Denver
Thankfully, Vegas has no issues following the other horses on his own. My mind is so far gone, I’d be walking us in circles if it were entirely up to me. All I can think about is Blair—how fucking badly I miss her after a few days apart. Talking to her over text isn’t the same as smelling her perfume and hearing her laugh.
“Should probably get back before that makes its way here,” Jackson says, riding up next to me and pointing at a dense black cloud the next mountain range over.
“Won’t hear me arguing about heading home early.” Red spits his chewing tobacco on the dry soil between our horses.
I tug my cowboy hat down to block the sun from my eyes, getting a clearer view of the rolling clouds. “Yeah, the storms like to race up the valley. But there’s enough time that I think we can do the fences until the ravine first.”
Both men agree, so we carry on up the fence line, checking for holes, and stopping to tighten loose barbed wire. Despite the impending storm, the sun’s beating down, and I pluck at my shirt to get some fresh air across my sweat-dampened back. The water in my metal bottle’s so damn close to reaching boiling point, it doesn’t even quench my thirst.
I spit the liquid out, wiping the back of my hand across parched lips. “Somebody tell me why the weather here jumps from freeze-your-dick-off cold to sweat-your-balls-off hot with hardly any time in between.”
“Think about how Vegas feels having to lug your ass around while you sit there and look pretty,” Red shouts over his shoulder from where he’s doing a quick farmer fix on a broken chunk of barbed wire.
“You think I look pretty?” I bat my eyelashes at him, and he halfheartedly tosses a clump of dirt at me in response. “Cass is going to be so jealous when I tell her you’ve been checking me out all day.”
“Has the heat gone to your head?” He mounts his horse and sprays me in the face with water from his bottle before taking a swig. Despite how warm the water is, it’s surprisingly refreshing.
“Wish we could blame the heat for the shit that comes out of his mouth,” Jackson quips. “We probably should head back, eh? Storm’s getting awfully close.”
I nod. “Yeah, good call. I need to head to town, anyway.”
Jackson gives me a questioning look, but doesn’t say anything.
“Doctor’s appointment?” Red smirks.
“Something like that.”
: Is Fancy by Reba still your go-to drunk karaoke song?
Blair: Oh God. I’m going to crawl into a hole now.
Blair: I regret telling you to ask questions
: That tells me all I need to know. Thank you.
: Also, will you be busy in about an hour?
Blair: Depends whether your plans involve singing
: Just you singing mypraises
Freshly showered, I run a hand through wet hair and slap a ball cap on. Then head out of my room, passing a bunch of ranch hands in the bunkhouse kitchen on my way out the door. They’re drinking beer and playing poker, and all of them stop to stare at me in my clean clothes and going-to-town boots.
“Where ya off to?” Colt cracks a beer, leaning against the closed fridge.
“Appointment.” I roll my shoulder, wincing as if it’s bothering me.
“Again? Damn. Guess you’re an old man now—body’s falling apart.” He takes a swig. “Grab a two-four of beer on your way home.”
I give him a thumbs up before stepping out into the midday sun and crunching down the gravel to my pickup. She fires right up, and I roll the windows down for a breeze on the drive to Wells Canyon. Pulling up in front of Blair’s clinic exactly an hour after my initial text message, I grab the bags of stuff I paid way too much for at the home goods store down the street.
“Afternoon.” I smile at the receptionist, who eyes me up and down as I stroll across the empty waiting room. I wrestle the bags in my arms, trying to determine how I’ll be able to open the door into Blair’s office. “Do you, uh…mind getting this door for me? Hands are a little full here.”
She leisurely rolls her desk chair backward and stands, not caring at all that I’m struggling with an armful of shit, then takes her sweet time getting to the door. Here I thought I’d be a nice guy and do it all in one trip, save her from hearing the front door chime repeatedly. Not doing that again.
“ Thank you, ” I say through gritted teeth as I bump the door with my hip so it opens all the way. Then I swing my heel to close it in her face.
“Hey.” I toss the bags onto an old armchair in the corner and tear into them. “Keep working, I’ll be quiet. Just have some things I need to set up here.”
I pull a small lamp from a bag and step lightly across the floor to place it on the empty part of her bookshelf. Then another for the back of the room. A larger lamp for the corner of her desk.
Blair sits back in her chair, clicking a pen repeatedly and watching me move around the room. “What are you doing?”
“You hate the overhead light, but there’s no way straining to do work with this one shitty lamp on your desk is good for your eyes. And obviously I want you to be able to see how handsome I am for many more years.” I flick the switch on the new desk light, filling the space with bright, warm light. “Better. Now keep working. You’re taking a lunch break as soon as I’m done.”
She narrows her eyes at me, and I give the sour look right back until she gives up and returns to work. And I continue on, plugging lamps in and putting together the fancy coffee machine I was finagled into buying at the store.
“Is that an espresso machine?” Blair wheels her chair over to where I’m unwrapping a package of coffee pods.
