by KB Winters
Looking at the condo now, I realized that this place had never been my home. It was a place I slept in and where I passed the time, but I hadn’t done any actual living in here. I hadn’t made my mark. I hadn’t turned it into a home. I pulled the big suitcase along behind me and hefted the duffel over my forearm before dropping the key into the little plate Ken never used.
With one last look, I stepped outside and ran right into the man I’d very nearly avoided. He tried to block my exit, but I used the weight of my suitcase to put some distance between us.
“Aspen,” he frowned. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Exactly where I’ve been, Ken. Away from here. Away from you.”
He laughed. “Yeah, and where are you gonna go? I know for a fact your daddy won’t have you.”
It was a low blow, but luckily, I didn’t give a damn what Ken thought anymore. “I don’t need him. Or you.”
“Since when?”
“Since I realized you’re both selfish pieces of shit who don’t care about anyone but yourselves. Why do you even care, Ken? You don’t want me.”
I leaned in, noticing the telltale signs of exhaustion on his face, the red lines in his eyes that said he was high or drunk. Probably both.
“Maybe I need you,” he slurred, but I didn’t miss the emphasis. “To make some shit right.”
“It’s a good thing I wasn’t expecting romance. Make what right, Ken?” If I had him here, I might as well get some useful information. Earn my stay on Hardtail Ranch for as long as I planned to be there.
“Everything,” he slurred again, this time his words were strained and filled with fear or doubt. I didn’t know Ken was capable of either of those emotions. His legs swayed again, and then he remembered his anger.
“You’re not going anywhere. I need you.” He reached for me, and I took a step back, earning a dark look for my efforts. “Don’t run from me, Aspen. You’re nothing without me.”
I laughed at his pitiful attempt at tearing me down. “Get your fucking hands off me!” I snarled.
He was angry and on something, and I really didn’t want to fight with him, but there was no reasoning with him when he was like this.
“Damn you, Ken.” I pulled my leg back and let my knee loose right between his legs.
“Bitch,” he growled and wrapped a hand around my wrist to steady himself as he stood straight. “You’re not going anywhere. I need you.” I reared my leg back again, and he twisted my arm.
“Ow!”
Then Ken’s hand was gone, and he flew back against the white siding of the condo, feet dangling about two feet in the air with Holden’s hand the only thing keeping him from falling.
“I believe she said to get your fuckin’ hands off her.” Holden was a big man, who seemed even bigger by Ken’s small stature. Or, maybe it was the way he held him by the throat so easily. So effortlessly.
“You get off on manhandling women?”
“My. Woman.” He managed to choke the words out, hoping for what, I didn’t know.
Just in case. “Ex,” I added because it felt like an important point to make. “Ex-woman.”
“Don’t be stupid, Aspen.” He glared at me, a threat forming in his brown eyes. “I’ll find you. Ow!” he said, bending into his gut. Holden had twisted his arm down until he faced his shoes. “What the fuck was that for?”
“Don’t threaten her.” Holden was as cheap with his threats as he was with his words.
Ken’s eyes went wide and then a smile formed on his lips, earning him a tighter squeeze from Holden. “You’re fucking a cowboy now? Oh, how the princess has fallen,” he laughed. No, it was more like a sneer.
I shrugged. “Better a cowboy than a half-ass criminal who can’t control his gambling or his teeny tiny cock.”
I shook my head at the pathetic picture he made, in a position of weakness but still issuing threats. That was what my Daddy would call a first-class idiot.
“Oh, and your friend Farnsworth showed up while you were off getting herpes. He threatened me and put his hands on me, not that you give a damn.”
“Farnsworth? Are you sure that’s what he said?” That was panic, pure and simple. “What else did he say?”
“I don’t know Ken, and I don’t give a fuck. Whatever you’ve gotten yourself into, deal with it on your own. Or maybe the newest, flavor to warm your bed.” With those words, Holden released him. It was immensely satisfying to see him fall to the concrete in a heap.
Holden grabbed the large suitcase and left without another word.
