Page 35

Chapter 35

Ford

I don’t want to move. Staying here wrapped in her supple body is where I want to stay.

For the last two days since the sheriff’s office we’ve hidden away, baring our souls and pretending the rest of the world doesn’t exist.

Every moment I spend with her makes me crave her more.

Her laugh, her smell, the idle way she spins her wrist when she’s excited about a story.

When I stroke her cheek lightly, a lazy smile pulls up the corner of her full lips and she turns towards my palm.

“Five more minutes?” she murmurs, then threads her fingers through mine and pulls them close to her neck.

I can’t argue, so nestle my thighs against hers, holding her as her breathing levels and spills down my arm.

My dark tattoos are a stark contrast to her pale skin.

I almost feel guilty now, the ink a reminder of the brutal past.

Maybe I should have them covered? Removed? What would I get?

As I mull over ideas, my bladder begins to get the best of me. Slowly easing my way out of bed, I tug the blanket up to cover her naked beauty and slide on a pair of sweatpants.

The obsession I harbor for her makes my chest ache to even leave the room. How am I going to survive going back to that cabin without her?

I won’t.

I’ll quit the ranch before I leave her alone again. Mason will just have to understand.

Roscoe stretches, then follows me to the door. The glare of the snow is too damn bright for me this early, but the sun has a little warmth on my bare belly.

It’ll be a nice day for the drive to Missoula. On one hand, I’m not looking forward to meeting her father and step-mother after what April has told me about them.

On the other, the scabs on my knuckles itch to pummel his face in for putting April in the position he did.

Coffee should soothe the rolling in my guts.

As I pour her a cup, her cool arms circle my waist, and I feel the press of her breasts into the middle of my back before her lips touch just above them.

Heat rushes through me at the comfort of her embrace.

“‘Morning, handsome.” Her voice is husky as her cheek nuzzles between my shoulder blades.

Probably from all the screaming I made her do last night.

“Perfect timing.” I twist around to loop her with my arms, lifting her easily onto the counter next to me.

I’m a little disappointed to see her snug t-shirt and shorts, but it’s probably for the better. The drive to Missoula takes a couple of hours, I’d have her in bed until noon if she wasn’t clothed.

Her messy hair is in spikes around her head, and she chews on her bottom lip when I hand her mug to her.

My hips find their way between her knees so I can rest my palm on her thigh. “Ready for this trip?” I can see she’s fretting.

Her tiny nod confirms it. “I’ve tried twice more to call him, but the bitch keeps answering and deflecting saying he doesn’t want to talk to me.”

I lose the fight to hide my grin. “I’d pay to see you smack her down.”

“Don’t tempt me.” She smiles and pokes me in the chest. “You’d have to pull me off of her if I ever started.”

“Why is the idea of you clawing me like an alley cat so damn appealing?” My thumb works under the hem of her shorts.

She curls one finger and rakes her nail over my nipple sending a jolt through me. “Rawr.”

Fuck, if only.

Her giggle dies off in a sigh. “If I could avoid it I would. I’d much rather stay here in bed all day. Hell, I’d rather be almost anywhere.” Her amber eyes roll as she takes a sip of her drink. “But he has copies of my documents. I know I got my new driver’s license yesterday, but the rest of that crap can take months without getting my stuff from Dad.”

She’ll have to do it all again when I give her my last name.

I knew I’d fall for her, damn it. She’s so fucking easy to love.

Slow down, one day at a time.

Yet I know I’m never letting her go. The big question will be if she wants to keep me.

“Do you want to eat before or after you see him?” All I want to know is which highway to drive, I stop both ways if she wants to.

Her bottom lip sticks out in a pout as a knot appears on her forehead. “I don’t know. I’ll be so anxious beforehand, but might be in a sour mood after and might not be very good company.” She glances down to trace the stem of the jack-o-lantern over my knuckles.

“Hey—” I tilt her chin up so she can see the earnestness behind my words. “—there isn’t a person on this planet that can ruin what’s between us. It’s you and me against the world, remember?”

I hope she does. She said that before I kissed her the first time.

I’m pretty sure that’s the moment I knew I was hooked.

The corner of her mouth turns up as she leans close. “I knew you’d come around.”

She sets her empty cup on the counter, then wraps her heels behind my knees and pulls herself closer.

Threading her fingers into my hair, she tugs my head back and playfully nips on my Adam’s apple with a tiny growl before slipping to the floor in front of me.

“I guess we should go.” Her melodramatic exhale exaggerates how low her excitement is. “At least once I get my bank cards back I can repay you.” Glancing down, she tugs on the hem of her shirt. “And get a new laptop to finish my degree.”

I want to trail after her, my skin itches to touch her constantly. “Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t need to pay anything back.”

She turns at the door to the bedroom, leaning against the frame.

Fuck, she looks delicious.

