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“Whenever. Not like the house is locked. The sooner the better, though. The painter is literally waiting on this last step. Case has been in some kind of sleep regression stage. It’s all kinds of fucked. He’s sleeping during the day, but come nighttime, it’s like he’s a night owl.” Ryland rubs his hands down his mouth. It’s then I notice the dark circles beneath his eyes. Shit, I should have at least offered to help more before now.
“I’ll be there tomorrow night. It shouldn’t take me more than a night or two, and I’m sure Tallulah will be on call, which means she’ll want to be close to her vehicle in case she gets a call.” I’ve bitten my tongue a lot when it comes to Tully and her job, so have the rest of us. The one person who hasn’t is Birdie. She’s on her best friend’s ass like white on rice. Tallulah won’t listen, persistent on doing everything her way no matter how much we offer to help.
“That’ll do. As soon as you’re closer to being done, I’ll call the painter,” Ryland says.
“Sounds good. You ready to get back to it?” I ask, the sooner we’re done, the sooner we can get back to the barn at the ranch. I’ve got a woman I’m ready to get to. There’s still shit I’ve got to get done, like taking care of my horse, let Dad know we’re back for the day, head to the grocery store,and somehow manage to stay under any of my other brothers’ radar. I refuse to think about what they’d have me do. I’m already getting off relatively easy when it comes to Ryland. Lawson, Trey, JW, and Lane will be lining up to cash in.
“Yeah, though I may see if Tully will take a look at Case if he doesn’t sleep for more than a few hours a night. I’m damn tired, and there’s no way I’m asking Mom to help do night shifts. She does enough,” he states.
“Bro, you know Tallulah is a veterinarian, not a pediatrician, right?”
“Animals, kids. At this point, I think they’re both the same exact thing.” Laughter erupts deep from my gut, and Ryland joins me. Case has clearly given him hell lately, which means I’m going to be the one who caulks his fucking baseboards and who will also willingly offer to babysit the little dude. I just gotta figure out if Tallulah wouldn’t mind helping out.
3
TULLY
Dead on my feet.There’s no other way to describe how I’m feeling as I step out of my car. In fact, I’m not exactly sure how I managed the drive home. Maybe it was autopilot, maybe it was sheer determination in knowing Dean would be at my place. Add in a home-cooked meal, and anyone who hasn’t had an honest to goodness real dinner in too long to count would make sure they made it home.
I toss my bag over my shoulder, use my hip to shut the door, and hit the locks. A habit from living in a bigger city I’ve yet to stop. It’s not at all necessary out here on Ellie’s flower farm. Truth be told, I could get away with not locking it at the clinic, too, but some things are permanently ingrained in you. This will be one of them. As I’m walking up the cobblestone path my eyes scan for anything that could possibly allude tothe fact that Dean Johnson is in my house. There isn’t so much as an extra vehicle, side-by-side, or a four-wheeler. No shoes by the front door, and the plantation shutters are tilted in an upward position, making it hard to see inside.
Dean is staying true to his word, all because I have this stupid notion that people will judge my character differently. The sad truth of it is, they’re already doing it in a different way. I’m the new girl in town who also happens to be a vet, one with her parents and brother in the same background. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look up my name, see my social media, and put two and two together. The red flag was when Doctor Herbert said he was going to test me, push me to my limits until I run out of the door in tears. I didn’t tell anyone what he told me, not a soul—not my parents, not my best friend, and not Dean. While what the older doctor said should have sent me running, it had the opposite effect. Doctor Herbert warned me of the long hours, being on-call, and not having much of a life. It was everything I expected it to be except the look on his face told me he’d have me running ragged a million times over. I took a deep breath, shook his hand, and signed the offer letter. Then Dean entered the picture. Well, he was already there because of my relationship with Birdie. She’s my best friend who just so happens to be with Dean’s younger brother. In a perfect world we wouldn’t have to hide our relationship. Unfortunately, lifedoesn’t always work that way, and while I know this isn’t fair to Dean, it’s the way things have to be right now.
I unlock the door and open it enough to allow myself to enter, and then immediately close it behind me. Paranoia is a fickle bitch, screwing with my mind and messing with my feelings. I stumble. My back meets the wood door. Never did I think watching a man cook was sexy. Yet there Dean is, eyes locked on mine, looking hot as hell with the sleeves of his flannel rolled up. This man’s forearms are something else, and his muscles and veins would be the catalyst in making me wet.
