Chapter 7
I t’s a hell of a walk to get to the best swimming hole on this ranch by foot, as opposed to the ease of driving my truck or whatever amount of time it would take to complete the trip on horseback.
Not that I would know, because the asshole walking at my side isn’t interested in allowing anyone to ride him anytime this century.
Teddy’s black mane and glossy coat of his long neck bob along beside me as we stroll our way through the shade of lush trees—following one of the trails future guests will use. At least we’ve gotten to the stage where he’ll allow me to put a halter on him without leaving teeth marks embedded in my shoulder. Although, it’s still touch and go some days, depending on his mood.
Which is why I’m taking this horse for a long ass walk on a lead rope, as if he’s the world’s biggest and grumpiest dog, so he can get a feel for the ranch and get used to walking with someone by his side. Hopefully, it’s what the guy will do when Storm and Briar’s equine therapy sessions start to take shape. For now, we’re just approaching things one day at a time where Teddy is concerned.
I haven’t gotten any of my other horses in yet, and I’m still waiting on the herd of cattle that are coming soon, so there are extra hours in the day to kill. A luxury of free time when I can give Teddy this type of treat. It’s the kind of late hour when there’s enough scattered cloud overhead, and I’m in the mood for an activity that will keep me busy long into the evening.
The girl who is now occupying my house, also occupies my mind, and I’m not entirely sure how to get a fucking handle on the way that relentlessly shakes me up.
It shouldn’t be like this. I spent a pro career never having my head turned by anything pretty, always remaining focused on doing what I did best—competing and training and showing up for all the media shit required of me. Of course, the tour was overflowing with buckle bunnies who would have loved nothing more than to prove just how well they could take care of a lonely cowboy on the road, regardless of whether there was a wedding ring on my finger or not. But none of that was ever my scene.
Now?
One glance at Sage, a few short minutes with her on the sidewalk that day, has been enough to leave me enticed by all sorts of prospects of what it might mean to get closer. She’s got this goddamn magnetic pull on me. Illicit thoughts are just about a full-time endeavor to avoid—trying not to spend the entire day thinking about that smart mouth and fire sparking away behind those brown eyes.
The trickling of water grows louder, and I see Teddy’s ears flip around with curiosity, figuring out what the new sound is once we draw nearer. Hot air coats us, crisp and baking, without a puff of wind. Summer evenings on a day like this hold on to that last radiating heat long beyond the moment the sun sets. It’ll be sweet fucking relief to dive into the cool, gently flowing pool that eddies at the riverbend.
Teddy doesn’t need any encouragement. I give him a longer line to explore on, and set my camera down where it’ll stay good and dry. He makes his way down the shingle riverbank, taking the time to have a long drink while I do the same, crouching to scoop a couple of handfuls to my mouth and then splash some water over my face.
“Well, go on then, you big bastard. Have a swim.” I chuckle as the horse gives me a sidelong glance and swishes his tail.
Leaving him to make up his mind, I settle my ass down on the bank and strip off my t-shirt. It’s fucking roasting, which seems to be the deciding factor in Teddy wading forward. His haunches flicker as the cool rises up to meet him. I can’t hide my grin when I see how much he seems to love it.
He might be an asshole, but it’s only because he’s had a rough life. Seeing him enjoying the water with confidence feels like a win. Even if it took what felt like forever to walk here. Once I’ve collected my own horses, it’ll be much easier to pony him up and lead him along while I can at least ride on horseback.
Teddy turns into a different animal, clearly relishing the feeling of water swirling and drenching his coat, to the point that I end up sitting on the gravel for a long while, simply letting him muck around. He keeps coming up to the shallows and stamping a hoof to splash the water, then goes deeper up to his chest with sass written all over his face, making sure I’m taking notes that this is his new favorite thing to do.
Looks like Storm and Briar are gonna be bringing their cocky boy for a few more river outings this summer.
I pull the lens cap off my camera and make sure the settings are looking right with a few test shots. Then run off a whole series of frames as he goofs around. Briar will be beside herself seeing her guy this content.
