Chapter 8
8
August
T he sun has barely touched the horizon as I sip my coffee on the porch, getting ready to start my day. My body is sore in the very best way, reminding me of how it felt to have Tripp inside of me last night. Then the way we jacked each other off in the shower afterwards. I don’t know what it is about him, but I’m fucking i nsatiable for him.
After I made us dinner last night, we had a few more drinks and talked some more. I could listen to him talk for hours, and never get tired of hearing his voice. As if he could sense me thinking about him, the sound of the door creaking as it opens reaches my ears, and when I turn my head, my gaze collides with a pair of sleepy green eyes that cause my stomach to dip.
“Mornin’, sweetheart,” I drawl as Tripp drops onto the swing beside me. “How’d you sleep? ”
He’s wrapped up in my comforter, and as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, he leans over, resting his head on my shoulder. “Morning,” he croaks. “We should sleep more.”
I chuckle. “No can do, baby. We got work to do.”
“Work?” Peering up at me with furrowed brows, I can’t help but lean in, pressing my lips to his forehead, breathing in the scent of him.
“Yeah, work.” Grinning down at him, I add, “You sleep at the ranch, you help out with the chores on the ranch. Them’s the rules, sweetheart.”
“Um…” I can’t help but laugh at the deer-in-headlights look on his face right now. “I know literally nothing about working on a ranch.”
“Well, then I guess it’s a darn good thing that I’m such a good teacher, huh?” Tripp doesn’t look any more at ease, which only makes me chuckle harder. Standing up, I toss him a wink before I say, “We gotta work on your confidence. C’mon.”
“Wh-where are we going?” he calls out, but I can hear him following me into the house.
“Get dressed,” I tell him, glancing over my shoulder to meet his gaze. “Ever been on a horse?”
His brows pinch as he tosses the comforter back on the bed. “No.”
“You gonna learn today!”
Tugging on his pants from yesterday, he grumbles under his breath, “I’m never spending the night here ever again.”
I bark out a laugh. “Heard that, sweetheart, and I beg to differ.”
This is going to be fun.
“Uh… A-August. I don’t think he likes me.”
Turning my head, my lips curl up as I take in Tripp sitting on the back of Bertha, his shoulders hunched up to his ears, and a look of sheer panic on his face.
“She,” I correct. “Big Bertha is all lady, and she likes you just fine. You need to relax a little, though. They can sense your distress.”
“This isn’t a good idea. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Look at me.” Tripp’s nervous gaze lifts, meeting mine, and I can see his shoulders relax slightly. “You’re going to be fine. I showed you the basics, and that’s all you need to know. I’m not going to make you do anythin’ more than that.”
Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he looks like he wants to bolt. I’d put him on my horse behind me if I didn’t think that’d end up freakin’ him out more. Can’t deny the urge I feel to wrap him in my arms and feel his nerves melt away.
Finally, he nods. “And what is it we’re doing?”
“We gotta herd the cattle from one pasture to another,” I explain. “It’s so we can fertilize the fields and give the cattle fresh grass to snack on.”
My cousin, Finn, climbs on his horse, trotting over beside me. “You sure about this?” he mutters under his breath.
“It’ll be fine. He can sit off to the side while we do the herding.”
“Gentry’s going to love this,” he drawls, a smirk tugging his lips just as the man in question comes out of the barn, gaze immediately finding Tripp then dragging over to me .
“Someone mind tellin’ me what the hell is goin’ on?”
“August brought his new boyfriend to work today,” Finn deadpans.
One glance at Tripp has me biting back a laugh as his cheeks turn bright red.
“Gentry, this is Tripp. Tripp, this is my Uncle Gentry, the owner of this ranch.”
“Oh, uh, h-hi,” Tripp sputters. “It’s nice to meet you. I can go home if it’s an issue.”
“You ain’t goin’ home, sweetheart. I told you, I’m showin’ you a thing or two today.” I wink at him, making his face turn a brighter shade of red as I hear Finn sigh beside me.
Gentry looks Tripp in the eye—something he’s real good at. “You know what you’re doin’?”
“No, sir.” Fucker.
I breathe out a laugh as Gentry shifts his focus to me, pointing his finger at me. “If he gets hurt, I’m kickin’ your ass.”
Rolling my eyes, I insist, “He ain’t gonna get hurt.”
“I mean it, August.”
I nod. “Understood.”
“Okay, let’s head out to pasture three and get to work,” he instructs, hopping on the back of his horse.
“Where’s Hollis?” I ask.
“He’s in the office dealing with an issue on the phone. It’ll just be us this morning.”