“Ford, you don’t owe me anything. This—” Her arm makes a sweeping motion down her front. “I give you freely. Hell, if anything I should be paying you for the most amazing orgasms ever.” Her grin flashes, then she swivels on her toes to disappear, leaving only her giggle drifting through the living room.

My cock twitches.

Many more to come, Frosty, more to come.

I’m not sure why, but there’s something special about going on a long drive in an old truck with a woman snuggled up against my side, listening to her singing offkey to the songs on the radio and messing up the words.

Maybe I had to experience the losses in my life to truly appreciate a moment like this.

I hope when I’m eighty I can pinpoint this memory and get the same sense of warmth running through me that I feel now.

As the buildings grow in frequency, her carefree serenade falls quiet.

“Nervous?” I finally ask, touching the top of her forehead with my lips.

Her hair brushes the whiskers on my chin when she nods.

“It’ll be fine.” I give her thigh a light squeeze as I take a left at the turn.

She decided about fifty miles ago we’d go to the hospital first, Chinos afterwards.

“I haven’t talked to him since…that night.” Her voice is a whisper that I can barely hear over the thrum of the engine.

“Boy, he’s really gonna have a surprise when I come waltzing in with you.” I’m not exactly confident in my chuckle, but I won’t let her know I’m apprehensive too.

She snorts. “Oh yea, this will be fun. I’ve never brought anyone to meet him before.” She turns to smile up at me. “Promise not to run away if he gets mad?”

“Never.” I’m in for the long haul.

It’s as if she gave me a second chance in life. Ripped me out of the clutches of death.

I’m hers until she tells me she’s done.

When I pull into the parking spot and turn off the truck, she remains frozen in the seat.

“How do I even tell him?” she stammers, her eyes stare forward unfocused.

I tug her knees around so she’s facing me. “You do whatever you’re comfortable with. After what he did, you don’t owe him anything.” My thumb grazes her chin as I cup her neck and pull her head down to meet mine. “Whatever happens doesn’t matter. After today, it’ll be your choice if you ever see him again.”

Her lips thin, but her jaw sets. “Okay. I’m glad you’re here, you make this easier.”

That draws a genuine laugh out of me. “I ain’t ever been told that before.”

She tugs her coat zipper up, then slides into my arms. “Ready for the show?”

I thread my fingers through hers to walk her inside.

The woman behind the administration desk plasters her practiced smile on. “May I help you?”

April approaches tentatively.

She must really be dreading this. How big of a prick is this guy?

“I’m here to see Albert Nelson.” She clutches my hand to her side.

Quick keystrokes are followed by the woman’s mouth slipping into a frown. “Oh, I’m sorry, it’s family only.”

“I’m his daughter, April Nelson.”

The clerk twists her lips, then shrugs. “Room three-seventeen. Third floor.”

Once we hit the elevator, April fidgets with my sleeve, then shifts her weight back and forth.

Her rapid breathing is a dead giveaway to how antsy she is.

When we reach a set of bathrooms, I tug her inside the men’s room and lock the door.

“Ford? What are you—”

“Helping you blow off some steam.”

Gold flecks in her eyes brighten as her lower lip rolls between her teeth. “Here?”

My fingers find the button of her jeans, then slide under the hem of her panties. “Mmhmm. It’ll help you relax.”

She gasps when I push into her wet slit, but I catch her moan with my mouth, locking her in a heated kiss.

I love that I’m learning her. I know she likes it when I curl inside her, and rub circles around her stiff clit.

And that if I want her to come faster, I slip in two.

No time to spare, so I fill her with both knuckles, stroking deep within her clutching cunt.

“Oh fuck.” Her rapid exhale bathes over my throat.

“Later. Let it out, Frosty. Give me a good one,” I growl, then take the lobe of her ear between my lips.

She digs into my shoulders as her thighs begin to shake.

I can tell she’s getting closer just by the change in her breathing and the spasms that ripple in the muscles of her tight little pussy.

“Ford,” she exhales as the first shudder has her clinging to my neck and arching her head back.

My tongue works the tender skin beneath her jaw, then I nip the long line of her throat as I give her a final, hard thrust with my hand.

She stiffens, her body seizing my fingers in rhythmic waves until she slumps in my arms.

“Good girl. I bet you feel better already?” I hold her up long enough for her legs to regain their strength.

The bulge in my own jeans is begging to be freed.

She takes a shaky breath, a smile flickering over her lips. “Yes, thank you. I didn’t know I needed that.”

“Happy to help.” I tug up her pants, then pat her butt as she walks out of the stall ahead of me.

She flips her hair away from her forehead after a glance in the mirror, then sheds her jacket to drape over her arm. “Whew, it got warm in here.”

“You can take ‘em all off and we can hide a while more, if you’d like.” I give her an innocent looking smirk when her eyes widen and her mouth falls into an “O”.

“I wish.” She lets out a long sigh, then loops her arm through my elbow until we stand in front of her father’s door.

I pull her hand up until my lips can brush her knuckles. “You got this.”