CHAPTER 28
Everly’s car pulls up to the paddock holding Ralph, the bull standing in front of me seemingly content with our proximity. He stopped his tantrum the moment I came over and has been quietly eating his feed out of the basket attached to the side of the fence.
Knox is at the stables with Chase, the sound of his deep voice carrying over though I can’t hear what is being said.
The door of her truck slams, and her shoes crunch over the gravel as she makes her way over. “Wow,” She whistles, “He’s so calm with you.”
I flick my eyes to her but keep my thoughts to myself. I have to behave. Which is bullshit if you ask me, it’s not like I’m going to kill her. I mean, I would, but I don’t want to bring attention to myself here. Maybe when I have my city back, I’ll revisit the thought.
“He’ll be upset when you leave,” She continues. “Bulls bond.”
“Who said I was leaving?” I bite.
“Well,” She laughs, “Your type don’t last round here.”
This fucking bitch.
“My type?” I chuckle, “And what’s that exactly?”
“One of them city whores looking for a ride on a real man,” She bats her lashes, “You know? He’ll get bored because you’re just not for him. He needs someone who knows what they’re doing on a ranch.”
I reach behind me out of instinct, searching for the gun I don’t have. In fact, I don’t even know where it is. I haven’t seen it since Knox was waving it around a few days after I arrived.
Motherfucker probably hid it.
I’ve not had much experience with a shotgun, but I’m sure I can figure it out; I just need to go retrieve it from the house.
“I’ll give you two seconds to apologize,” I warn her, “Otherwise this fence will get a paint job.”
She chuckles, opening her mouth to speak but quickly snaps it shut, lifting her eyes behind me.
“Everly,” Knox’s deep tone sends a shiver down my spine, the air turning heavy as he comes to a stop at my back. Close enough, I feel his warmth but not so close we’re touching.
“Hi Knox,” She smiles sweetly, stepping around me to kiss his cheek.
I’m not fucking doing this.
Stepping away from Knox, I climb the fence and hop into the paddock with Ralph, running my hand down his muscly side, his muscles twitching under my fingers. If I put the bull between us, maybe it’ll stop me ripping her fucking head off.
“Elena,” Knox snaps, “What are you doing?”
“Do your thing.” I wave my hand, wandering further into the paddock, grinning a little when Ralph turns to follow me like a little puppy. “I’ll just be here.”
“For fuck’s sake.” His fingers find the bridge of his nose.
“That’s so dangerous,” Everly gasps, feigning horror.
I roll my eyes so hard I swear I see my brain.
Isn’t she supposed to be in here too?
“I would never,” She continues.
Gag.
I flick my eyes to them, noting how close she is to him, and I’ll admit it gives me a tremendous amount of satisfaction to watch her spot the love bite on his neck. Her face crumples, her eyes lingering on my mark with her hand frozen on him.
But it only lasts a minute because why the fuck isn’t he pulling away from her touch.
He doesn’t particularly look happy, but he isn’t moving either.
Everly finishes up with Ralph, and Knox walks her back to her car, his hands in his pockets while my hand gently rubs against Ralph’s muzzle.
“Can’t trust a man,” I grumble to the bull, planting a kiss on the end of his nose.
“Did you just kiss my bull?” Knox stops at my side, reaching for the rope hanging over one of the fence posts of the paddock.
I don’t answer him, choosing to focus on the bull instead.
“Elena?” He presses.
“What?” I snap.
His brows draw low. “The fuck is your issue now?”
I blink at him. “Are you serious?”
“What?” He scoffs, “I can’t read your fucking mind, Hellion, and thank fuck for that.”
I curl my lip, “Fuck you.”
“Talk to me,” He demands.
“That’s so dangerous,” I mimic her shrill tone, “I would never.”
“Everly!?” He scoffs, throwing his hands up. “Are you fucking serious?”
I cross my arms.
“You’re jealous,” He shakes his head in disbelief, “You’re jealous of her?”
I swallow thickly, my scalp prickling.
“I don’t want her!” He growls.
Shaking my head, I spin on my heel and start to walk away. Yes, I’m fucking jealous. I don’t like her touching him. I don’t give a shit about her barbs or venom, but her hands on him — they piss me off.
“Elena!” He calls after me, but I don’t bother turning, too pissed off to deal with him right now. He calls me again, but I keep going, heading back to the house.
