Chapter Fourteen #2
I give a short laugh, press either side of her clit to make it protrude, and swirl the tip of my tongue over the bud. She moans and, feeling gleeful that I can make her feel good, I continue to lick, suck, and tease her with my fingers, drawing her ever closer to the edge.
It doesn’t take long. Soon, she’s slick and creamy, and I groan with pleasure as I taste her, enjoying her moans and the way she moves her hips with the rhythm of my tongue.
I know she might be tender down there, so I don’t insert my fingers, but I do tease her entrance a little, and before long her breaths are coming in ragged gasps, and her hands are tightening in my hair.
I cover her clit with my mouth and suck, and she comes then, pulsing on my tongue and crying out my name. Oh, I like that.
When she finally flops back onto the pillows, I kiss back up her body and stretch out beside her. “Morning.” I kiss her mouth.
“Gross,” she says, but she doesn’t push me away when I kiss her again.
“Mm.” I kiss her for a bit, then eventually lift my head and look at the window. The glow in the sky is brighter. “Sun’s coming up.”
“Fuck the sun.”
“Now, now,” I scold. “We’ve got work to do.”
She blinks. “Seriously?”
“That’s what we came here for.”
“But you haven’t…”
“I’ll cope.”
“Why don’t you just let me—” she ducks under the covers.
“No, no, no, no.” I roll over and get up.
She pulls the covers off, ruffled and breathless, and stares at my erection. “But the Captain’s interested.”
“He’ll survive.” I grab my boxers. “We can take a shower after our morning walk.”
That makes her eyes light up. “Ooh, yes. In that case, let’s go!”
Chuckling, we pull on our clothes, then go into the living room to find our rubber boots and jackets. When we’re all dressed, Maddie picks up a clipboard and attaches the map and a sheaf of notes, then pockets her phone. She goes to unlock the front door, but I stop her and pull her into my arms.
“Thank you for last night,” I murmur before I kiss her. Part of me wondered whether, when we got up, she’d announce she has to leave, so I’m relieved she seems happy to stay today.
She lifts her arms around my neck and returns the kiss with enthusiasm. “Thank you, too. It was amazing. And sort of magical, in the storm.”
“Only because you couldn’t see me,” I joke.
She smiles, but she lowers her arms and turns away, and I curse under my breath. While we’re here, I mustn’t keep referring to our families and the barrier between us. Here, we’re just two people who are attracted to one another, and fuck everyone else.
We go out into the cool morning and stand there for a moment, breathing in the dawn air.
The sun’s not quite up, but it’s close, and the trees behind the cottage are full of birds engaged in a full serenade.
The ground is damp and squelchy in places, but the soil appears to be draining well.
The air smells of earth, grass, and freedom.
I glance at Maddie. She’s retrieved her bag of soil-testing equipment from the car, and she’s looking out toward Lake Wānaka, her gaze distant, lost in thought.
Her hair is taking on the color of the sunrise, as if she’s a chameleon reflecting the world around her.
I think that’s how she sees herself, in many ways.
It seems to be only here that she’s truly herself, in the peace and quiet where she doesn’t have to perform for other people.
I think maybe she’s herself with me, too. I guess it started with the masquerade ball, where I didn’t know her identity. Disguised, she let the real Maddie out, and now she can’t put her back in her box when I’m around.
She turns and starts walking toward the paddocks, and, thoughtfully, I follow her.
As the sun peeks over the horizon and floods the fields with pinks, oranges, and golds, Maddie and I walk the paths around and through Blackridge Station.
She obviously has a path worked out, and she follows the map on her clipboard and circumnavigates each paddock.
She takes regular tests of the soil and checks the results against the solar sensors, writing all the figures down neatly on her charts.
She cleans each small solar panel and makes sure they’re working properly, and resets a couple.
As we walk, she goes through how she’s changed the composition of the pasture in each paddock to maximize its yield.
“It’s amazing,” I tell her when we’re about halfway around. The sun is above the horizon now, and her hair and eyebrows are the color of coral. “You’ve done fantastic work here.”
“Thank you.” Her cheeks glow the same shade. I don’t think she gets compliments very often. “So come on,” she says, “I’m doing all the talking here. Tell me about your pasture intelligence system. Do you think it could incorporate this soil restoration model?”
