Page 79 of Barbed Wire Fences
And yet, staring at her now, feeling my body react like it’s got a will of its own, even that isn’t enough to stop me.
“How quickly can they turn those tests around? I’ll go after work.”
She laughs and then takes me down her throat again. My mind goes blank, forgetting what we were even talking about before she pulls off and goes to licking me on all sides, causing my balls to twitch.
“I think you can request same-day results,” she murmurs like the little vixen that she is.
My eyes close again as I think about my new plans for the rest of today: Get tested and then do nothing while I think about the ways that I’ll fuck Jael tonight.
“Well then, you better cancel that upcoming three-day shift because I don’t plan on letting you leave my house once I get those results.”
Chapter 25 – Rhett
After a long, distracted day of working, the email I’ve been waiting for finally lands in my inbox: confirmation that I’m clean and ready to have unprotected sex with Jael.
I’ve never done this with any other woman before. While I’ve trusted the ones who’ve said they were on the pill, I’ve always known the risk was still there. Birth control isn’t foolproof. And an unplanned pregnancy has never been something I was willing to chance. Especially not after what happened between Jael and me all those years ago.
Back then, we were just kids, young, naïve, and completely unprepared for what life threw at us. No careers, no plans, nothing beyond a high school diploma and a hazy idea of the future. She hadn’t been on birth control, and despite us using protection every time, maybe we were more reckless than we should have been, caught up in each other in a way that ignored our glaring reality.
Things are different now.I’mdifferent now. She’s different now and so are our circumstances.
If what happened then were to happen today, I wouldn’t hesitate to drive wherever she was. Hell, I’d burn my whole damn life down just to be there for her, and I hope she wouldn’t run or push me away.
That realization settles deep in my chest, solid and unshakable. The fact that I’m imagining a life with her has me worried. There’s something about Jael that’s always made me want to risk everything just to be close to her. To know that she’s mine and I’m just hoping she feels the same now.
When she finally shows up at my door later that night having gotten one of her coworkers to cover her shift, she’s barefoot, wearing a floral sundress that flutters around her hips, her long brown hair loose in soft curls, and her eyes sparkling like they used to before she left town.
I decide I like this version of her best. This Jael, blending into the rhythm of our small town like she belongs here again. For a moment, it feels like we’re reliving those summers we used to share as kids—back when life was simpler, carefree, with no worries about what came next. But this time, it’s different. This time, I’m ready to build something that lasts and I have the means to.With her.
“You’re perfect,” I whisper, kissing her neck and her lips firmly as she enters my home. “I won’t pretend I don’t want to be inside you right now, but I’m not an ass hole. I can feed you first.”
She grins and locks her arms around my neck. “No, let’s fuck first.”
I chuckle and shake my head. “I was hoping you’d say that, but I have something to show you.”
I take her hand and lead her outside to my backyard. Out on the deck that we’ve laid on a thousand times, I guide her down the steps that stretch to the grassy yard and bump up against the natural-pond pool that I’ve been working on for months. Her eyes widen when she sees it.
“Wow, Rhett.”
“It’s finally done. Lark and I put the liner in during work today, and it’s been filling ever since.”
Jael’s jaw drops as she takes in the serene scene before her. The natural pool mirrors the lake we grew up next to in the trailer park, right down to the dock. It’s the same one that I pushed her off when she didn’t know how to swim and then ended up having to save her from drowning.
It’s the starting point of the creek that our town is named after, and a centerpiece of our memories. Frankly, it’s the start of our relationship, too.
To give it that authentic, lake-like feel, I even had synthetic lily pads installed, along with solar-powered algae that make the water shimmer green in the light. Surrounding the pool is a cast-iron fence, draped with lanterns that Lark and I strung up earlier. Right now, they’re giving a warm, magical glow across the surface, turning the whole place into something out of a fantasy dream.
She turns to me slowly, her eyes sparkling. “It’s amazing. I can’t believe you built this. You’re so talented.” Her praise hits me in my core. Because it’s all that I’ve ever wanted. For her to see me. To be proud of me.
“Do you want to take a swim in it?” I ask, grinning.
“Right now?”
“I figured it’d be a great way to live out your fantasy, though I think we’d be living out one of mine too.”
“You’re not keeping your work boots on, are you?”
I chuckle. “Not this time, baby.”