A quick, sharp scream leaves me as something falls around me and then quickly tightens. My head snaps down to see what the fuck has just wrapped around me to find a rope around my waist. It tightens even further, and I stumble back a step.
Whipping my head to look over my shoulder, I stare toward Knox, who holds the other end of the rope. He glares and then tugs again, forcing me back another step.
“Knox!” I scold, hooking my fingers into the rope as if I can pry it off me.
He yanks again and I stumble before he starts feeding the rope between his hands, forcing me to return to him.
He gives a hard, final tug and then catches me before I fall, wrapping me in his big arms against his chest.
“Don’t walk away from me, Hellion,” He growls, his hand curling around the nape of my neck, the rope still around my waist. He squeezes, forcing my neck to bend and my eyes to look at his face, “You don’t walk away.”
My teeth grind, “That what you tell her too?”
He chuckles, but it isn’t a pleasant sound. “Your jealousy tastes so sweet, Hellion.”
My nostrils flare.
“I don’t want her, Elena. I have never wanted her. I want you. I only want you.”
“Yeah, well,” I grumble, “Maybe you should tell her that.”
“It doesn’t matter what I tell her, it’s your mark on my neck, my fingerprints on your thighs. It’s you I chase.”
“Let me go,” I push on him, shaking my head.
“Fuck that,” He snaps out before his shoulder meets my abdomen and he throws me over it.
“Knox!” I yell before loud, boisterous whistles join my protests.
“I’m going to show you how much I want you and only you,” His voice rumbles through me, a vibration that sets my blood on fire, “And if I have to make you come until you cry to prove that darlin’, then you’ll get no complaints from me.”
Heat pools between my legs. “Put me down!” There’s no real conviction behind the demand.
A quick, harsh slap lands against my ass cheek, startling me quiet.
His steps are sure and determined, covering the distance to the house quickly, and he doesn’t put me down until we’re in the bedroom and my body is bouncing on top of the mattress.
I glare up at him, but he quirks a brow and reaches for the hat on his head before he tosses it to the side and then moves to pull the rope away from my abdomen, and drags the loop down my body so he can free me from it.
“Hands up,” He orders.
“Excuse me?”
“Hands. Up.” He growls, tone sharp.
Licking my teeth, I lift my arms, watching him move until he wraps the rope around my wrists and tugs, pulling my arms taut.
He secures the rope to the bedpost, locking me to the bed.
His fingers then find the waistband of my pants, flicking the button to pop it open before he begins to drag the denim down my thighs, careful as he goes over the still-healing flesh on my thigh.
He throws my pants onto the floor, lifting his knee to place it between my legs and stares down at the lace that covers my pussy.
He presses a single finger to my clit above the flimsy material, and I jerk, the rope on my wrists pulling tight and cutting in.
A quick slap to the side of my good thigh freezes me against the bed. “Did you just slap me?” I snap.
“Stay still,” He growls.
“Undo these ropes and let’s see who’s in control,” I bite.
A cruel grin twists his mouth as a dark chuckle rumbles from him. “Let’s not play games, Hellion; we both know in this bedroom, on this bed, I’m the one who owns you. I’m the one who controls your pleasure. In this bedroom, you submit to me.”
My pussy throbs, and my nipples tighten beneath the material of my bra.
He crawls over me, lowering his mouth to mine, his beard scratching against my skin, his tongue plunging between my lips.
He steals my breath and feeds himself, presses me down into the mattress with his weight.
The rope bites at the skin on my wrist, but my legs are free, and I wrap them around his hips, tightening them until his hips press into my pussy.
The hard metal of his belt buckle, the grooves of the design twisted into the front, adds the kind of friction that has my eyes rolling back.
My mouth goes slack against his as he rolls against me, the buckle at just the right angle to tease my clit and the bar pierced through it.
Knox lifts onto his hands to look between us, to see what it is that has me panting against him, and when he realizes, his eyes flare.
“You’re already there,” He rasps, “Such a greedy fucking pussy.”
“Don’t you dare stop,” I moan. “Fuck.”
He keeps that steady pace, using his damn belt buckle to bring me up to the peak. The grind and the pleasure has me soaking my panties, my pussy throbbing, clenching around nothing. And Knox watches, he can’t take his eyes off me, the blue of them so vibrant they’re almost neon, pupils blown.