“You’ll regret this, bitch! I promise.”
I laughed at the pathetic picture he made. “The same way you promised we’d see the world? That I’d come harder than I ever had in my life? Add it to all the other promises I’m waiting on you to fulfill, dickhead.”
I walked away from Ken feeling good, feeling better about myself. About my situation. No wonder Rosie never took shit from anyone. It felt damn good to tell an asshole where to shove it.
Chapter Seventeen
Holden
“I don’t want you going anywhere without telling me, especially leaving the ranch.”
Dammit, I thought Gunnar was just trying to punish me. I didn’t think Aspen was actually in danger. I thought she was making it all up for attention.
“What?” She turned to me, outrage turning her cheeks pink. “I don’t think so. You’re not the boss of me, Holden.”
“Goddamn right I’m not, because if I were, I’d just chain your sweet little ass to the nearest bed to make sure you stay safe. And you’re not safe, just in case that little fact slipped your mind.”
She laughed. She actually fucking threw her head back and laughed. “Oh please. Ken is no more dangerous than a fly.”
Her dismissiveness pissed me off. “You may not think he poses a danger, but Ken is an addict, Aspen. Everything he does serves one purpose, to feed his addiction. Don’t think for one second he wouldn’t try to hold you for ransom or kidnap you and keep you while he drains your trust fund if he needed it. He would.” And I was sure the bastard had thought of it, after seeing him in action.
“And I don’t have to worry about that with you?” I heard the skepticism in her tone, and yeah, it pissed me off until I reminded myself she was smart to be suspicious.
“Sweetheart, I don’t want a damn thing from you.”
“You’ve made that quite clear,” she grumbled, and it was so adorable, the way she folded her arms and stuck out her bottom lip.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is that why you’re so bent out of shape? You’re butt hurt that I’m not drooling over you like I used to?” It was mean to laugh at her, I knew that, but damn this woman. “Does your ego have no limits?”
A low growl escaped, and I risked a glance to my side, seeing her red-faced with her nostrils flaring. “It’s not about being butt hurt, you asshole. I am a person. A goddamn flesh and blood human being, not a cushion for you to poke when the mood strikes and certainly not a punching bag for your amusement!”
She had a point, but I wasn’t ready to concede for a variety of reasons, the most important being how sexy she looked all riled up and angry. “You mean like accusing the man who’s trying to help you of trying to access your precious trust fund?” She didn’t say anything, and I shook my head, returning my gaze to the road. “You can dish it out, but you can’t take it.”
“Oh I can take it all right,” she insisted, notching her chin up defiantly. “But you are an asshole, Holden Jennings.”
“Never claimed I wasn’t, Aspen Holt.” I was an asshole who was more used to horses and guns than people but sparring with her was more fun than I’d had all month. Hell, all year. “If it makes you feel better, I still think you’re a looker.”
“It doesn’t,” she insisted haughtily, but I saw the pink rise up her chest and throat before it took over her face.
“It does. It’s okay to feel good that even someone like me enjoys looking a
t you, princess. I won’t bite.” Not unless she asked, no begged, me to.
“Screw you! I grew up with someone like you, hundreds of them. Including you!” She punched me in the shoulder to bring her point home, and I stilled.
“Aspen,” I warned.
“No. You want to keep punching at me, maybe I’ll do the same,” she said and sent alternating punches into my right arm. “Doesn’t feel too good, does it?” Again and again, she punched me in my right shoulder until I couldn’t take it anymore, pulling the truck over about a half-mile from home.
“Dammit, woman, stop hitting me.”
She punched me again.
“Aspen.”
She did it again and laughed.
I grabbed her wrist, and she gasped. “You’re playing with fire, girl.” I let her look into my eyes, long and hard, so she understood just what she was doing. How close I was to losing control and doing something I’d only ever dreamed of doing with her.
“Maybe I want to.” Her words were a whisper, but I heard a certainty in them I desperately wanted to be true.
