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It was several long moments before he pushed himself up and slid out of me. I lay there, soaking in the aftermath of my second orgasm. My body had turned to liquid and I could no longer move.
Eventually he came back with wet cloth and he cleaned me up. Then he pulled the sheets from the bed and got us a fresh blanket. We lay down together. I was in his arms again.
“Should I go back to my room?” I meant to keep that in my thoughts, but the words came out, breaking the silence of the room.
“Only if you want to. I want you to stay here, with me.”
“Okay,” I said.
I stayed.
Chapter 9
Reese
I sat down at the kitchen table, my brother settling in next to me like we did most days for our lunches when we were working side by side on the ranch. Only today, he seemed to have a shit-eating grin on his face. It was a look I knew all too well. One that told me I was going to be goaded into something. I decided then to ignore him. Instead, I dug into the fried chicken and mashed potatoes my mom put together for our meal.
“You know what today is?” he said.
“Tuesday,” I replied. I was sure there was some other significance to the day, but he would tell me in due time.
“Four weeks.”
I grunted in response. That was all the invitation he needed to continue.
“Four weeks since that boy showed up on this ranch. Four full, glorious weeks since that damned horse of his hasn’t gotten loose.”
Momma sat down at the table across from me.
“Four weeks since you and him started courting, and you haven’t even taken him on a proper date,” Rory continued.
That had my mom’s eyebrows rising. Perry and I being together was not a secret. The first morning after we spent the night together he’d turned fifty different shades of red at the breakfast table. When I’d finished my breakfast, I’d given him a peck on the lips and told him I’d see him for dinner.
He was also driving the ranch truck now. The car of his was out of commission. If it was up to me, it would be going to the scrap yard.
I dropped my fork and shot my brother a glare. “One. Perry is not a boy, he is a grown man, and two. Perry and I have gone on plenty of outings and have gotten to know each other quite well. Not that my courting rituals are any of your business.”
“Is he sleeping in his own room?” Rory asked.
“Rory!” my mom scolded. “Your brother is also a grown man and can make his own decisions. No one ever interrogated you about your partners.”
“Thank you, Mom,” I said.
“But really, Reese, I’m sure your nightly horse rides together are very romantic and the two of you like them very much, but you could take him out to dinner and show him the town. Also, as the person who cleans the linens around here, I can confirm Perry is not sleeping in his own room.” She casually took a sip out of her water glass as if she hadn’t just dropped a bombshell.
“Mom!” Betrayed by my own mother. Not that Rory didn’t already know I was sleeping with Perry. It wasn’t a secret.
“I knew it!” Rory shouted.
I folded my arms over my chest. “He has seen plenty of the town. He’s been to nearly every farm and ranch in the county. He’s been to all the restaurants with the vet clinic on their lunch outings.” Perry loved his job and was doing well at it. I was sure that when the time came, Marshall would offer him a full time position within the clinic. Already he had more trust from the vet than most of the other techs I’d seen him go through over the years.
“It’s different,” Mom said.
I sighed. I knew this was not an argument I was going to win. And it would be best to just concede now. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to take Perry out on a proper date, it was that I was selfish and wanted him all for myself. Our nightly rides allowed us to talk without distraction. He got quality time with Blossom and I got quality time with him. Through our nightly rides I learned so much about the man I was falling for. “I’ll see what Perry would like to do. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind going out to a nice dinner.”
Mom grinned. “Perfect. This weekend will work great. I don’t have any dinner plans. I was going to scrounge up something, but now I don’t have to.”
I bit back a groan as my brother laughed. I shot him another glare, putting more heat behind this one. He saw right through it, though.
