Chapter 20
Cruz
I spend the rest of the day in solitude, loading up hay bales with the tractor and ferrying them off to the various barns all over the ranch.
By the end of the day, I’m tired, sore, and still very, very heartbroken.
I skip dinner in the mess hall, not wanting to talk to anyone, and instead make myself some instant ramen in my cabin’s kitchenette.
My head swivels in the direction of the sound, surprise coursing through me. Who would be at my door in the middle of the night? My first thought is some kind of emergency, so I get up and stride across the floor, swinging the door open without even looking through the window first.
And my heart starts beating again. I blink. “Addison.”
She smiles softly. “Hey.”
I take in the sight of her. She’s got a backpack slung over her shoulder, along with her purse. Her hair is tied back in a ponytail, and she’s wearing those pink cowgirl boots again.
“I went back to Seattle,” she says.
“I know.”
She blinks in surprise. “You do?”
“Tate told me.”
She opens her mouth, but I beat her to it.
“Why are you back?”
Confusion settles over her features. “I thought Tate told you …”
Now it’s my turn to be confused. “Yeah. He said you’d left. That he dropped you off at the airport this morning. It was great to hear it from him and not you, by the way,” I add.
She flinches ever so slightly, and I’m torn between guilt and vindication. “I wanted to tell you in person. My parents too. That’s why I went home and why I’m here now.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I snap, the hurt and frustration suddenly becoming too much for me.
“I’m staying!” Addison retorts, fire in her eyes.
“I flew home to tell my parents that I don’t want to be part of their company anymore.
I talked with Tate, and he offered me a job at the ranch.
Working with Hank. I don’t know if it’s what I want to do forever, but I want to do it now.
I like it, it makes me happy, the ranch makes me happy, and you …
” She trails off, her eyebrows knitting together.
“Why are you angry?” she practically yells.
I stare at her in silence, her words washing over me.
She’s staying. She’s staying. Here. In Montana, at Thatcher Ranch.
I feel like kicking myself for practically running away from Tate when he was probably about to tell me about Addison’s fucking return flight.
Here I’d spent the day feeling abandoned and destroyed, when in reality, Addison had chosen her wants—and in doing so, she’d chosen me.
“I’m angry, Addison,” I breathe, even though all the anger has been practically washed out of me—like I’ve been doused with cold water, “because I thought you’d gone home for good.”
Her eyes widen in realization.
“I thought you’d left, and I’d never see you again,” I say.
“Cruz, I didn’t mean …” She shakes her head.
But I don’t care what she has to say. She’s already said everything I need to hear.
I span the distance between us, scooping my arms around her waist and pulling her against me, lifting her off the ground as I bury my face in her hair.
Her backpack falls from her shoulder, thudding to the porch floor.
I squeeze her tighter. “I’m in love with you, Addison Thatcher,” I whisper.
She stiffens in shock, and I lower her to the ground, suddenly scared I’ve said too much, that she’s just come home and I’ve already scared her away. She leans back just enough to look me in the eyes. “I love you too.”
A grin spreads across my face, and I press my lips to hers in a hungry kiss, like this last day without her might have just starved me to death. I pull her across the threshold, kicking the door shut behind her.
“Could’ve told me that before you broke my heart this morning,” I murmur against her lips.
She gasps, pulling back. “I didn’t mean to—”
But I devour her words, pulling her back against me, our mouths colliding.
I turn her, pushing her up against the nearest surface—the kitchen counter.
“I don’t care that you didn’t mean to,” I murmur against her skin, pressing kisses down her neck.
“I don’t care that you flew back to Seattle.
” I slide her jacket off her shoulders, angrily tossing it away and then pressing my lips to the exposed skin on her collarbone.
“I don’t care that you didn’t tell me.” I grab the hem of her tank top, yanking it up and over her arms, leaving her in nothing but a white, lacy bra.
My eyes meet hers. “All I care about is that you love me.”
She smiles up at me, biting her lip. Then she pulls me back in, and we’re kissing again, my hands roaming her body.
I find the button of her jeans, undoing them and then shucking them down her legs as she repositions herself to help me.
Her underwear is next to go, then her bra, until she’s standing completely naked in front of me.
I pull back to gaze down at her, softly running my hands over her skin. Her eyelids flutter shut as my fingertips dance across her breasts, lightly plucking at her nipples before descending lower and lower, finding the telltale wetness between her thighs. She spreads them for me, exhaling softly.