She didn’t. Couldn’t. “You don’t. I’m not offering you anything but a fuck, Aspen.”
She rolled her eyes. “Like I’d want any more than that when you’re the world’s biggest dick.”
I grinned. “You’ve heard the stories, then?”
Aspen scoffed and rolled her eyes, for just a second looking like the sweet, beautiful girl I’d watched for four years turn into a stunning woman. “I’ve heard about your dick before.”
“I’m sure you have,” I told her and slid over, so the steering wheel was no longer in the way. “But I just want to make sure there are no misunderstandings.”
“There aren’t,” she whispered with a smile I couldn’t resist, so I didn’t bother. I grabbed her by the back of the head and slammed my mouth against hers. The kiss wasn’t elegant or romantic; it was intense and raw and hungry. And when her tongue slicked out, touched mine, I growled into her and pulled her onto my lap.
“Aspen.” My lips moved from her mouth to her long, sweet neck, kissing and licking while she ground against my cock, making him harder and harder.
“Holden,” she groaned, “Fuck, it’s fucking huge.” She arched into me as desire took over her body.
It was fast and frantic. I yanked her shirt up and over her head, revealing the gorgeous swell of pale tits and sweet raspberry nipples. “Delicious,” I whispered and pulled one into my mouth, sucking and tasting it before moving on.
“Yes.”
Aspen arched into me, speared her fingers through my hair to hold me closer, while I brought her closer and closer to the edge with nothing more than my tongue on her nipples. “So fucking sweet.”
“Holden, please.” She fought to get off my lap, and I froze for a second, wondering if I’d done something wrong. Hoping like hell I wouldn’t have to take care of this boner inside the walls of a cold fucking shower.
“What?” She rolled off to the side, grunting as she worked her pants free before stopping to look at me. “Why aren’t you taking off your pants?”
She didn’t have to ask me twice. I flipped open my button and tugged on my zipper, shoving my jeans and boxers down as far as I could without leaving her side. “Better?”
Wide blue eyes stared at my cock, making me grow harder by the fucking second. Aspen swallowed. “Holy shit, you weren’t joking. That thing is massive.”
I laughed at her words even though she sounded more scared than up for the challenge. “Scared?”
“Any smart woman would be,” she said and finally kicked off her jeans and pink panties. “But I find myself dangerously intrigued,” she said and kicked one leg over my hips until her wet pussy lips opened around the ridge of my cock, releasing the scent of her arousal and coating my cock in it. “Go slow.”
My hands held her hips as she slid back and forth over the length of me until my cock glistened with her juices. “You go slow, Aspen.” I kept my hands where they were, letting her decide how to proceed. Even if it fucking killed me.
“I want to see that monster cock up close. I want to taste it and see if I can get you to crack, but right now I just want you inside of me. Fucking me. Please, Holden.”
I stroked my cock, mesmerizing her until she licked her lips and sighed, grabbing my cock until it was lined up with the sweet nectar that dripped from her pussy and sliding down. Slowly.
“Oh, fuck!” She was so goddamn tight and hot and wet, my cock pulsed and twitched inside of her. “Shit, Aspen.”
“Fuck, so big. Slow.”
“It’s all you, babe.”
She grinned, slowly bouncing on my cock until inch by inch I was fully seated inside her dripping cunt. “Oh, wow. Oh, fuck me, wow!” It took Aspen no time to adjust to my size, her greedy pussy taking me deeper and deeper, pulsing around me and coating me in cream.
She was a wildcat, bouncing on my cock like it was her favorite carnival ride, screaming and growling and making all kinds of noises that society wouldn’t deem appropriate, but I found erotic as fuck. Clenching around my cock, I knew she was close, and I leaned forward, taking a sweet nipple one more time with a growl.
“Fuck. Oh, fuck, yes! Yeah, Holden. Oh. Fuck. Yes.” The last word was barely a whisper as she collapsed on my chest, her body still twitching and convulsing as her orgasm worked its way free.
