Chapter 9
nine
Killian
Iroll over, hearing a buzzing on the nightstand, see what time it is, and force myself to grab it.
Who the fuck is calling at four-thirty in the morning?
Nathaniel. That’s who.
“Do you ever sleep?” I ask, rubbing my eyes.
“I get a solid four hours a night.”
“You know they say sleep is necessary to be a functioning human.”
Nathaniel laughs. “We sold six more houses this week, and by we, I mean me. Plus I’m on mile six of my morning run. I’m pretty sure I’m functioning just fine.”
“I’m glad one of us is,” I grumble and sit up, leaning against the headboard. “What can I do for you this fine—ridiculously early—morning?”
He answers without any huffing and puffing. “I wanted to see how things are going down there.”
“I’m not really sure. For now we have no answers.”
“How is that possible? You’re the smartest man I know. You can always see the puzzle pieces.”
Not this time apparently. “Normally, yeah, but right now, nothing adds up.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
If I thought he could, he would’ve been one of my first calls.
Nathaniel and I have been friends since college.
Just two football players who got bunked up from completely opposite sides of the world.
He grew up in New York City, came from money, went to a private school with tutors and all that shit.
I came from small-town Colorado with not a pot to piss in.
What we did share, was a love for football—and girls.
“Just don’t let our business go under or I’ll really be fucked.”
“Do you need a loan?”
The fact he even offered it shows how he’s more of a family member than a friend. “No, I appreciate it, though.”
I’ve always been a planner. My entire life I’ve always seen my future goals and done the work to get to them. When I bought this farm, I took a huge gamble because it was the first time I didn’t have a real vision.
All the money I’d saved, the years of busting my ass and putting everything away, I used to buy this place.
The goal was to use my investments to invest in this place and then sell it when my sister was gone.
Only nothing went to plan. I fell in love with the land and no longer wanted to get rid of it.
It’s special to me, it holds memories of Alicia, and it became lucrative.
I was rebuilding the nest egg I cracked wide the hell open to give me back some savings.
That has now been flattened as I’ve had to cover the costs out of that to keep this place afloat.
“I’m serious, Killian, I can give you whatever you need. If you’re uncomfortable with it being a loan, we’ll work out something business-wise. Sell me some shares or whatever the fuck you need to feel better about it,” Nathaniel offers.
I sigh, hating that this is even a possibility. “If it comes to that, I’ll let you know.”
“All right.”
“How are things going in Boston?” I ask, hoping at least that company is doing well.
“Things are good. We just got another warehouse space listed. Hopefully that sells quicker than the last.”
I always worked the more residential side, but Nathaniel really thought we should go into commercial sales.
We decided to sort of split the business and each focus on what we were most passionate about.
I also do the financials, because the one thing this man is not good at is budgeting and accounting.
“I’m sure you’ll get it done.”
He lets out a long puff of air, and I know he’s done with his run now as the sound of the machine ends, not that the man is out of breath or anything.
“I’m going to check on your properties this week, and since this thing in Ember Falls seems to be a bigger issue than you anticipated, I’m going to bring in Craig, the guy I mentioned that I met at the last auction to help a little.
He’ll be able to do more than I can on my own. Are you cool with that?”
“Do whatever you have to. I don’t want clients upset, so if Craig can help, that’s great.”
“All right. Go take care of your things. I need to swim a mile or two and then get to work.”
“Thanks for the wake-up call.”
“Anytime.”
We hang up, and as much as I’d love to just go to sleep, that’s not going to happen. I have a lot of things I need to do on the ranch.
I hear a noise coming from the kitchen and head to my door, opening it.
There is Tessa in the kitchen in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt that’s been cut in half, allowing me to see her flat stomach perfectly.
I lean against the doorjamb and smile.
She looks so beautiful, her earbuds are in, and she’s dancing around silently. She moves to the stove, stirring something, and then shakes her ass.
God, I want to walk up behind her, grab her hips, and kiss her neck.
Instead, I have to stand here like a creep.
I clear my throat, hoping she’ll hear me, but she doesn’t—if her ass shaking is any indication.
I walk closer and rest my backside on the counter.
Tessa moves her body side to side, and I can see she’s making eggs.
Her arms go up in a V, head falling back, and then she goes to grab the pan off the stove and turns.