“Apparently so. I told the lady at the store that you needed a coffeemaker, so you don’t have to go out to buy coffee when you’re in the zone with work. And she insisted this was the only acceptable thing to buy.” I step back to look at it. “Although now I think she earns commission and saw an opportunity.”
“You do have the face of a sucker with a lot of money to spend.” Blair laughs, and I swear to God, I should record it to play on repeat forever. Sure would’ve made the morning of fixing fences a lot nicer.
“For sure. She looked at me and said, ‘This looks like a millionaire who works as a cowboy for the thrill of it.’?”
Getting up from her seat, Blair slowly fingers the various controls on the machine. And I step in behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and breathing in the subtle scent of her hair. Resting my chin on her shoulder, the silky, light pink blouse catches on my short facial hair, and I press a kiss to her ear.
Blair relaxes into my arms, head falling back to rest against my collarbone. “She played you like a fiddle. What else did she convince you to buy, big spender?”
“A mini-fridge that’ll be here next week, so you can have snacks on hand to go with your coffee. Can’t have you jittery with an empty stomach.” I press my lips to her temple. “Otherwise, who knows? I could’ve bought a house with a Labrador retriever, for all I know. I think I blacked out.”
If only she knew what I’d do for her. Am doing.
“Damn, you must be rich if you bought a whole house without realizing.” Her eyes shine bright when she looks at me, a reflection of our combined emotions mixed with the warm glow of her five new lamps. “Thank you. This is too much, . But thank you.”
“It’s not too much. It’s a little bit of my time, and a disgusting amount of money.”
“I owe you.”
“Bear, you don’t owe me shit. Taking care of you is my number one priority.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“Of course you can. But when my mom was sick, you were there. You might not have realized it, but I wouldn’t have made it through that without you,” I say before planting a discreet kiss on her hair. “I couldn’t be who you needed before, and I regret not being there. But I can be here now. I want to be here.”
“Why now?”
“Because I know nobody else is looking after you. Not even you.” I squeeze her until she groans, then guide her toward her desk. “Get back to work, baby. Let me take care of you.”
I move to turn on the espresso machine, and she practically becomes feral. She might throw elbows over the chance to make her own coffee, so I step back, putting my hands up in surrender.
“This has nothing to do with your last statement, and everything to do with me wanting to try out my new toy, for the record.”
“Did I create a monster unknowingly?”
She gives me an evil grin, hitting the power button.
I laugh. “Okay, you make the first one. But then I get to play sexy barista while you work.”
“ Fine. ” She flips pages in the manual and taps buttons on the machine, and in a matter of seconds, she’s making coffee.
The little moan when the first sip hits her lips makes the money spent more than worthwhile. And she heads over to her desk, cradling the steaming cup with both hands.
Flipping through the manual, trying to figure out what the hell she just made— and how— I glance up to see Blair leaning over her work, rather than sitting.
Goddamn.
Maybe I like her fancy work wardrobe more than I was first willing to admit. Because her wide-legged tan trousers are tight across her toned ass, and I can’t help but wonder how fucking hot it would be to have her in nothing but the high heels she’s wearing.
“Blair, you need to sit down, because I’m looking at you right now the same way you were looking at that coffee machine.”
She glances over her shoulder, not bothering to move like I requested. “Like you want to try out your new toy?”
My cock strains instantly against my pants. “Fucking exactly, baby.”
She doesn’t say anything, returning to reading something on her laptop. But she pops a hip, rounding out her ass in invitation. And I can’t turn that down.
“Don’t stop working. Let me take care of you.” I grope her backside, sliding to hold her hips and pull her ass against the bulge in my pants. Trying to free itself from the confinement of my jeans, my dick’s practically screaming with the need to feel her, but her pleasure takes precedence right now.
I slip a finger inside her waistband to feel the soft skin underneath, gliding toward the front of her pants to undo them. Blindly feeling for each button, I grind my dick into her ass, searching for any sort of relief in the form of friction.
“I have a patient coming in a few minutes. We shouldn’t,” she whispers, shimmying out of her pants. When they hit the floor, she gives a swift kick and they slide somewhere under her desk.
“Tell me to stop then.” I crouch slightly to trail my fingertips up the backs of her thighs, then they dig into her hips until she gasps. “You’re the most stunning woman in the world, I swear.”
My girl doesn’t make a single peep or move to stop me.
“This ass.” I give it a light slap, and heat swells in my balls at the way her butt jiggles slightly. I can’t help myself from bending down and biting.
“Den—”
I make a gentle shushing noise. “Get your work done.”
My touch wanders down the crease of her ass, lingering for a second when the side of my hand brushes against her wet thigh.
“Blair, fuck. You’re practically dripping.” I collect her arousal on my fingers, gliding easily between her wet pussy lips. “What are we going to do about this? I can’t let my girl go about her day with a pussy begging to be fucked like this, can I?”
“No,” she whimpers. “You can’t.”
