Chapter 22
twenty-two
. . .
Colin
Asliver of pink light slipped between the slats on the blinds.
Dad's ornery rooster, Dickface, his actual name, crowed somewhere in the distance, and the trillion birds we had living in the trees and shrubs started their songs.
It was weird being back in our old bedroom.
Ronan had lived in and out of Dad's house for years, but I'd managed to scrape enough together early on in my snowboarding career, with extra jobs and a few gutsy sponsors willing to take on a kid named Wilde who was reckless but also talented, to have my own place.
That lucky streak was over, at least where careers and a decent living were concerned.
I'd always had luck with women too, but never like this.
Just enough early morning light crept past the blinds for me to see my bed partner clearly.
We'd shoved the beds together and put the new setup to good use all night.
Sadie's long black lashes fluttered as she slept.
Her lips were slightly parted, and her short white hair stood up in every direction.
She stole my breath away just looking at her, even fast asleep.
I lifted up on an elbow, leaned over and planted a kiss on her long, smooth neck.
She jerked slightly in her sleep and used her hand absently to swat at whatever was bothering her.
I kissed her shoulder. She swatted again.
"Must be some flying insects in here," she muttered groggily without opening her blue eyes.
I dropped back with a plunk. "That didn't go the way I expected."
Her eyes were still shut, but a smile crept up on her face.
"You brat. I was sure I'd lost my touch," I said.
She laughed and threw her arms around my neck. "Nope." She pressed her mouth against my shoulder, then started a hot trail of kisses along my collarbone. She stopped at a deep scar. "Hmm, what have we here, Mr. Frankenstein?"
I reached up to touch the scar. "Oh yeah, that one.
Ronan and I got it into our big dumb heads that we could do backflips on our dirt bikes.
Long story short—we couldn't do backflips on our dirt bikes.
Although I did get about three quarters of the way around, which was better than Ronan.
He basically did a wheelie then fell flat on his back and knocked the wind out of himself so hard he threw up.
I came down shoulder first, and the rest, as they say, is history. "
"My god, you boys must have been holding up the entire U.S. medical industry all by yourselves." Sadie had pulled on one of my T-shirts when the room got cold. Dad was a cheapskate when it came to heating and cooling the cabin.
I slipped my hand beneath the shirt and slid my palm over her warm, smooth skin.
She moaned in appreciation. "Your touch makes me so hot," she whispered.
She wrapped her legs around mine and rubbed her pussy on my thigh.
Her breaths came in fast, short spurts as she moved against my leg.
Heated friction radiated from between her legs.
I took hold of her naked ass and pushed my thumb into the tight puckered hole. She bucked against the pressure of my finger. I pushed it deeper as she continued to writhe wildly against my thigh. A sweet groan rolled up her throat and between her lips, then she clutched my arm tightly.
"I'm there, baby, yes. Fuck me now, right now.
" She untangled her legs and flopped back, her legs spread wide.
She grabbed me and pulled me down on her, wrapping those same long legs around my waist. I thrust into her, and she cried out in ecstasy as her pussy tightened and pulsed around me.
I pumped into her wildly and came inside of her.
We stayed clamped together tightly, neither of us wanting to be the first to let go.
"I didn't have time to get the condom," I whispered into her ear.
"I noticed. It's all right. I'm not going to get pregnant, and it was worth it. I liked not having a latex shield between us."
"I feel the same way." I rolled onto my side and pulled her into my arms. A knock rattled the door. "Why the fuck does this always happen?" I muttered and flopped back in frustration.
Dad's voice came next like an ice-cold shower.
"Z had to leave for work early, and since you've got nothing better to do, at least out of the sheets, you can muck the stalls and feed the horses." His heavy, slightly uneven footsteps plodded away.
I looked at Sadie. "Yeah, he's all charm, that Finn Wilde."
Sadie laughed and pulled the blankets up over us. "I'll help with the chores, but first, I need to get warm again." She lifted her head and squinted at the blinds on the window. "Looks early, and is that a rooster?"
"Yep, I'd swear that bird is a hundred years old.
We named him Dickface, and he wears the name proudly.
Can't remember a time when he wasn't here, waking us up at the crack of fucking dawn.
" I pulled her closer again. "Now about getting you warmer …
" As if on cue, one of the horses released a loud whinny to let everyone know it was breakfast hour.
"I guess we should feed them," Sadie said. "But I must admit, leaving this bed and you and the warm blankets is going to take some willpower."
It wasn't easy, but we managed to keep our hands off each other long enough to pry ourselves out of bed and out the door.
The sun was fully up, and the nightly chill was starting to melt away.
Sadie had pulled on the now infamous black sweatshirt.
She had the hood up and the sleeves pushed back as she energetically mucked the stalls clean. She hummed and sang as she worked.
I glanced in Toby's stall where she was having a talk with him about his sensitivity to birds as she picked up his poop.
"It's fine, though, we've all got our fears.
" She stopped and patted the horse's neck.
I could swear the animal had his black eye trained on her as if he was listening to every word.
"But birds are hardly a new thing. I mean they've been around since you were a little tot lumbering around on long stick legs.
Still, nothing to be ashamed of. I, myself, was petrified of balloons for years. So, you see, we have that in common."
I put my forearms on the stall door and both of them, girl and horse, turned my direction. "Yes, but did a balloon make you tear off across the yard with no plans of stopping?" I asked.
"Not quite that scenario but I did spend my entire sixth birthday party in my room because my mom was sure I'd overcome my fear of the big round menaces if I associated them with something as fun as a party. I proved her wrong, of course. In fact, I still hate the damn things. Now, where to next?"
