Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
ABBI
A fter another round of sex this morning, Brady drove me to the farmhouse so I could grab my things from yesterday, along with my car. Of course, before leaving, Erin whispered in my ear that I had to call her later to fill her in on everything, and I promised to do that as I walked out with a flaming red face.
Then Brady followed me into town so I could take a quick shower and change my clothes before packing a bag for another night away. And let me just say, I feel so much better. My muscles are sore, especially in the areas that have been ignored for way too long, but despite little sleep last night, I feel refreshed and energized. Not to mention excited for the opportunity to spend another full day and night with this incredibly sexy man.
And trust me, Brady is sexy with a capital S.
“I’m ready,” I announce as I walk downstairs and find Brady sitting in the chair, thumbing through his phone. “Sorry for making you wait. Drying my hair takes forever, but it’s necessary in the winter.”
“I can’t have you getting sick on me,” he says with a wink as he stands and crosses to me, immediately pulling me into his arms and hugging me close. “You smell good enough to eat.”
I grin against him, kiss his chest, and then pull back. “What are we going to do today?”
“Lady’s choice.”
“I was hoping you’d say that because I really want a tour of the ranch.”
Brady blinks in surprise. “You’ve seen most of the ranch, haven’t you?”
“I’ve seen the farmhouse and Summer and Chase’s house, along with the event center, yes. And now your cabin. But I haven’t seen any animals or heard any stories. I guess I want to see it through your eyes.”
And right now, those hazel eyes smolder as he stares down at me.
“But if you’d rather not?—”
I’m cut off by his mouth as he kisses me hard and long, and I can’t help but sway against him, soaking him in.
Brady Wild is an addiction that I may never recover from.
“The ranch it is. Do you have boots that you don’t care if they get shit on them?”
I laugh in surprise. “I guess we’re going all out. I’m sure I do.”
“Grab a good winter coat, too. Layers, babe. You need layers.”
“I live in Montana. I have layers.” I wink at him and then march back to the small mud room off the garage entrance to gather what I’ll need, and then we pile into Brady’s SUV and head back out to the ranch. “I’m glad the weather has eased up a bit. Snow is fine, but it’s tough when you add arctic temps and wind.”
“I couldn’t agree more. I work in that shit all day. Temps in the twenties is downright balmy.”
When he turns onto the ranch road off the highway, he bypasses the farmhouse and drives us out to the barn first, coming to a stop by a huge rolling door that’s currently shut.
“Some of the hands might be out here right now,” he says as we get out of the car, and he pulls the door open so we can step inside, then closes it again.
It’s warm in here, with the smell of hay heavy in the air. It’s cleaner than I expected, and way brighter, with light-colored wood stalls lining one wall where I assume the horses must live.
“Hey, Lucky,” Brady calls out, waving to an old man shoveling hay at the other end of the barn. “I’m giving Abbi the tour.”
“Hey there, little lady,” Lucky says, tipping his hat to me. “Welcome to our little slice of heaven.”
“Thank you.”
Brady leads me to one of the middle stalls, and a huge black head greets us over the door.
“Hi there, buddy.” Brady nuzzles the horse’s face and grins, offering him an apple that I didn’t realize he had with him. “This is my guy, Blackjack.”
“He’s gorgeous.” Tentatively, I reach out to pet Blackjack’s nose, and he leans into my touch, making me smile. “Hi, beautiful boy.”
“He likes you,” Brady says with a nod. “And he doesn’t like just anyone. He’s picky. Obviously, he has good taste.”
“Clearly.” I push up on my toes so I can kiss the horse, falling in love with him. “You’re a sweetheart.”
“Here, feed him an apple, and he’ll pledge his undying love for you.”
“Oh, it’s okay—” I shake my head, moving back, but Brady takes my hand in his and kisses my palm before setting the apple in it.
“I’ll help you,” he says gently. “It’s easy. Hold your fingers out, and he’ll take it right out of your hand.”
“And my fingers with it.”
“Not if you hold them out like this.” He shows me how to do it, and I follow suit, and Blackjack takes the apple from my hand, brushing it with his soft lips.
