Chapter 10
It’s just after four in the morning when I head out to start work for the day.
We are coming into calving season and with only a few weeks left before our first lot of heifers are due; I need to get the maternity barn ready, and the cows moved so I can then drive the rest up to the pastures in the mountains.
I need to give the fields a break so they can grow back fresh and ready for when the new arrivals are here.
I’m always the first to start the day in this place, as it should be.
I’ve become so accustomed to the early mornings, I no longer sleep past four, my body just can’t do it, even if I get to bed late like last night.
I’d been too wired after having Niamh at the table, how she had watched with a softness to her I’ve never seen.
She was sweet with Rosie, patient with Caleb and entertained Silas’s ridiculous need to stir the metaphorical pot.
The dimples had even appeared as she giggled at one of Rosie’s feral antics, but they still weren’t directed at me, and I can feel it becoming a need.
Make Niamh smile for me.
I can only imagine what it would feel like to see those dimples aimed in my direction, but it doesn’t help that I want to touch them. Feel them. Taste them.
No.
Nope.
That’s not what I want.
The floodlights illuminate as I step beneath the sensors, making my way toward the barn closest to the house. There’s not much more left to do, and if I can get it finished in the next few hours, it means I can start working out the logistics of the drive.
I’m just about to head inside when I hear movement behind me. It’s far too early for any of the morning shift to start and too late for the night shift to be out. There’s about an hour or two between the two shifts, so I wasn’t expecting anyone to be out this early.
Looking over my shoulder, I watch Niamh sneak out, her swimming bag in tow. She moves slowly, quietly, as if trying to get out without being detected. Clearly, she hadn’t heard me get up or leave.
Niamh creeps as she goes, avoiding detection from the floodlights, but I see her as she moves between the few cars parked in front of the house. She makes it to the fence and then starts to walk more freely. She’s just about to slip away when I step away from the barn and activate the light.
“Where are you going?” I know where she is going, but there’s no way in hell I’m letting her go into those woods alone.
Here at the house, we are safe. We have the working dogs and plenty of people to keep predators away, but out in the woods is too dangerous when darkness still keeps the ranch in its grasp.
She shrieks, dropping her bag as she spins on me, clutching her chest.
“Roman,” She hisses, “What the fuck!?”
I cock my head, “I sure hope you’re not thinking about going to the falls at this time.”
“Stop.” She rolls her eyes, releasing a breath, “It’s fine.”
“It is not fine,” My arms cross over my chest, “We’ve had reports of wolves. You’re not going to the falls now.”
“I am.” She replies stubbornly.
It wasn’t so bad when she was venturing out there during the day, which was less dangerous. But why she is choosing to do it before sunrise is beyond me.
“Go back to bed,” I order, “You can do whatever the hell you like when the sun is up.”
A loud laugh bursts from her, but it’s far from amused. “And just who do you think you’re talking to? I’m not your employee; you don’t tell me what to do.”
“No, you’re my wife.”
Her eyes roll so hard I wonder if she’s able to see inside her own head, “Yeah… no. I’ll catch you later.”
She starts walking again, shaking her head as she goes. I can hear her mumbling to herself, a couple of my dogs coming away from their posts to inspect the new arrival. She pauses to pat one of them on the head but then continues, following the path through the pastures.
I assume the twelve month time requirement means my wife does in fact need to remain alive, so I divert and head to the barn where I have several ATVs parked.
Plucking the keys to one from the hook, I throw my leg over and get it started, the rumble of the engine loud in the quiet of the morning.
I twist the throttle, the tires spinning on the gritty earth beneath me, and peel out of the barn, taking the same trail she just walked down until I spot her almost at the tree line.
Fine. She wants to go swimming at this ridiculous time, then she’ll need a chaperone.
I speed by her and then twist the handles, turning into her path and come to a stop.
“What are you doing?” She skids to a halt.
“You’re not going out there alone.”
“I do this every day,” Niamh huffs.
“In the daylight. Now get on.”
“No.”
“And here I thought you might have some survival instinct.”
Her glare turns downright molten. “Fuck you.”
“Get on the back, sweetheart.”
She wets her lips, and a smirk turns up her mouth as she dips her chin toward her chest, the challenge lighting up something inside of her. A part of me rises up to meet it, and a giddy kind of feeling blooms deep in my gut. Oh, how it’s been a long time since someone wanted to play.
“No.”
I watch as she starts walking again, going around where I block her and heads toward the trees.
Leaving the engine running, I hop off and eat up the space between us, my arm coming around her waist to stop her. I pull her back to my chest, tightening my hold as I curl my body over hers.
“Get off me!” She yells, clawing at the arm that holds her.
“I won’t allow my wife to just go wandering off into the trees in the dark. Do you even have a gun on you? What if something attacks you, hm? You reckon you can defend yourself against a pack of wolves? What about a bear?”
Her body feels so damn warm pressed to the front of mine, almost too good.
I lean down closer, feeling her body, how it shivers for me.
Her ass presses into my lap, back to my stomach, and at this angle, my mouth is close to the curve of her neck, soft skin tempting me to take a taste. “Get on the fucking ATV.”
Neither of us moves, her breaths come out in heavy, quick pants while I keep her caged against me, my hand flattening against her stomach, just below her ribs.
“You need to let me go,” She whispers, turning her head into mine until our breaths mingle.