Turning my gaze to Tripp, I tip my head, gesturing for him to come to me. Surprisingly, he does without much of a fight. “Just stay close to me, okay?”
“I hate you for this,” he grumbles .
My shoulders shake as I chuckle. “You’ll forgive me later, sweetheart. Mark my words.”
The four of us head out, making our way toward pasture three. It’s the field farthest from the barn, but as I knew he would, Tripp makes it there in one piece. Once we get there, Finn and I herd the cattle while Gentry barks out orders. I’ve always said Gentry was fucking made for this job because he’s got a voice nobody can ignore. It’s deep and authoritative. When he snaps an order at you, you do it. He means business. When we’re out here working, he isn’t Uncle Gentry—or dad to Finn and Hollis—he’s the boss and we’re his hands.
“You,” Gentry barks at Tripp, nearly startling him right off the back of his horse. “Get over by the gate. I need you to hold it open and thin out the line.”
Tripp’s panicked gaze darts over to me before he looks back at my uncle. “I don’t know what that means!” he squeaks, making me laugh.
He’s adorable when he’s nervous. Which, let’s be real, is pretty much always.
Gentry throws me an exasperated, unamused look before shaking his head. “Follow me,” he clips out to Tripp as I return my attention to the rowdy, stubborn cattle surrounding me.
The job takes several hours, and only a few instances of Gentry shouting at the three of us—and the cows—but eventually, we get it done. It’s hot as balls out, sweat soaking through my shirt. I already can’t wait to take a nice, cold shower tonight, but I know I’ve got a ways to go before I can do that.
Back at the barn, we put the horses away before guzzling down some water. Walking over to Tripp, I nudge him with my elbow, smiling when his gaze flicks up to meet mine.
“Follow me,” I tell him, excitement coursing through my bloodstream as I hear his footsteps sound on the gravel behind me. Sauntering around the side of the barn, I lead Tripp to the back, underneath the giant oak tree.
“What are we doing out here?” he asks just as I spin around and pin him to the tree, his eyes wide, a gasp falling off his tempting fucking lips. Lips I can’t help but taste… something I’ve been wanting to do all goddamn day.
So, I do.
As soon as my mouth crashes against his, Tripp’s hands come up, clinging to the front of my shirt as my tongue slips past his parted lips. He moans, making my heart thrash inside my chest. So responsive. He gives back just as hard as I do, kissing me with a ferocity that makes my dick throb.
Dropping to my knees, I waste no time working his pants down enough to pull his cock out, and I bite down on my bottom lip, peering up at him with pride in my chest finding him already rock solid for me.
I hum as I pump him slowly in my grip. “Somebody’s already aching for me, huh, sweetheart?”
Whimpering, he nods.
“Did you have fun today?”
He shakes his head, but there’s a twinkle in his eyes that says otherwise.
“Liar,” I tease as I flick my tongue against the swollen, slick tip, gathering up his salty, delicious arousal. “You liked being cowboy for a day, didn’t you?”
He bites back a smile but says nothing. Fuck, he turns me on like nothing else .
I close my lips around the crown, sucking and licking as he watches me with heavy, lust-filled eyes. “You looked damn sexy out there,” I tell him before swallowing his whole length in one go. He gasps, a hand coming to my shoulder as I swallow around him. Tears spring to my eyes and my senses are overwhelmed in the very best way with all things Tripp.
The pleasure twisting his face.
How his nails bite into my flesh like he’s barely holding on.
The masculine musk filling my nostrils that has no business being as sexy as it is. The smell of a hardworking man will never fail to make me feral. There’s something so primal and animalistic about it.
As I suck him down, I roll his smooth, round balls in my palm, realizing I’m quickly becoming addicted to Tripp… and I’m more than okay with that. The sounds he makes as I swirl my tongue around before hollowing my cheeks sends flames through my veins, and I can’t take it anymore.
Blindly reaching down, I work open my belt buckle and jeans, pulling myself out in a hurry. I breathe a sigh of relief through my nose as I wrap a hand around my length and stroke. Tripp moans as his eyes alternate between his cock disappearing between my lips and the hand around my own dick. It only takes another few minutes before he’s spilling down my throat, the taste of his release on my tongue igniting my own orgasm.
Once I’m finished, I stand up and bring my messy hand up between us. With a smirk on my lips, I instruct Tripp to, “Lick it clean, sweetheart.”
His eyes widen, but he doesn’t miss a beat. He leans in, tongue darting out, cleaning each finger until it’s all gone. As soon as he’s done, I crash my mouth down on his again, groaning at the taste of myself in his mouth.
“Fuck, you drive me crazy, sweetheart,” I breathe against his lips before diving back in for a second taste.
I could get used to this.