“Oh, his mouth is so soft.”
Brady grins down at me, as if he’s proud of me. “See? Easy. Want to see some of the others?”
“Will Blackjack get jealous?”
“Maybe, but he’ll be okay.”
He leads me down the line, introducing me to at least ten horses, and we give them carrots or apples, along with lots of pets and kisses.
“I think I might need a horse,” I say, surprising both of us. “Not that I have anywhere to put one. Daisy would love this.”
“She’s been out here with Holly and Johnny,” I hear Lucky add behind me. “She’s good with them. Never been up on one, but she likes to talk to ‘em.”
I don’t know why that makes me emotional, but I have to swallow the lump that’s suddenly in my throat.
“Sounds like my girl,” I say with a grin. “She loves animals. Now that she’s seen your parents’ chickens, she’ll be asking for that next. She’s convinced she needs a cow.”
“A cow ?” Brady asks. “Why a cow?”
“Have you seen the miniature Highland cows? They’re so fuzzy and adorable, and she can’t get enough of them. I told her we don’t have a place to put a cow, even if it is a miniature.”
“Hmm,” he says, and I narrow my eyes on him.
“You will not buy my daughter a cow, Brady Wild.”
“Well, you might not have a place to put it, but I do.”
I shake my head and prop my hands on my hips as Lucky cackles like a maniac and leaves the barn.
“Absolutely not.”
“Yeah, okay. When’s her birthday again? June?”
“I’m not telling.”
That only makes Brady grin as if to say challenge accepted, and I change the subject.
“Speaking of cows, where are yours?”
“I’ll drive you past them,” he assures me as he leads me back to Blackjack’s stall, where he takes a minute to make sure his horse has everything he needs before we head out again.
Once back in the car, he heads off-road, into a pasture.
“Our herd is over there,” he says, pointing, and I see a bunch of black cows, all huddled together in the middle of the pasture. “They’re keeping warm. They keep the youngest in the middle, and then they take turns with who’s on the outside.”
“Smart.”
“Cows are very smart,” he agrees. “And generally gentle.”
“What other animals do you have out here?”
“Domestic animals? Chickens, and Rem’s making noise about getting some goats for the kids in the spring. We had pigs when we were young, but they’re not easy, so we stopped.”
“And non domesticated animals?”
“Well, we have your typical deer, elk, moose.” He steers us toward a spot that just takes my breath away with the view of the mountains. I love it out here on this ranch. “Bear, both black bears and grizzlies.”
“Wait.” I tear my gaze from the mountains and stare at him. “You have grizzly bears?”
“Sure, but they’re all asleep right now. Or, should be. Grizzlies never truly hibernate. They’ll come out and about a little in the winter, but it’s not often.”
“Grizzly bears. In Montana.”
He frowns over at me. “You’ve been here for a couple of years. Surely, someone has told you about the bears by now. Why do you think people carry bear spray when they hike?”
“In case of black bears.”
That makes him laugh. “Black bears don’t want to hurt you. Hell, grizzlies don’t either; they’re just more temperamental. Anyway, if it was a nicer day, we’d be sitting on the ground to take in this view. It’s our favorite on the ranch.”
“I can see why.” The mountains are just incredible. I can’t see all the way to the top because of the cloud cover, but they loom before us, so big and magical, and it makes me wonder how I managed to live all of my life without the mountains.
“What are you thinking?”
I turn to find Brady watching me, and I grin. “Just admiring this view. How about you?”
“Same. This is a spectacular view.”
“You’re a charming cowboy.”
That makes him laugh as he starts the car. “No ma’am, that’s not one of the ways people have described me. Now, what next? You’ve seen the lake with Chase’s house, and you’ve seen my cabin and my parents’ house. I can show you more of the actual ranch when there’s not so much snow.”
“Then, I guess we can just go back to your place and find… something to entertain us.”
“I’m sure we can come up with something.”
He turns the 4Runner around and heads back the way we came.
