Chapter 18

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

W arrick

I'd lost my mind.

And I didn't want it back.

Sliding my hand out of Em's jeans, I lifted it to my face and sucked two fingers into my mouth. Her pupils dilated and her entire face flamed red in the dim light. I would have chuckled at her embarrassment if I hadn't been preoccupied with her taste exploding in my mouth. It did nothing to tame what was happening in my own pants, which had gotten so tight I wasn't sure if I could walk back to the house anytime soon. Her forehead dropped to the center of my chest. I knew she heard the rumbled groan as I tried to get myself under control.

"You taste like heaven," I said so softly I wasn't sure she could hear me.

Fuck, I wanted this woman.

Had wanted her since the day I met her. I'd married her to help her out with the custody battle, but if I was truly honest, I'd wanted a reason to keep her near me. Some caveman version of myself had wanted to make her mine so I could protect her. And here I was pushing her up against the barn wall and sticking my hand down her pants like a teenager with only one thing on his mind. I needed to protect her alright. From me.

I cupped her jaw and pulled her away from my chest, dropping a kiss on her forehead. "Let's get you back inside."

Stepping back, I let go of her face and grabbed her hand instead, lacing our fingers together, flicking the lights off for the night, and leading her out of the barn. We didn't say a word as we walked across the grass and then up the stairs to the front door. I opened the door and let go of her hand to guide her inside. My hand found her lower back, like I had to keep touching her or I wouldn't continue to exist. I was walking like a bowlegged cowboy, but if she noticed, she didn't say anything. I led her straight to the bathroom where I got the hot water going and poured in a hefty dose of Epsom salts.

"You don't have to?—"

I spun around and gave her a sharp look. She clamped her lips together, a flush still hovering on her cheeks.

"I want to, Em."

Her gaze dropped to my crotch, which only made the situation worse. When she lifted her gaze, a question in her eyes, I shook my head. "That's my problem, not yours. I know you've worked hard today and your muscles ache. I'm the one who gave you a ridiculous amount of work to do in too little days. Please let me take care of you. It brings me joy."

Her eyes softened. "I'm sorry for accusing you earlier. I'm…well, I'm sensitive about my business being my own."

"I won't hurt you or your business, Em. Not ever."

She looked at me for several long moments before stepping closer. Holding my gaze, she brought her hands up to my chest, resting them there before she went up on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek, the left first and then the right, her lips barely brushing my skin like a butterfly's wings. My heart was pounding, but I forced myself not to touch her. I already attacked her in the barn and showed my hand. I wanted her so fucking badly and she knew that now.

She dropped back on flat feet and stared up at me, something heady and endearing like trust in her eyes. "I trust you, Warrick."

I felt the weight of her statement. Felt the truth behind it and the absolute honor that she'd gifted me her trust when it didn't come easy for her. When her trust had been shattered by the person who was supposed to take care of her.

When I lifted my hands, they were shaking. I tugged on the hem of her T-shirt, giving her warning before I pulled it up and off her head. I let the material fall to the tiled floor before I dropped to my knees before her. She sucked in a sharp breath, but I had no intentions of forcing anything else on her tonight. Instead, I attacked her boots, pulling on the laces until they were loose enough to pry off her feet. Her socks were next, followed by her jeans. I kept my gaze on my task and refused to take in every soft curve of her body as it was exposed. When she let me slide the panties I'd bought her off her body, I had to grit my teeth so hard I was surely grinding away precious enamel.

I stood on wobbly legs, reaching around her slight body to undo the bra clasp at her back. She rested her head on my chest, stepping her almost naked body closer. Basically, she was trying to kill me. I was two naked breasts away from a goddamn heart attack. I slid the straps of the bra off her shoulders and stepped back, turning away before I lost control of myself and took what she was offering.

"Warrick?" she asked softly.

I stared at the towel bar attached to the wall for all I was worth. "Yeah?"

"Want to join me in the bath?"

I squeezed my eyes shut as my dick hardened painfully. "More than anything, Emmerleigh. But not tonight." Not when this trust between us was still so new. She had to see with her own two eyes that I put her first .

Water splashed and Em let out a sigh as she sank into the water. I waited a few beats and then I grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet and stepped over to the tub.

"Lean forward," I said gruffly, hellbent on taking care of her, even if I died from lack of blood flow to vital areas of my body. She obeyed without a single argument and that made it even worse. What would it be like to finally sink into her heat? With her looking up at me with those bright blue eyes, giving me permission to do unspeakable things to her body?

I ran the washcloth over her back, her arms, her legs, and over her breasts. Her nipples were beaded tight, dusty-rose points that begged for my fingers, my mouth, my complete attention. Still, I moved on, grabbing the shampoo and gently washing her hair. The groan she let out when I dug my fingers into her scalp had me biting my lip so hard I drew blood. I just wanted to make her feel good and somehow that had turned into a torture session for myself.

When she was clean and rinsed, I held out a fluffy white towel. She stood, water droplets sliding over her silky skin. I turned my gaze to the sink while she stepped out of the bath and let me dry her off.

"Where are your pajamas?" I didn't recognize my own voice. I sounded like someone was strangling me.

"In the bedroom on my pillow."

I threw the towel on the floor in the corner of the bathroom, planning to pick it up later, and took her hand again, leading her out of the bathroom. Trying to stay quiet, I turned the knob to the guest bedroom slowly, peeking inside to confirm Georgia was asleep. We both crept in, silent except for the occasional groan of a loose plank of wood flooring. Em grabbed her pajamas, but then let me take them from her hand. I could barely see her in the dark, but her quizzical expression was obvious.

The more she gaped at me as I dressed her in her tank top and shorts, the angrier I got. Who the fuck had she been with before? Why the hell had she never been bathed or dressed or finger-fucked without the expectation of her taking care of the man afterward? Why hadn't this Cayden person done things for her, just to make her life easier?

