Chapter 49
FORTY-NINE
D AKOTA
“What’s this?” I ask, puzzled. Grant’s brought me to one of the conference rooms in the resort before he takes me for dinner and drinks downstairs. He has me standing at a table in front of the window that overlooks the side lot of the resort. There’s a stack of portfolio pages laid out across it, and he nods to them.
“Open it.”
I give him a skeptical look, but I open the folder. Inside is what looks like a detailed architectural drawing, a massive one judging by the different rooms. I tilt my head to see some of the writing and measurements as my eyes trace over the page down to the bottom where my heart stops.
SEVEN SINS SALOON
“Plans to rebuild?” I practically squeal the words. We discussed rebuilding briefly while we were on the flight home, but with the stakes that are still on the line for him, my problems seemed small in comparison. “You did this for me?”
“They’re just some preliminary sketches from the architect I’ve worked with before. I thought it would give you a starting place to imagine what you could create.”
“This looks massive though. Will it fit in the same footprint? Do I have enough to afford it?”
“It won’t fit in the footprint downtown, no. But it’ll fit out there.” He nods to the massive lot below us.
“Here?” I raise a brow.
“Here.”
“Grant… I appreciate it, but I worry about how we’ll work together. I know we’re in the honeymoon phase of this right now, but… Eventually, things will go back to a new normal. It was bad enough when you were my landlord; can you imagine if you were my boss? I really love our sex life, and I don’t want to be sending you to sleep on the couch because you told me how to run my bar.”
A laugh rumbles out of his chest as he turns the page over for me.
“No way on this fucking earth do I want to risk the couch or be your boss for that matter. Outside our bed anyway.” He shoots me a charming little smirk. “This would be yours to run however you want. We don’t even have to connect it to the resort if it would make you more comfortable. I just thought if it was here, I could keep you safe. No long walks to a car or long drives across town to get home at night.”
“Right. Home. I still have to figure out where that’s going to be.”
“We’ll get to that in a minute. But… what do you think of the plans? This one has a few floors to it. This other one ha s a bigger footprint, more sprawl with room for a stage and a mechanical bull pit.”
“I have always wanted one of those.” I nibble on my lip. I’m overwhelmed by choices. I never expected to have so many.
“I figured you would.” He smiles at me. “This other one has a whisky bar built in.”
“That doesn’t sound like you had a hand in it at all,” I tease him.
“I want somewhere I can drink and watch you work. It’s one of my favorite things. You light up and your smile… fuck, it’s amazing. Just like this.” His fingers brush under my chin, and he presses a kiss to my lips. “Not to mention it’s going to be better these days to watch all those guys make asses of themselves trying to get your attention, knowing it’s my bed you’re in at night. Turns me on to see the way you manage them.”
“Okay. Maybe we keep the whisky bar then.” I’m still getting used to the open praise that flows from his lips now. It’s like he finally gave himself permission to say what’s on his mind, and I love every moment of it.
“What else do you want? Whatever you want, we’ll make it happen. And if you really don’t want it here, we can discuss that too. I’d just want you to have extra security.”
“I think I’ll have to figure out my living situation first. Unless maybe we could build another apartment over whichever floor plan we build?”
“If that’s what you want…” Something in his eyes dims at the suggestion. “We’d have to get it designated as a hybrid commercial-residential space. But the resort already has those if you wanted to build it here.”
“I like the idea. Can we keep it as an option for now?”
“Yes. Can I show you another option though?”
“Of course.” I look up to him, waiting for him to pull out his phone. I assume he has a property in mind. I can’t imagine he’s been looking for me, but then again, he has an army of underlings he can order around to do his bidding, so one of them might have put something together for him.
“All right. Grab the folder so you can look through it some more and follow me.”
“Follow you?” I give him a curious look.
“Yeah. I’ve got the idea up in my suite.”
