I nod, feeling the word settle between us.
After a few moments of growing tension, he clears his throat. “Are you gonna tell me what that is, or do you want me to guess?”
I wet my lips.
“Knotting is … knotting is where his … thing … swells up inside her, and it makes her come again and again, but then it stays that way for, like, twenty or thirty minutes, and they can’tbreak apart. Then, sometimes, they even fall asleep that way. And he can only do it with his mate, no one else.”
Sam’s eyes haven’t strayed from the asphalt in front of him, but I can see him struggling as he adjusts his grip on the steering wheel. He clears his throat again.
“Hmm. That’s an interesting concept.”
“Yeah,” I mumble.
His grip on my hand is so tight that it’s almost bruising, and I can tell we’re both thinking about it. We’re both wondering how long he could stay hard inside me. We’re fantasizing about the possibility of trying it out, fucking like animals, like we’re mad for each other and then letting his erection stay inside me until we fall asleep.
It’s at least thirty minutes of silence until we pull up to Redford Ranch and park near the arena. It’s early afternoon, and the ranch hands and my brothers are all around the barn for bull testing day.
“Do you feel up to this? Or are you tired and want to go lie down?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I want to see everyone. I’m not tired.”
He nods and steps out to walk around to my side of the truck to open my door.
“Where is … what did y’all do with Ben?”
He squeezes my hand. “They brought him here and locked him in the tack room inside the barn. We’ll decide later. He’s still not telling who was helping him or what exactly they had planned. Warner is doing a background check to find out more about him and who he’s been talking to.” Warner is our family lawyer. He’s helped us navigate several sticky situations.
I nod, feeling sick to my stomach at the entire situation. I thought he liked me, and I wanted the attention. It’s like what happened with Cain all over again.
I guess I haven’t learned a thing. Still a stupid girl who makes stupid decisions and?—
“Hey.” Sam interrupts my spiraling thoughts and tugs me into his broad chest.
Tears prick the edges of my eyes and wet the front of his shirt. A choked sob rises from my throat.
His lips are in my hair. “It’s not your fault. This is on him. He lied and deceived, and it’s in his DNA. You’re innocent and perfect and too sweet for this world.”
I scoff, trying to stop the downpour of tears and failing. “What do you mean, it’s in his DNA?”
He sighs before slowly pulling back and studying me with his pale eyes. “Cain was Ben’s—Stanley’s—biological father. He was in foster care his whole life until he aged out of the system a year ago.”
My world spins. This somehow makes it so much worse. He wasn’t just some random boy with a cute smile; he was the son of the man who almost raped me and traumatized me for life. My bottom lip quivers as the tears stream down my cheeks. I’m speechless, even as a hundred questions whirl through my mind.
“Maybe that’s why he always seemed familiar to me.” I mumble.
“We think someone else encouraged him to pursue you, to lie about his age and try to isolate you and get you to trust him so that …” He trails off, the veins in his neck bulging, like he’s trying to restrain his anger and remain calm.
Both of his hands wrap around the back of my head, and he pulls my face toward his. “Look at me.” His ocean gaze is so intense that I’m nearly drowning in it. “I’m going to find out who’s behind this, and they’re going to pay dearly for causing you this pain. Do you understand me? I won’t rest until you are safe again, Red. You have my word.”
His jaw is set, muscles taut and coiled, like he’s my knight in shining armor, ready to slay every demon in my life and my mind. I find myself nodding. His thumb sweeps across my cheek and brushes my tears away.
“Are you ready?”
I nod, letting him help me down from the truck. “Let’s do this.”
Bull testingday has always been my favorite day. When I was a kid, my mom would make little sandwiches for her and me to nibble on while we watched the boys ride.
After squeezing me so tight that I almost burst, Rosie sits down on one of the lawn chairs on the lifted platform. Birdie is a mama’s girl, so she’s perched on her lap. Bonnie climbs up on mine, hugging her chubby little arms around my neck.
