Page 57 of Saving the Rain (Crimson Ridge #4)

I ’m not interested, and Kayce should know better.

Those eyes he’s giving me. Blue pools muddled with confusion and bitterness at the prospect I might be giving my attention to some girl who is too busy hiccupping to hold a real conversation.

Only, that’s where his whole problem starts and ends.

Kayce doesn’t know how to get from the place where he’s stuck right now, hiding from the truth about so many things, to feeling safe enough to take the plunge into the unknown.

It’s almost poetic really, that he’s found himself being dragged into the middle of a crowd by a girl—the likes of which most dudes in here tonight would be drooling after.

The type of head-turner, stepped straight off the pages of their fantasies.

When all of two seconds ago, he had that curiosity and eagerness fixed on me.

.. us. For a fraction of a moment it seemed he might take another step forward, to finally move toward his true ambitions in life.

Which is why I have to grip my soda and let the girl hanging off my side blabber on.

It’ll serve him right to get a little wake-up call in the form of a trashy buckle bunny, the exact type he should know not to get accosted by.

A girl dressed in... fuck knows what you’d call it, but it looks like she lost the majority of her dress on the way to this party, but there’s a crooked halo involved, so I suppose it counts as a Halloween costume.

Not that I’m judging any of them for what they wear. They can do as they like, just take it somewhere that doesn’t involve brushing against me under the misguided notion that it’ll stimulate my interest in this conversation.

Over the top of my drink, I see the blond swing around his neck.

Trying to tug him down to her, and Kayce is still pretending to be the cowboy who does shit like this.

The guy who dances with girls and dates women.

All those invisible strings are pulling on his limbs, puppeteering him along into this charade of grinding together on a dance floor, and as she turns around to start rubbing her ass all over him, guiding his hands to settle over her bare stomach. .. yeah, that’s enough.

I’m done watching him flounder.

This was always gonna be our biggest hurdle. Kayce has never been able to face up to reality, even when it’s staring him right in the face.

So he’s gonna let that girl push her ass against his cock, he’s gonna put on a performance that makes it seem like he’s interested, and I’m the only one who knows he won’t get hard for the likes of her.

Convincing the drunk friend beside me to bug somebody else isn’t difficult.

So, after I’ve sent her twirling away, I make my exit and find a clear path to escape outside.

The place is packed, which, in a lot of ways, makes it easier to ghost into the crowd.

Especially since almost everyone here is wearing costumes that would involve doing a double-take to figure out who lies beneath the disguise.

Slipping into the shadows, I vanish around the back of the building, pulling out my phone as I do so. Out here, it’s staff parking and stacked beer kegs, and I’m almost surprised there aren't already more than a couple of people in this spot getting busy.

As I swipe open my texts, I drag my palm over my stubble. This is gonna be the real litmus test, and I’m exactly the kind of asshole that wants to see how far he’ll go in denying who he is.

With full knowledge that Kayce has to make this decision—he has to be the one to take the leap—I give him just enough of a push to see how flimsy those cords holding him back might be.

She’s got a pretty mouth.

Bet it won’t get you off, though.

Leaning up against the wall, I watch as it only takes a few seconds for the message to be read. And only another breath for Kayce to start replying.

Snowflake:

Where did you go?

Does it matter?

Of course it does.

Doesn’t seem like you need me to hold your hand in there.

Already got yourself a nice pair of tits, horny and revved up to take care of a rodeo star.

His reply takes longer this time. Starting and stopping.

There’s a little quirk wanting to hijack my lips as I imagine him trying to discreetly text me.

Attempting to hide the words on his phone screen while he’s still dancing with a girl he has zero interest in.

All because that’s what Kayce Wilder, the perfect little Crimson Ridge buck, should do.

God. Just, don’t be a dick.

I didn’t want to be rude to her.

Besides, it wasn’t like you were saying no to that girl with her hands all over you.

Ahh, so he was jealous. That possessive creature lurking inside my chest boasts a little louder, knowing his first reaction was to see red.

So what are you gonna do about it?

I could be out the back in the dark with a pair of those angel wings already tossed on the ground and a sweet moan in my ear.

Does that bother you, snowflake?

His response is immediate.

Yes.

Sure seems like you’re not worried.

Like I said, I won’t make things too difficult for you.

So this is me, keeping my distance, just as you asked.

Where are you?

Just . . . don’t leave.

Please.

My chest squeezes, seeing that word come through.

I really, really should be hardening myself against this.

There are a million other places I could be right now, and I absolutely shouldn’t be trying to force some sort of admission out of Kayce.

But then again, when he’s sweet and gives me this side of him, it tugs on something that has no right to exist in my stomach.

You didn’t go, did you?

I’m still here.