“Okay…” My brow furrows a little as I try to make out his plan, but I gather up the folder and follow him out of the room, down the hall, and up the elevator to the private residence floor where he lives. I’ve only been here one other time. We’ve been staying at the ranch since we got back from Ohio. It seemed like a more neutral space where we could negotiate where we were headed, and it also afforded me some room to roam while still having plenty of security. Getting to go for a ride any day I wanted was a bonus, and Kell has been letting me help out in the barns to keep busy.
When we get upstairs, he turns on the light and walks me through the kitchen to the island. Unlike the office we were in, there’s not much on it. No folder full of properties for sale I might buy with the insurance money I’ll be getting, and no clues as to what house he might have found for me.
“You think you could make this place work for you?” He whirls his finger around the room and looks at me expectantly.
“Work for me?” I repeat the question to make sure I understand him correctly.
“I want you to make this place ours.” He studies my face, watching my reaction as my brow shoots up. “I know it’ll probably take a lot of work to feel like home for you. Give you a place you can bring Vendetta where she’ll be happy and somewhere that makes you feel comfortable too. But I can give you this.” He pushes his black card across the counter. “And free rein to do what you want. Do it yourself. Have Hazel help you plan. Hire someone. I trust you. We’re enough alike that I’m pretty sure I’ll love anything you pick.”
“We’re enough alike? You’re all business and luxury and rich leather and shiny things. I’m all vintage, worn edges, and messiness. How do you propose that’s gonna work?” I give him a skeptical look, but the smile spreads in its wake because I can hardly believe he’s suggesting letting me have control over this.
“I want it to feel like a home. However you decorate it doesn’t matter. If you’re here, and you love it, it’ll feel like a home to me.”
“Grant…” I press my hand to my heart, looking up at his brilliant blues and getting lost in them. “You’re… I don’t even know if there are words that are good enough to start.”
“You could start with yes?”
I turn around, looking through the dining room, and then wandering into the living room and then the hallway and the master bedroom beyond that. There’s a lot I wouldn’t change. It’s gorgeous the way it is, but it could use a little extra character here and there. I stop outside his closet where there’s an old piece of furniture that looks like a torture device, a crossed tee at the top and a worn leather seat, with four horn-styled feet at the bottom.
“I think we can make it work if we get rid of the toys you used with other women.” I nod to the obvious BDSM furniture. He bursts out laughing, and I cross my arms over my chest and raise a brow.
“That is a valet. You hang your suit jacket on this part, sling your tie over this, space for your cuff links here. And this drawer at the bottom is for your belts and any other accessories. It was my grandfather’s. I brought it here from the ranch because Ramsey was never much on suits other than when they were mandated by the team for events.”
“Oh.” I feel a soft blush come over my cheeks. “Sorry. My imagination got the better of me.”
“I like your imagination. So fucking much. I think we might have to try that out…” He presses a kiss to the side of my jaw. “But for what it’s worth, I’ve only ever had family and the Kellys in here.”
“And me.”
“And you.” His kisses drift down to my neck, and then he pulls back to meet my eyes. “Hopefully permanently, if we’re agreed?”
“I don’t think you say no to the head of The Quiet Horsemen, do you?”
“Rather you didn’t.” There’s a wry smile on his lips as he presses them to my sensitive skin just beneath my earlobe. “If you need more convincing, though, I’m happy to help with that.”
“I think I might,” I whisper back because I’m so weak for this man that I can’t even get through a day without him.
He walks me backward until the backs of my legs hit the leather of the valet. His hands ghost their way down my body, and then he kisses me, softly at first, until we both turn more desperate.
“Sit down,” he demands as soon as we break.
I follow his orders. The worn leather is soft against the backs of my thighs, and he uses his foot to kick my boots wider so he can step between them. I watch as he pulls his suit jacket off, tossing it to the side and revealing the black dress shirt and the leather shoulder holster he wears underneath. His hands move to his belt, quickly undoing the buckle and pulling the leather free from his waist.