“Tallulah, you gonna stand there or get your ass over here?” His voice is deep and rumbly. It’s also doing nothing to combat the way my thighs are clenching together. The look he shoots my way, I’m instantly wet, and my thong does the least from abrading my clit as I take a step closer. I lick my lips as moisture pools between my legs. I’m not sure if Dean knows what he does to me. His dark brown hair has some lighter shades mixed in and is long enough to run my fingers through, and believe me, I do. Especially when we’re having sex. His cerulean-blue eyes are currently scorching me with the way his gaze moves down the length of my body. I’m in a pair of scrubs, my hair is in a lopsided bun, my makeup has long since worn off, and I’m pretty sure my deodorant has, too. Meaning myfirst order of business besides walking toward Dean is taking the hottest shower possible, scrubbing my skin until it’s red, and shampooing my hair twice.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” I take my bag off my shoulder and drop it on the floor, my keys sustaining the same fate. I’m a tired and emotional mess. Dean’s arms around me are about the only thing that sounds good right about now besides a shower.
“You’re too damn tired to come. What I want is your mouth on mine and you in my arms.” Well, who am I to deny the exact thing I’ve been after since before I walked through the door? The aroma of dinner lingers in the air, causing my stomach to growl the closer I get to Dean, realizing he’s making a pot of spaghetti. The best comfort food you could give me, and it’s exactly what he’s preparing. I’ve got my fingers crossed there’s a salad as well as garlic knots involved. It’s called balance. Vegetables and carbs, the perfect combination. “Sunshine.” Dean must be tired of waiting. The moment I’m within reaching distance, his hand is in mine and he’s pulling me into his body.
“I stink.” I try to duck away from him and move backwards. As much as you try to clean yourself up with baby wipes or soap in the restroom sink, it’s never the same as a shower.
“You think that’s gonna deter me from getting a kiss? Tallulah, I’ll state this plain and simple. I don’t give a damn what you smell like,what you look like, or whatever damn notion you’ve got in your head that means my mouth won’t be on yours.” His hand untangles from mine to trail up the back of my arm, moving my falling hair off my shoulder until he’s at the place I’m learning he likes the most. The tips of his fingers all the way down to Dean’s calloused hands engulf the back of my neck, and he pulls me closer to him, head dipping down. I’m entirely at his mercy. So completely happy with it, too, the world fades away.
There’s no work.
There’s no hiding our relationship.
The only people who exist are right here and now. Dean drags his tongue along my lower lip, tasting me for the first time in too long to count. I tip my head upward and go to the tips of my toes to meet him halfway. His other hand moves to my lower back, inching toward my ass, leaving me with nothing to do with my hands except to hold on. The first thing to tangle my fingers in is the end of his shirt. I bunch it up, ready to tear it off while he’s busy dominating our kiss. The way he holds me gently yet firmly has me ready to forget about dinner and beg him to take me on the kitchen floor instead.
“Fuck, get in the shower so I can feed you,” he says. My stomach making all kinds of funky noises brings our kiss to a stop. Tomorrow I’m for sure taking time to eat. No more of working through lunch. While I can’t change how I’mtreated, I can definitely set a few boundaries of my own.
“Yes, sir,” I tease, except Dean’s eyes darken with a desire unlike I’ve ever seen before.
“Save that for later. Here.” His voice deepens, and I’m instantly wet at the thought of using those two little words in bed. “Fuck, you like that, don’t you, sunshine?” I nod, unable to get myself together and verbalize what it does to my body. “I’ll remember that. Munch on this for now.” He hands me two breadsticks, and my mouth salivates for a different reason entirely.
“Oh, really?” I ask, finally finding my voice. Dean smacks my ass when I spin around and head for the bathroom, making me yelp in surprise.
“Oh, yeah, soon, really fuckin’ soon, sunshine.” I’m too busy stuffing my face to respond, but boy if that doesn’t make my body tremble in all the right ways.
4
DEAN
“Fuck it.”I turn the burner off and move the sauce to the back burner so it won’t scorch, leave the noodles in the other pan, and make my way toward Tallulah. The breadsticks won’t be enough to hold her over for too long, which means I’m going to have to be fast. I lose my shoes and socks first before pulling my shirt off. My goal is to be damn near naked by the time I interrupt her shower, though it can’t really be an interruption when I’ll be the one getting her off with my fingers. She needs something to calm her ass down, and an orgasm will do the trick. When she walked into her house, she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Fucking Herbert and his bullshit. He does this with every new person he hires at his clinic. Survival of the fittest or some such nonsense. No one could ever make sense of it, but now that it’s happening to a person I carefor, I’m seeing all kinds of issues with his work ethics. Since Fletch helped out with Lane and Birdie’s situation with her ex-boss’ son, maybe I can ask him to do a little more digging into Herbert and see what that’s all about.
I open the door. Tully left it cracked, which could only mean one thing: she’s welcoming me to join her. A few steps in, and I’m getting the view no other fucking man could ever dream of having. The glass shower door is slightly fogged. Tallulah has her head tipped back, side profile on full display, hands up working the shampoo into her hair. Each movement she makes has her tits bouncing up and down. I stay silent as I take her in while working on stripping out of the remainder of my clothes. I’m sure she can sense someone is in the same room as her, though she looked dead on her feet, so maybe she doesn’t.
