Chapter 27
Chapter twenty-seven
Connor
THE PROMISE OF SOMETHING REAL
Wendy and Greg won the scavenger hunt, with a free weekend at the ranch in spring as the prize. She squealed with delight and wrapped her arms around Hayden when Dean called her name. Greg shot them a weird look, but it disappeared as fast as it came.
“This is nice,” I say as Hayden snuggles by my side in front of the large bonfire.
“Do you think they’re cold?” he asks, and I follow his gaze to where Brutus and his new pen buddy Pip sleep inside one of the shelters.
Pip was a new purchase Nial made late last year after they decided to retire Brutus.
From the first day we put Pip in the pen beside Brutus, they appeared to become friends, if that’s what you can call it when two bulls don’t want to kill each other.
Nial thinks it’s because we’ve stopped breeding with Brutus, like maybe he’s happy to retire now and hand over the task to the younger ones.
After two weeks of both of them hanging close to the fence that ran between their pens basically ninety percent of the time, we did a test run, Preston at the ready with his tranquilizer gun, and as soon as the railing went down between their sections, they huddled up and walked the grounds together without even the slightest indication they were going to go for one another.
“Cattle build up a thicker coat in the winter, and those shelters are layered with fresh dry straw every day,” I tell him, and he pulls my arms tighter around him.
“I guess those two also have each other to snuggle up with.”
“You can bet they’re nice and toasty in there.”
Each bull pen has three shelters, all simple three-wall structures, with solid roofs that are positioned so that the openings face a different direction.
I worked for three days on the new double-sized structures in their shared pen under the sweltering summer heat.
They just looked on from the shade of one of the larger trees, like they knew I was doing it for them, and left me to it.
“I met with a guy from the Richmont Group today,” I say, and he shifts to face me.
“That didn’t take them long.”
“Turns out they already knew where I was. They’ve always known.”
“And they’ve only just shown up now?”
“Yeah, apparently the board was looking for a loophole to try to have them take control or something. The guy they sent didn’t seem all that impressed by it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, he said something about them wasting his time stalling with false promises of a revised will.”
“Wow, okay. But they knew where you were, your grandfather, the company, all of them, this whole time?”
“Yep.”
“Like they had people following you or something?” he asks, suddenly sitting up and anger flashing across his expression. I can’t say I hate seeing him fired up on my behalf.
“I guess so. I mean, I don’t think they’d pay a PI to monitor me every day, but I wouldn’t put it past them. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m surprised they didn’t just hire someone to move here and report back once I settled.”
“You don’t think they did that, do you?”
I glance around the bonfire. Other than the guests, I’ve known the rest of these guys for as long as I’ve lived on Beaker Brothers, and they’ve known each other even longer than that.
Except for Skye. But there’s no way he was reporting back to my grandfather this whole time.
That kid has the biggest heart of probably any of us out here.
“I think they probably sent someone to check in every couple of months. But it doesn’t matter. Their knowing I was here actually made this easier.”
“How so?”
“I didn’t have to go announcing myself to the media to get their attention.”
“You were going to?”
“Yeah, I figured it was probably the fastest way to find out if my grandfather actually did cut me out of everything.”
“And?”
“He redid his will about five years ago, wrote in my cousin as heir, which I expected, but given he was on the same plane, and had no kids, everything goes to me.”
“Everything?”
“Yep, the whole one-point-three-billion-dollar empire is apparently…mine.”
“I’m sorry, did you say one-point-three billion? As in B for bull, billion?”
I nod. That number does not really mean all that much to me. I mean, what does one-point-three billion dollars even look like, anyway?
“It’s mostly tied up in assets, but the beef sales last quarter alone were twelve million, I think he said.”
“That’s a lot of beef.”
“Yeah, the US exports hundreds of thousands of tons of beef per quarter.”
“And you’re supposed to run it all?”
“No. They have a board that manages most of it, but I’ll have to attend meetings sometimes and vote on any changes. I have the controlling vote on basically all of it.”
“So you’ll have to travel there?”
I shake my head.
“The guy they sent is going to set up an office in town. I think he’ll have a virtual thing set up at first or something. There were a lot of words. I have to meet him in Bellerelle the day after Christmas.”
“That’s when I’m supposed to leave, too.”
My heart picks up on the hope in that sentence and doubles its pace.
“Supposed to?”
“I’m struggling to remember what it is I would be going back to. A loud city, with cloudy skies, and an empty apartment that looks like it was staged for some architecture magazine.”
“I’m sure it’s nice.”
“It’s not,” he says, shaking his head. “It’s practical and organized and bland. Not like this place.” He stands and turns in place as his gaze sweeps over the shadows of the ranch lit by the brilliant moon, glistening stars, and the orange glow of the bonfire, and I climb to my feet.
“I’ve traveled all over. Nothing is like this place,” I say, watching him slowly continue to turn.
“I’m not sure it’s just this place, though,” he says, stopping and looking up at me with those big blue eyes.
“You know, I never noticed it before, how bland it all is in the city. Not until I came here, until I met you. It’s like you’ve lifted a veil and now the world is full of brilliant colors, and I can’t bear the thought of going back to that.
