Page 29 of Wannabe in Wyoming
“Yeah, I thought it was pretty obvious. About as obvious as how happy you are to be spooning me.” She tried to wiggle again but wasn’t able to get as much movement as before due to his hold. “Very, very happy.”
“Aside from that, you’re distracting yourself from talking about what you read in that letter. Which is just fine, of course, but I don’t want you to push us both into something physical as a distraction from your feelings. Like I told you, the first time I make love to you, I will not be rushed, nor will I be coaxed into it. Would I mind being an emotional band-aid in the future? No. But not right now.”
Huffing out a breath, she scooched forward to give him some space. “I’m sorry.” Feeling like a heel, she started to get up, only to be jerked back down.
“Nope. Not happening. I didn’t say I minded you rubbing that sweet little ass all over my cock. I just meant that it wasn’t going to go any further than that at the moment. Now, get back here where you belong and talk to me.” He settled her against him once more.
She hesitated for a few seconds while searching for the right words to say to him. “I’m sorry I fell apart on you like that. That’s not me. I’m not a crier.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. You needed it. Can you tell me about it?”
She marveled at this man. He was patient and kind, sure and true. Men like him didn’t exist in real life, at least not in her experience. With a few simple words, he’d just stolen another piece of her heart. It wouldn’t be long before he possessed the whole thing. She waited for the fear that thought should bring, but it never arrived. Huh, imagine that—after all she’d been through in her life, she wasn’t afraid of the consequences of falling for this man.
“Wannabe?” Nathan prompted her.
“As you probably already figured out, it was a letter from my father to my mother. Only, he never sent it to her. He didn’t go into a lot of detail, but it seemed like their match wasn’t approved by her family because he was much older than her. I don’t think his family was happy about it either. Like I told you before, my mom was fifteen when she got pregnant with me and sixteen when I was born. My father was twenty-two at the time. He’d just turned fifty-six before he died. In the letter, he said something about being put in jail, so I’m assuming statutory rape charges.” Rolling over to face Nathan, she continued, “He loved her so much. You’ll have to read the letter for yourself to fully see that. It just broke my heart. My whole life, my mom was alone, but the entire time there was a man here who loved her beyond sense, but they were forbidden to be together? Why didn’t he come find her later?”
Sweeping a few loose strands of her hair off her face, Nathan kissed her softly. “I don’t know, but I bet the answers are in the rest of those letters.”
“I don’t think I have the guts to read another one right now. Maybe tomorrow.” She brushed her mouth over his chin, enjoying the feel of his stubble against her lips. She wanted to trail kisses down his neck, drag his clothes off, and keep working her way down until his cock was buried in her throat. The desire surprised her. Normally she wasn’t one to initiate blow jobs or enjoy giving them too much, but the thought of making this strong man come undone under her hands and mouth turned her crank like nobody’s business.
“Come on, let’s have a light lunch, since we’ll be eating at the barbecue later.” Nathan patted her ass softly and rolled away from her.
“Then what?” she asked as she stood and stepped around the foot of the bed.
He took her hand in his. “How about a walk? I’d love to see the rest of the property and what needs to be fixed if you’re getting the alpacas soon. I can do a few things for you while I’m here.”
“Nathan, you don’t have to work while you’re here. I don’t—”
Cupping her chin, he cut her off. His voice was low and husky. “Sweetheart, I want to help you out with whatever I can. Please let me.”
His blue eyes bore into hers, setting her heart galloping in her chest. His intense gaze told her he wasn’t extending the offer for any other reason than he cared about her. He wasn’t trying to impress her nor did he think doing some work would get him into her pants. He really didn’t mind helping with some chores around her place, and he wouldn’t think less of her for asking for his assistance. Hell, she’d let him bulldoze the barn in that moment if he’d wanted to.
Going up on her tiptoes, she kissed him softly on the lips. “You’re a good man, Nathan Casey. Let me feed you and then I’ll show you around Skyview.”
His smile was the best reward for accepting his offer that she could ever receive.
* * *
Willow pulledup to the drive-thru window and passed the coffee cup carrier the clerk handed her over to Nathan. Jeremiah was in the back seat, happily chattering away as if all three of them weren’t suffering from massive hangovers.
“How the fuck are you so chipper, Jeremiah? Goddammit, my head feels like it’s going to split open, and you’re running at the mouth with no issue.” Nathan was grumpy as hell today, and Willow struggled not to find it slightly adorable.
Jeremiah snorted. “I thought a solider like you would be more familiar with working through a hangover. First time?”
“Fuck off, and no, it’s not,” he responded without any heat behind his words. “I’m just out of practice. I don’t pull this shit anymore.”
Chuckling, Willow tried her best to ignore her own pounding head while she waited for the Tylenol she’d taken to finally kick in. The barbecue last night had quickly evolved into a party filled with line-dancing lessons, shot contests, and some dumb-ass hay bale-tossing challenge that Nathan had somehow won. She admitted to herself with zero shame that watching a shirtless, tipsy Nathan toss bales of hay by firelight had been one of the best things she’d ever seen. She hadn’t missed the appreciative glances Jeremiah had snuck at Nathan either, but she wouldn’t hold it against him.
“Shut up, both of you, and drink your coffee,” she ordered good-naturedly.
“She’s bossy, ain’t she?” Jeremiah griped, poking Nathan in the shoulder, almost causing him to spill his coffee. “That your kind of thing? I could give you some tips if she’s super toppy.”
“Goddammit, poke me again, and I’m going to snap your hand off and feed it to you. And what the fuck would you know about a toppy woman?” Willow had already confessed to Jeremiah that Nathan was aware of his secret. For his part, Nathan had assured her friend that he had no issues with the man’s sexual orientation, and he would remain mum about it when others were around. Willow liked how that knowledge gave Jeremiah the freedom to be who he really was with them, without having to worry about saying the wrong thing or being ridiculed. In fact, the two men acted as if they’d been friends for years, the way they joked around and gave each other shit, since shortly after Willow and Nathan had arrived at the JP Ranch yesterday.
“Maybe not a toppy woman, but I know about bossy tops and just how to handle them. That’s all I’m saying.”
“She isn’t a top! What, you think she’s wearing a strap-on and bending me over the couch, dammit? Fuck me, I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.” As they hit the road, Nathan kept up a steady stream of back-and-forth bitching with Jeremiah until Willow had enough. Reaching forward, she cranked the radio, blasting rock loud enough to shake the windows. It made her head feel like it was going to split like a melon, but it stopped their bickering mid-bicker. They both screeched and moaned as Nathan lunged forward to turn the music down while glaring at her.
