It Started with a Crack by Piper James

Chapter Twenty-Four

Noah

This woman was going to be the death of me. But, damn. What a way to go.

By the time I finished doing all the dirty things I’d promised her during our text conversation, had another round of sex while we showered together, and got dressed for dinner, it was nearly seven. I went out into the living room and sat on the couch, responding to the text messages my brothers sent me when I hauled ass off the worksite without a word to them earlier.

I took one look at that picture Dakota sent me, stalked out of the house we were renovating while ignoring Chase’s questions, hopped in my truck and squealed out of the drive. I broke about eight traffic laws speeding home, but luckily, Red River’s finest seemed to be elsewhere and I didn’t get pulled over.

And fuck, it had been worth it. Seeing her spread out on her bed in a patent leather teddy…I’d nearly come in my pants the second I laid eyes on her.

Some switch inside me flipped, turning me into the dominant caveman I’d been trying to suppress around her. But my demanding arrogance didn’t turn her off. Far from it. Sassy, headstrong Dakota actually submitted, even coming on command. And that sent me right over the edge.

I made up some bullshit story about Dakota finding a snake in the bathroom—I was nothing, if not original—and sent it to each of my brothers. That led to a round of questions about how it could’ve gotten in the house, so I told them I’d accidentally left the door cracked open when I left this morning.

I hadn’t told them yet that Dakota sprung me from the friend-zone where I’d been chained up the last time we talked. It wasn’t a secret, but I wanted to keep it all to myself for a little while. Of course, if Dakota told the girls, it would be all over. Belle wouldn’t hesitate to tell Ryder, and Sage wouldn’t keep it from Chase, either.

I was making a mental note to ask Dakota if and when she planned to tell her friends when she walked into the living room. A low whistle blew through my lips as I climbed to my feet. She smiled, dancing a little pirouette before facing me again.

“You look gorgeous,” I murmured, my eyes admiring the low V in the front.

The black dress was sleeveless, ended just above her knees in a billowy skirt, and sported the aforementioned V-neck that emphasized her amazing boobs. Black strappy heels complemented the dress, and her hair was pulled up into an intricate-looking braided bun.

“Not looking too shabby yourself,” she said, her eyes travelling down the length of me.

I was wearing black jeans with a white button-down shirt. With the top two buttons undone, it was untucked and the sleeves were cuffed to show off my forearms. I’d pulled on the black western boots I’d bought last time I was in Saddleback, hoping they wouldn’t pinch my feet too much by the end of the night.

I’d trimmed my scruffy beard, making it neat and tidy, and even put a little gel in my hair to style it. And the effort I put in totally paid off, because Dakota was looking at me like she wanted to strip me down and lick me all over.

As if she heard my thoughts, she shook her head and cleared her throat. “Should we get going?”

“Sure,” I said, “but first…”

I stepped toward her, my hand cupping the back of her neck as I kissed her. Opening my mouth, I licked at the seam of her lips. As soon as they parted, my tongue drove in between them. She chased it with her own, kissing me back with wild abandon until I cooled it off, giving her a few pecks before pulling away.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice and eyes slightly dazed.

“You’re welcome,” I replied, smirking. “Good thing you weren’t wearing lipstick. You’d be a mess right now.”

She returned my cocky smile, clicked open her clutch, and pulled out a small black tube. Pulling off the top and twisting it, she moved in front of the large decorative mirror hanging by the front door.

“I had a feeling you might do that, so I waited to put it on.”

“Smart girl,” I said, checking my pockets for my wallet and phone. “You ready?”

“Always,” she said, shooting me a saucy wink as she tucked the tube back into her tiny purse.

“Keep talking like that, and we’ll never make it to dinner,” I teased as I crooked out an elbow for her to take.

She slipped her arm through, pulling the door closed behind us as we walked out onto the porch. I led her to the passenger side of my truck and helped her inside, closing the door behind her before jogging around to slide in behind the wheel.

Red River didn’t have any formal restaurants, but Chase highly recommended Antonio’s in Oakley. It wasn’t exactly fancy, but he said the food was excellent, and he and Sage went there a lot. And I knew Dakota liked Mexican, if the way she inhaled those tacos the other night was any indication.

“So,” I said, glancing over at her as I pulled out on the highway that led to Oakley, “have you told anyone about us?”

“What about us?” she asked, playing coy.

I rolled my eyes. “About the wild monkey sex and the multiple orgasms.”

A laugh burst out of her before she answered, “Not yet. I mean, Ember knows I was trying to find a way to move us out of the friend zone. She’s the one who urged me to just go for it that day…you know.”

“When you walked out in that nightie that showed off your delectable ass, and I nearly got a black eye from my dick springing up? That day, you mean?”

“Yes,” she said, laughing. “But I haven’t talked to her since then. She’s been distracted lately, or she would’ve called demanding the details the next morning.”

“So, I’m still your dirty little secret, then?” I asked.

“Have you told anyone?” she countered, taking my hand when I held it out to her.

Lacing my fingers through hers, I shook my head. “No. I wanted to see how you felt about it, first.”

I saw her shrug in my peripheral vision. “I don’t care who knows. I’m not ashamed of you, even if you are a bit of a Neanderthal.”

“Ha!” I shouted, laughing. “Good to know. Maybe we should host a dinner party, or something, to make our debut.”

“What are we, nineteenth-century debutants planning our coming-out ball?” she shot back, making me grin.

“Fine. I guess we could make it social-media-official. Update our statuses to say in a relationship.”

My heart stuttered as the words came out unbidden. We hadn’t talked about our actual relationship status. Did she consider us exclusive? Because I sure as hell did.

“A dinner party is fine,” she said, her words slow and measured. Then she squeezed my hand and added, “Besides, I already changed my relationship status to it’s complicated.”

“What does that even mean?” I asked, whipping my head toward her.

“I’m kidding,” she said, holding my gaze for a moment before subtly nodding toward the road—which I should’ve been watching, since I was the one driving. Then softly, she asked, “Do you consider us to be in a relationship?”

“Yes,” I said honestly, swallowing thickly and keeping my eyes firmly on the road. “I like you, Dakota. I want to see where this goes.”

“Okay,” she said, her voice cracking a little on the word.

“Okay?” I asked, looking over at her.

“Okay,” she repeated, this time more firmly. “I like you, too. And if you want to give this a go, I’m all in.”

Warmth filled my chest, and I couldn’t fight the wide smile that stretched across my face. Dakota chuckled, squeezing my fingers tighter before releasing them. Then, she unbuckled her seatbelt and slid toward me, settling in the middle seat and buckling up before resting her hand on my thigh.

Like a fucking dream-come-true.

I threw my arm over her shoulder and she leaned into me. We rode in silence the rest of the way to Oakley, and I didn’t think I’d ever been happier in my whole life.

Dakota was mine. And I was going to keep it that way, no matter what.