“But I don’t have any condoms, so I guess I’ll have to make you come all over my hand instead. Maybe my mouth, too?”
“ Please. ” She nods eagerly. “But wait—pause—I’ve been meaning to ask you to get tested. We can do it right here. I’m on birth control, and I want to be able to have you, even when we don’t have a condom on hand.”
“I need you to know that’s the hottest thing you’ve ever said.”
She laughs softly, and I kiss her tight hamstring while running my hands down her legs. I was right—nothing but high heels is so fucking sexy.
“You’re a fucking badass who knows how to collect a damn blood sample, and you want to do it so I can fuck you bare? Are you kidding me?” Her ass fits perfectly in my outstretched hands as I slowly stand to kiss the crook of her neck. “What’re we gonna do right now, though? I always wear condoms…I’m sure I’m all clear.”
“I want you to fuck me with your bare cock more than anything,” she says, sinking her hips back to rub against my lap. “But… I can’t, . ”
Because she doesn’t trust me. I get it. I’ll take a fucking weekly STI test if that’s what she needs.
“Is there a way we can expedite the process? Like a one-hour photo lab?”
She laughs, craning her neck to kiss me over her shoulder. “I wish.”
“Then get back to work, beautiful.”
My finger slips inside her soaking pussy, and her eyes shutter. Adding a second finger has her biting her lip. All I can think about is how incredible it’ll feel to have every ridge and crevice of her wet heat stroking my cock.
My fingers slowly pump in and out of her tight cunt, dragging against the grooved walls. She’s fucking gorgeous bent over this desk, leaning on her elbows and pretending to be reading something on the computer. Long, muscular legs taut, the extra height from the heels puts her ass up in the air.
I kiss her shoulder, then bite it. And my cock twitches against the inside of my zipper. A sharp inhale whistles between her gritted teeth, and the arms supporting her upper body waver for a moment. Then I pull my drenched fingers from her warmth and rub her swollen clit, and her forehead drops to the desk.
“Oh my fucking God,” Blair whines between panting breaths. “Don’t fucking stop.”
“Oh baby, I’m not stopping until I feel this pretty little cunt shatter on my fingers.”
Every little hushed moan and desperate whimper has me closer to coming in my fucking pants. And I can’t take it anymore. The throbbing desire is painful.
With my free hand, I undo my belt in a frenzy, suddenly feeling like I might die if I don’t get to come when she does. The instant my cock springs free, I’m gripping it firmly, stroking from end to end with an unrelenting fist. Rubbing over her wet clit and staring at her tight ass until my vision blurs.
She blows long huffs of air from her nostrils like a feral animal, biting hard on her lip to keep from screaming. And a wave of muscle contraction works its way from her legs to her neck.
“Atta girl,” I say, as my balls tingle and tighten in warning. “ Fuck, I can’t wait to fuck you bent over this desk someday.”
Her thighs tremble, clenching either side of my forearm, and her hands scatter papers as they rove the desk, seeking something to grip. Watching her come completely undone is all I need, and with a few tight, fast pumps of my cock, I’m coming all over her lower back and ass.
I’m so fucking tempted to tell her I love her when I see her on display with my cum marking her milky skin. But before she’s even fully caught her breath, Brickham’s voice booms from the other side of the door. I scramble to pull my pants up in the nick of time, and Blair sinks her bare ass onto her desk chair just as the door swings open.
“Blair, seriously. This damn system is— Oh, hi, Denny—this stupid computer system is a waste of time. I’m not doing it. Either you come fix this and make it work better right now, or I’m going back to the system that’s been working for me for damn near forty years.”
Blair swallows, slicking a hand over the wild hair crowning her head, and shuffles the chair closer to the desk to ensure she’s fully covered. Thank God for the strong smell of espresso lingering in the air to mask our arousal, because Brickham doesn’t even bat an eye. Though he is impatiently tapping his foot, waiting on an answer from Blair.
“Well, I can’t help you right this second. I’m…uh, kind of in the middle of something.”
“This is your stupid system. I knew hiring some young girl—”
“Hey, I’m gonna stop you right there.” I place a hand on the back of her chair and stare him down. “You couldn’t dream up a more dedicated, hardworking employee to have than Blair. And she deserves a hell of a lot more respect than you’re giving her for the amount of work she’s done to make this place run better.”
“Den—” Blair turns to look at me.
“He needs to hear this. She’s a grown adult and a damn good nurse practitioner, and you need to speak to her as such. Not to mention, this is a clinic. She could’ve been in here with a patient. You have no right barging into her office uninvited.” I point at him. “ You’re being an asshole.”
Brickham stares at me from the doorway with pursed lips. “Miss Hart, would you please assist me with the computer when you have a free moment in your busy schedule?”
Blair nods slowly, wide-eyed. “Absolutely, I can.”
When the door shuts softly behind him, she practically jumps into my arms, kissing me senseless. “Thank you.”
“Told you I want to be here for you. That includes everything from coffee machines to telling off miserable old men.”