Rural Romance by Alexa Riley

Chapter Seven

Cooper

By some luck when I got called out to the Blair house at the edge of town, the patrol from the next town over was already there. Betsy Blair is an older woman that lives almost on the border of two towns, so when she calls we always go. We don’t want there to be a time when she needs something and the other town doesn’t show up.

In this instance it helped because when I got the text from Juno that she needed me, I grabbed the guys, and we hauled ass back to town. I was there within a matter of moments, but it felt like forever.

“We’ll send it off to the lab and hopefully have something back for you by tomorrow,” Terrance, the other town's chief of police, tells me.

“I appreciate you coming, and I’m thankful for anything you can do to help me out.”

“She’s something special to you?” he asks, nodding up at the second floor where I left Juno.

“She is,” I admit out loud.

This might be the first time I’m allowing myself to consider what the future with Juno might appear to be, and I fucking love it. I’m just not sure she’ll ever feel that way. She’s so bright and full of light. She’ll get tired of my overbearing ways and take off.

“Cute little thing,” he says, mostly to himself, but I feel my hackles rise.

“Watch it, Terrance.” My voice is cold and cutting.

“Hey, no offense.” He holds his hands up and smiles like he’s seeing me in a new light. Maybe he is. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks,” I say and nod to him and his guys as they pull out from their spots and take off.

I look over the broken window we patched with some cardboard and tape. It’s not secure, but nothing will be until the glass gets replaced. I called the auto shop in town, and they’re going to come by tonight and measure it so they can cut a piece to replace it. Thankfully we’ve got good people here that can help as soon as possible. But my biggest concern is who the fuck did it to begin with and why they would target Juno’s business.

It’s not even up and going, and the real estate people that sold it were happy with the deal. There’s no bad blood in town with this place or with Juno, as far as I know. Hell, from the going away party the diner gave her, you’d think she was the damn queen of Pink Springs.

I lock up the shop door and go upstairs to find her. I’m finished with work for the day anyway, but I’m also itching to get her back to my place.

“Juno,” I call out when I open the door, and I see her sitting on her bed with her arms crossed. “You ready?” When I call out, she doesn’t move.

“You’re going to answer some questions first.” She scowls at me, and I’m surprised. A few moments ago she was in tears, and now she looks pissed. I guess dealing with an angry Juno is much easier than dealing with a crying one. I don’t know how to fix tears, and it breaks my heart when I see her do it.

“I’ll answer your questions when we’re out of here.” I grab the bag sitting on the floor next to her, but she doesn’t move to get up. “Let’s go.”

“Why am I leaving? Where are we going? You can’t just bark orders at me and expect me to do what you say.”

“I don’t think it’s safe here, at least until we get your window fixed and some cameras. Maybe even a few more locks, a guard dog—”

“Cooper,” she hisses, cutting me off.

“You’re coming to stay with me for a few days while they fix your window.” Never mind that it will be fixed tomorrow. She doesn’t need to know all the details.

“Oh.” Her arms fall in her lap like she didn’t consider this.

“Did you think I was going to take you to the shelter at the church?” I want to laugh but have the feeling it will just piss her off more.

“Fine. But you can carry my bag.” She stands up and walks past me with her chin in the air. I shake my head because I’m already carrying her bag. But whatever it takes to get her to come willingly.

After a brief argument in the parking lot about leaving her car here, I finally give in, and she follows behind me in her Jeep on the way to my house. Luca still lives at home with me, but I hardly ever see him. He’s either hanging out with his friends or working, and sometimes his job takes him away for a few days at a time. He left town a few hours ago and won’t be back until next week, so I’m thankful I’ve got the place to myself with Juno.

This is the house our parents built, but after they passed they left it to the three of us. Lux lives in the city now, and Luca has already said he doesn’t plan on staying in Pink Springs forever, so both of them gave it to me. I’ve done a few things over the years to change it and make it ours, but mostly my room and the kitchen have gotten the bulk of the remodels.

