Page 86 of Deacon

“About me having to pick you up from your stepfather’s house so he didn’t fuck you up,” he says bluntly.

“I’m fine,” I say.

“You okay to hang out here with Ginny today? I got slammed with shit around here, and Andy’s pissed because I’m not pulling my share,” he says.

I nod. After our discussions last night, it might do me some good to have some time to myself to digest.

He reaches up and taps my chin. “Good girl. I’ll see you tonight for dinner.”

He’s so full of it, and I just eat it up when he says things like that. I watch him head to the barn and disappear inside. Ginny isn’t anywhere in sight when I go into the kitchen to make another coffee, but I find her on the back porch, shaking out a rug.

“Can I do something?” I ask.

She turns around. “Oh no, this is my job, and I get paid well for it.”

I fidget. I need something to do.

“Alright, you want to grab a broom and clean off the porches and walkways?” she says. “Then we can get to dusting. It’s cleaning day.”

That sounds perfect to me. She finishes shaking out all the rugs from the living room, and when she’s done, I start sweeping up. On the front porch, I can see Deacon on the hill behind the barn. He’s on Bones while Andy sits beside him on a gray horse. They’re doing something that involves a lot of gesticulating. Deacon gets down and slaps a fence post, and Andy gets down to slap it too. I think they’re doing repair work, because the post falls over.

A cold wind gusts in, smelling of winter and horses.

I could get used to Ryder Ranch.

It’s so quiet. It’s so safe, just like him.

We eat together in the kitchen. Deacon comes in a few minutes before Ginny gets ready to leave and goes upstairs to shower. I help her with the dishes, and then she leaves to have dinner with Andy. I go upstairs, but there’s nothing to change into but one of his flannels. The bathroom door is shut, the shower running.

I stand outside for a second.

His presence is strong. I inhale, catching the sharp scent of his soap.

Why do I feel like I’m at the entrance of a cave, looking into the dark, knowing there’s a big animal just out of sight?

A shiver runs down my spine.

Silently, I go downstairs and curl up on the rug before the fireplace in the living room. Stu whimpers, crawling from his bed, and I lift him out to play. He tugs at my sleeve and growls softly. I think he’s growing.

The house is quiet. Deacon moves about upstairs. He’s a big man, so he moves heavily, but not with anger. I wonder briefly if Bittern could have been like him.

A twinge of guilt moves through me.

I left him with Aiden and Ryland.

“You hungry, sweetheart?”

My eyes focus as I lift my head. Deacon’s at the bottom of the stairs, standing behind the couch. All the blood in my head rushes down and culminates between my thighs.

He looks so good, big body still dotted with water from his shower. I get up and scoop Stu back into his bed. Deacon watches me as I circle the couch and come up to him.

Boldly, I put my palm flat on his lower belly, on that delicious, tattooed V disappearing beneath his waistband. His body tenses. Beneath the fabric, he lengthens in response. Transfixed, I drag my palm down to cup him, warm and heavy.

Our eyes meet. The air snaps with tension.

“Can dinner wait?” I whisper.

He nods once. “Dinner can wait.”

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