“Can I ask more rodeo questions?” I turn in my seat so I can look at him. Damn, his profile is something to write home about. That jaw is so chiseled , and his hands are sexy on the steering wheel. Now that I know how good they feel on me , I will never look at them the same way again.
“Abs?”
“Huh?”
He grins over at me. “You said you have more questions.”
“Oh, right. I do. So, after Dirks passed, how long did it take you to get back on a bull?”
He blows out a breath, thinking it over. “Geez, about a week, I guess.”
“That fast?”
He spares me a look. “A week is a long time for a rider to be off of a bull. I was damn rusty by then, and it took a while to get back into shape.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I never kid about riding a bull.”
“So, what do you do in the winter? You’re not riding bulls out here on the ranch.”
“Do you want to see how I train in the offseason?”
“Of course, I do.”
With a nod, Brady parks in front of his cabin and then gestures for me to follow him around back to a rustic shed. He opens the door and motions for me to go inside, and he flips on a light before closing the door to keep out the cold.
“It’s chilly in here.”
“It’s heated, but I keep it at fifty. I get sweaty.” He shrugs and walks around the huge… thing in the middle of the room. “This is what we call a drop barrel. Mine is electric.”
“Is it like a mechanical bull?” I step up to it and run my hand over the carpeted round barrel at the end of a metal stick coming out of a machine.
“No, because the mechanical bull moves differently. This has just one motion, but it’s imperative for leg and core strength and for practicing technique and balance.”
“Are you going to show me?” I smile boldly before batting my eyelashes at him. “Please?”
His eyes narrow at me, and I shrug.
“Okay, I’ll do it. Start it up.” I move to hop up, but he’s suddenly beside me, holding me at the waist.
“Fine, I’ll show you.”
“Yay. I really didn’t know what I’d do if you called my bluff on that one.”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “I haven’t practiced today, so I guess this works.”
“When do you have time ?”
“I usually come out here after early morning chores.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal and then hops up, as if it’s easy and second nature to him. “Put in an hour or so.”
The machine starts to move up and down in a rhythmic, rocking motion, and Brady’s legs tighten, one arm comes up, and he moves with it, up and down, up and down.
It’s… graceful. And hotter than I expected. Not that he isn’t hot with everything he does, but this is clearly what he knows and what his body is trained for, and he looks damn good doing it.
So good, in fact, that my panties are officially soaked.
After a few minutes, he hops down, shuts off the machine, and turns to me, not even breathing hard.
“And you do that for an hour ?”
“Usually.” His eyes narrow. “Your cheeks are flushed.”
Oh, I just bet they are.
I saunter to him, grateful that the floor in here seems pretty clean, and when I reach him, my hands grip onto his button-fly, and I hit my knees.
“Whoa.”
“That was—” I shake my head as I ease his pants over his hips. “Sexy. Hot. Wow.”
“I guess so. Abs?—”
“I’m going to be brutally honest, Brady. I want to suck your cock.”
He chokes and then hums as I pull said cock out of his pants. It’s already hard and thick, and there’s a tiny bead of precum on the tip that has me licking my lips.
“Except, I’m not sure how to do this.”
That has his hand tangling in my hair and tipping my head back so I have to look up at him.
“What just came out of that gorgeous mouth?”
“I’ve never done this before, but I’m sure that what I lack in technique, I make up for in enthusiasm.”
“Jesus Christ,” he growls, and I didn’t think it was possible, but he gets even harder in my hands.
“So, what do I do here?”
“The fact that your hands are wrapped around it is a great start.” He swallows hard and covers my hands with one of his. “You move up and down, like this.”
He guides my hands up and down his shaft, and more precum beads on the tip, so I lick it off, and Brady growls.
“No?”
“Hell yes,” he counters. “You can lick me, suck me, whatever you want, sweetheart.”
So, I try it again. I lick him, enjoying the saltiness on my tongue and the way it jerks when I swirl around the ridge of the tip. I take that tip inside my mouth and experiment with brushing my tongue over it, and Brady growls again.
I think that means that I’m doing something right.
“Hell, Abs.” He swallows hard. “Look up at me.”
I do and find his eyes on fire as he watches me, his jaw clenched.