But I wasn’t there, not yet. Even as she folded herself limp against me, I gripped her hips tight and thrust up into her, hard and fast, chasing my own orgasm in the confines of her still pulsing pussy.
“Aspen,” I hissed. She sat up and leaned back, planting her elbows on the dashboard for an angle that sent us both over the edge in seconds.
“Oh, fuck! Shiiiit!” My hips jerked and twitched, right there in the front seat of my truck as I shot my load into Aspen fucking Holt.
It was a mistake, and I should have been filled with regret but with her cunt still wrapped around me, little aftershocks squeezing the last of my jizz out of me, I couldn’t find regret anywhere.
“Wow.” Her voice filled with awe.
Yeah, that about summed it up.
Chapter Eighteen
Aspen
“Don’t think this means that I’m gonna do what you tell me to, ‘cause I won’t.” Though if Holden didn’t stop running his fingertips up and down the length of my spine, he might make a liar out of me.
“Yeah?” He leaned in close, the deep rumble of his voice making me shiver. “And if I told you to lie back on the bed and spread your legs so I can feast on you again?”
I didn’t lie back because I had a point to make, but slowly I spread my legs to let him know what I thought of the command.
“I’d say feast away. But we’re aren’t talking about that.” Hell, I didn’t know why we were talking about anything at all when he was naked, and I was naked, and we were all alone in his cabin.
Naked.
“No. We’re talking about your safety.”
“My safety is not an issue. Even if it were, it’s not your issue!” This was the strangest conversation to have while we were naked and sweaty, bodies barely disentangled.
“Yeah well, I’m making it my issue, dammit. You need someone to look after you, and since you clearly prefer to underestimate your ex, it’ll have to be me.” Holden sat up straight and turned to face me. All I could do was stare at his expansive chest, his skin, and the dark hair that made it look even paler.
“What do you care? You don’t even like me.” Was that an echo or déjà vu, because I could’ve sworn I’d had this conversation already with another man.
“I like you just fine, more so now.” His lips curled into a seductive smile that made my nipples tighten and my belly clench. Hard. “And just because I don’t think you hang the moon like I used to, doesn’t mean I want something to happen to ya.”
“Wait, you used to think I hung the moon. Me?”
He nodded and swung his long legs off the side of the
bed. “Yep. The way you would compliment Mary Beth Higgins’ clothes even though they never fit quite right and were out of style.”
I can’t believe he remembered that. “She was always nice to me. Tutored me in geometry and always had notes when I missed class. God, I haven’t thought about her in ages.”
“Maybe not,” he said gruffly. “But I’ll bet the kindness you showed her made her memories of high school a lot less miserable.”
“Too bad I couldn’t do the same for you.” I hated that memory was there between us, making it hard to move forward.
“My memories are just fine, Aspen. You were cruel that day, but you taught me a valuable lesson.”
“Never pine for a spoiled rich girl?”
He turned, and his lips kicked into an amused grin. “That, too,” he said, ominously, without ever really answering the question. “Look, I don’t hate you, and I want to keep you safe from whatever the hell is going on with you and your ex. Don’t argue with me about it.” He turned and disappeared into the bathroom as if that were the end of the conversation.
“Excuse me?” I jumped off the bed, not giving a damn about my naked state and marched into the bathroom. “Do you hear the shit that comes out of your mouth?”
He stood in front of the mirror, brushing his teeth. He spat and stared at me in the mirror. “I’m not the one with the hearing problem. Does ‘you’ll regret this bitch’ sound familiar to you?”
It wasn’t fair, the way he flung Ken’s words at me like that. “It was just talk.”
“It always is. ‘Til it isn’t.” His blue gaze, even through the filter of the mirror, sent a shiver through me and not of the sexual variety. “Whatever you think of me, Aspen, I don’t want to control you. As long as you’re on Hardtail, we’re all responsible for you. Including me.”
“I don’t want to be anyone else’s responsibility, Holden.”
He had the nerve to laugh at me. “Life is full of responsibilities, Aspen. It’s called helping out your fellow man. Maybe try it some time.”