I had just gotten back to my parents’ house from a long run and was about to lift some weights in their gym when the music blaring through my AirPods was interrupted by a call coming through from Levi. I’d given him my direct line in case he ever had any emergencies with Addison’s horses. You could say I gave her business preferential treatment.
“Hey, Levi, what’s up?” I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the hem of my T-shirt.
“Hey, Dr. Adler. Addison came back a couple of days ago from a horse show, and Tank was a little lame. We thought hewas just sore from the show and gave him some time off, but today he came out of the stall worse. Addison looked over his legs and hooves, and it appears he has an abscess on the front right. We wanted to confirm with you before we did a poultice treatment in case it’s something else.”
I ran a hand through my sweat-soaked hair. “Well, I’m currently in California, but if you FaceTime me, I can probably diagnose it through the camera. If not, I can send Grant over to check it out.”
Levi nodded. “Okay, hold on, let me switch you over to FaceTime. I waited a moment before a request to switch over popped up on my phone. Once it switched over, my breath caught in my lungs, and my heart rate increased at the sight of Addison running her hand down Tank’s leg to pick it up. I didn’t realize she was there, and seeing her for the first time in over a month was a sight for sore eyes, to say the least. My mouth went dry as I couldn’t help but slowly admire her body. All long legs and a perfect, round ass in her tight riding pants, her long chestnut hair pulled back in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder. I couldn’t see her face yet, but fuck, she was beautiful, and fuck, did I miss her.
Levi positioned the phone to show Tank’s hoof, and I studied it for a moment. Addison broke the silence. The sound of her voice was like a balm to the gaping hole in my chest. “It’s right here. That looks like an abscess, right? It isn’t very big, but I wanted to be sure.” She pointed to what she was referring to.
“Yeah, that definitely looks like a small abscess. Go ahead and apply a poultice treatment twice a day until it rupturesand drains naturally. Once it ruptures, only change the poultice once a day or even every other day. Then we’ll need to monitor it for any signs of continued drainage or infection. I’ll be back in town tomorrow, so give me a call when it ruptures and I’ll come check it out.” I lifted my T-shirt again to wipe some more sweat off my forehead. She didn’t think I noticed, but I saw Addison’s eyes track down my stomach, and when her emerald gaze lifted to mine, she saw the smirk on my face, knowing she was busted. Schooling her features, she quickly turned her attention back to Tank.
“All right, I think we can manage that. Thanks,” Addison said as Levi turned the camera back on himself.
“Thanks, Dr. Adler. I’ll give you a call once it ruptures.” Levi ended the call.
I turned my music back on and continued my workout. Seeing Addison and hearing her voice for the first time in what felt like forever ignited a fire within me. I was reminded of how much I fucking wanted her, how much I missed being around her, talking to her, holding her, making her feel good. I put myself through a punishing workout to try to tamp down some of the pent-up desire, but it ended up being useless. Instead, I had to work it out in the shower. I braced my arm against the shower wall, water running down my back, my heavy cock in my hand as I gripped it tight, stroking it aggressively to thoughts of her.
I came so fucking hard and so fucking fast.
Chapter 27
Dean
IhadbeenbackinPrimrose Hill for a couple of days now and decided to run by Addison’s farm to check on Tank. When I arrived, Levi mentioned that Addison was out running errands before her next lesson, which I thought was suspiciously perfect timing. She was clearly still avoiding me. Tank looked good, and the abscess looked like it would rupture in a few days. I made up excuses to stick around the farm a little longer, and I think Levi was on to me, but I didn’t give a shit. I was desperate like a fucking addict for even just a glimpse, just one hit of Addison. Unfortunately, she never showed, and as I was heading out of the barn toward my truck, Ava came around the corner.
She looked up, startled at my presence. “Oh, hey, Dean. I didn’t realize that you were here. Everything okay?”
I shoved my hands into my pockets and nodded. “Yeah, was just checking on Tank.” An awkward silence ensued.
Ava tilted her head, her dark-blue eyes studying me. “Were you hoping to run into Addison?” She smirked, which kind of pissed me off.
“Nah, just here checking on the horse,” I said with a little bitof an edge.
She nodded. “All right, then. Well, I’ll see you around.”
As she walked past me, I reached out and quickly grabbed her bicep lightly.
“Ava, wait.” She spun around to look at me. I released her arm and stuffed my hands back into my pockets nervously. “Do you think you and your brothers could meet up tonight for a drink? I could use some help with Addison. I’ll tell you guys everything.”
A slow, satisfied smile spread across her face. “About fucking time you asked. Tonight works for me. Weston is actually in town, so I’m sure he’ll be good to meet us. We’ll have to FaceTime Walker, though, because he’s in Florida for spring training.”
I nodded. “Ah, that’s right. I forgot about spring training. Does seven p.m. work at Hops and Hills?”
She nodded. “Yeah, sounds good. But I should warn you, my brothers are pretty pissed about what you did, so they may take some time warming back up to you. But don’t worry, I’ll help you out.” She winked, but that didn’t make me feel even the slightest bit better. I was a big dude, in good shape, but Ava and Addison’s brothers were intimidating as fuck. A Navy SEAL that was literally trained to kill, and a professional baseball player that could probably just throw his fastball at my junk and cause permanent damage.
I sighed heavily. “Awesome,” I said, sarcasm dripping off the word. “Well, I’ll see you tonight.” We said goodbye, and I made my way to my truck to head back into the office fora few more appointments. Hopefully, nothing urgent popped up today, because I could use all the time I could get before tonight to work through what I was going to say to Weston and Walker.
I got to the bar a little earlier than seven just to get my nerves in check. I had the blue folder sitting to my left and my beer sitting to my right, which was already half gone at this point. I saw the door swing open, and in walked Ava with Weston following behind her. Ava saw me immediately and made her way to the table. She gave me a quick hug before sitting down, while Weston just gave me a tight nod. Weston sat across from me with what I could only describe as a death stare on his face. Ava noticed and slapped his arm. “Knock it off, West. We’re here to help the guy, not kill him.”
Without breaking eye contact with me, Weston grunted before speaking low. “I haven’t made that decision yet.” Jesus Christ, this guy was scary.
“I’m getting a beer. Ava, you want one?” Weston stood from his stool and looked down at his sister. His eyes were not nearly as dark when he looked at her. Ava nodded, and Weston took off toward the bar.
Ava turned her attention back to me. “Sorry about him. He’s slightly protective of his sisters, but he’s mostly all bark, no bite.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, we’ll see about that. Pretty sure if youweren’t here, I would have been murdered by now.”
