I bring my mouth to hers, tasting her warm lips, and smiling. “Good. I wanted it to be perfect.”
“Is it pathetic that I'm nineteen and only now experiencing a date?”
“Hell no. You were just waitin' for me,” I quip, squeezing her tighter.
“Did you read one of my romance novels? This is totally something a swoony hero would do.”
“Nope.” I chuckle. “Just the smutty Beauty and the Beast one you're reading to me.”
Ivy eagerly removes her cowboy boots, and I help her up onto the mattress. Then I present tonight's dinner.
“Grandma Bishop is a queen in the kitchen,” she hums as she looks at the spread.
I pour two glasses of the cider, then sit next to her on top of the blankets.
Once our food is plated and we dig in, Ivy stares at the crackling fire and night sky.
“It's crystal clear out here. You can see a thousand stars. No wonder y'all love it here so much.”
“It’s one of the reasons I couldn't see myself living anywhere else,” I say honestly. “What about you? Do you see yourself wanting to stay livin' in town?”
“If I had a choice...” She grins as she glances at me. “I'd pick ranch life, hands down.”
My smile widens at her admission. There's nothing I'd love more than having Ivy live with me someday. Of course, when we're further into our relationship and no longer hiding it.
“That barbecue was top-notch,” Ivy says once we finished our sandwiches. “Even the coleslaw was somehow better than I've ever had.”
Chuckling, I nod, then place our empty plates in the basket. We decide to wait on dessert until our dinner has settled.
“She's a master and will teach anyone who wants to learn.”
“Must be why Maize is so skilled. Runs in the family.”
“Oh yeah, and she'll probably pass it onto her kids, and then their kids, and so on. The tradition will never die.”
“Are you hoping to have kids someday?” she asks as we settle underneath the light blankets.
I wrap my arm around her as our heads hit the pillows. “Yeah, I'd love some rug rats to raise on the ranch. I’d teach them about the generations of Bishops that paved the way for us and this lifestyle. You?”
“Oh yeah, I've always wanted a big family because it was just my mom and me once Hadleigh left. I always thought it'd be fun to have siblings around my age, basically a built-in best friend.”
“Trust me, close in age doesn't mean you're gonna like 'em,” I taunt, referring to Knox and me. “But it's pretty cool having someone to pick on.”
Ivy chuckles, snuggling in and wrapping her arm over my stomach.
“You and Hads were always close, though, right?”
“Yeah, but she was sometimes more like a mother figure than a sister. I love her to death, but she's overprotective and was always in a different part of her life than me.”
“I can understand that. Sounds like my siblings and me with our cousins. We're the three youngest, and even by the time Knox and Hadleigh got married, the others had several babies and a few wedding anniversaries before then. Riley graduated high school when I was in seventh grade, and he got married when I was eighteen. I was nowhere near that milestone.”
“But you're close to some of your other cousins, aren't you?”
“Kinda. I grew up mostly hanging out with Knox and Ethan. The three of us got into so much trouble, though.”
“I don't doubt that for a second.”
“And of course, we had to tease Kaitlyn as much as possible. Baby of the family and the youngest grandkid. Now she's havin' some kind of life crisis because she's gettin' older.”
Ivy snickers, lowering her hand to my cock. “Mm-hmm.”
I blink over at her, grabbing her wrist. “You're not even listenin', are you?”
“Sure I am, just multitasking. I can give you a hand job and hear you at the same time.”
“Jesus Christ, woman.” I roll over, pinning her beneath me and pressing my hips into hers so she feels how hard I am already. “I'm the one who owes you. Spread your legs for me.”
She obeys, and I push off the covers before sinking between her thighs. As I slide her dress up, I kiss along her smooth skin.
“Fuck, I can smell your arousal already.”
“I'm so wet,” she breathes out.
“Want me to taste this sweet pussy of yours?”
“God, yes.”
I hook my hands around her thighs, dragging her closer as her legs settle around my shoulders. Her panties are still in place, but I plan to tease her over them first.
“Kane...” She drawls out a long moan as soon as I add pressure to her clit with my lips.
I feather kisses along the outside of her underwear, taunting her until she hisses with frustration.
“Please, I need more.”
Smirking against her bare flesh, I lap up her slit and suck.