Eventually, Teddy decides he’s had enough and emerges dripping wet. He proceeds to take himself off, rolling around like a thousand-pound puppy after a bath—all long skinny legs and teeth and whites of his eyes as he wriggles around. Once he’s finished with his antics, I hitch him to a tree in the shade.
There’s no way in hell I’m passing up the opportunity to plunge beneath that water myself after sitting out here sweating my ass off. Stripping right off, I dump every stitch of clothing and dive in. Hardly surprising Teddy was so content to be in here, the temperature is a sweet goddamn relief to the relentless heat. A summer night that has left my skin coated in a sheen of sweat.
Diving right under, the water bubbles around me, crystal clear and feeling like the kind of soothing calm my brain needs after everything lately. As I pop back up to the surface, I run my hands over my dripping hair and simply stand there, immersed up to my waist, staring at the willows and mountains. A sensation grabs hold of me, that this is how life gets to be. Finally .
Away from all the bullshit, free of the life I’d been stuck in for so long.
I drop back to lie in the water, staring at the sky. The only thing that sticks resolutely in my mind is a nagging little seed of an idea. A goddamn dangerous one. It taunts me with the whisper of what it might be like to have someone to share this kind of moment with.
Not someone. Her .
Scrunching my eyes closed, I try to block that thought straight away. It’s the worst kind of realization that Sage is right here on this very ranch, but I’m supposed to be keeping to myself, seeing out the last days of this divorce. And here I am, already thinking about my new employee in a manner that isn’t in any way appropriate.
Christ. There’s got to be something broken in my brain.
Water gliding over my heated skin suddenly feels like a tempting hint of an idea. A glimpse of her touch. What would it be like for her delicate fingertips to trace over my body?
There’s no avoiding it. It’s already been enough of a battle against the tension that keeps pooling low in my stomach. From the moment she arrived, it’s been a challenge, a battle with my cock to not continually find myself getting hard. I’m so goddamn endlessly attracted to her, even when I tell myself not to be.
Except that never seems to work. I’m pissed at myself for even thinking about the young woman who works for me. Not only that, I can’t remember the last time my dick was so interested in someone that I couldn’t keep a lid on that sensation.
When was the last time I felt like I had no control over when and where I decided to jerk off? When was the last time I even felt sexually aroused to that point? Ten years chained to Mandy were never like this, and most of that time, we weren’t having sex anyway—a decision cemented after the first couple of years of being married had drifted by, and I suspected she was cheating.
But here I am, cock rapidly hardening and demanding I give in and give myself what my body seems to continually seek out these days. What it has wanted ever since that day she burst into my life, and she was still just the mystery girl I bumped into on the main street.
Letting out a heavy exhale, I cast a quick glance around. Which feels like the dumbest fucking thing, because I’m in the middle of nowhere. The only witnesses to my giant goddamn erection right now are birds and clouds and mountains looming up into the sky.
There isn’t any point denying this. And as much as I feel like a randy old perv fisting my dick over a girl so much younger than me—one who works for me—not even being riddled with guilt can stop my hand from wrapping around myself beneath the water as I sink down to my chest.
My throat bobs as I close my grip, and that familiar electric feeling races straight to the base of my shaft. I’m thickening and lengthening on that first contact, and I slide up to press the silver barbell at my tip. A shudder grips me in time with how hard I’m stroking myself. The added sensation of water gliding over the pierced head has my balls tightening in anticipation of release already.
Ironic really, how it ended up working in my favor. Once Mandy eventually found out that I’d had it done, she scrunched her face up and told me it was too weird. Not that I got pierced with her in mind. By that point, we’d already gone a long time without being in the same bed, or even the same location as each other. Either way, I couldn’t have been more relieved to know my wife had no interest in any further attempts at sleeping with me anymore. At least it guaranteed I wasn’t going to catch anything after she had fallen into bed with god knows who.
Bringing my hand up out of the water, I spit into my wet palm, then grip myself harder. Fuck. It’s too easy to give into thoughts of Sage, and as much as I hate that fact considering I’m still married, I can’t seem to kick the habit.