I pulled back the covers on her bed and she climbed in, still staring at me like she was trying to figure me out. Leaning over her, I brushed damp hair away from her neck and spread it out over the pillow to dry.

"You're looking at me like Bessie looks at me," I whispered, needing a distraction.

Em smiled. "Still trying to figure you out, I guess."

I grinned back, then pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You'll figure it out eventually. Good night, Em."

And then I left, closing the door softly and making my way to my room. I tossed and turned, unable to go to sleep when I had an erection that wouldn't go down. I had to take things into my own hands, Em's name on my lips as I came. Sleep finally claimed me.

Me: Picking up Georgia from school early to run some errands. We'll be back in time to fix you a proper dinner and another bath. Hope you have a great day, wife.

I whistled as I climbed into my truck and headed for the preschool in downtown Blueball. Em had blushed every single time we ran into each other in the house this morning. Even Pip had noticed when she arrived, glancing between Em and me several times before giving me an enthusiastic thumbs up. I wasn't sure what Pip thought was happening between us, but I appreciated the encouragement. Bessie still wouldn't let me anywhere close to milking her, but at least Cleveland didn't headbutt me while I fed the animals this morning. Overall, it was a damn good day and it was about to be even better.

I'd made a few decisions last night as I lay there wide awake and wholly unsatisfied. I was going to woo my wife. And Georgia. I'd show them how they deserved to be treated and maybe, just maybe, Em would see that my feelings for her were very real. A part of me wanted to be cautious about giving them too much of myself. It was most certainly the part of me that had been burned by all those women, but I also knew Em and Georgia were different. They'd never taken advantage of me. Hell, it was a fight every time I tried to give Em anything.

Rosemary, the principal at the elementary school, gave me a cheery wave as I signed Georgia out in the office before heading for the classroom. Georgia's face had been lined with shock when the teacher called for her and she'd twisted around to see me at the door with a bouquet of flowers in my hands. Then she broke out into a run to get to me, arms hugging my legs and face split in a smile.

"Why you here, Wa-wy?" she asked up at me as her teacher retrieved her backpack for me.

I patted her on the back, just as excited as her. I handed her the flowers and she buried her face in them. "Have you ever gone fishing, Peaches?"

She lifted her head, nose wrinkling. "Fishing?"

I nodded sagely. "All important people are duty bound to teach their important people to fish. It's a life lesson I won't let you miss out on."

Her teacher handed me her backpack. "Have a good afternoon, Georgia." She winked. "My daddy taught me how to fish around your age too."

Georgia squealed her excitement and nearly dragged me out of the school. She was fast for a girl with short legs. She chatted about school and friends the whole way back to the house. We didn't pull into the driveway though. Instead, I drove us around to the back of the property where the pond was, my tires bouncing over the hills and divots in the land. My brothers and I had spent many a lazy summer morning fishing in this exact spot. We'd even built a ramshackle tree house in one of the old trees from scraps of wood. I'd have to see if it was still safe enough for us to climb up.

When Georgia assured me she loved worms, I gave her the task of using the garden trowel in a moist patch of weeds and wildflowers to dig up the creepy-crawlies while I got our fishing rods out of the back of the truck. I laid out a blanket in the shade of an oak tree and called her over. She had five worms squiggling around in the palm of her hand.

"You're a natural angler, Peaches!"

"Amgbler?" she asked, squealing again when one of the worms wiggled right off her palm and dropped onto the blanket. I picked it up and put it on the hook. Her look of horror had me biting back a laugh.

"Wait 'til you catch your first fish. You'll be hooked."

The joke flew right over her head, but she dropped the other worms and sat next to me, letting me show her how to work the reel. I demonstrated what the line would feel like if a fish was nibbling. Then I got my own line cast and settled in next to her.

She looked at the lines, then at me. She looked so tiny with the long pole in her hands. Had my brothers and I been that small? "So now what?"

I shrugged. "We wait."

She thought about that for a few seconds. "Know any jokes?"

I wracked my brain and came up with only one that was appropriate for a five-year-old. "What do you use to count cows?"

Georgia wrinkled her nose and grinned at the same time, making me laugh even without the punch line. "I don't know!"

"A cowculator. "

She started giggling, but sobered quickly. "Whatya call a bear with no teeth?"

"A nonthreat?" I mumbled, knowing that couldn't be the right answer.

"No! A gummy bear!"

I threw my head back and laughed, wondering when I'd had a better time. We kept going, telling each other corny jokes, some of which she got and some she didn't, but I lived for that innocent giggle.

"Why did the man fall down the well?" I asked.

"He was clumsy!" Georgia shrieked, probably scaring all the fish away.

"No! He couldn't see that well."

She fell onto the blanket giggling. My abs hurt from laughing so much. As much as I'd grieved over losing my father, this felt right. Felt like something he would have approved of. Hell, he would have loved Georgia like his own.

Georgia shrieked again and jumped to her feet. "Wa-wy! Fish!"

I put my pole down and grabbed hers, feeling that familiar tug on the line. I helped her reel it in, even as she jumped around, too excited to stay in one spot. When the little fish—all five inches of him—appeared, she cheered, letting go of the pole entirely to dance around the embankment of the pond. Holding the line, I told her to stand still so we could get a fish selfie.

"A fishelfie!" she hollered, punching her fist in the air. I took the photo right then, me grinning like a fool and her triumphant over her first catch.

We went home after that, to get ready for dinner and to show her mama what she caught. All I knew was that I would be printing out that selfie and putting it up on the mantel to join the others. Maybe the opportunity to be a father hadn't passed me by…it just looked a little different than I envisioned it.