Chapter 5

Sawyer

The barn door slams open,nearly coming off its hinges, and there stands Edward Davenport. His face? Red like the devil”s backside after a trip down a steep slide. He marches straight up to me, that vein in his forehead looking like it”s about to pop.

”End it with Nora!” he barks, spitting fire with each word. ”You”ve taken enough from her innocence, Blackwood.”

I”m on my feet in a heartbeat, every muscle tensed, ready for whatever this storm”s gonna throw at me. ”Listen, Ed,” I start, my voice low and steady, ”I ain”t taking advantage of nobody. Nora? She”s something special, and I care about her. More than you know.”

”Care?” Edward snorts, throwing the word out like it”s a curse. ”Is that what you call leaving hickeys on her neck? That girl is barely out of high school, and you”re—what?—some big-shot rancher who thinks he can have whatever he wants?”

”Damn right I”m a rancher,” I shoot back, stepping closer, feeling the heat from his anger and the chill from mine collide. ”And I want Nora. But not like some prize, not like you”re thinking. I want her heart, not just her body, though, hell, I”d be lying if I said I didn”t want that too.”

”Her heart?” he scoffs, shaking his head like I”m selling him swamp land in the desert. ”You think love is marked by bruises on her skin?”

”Love is a lot of things,” I say, my jaw so clenched it might crack. ”It”s messy, it”s raw, and yeah, sometimes it leaves a mark. But it”s real, Ed. What Nora and I have? It”s as real as the dirt under our boots.”

”Real or not, you”ll end it, or I swear to God?—”

”Or what?” I cut him off, my eyes blazing now. ”You”ll take her away? Tell her she can”t make her own choices? She”s eighteen, Ed. And she chose me.”

”Because you”ve blinded her with your... your...”

”Come on, Ed,” I interrupt him, “let”s not pretend this isn”t killing you because she”s your little girl. I get it. But don”t make her pay for your fears.”

”Pay for—you think you”re some kind of gift to her?”

”Hell, I’m no gift,” I concede, my tone softening just a notch. ”But I”m someone who”ll fight for her, stand by her, and give her all of me. Can you honestly tell her she shouldn”t have that?”

His fists clench and unclench at his sides, and I know I”ve hit a nerve. Maybe because deep down, he knows it too. Love ain”t clean-cut and pretty like in those romance novels. It”s gritty, it”s hard, and yeah, sometimes it leaves you breathless and wanting more.

The barn door bangs open, and Nora bursts in, her breath coming fast. Her eyes are wide—like she”s just seen a ghost in broad daylight. I can tell from the way she”s looking at me, at her dad, that she”s swimming in shock, trying to grasp what’s unfolding in front of her.

”Da-Dad?” Her voice shakes as much as her hands. She”s caught between the fury in her old man”s eyes and the stubborn set of my jaw, a deer trapped in the headlights of a slow-motion collision.

”Sweetheart,” Edward”s tone flips like a switch, all soft and pleading now, all that anger he had aimed at me turning into something like fear, ”you gotta end this with Sawyer. For your own good.”

He steps closer to her, reaching out but not quite touching—as if he”s afraid she”ll flinch away or break down. And damn, it slices through me to see her so lost, her father so desperate.

”Please, baby girl.” His eyes are pools of worry, dark with the thought of her getting hurt. ”I”ve seen things, been around long enough to know how the world works. He”s older, experienced, and you...you”re just starting out.”

”Edward...” I bite back the urge to argue, to defend myself against his words, because this ain”t about him and me right now—it”s about Nora. It”s always been about her.

”Look at me, Nora.” Edward”s got that edge of urgency creeping into his voice, like he”s hanging onto reason by a thread. ”You think you love him, but it”s a big world out there. You don”t need to get tied down to the first man who shows you attention.”

But hell, I know it”s more than attention between me and Nora. It”s a fire that can”t be doused by doubt or fear, not by mine nor her daddy”s. It”s raw and real, and it kills me that I can’t shout that truth for both of them to hear.

Nora bites her lip.

Damn.

I can”t stand here and watch her crumble under the weight of her father”s fears. I step forward, my boots thudding on the worn wooden floor of the barn. ”Nora,” I start, my voice low but unwavering, ”I know this is hard, and I know your daddy”s only lookin’ out for you, but what we have...” My hand reaches out to her, hovering in the space between us, desperate to bridge it. ”It”s real, darlin”. Don”t let fear steal away something that could be damn beautiful.”