“Hands up.” He motions for me to lift them above my head. He presses my wrists together and uses his belt to secure them to the crossbar, wrapping and weaving the leather around until it’s tight. I try to pull away to taunt him, but I’m surprised when it holds. A sly smile forms on his face, and then he hits his knees.
“Did you follow my rule?” he asks as his fingers slip under the hem of my dress and push upward. He grins when he finds me naked underneath and bends down to place a kiss between my thighs. “That’s my girl. I like it when you listen.”
He made me promise never to wear panties when the two of us go out together. It was part of the terms of our new agreement that gives him free rein to use me whenever he wants. One that he uses more often than not as an excuse to have his head between my thighs. A thing he says helps clear his head when he’s working, and I’m certainly not complaining.
“I like you on your knees.”
His brow raises in response, and a smirk spreads at the corner of his mouth.
“I have a gift for you. Something small to celebrate you moving in. If you can control that smart mouth of yours.” He tries for a stern look, but his eyes dance with mirth.
“Yes, Daddy.” I roll my lip between my teeth as I smile at him.
He reaches back for his jacket, pulling a small velvet bag from his coat. He opens it and turns out the contents into his palm, stretching his hand out to show me. It takes me a moment to realize what it is, and then my lips part as my eyes lift to meet his.
“Every bit of pleasure you get starts and ends with me. Always has. Figured this way we make it official.” His eyes glint with my reaction—half shock and half amusement before it all melds into the same heady mix of devotion and desire that this man always manages to evoke in me. “I had it custom-made for you.”
He’s claiming me with this piece, one that makes my current jewelry pale in comparison because this one is horseshoe-shaped with five diamonds embedded around the curve. Just thinking about how they’ll make me feel has me desperate to have it on.
“Put it on me.” I want him to be the one that does it, wearing it knowing he made it just for me.
“Me?” His face falters the slightest bit before his eyes fall between my legs. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. Just wash your hands with some warm water first. I don’t know that we need to add temperature play to the mix today.” I grin at him, and he hurries off to prep in the master bath before he returns to his kneeling position in front of me.
I talk him through removing the current jewelry and again through putting this one on. He’s gentle and careful as he works, checking in with me at each stage to make sure he’s not causing me any discomfort.
“The only discomfort is how badly I want you to fuck me right now,” I reassure him as he finishes. By the time he leans back to admire his work and the way the horseshoe diamonds surround my clit, I’m ready for him to do his worst.
“Fuck… I thought it was nice in the box, but the way it looks on you? I’m going to need to get a picture of this pretty little pussy framed to sit on my office desk.” There’s a devilish smirk on his face, and a laugh tumbles out of me at the thought of it.
“Or I can just sit on your desk, and you can have your daily fix while you admire it.”
He grins in response as his fingers trace over my tattoos on my right thigh. “See, this is why I need you at my side. Using this valet, sitting on my desk—you’ve got the best fucking ideas, Hellfire.”
“Well, you made it easy to want to work hard. So many rewards today. A bar, a black card, and now jewelry. I guess I’ll have to be good for you,” I say softly, studying his face as his eyes search over mine.
“I’m glad you like them. Now spread wider for me so I can start working on earning mine.”
I do as he asks, and he lifts one of my legs over his shoulder as he kneels down to start his perfect sort of torture, his tongue laving over my pussy and circling my clit as he toys with the new jewelry. I pull at my binds, desperate to touch him as he starts to fuck me in earnest with his mouth, using everything he has to make me beg—and it doesn’t take long before I’m a whimpering mess under his touch.
“Grant… Please…” I plead with him as he pulls away, teasing me with the softest brush of the pad of his thumb over my clit. He loves this part—watching me squirm and telling him I need him almost as much as he loves the next part.
“Fuck, you’re sexy all tied up like this. You know what I want, right?”
“Yes. I know.”