“I like the way you look with my cock in your mouth.”
Oh, that makes me very happy. It seems I’m a fan of praise because that fills me with sunshine and makes me want to continue, working for more words of affection from him.
I take him deeper, and when I can feel him at the back of my throat, I swallow, but I don’t gag. His hand fists in my hair again, and the tug pulls at my core.
I want him.
But first, I want to play with him.
“Fucking hell,” he groans when I grip on with my lips and pull up, coming off of him with a loud pop .
Suddenly, I’m on my feet, my back against the drop barrel, and Brady is tugging my jeans down my legs, where they get caught on my boots, and we both laugh as I have to work my way out of the boots and then the jeans.
“Winter sucks,” Brady says with a laugh and then boosts me up, wrapping my legs around his hips. “Ah shit, no condoms out here.”
“I have the birth control covered,” I whisper in his ear, and before I can say anymore, he’s inside of me, and we’re both gasping. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes .”
“God, you take me so well.” He bites the side of my neck, hammering into me as if he’s a man possessed. “Seeing your mouth on me almost fucking killed me.”
“I plan to do it more later. I need a lot of practice.”
He half laughs, half groans, and I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him, my tongue tangling with his.
I feel the orgasm building in me, moving through me, and suddenly, he’s coming with me, rocking into me, and we’re clinging to each other as we fall over the edge into insanity.
Being invited over to Chase and Summer’s to spend time with all the siblings and have dinner the next day was a welcome surprise.
I’m desperate to talk to my friends about recent…developments.
And I just love Summer and Chase’s new house on the lake. Now that we’re in the heart of winter, that lake is frozen over, and it looks so pretty covered in snow with the mountains in the background.
They definitely chose the most amazing spot to build their home.
“I’m gonna win,” Jake calls to the little kids as he leads them outside for a snowman-building contest.
“No way, we will,” Holly counters as they run after him as fast as they can in all the layers of clothing, closing the door behind them.
The guys are out in Chase’s shop, admiring his latest woodworking project, so it’s just the five of us women left, and Summer is pouring chocolate-peppermint martinis into glasses.
Polly’s is a virgin drink, but she doesn’t mind at all, and Summer is sticking with water.
“Cheers,” Millie says, as we all clink glasses and then take a sip. “Oh, that’s good stuff.”
“I heard a rumor,” Summer says, immediately jumping into the gossip, and we all lean in closer. “About our very own Millie Wild.”
“What?” Millie blinks and then frowns. “I haven’t done anything scandalous.”
“I heard ,” Summer continues, “that your vehicle was parked at Bridger Blackwell’s house last night.”
Millie rolls her eyes at that. “For fuck’s sake. I am not screwing around with Bridger, of all people. He’s just a friend.”
“Uh-huh,” Polly replies with a knowing smile. “Only a super-hot firefighter. The fire chief . And, in my humble opinion, the sexiest of the Blackwells, but they’re all mighty fine, if you ask me.”
“I don’t know, Brooks is hot ,” Erin says, shaking her head.
“Have you guys seen Beckett?” I fan my face. “What is it about the ranch guys, anyway?”
“I can’t go to the doctor if Blake’s working,” Summer confesses. “He’s too hot, and I’ll just embarrass myself.”
“Okay, so we’ve established that the Blackwell brothers are sexy,” Millie says, laughing. “But I’m not sleeping with any of them.”
“Shame,” I say with a sigh. “Because as the newest citizen of Pound Town, I can assure you that you’re missing out.”
There’s silence, and then all four of them begin talking at once.
“I need details,” Erin says.
“Spill it,” Polly agrees.
“Tell us everything ,” Summer adds.
“ Why must I be punished like this?” Millie demands. “All four of you are now banging my brothers, and I do not want to hear about it. Yuck. No.”
“Listen, it’s not our fault that you have brothers that are hung like horses and give the best orgasms west of the Mississippi,” Polly points out, making Millie gag.
“Brady is hung like a horse and gives the best orgasms,” I reply, high-fiving my pregnant friend. “Holy shit, does he, and it’s only been two days.”