“Are you going to do as you are told?” I challenge, secretly praying she doesn’t just so I can keep her here for a bit longer.
“Fine,” She concedes.
Turning her face up slightly, her lips meet the corner of mine.
“Well, can’t you be a good girl.” I reluctantly let her go, and turn back to the ATV, grinning as I hear her sharp intake of breath. I climb back on and wait for her to get on the back.
She’s slow, but at least she’s coming. When she’s behind me, I reach around and grab her arm, tugging it so she has it wrapped around my waist, and then I grab the other, pulling until I feel her body pressed up against mine, thighs on either side of me.
“Hold on,” I order and twist the throttle, taking us both into the cover of the trees where the dark seems impossibly fathomless.
She tightens her arms, and I feel her press her cheek into my back, holding on as I take the winding trail through the woods.
Her heart is thumping against me, and her nails are biting where they push into my abs.
I shouldn’t like the way it feels, the way she feels pushed up against me like this, but I do. My dick twitches at the feel of those nails, and it’s hard not to imagine what they’d feel like clawing down my back.
She’d leave marks, maybe even draw blood, and I know damn well I’d fucking love it.
I slow and then come to a stop at the pool, cutting the engine and the light, the inky water lapping at the sandy banks while the mountains loom over it.
Niamh doesn’t hesitate to undress, despite the temperature and the darkness.
She strips down to her bikini and, with the little light, I can just make out the curves on her, the dip at her waist and the flare of her hips.
I remain where I am, watching her wade into the water until she can no longer touch the bottom, and then she swims out to the center to the same spot she always goes. I can’t help but wonder what it is about swimming that has her coming back every morning. It’s like a ritual for her.
She swims until the light leaks over the mountains, and I stay, watching her the entire time. She eventually swims back to the shore, pulling the towel out of her bag.
“You should try it,” She says to me.
“Try what?” I watch her turn to face me, tucking the towel around her chest as she moves to her bag.
“Swimming.”
“It’s colder than hell in there,” I huff, “Absolutely not.”
“That’s the point.” A soft laugh sounds from her. “It’s refreshing.”
“No,” I shake my head, turning away when she starts to dry herself off.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her tugging on the strings of her bikini, freeing herself of the wet material, but she keeps that towel tight to her body.
It doesn’t help that I’m picturing her naked body beneath it, or how I remember the way the water droplets rolled over her skin.
The ground is suddenly the most interesting thing between us, and I watch it like I could see a flower grow from the soil while she changes into her clothes.
Finally, she’s fully clothed again, and I’m able to release the breath I was holding.
“Can you give me a ride back?” She asks.
“Somewhere to be?” I press.
“I’ve got a gig at the bar tonight.” She throws her leg over the ATV, pressing into the back of me. “So don’t wait up. It’ll be a late one.”
I don’t answer her as I start it up and take her back to the house, parking the ATV in the barn. We both set off to get started for the day, but then several blurs of orange fluff dart across our path.
Niamh comes to a dead stop.
“Sweetheart?” I press.
“Kitty!” She cries, and I realize a moment later I’ve completely lost her.
Her knees hit the dirt, and she becomes overwhelmed by a whole litter of kittens, their little bodies launching themselves at her.
“Oh my gosh,” She cries, “You have cats!”
If I had known that would be the ticket to win her over, then I would have used it days ago, but no, it appears the cats have found her.
We have several on the ranch. They’re great pest control, and as much as we try, we aren’t able to sterilize every single one that chooses this ranch as their home.
Feral cats have always come here. We try our best to ensure they are healthy and look after them, but some things are beyond our control.
Just like the she cat finding a home in the barns and having seven kittens.
She’s relatively new to the ranch and was already pregnant when she got here, so we just had to make sure she was comfortable and had a warm spot to have her kittens.
“Go careful,” I warn her, eyeing the mother cat as she comes trotting toward where Niamh loves on the babies. Three of them are in her lap, another in her arms as she nuzzles her face into its fur while two more play fight by her knee. Behind the mom, the final kitten follows.
“Have you named them?” Niamh asks, watching the last kitten arrive, a knot forming between her brows. She’s spotted what I have. It looks too thin, its fur sparse, and its eyes look weepy and sore.
“No,” I tell her, “We have too many to keep track of.”
She pouts and puts the kitten she was holding down so she can reach for the newest one. It comes willingly, and the mother just sits and watches, content with Niamh handling her babies. I don’t dare move in case I scare them.
“This one is sick,” She strokes it softly, “Really poorly.”
“We have a vet on site.” Crouching down, I pick up the kitten currently using the toe of my boot as a scratching post and use my finger to tickle under its chin.
“Can I take her?” I can see the concern twisting her face.
“We can right now,” I promise, rising to stand.
Her eyes light up, and she gets to her feet, cradling the kitten like it’s made of glass. We have a resident vet who works and lives on site, she’s the very best in the state, so if there’s anyone who can help this kitten, it’s her.
I guide Niamh to the truck and then climb in behind the wheel, getting the engine started a minute later. She doesn’t say a word; all her focus is pointed toward the baby in her arms. She’s soft and warm, but I see the way her watery eyes worry for the kitten.
It cracks something in my chest.
It shouldn’t, but it does.
I shouldn’t care. I shouldn’t care what makes her sad, but I don’t want to see that look. I want her sharp thorns, the bites, the glares. Not this.