When we pull up, I grab Juno’s bag from beside me and go over to open her door on the Jeep. She’s silent as we go inside, and when I put her bag down on the kitchen table, we stand there for a moment, just looking at each other.

“Are you hungry?” she asks, looking around and then at her feet. Anywhere but at me.

I shake my head as I see her leaning against the counter. She’s in the same spot I found her all those months ago, and it’s the image that haunts me in my dreams.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” She still won’t look at me, but I shake my head anyway. She brings a finger up to her mouth to bite her nail, and I take a step toward her.

“Don’t do that,” I say, and my voice is husky and low. I take the hand and bring the finger up to my mouth to kiss it.

“So what are we going to do?” When her eyes meet mine she’s nervous, but I see an excitement there too.

“I’m gonna take you to my room.” I kiss the inside of her wrist without taking my eyes off her. Her mouth opens, and she lets out a breath as I wrap an arm around her back and haul her up against me. “And introduce you to my headboard.”

I grab her ass and lift her over my shoulder, carrying her up the stairs. I’m too close to the edge to wait on her to walk, and I’ll be faster. By the time I make it to my room and kick the door closed, barely a heartbeat has passed. I put Juno on her feet, and she wobbles a second as I steady her.

“Strip,” I order, and to her credit she does as I say.

While she takes her top off, I practically rip my own shirt off and toss it on the chair next to the window. I’m kicking off my boots and jeans just as she’s coming out of her shorts and panties. She doesn’t wear a bra, but her tits are small enough that she doesn’t have to. My cock jerks at the thought of being able to reach under her shirt at any time and play with her nipples without anything stopping me.

Her panties hit the floor, and I’m already on her, kissing her like I need her mouth to breathe and walking her back toward the bed. My jeans are around my ankles, and I kick them off as I go. She pushes down my boxer briefs, and my cock springs hard and free between us. I feel the cool trail of precum smeared across her belly and growl in delight. Fuck, I can’t wait to mark every inch of her.

“Let me lick you again,” I say, nudging her back on the bed and spreading her legs. Her pink lips spread, and I groan with pleasure as I slide my tongue between them. She’s already wet but a few quick licks of my tongue and she’s close to cumming.

I’m so fucking hard that my dick is touching my stomach as I eat her pussy. I’m creaming over the tip and down my shaft. I know that as soon as I’m inside her, I won’t last.

“You want to cum on my mouth or my dick?” I ask, biting the inside of her thigh.

“Dick,” she says quickly, and I smile.

“You sure?” I lick her clit, and she cries out and raises her hips.

“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She wiggles then grabs my hair. “Wait, yes on your cock.”

“Good girl,” I say as I climb on top of her.

The skin over my cock is tight, and I’ve never been so big in my life. I’m worried about hurting her, after I felt how tight she was, but I’m going to control myself.

“Just let me get all the way in, and then I promise I’ll make it good for you.” I look into her eyes, and she nods as she spreads her knees.

I swipe the tip of my cock through her wet folds and then push into her opening. It’s so fucking soft and tight that I moan as I enter. I feel her tense, and before she can push me back out, I thrust all the way inside. I curse a stream of words that may or may not be intelligible. My body falls on top of hers as I bury my face in her neck and try to hold still. She’s tense under me as her nails bite into my back, but I don’t move.

Black spots dot my vision because I’ve never felt anything so fucking perfect. It’s tighter than my fist and so goddamn wet. I kiss her neck and across her chest and then her lips. I look into her eyes and hold her face, and all I do is hold her without moving.

Something passes between us, and even though I know it’s her first time, it feels like the beginning for both of us. Maybe this is where our story was meant to start, and from here on out it’s the two of us forever.

God, I want to tell her I love her, but I don’t want to scare her. Before this I’d convinced myself I couldn’t have her because she didn’t want me, or this town, or my life, but here with her feels like forever. Why would I fight this?

I open my mouth to confess all my feelings, but when she raises her hips and clenches around me, it steals the air from my lungs.

“Move, Cooper, before I die,” she begs, and I’m a slave to her command.