“It’s about damn time,” Erin says emphatically. “It was getting almost painful watching you two dance around each other.”
“He’s so sweet with Daisy,” Summer adds, and I nod, tears springing to my eyes.
“He really is, and she just adores him.” I sip my drink. “He stayed the night with me when she was so sick. He didn’t have to do that, you know?”
“Okay, my brothers are sweet,” Millie admits with a sigh. “I can talk about this part.”
“And the things he can do with his tongue?—”
“No!” Millie yells, making us all laugh. “Jesus, have mercy on my poor, battered soul!”
“Oh!” Summer checks her watch and then hurries around the kitchen island, where we’re all huddled. “I have to put the chicken in the oven. Keep talking, though. Abbi, I suppose it helped that Daisy was with Joy and John for two nights, so you could go to Pound Town often.”
“I need new friends,” Millie mutters, shaking her head mournfully.
“It was sweet of them to keep her,” I agree, and decide to take pity on Millie. “And the sexy time was fun, but it was honestly really nice to be able to just be with him, to ask him questions, and get to know him better when we’re not around the rest of the family.”
“I hadn’t thought of that,” Erin admits. “You’re always with the rest of us, so it’s not like you can have deep, personal conversations between the two of you. I’m glad you had that for a couple of days.”
“Me, too, but I missed the hell out of my girl.” I lean back so I can see out the window and catch a glimpse of Daisy giggling on her knees in the snow.
I have such a cute kid.
The front door opens, and the guys walk in, and when they see Brady, all four women let out a loud whooooop!
Brady’s eyes turn to me, narrow, and then he grins in a way that says, Yeah, I fucked her, and I plan to do it a lot more.
It makes me shiver with anticipation.
“Now he’s fucking her with his eyes,” Summer says with a sigh as she leans into Chase when his arms circle around her from behind. “Isn’t it the sweetest?”
“Adorable,” Rem mutters, grabbing a carrot off of a vegetable platter.
“Oh, baby girl,” I mutter, watching as Daisy climbs to the top of a huge snowball that Jake just finished rolling. “Please be careful.”
Before I can hurry to the door, Jake’s at her side, wraps his arms around her waist, and lifts her off, shaking his head, obviously telling her not to do that.
“He’s going to be the best big brother,” Polly says with a huge grin. And then, to all of our horror, tears fill her eyes. “I just love him so much.”
“She’s leaking,” Brady says, pointing at Ryan. “Fix her. Fix her. ”
“It’s okay,” Ryan croons, holding Polly in a hug. “No need to cry, babe.”
“It’s hormones,” she says, sniffling. “Stupid hormones.”
“Looks like that’s what I have to look forward to,” Summer says. “I’ll stock up on tissues.”
“You’ll need lots,” I agree, and then my heart leaps into my throat. “Wait, WHAT?”
Chaos ensues as we rush the couple, hugging and laughing, and maybe a few of us are crying, and I love all of this so much. Being a part of these people, this family.
This is my tribe, and God, I love them with my whole heart.
“What’s wrong?” Jake demands. “Why is my mom crying?”
“Good tears,” Polly assures him as Daisy takes my hand in hers, her brown eyes wide as she takes everything in.
“I’m going to have a baby,” Summer says with a sheepish smile. “We just found out yesterday. I’m glad I didn’t drink much at the party.”
“Cool,” Jake decides and crosses over to hug her. “That’s awesome.”
“He’s the cutest,” I whisper to Brady, who’s smiling like a loon.
“I know,” he says.
“More babies,” Johnny says, looking up at his dad. “Blech.”
“You don’t like babies?” I ask him.
“They’re loud and smelly, and they don’t know any jokes. Plus, they’re messy.”
“But they’re so cute,” Holly says, jumping up and down. “And so tiny. I want to hold all the babies. Can we have babies?”
“Not today,” Erin says with a laugh, but Remington kisses her on the head, and I can’t help but wonder if they’re trying.
“It’s a good day,” Chase says, holding on to his wife. “A damn good day.”
“Swear jar!” Daisy yells, making us all laugh.