Here With Me: An Ex-boyfriend’s Dad, Age Gap Small Town Romance (Sugarland Creek Book 1)

The door slams behind me, and Noah freezes when a guard stands in front of us with his flashlight in our faces.

“Think ya can lower that?” There’s no need to fucking blind us.

Once he does, I see a scrawny kid no older than my son.

“Noah…” The guy laughs, and my heart pounds harder than before.

This guy knows her?

“Ian?” She steps toward him, and he beams a familiar grin that immediately pisses me off. “You asshole! You scared me to death!”

He laughs as Noah playfully smacks his arm, and he tries to pull her into a hug, but she retreats before he can.

“I saw it was you and knew you had to come out eventually.” He shrugs, wearing a smug smile as he puts away his flashlight. “Magnolia called when she couldn’t get ahold of you, and I told her I’d go look for ya.”

“Oh my God!” Noah groans, smacking her forehead. “I forgot to text her after my shift. I can’t believe she contacted you to find me. I wasn’t even gone that long.”

“I ran into her earlier and reminded her she had my number. Didn’t expect the first time she’d use it would be to hunt you down, but I think she just wanted any excuse to text me.”

Resisting the urge to laugh, I stand behind Noah with my arms crossed and wait for him to get lost.

Ian’s gaze flashes to me briefly, sizing me up. With a flicker of his eyes, his attention goes back to Noah.

Noah glances at me before turning back to Ian. “As much as I appreciate ya lookin’ out for me, I’m fine.”

Ian matches my pose as his skinny arms cross his chest. “So should I tell her you were shackin’ up with a random guy in a food truck? How’d ya get in there anyway?”

“No, I’ll tell her myself,” Noah insists. “I trust you won’t rat me out for this little mishap?”

“You mean the B&E or indecent exposure?”

I scoff, interrupting their ridiculous conversation. There was no indecent exposure, and he knows it.

“Let’s go, Noah.” I take her hand.

“You’re not free to leave,” he says, stepping in front of me. “I’m gonna need to see some identification first.”

Looking down, I have a good foot and fifty pounds on him. “Or what?”

“One of you broke into that truck, and the owner may wanna press charges,” he says with his full chest.

Amused, I laugh. “Go ahead.”

Instead of waiting for him to respond, I lead Noah around him and walk away. I’d like to see him try to stop me.

“Noah Hollis, I know where your camper is! I’ll stop by tomorrow to discuss this!” Ian yells, and my entire body goes rigid at the sound of her last name.

We hadn’t exchanged full names.

She’s a Hollis.

And she’s already mentioned she’s a horse trainer, so it’s likely her family owns the same ranch I just took over for Mr. Ryan. I did my apprenticeship with him after I finished my certification. He retired after forty years and referred me to a chunk of his clients, one of them being the Hollises. There’s no world in which her parents would be okay with me sleeping with their much-too-young daughter.

“He’s never lettin’ me live that down,” Noah grumbles as we take the route to the camping area.

“Who is that guy anyway?”

“My family and I come every summer, and he’s worked security for the past five events. Magnolia and I got into some trouble a few years ago, and he’s chased her ever since. She’s not interested, though.”

“She seems way too good for him anyway,” I say earnestly.

Noah chuckles and nods. “She’s too busy being in a toxic relationship with her ex to give anyone else a chance. Well, except my brother. He’s too young and immature to have anything serious.” She looks up at me and exhales sharply. “God, sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt all that out. We never discussed anything beyond tonight, so you probably don’t care.”

Tightening my grip on her, I stop walking and pull her to my chest. She juts out her chin as I pinch it between my thumb and finger, hovering my mouth above hers. “I do when it involves you.”

Her breath hitches before I press my lips to hers, and our tongues tangle together in a battle of lust-filled desire. Threading my fingers through her hair, I deepen our kiss until she gasps.

I break away from her mouth and move down her neck, then whisper in her ear, “Stay the night with me.”

A moan escapes from her throat as her head falls back. “Okay.”

“And you can be as loud as ya want, sweetheart.” The corner of my lips curves up when she shivers against me.

“If that’s your idea of foreplay, it’s workin’.”

Chuckling, I take her hand and practically sprint us to my trailer.

It’s eerily dark and quiet as we make our way to the campsite. As Noah’s hand stays secure in mine, all I can think about is the events that led up to this.

