I stroked faster, imagining Connor’s hands gripping my hips hard enough to bruise as he fucked me without mercy, each thrust punishing me for all my teasing. He’d pull my head back by my hair, force me to arch my back for him, make me take every inch.
“Connor,” I gasped, feeling my orgasm building. “Fuck me... please... harder...”
The fantasy shifted. Now Connor was flipping me over, looking me in the eye as he pushed back inside me. In this moment, he wasn’t the convict, and I wasn’t the boss’s son. We were just two men consumed by need. He’d look into my eyes, all that hardness softening just for a moment as he claimed me.
My whole body tensed as I hit the edge. “Fuck!” I cried out, my cum shooting across the forest floor as I worked myself through one of the most intense orgasms I’d ever experienced. My fingers were still buried inside me as I pulsed around them, imagining they belonged to Connor.
As the waves of pleasure subsided, I sagged against the tree, breathing hard. Reality slowly filtered back in—the sound of birds, the rustle of leaves, the sticky mess on my hand and the dirt. I pulled my fingers free with a wince and tucked myself back into my jeans, suddenly feeling exposed despite being alone.
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered, running my clean hand through my hair. This man was going to be the death of me. No one had ever affected me like this before, not even the guys with the reddest of flags. There was something about Connor that drew me in. I couldn’t get enough of his resistance, his control, andthe way he saw through my bullshit. It was turning me on more than I thought possible.
I licked the cum from my hand before heading back to the ATV, wishing it was Connor’s and not my own. As I rode back toward the house, I couldn’t help but smile. Connor thought rejecting me would make me back off? Fat chance. He’d just made the game that much more interesting. And I always did love a challenge.
The thing was, I could see it in his eyes. He wanted me just as badly as I wanted him. He was just afraid of the consequences. But everyone had a breaking point. I just needed to find his.
And I was very, very good at finding breaking points.
Back at the house, I found Dad in his office, going through the monthly finances. I knocked on the open door, trying to look casual despite the fact I’d just jerked off in the woods fantasizing about one of our ex-cons.
“Hey,” I said, leaning against the doorframe. “How’s it looking?”
Dad glanced up from his paperwork, his reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. “Better than last month. Cattle prices are up.” He studied me for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Your face is flushed. You been running?”
I shrugged, hoping he couldn’t read guilt on my face. “Just rode the ATV pretty hard. Went to check on the vaccination crew.”
“And?”
“Larry says they’re all done. That new guy, Connor, is pretty handy with a rope. Caught all the calves they couldn’t get to before.”
Dad grunted, returning to his paperwork. “Good. About time we got someone useful. Most of these boys can barely tell a cow from a horse when they first get here.”
I lingered in the doorway, not sure why I was even telling him this. Maybe part of me wanted to talk about Connor, to say his name out loud, to make him real outside of my own obsessive thoughts.
“You need something else?” Dad asked without looking up.
“No, sir.” I pushed off from the doorframe. “Just letting you know how things are going.”
As I turned to leave, Dad’s voice stopped me. “Ryder.”
“Yeah?”
“Stay away from that Connor fellow.”
My blood ran cold. “What?”
Dad finally looked up, his expression unreadable. “I’ve seen you trying to be friends with him. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”
I forced a laugh that sounded hollow even to my own ears. Crisis narrowly averted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not blind, boy.” He removed his glasses, setting them on the desk with deliberate care. “These men aren’t your friends. They’re not here for you to socialize with. They’re here to work and get their lives straight.”
“I know that,” I said, my jaw tightening. Even though he wasn’t seeing the whole truth, it was still annoying. “I’m just doing my job, keeping an eye on them.”
“See that you do.” Dad’s tone made it clear the conversation was over. “I understand you like hanging out with your college buddies, but college is over and it’s time to grow up. Real men, men likeus, run successful ranches. We make friends to grow the business, not to enjoy. And the only thing an ex-con has to offer someone like us is trouble or cheap labor.” He paused for a moment, still looking at his paperwork. “The only thing you should be searching for right now is a suitable wife.”
I couldn’t help the bitter laugh that escaped my throat. “A suitable wife? Dad, I’m twenty-two. I’m not looking to settle down yet.”
“And when will you be ready?” he countered, finally looking up at me with those steely eyes. “This ranch needs stability. It needs a future. Your mother and I were married at nineteen.”
