Chapter 23

TWENTY-THREE

WAYLON

The next morning, I woke up feeling like a bag of old bowling pins.

"Fuck," I whimpered as soon as I tried to roll over.

"Baby, stay still. Let me get you some pain medicine." Silas's morning-gruff voice came from behind me. His hand slid off my stomach as he moved to crawl out of bed.

Memories of the day before flashed through my sleep-crusted brain. Roundup. The fall. The tight squeeze of my husband's ass around my rock-hard cock.

I'll be yours, Way. Only yours.

I groaned at the delicious memory of it. Poor Silas misinterpreted the noise.

"Coming. I'm coming. Just grabbing a glass of water."

"Want to fuck you again," I admitted, opening my eyes in time to see him stop in the archway and blink at me.

"Beg pardon?"

"You heard me." I tried to sit up and winced at the soreness in my side and hip. "Correction. Maybe you could ride me. I'd just lie here like a potato, and you could use those thighs of yours to do all the work."

His mouth widened into a grin. "You must not be on the verge of death if you can still proposition me for sex."

I took the medicine and water from him and swallowed them down. "Definitely in pain, but half of it's coming from my dick."

After Silas took the glass from me and set it safely on the kitchen counter, he crawled into bed and peeled back the covers, revealing my morning wood. "Oh, hello. I see the problem here."

"Big problem."

He pursed his lips. "I've seen bigger."

I shoved his shoulder with a laugh. "Fuck off."

"Maybe I can make it grow," he teased before leaning down to run the tip of his tongue way too lightly across the head. I grabbed the hair on his head and yanked.

"You're worse at blowjobs than I am," I grumbled.

"Not possible."

Laughing hurt my side, but it also made me feel almost high with giddiness. He was so fucking fun to be around. Our teasing banter reminded me of the night we met, of the reason I must have been attracted enough to him to marry a complete and very male stranger. For someone so serious and controlling and hardworking, he was also fun and joyful when he wanted to be. I wondered how many people ever got to see this side of him.

As he propped himself over me, the muscles in his shoulders and biceps bunched, moving under the tattooed skin. The chemical symbols reminded me of his kind heart, another aspect of Silas Concannon many people might never get a chance to understand.

"Make me come," I said, trying to distract myself from all the things I loved about him, all the reasons I didn't want him to leave. According to the calendar, we only had six weeks left together before the exhibition, and after that, he'd be free to return to his life in the city.

Silas met my eyes before taking the head of my cock fully into his mouth and wrapping his warm, wet tongue around it. I tilted my head back and let out a groan of pleasure. "Fuck, don't stop."

He doubled down on his effort until I was on the knife's edge of release. Every muscle in my body clenched in anticipation of my orgasm, and words of appreciation and encouragement babbled out of my mouth without the courtesy of stopping by my brain for approval first.

When I saw Silas reach down to stroke his own cock, strong fingers finding just the right pressure and rhythm against the darker skin of his erection, I lost it. " Nnghhh ."

My hand palmed the back of his head as my orgasm hit, and I wondered if it was possible for something this unexpected and unplanned to feel so incredibly, life-changingly right.

Silas's hot spunk hit my leg as he growled out his own release, but I was too floaty to do anything but lie there and let him worry about the cleanup. He cared for me with tender touches and a hot washcloth before murmuring instructions for me to fall back to sleep.

For once, I obeyed my husband.

It took three days before I could do much more than hobble my way into town and sit obediently at my desk while doing work on the AdventureSmash exhibition. I didn't know what I would have done without Silas. He and Devon helped cover my ranch chores, and he made sure I took breaks for meals.

Every time Silas showed up at the office, Bernice fell more and more in love with him.

"Did you know Silas has a Hoyt Satori?"

I glanced up at her as she leaned against the doorframe between her desk and my office and stared dreamily into space. "I don't know what that means," I admitted. "Is it a motorcycle?"

She let out a disappointed exhale. "It's a fancy bow. Archery bow, I mean. A recurve." She flicked her hand at me. "You wouldn't understand. But that bow probably cost as much as my mortgage payment. Lake McNair could special order one, but it's too expensive for him to keep in stock at the shop."