I’m living in a fever dream because I never thought I’d have a chance with a woman like Noah, but I’m not taking it for granted.

Tonight, she’s mine.

As soon as I unlock the door, Noah walks in, and I follow.

“Oh, crap. I better text Magnolia before she sends the real cops out on my ass.” She grabs her phone from her bag and starts typing.

“What’re ya tellin’ her?”

“Thanks for sendin’ Ian out to find me, you cockblocker. You nearly cost me an orgasm. I’m spendin’ the night with Fisher so he can give me more than eight seconds of pleasure. No need to send the troops out lookin’ for me, well…unless I go missin’ and you don’t hear from me in the next twelve hours.” She glances at me with a mischievous grin before continuing. “At that point, you better send all of Tennessee out on a rescue mission because even though he’s really hot and is great with his tongue, I doubt he can put me into an orgasm coma for that long. Either way, I’ll tell you all about it later.” With a smirk, she presses the send button. “That’ll keep her off my back for a while.”

I swallow hard. “Well, at least for the next twelve hours.”

“Magnolia wouldn’t wait that long, so I’d give it until breakfast before she came lookin’ for me.”

The whiskey and shot glass are still on the counter from earlier, so I pour one and then offer it to her. “Shot?”

“You tryin’ to get me drunk?” She reaches for it, then shoots it down.

“Should be askin’ you that. You kept servin’ me.”

“Yeah, Budweiser.” She snorts. “No one gets drunk off beer.”

Chuckling, I shake my head as I pour another shot and take it myself.

“Ya know, that Hunter kid, I was a lot like him when I was his age,” I blurt out.

“Is that so?”

“I’m a former bull rider. Lived that life for many years before quittin’.”

She walks around me before coming to my side and taking the whiskey to pour herself another shot. “Interesting. I didn’t peg ya as the type.”

“Spent my twenties travelin’ all around the country, livin’ that same adrenaline junkie life as you seem to be.” I smirk when she throws her head back and chugs the liquid.

“Trainin’ horses is hardly a rush, but it is fun. I’ve done some trick ridin’ on one of my own. He’ll probably kill me one day, but at least I’d go out doin’ what I love.”

Wrapping an arm around her waist, I pull her to my chest and tilt up her chin. “I had that same mindset until it almost did.”

“Is that why you quit?” she whispers.

“No, but I got injured more times than I can count. My wife and kids never knew if I’d come home alive or in a body bag.”

Her brows rise, and her ocean-blue eyes widen.

“I’m not married anymore,” I quickly say. “We divorced a decade ago.”

“Oh.” She sucks in her lower lip. “Why’re ya tellin’ me this?”

I scrub a hand over my jaw and blow out a breath. “Not sure. I guess because I see how comfortable you are around me and worry the next guy you feel that way with will have the wrong intentions.”

One side of her mouth curves up as she bites her lip. “And you have the right ones?”

I press my thumb to her bottom lip and pluck it from between her teeth. “Chasin’ that adrenaline high can sometimes get us in trouble, and I’d hate to see ya make the same mistakes I did. Or regret.”

“The only thing I’m gonna regret is if you don’t finish what you started. I can’t go back to Magnolia with no juicy details beyond what I sent her.”

I cup the back of her neck, pulling her closer until our mouths are an inch apart. “So for her sake, I better give you a night ya won’t forget.” And mine.

“Yes, please.”

Pressing my forehead to hers, I groan. “Fuck. Hearin’ you beg makes my dick harder.”

“Good. Then we can skip that step.”

Chuckling, I close the gap between us and glide my tongue between her lips. Noah responds instantly, moaning and humming as I slide my hands underneath her dress. Her heart pounds against my chest, mimicking mine, and although I can feel she wants this, I need to hear her say it.

“Noah.” I pant, moving a hand between her thighs and swiping a finger through her slit. “Are you sure you want this?”

She leans back with an arch brow. “Don’t go soft on me now, cowboy,” she says, lowering her eyes to my groin. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t, so whatever you need to hear from me to validate what you’re about to do to me, I’ll say.”

Amused, I arch a brow and wait.

“You have my full consent to fuck me against every surface of this place. I give you consent to put your hands, tongue, and mouth all over my body. Hell, do ya want it in writing?”

