Chapter 21
Asher
Was it sad for a handjob to change the entire trajectory of one’s life?
Or was it some kind of divine fate?
Because whatever the fuck happened back in that office with Wilder yesterday was still melting my goddamn mind.
The way he’d touched me, pinned me down and held me there with no mercy. Looked at me like he was trying to memorize every detail of me, every second. Marking me like he was trying to stake his claim so no one else could.
I’d fucking eaten it up like a starving man, longed for more the second he’d hauled me up off of that desk and readjusted my clothes before patting my ass on the way out the door. I was fucked if I thought convincing myself I could be satisfied with any of that being a one-time thing was possible.
It wasn’t and I’d be a damn fool for trying.
Shoving my desire back into the box I was never supposed to open in the first place seemed obsolete at this point. That lid had been ripped clean off and burned to fucking ashes. Now that we’d both been truthful about wanting each other, pretending otherwise felt like unnecessary torture.
Who cared if he was my boss?
Or that he was more than a decade older than me?
Messing around didn’t have to be some kind of official declaration. It didn’t have to be complicated if we didn’t let it be. If he was worried about the others finding out, I knew ways to be discreet.
I’d meant what I said about keeping things private between us. There were plenty of ways to sneak around without anyone noticing. The ranch was huge and had dozens of moving parts needing to be handled at all hours of the day.
That left more than enough opportunities for us to meet up, slip away and disappear for a little while. To relieve ourselves whenever we needed without any weird complications attached to it.
What harm would it be to get his hands on me again?
For him to take me apart and put me back together like yesterday.
Going back to the way things were seemed pointless.
I wasn’t going to pretend anymore, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to let it slide with Wilder, either.
He could try all he wanted to get things back to the way they were before, but I’d sooner drag him down with me than let him abandon me on this god forsaken sinking ship alone.
“Torres.”
The sound of my name snapped me from my thoughts, jerking me out of my head so fast I nearly stumbled.
Whirling around, I straightened from where I’d been raking turf, spotting Sully waving at me. His broad frame was propped up against the doorframe of the arena, a polite smile stretching across his lips. “You got a sec? Need to talk to you about something.”
I tightened my hand around the rake.
Well...
That certainly didn’t sound good.
Paranoia was a devilish thing to deal with when you were keeping a secret from everyone around you.
What if Sully knew?
Somehow found out about Wilder and I messing around and had come around to collect me and bring me up to the bunkhouse to pack my shit before the cab came by to take me back to the airport.
He couldn’t fire Wilder but he could certainly kick me to the curb.
“What about?” I asked.
He leaned away from the door, nodding his chin back behind him. “Needed to ask you about some things.”
Oh fuck.
My pulse pounded in my chest but I forced my face to remain neutral as I set my rake down against the wall and headed over to him. Keeping my cool would be the only way out of this. If this was some kind of shakedown to get information out of me, I needed to act normal.
Not like someone who’d spent the last twelve hours spiraling over the fact that his boss had jerked him off in an office and left him high and dry with no goddamn follow up afterward.
For all I knew, Sully had his suspicions and was trying to gather evidence to prove them. As long as I played dumb, I could claim ignorance to whatever he was talking about. Until I got the chance to track Wilder down and drag the real answers out of him myself.
The last thing I needed right now was to make whatever was going on worse.
Sully shifted backward, giving me room to pass as I stepped out into the afternoon sun, the warmth immediate against my face.
He didn’t say much, just gave a small tilt of his chin, a silent gesture for me to follow, before turning on his heel and starting up the worn dirt path that led toward the back of the property.
I fell into step beside him, keeping up an even pace while shoving my hands deep into my pockets to keep it from becoming obvious how twitchy I was growing. Our boots crunched against the hard ground, the only sound between us while we walked.
Sully didn’t seem upset, not in any way that was obvious at least. But then again, he wasn’t exactly the type of guy to be open with his emotions in general.
He wasn’t as stoic as Dallas—not by a long shot—but he kept his professionalism locked down tight. Always maintaining an even-keeled attitude whenever he interacted with us ranch hands.
The was just the kind of boss he was.
Fair, firm, keeping a respectful distance between himself and his workers. There would always been a clear line drawn in the sand that was to be respected by both parties. He had a job to do and that didn’t include getting too cozy with any of us.