She’s so supple, right there in front of me. The way her body rubs up against mine, her softness and curves and smooth brown skin all on luscious display. It’s always the same… imagining what it would be like to roam my hands all over her naked figure, to hear the little breathy noises she makes when my touch discovers the places she enjoys.
I swallow thickly and keep gliding my hand up and down my length, feeling the heat already primed and building in the base of my spine. Apparently, where this sordid little daydream is concerned, I’m damn near ready to explode at the first twist and squeeze of my fist.
Thumbing my piercing, I get lost in the image of it being her delicate fingertips teasing me instead. She climbs into my lap, bare and tempting, reaching down to knock my hand out of the way. I’ve got free rein to touch her as she strokes me slow and firm, all while watching me with a sultry little look from behind thick lashes. When I palm and cup her full breasts, she gives me a delicious, wicked noise, and that only spurs her on, working me harder.
God, I’m a fucking terrible person, but I can’t stop. My hand moves faster beneath the water, and my heart damn near stutters in my chest as the pressure intensifies. With gritted teeth, I feel the way her body gives beneath my rough touch. She likes her tits being tortured, arching her spine to press into my hands as I pinch her nipples in time with the increased pace of my fist shuttling up and down.
Fuck . Her body moves, and that’s when the version of Sage imprinted in my mind chooses to wield her power, undoing me. She guides my tip against her pussy. White-hot sparks flash straight to a point low in my stomach, landing in my balls as I imagine just how wet and silky she feels.
I hear her moan as my piercing slides through her slick cunt, and that idea, the dream of pressing into her, has me choking out a desperate noise. My dick jerks and swells, the gasp of a ragged curse flying past my lips.
My climax thunders through, exploding at the very bottom of my spine as I feel the added slickness pulse over my hand beneath the water. Running my hold up and over the metal through my tip and back down leaves me light-headed.
Christ. The pleasurable surge of relief is immediately followed by a deep sense of guilt flooding in.
I’m not meant to be out here daydreaming of this girl nearly what… twenty years younger? Did Tessa mention she’s in her mid-twenties? Jesus. I’m already past forty, and what the fuck kind of business do I have fantasizing about her in such a carnal goddamn way. What sort of boss am I that it only takes one moment alone with her on my mind, and I’m busy fucking my fist?
Tension sits square in my jaw as I wash away the lingering evidence of my sordid little moment of weakness, and make my way out of the river. This has got to damn well stop. I’ve got to find some way of taming whatever this obsession is that I’ve developed since she arrived in my life.
This ranch is my focus. Getting free of the toxic marriage I’ve been trapped in. That’s the goal. That’s where my head has gotta be at, not continually giving into thoughts of her.
Fortunately for my guilty conscience, I’ve got a long trudge back to the ranch to give myself one hell of a cursing out. By the time I’ve finished getting Teddy stabled for the night, shadows have crawled in to claim the ranch. On leaving the barn, darkness has blanketed everything, revealing only a faint outline of the mountain ridgeline still visible. It lays out a jagged imprint against an inky-bluish sky.
I make my way toward the main house, and as I do so, my steps unwittingly slow. Sage’s cabin lights are still on, even though it’s long past nightfall and beyond the time when I imagine she would be curled up in bed.
A warm, inviting glow spills across the pathway, forming a beacon illuminating the direction of her front door. The sight teases like a spotlight, reminding me of my filthy thoughts and unwavering fascination with the very person I’d find just beyond that threshold. A taunting finger hooked my way, luring me to follow the pull I feel to knock on her door, which would be about the most irresponsible fucking thing I could do.
In contrast, this big house I’ve taken on, the grand structure looming before me where I lay my head, is dark, and filled with nothing but sleepless nights spent tossing around in an empty bed.
Clenching my teeth, I stride away from the source of all my chaotic, irresponsible thinking. This life? Being alone? It’s exactly the way it is, because that’s all I damn well deserve. I made a mistake; I messed up, so here’s me getting my life back on track. Ride out the next couple of months, until that door to a regrettable fucking time finally slams shut for good.
Enduring the need to shove aside whatever feelings of desire are intent on creeping up on me. Yeah, that’s the very least I deserve.
I gotta keep my hands to myself, and my focus set firmly on this ranch.