When she does, those eggs go flying as she screams, holding the pan like a bat.
“Oh my God!” she yells.
I lift both hands. “It’s just me.”
Her chest heaves and she slowly lowers the pan. “Don’t ever sneak up on a girl.”
I grin. “I tried to get your attention.”
She looks down at the eggs, that are now on the floor, and sighs. “Damn it.”
I walk over, grabbing some paper towels, and laugh softly. “What were you listening to?”
Her eyes go wide and now I’m really intrigued. “Nothing really.”
“No? You seemed pretty into it.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Really?”
Tessa shrugs. “I mean, sure, I was into it, but it’s music. You’re supposed to be into it.”
“I agree. I love music.” My tastes are pretty eclectic. I love everything from country to rap to certain pop songs. “So, what were you listening to?”
“My brother said that it was his job to ensure that I was well rounded so my playlist is mostly Dr. Dre, Eminem, Biggie, and DMX.”
I grin. “Some of the best.”
“You like rap?”
“I do. I usually go for country, just because it’s what I prefer, but my workout mix is pretty much all rap.”
She smiles. “I love that. I would’ve pegged you for a metal guy for the gym.”
I step toward her. “Nope.”
“I’m sorry if I woke you up. I was trying to be quiet.”
“You didn’t wake me.” Another step. “It’s early—why are you awake?”
Tessa sighs. “My mind never shuts off.” I understand that issue. “I was lying in bed, thinking about everything. I feel like while we’re waiting for some information on Travis, we should reach out to previous buyers in the last year. Maybe we can find a connection.”
She inched forward as she spoke, and her body is now so close. I know she’s telling me what we need to do to work on the ranch’s issues, but all I can do is focus on her lips. How they move as she speaks. The way her eyes widen slightly at the end, when the idea seemed to excite her.
I don’t think she knows how absolutely beautiful she is.
I clench my fists at my side to keep from reaching toward her, touching her when I know I shouldn’t.
Then she tilts her head to the side, letting out a heavy breath. “Killian?”
Right. She was talking.
I lift my gaze to meet hers. “If you think that’s a good idea.”
Tessa crosses her one leg in front of the other and then bites her lip.
“I do. I think if we can talk to a few people, find out how their experience was, their process, almost as though we’re doing an internal audit, we might unmask some information to help us.
Also, I want us to do some community outreach stuff.
The goal is to get some horses sold, right? ”
“Right.”
She runs her hands through her hair. “Cool. I’m going to come up with a few more ideas and we’ll try to get something going right away.”
I’m not sure how she thinks that’s going to happen, but I’m not going to argue. I’m much too busy focusing on her.
“You have something…” I say lifting my hand and pulling it back.
“What?”
“Egg. It’s in your hair.”
Tessa runs her hands through her hair and the piece of egg is still there.
Without thinking, without remembering that I’m not supposed to want her, to touch her, to be this damn close to her, I step closer. Her big blue eyes lift to mine as I stare back at her. She’s so fucking beautiful, and I want nothing more than to pull her against me and crush my lips to hers.
But I can’t.
So, I raise my fingers, touching the silky brown strands and pulling it out, but my hand rests on her neck.
Her breathing hitches and those blue eyes widen. The desire is like a physical pulse between us—I can feel it pounding in my chest.
Tessa’s lips part and her gaze goes to my mouth.
She wants the same thing.
“Killian,” she breathes my name as I move my hand up higher.
I rub my thumb against her cheek. “There’s egg…”
“Where?”
“Your lips,” I lie.
Her chest rises and falls quickly.
I should be stronger than this. I should step back, go in my room, lock the door, jack off, and then go about my day.
What I definitely shouldn’t do is lean in, but that’s exactly my next move.
Tessa’s gaze doesn’t waver and her voice is barely above a whisper. “You should, get it off then.”
I don’t wait for any further confirmation, I move my lips to hers and kiss away all my fucking self-control.
Her body moves into mine, hands resting on my chest as our lips move against each other’s. She is so damn perfect. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want her.
Our tongues move together, and I hold her face with both hands, needing her to stay with me. In a moment, one or the both of us will remember why this is a bad idea. She’s too young, she’s not from here, I’m in the middle of my entire business crumbling around me, and…she’s my publicist.
Pretty sure this is not exactly part of the package.
However, right now, none of those reasons exist for me.