Her eyes, those big doe-like pools reflecting a storm of emotions, meet mine. Tears brim and threaten to spill over, carving wet trails down her cheeks. She blinks rapidly, trying to hold them back, trying to hold everything back.

”Your dad”s right about one thing—I am experienced,” I admit, and there”s no shame in that truth because with every year, every heartbreak, I”ve built up to this moment, to her. ”But that just means I know when something”s worth fightin” for. And Nora, you’re worth every damn second of the fight.”

She stands frozen, a statue carved of confusion and longing, torn between the pull of her blood and the call of her heart. Her lips part slightly, trembling as if they”re battling the words that want to escape.

”Dad says...” Her voice is barely above a whisper, carried away by the tension in the room. ”Sawyer, I don”t know if I can?—”

”Can what?” I push gently, needing her to voice it, to own whatever fear”s got her shackled. ”Can stand up for yourself? Can choose who to love? ”Cause I think you can, Nora. You”re strong, fierce even. Don”t let anyone, not even him,” I nod toward Edward, my gaze never leaving hers, ”tell you otherwise.”

The silence stretches between us, so thick I reckon I could lasso it. She chews on her bottom lip—a nervous habit I”ve come to find endearing—and I see the battle raging within her. Love versus loyalty. Desire versus duty. It”s tearing her apart, and fuck if it doesn”t tear at me too.

”Say something, darlin’,” I coax, willing her to speak her mind, to listen to that wild heart I know beats inside her chest. ”Tell me you feel it too. This ain’t just some fling. It”s you and me, against the odds.”

Nora”s shoulders slump as if the burden”s grown too heavy. Her tears finally break free, rushing down her face like a river after a storm. Yet, despite the downpour, there”s a fire in her eyes that refuses to be snuffed out.

”Sawyer, I—” She starts, but the rest gets lost, choked back by a sob.

”Take your time,” I say softly, giving her the space she needs because I know this ain”t easy. But I also know we won”t get nowhere if we don”t face this head-on, together. The rawness, the intensity of it all—it”s what makes this real. It”s what makes us real.

The air in the barn”s thick with tension, a storm brewing in Edward”s eyes—a hurricane about to make landfall on my damn face. His step forward is all it takes, and his fist comes swinging like a sledgehammer. I don”t back down, never have, not with the stakes this high.

”Damn it, Sawyer! Stay away from my daughter!” Edward snarls, a wild fire in his gaze.

”Like hell I will,” I grunt out as I dodge his punch, feeling the whoosh of air as it narrowly misses my jaw. I ain”t no stranger to a brawl, but fighting Nora”s father? That”s a new level of hell I hadn”t planned on visiting.

”Stop it! Both of you, please!” Nora”s scream slices through the cacophony of our grunts and the thud of fists against flesh.

I throw a punch that lands square on Edward”s shoulder, feeling the jolt run up my arm. He retaliates with a blow that grazes my cheek. We”re two rams butting heads, locked in a battle neither is willing to lose. Every hit, every grunt echoes Nora”s name in my head—she”s the reason for this fight, the prize, and the damn referee all rolled into one.

Nora rushes toward us, her hands reaching out in a futile attempt at peacekeeping. ”Dad! Sawyer! Please, this isn”t the way!”

”Stay out of it, Nora!” Edward roars, even as he throws another punch, which I sidestep, my boots scuffing the dirt floor.

”Fuck, Eddie, don”t you see you”re scaring her?” I spit out between clenched teeth, trying to keep my focus, though every cell in my body screams to wrap Nora up and shield her from this ugliness.

”Scaring her? You”re corrupting her, you son of a—” His words cut off with a grunt as I land a solid hit, and I”m not sure if it”s satisfaction or regret that twists in my gut.

”Stop hurting each other!” Nora”s plea”s desperate, her voice shattering against the wooden beams above.

Her face is a canvas of fear and anguish, tears streaking down her cheeks, and it stabs at me sharper than any punch ever could. This ain”t what I wanted—for her to witness her world, her men, her heart, clashing in a violent dance meant for enemies, not lovers, not family.

”Enough!” The word explodes from her lips, and everything freezes for a heartbeat—my fist midair, Edward”s face a mask of rage, the dust swirling around us like specters.

A sob breaks from her chest, raw and ragged, slicing through the chaos. It”s the sound of breaking—her heart, my resolve, the very earth beneath our feet.

”Please,” she whimpers, and God, if that plea doesn”t bring me to my knees.

