Chapter 32 Derrick
thirty-two
Derrick
My scar tingles, flashes of the night of my injury run through my mind, and I rub a tender spot in my chest. I didn’t even think it was bad when it happened. The adrenaline was so high, I didn’t feel a thing, but I damn well felt everything after each surgery.
It was my dominant hand, so the injury not only ended my career but also took away my autonomy. I couldn’t hold a fucking fork. I couldn’t do shit for myself for a long time, and it chipped away at who I thought I was.
But fuck me, meeting Veda makes me realize I’m not just a bronco rider.
I'm a member of this pack, and I’m responsible for our piece of land.
The animals depend on me, my brother depends on me, and now…
I have an Omega to take care of. The hope inside my chest grows defiantly bigger.
This pesky little thing wants to survive against all odds.
It pushes me further into believing there’s more for me in this life than my past.
In a careless decision, I rise on the first rail of the fence. The movement is enough to call Storm’s attention, and she regards me. I smirk at her. She has to know it’s time. Animals always know. I swing a leg over the top rail and then the other. Still leaning over, I call her.
She’s angry. It all reminds me of the rodeo, but the stakes weren’t so high before.
There is a game here I can’t lose. The mare needs to stay if I want her taken care of.
She needs a vet, and she needs a home. It’s fucking clear to me, and it’s stupid that I didn’t do this before.
Veda is right. It’s me and not anyone else.
All or nothing, right?
I open the gate, making a show out of it, and I smile at her.
She fucking knows, but her intelligent eyes flick between the gate and me, calculating.
I wait perched at the fence, heart drumming against my rib cage, trying to take flight.
And then Storm takes a chance. She takes off at a gallop, wind blowing against her white coat, and the familiar adrenaline takes over.
I wait with my bad hand gripping the fence.
It's not comfortable, but it doesn’t hurt like before.
This mare is smart. She doesn’t rush to me or to the gate. She makes her way around the pen, driving off my scent, and I hold back my smile.
Then she comes to me, to the gate. Time stands still as I watch her in slow motion. In the rodeo, a breath can change it all. Every second lasts an eternity. I hold myself, waiting for the right moment, and when it finally comes, I jump onto her back right as she passes me.
My hand holds her mane, my knees locked in position. She’s all fucking speed. The laughter is loud as we make our way away from the Golden Acre and across the empty fields. It takes me a long time to realize that this is pure fucking happiness that’s making my chest feel this full.
Storm should be called Lightning as she pushes across the fields. It’s hard to believe she’s this powerful after the rough time she’s been through. For the first moments, I have to hold myself tight. But after a while, she stops trying to knock me off.
She shows me a freedom I’ve forgotten about. My fingers go numb, and I know I’ll pay for this tomorrow, but right now, it doesn’t matter because I’m doing it. I’m fucking doing it.
The sun dips below the horizon, and Storm loses speed. She’s calm under me now, and I risk untangling my hand from her mane, just enough to pat her tenderly.
“We did something today, Storm. And you did great.”
Her wild eyes are still dangerous. I know we have a long way to go before she can join the other horses, but this is a step in the right direction. If I can get her to trust me, we can get a vet up here. We can start her recovery.
With a soft tug, she follows in the direction of the pen, showing how smart she is. Of course, she belongs to Veda—only the best for my darling.
I don’t even chastise myself for calling her that. It feels right in my chest, and I’m not about to poison a good day with a lie. I bring Storm to the pen and make sure she has food and water before moving away to the stables.
My legs are sore from the bareback ride, and my fucked-up hand is as stiff as fuck, but I have something to do, and it can’t wait any longer.
It’s been months since I've been to see the horses. Chaos is at the front, his face closed off just as his rider's, and he regards me with as much suspicion as Storm. I chuckle and push down the pens, my mouth dry with nervousness.
Champion's pen is the last one. When I stop by its entrance, I give my horse a weighted look, emotion clogging my throat and shaking my hands.
“Hello, old friend.”
At the sound of my voice, he moves. His eyes lock on me, and I wait to see if I’m even welcomed. When he doesn’t seem disturbed by my presence, I reach for the lock and open it at once, needing this more than he does.
Fuck, I’ve always needed Champion more than he needed me. My hands flatten against his long nose, and I drop my head to his.
“I’m sorry.”
The apology is long overdue, and it’s not right for me to wish for forgiveness. As I was lost in my pain, I didn’t treat him right. I abandoned my friend, my horse, too stuck in my feelings to realize there’s more to life than what I had planned.
The reality of my betrayal stings, and tears come down silently. Champion doesn’t need to ever let me around him, but I hope he can see how I regret how I handled things.
Growing up without hope of an Omega has taken a toll on every Alpha for the past two generations.
Even my parents' scent-matching was considered a miracle, since the Omegas' numbers were already so low at that point. To be denied something you biologically need makes you feel wrong in your own skin. I’ve thrown myself into the rodeo, wishing that I would be the answer.
The traveling life is intense, and it was only when I fell and fucked my whole hand holding on to that rope like an amateur that I realized how much I needed that so not to thinking about anything else.
