“Yes, I want to come. Please...oh, yes, like that,” she pants, bouncing back on my cock as my hand tightens on her throat. My other hand slides between her thighs, finding her clit to pinch it with each bounce she takes.
“There it is,” I grunt when I feel her go impossibly tight around me. “That’s it, let me feel it. Jesus, that feels so damn good,” I groan as I go still, pinning her beneath as her orgasm rocks her.
Keeping her pinned beneath me, prone as I kneel, I get in a few more thrusts before my eyes go crossed as I come too. My cock jerks inside of her as I am hit with the vision of her round with my kid, tied to me indefinitely. It’s a strange, unexpected image but I am all too welcoming of it. I pull out with some hesitation, not wanting to break the connection. I am almost disappointed to see the condom in did its job.Calm the fuck down, man.I can’t tie some woman I don’t know to me that way.
Blake rolls to her side so we’re face to face. Her smirk as she hikes a leg up on my hip and pushes me back inside her, now bare, makes me second guess that thought. I absolutelycantie her to me, if I am lucky, and I might just spend the rest of the night giving it my best shot.
“Hmm, I hope you got a few rounds in you, stud,” she teases, rocking her hips to settle me back inside here where I am now convinced I belong.
“I do, darlin’. We’ve got all night. You promised one night. Eightfullhours,” I remind her, grinning as she stretches out against me, nodding with a laugh.
“I did say one whole night. It’s all I can give.”
“I will take it, darlin’. One night will be enough.”
Even as I say it, I know how wrong it is. Which means I have eight hours and as many orgasms as she can take to change her mind.
Chapter Three
Blake
I am sore in the best way—in all the worst places.
I have never had so many orgasms in my entire life. I was getting a little worried it was too much, but no. Can you ever have too much of something that amazing? I think not. We did run out of condoms. I choose to ignore how pleased I was that he had to search high and low for the ones he had, meaning he hadn’t been with a woman in a long time.
Sneaking out of his place once he gave in to sleep was no simple feat. The man is a cuddler. Which I honestly adore, I love to be cuddled. To be honest, that is a new development so I can admit maybe I just loved being cuddled by him. I have never felt so safe in my life. We agreed though—one night was all I could give him, even if part of me wanted more.
Now I rush through the small bunk that is my new home for the foreseeable future on Meadow Vale ranch. I hop on one leg to pull up my favorite worn jeans, my boot thudding on the hardwood floors. It is entirely too early for me to be up after my escapades last night. My hot shower this morning did little to loosen limbs after the way Brooks folded me up.
“Jesus, why did I sneak out on him? We could have had another round before the day started,” I chastise myself as I pull a pink bandana on over my waves, gathering my hair back from my face.
Staring back at me seems to be an entirely different woman than the Blake I know. Rosier cheeks than usual, eyes a little wilder, and if I tilt my head just so, I can see marks from Brooks on my throat and down my chest. Remembering his beard scruffing my skin as he pinned me down and rode me hard, Ishudder. Lord, why did I sneak out? Why did I limit what we did last night, what we shared in that little cabin, to just one night?
“Because this is the brand-new Blake and he wouldn’t want anything to do with the mess that comes withold Blake, would he?” I spit the words out with more vitriol than I mean.
Shaking off my frustration, I pull on my boot at last and head out to get the day started. The air at Meadow Vale Ranch is earthy and bright, dry hay, damp grass and a fresh start. Last night’s misstep is nowhere to be found, even if my body wants to argue. I am starting fresh on this ranch, and a round of hard work is the best place to start.
My head does a rhythmic thumping against my skull that times up with the crunch of my boots on the gravel. It is just after dawn, so the ranch is starting to buzz with activity. I take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the sprawling ranch with the horse paddock settled on the horizon. There is a little painful tug in my chest as I remember a thousand sunrise days on my uncle’s ranch. Part of me wonders what the hell I am doing here instead of trying to get that place back, but this is a new start—no more looking back.
“You must be the new hand,” a gruff voice calls, startling me.
I squint toward the main stable. An older man with black hair streaked with silver is leaning against a fence post, sizing me up. Gunner! That’s the surly man’s name, the groundskeeper. I vaguely remember him from my first meeting with Sterling Vale, the man who hired me. Is he the man in charge? If so, he is who I am looking for, so I square my shoulders and head his way.
“That would be me. Blake,” I offer, though he did not ask, attempting to sound less hungover than I am. “I am supposed to....” I trail off as he dismisses me with a look and a jerk of his head to the barn behind him.
“Head on in, stallion in the last stall. Carter has been waiting...be good not to keep him waiting again, miss,” he suggests before he saunters off, leaving me in his grumpy wake.
Fantastic. I am starting my first day off on the wrong foot.
I step into the shade of the barn, my eyes adjusting to the dim, golden light. Meadow Vale is breathtaking, in a 'this-place-could-break-your-back' sort of way. It is all dark wood and polished brass, a far cry from the worn saddles and battered stalls of my uncle’s place. It was one of the reasons I chose this place—I could feel the love in it, even under the shine of it all.
My uncle’s place had a different kind of love. Those worn saddles were because we spent hours riding the trails on our handful of horses. The battered stalls were because my uncle hated change but he spoiled his horses and he spoiled those of us who worked with them. I rub at my chest as I reach the last stall, trying yet again to disconnect from the shadows of my past.
In the last stall, a huge, black and silver stallion stands. He might intimidate anyone else, but I see the beauty in him immediately. A large man stands, back to me, his broad shoulders filling out a denim shirt that looks suspiciously soft. He whispers something to the stallion that I could swear is the two of them sharing a secret.
“Uh...hello. Hope I am not interrupting a moment between you two,” I wince because it sounds like a joke, but I truly mean it.
The hulking figure of a man goes still. I am about to turn tail to escape when lets out a little chuckle. Cold washes over me before my entire body heats up. I stumble back a step. Because...yeah, I’ve heard that laugh.
