbed her shirt and ripped it overhead. “No need to waste time on slow undressing then.”

She laughed and pushed off him, stripping down to nothing. Bare as she was the last time he saw her in his room. Only this time would be different. It would be real. And as long as she was giving him something, he could make this last, would hold her to him and never let her run away afraid. So long as she at least gave him this.

He pushed off his pants and boxers and reached in his nightstand for a condom and took care of that seconds before she was back across his lap, weight on her arms and hair falling down around his face. She leaned forward and left a whisper of a kiss to his nose.

“I am sorry about this.”

He grinned. “Was worth it.”

“Boys.” She covered his mouth with hers and he got his hands back on the silky, smooth skin that curved around her waist and to the rounded edges of her hips. Her nose bumped his and he winced, holding his breath in prayer he wasn’t going to start bleeding all over again.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “Maybe for tonight I better just kiss the rest of you.”

She started down his neck, kissed his collarbones and then the center of his chest. He was afraid she might be going lower. To his stomach, to his cock that was waiting and hoping for the softness of her mouth, but they really didn’t have time for that. Last thing he wanted was for his brother to come looking for him and interrupt before they got started.

He cupped her hips and guided her to him. Her hips curved. Wet center stroked along his length and left his toes curling. He held her firm and she stroked against him a second time all on her own. Her kiss moved over his throat. Hot breath fanned in his ear and the sensual tickle worked all the way through him.

“Kara.” His tongue was thick and heavy in his mouth.

“I know. No time.” She lifted her hips and he guided her down. Her opening kissed the tip of him and slowly took him in on one tight slide that had a moaning purr vibrating out of her throat.

It was a dorky thought, but this right here was his idea of heaven. Kara across his lap. Her warm breath on his neck. Completely naked and, best of all, completely his. Her hair was still pulled up, but he fixed that fast enough with a tug of the pink band. Her brown hair tumbled down across her shoulders, the ends stroked over his chest and he got his hands in the thick strands.

He could take a good bit longer with her across him like this. With her tight heat grabbing him, but he thrust up for lack of time. She rocked against him, pushing on his chest until sitting up. Pretty, tight nipples bobbed and bounced in front of his face with their movements.

A red blush swept across her skin, flushed her from face to chest to stomach. Her thighs squeezed against his hips. Nails pinched in his shoulders. A man could get used to this. Used to it a lot.

Her lips parted. Insides squeezed him tight. Lower lip taken between her teeth. He thrust up and she shuddered, crashing his chest. Heavy breath rushed over his chest as he thrust and rocked her hips. His own orgasm rolled through him. Tingled every last nerve ending until there was nothing but him and her and no worries of anything else. Exactly how it should be.

He wrapped his arms around her and stroked the length of her spine up and down, knowing that time was limited. While he had her, he closed his eyes and held her to him until she shivered. “Cold?”

She sat up with a warm smile on her face. “Maybe a little.”

He cupped her hips and rubbed up her waist and back down. “We need to get up anyway.”

Her thumb moved up and down a small path on his side. “I know. Whitney and I are supposed to go through my online orders tonight and look at what all I need. And then do a little updating.”

“Fun?”

She smiled, leaned forward and left a kiss over his chest. “Kind of is. Exciting to see things picking up. And Tasha has been requesting all sorts of flavors for jam to use in the store. She’s selling my jars there.” She laughed. “And making money off that.”

He frowned. “Why would anyone buy from her for more money than you just down the road?”

“Because through her they get to pretend they’re not buying from me and my naughty ways that Maddy’s spreading around.”

He pinched her naked bottom. “I happen to like your naughty ways.”

She laughed.

“Eventually the others will come around.”

“I think so. And until then, if they want to pay more for my jelly through Tasha, that’s their problem.”

“Before you know it, you’ll be canning more than we can grow.”

Her nails pulled shivers up on his sides. “I doubt it, but Whitney said if we needed to, we could import some cases from some of the larger commercial Chester Farms.”

And there went his sister being smart and thinking again. Definitely needed to give her something. Something more than a hug, he would imagine. “That’s why Whitney is in charge of the books and the running of things and I just maintain the farming part. I don’t want to, but we need to get up before Tate comes looking for me.”

“I know.” She didn’t move.