I hesitate, then nod slowly. “My father developed similar soil sensors to yours that also predict pasture growth, but his system includes livestock tracking collars, and it focuses more on knowing when and where to move cattle for optimal grazing than actually improving the soil itself. If the two systems were combined…” I shake my head. “It would be groundbreaking.”
“I’d love to get my hands on that technology,” she says. “We’ve tried to recreate it, of course, but we haven’t been able to get close to replicating it.”
I don’t say anything, but the back of my neck prickles.
I knew the Rutherford Group were carrying out similar research, but it’s the first time someone’s confirmed they’re actively trying to copy us.
Our system is patented and we pretty much own the market, but if we enter into a partnership, it’s truly the thin end of the wedge.
They could combine our tech with their AI optimization and Maddie’s soil restoration system and produce a truly revolutionary farming system that would undoubtedly end up being synonymous with the Rutherford logo, and not ours.
“I said that wrong,” she says. “I didn’t mean I wanted to take it away from you.”
I look across at her. She obviously saw my frown and realized what she’d said.
“I meant I’d be excited to see if I could help to integrate my soil system with yours,” she continues. “Imagine how much we could improve pasture yield if we worked together, Caesar. Forget this,” and she gestures from herself to me, “and forget our family feud. We have to be bigger than that.”
“I’m not sure I can,” I say. “I wish I was a bigger person, but my company means too much to me, and I don’t trust Tom.”
“Do you trust me, though?”
We stop walking. I look into her violet eyes, feeling a mixture of complicated emotions.
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “I’m sorry.”
Her expression flickers with regret, but she says, “I understand.”
“It’s not you,” I say, not liking that I’ve hurt her feelings. “Honestly, it’s not. I’m old and cynical and grumpy, that’s all.”
That makes her laugh. “You’re not old.”
“But I am cynical and grumpy.”
“Maybe just a little.”
I take her hand and pull her toward me, then slide my other hand to cup her cheek. “We shouldn’t have slept together,” I say simply. “It’s complicated things.”
“Because you like my system?”
“Because I like you. And your system. Of course I do. It has enormous potential. And I’d love to be able to say let’s put aside our misgivings and concentrate on the science and change lives.
And let’s forget about who we are and what families we belong to, and just be a man and a woman who clearly like one another. But…”
“But you can’t.”
I tuck a strand of her pale hair behind her ear. I know I should pull back. Instead, I find myself imagining impossible things.
I look away then, across the fields, as something occurs to me.
She waits, then says, “Unless what?”
I hadn’t realized I’d spoken out loud. “I was just thinking… maybe there’s a way we can work together without Ashford being engulfed.”
Her brows lift.
“I’ll have to think about it,” I say slowly, looking at the sheep grazing contentedly on the hillside. “And there’s no guarantee Tom would agree to anything but the offer he’s made. But it’s worth some thought.”
Her eyes light with hope. “Oh… that’s the nicest thing you could have said to me.”
I look back at her and cup her face in my hands. “I’m not promising anything.”
“I know.”
“But this…” and I glance at the paddocks, “is exciting. Your enthusiasm is infectious. And the way you want to feed the world… Part of me thinks it’s idealistic and na?ve, but it’s also wonderful. I love that about you.”
She swallows hard, looking up into my eyes.
“You’re so beautiful,” I say softly, bending to place a soft kiss on her lips.
“I look a mess,” she scoffs. “I haven’t showered or washed my hair, and I’m not wearing any makeup.”
“You look like a sun goddess.” I slide a strand of her hair through my fingers.
“It’s amazing how it takes on the color of the world around it.
It was a coral color, and now it’s gold.
” She looks bemused, so I kiss her again and say, “If you were mine, I’d give you compliments every day until you started to believe them. ”
“Are you trying to make me cry?”
“No.” I kiss her nose, her cheeks, and her mouth again. “I just want you to know what an exceptional woman you are.”
Her eyes glisten, and so I pull her into my arms and kiss her properly.
Something’s happening to me, gradually, slowly, like the sun coming up. The thought of going back to Auckland and not seeing her again feels unbearable.
I only meant this to be a fling, but I didn’t take into account that I’d enjoy being with her so much.
I feel as if I’ve stepped into quicksand, and I’m sinking deeper with every second I spend with her.
I’m already up to my boots, and soon I’m going to be up to my neck, and then I’ll be in over my head, and I don’t know what I’m going to do.