The text has barely been sent when I hear a corresponding ping. Kayce hits me like a whirlwind, bursting through the night, grabbing hold of the front of my collar.

He’s got a wildness about him, a glimmer in his eyes that looks even more feral than the creature beneath my ribs. Shoving at me, he lets out a little growl. A frustrated, gritty noise in the back of his throat.

“Fuck you.”

Before I can say anything in reply, he slams our mouths together .

Kayce’s fists tighten, holding me in place as our tongues slide against each other’s, a hot, wet, desperate chasing of that connection.

Everything seems to crackle in the air around us.

I don’t know what the fuck it is about kissing him, but there’s a special sort of electricity to it, the kind that makes my pulse spike as high as these mountains and blood thrum like thunder.

Spinning us around, my bulk slams him against the wall. Shoving one hand into the back of his hair, I use the other to hold his jaw. There’s nothing but a sloppy, hungry urgency to take his mouth and meet his frenzy with my own.

“Gonna be a reckless little slut?” My voice is raspy, heavy with need.

“Right here, out in the open, pushed up against the wall?” I bite his bottom lip to the point it’ll definitely sting.

Tasting that cherry sweetness on his tongue and a slight tang, the chalkiness of face paint, as I suck on that spot.

“If that’s what it takes.” He breathes choppily. Still clinging to my shirt.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about, pretty boy.” I lick at the pouty curve of his bottom lip. “Thought there wasn’t anything... that we weren't gonna be anything.”

“Well, maybe I changed my mind.” His face is hidden in the shadow, but I see the way his eyes are heavily lidded. There’s a certain kind of resilience in his voice. A far cry from the wavering I’ve noticed there in the past.

“How do I know you’re not gonna flip on me again.” My fingers descend to flex against the front of his throat. As I shift my hold, a delicious vibration comes through beneath my touch.

In that split second, he hums out a noise. Part demand, part relief at the feel of my mouth covering his, then I feel him start to slide down the wall. I’m dumbstruck for a second. Kayce wants to blow me out here?

“What are you doing, snowflake?” I study him, letting my hand cup his jaw. Watching as he lowers himself and slides his hands down until they hit the top of my belt.

“I want to—to prove to you. I’m not ashamed of being with you.” His throat sounds thick with lust, and there’s something more meaningful behind those words.

He’s prepared to get down on the hard gravel and give this to me, and that in itself means more than any endless weakness I might have for his lips to be wrapped around my cock. “Your knee,” I warn.

The cowboy he is, Kayce’s jaw tightens with determination. “It’s fine.”

Oh, my sweet boy. I see it, and feel it in his energy, just how sincere he is in wanting to demonstrate his willingness, once and for all.

I follow him down, crouching in front of his face, hooking his bottom lip with my thumb as I do so. He makes one of those tiny whimpering noises of frustration at me, and I’m about fucking ready to get this over with.

“You want me to take this throat where anyone could see? Want me to use you like my personal little fuck toy? Thirsty for a belly full of my cum?”

His breathing grows ragged.

After a few seconds of panting breaths echoing in the darkness, the momentary battle Kayce wages behind those blue eyes finally calms. He nods against my hold.

“I know I’m fucked up for saying this out loud... punch me in the face if you want, but... I want this , not in a way that’s hidden. I want us. And I want what we have to be more than just a random hook-up.”

Hauling him back up to his feet, I have him pinned against the wall with a knee shoved between his thighs in a heartbeat and absolutely fucking devour him.

Every single one of those words feels like they burst into crackling, soaring flames, and I slant our mouths together so I can taste each moan and savage noise my boy gives in return.

Kayce brings his hands up to tangle in my hair and lets me have every ounce of that confession as it bursts onto my tongue.

Behind us, I hear some high-pitched giggling “ Shhhhh . Oh, shit. I think this spot is taken.”

It happens as quick as a bolt of lightning. Kayce tenses up, turning rigid beneath me.

I keep on slowly kissing him, easing up on the intensity, but tighten my hold on his neck and the front of his shirt.

As I leisurely make out with him now, in between strokes of my tongue, I give him the reassurance he needs.

“Don’t worry.” A soft kiss drags his bottom lip so I can suck on it briefly.

“They won’t be able to see you.” Another kiss covers his jaw.

“All they would have seen is the back of me.”

“Ok.” He lets out a shaky exhale.

A satisfied hum rumbles out of me. “Did you drive?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll drop you back here to pick your truck up tomorrow.”

“Wh—” I shut him up. Cutting off his words with a deep kiss, one that I could so very easily get lost in.

The kind of pleasurable hit of him that reaches straight down to my toes.

Once I’ve temporarily satisfied my craving, I pull back and swipe my thumb over his wet bottom lip, giving him a stern look through the darkness.

“You’re coming home with me tonight.”