Page 58 of Petals & Promises

Seeing the grin on Gareth’s face as he flipped a few levers and hit the start button made up for how damn loud this thing was. The other part I didn’t count on was how bumpy it would be, but then again, I’d never been off-roading. Whoops of joy came from the guys as we finally made it to open pasture land and gunned it. Once I overcame the slight terror of how narrow the track was and how close the massive pine trees were on either side, I started to enjoy myself.

I was finding it was harder than I realized not to panic and worry over things like I’d had to for my whole life. Taking the world by the horns and living it up took work. Every instinct I had was to protect myself from anything that might cause my heart harm. Six weeks ago, this ride would have sent me to the hospital, but now I’m giggling and tossing my hands in the air as we flew over a bunny hill.

“We got air on that one,” Gareth yelled. “God, I forgot just how much fun this is.”

Just as we turned, breaking free from the forested area of the ranch and out on the open grazing, the wind shifted. The temperature dropped ten degrees, making me shiver, and the once bright blue sky turned gray. Gareth slowed to a stop, waiting for the others to catch up, shutting off the engine so we could talk.

“Well, it looks like the weatherman was wrong, but that happens this far into the mountains. If the storm is blowing in this fast, it will leave just as quickly, but we need to get to shelter now. There is an annex hay barn not too far from here that will be our best bet,” Gareth explained.

The guys all nodded, and engines started up once more. This time, there was no zooming off. Gareth drove more cautiously as he navigated his way to the hay barn. I was a little worried when I noticed it was made of metal, but the chances of it getting hit by lightning was low, right?

“I’m gonna open the doors. Don’t move,” Gareth ordered.

Offering him a thumbs-up, he gave me another warning look then took off. Ulysses pulled up and hopped off, helping Gareth wrestle open the massive doors. It didn’t look like this place was used for anything more than storage, and the doors weren’t willing to slide open. Warrick had to help out, and the air was filled with the shrill shriek of scraping metal. They’d only gotten one side open, but it was more than enough space to get the ATVs inside. Yun was the last one in, and as if in perfect timing, the clouds unleashed the rain.

twenty-six

Bailey-Rose

The rain sounded so loud in the metal building I had to cover my ears. Then the ground shook with the rumble of the thunder, making me panic just a little that we might never make it out of this hay barn.

Arms wrapped around me, and I was engulfed in the sweet, nutty scent of Warrick. “It’s okay, Care Bear, we’ll be just fine,” he murmured, his lips brushing my ear.

I nodded, taking in slow, deep breaths of his soothing scent, letting it help calm my anxiety. After a few minutes, the rain started to lighten up so it wasn’t quite as loud in the barn. Lightning still flickered through the sky, followed by the booming thunder, but it didn’t seem as ominous.

“Hey, come over here. I found a few saddle blankets,” Gareth called from the far corner. “Looks like some of the workers have been using this place to take naps or something.”

Warrick kept me tucked under his arm as we made our way over. I had to agree with Gareth. It looked like someone had made a small area with old hay piled up with some woven blankets covering it. The space appeared to fit maybe three people lying down but probably only two comfortably. Warrick sat, pulled me onto his lap, settled me close, and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“So, how far out are we?” Yun-Sun asked as he sat against the giant wall of hay that took up half the barn.

Gareth sprawled out next to Warrick, looking up at the metal roof. “About as far out as we can get. That’s why we have this barn here. We keep some backup hay out here just in case there’s ever a drought or something else that causes the grass not to grow well. This way we can keep the cattle fed but still say they are free-range. I was just about to have us start heading back through the grazing areas when the storm hit.”

“That was pretty amazing timing,” Lysse commented, pulling a piece of hay out of the bail to chew on, only to scowl then toss it aside.

“Weather here like Numoland,” Vili pointed out. “In the mountains, things change fast. One minute sunny and bright, then bam, it goes dark. Only for us it’s with blizzards, not rain.”

“I’ve never been in a blizzard,” I shared. “Windermere doesn’t really get them. We’re lucky if we get actual snow with the cold fronts.”

“This why I like Windermere, mild weather, no natural disasters… it is good,” Vili said, nodding.

Gareth sat up and turned to look at me. “Have you ever been somewhere with enough snow to cover everything, turning the world completely white?”

I shook my head. “Nope, only seen pictures.”

“Oh, then we are definitely coming back out here in the winter. I’ll teach you how to ski or snowboard… you’ll love it,” Gareth assured me. “Not to mention it’s the best feeling to come back inside with a fire burning and curled up in a blanket with some hot cocoa.”

“I would be fine with that right about now,” I mumbled, feeling a little chilled in my jeans and tank top.

Warrick dropped a kiss on my shoulder as his hands slid up my ribs to cup my breasts. “I can think of something else we could do to warm you up.”

My breath hitched as his fingers found my nipples already hard from being chilled. It would seem that my efforts to get them to fuck me last night weren’t a total waste. I could see the simmering lust and need in all their gazes as they watched Warrick slip his hands under my shirt.

He groaned loudly. “You naughty girl, how did I miss you weren’t wearing a bra?”

“I guess you weren’t paying attention, distracted by food and off-roading,” I teased.

As if Warrick needed to prove to everyone I wasn’t wearing a bra, he rucked up my shirt, exposing me to my Alphas. “God, why are you so fucking perfect? I mean, look at these tits so hard and ready, begging to be touched and sucked.”