No. I can’t bear the thought of leaving you. ”
My heart skips a beat, and I brush my thumb over his cheek, cupping his face in my hand.
“Then don’t leave. Stay here. Stay with me. Or not with me. We can go slow. You can stay in one of the cabins for a while. The guys won’t mind.”
“I’m not sure. What about my work, and Wen?”
I don’t want to push him, as much as I would love for him to stay here with me and really see where this goes. It has to be his decision.
“I guess it would be hard to review restaurants in the city if you don’t live in the city, and Wen would probably kill me if she knew I was trying to lure you away from her.”
He hugs me to him.
“She is pretty clingy but in the absolutely best way.”
“I can see that.” I laugh. “Well, think it over, no pressure. I’m not going anywhere.”
He cocks an eyebrow.
“You sure about that?”
“I ran one time.”
“Twice.”
“Fine, twice. But I’m done running. I swear.”
“Good. And hey, maybe you will come to the city more now that you’re the big boss man for the Richmont group.”
“Maybe. I’m hoping that I can manage my responsibilities remotely, but if I did have to go into the head office, it would be the one in Texas.”
“Maybe my book will get picked up, and then I won’t have to write reviews anymore. Then I could at least split my time between here and my place so that Wen didn’t feel left out.”
“When your book gets published,” I correct, and his cheeks blush an adorable shade of pink.
“Then you’ll need lots of quiet time to write the sequel, so I’ll build you your own cabin under the trees.
The guys wanted to add more accommodations on the ranch, anyway.
I’ll put it on wheels, and we can move it around the ranch when you feel like a change of scenery.
Then you can write your book, and we can take walks and cuddle cows and do all the other things, too. ”
“What kind of other things?” he asks, laying his hand over mine and moving it to suck my thumb into his mouth.
My cock pulses.
“All the things,” I say, and then we’re back at my cabin, stripping off each other’s clothes on our way to the shower. I’m sweaty from the day’s work, and we both smell like ash, but he’ll always taste like sunshine to me.
I reach up and turn on the hot water, and he steps away, gaze sweeping down my body, a note of appreciation in his stare.
I turn slowly under the water, twisting my head to keep watching him watch me.
My heart thunders, and then he’s there, behind me, his cock pressing perfectly between my ass cheeks as his fingers skim my sides. A shudder rolls through me.
“Connor,” his voice low, almost growling, desperate, needy, just makes me want to please him more. His thigh slides between my legs, forcing my stance wider, and I instinctively brace myself on the wall in front of me.
“That’s right, you’ll want to prepare for what’s coming next,” he whispers into my ear as he reaches beside me for the loofah and soap.
He takes his time, soaping up my back, the hot water washing it away as fast as he coats me, and then his hands move lower, circling my ass, one hand washing me down, the other sliding over my slick skin.
Then his hand glides around to grip my cock, and I buck into his hand on reflex.
“Hold still,” he orders as his chest presses against my back and his cock slips between my cheeks. “You’re so fucking perfect.”
My heart is beating like a drum as he strokes me slowly, teasing the slit with his thumb over and over again. My cock aches, greedy for more. Then he pushes himself closer, grinding his cock against my ass, and I suck in a breath.
“Holy fuck, do that again.”
He repeats the action, and my hand slaps hard against the wall.
“Hell, yes,” I gasp.
His free hand lands on my chest, fingers skimming down my abs, then he pulls me to him and grinds his cock between my cheeks again. My legs quiver in reply.
“I’m going to make you moan for me,” he whispers in my ear before kissing along my back, water cascading down my body.
“Fuck.”
He teases me slowly, like he wants to relish every moment of my pleasure, and how can I deny him that?
I’ll never deny him anything. Ever. He grinds against me again, teeth biting into my shoulder, the pain giving way to an exquisite pleasure, vibrating through me like a secret song I’ve never heard but somehow know the words to.
“You can move now,” he says, and I buck into his grip hard and fast, his other hand holds his body against mine, every thrust forward brings his cock moving up and down against my ass.
“Fuck, yes… Hayden.”
“That’s it, come for me, baby,” he says, and like the snap of a rubber band, my orgasm hits and I’m gasping his name, as heat floods down my thigh.
His teeth bite down hard again, and he works himself against me until he’s spent, and I’m leaning against the wall, chest heaving as my pulse echoes in my ears.
“Turn around.”
I push off the wall, and step around to face his gorgeous dark eyes.
“Do you have any idea how much I need you?” he asks, and I shake my head, a smirk on my lips. He closes the gap between us, pushing me back against the wall with a thud. He brushes his thumb along my lower lip, and I lean forward and suck it into my mouth, then release it with a pop.
“Will you tell me how much you need me?”
“I need you like the moon needs the night, like the fire needs the air, and like those pretty little flowers you showed me need the snow.”
“That’s not fair.”
“What isn’t?” he asks.
“You’re a writer, you know all the perfect things to say to make me melt.”
That brings a smile to his lips.
“Tell me how much you need me,” he says, and I kiss him.
“I need you like I need breath. But more than that. I want you. I want this. All of this, us. I want it all.”
“Then you’ll have it all,” he says, and he drags his hand through his hair and pushes up on his toes and kisses me again.
His lips are soft and perfect and hold the promise of something real.