"I'll finish the last two stalls if you want to check to make sure everyone's automatic waterers are working. Just check that there's water inside them."
"Sounds good." I followed him to the next stall. "So, you said Zander works with Jameson. They own an earth moving company they inherited from your dad. I haven't seen Zander's girlfriend. Nev?"
"That's right. Nevada. We grew up with her. She and Zander were always meant to be together. It just took time for Z to get it through his thick skull that there was only ever one woman for him. Nev owns a sandwich shop in town, so she's always working."
Sadie sighed. "That sounds so romantic. Always meant to be together. How cool would that be?"
"Yeah, I guess. We were all 'well, about fucking time, Z' after they got finally got together."
"So, your career path took you away from riding on big dirt moving machines and up to the mountain slopes?"
"I guess I never thought of it like that, but lately, I wish I'd gone the more traditional route, like working on a construction site. It's great making money doing something that I love, but it's too up and down." I smiled. "Get it—up and down."
"Very clever. It's the same with photography."
I dropped a pile into the wheelbarrow and pushed it out of the stall. "Didn't you say you had a job with an online sports magazine?"
"I did. I'm sure that's no longer the case." She disappeared into a stall to check the water and popped back out.
I pushed the barrow to the last stall. "You got fired?"
"Not sure. It's amazing how one little device called a phone keeps you connected to the world and turning off that same device cuts you off completely from that same world. I'm sure my boss is done with me and frankly—same."
"What are you going to do next?" I pushed the barrow into the stall. The horses were eating breakfast and couldn't have cared less that we were popping in and out of their stalls. None of them even looked up.
Sadie's pretty face peered over the stall door. "Hmm, I could sell my highly valuable photo and then head to the Caribbean to hide out."
It was the first time the photo had come up since we got to the ranch. It was obvious she was trying not to think about it much. "Do you think that you'll do that? I mean, sell it? And if you're going to the Caribbean to hide out, I'm coming with."
"Of course you are." She pulled the hood lower. "So is this sweatshirt, though I probably won't need it there."
I dropped the last pile into the barrow. "And if you decide not to sell it?" I walked to the door.
Sadie caught up to me. "Everyone has water." We walked across the yard to the mass manure pile. "I'll have to find a way to make money. I have some connections overseas, so I'll probably head to South America or something like that."
I stopped the barrow and looked at her. "Shit. You'd leave?"
"A girl's gotta make her way in the world, and since my dad has for sure cut me out of the will after the puffin prank, I'm going to need to get serious about something soon."
I was stunned by my reaction to her casually mentioning she might leave the country.
How quickly she'd worked her way around my heart.
I didn't want her to go, but the thought of leaving me didn't seem like a big deal to her at all.
I wasn't going to be the fool, sulking around brokenhearted while I waited and hoped that she came back to me. I needed to cool off and cool down.
I nodded. "Yeah, I guess there are better opportunities abroad," I said curtly. "Let's go inside and eat. I saw some eggs in the fridge." I turned and started walking toward the house. I sensed that she'd stayed behind, confused about my sudden change in demeanor.
I kept walking and heard her run up behind me. She took hold of my arm and picked up her pace to keep up with my long stride. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing. Why do you ask?"
"Uh, that's why. 'Why do you ask?'" she said in her best robotic voice. "You've gone all chilly cold on me. I can see little icicles forming in your hair." She reached up to my hair, and I ducked out of her touch. "See, you are mad. Why?"
I stopped and turned to her. "Do you really have to fucking ask? You just casually tossed out that you're leaving to South America or some far off place. I thought—shit, I don't know what I thought. I'm hungry."
She took my hand to stop me again. Her blue gaze held mine for a silent moment.
"I'm feeling the same way as you, Colin.
I get the sense that something big is happening here, and honestly, it scares the shit out of me.
I cope best by disconnecting. I taught myself that early on because my family were never the connecting type.
I'm used to being alone, but when I'm with you—it's really nice not being alone. "
I grabbed her into my arms. "Then don't be alone. Be with me. Stay with me."
She wrapped her arms around my neck. "I'm kind of a pain in the ass. You might get sick of me or realize that I'm crazy."
I pressed my mouth hard against hers. We stood that way, in that kiss, until my old man came out to ruin the moment.
"Making some bacon if anyone wants slices of greasy pig with their eggs," he said, completely ignoring the fact that we were having a private moment. The screen door slammed.
Sadie started laughing first, her mouth vibrating against mine. I lifted my head and shook it. "Still think he's cool?"
"Well, yeah, I think so. Definitely not having slices of greasy pig with my eggs though." She started toward the steps, but I stopped her and pulled her back into my arms.
"I won't ever get tired of the fact that you are a pain in the ass or crazy. That's the best part about you. Aside from that very fine ass, of course."
Her smile had already etched itself into my soul. "It is pretty fine, isn't it?"
"Oh yeah, up there in the top ten."
Her brows dropped in a glower.
"Five," I nodded. "Top five."
She pulled the hood up and stomped toward the steps.
"All right, finest ass this side of the—" I followed her.
"You're getting closer," she called.
"Finest damn ass in the world," I said.
She held open the screen door for me. "And here I thought a Wilde boy would be untrainable." I walked past her, and she grabbed my ass.
"Hmm, mine might just be number two cuz yours is pretty damn nice, Colin Wilde."
"Shit, if I had a dollar for every time a gorgeous woman held my ass and told me that." She laughed wildly and hopped onto my back for a piggyback ride to the kitchen.