The friends I made on the road moved on when they realized I wasn’t coming back. The things that mattered once before—cars, women, money—fuck, nothing mattered when I came here to this ranch and worked myself to the bone every day.
“Sorry it took me so long to get here.”
Learning always takes longer for a thick-skulled asshole like me.
I stay with Champion for a long time. When he's done letting me cry all over him, I take the brush and start working on his coat, humming a song as I do.
The moon is high in the sky when I make my way back to the house. I’m still full of energy, and when I see Veda’s window coming into view, I can’t help myself. I pry it open, just like I did weeks ago, feeling fucking amazing and wanting nothing but to bury myself in her.
“What are you doing?” she screams when I hop in.
“Just thought it was a nice callback.” I chuckle and take off my shoes.
She’s in her nest, a soft blue nightgown so tight it stretches over her tits. Her hair down, soft curls cascading down her back. I lick my lips, thinking about burying my hands on them.
“Let me sleep with you?”
It’s a question, but I’m already in the nest, crawling to her, begging for a chance. She smiles in a way that makes my heart hurt.
“Sleep?” Her eyes are teasing.
My nose dips into her neck, and inhales all the goodness that is her. She relaxes, and I take my advantage to have her under me, my rough denim-clad knee between her soft thighs.
“And if I want to fuck you? Is it time yet?” I lick her skin.
She can’t do that until she’s six weeks postpartum, and I can’t pretend I’m not counting the days. Will she let me make her feel good anyway? I want nothing but to bury my face between her legs.
She hums, and her perfumes start like clockwork. How am I supposed to believe this woman is not for me? She’s so responsive to my touch, so good for me.
“Not yet,” she tsks. “Two weeks to go.”
I groan. It’s desperate, but I take her mouth anyway.
I need to kiss her as much as I need to breathe.
She responds to me quickly. Her nails scrape my scalp, and I shiver all over for her.
My hand parts her legs, and I find her pussy waiting for me.
She’s wet and so fucking ready, yet I can’t fuck her the way I need.
“I was with Storm,” I tell her.
She takes my face between her palms and makes me stop wandering and concentrate on her face, but it doesn’t work much. I steal a kiss. She can’t deny me and kisses me back.
“Tell me, please,” she whispers between my eager lips.
“She let me ride her.”
It’s a lot that I don’t say in that sentence, a lot that stretches in the air between us.
Her eyes flick between mine, her gaze assessing.
I can’t help myself; my hand is nestled over her needy pussy, and I play with her clit just a little, reminding her of what she’s asking me to pause.
She whimpers and shivers, and takes my other hand on hers, thumb tracing the ugly scar.
If I could help, she’d be nowhere close to my scar, but she seems to care as much as I do. Having an angel love on his ugly parts can change a cowboy for life.
My vixen pushes me into the bed and straddles me. Her eyes hold too much intensity when she asks me one more time. “Tell me, you really did it?”
I chuckle. “I wouldn’t lie to you, darlin’.”
The most beautiful smile takes over her whole face and gives me another reason to live.
Fuck, she’s so pretty. I used to think I was the unluckiest fucker in the world, but how could I be?
Look what I have here? The most beautiful woman in the world perched on top of my cock, smiling at me like I hung the fucking moon.
“She’ll need time until I bring her to the stable, but we are getting somewhere.”
Veda kisses me, and I sigh in want. I could die kissing her. I’m sure it’s my calling in life. She licks my lips as her hands work quickly on my belt.
“What are you doing?” I ask between kisses, not dumb enough to stop this.
“You were so brave today.” Her voice carries awe, and I shake my head.
“No, it was just—”
“You are.” She interrupts me and dips her hand under my underwear, getting hold of me in her warm palm. “I’m so proud of you.”
I groan and throw my head back when she starts stroking me.
I imagined this a hundred different ways since our time in the woods, but nothing compares to the real thing.
Her eyes are alive with mirth, shining with pure satisfaction while she handles me.
She licks her fat bottom lip when a bead of precum leaks from the tip, and I almost burst on the spot.
“This is a mighty reward, darlin’.”
She giggles. “You deserve it.”
“I also went to visit Champion, my horse. I haven’t really taken care of him since the accident. I was too fucked up in the head—”
My words end with a deep moan when she sucks the very tip of me. She takes more next. I nearly pass out when she hums with her mouth full of cock. The vibration takes it to the next level. Damn, I didn’t know internal healing was all I needed to impress a woman.
She keeps sucking on me, bringing me to a new high while those pretty eyes watch my every reaction. If she wants to know how good she feels, all she has to do is ask.
“You look so good like that, Veda. Take more, please. I need you to take it all.”
My voice is heavy with desire. My husky tone is so deep it even surprises me. I want to fuck her so bad, to sink inside her deep and never leave, but I know I have to wait. Her eyes light up with praise, and I feel like a true fucking champion for the first time in my life.
I was never a big talker, and her mouth around my cock makes the words scramble around my brain, but I keep praising her until she’s humping the air, so wet and ready she’s about to fall apart without any stimulation but my words.
“That's it, darlin’. I’m almost there. Can I come in your pretty mouth?”