"You do archery?" I asked in surprise.

"Well… not me, per se… but I got into a bowhunting sub-forum after Missy Bauer told me that's how she met Lee."

I blinked at her. "You joined a bowhunting chat to meet guys?"

She shrugged. "It was better than the bowling league. Never try to meet people in a situation where you have to witness their stinky feet too soon. And then there was the online gambling site. Too many losers and deadbeats. Learned that the hard way, too, even though I should have seen it coming a mile away."

I would probably regret asking this, but… "Have you met anyone good from the bowhunting group?"

"Oh heavens no. In fact, Missy and Lee broke up a few weeks ago, and now she's trying to get me to try a roller derby club up in Billings. Says it's a great way to meet ladies and that ladies are way less trouble than men."

My head swam. "And you're… thinking of…" I wasn't sure I wanted to finish my question. This was already more information than I'd ever wanted to know about my grade school bus driver slash current assistant.

She flicked her hand again. "It's not sexual, Mayor Fletcher. At my age, I'm much more concerned with companionship and good conversation. I can handle my more… intimate needs… myself, thank you very much."

My face flooded with heat as I squirmed in my chair. Wasn't it just about break time? And wasn't I needed across town at any place other than my office?

Thankfully, my handsome husband raced in just in time to save me from this devastating conversation. "Finish whatever you're doing. You've got to see something at ZuZu's studio."

I bolted up and threw a quick apology over my shoulder at Bernice before following Silas out the door. "Is my sister okay?" I thought to ask as we exited City Hall into the bright sunshine.

"Yes, of course. But with how busy you've been lately, I didn't think you'd had a chance to see what she's been working on, and it's really great."

For an outsider, Silas managed to get around. He seemed to already know everyone and everything about Majestic, so it didn't surprise me that he'd noticed a new pottery project at my sister's studio.

We walked the three blocks to her narrow storefront, which was already hopping with the new influx of tourist traffic that had appeared in anticipation of Memorial Day weekend.

Flower boxes lined the sidewalk under the big picture window, colorful chalk paint decorated the edges of the glass with a sale offer, and I noticed a small rainbow flag flying lazily from one of the flower baskets hanging from the eave over the open front door.

Front and center in the plate glass window display was a large ceramic model of the Three Daughters peaks with the Majestic River running between them and out into the valley below. The sun streaming in through the window caught on the blue-green glazing, which somehow looked even shinier in the area of the river. The AdventureSmash logo was stamped into the base with "Majestic Exhibition" and the year engraved below. On a shelf next to the large sculpture sat a smaller display of mini versions of it, fashioned like a Christmas ornament or keepsake medallion hanging from a decorative ribbon.

"Wow," I breathed. "She's going to make a killing on those things."

Silas beamed proudly. "Agreed. I told her she wasn't charging enough, so she bumped up the price. We both know she'll discount the hell out of them for locals, but the tourists would definitely be willing to pay out the nose for something that's a limited collectible."

We entered the shop to find ZuZu in her element, happily chatting with a customer while wearing a clay-stained apron. Her wheel sat abandoned in the back of the shop with a plastic-covered lump of clay in the center. As soon as she was finished with her customer, I went over and gushed to her about the window display.

"When did you make this? It's amazing!"

Her eyes lit up. "You like it?"

"Are you kidding? It's gorgeous. And the keepsakes are brilliant. You're so freaking talented. How many have you had a chance to make?"

She walked back to the tall cabinets behind her pottery wheel and opened them to reveal stacks and stacks of carefully packaged keepsake medallions next to her usual supply of mugs, bowls, spoon rests, and decorative plates. "I have a ton. Probably way too many, but once I got on a roll making them, it went fast. It was Silas's idea, actually."

Silas looked surprised. "Mine?"

She nodded. "I overheard you mention something to Lake and Jackson about partnering with Patagonia for some event merchandise. You mentioned that you'd done a project in business school where you studied the effects of scarcity in a marketing campaign and how limited-edition merch associated with an event becomes highly desired."

