Page 33 of Back in the Country
I flag down our waitress and try my best to appear cool, calm, and collected as I go through the motions of paying for our meal. For all intents and purposes, The Iron Cask is the perfect in-between place. It’s nicer than a sports bar and it’s nothing fancy but the food is delicious and the ambiance is perfect. It’s too bad I couldn’t give a damn at the moment.
Marlee smiles at me as I push my chair back and stand. She takes my offered hand and grabs her small purse before following me out onto the busy street. Her hand fits perfectly in mine, and I love the smoothness of her skin against my roughness.
To me, she feels like a woman should—soft and delicious and completely irresistible. I’m aching to get lost in her body, but despite my heart still dancing in my chest, I’m surprisingly at ease.
She joked about it inside but we’ve both been waiting for this—being together—for a long time.
It’s cooled off but still humid as I inhale the sweet Tennessee night. Tourists complain about it, but I love how even though the sun is no longer in the sky, we can still feel her warmth like an intentional hug.
“What are you smilin’ for?” The tease in her voice makes me smile bigger as I bring our clasped hands to my mouth and kiss the back of hers.
“I was just thinkin’ about how much I love this time of night.” I pause. “And how much I missed you.” Swallowing hard, I say, “How happy I am that you’re home.”
She looks away and we walk in silence for a minute. It’s not the reaction I expected, and the air between us is tense before she responds.
“You sent me away, Waylon.”
I don’t even think. I yank her into me as my hands dive into her hair. Tilting her head back, I slam my lips over hers and devour her mouth. Pouring everything I have into the kiss, I beg her to understand. My tongue licks at the seam of her lips, and when she opens them, I groan.
Whistles and catcalls surround us but I couldn’t care less. I’ve heard the rumors around town about us being together, but the only thing I care about isher.
We’re not even in Clementine Creek, but there’s no doubt in my mind that this moment will be headline news by the time we get home.
I don’t care.
This beautiful woman has no idea what it took for me to walk away, and I’ll die before I let it happen again.
Pulling back, I rest my forehead against hers. We’re panting, her hands still gripping my forearms as we let the unspoken words settle between us.
“It gutted me watchin’ you leave, Marlee. You took my fucking heart with you when you left, and I didn’t know if I’d ever get it back.”
“And now?” She whispers the words and I don’t need time to respond.
“You’re my forever, baby. You’ve always been my forever.”
“I’m still mad about it.” Her moss-green eyes are full of challenge when her gaze meets mine.
I grin.
“I’m more than willin’ to put in the work, baby.”
“We’ll see.”
She turns to leave but I pull her back into me, gently this time.
“I will do whatever it takes,” I say and start singing.
She rolls her eyes but laughs at my—ahem—clever infusion of Jonas Brothers lyrics from “What A Man Gotta Do” into our not so borderline serious conversation.
I’m painfully aware I have ground to make up with her. We’ve never talked about her time with Caleb other than to say that he was treating her like he should. I kept tabs on them through Rhea and Sorren but it wasn’t the same.
The more serious their relationship became, the more she pulled away from me. I’d literally chased her into another man’s arms. It made me sick, but I couldn’t change it. I could only do better—be better—for her and for me.
For us.
I unlock the truck but then push her back against the passenger door. I could kiss her all day every day and it would never be enough. Her vanilla-flavored lip balm wore off hours ago, but I could still taste it on her.
“Way?” Her hands fist in my shirt as she arches into me.