I shove Edward hard, and he stumbles back. Blood tastes like iron in my mouth, and I swipe at the trickle leaking from my split lip. My chest rises and falls like I”ve been running miles instead of trading blows with a man old enough to know better. But hell, I should”ve known better too.

”Look what you”ve done!” Nora cries out, her voice trembling worse than a leaf in a storm.

Her eyes—those big, soulful ones that hooked me from day one—are wide with shock and glistening with unshed tears. It”s like looking into a mirror that reflects all my screw-ups, and it hits me square in the chest. I may have just lost her.

”Baby, I—” I start, but words are damn useless now.

She doesn”t wait for me to stitch together some apology. With a heart-wrenching sob, she turns on her heel, a blur of sun-kissed hair and raw emotion, tearing out the barn door faster than a spooked colt. Her small figure gets swallowed up by the sprawling ranch outside, leaving nothing but dust devils dancing in her wake.

”Damn it, Edward,” I growl, glaring at him through the haze of pain and regret. ”You pushed her to this.”

”Me?” He”s panting, disbelief etched across his aging features. ”You”re the one who?—”

”Enough!” I cut him off because if I hear one more word, I might just take a swing at my own reflection next.

The barn feels hauntingly empty without Nora”s presence, her absence a void no amount of anger can fill. I”m left standing there, my fists still balled at my sides, the taste of blood and fear thick on my tongue. The silence throbs louder than any punch ever could, and I can”t shake the feeling that I”ve messed up in ways that can”t be punched or kissed away.

”Shit.” I whisper, the word as broken as the scene before me.

I’ve got to go after her. She could get hurt. She’s in no right mind to be running off on her own.

I burst out the barn door, boots kicking up dust and heart hammering against my ribs like it”s trying to break free. Panic is a wildfire in my veins, burning me up as I scan the sprawling ranch for any sign of her.

”Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I mutter under my breath, every curse a prayer that she hasn”t gone far. The horizon stretches out, taunting me with its vastness, hiding Nora somewhere in its golden waves.

”Noraaa!” My voice rips from my throat, raw and desperate. It echoes back at me, empty and unanswered. She could be anywhere, hidden by the rolling hills or tucked away in one of the countless nooks on Blackwood land.

I sprint past the stables, my eyes flicking over each fence and thicket, searching for that familiar glint of sunlit hair, aching for a glimpse of her lithe frame. I know every inch of this goddamn property, but right now it feels like foreign territory, every second without her stretching into an eternity.

As I round the bend near the old oak grove, my breath hitches. There”s a spot there, a secret place tangled with wildflowers and shaded by ancient branches, where I once caught Nora staring out at the sunset, her face awash with peace. It calls to me now, whispering promises of refuge and solace.

My jog slows to a walk as I approach, every step filled with dread and hope fighting for dominance. Then I see her, a small figure crumpled at the base of an oak tree, her body shaking with sobs that cut through the still air.

”Ah, hell, Nora.” The sight of her, so broken and alone, tears at something inside me, fierce and sharp. Her vulnerability, laid bare among the wildflowers, is a punch straight to the gut.

She doesn”t notice me at first, too lost in her own world of hurt. I crouch down beside her, close enough to reach out but too shaken to touch. Her sobs are a gut-wrenching melody, and every tear that falls is an accusation, a reminder of the chaos I”ve caused.

”Shit, Nora,” I mutter under my breath as relief floods through me, so potent it”s damn near crippling. I can”t lose her, won”t let that happen.

She”s a sight, all vulnerability and raw beauty, and it hits me hard in the chest. My girl, out here alone, because of me. My determination kicks in, fierce as a prairie fire. I”m gonna fix this, make everything right for her.

”Hey,” I call out softly, not wanting to startle her more than she already is.

Nora”s head snaps up, and our eyes lock. Hers are swimming with tears, making my heart lurch painfully. But there”s more—pain mixed with something that looks a heck of a lot like longing. It”s a punch in the gut, that look. She”s torn up inside, just like me.

I take a hesitant step forward, my hand outstretched like I”m trying to catch a spooked mare. ”Nora, listen to me, please.”

She”s looking at me, really looking, and it”s like she can see straight into the mess that”s my heart. The place where her name is carved deep.

”Every moment you”re near, it”s like I”m alive for the first time.” My voice shakes, betraying the storm inside me. ”It”s raw and real, and damn it, Nora, I know I”ve screwed up, but I can”t—won”t—let you walk away from what we have.”