“Come for me, baby,” He rasps thickly, “Give yourself to me.”
The rope pulls taut once more as my spine bows off the bed, hips pressing down into the mattress and my orgasm crests, pushing me over the edge with a cry.
When I fall limp beneath him, Knox draws away and reaches for the edges of my panties to tug them down my legs before he brings the material to his face and he inhales deeply.
I’m still throbbing from the climax, my pussy sensitive, my whole body set on edge, so when he lowers his mouth and licks me from hole to clit, I jump, my hands trying and failing to reach for him to make him stop.
He flicks the tip of his tongue against my clit, my body rebelling against the sensation.
He gives me no reprieve, even when I try to clamp my thighs around his head.
His hands hold my thighs apart, his strength making it impossible to fight.
“Knox,” I plead, “Stop! I can’t.”
I feel his devilish smile press against my pussy, and he lifts, just a touch, to flick his eyes up my body. He blows a breath over me; the wetness making the air that much colder. I jolt, a sharp breath leaving me.
“Do you get it yet, Elena?” He kisses me tenderly. “Hm?”
“Knox, please,” I beg.
He sucks my clit into his mouth, and the noise that comes out of me is inhuman. My whole body is on fire, my pussy throbbing, the wetness leaking from me trailing down and pooling beneath my ass.
He brings me right back up the peak, but right before I reach the top, right before I fall off the edge, he pulls away, my orgasm left hanging.
“Not yet,” He growls, “You don’t get to come yet.”
“Knox,” I whine.
He lifts up to his knees and unbuckles his belt, pulling it through the loops before he throws it down and unbuttons his jeans, shoving them down to just below his ass so he can take his thick, heavy cock into his hand.
My mouth damn near waters at the bead of precum on the tip, which he swipes up with his thumb and then lets go, bringing his hand to my mouth.
“Open,” He demands. My lips part, and I offer him my tongue, which he presses his thumb against, pushing his arousal onto my tastebuds.
I wrap my lips around his thumb, licking it clean, and then he pulls it out, using my saliva to wipe over the crown of his cock.
He pumps his dick, leaving me aching and needy beneath him.
My legs are on either side of his body, making it impossible to close them, but he doesn’t touch me, the sensitivity ebbing away with every second that passes.
The orgasm that was promised tumbling back down the mountain.
“This fucking cunt,” Knox growls, “So pretty.”
Using his hand to guide him, he moves his cock through me, parting my lips with the thick head of him.
It all rushes back, and I groan, praying he’ll let me get there this time.
He notches the head of himself into me and fucks me with just the tip.
It’s not enough, but it also feels good — a tease and a dance.
The muscles in his throat are pulled tight, his cheek jumping as he grinds his molars, keeping his restraint in check as he only fucks me with the tip.
“Please, Knox,” I feel a sting behind my eyes, my voice trembling.
He grins. “Well, can’t you be polite?” He praises, “What do you want?”
“To come,” I beg, “Please. Make me come again.”
“You will,” He agrees, pulling from me to rub the head of him through me once more before he replaces his cock with his fingers, scissoring them through my folds, skirting around my clit and the piercing.
He applies a little bit more pressure, and I’m so tightly strung it doesn’t take me long to get there, but once more, he takes it away from me.
The rope is burning my wrists, my muscles ache with how hard I shake.
But he keeps doing it, over and over and over again.
“And if I have to make you come until you cry to prove that, darlin’, then you’ll get no complaints from me.”
As soon as the memory of his words hit, he pinches my clit, and he keeps it there, letting me crest, stars bursting behind my eyes as the climax hits me.
I’m still pulsing, moaning when he thrusts into me, hard, pushing himself to the hilt with a long, loud groan.
I cry out, but there is no mercy. He fucks me right into another orgasm, pounding me into the bed, the headboard banging against the wall with every hard, brutal thrust.
Again and again, his thrusts are punishing, angry, his fingers on my clit precise.
Heat burns my eyes, my throat raw with my cries.
Helpless, powerless, he does not relent in his mission.
He uses my body, plays my pleasure like it’s an instrument and he has it mastered, knowing exactly how to pluck the strings.
It’s too much.
Too fucking much.
A tear slips from the corner of my eye, my voice too raw to even make a sound.