7. Cassidy
CHAPTER 7
CASSIDY
My heart pounds like a runaway horse. Even with Randolph and Connor gone, the energy outside the barn seems to be climbing higher, not simmering down.
“Hell no, why do you think you’re always the one who can close the deal?” Callum pulls up his shirt sleeve and flexes. It’s hardly impressive—nothing compared to Alex’s broad, rugged strength when he’d rolled up his sleeves just the other day.
“You don’t have shit compared to this. Look at it!” Bowen barks back, flexing his own arms. “You think you can outmatch this? What a fucking joke.”
“Bowen, you’re old as hell now. You can’t be fifty and still think you’re throwing punches in a barn fight,” Holden quips, tying the horse’s lead to the fence.
“Fuck off. I’m thirty-five,” Bowen fires back, his face reddening. “If you want to see what thirty-five can do, let’s go. You couldn’t even beat me at calf roping the other night. Seven seconds flat. Seven, bitch.”
The Kingridge brothers gather like it’s the old days, voices rising as they bicker and taunt each other. It’s a little like watching a movie from twenty years ago when they used to throw horseshoes at each other or wrestle over Monopoly rules. Everything was a competition back then, and judging by the heat in their voices now, nothing’s changed. I half expect someone to pull the Kingridge Cup—a dusty, engraved beer stein that was the source of a million arguments—out of a back pocket and hold it over their head.
Under different circumstances, I might find it funny, even endearing. But tonight, I can’t shake the gnawing worry in my chest about the fallout from this chaos. Randolph won’t let this go. He’s not the kind of man who loses gracefully. I know exactly how far his bitterness can reach, and I can already see the courtroom drama that might come next. Would he twist this into a custody battle? Use it to paint me as unfit? I can’t put anything past him at this point.
My gaze drifts to Alex. He stands at the edge of the group, hands clenched into tight fists, his face flushed with anger. His silence speaks volumes. He scared me to death when he lost control. But there isn’t any doubt that his heart was in the right place.
There’s an unreachable glaze over his eyes as I approach him. But I reach for his hand anyway and tug him away from the chaos. “Come on.”
His brow furrows, but he lets me pull him down the trail until we’re away from the noise. The barn fades into the distance as we wind through the mesquite trees. His chest still heaves up and down and his skin is hot to the touch.
“Alex, what the hell were you thinking back there?” I demand, keeping my voice low but firm. “What if Connor had seen that? You can’t let Randolph bait you like that. It won’t end. He knows he got to you tonight, and now you’ve made yourself a target.”
Alex’s jaw tightens. “Fuck that guy. He wants to be a bully. Well, he can take his best shot at me. I welcome it.”
My chest aches at the tension in his voice, at how fiercely he’s carrying my burdens. “Stop. Alex, if you’re going to be in my life, you need to understand something—I come as a package deal, okay? The good and the bad. That means Connor and, unfortunately, Randolph too.”
We step into a clearing, and the sprawling ranch comes into view, bathed in moonlight. It’s breathtaking, like something out of a dream. Alex halts, turning to face me. His eyes are dark and intense, searching mine.
“You want me in your life?” he asks softly.
I look away and then back up at him. “Of course I do.” The words tumble out before I can stop them. “Alex, you’re the most amazing man I’ve ever known. Who wouldn’t want you in their life?” As soon as the confession leaves my lips, I realize my mistake.
The hurt flashes across his face before he can hide it. He doesn’t need to say anything. I can see it in the tight lines around his mouth. A beat of silence passes, heavy with things unsaid.
“Can we walk to your house?” I ask, my voice gentler now.
He nods, and we take the path toward his house. The warm night air carries the scent of wheat, a reminder of the peace this place holds and how badly I’ve destroyed that tonight. When we reach his porch, Alex drags out two rocking chairs and places them side by side. Instead of taking the seat beside him, I crawl into his lap.
His strong arms wrap around me, and I lean back into the steady rhythm of his chest rising and falling. His body is all strength, steady and grounding beneath me. We sit in silence, looking out over the rolling fields. The stars scatter across the sky like confetti, and for a moment, the world feels quiet again.
“You know,” I murmur, “your mom… she had her demons. It isn’t fair that you didn’t get the mom you deserved. But think of how much worse it is for her. She missed out on you. You’re an incredible man.”
His arms tighten around me and his breath hitches, warm against my neck. “The last thing I remember is her crying,” he says, his voice raw. “Begging me to get Pa. They were both out of it—her and him. She couldn’t get up, and he wouldn’t wake up. I was completely powerless. So I don’t do well in situations like tonight. I can’t just stand by while Randolph or anyone else hurts you, Cassidy. I won’t do it.”
I shift in his arms to face him, cupping his cheek. “Alex, I’m not something else for you to take care of, I refuse to be. I don’t need someone to fight my battles. I want to be your partner. I want to be your… lover.”
The word hangs in the air between us, bold and vulnerable. His hand tightens on my waist, and for the first time all night, the tension in his shoulders softens.
I turn to face him, straddling his lap and it ignites him. Alex's gaze drops to my lips, his fingers tightening just slightly on my waist. The night air is warm, but a shiver dances up my spine as I feel him grow hard beneath me. My hands make their way to the back of his neck.
“Say it again,” he murmurs, his voice a rough whisper.
I rock forward on his lap and his hips lift ever so slightly in response. I put my lips so close to his ear that I nearly touch him and whisper.“I want to be your lover.”
A low sound escapes him, something like a growl of desperation, and in the next breath, his lips claim mine. The kiss is slow at first like he’s memorizing me. But that doesn’t stop me from feeling the sizzle in every inch of my body.
Then his tongue parts my lips slipping inside of my mouth and taking my breath away. His hands slide up my back, fingertips tracing the shape of my spine and outlining every curve as I move on top of him. Pressing closer, I bury my fingers into his thick hair and tug just enough to make him groan against my mouth.
I have never felt more beautiful than I do when I see myself reflected in Alex’s eyes. My heart thuds in my chest and warmth pools low in me. His lips part, and the kiss deepens, hungry now. His hands land on my mounds and he plants desperate kisses across my cleavage before he slips them out of the top of my shirt.
My nipples constrict into tight eraser buds when the cool night air hits them until Alex’s mouth lands on top of them. He suckles at me until I’m drenched and the bulge between his legs is pulsating with anticipation. My walls tremble, I’m ready to give myself to him and overwhelmed with the need to be filled by Alex.
"Inside," he mutters between kisses, his hands flexing at my hips. "Now."