Her eyes flit to my hand, still hanging in the air between us, and something flickers there. Hope? Fear? Both are so tangled up in us it”s hard to tell.

”Your dad thinks I”m just some rough-around-the-edges rancher who”s after one thing.” I scoff lightly, trying to keep it light even though my insides are coiling tight with angst. ”But hell, baby, he doesn”t know that you”re under my skin, you”re in my bones. You”re the fire in my blood.”

She bites her lip, and I have to hold back a groan. That lip, those eyes—God, they”ve haunted my dreams more times than I can count.

”Every night,” I continue, my hand now shaking so bad I have to lower it before she sees, ”I lie awake thinking about you, about us. And yeah, maybe it”s crazy fast and all-consuming, but when I touch you, when you look at me like you do...I know it”s worth fighting for.”

”Is it, Sawyer? Do you…do you love me?” Her voice is small, barely above a whisper, but it cuts through the silence like the sharpest blade.

”More than anything in this world,” I admit, dead serious. ”Without you, Nora, it”s like someone turned off the damn sun.”

There”s a beat of silence, a single heartbeat where I think she might just walk away and leave me here, broken. But then, she steps closer, and I dare to breathe again.

”Make me believe it, Sawyer. Make me feel it.”

And I don”t need to be told twice. I close the distance, my hands finding her waist, and I pull her against me. My lips crash onto hers, pouring every ounce of regret, longing, and plain old desire into that kiss. I kiss her like it”s the first time and the last time all at once, like I”m a man dying of thirst and she”s the only well for miles.

”Believe me now?” I murmur against her lips, almost afraid to let her go long enough to hear her answer.

”Convince me more,” she breathes, and damn if that isn”t the best invitation I”ve ever had.

With my lips still pressed against hers, I slide my hands up her back and into her hair, pulling her closer. She moans into the kiss, and I can taste her desire on my tongue. My cock throbs in agreement, begging to be freed from its confinement. As we break apart for air, I gaze down at her flushed cheeks and hungry eyes.

”Do you see what you do to me?” I growl, my voice rough with lust. ”You”re the only one who can make me lose control like this.”

She bites her bottom lip, eyeing me with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness. ”I want you to take control,” she pants. ”Show me what you”ve got.”

I nod, my mind reeling with possibilities. I slowly begin to undo the buttons on her shirt, my fingers tracing the skin beneath as I expose more of her. I toss her shirt aside and trail my fingers down the center of her chest, teasing the edges of her bra. I grab the sides of her bra and yank it down, freeing her perfect breasts.

She gasps as they”re exposed to the cool air, her nipples already hardened from my touch. I reach out and pinch one between my thumb and forefinger, eliciting a soft moan from her lips.

”You like that?” I ask, leaning in to suckle on her nipple while twisting the other between my fingers.

”Oh god yes,” she whimpers, arching her back in pleasure.

I trail my lips down her stomach, over her bellybutton, and further south until I reach the hem of her skirt. With a quick tug, it”s off and thrown aside. My eyes feast on the sight of her little pink panties, barely containing her wetness. I kneel down before her, taking one of her legs in my hand and spreading her open.

”Now let me show you what I”ve got,” I whisper, running my tongue along the edge of her panties.

She gasps, her fingers digging into my shoulders as I tease her. Without further ado, I press my tongue against her folds, tasting her sweetness. She tastes even better than I remember. As I continue to lick and suckle her, my other hand reaches down to rub her clit, sending shockwaves of pleasure through her body.

”Please,” she begs, her voice hoarse. ”Fuck me.”

I smile against her pussy and then settle atop her int he grass, my leaking cock nudging against her wet hole.

“I would do anything for you, darlin’. You gotta know that,” I tell her as I push into her.

She whimpers, her eyes never leaving mine as I continue pushing into her until I’m seated all the way inside her hot heat, my balls resting against her ass.

Fuuuck, she feels so good.

“I love you too,” she finally says. “I want to be with you forever, Sawyer.”

And that’s all I need to hear to make me lose it.

I smash my lips onto hers and fuck into her like a madman.

Mine! Mine! Mine!

“Sawyer!” She’s screaming my name in no time, and when I feel her little pussy fluttering around me, it’s all I need to make me come harder than I’ve ever come in my entire life.

We lay there in the grass, my girl cradled against my chest, both of us still shaking in the aftermath of our orgasms.

“No one’s ever going to take you away from me,” I vow.

She snuggles closer to my chest, and I stroke her hair. “Good,” she says.

MyNora.