Page 47 of Wait in the Truck
A low, guttural groan rumbles from my chest, my hips jerking, my release spilling into her as I bury myself to the hilt, claiming her in the only way I know how.
She collapses against me, panting, shaking, and I don’t let her go.
Pulling her into my arms, my mouth brushes against her temple, words rough and possessive against her skin. “Nobody hurts you, baby. Not anymore.”
With her fingers still gripping my shirt, still holding onto me like I’m the only thing keeping her tethered to this earth, all I can think is,Fuck, do I love the thought of that.
SAGE
25
Dad was supposedto be home this morning. But obviously… he’s not. The breath I’d been holding rushes out. I keep trying to tell myself not to let it bother me, but I’m also human. No matter how things transpired, I’m still upset by it. I can only hope time will heal the wounds Ridge Everett carved into my soul.
With Kade’s encouragement, I was finally able to re-enter my childhood home. But even several days later, I’m still unnerved being here by myself. In an attempt to distract my mind and keep my hands busy, I’ve spent the last few hours cleaning, then for the lack of anything better to do, I’d started rearranging the pantry.
I sigh, scanning the shelves to determine what to tackle next. Going up on tiptoe, I reach for a container on the top shelf, pull it down, and peek inside. Tucking it under my arm, I turn around, ready to dispose of it. Somethingmakes me freeze in place as a prickle of awareness moves down my spine.What the hell has me on high alert? I draw in a breath with my heart in my throat.
I poke my head out of the pantry to look around and half expect to see Kade standing there, but he’s not… and neither is anyone else. I’m alone. My stomach flips. Slowly, I cross to the kitchen island and set the plastic container of years-old oatmeal down. Frowning, I glance out the window over the sink and scan the side yard, but the only thing that snags my attention is the sun on its way to kiss the horizon. I’m letting anxiety creep in, and it’s ugly. Understandable, but ugly all the same. With an irritated sigh, I thumb my phone open.Huh. Still no notifications. Not a text from Kade all day. He left early this morning to meet his brothers. It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort at Black River while they finish up the planting season.
The last few days, he’s let me know when he’d be back for the night. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that life on a ranch is unpredictable. No day is exactly like another. Sure, there’s routine, which I find peaceful, but there are also things that come up spontaneously to interrupt the other work. And the fact is, it’s all gotta get done before anyone can hang up their hat for the day.
There’s no sense in waiting to start dinner because I’m sure Kade’ll be half-starved by the time he comes in. Turning to the fridge, I begin pulling out the ingredients for the dinner we’d discussed this morning.
It’s strange how easily we’ve slipped into cohabitation, and it gives me a feeling of warmth that cocoons me like a blanket. I don’t know what I’d have done if I didn’t have Kade here with me. He’s cemented himself as my safe place, and the bond between us has grown stronger day by day—both the emotional one as well as the physical. Because yeah, the sex is good—no, mind-bending. He’s beyond possessive, sure, commanding, too. But I don’t even mind that so much. The man says all the right things, and more importantly, he’s been there for me in some of the worst moments of my life.
I swallow hard. And now he’s told me he loves me. A ragged sigh leaves my lips. I don’t know why I haven’t been able to say those words back to him. I wonder how long he’s had those feelings. He wasn’t in my life… and then he was just there, starting with the night Toby hit me.
I chew absentmindedly on my lip. I can’t imagine what he must have said to scare my ex into taking off. That asshole hasn’t even bothered to contact me since that night. He’s probably living his best life out in California. I won’t be sorry if he never reappears.
I let the knowledge sink in that Kade has shown me over and over again the lengths he’ll go to protect me.Because he loves me. The night my father died, I’d been feeling such loneliness and despair… and Kade had appeared in the doorway of my bedroom like my avenging angel. My body is racked with a harsh shudder. Every time Istart thinking about that night, a reel of how things could have gone plays in my head. Me, on hands and knees, attempting to scrub the blood from the floor, then trying, ineffectively, to move his body. Or me, finally realizing I couldn’t handle things on my own, calling the sheriff and being taken away in the back of his police car.
I’ve gotta pull myself together.
This time, I give myself a firm mental shake. But that isn’t how things went. Because Kade was there, telling me everything would be okay. My savior. The one I need. And the one I’m quickly losing my heart to.Sage, you idiot. Why didn’t you tell him? You need to tell him.
With my hands loaded with ground beef and assorted vegetables, I pivot back to the counter, but movement catches my attention from the corner of my eye, and I shriek in surprise, fumbling the food until I can set it down.
My heart thumps a chaotic beat as I whirl around, casting my gaze toward the window in the door and notice someone standing outside. All that’s visible is their arm. Whoever it is wears a plaid shirt and is standing just out of sight. On purpose, it seems, which has every cell in my body immediately freaking out.
Well, fuck that. I won’t be afraid in my own house. Not ever again. Grimacing, I take a few quick steps toward the door, shifting until I can see more of my uninvited guest. Two beady eyes set into weathered, wrinkled skinleer at me through the glass. Samuel. My stomach lurches. Violently. Oh no. I haven’t spoken to this foul fucker since the day I caught him with that poor cow.
I stare at him, trying to hide my revulsion, though I don’t know why I should do that. He knows what I caught him doing. But what if he saw Rhett and Kade as they were cleaning up my mess? Or… oh my god, what if he somehow suspects something happened to my father? My heart rate ratchets up, the blood surging through my body now whooshing in my ears and making it difficult to concentrate.
Hoping to get rid of him fast, I yank open the door and pull no punches. “What do you want?” My jaw locks, and his expression turns surly at my accusatory tone. He takes a step toward me, throwing me off kilter, and my gut instinct is to back away from him. But in doing so, this despicable man must have taken it as an invitation to enter, and he steps into my home.
Shit.What the hell is wrong with him? As a full-body shudder runs through me, I do my best to put on a brave face. Crossing my arms over my chest, I take a defensive stance, scowling at the seedy ranch hand. I’ve known him for years, but never, not once, has he had the balls to enter our home without my dad’s permission. Not that he’s around to grant him permissionorto stop him. It’s pretty sad that I have a fleeting wish for my tormentor to be here to save me from the sorry cow fucker. Mystomach pitches as the memory of his bare ass infiltrates my mind.
The most horrible part of this whole debacle is that from the way Samuel’s looking around, I think he’s well aware I’m here alone.
I grit my teeth, thoroughly regretting not having brought his threats up with Kade. “Tell me what the fuck you want, Samuel. I’m busy.”
His lips twitch as he gives me an appraising look. “Well, aren’t you feisty this evening, Miss Sage?” He smirks, staring me up and down. “What’ve you been up to, girlie?”
Unnerved by his question, I slowly exhale, trying to keep calm so I can figure out what to do. Is he trying to tell me he knows something has gone very wrong here? Dad was due back this morning, so I guess I should have predicted that Samuel might come looking for him. Shit, how am I gonna get rid of this filthy man?
He takes another step toward me, and I can’t help myself. I shuffle backward again. “Baby girl, where’s your daddy?”
I huff, shuddering at the term of endearment, then smile cautiously at the disgusting weasel in my kitchen. It may have been a mistake to come out guns blazing, so I dial it back a notch. “He’s still at that cattle sale, I guess. I haven’t heard from him.”