I could tell her praise was making Silas uncomfortable, but those were the breaks. If he was going to be so damn helpful, he could take the praise for it, and I'd enjoy watching him squirm.

Silas hesitated. "Did you ask AdventureSmash for permission to use their logo?"

She grinned. "Yep. I asked Lake for the contact info and talked to Robbie Ryder directly. I got all the necessary paperwork, but I also asked him not to tell you guys about it since I wasn't sure I would be able to pull it off. But then I told Natana my idea, and she offered to help cover the shop until she had to leave for Lander to help her aunt. There's still time for me to make more before the exhibition, but I figured even if they don't sell, just having them on display will help spread the word and build up more buzz about the exhibition." She shrugged. "And worst-case scenario, we have an exhibition-themed Christmas tree this winter."

I stepped forward and pulled her into my arms. "I'm proud of you."

She laughed. "Thanks, but it's a little self-serving. There's a ceramics program in San Francisco…" She scraped her lip with her teeth. "It's a long shot, but if I can get in… well, it's really expensive."

Silas opened his mouth but then didn't speak. Instead, he looked at me as if unsure of how I'd respond.

"I think that's… something we'll have to plan for," I said, doing my best to hide my fear. There was no way a hot summer of selling ceramic keepsakes would ever earn my baby sister enough money to put herself through a prestigious art school. I didn't doubt her ability to get accepted, but I definitely doubted my family's ability to pay for it. "But we'll make it happen. Let me know what you need for the application. If there's anything I can do to help."

When we left her shop to make our way back toward City Hall, I got lost in thought, trying to figure out how ZuZu would apply for financial aid. Would my income be considered on her application? Would she be able to claim some of the debt on the ranch since she was a partial owner?

Silas's voice was so low I barely noticed it at first. "Unclench. You'll figure it out. She's determined, and that's half the battle."

"Those schools are over fifty grand a year," I said. My voice sounded a little more panicked than I'd hoped. "And that doesn't even include travel expenses. But there aren't any decent programs here in Wyoming, so anyplace would be that expensive, I guess. I don't see how?—"

Silas grabbed me and yanked me around in front of him before kissing the hell out of me. His large palm cradled the back of my head, which was the only thing that kept me from tripping over my own feet.

I could sense people gawping on the sidewalk nearby, but the kiss was so overwhelming, so enticing and satisfying, I wasn't sure I minded.

" Gnfh ," I said when he pulled away. "What was that for?"

"To distract you. You were spiraling. Do me a favor and set that stress aside until after the exhibition stress is over, okay? One stress at a time."

He had a point. ZuZu hadn't even applied, so there was no sense in worrying about how we were going to pay for it. Yet.

I realized we'd turned the wrong way on Poke Street. "Where are you taking me?"

"Pete's. I'm in the mood for pizza today. That okay with you?"

I nodded and swallowed, enjoying the lingering taste of him on my tongue. Silas grabbed my hand and held it firmly as we continued toward the pizza place. "Thanks for noticing that. ZuZu's art piece and the collectibles. I feel like a shitty brother. I had no idea she was doing any of that."

"You've been slammed and distracted. Not to mention recovering from the accident. Give yourself a break, Way."

Several Majesticans greeted us as we made our way down the final block and entered Pete's. We took a table in the back and ordered a large pepperoni and a couple of sodas.

"I'm starving," I realized. Before I could ask Silas what he'd been up to all morning, one of Foster's deputies approached our table and greeted me. "Just the man I wanted to see. You got a minute?"

Hanson Sandoval hadn't been a local when Foster had recruited him over from the Law Enforcement Academy in Douglas. The man had grown up in Moran and had been a volunteer with the Teton County Search and Rescue team before deciding to pursue a law enforcement career. His SaR experience was one of the reasons Foster had recruited him to Majestic's sheriff's department. In addition to being good at what he did, he was also proving to be a nice guy and a great addition to our town.