My head falls back with laughter because Noah is unlike any woman I’ve ever met. Her boldness and bluntness took me off guard at first, but now I’m finding it turns me on.

“Verbal consent is good enough for me,” I taunt, sinking a finger deep into her pussy.

“Thank God.” Her eyes flutter closed as she exposes her neck, and I gravitate toward the soft skin, sucking under her ear.

“This dress needs to come off.” I pull on the fabric, but she stops me before I can lower it.

“Pull it above my head. No rippin’ my favorite dress like a caveman.”

“I thought women liked that,” I tease, playing with the straps.

She snorts. “In romance novels.”

“You read those?”

“Before bed usually. Mostly Viking and monster smut.”

My brow quirks up. “I’m not even gonna ask what that is.”

“Best for your ego not to.”

I don’t tell her that I’m well aware of romance novels. My wife read them day and night and then realized how much I lacked in the husband department. Couldn’t blame her, though. I was never around.

She lifts her arms, and I yank it over her head, leaving her in nothing but a low-cut bra. I lift her foot and remove one cowboy boot before going to the other and repeating the process.

“If you tell me, maybe we could reenact one.”

“You’re either gonna have to gain a hundred pounds of muscle and stretch another foot taller or grow a second penis really quick to do that.”

Standing, I blink, and she laughs at my expression. “Hey, you offered.”

“Figured you’d read western novels about cowboys and stuff.”

“My brothers act like wannabe Clint Eastwoods, so the last thing I’m readin’ is anythin’ remotely similar to them.” She shivers in disgust, and I chuckle.

A reminder of her having four brothers confirms she’s from the same family I’ll be working for. Mr. Ryan told me the Hollises have five kids.

But I can’t stop now.

Nor do I want to.

“Alright, so no cowboys. What about forbidden romances?” I remove my shirt and kick off my boots. If anything were to happen between us after tonight, we wouldn’t be able to go public with it. Not with me being twice her age and working for her family.

“That is my kryptonite. I love it when two people who aren’t supposed to be together fight their way to make it work.”

A low groan deep in my throat releases at her words.

As her gaze focuses on my chest, I unbutton my jeans. Before I can remove them, she takes over, slowly gliding them down and off my feet.

Leaving me in my briefs, she stands and wraps her hands behind herself. She unclasps her bra and then tosses it aside. Her breasts rise and fall as I take in all of her.

Holy shit. “Your nipples are pierced.”

She looks down. “Oh, wouldn’t ya know. That they are.”

I smirk and then palm one. My thumb softly caresses her smooth skin, but I have the urge to bite down on her breast. “Will it hurt if I touch it?”

“Nope.” She proves herself by pinching the other nipple and moaning.

When I press my lips against hers, her hand drops, and mine palms her ass cheek. “Stunning, Noah. You’re fuckin’ stunning.”

My lips find her neck again as she wraps her arms around me, pushing my erection into her stomach. “I need you inside me, Fisher. Please.”

“How do you want it?” I whisper and bite her earlobe.

“Fast. Hard. Deep. All-consuming. Slow. Painfully slow. And then deep and hard again.”

I chuckle at her detailed list but adore how she knows exactly what she wants.

My mouth finds hers, and I brush my tongue along her bottom lip. “Is that eight separate times or all before I let ya come?”

“You tell me. You’re the one who likes the number eight.” Her teasing tone has my aching cock throbbing harder against her. As much as I want to sink into her for hours, it’s been too damn long since I’ve been with a woman. The first time she orgasms with me inside her might do me in, but I’m not letting that derail me. We have all night.

“I don’t plan to stop at one,” I tell her, lowering my hand to her clit.

Her breathing picks up as soon as I touch her. Noah’s so responsive, it won’t be long before she’s coming on my tongue.

Kneeling, I spread her wide and brush my nose along the seam of her thigh. She lifts her leg for me. I hitch it over my shoulder, dive in, and work every inch of her pussy with my mouth.

After a few minutes of her clawing at my hair and moaning out my name, she squeezes my fingers and cries out through her release. I lick up her juices, then flick her swollen clit a few times before setting her leg down.

I stand and cup her face, then slide my tongue between her lips so she can taste her sweetness.

“That was intense,” she whispers.

“That was only one.” I give her ass a little smack. “Now on the bed, baby.”