“I’m so fucking close already from how good you taste. I can’t take much more of the way you cry out for me,” he mutters as he slips two fingers inside me, gently teasing me before he withdraws them again, licking the taste of me off before he moves to undo his pants. “The second you’re done coming, I’m going to fuck that pretty mouth of yours. But first, I want to watch you soak this seat for me.”
“Anything you want.”
He bends down again, his lips locking around my clit, and he starts to suck as he fucks me with two fingers. I start coming within a few moments, his free hand digging into the flesh of my thigh as I start to rock my hips up to fuck his face. I’m riding out my release as I start to come so hard my legs shake.
“Oh fuck, Daddy,” I curse as I bite down on my lower lip. “Daddy, please. Fuck, yes. Right there. That’s perfect.” I cry out for him loudly, and he holds me tight as I murmur his name over and over. He lets me down slowly, my thighs hitting the leather of the seat again while he continues to lick me clean. “That’s it. Be a good boy and lap it all up. Every drop. So good for me,” I murmur while I’m still coming down from the high.
I’m quite possibly the luckiest woman on earth because this right here is now a daily ritual for us. Him on his knees, me coming on his face, and me telling him exactly how perfect he is. And Grant Stockton eats up praise the same way he eats pussy—like he’s starved and I’m his only hope of salvation. When he’s eaten his fill, he rises again like a god and runs his fingers under my jaw, staring down at me in admiration.
“I love that filthy mouth of yours. Now open up so I can fuck it,” he commands, and I do exactly as I’m asked because nothing makes me feel as good as I do when I’m with him.
His dick’s already leaking, and I tease my tongue over the tip, licking it up before I take him deeper. I can’t run my fingers up his hard thighs the way we both like because of the way my hands are bound, but it’s a new sort of pleasure to have it taken away from me. To give him complete control of this and know I can trust him.
He’s loving it too. I can see it in his eyes as his fingers thread through my hair and twist, grabbing a gentle fistful of it as he starts to fuck my mouth, slow and steady at first until we both get used to the pace.
“It’s not gonna take long, and then we can get you to dinner. But you get a taste first. Something to make you hungry for how hard I’m going to fuck that tight little cunt of yours later.” He groans as I swirl my tongue under the base, teasing the sensitive spot there.
“That’s my girl. That wicked little tongue of yours is so fucking talented,” he mutters. “If you’re good and eat all your dinner and dessert, I’ll let you use one of your toys on me. See how hard you can make me come like that.”
Well, fuck. The idea has me wet again already. I moan my enthusiasm over his cock, and he fucks my mouth faster, the tip teasing the back of my throat as he uses his free hand to stroke the base.
“But for now, we’re gonna fill up this pretty mouth together.” His fingers tighten against my scalp, and I can feel him start to come on my tongue. “That’s my girl. Take it all. Swallow me down. I love watching that throat work to take everything I give you. So-fucking-perfect.” He’s cursing and murmuring soft broken praise as he fucks my mouth until he’s spent, slowly pulling away and watching with wonder as he spills out over my lips.
“You’re fucking gorgeous, you know…” He studies my face for a moment.
His thumb rubs over my lower lip, spreading his come like he’s marking me before he leans down to kiss me. He takes his time, his tongue exploring mine as he reaches above me to untie the belt from my hands. He scoops me up after I’m loose, carrying me into the bathroom and setting me down on the counter. He grabs a washcloth, letting the water warm before he runs it underneath.
“Do you know what you want for dinner? We can eat downstairs, or I can take you into town or even the city,” he offers as he wipes my lips, careful not to smear the rest of my makeup.
“Downstairs. As good as the city sounds, I’m too excited about getting to play after.” I grin at him, and he slips the washcloth between my legs as his lips brush softly over mine. He cleans me up gently and then helps me down from the counter.
“I love the way your mind works.” He presses his forehead to mine, and he plants another kiss on my lips and smiles.
“Good, because I happen to like yours a lot too.” I’m madly in love with this man with no hope of recovery.