"Sure. What's up?" I pulled out one of the empty chairs at our table so he could take a seat before making sure he and Silas had met.

"I already talked to Foster about this, and he said to talk to you. We've been trying to get the folks from Casper to approve a second helicopter to be on standby for trauma response during the exhibition event."

Silas's eyebrows dipped. "Casper?"

"It's the nearest regional trauma center," I explained.

"But that's nowhere near here."

Hanson tapped his finger on the table. "Which is why we're trying so hard to figure out funding to upgrade the Majestic clinic to at least a community trauma hospital, if not a regional one."

"What about Billings?" Silas asked. "Isn't it closer?"

"It's a state thing," I explained. "We can send patients to the hospital in Billings in an emergency, but we can't ask for their resources preemptively due to the way state budgets work."

I could see the wheels turning in his head. If I knew Silas, he was going to try and solve this dilemma. The thought didn't make me nearly as antsy as it had just a few days ago… and that realization itself probably should have made me antsy. But after the night we'd had, after the way Silas had given himself to me, I couldn't muster a single qualm.

I turned back to Hanson. "What do you need from me?"

"If Casper agrees to the second bird, that still leaves us without one for any SaR needs. The outdoor television network is bringing one in for aerial coverage of the race. Apparently, it's standard for them to agree to let SaR teams use their helicopters in an emergency as long as the SaR team pays for the fuel and piloting time. I wanted to see if we have any money to cover this if it happens. Obviously we don't anticipate needing it since the exhibition isn't that intense, but it's better to be prepared and have all the paperwork in place just in case."

We talked through details of what kind of budget would be needed, and I agreed to schedule a meeting with him later in the week to figure out whether or not we could afford it. "We can definitely get the paperwork done, regardless," I added. "But I'm not sure about the money yet. I can reach out to the Lawrence Foundation about a grant, but they're not that big. It's possible this might qualify for a Kussman Memorial Trust grant. I'll ask Bernice to do some research."

"That would be great. I'm still researching other sources with the help of some guys over in Teton County, but I wanted to loop you in."

Silas watched the young deputy as he stood and apologized for interrupting our lunch. Once Hanson was gone, he finally spoke. "How likely is it there will be a search and rescue need during the event?"

"Well… not as unlikely as you might think. SaR includes things like swift water rescue. Anytime you have people on the river, there's a chance you'll need emergency rescue help. We usually end up needing an SaR team several times per summer for various reasons. Tourists trapped on a rock face needing rope rescue, kayakers and rafters stuck in the middle of a river needing swift water rescue, or lost hikers needing mountain or land rescue. It's one of the reasons Foster has been trying so hard to get funding for a paid program instead of relying on volunteers. But with the additional volume of tourists and outdoor adventure enthusiasts coming for the exhibition… yeah, there's a higher chance we'd need serious resources in place. I'd rather be overprepared than under."

As I spoke, Silas's eyes seemed to darken. I couldn't figure out where the additional intensity was coming from until much later that day when we met back up at home and he shoved me against the wall and put his tongue in my mouth.

"What the fuck?" I asked between gasping breaths.

"Turns out I have a competency fetish," he growled before kissing me breathless again. His hard cock thrust against mine through too many layers of clothes. "You drive me fucking crazy, Mayor."

"Fuck me," I said without thinking.

"Don't tempt me."

"Mean it," I said after a single second of hesitation. Part of me wanted to know what it felt like to be on the receiving end of all that carnal energy, to feel him lose control and pound into me until he came on a shudder and shout.

Silas pulled back and met my eyes. The edge of his lips curled up in a satisfied smirk. "You want me inside you, Mr. Majestic? Is that what you want?"

I felt hard and desperate, horny and shameless. "Yes."

There was something coiled and tightly controlled in Silas, and I wanted to see it snap. I wanted him to let go and be wide open with me. Maybe if I offered to bottom for him, he would finally show me that part of himself.

"Then why are you standing there, fully clothed, Mayor Fletcher?" Silas asked.

And if I'd thought his eyes had been intense before… it was nothing to the way they looked now.