I move my hands to her hips, gripping her flesh and roughly turning her around then bending her over the counter. She yelps in surprise, but I hold her there, slowly running my hands down her back, over her ass, her thighs, then spreading her legs.
I can see how ready she is for me, and my cock twitches in my pants. “Fuck, Princess,” I mutter, sliding two fingers inside her with no resistance.
She whimpers, bucking her hips.
I lean over and grab her ponytail, turning her head so I can press my lips to her ear. “Be a good girl and stay right here for me. Don’t move,” I order.
I step back, turning on my heel and hurrying to my bedroom dresser, grabbing a box of condoms from my sock drawer and pulling one free.
When I step back out into the living area, the sight of Addison, buck naked, bent over the counter and waiting for me just about makes me come right there in my pants. I slowly stride across the room, shedding clothes as I go.
I tear the wrapper open and slip the condom on, coming up behind Addison. I slide my hands up her back, and she arches into me, sucking in a soft exhale.
“Such a good girl, waiting for me,” I praise. My hand roams over her lower back, her ass, and then I squeeze. “Although you weren’t very good today.”
She looks over her shoulder, and our eyes meet.
“I’m sorry,” she breathes, but by the look in her eyes, I can tell it’s only half true.
She’s sorry she hurt me, but she’s not sorry about what’s about to happen.
I remember lightly spanking her before and her seemingly taking it well, so I hope to God I’m making the right call here.
Eyes on hers, I cock my head to the side and bring my hand down on her ass—not too hard, but just enough to sting.
Her mouth opens, and fire lights in her eyes.
Yeah, I made the right call.
“You like that, Princess?” I taunt. “You want me to punish you for being such a brat?”
She bites her lip, her eyes going hazy, and she nods.
“Say it out loud,” I demand.
She crinkles her brows, her teeth biting deeper into her lip. “Punish me,” she whispers.
My hand makes contact with her ass again, and she yelps. And then I’m lining myself up against her entrance, and I thrust inside of her.
She gasps, gripping the countertop and moaning.
“Addison Thatcher,” I groan, pulling out and thrusting back into her—hard. “You drive me …”
Thrust.
“Fucking …”
Thrust.
“Crazy.”
“Cruz,” she whimpers. I lean over her, taking hold of her ponytail in my hand and gently pulling her head back, my lips right by her ear.
“Yeah, baby?” I whisper.
“Harder,” she bites out. “I need it harder.”
My cock stiffens inside of her. My Princess wants it harder? I’ll give it to her. I pull out and ram back into her, her strangled cries filling the room as I pump in and out.
“You’re. Mine,” I grit out, feeling her walls constrict around me. “You’re mine, Princess.”
Her whimpers are near hysterical, her back arched, her feet no longer touching the ground.
“You hear that, Princess?” I urge.
She whimpers.
“Do you?” I slam into her.
“Yes!” she screams. “Yes, Cruz, yes!”
“Good,” I mutter. I snake my hand underneath her, stilling my rhythm only long enough to find her clit, rubbing soft, slow circles that has her making noises that would make a fucking porn star blush. “Because now that I’ve got a taste of you,” I thrust into her, “you’re mine forever.”
She writhes between me and the countertop, moaning incoherently, and I can tell she’s close. So close. I just need to push her over. “That’s right, Princess. Come for me, sweetheart,” I tell her. “Come on my cock.”
I feel her pussy constrict, pulling me over the edge right along with her.
As my orgasm fades, I gently pull out and fold Addison into my arms, picking her up and carrying her to my bathroom.
I turn on the water, let it heat up, and then I pull her inside the shower with me.
She hasn’t said anything yet, and part of me is worried that we just did was too rough, too much for her.
As the water cascades over our shoulders, wetting our hair, I place my hands on either side of her face, brushing the water from her cheeks. “Was that okay?” I ask quietly.
She smiles, nodding up at me.
“Are you sure, because—”
“I’m sorry I hurt you,” she says.
I frown. “You don’t—”
“I know we were playing back there, but I do wanna say sorry. I’m sorry I scared you, that you were … heartbroken.”
It’s now that I remember that I’d used that word. It’s an accurate one, albeit a little embarrassing. “I was heartbroken,” I admit. “But I’m not now.” I smile down at her, the realization settling over me. “I might just be the happiest I’ve ever been.”
Addison’s smile widens, and she blinks away the droplets of water from her eyes. “I love you, Cruz Conley,” she whispers.
“I love you, Princess.”