It was a balance I didn’t bother having with Wilder, and probably never could for obvious reasons.
Which only made it worse that I couldn’t quite get a read on Sully to tell if he knew anything. He wasn’t throwing off any obvious signs that he was pissed or disappointed, two things he’d absolutely be feeling if it came to light Wilder and I fooled around.
So, what was with the sudden rendezvous?
I got my answer the second we rounded the corner toward the stables.
Bile leaked into my gut the moment I realized he was taking me back to the office, back to the scene of the crime where Wilder and I had given in to what we’d been trying not to for months.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Some things were never fair. I finally got the guy I’d been lusting after for months to pay attention to me and now I was going to get canned over it.
What kind of ironic, cosmic joke was that?
The universe really had it out for me.
“It’s just in here,” Sully said, pulling one of the doors across the track to open it.
I sighed, not bothering to hide my frustration anymore.
If this was about to be my final walk, my last proverbial ride off into the sunset as a Boone Ranch employee, then fuck it.
I’d hold my head high and go out with my pride intact.
I’d own up to what was probably the wild mess we’d left behind in that office.
If Sully wanted an explanation, well, I’d tell him right to his face that he could thank the owner of this property for making me come so hard I nearly saw fucking stars.
A little crude, maybe, but what else did I have to lose?
I wasn’t about to be shamed into feeling bad about it.
We were both grown adults. I’d wanted him, he’d wanted me. The math did itself.
We walked down the midway, passing by the dozens of empty stalls that lined either side. At the very end of it, I spotted a familiar figure that made the pit in my stomach clench harder.
Wilder.
So, we’d both be facing the music together.
I supposed it was just as well. It did take two to tango, after all. If this was to be my reckoning, at least I wouldn’t have to face it alone.
“Oh…” Wilder’s shoulders seemed to relax the second he turned to the sound of our footsteps. “You did find him.”
“I did.” Sully rested both hands on his hips as he stopped. “Right where you thought he’d be.”
My gaze darted between them.
Wilder slowly rolled his attention over to me. “This is going to sound like an interrogation but I need you to be as honest as possible. Okay?”
Oh, Jesus.
Was he actually about to pull some good cop, bad cop routine with Sully to force a confession out of me?
I barely held back a scoff, crossing my arms tightly over my chest.
I got dragged out here, cornered like a suspect, and now I was about to get grilled by the both of them like some kid caught sneaking out past curfew.
Fucking unbelievable...
Sure, maybe Sully couldn’t exactly fire Wilder like he could me, but why the hell was I the only one getting put on the chopping block for this?
How was that fair?
Newsflash: it wasn’t.
If Wilder thought I was going to sit here and take the fall alone, he had another think coming.
I’d throw him right under the bus for making the actual first move.
Being pressed up against a wall was nothing compared to him carrying me into the office, locking the door behind us, and then kissing me.
I lifted my chin, meeting his stare head on. “Sure. Go ahead. Interrogate me.”
Wilder’s brows knitted together, his expression shifting just enough for me to catch the flicker of confusion behind those sharp, assessing eyes. Like my change in attitude had thrown him off balance. Almost as if he hadn’t been expecting me to be so... combative.
Well, too bad.
He wanted me to be honest?
Fine. Then he was going to get the full force of it, whether he liked it or not.
Sully cleared his throat. “Asher, can you walk us through what happened the day you came back to the ranch? You can start from when you came to the stables.”
I rolled my shoulders back. I kept myself controlled, even. I had nothing to hide—well, about this subject anyway. “Yeah. Sure. I came in here to check on Pelly and say hi to her. Found that her stall was empty and figured she was most likely brought out to the pasture for some enrichment.”
He nodded, gesturing with his hand for me to continue. “And then?”
I lifted a casual shoulder. “Then I went into the tack room to grab her a lead because I was going to take her up to the back paddock and get some training in with the barrels and ran into Carter.”
From the corner of my eye, I caught Wilder shifting on his feet, his arms crossing over his chest to mirror me.
“And then what happened,” he prompted.
I turned to stare at him.
Why was he asking?
He already knew the full story when I—
Oh.
Holy fuck.