All that matters is her.
She lets out a soft moan as her hands move up to my neck. I don’t know how long we kiss for, but it’s not enough.
Too soon, she pulls back, her eyes wide, heart-shaped lips swollen, and then she covers them with her hand.
“Oh my…I shouldn’t. We shouldn’t,” Tessa says, stepping back.
“Maybe not, but I don’t regret it.”
And I walk out before I do something I really will regret.
But I hear her as I go. “Neither do I.”
“Mr. Thorn?” Gary, my ranch hand, calls my name as I’m walking through the barn.
“Yes?”
“Do you still want to ride out today?”
I nod. “Yes, can you saddle up two horses for me and tie them out back?”
“Two?”
Before I can say anything, Tessa’s voice calls from behind me, “You have like three barns and an arena—you didn’t tell me which one.”
I grin. “Yet you found me.”
She huffs. “I did.”
After our kiss this morning, I took a cold shower and sent her a message to meet me in the barn. Today, I want to take her out of the office and show her the land in full. If she’s going to help me save this place, I want her to see it in its entirety.
“Do you remember how to ride?”
Tessa looks at the horse and back to me. “I do.”
“How about we skip going through papers that don’t make sense and go see the land?”
Her long lashes flutter a few times and she smiles. “All right.”
I glance down at the sundress she has on. “You may want to change.”
“Right! Shit. Okay, I’ll be back.”
I help Gary saddle the horses and head inside to grab a few things to eat. We’re going to be gone most of the day. I put the stuff in the bag, and Tessa comes down the stairs. She’s wearing a pair of skintight jeans and a white shirt, pulling her hair up as she’s descending.
I swear, the air feels thin as I look at her.
She stops when she gets to the bottom. “Hey, sorry I took a bit. I got a call.”
I shake my head and put on my cowboy hat. “No problem. It allowed me to pack lunch.”
“Oh! We’ll be gone all day?”
“Yes.”
“All right then. The call was from Brynlee—she wanted to see how things were. I gave her an update, and we brainstormed the ideas I had about ways to bring in some profit at the same time as getting people in to see the available horses. I’m assuming you’ll do some auctions?”
“Yes, I have one set for next week.”
I have no fucking choice. I have to sell at least four horses this month to not be completely screwed.
One of the biggest issues I have is that Travis was supposed to take a deposit for each sale, he assured me he was doing that, but it turns out he wasn’t doing that or if he did, it was never deposited into the bank.
I never noticed it because we had such an influx of sales.
Now all the pending sales for the next six months are gone with no recourse.
“Hopefully the auction proves fruitful. You do have a very high success rate. I did a lot of reading yesterday and I think it’ll be good. In the meantime, we’ll talk about some options we can do here.”
I have no idea what options she thinks I have. This is a breeding, training, and boarding ranch with no trainer and all but three promised sales are canceled.
There’s really nothing I can do to bring income into the barn unless I can get some locals to board with me.
I extend my arm back to head to the barn. Tessa smiles and we make our way to where the horses are tied up after Gary saddled them.
She immediately walks to the chestnut mare, extending her hand. “Hi, girl. What’s your name?”
“That’s Billie-Jean.”
“You’re just a girl, huh?”
I laugh. “She’s not my lover, that’s for sure, but it seems she’s taken with you.”
Seems to be a trend on this farm.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Billie-Jean.”
She looks over to me. “You’re not going to ride Midnight?”
“No, this is Bentley. He’s a bit of a nightmare but needs some exercise. Do you need help up?” I ask, hoping she’ll say yes so I can accidentally touch her ass.
Tessa grabs the horn, puts her foot in the stirrup, hoists herself up, and smiles. “I got it. Can you hand me the reins though?”
“You know, you should’ve done that first.”
She shrugs. “I know, but I have a capable friend on the ground.”
I chuckle. “Yes, you do.”
I untie Billie-Jean and hand Tessa the reins.
After, I get the food put in the saddle pouch on my horse and tie the blanket on the back, then I give Bentley a look that tells him I will not appreciate him making me look like an idiot.
Thankfully, he seems to get the point and allows me to untie him and get up without rearing or bucking.
I turn him in a few circles and glance over at Tessa who is just sitting on the very sweet and docile Billie-Jean. I give her a nod. “Ready?”
“I’ll follow you.”