by Sable Hunter
“But I didn’t.”
“Do you think they’ll believe you? Even now, the FBI is shutting down your money laundering operation.” He glared at the idiot who abused those weaker than himself. “I hope they torture you before they put you out of your misery.”
With a look of disdain, he spat on the ground at their feet. “Canyon, get this filth out of my sight.”
As his friend led Don Luis and Esteban away, Bull gathered with the rest of the men who’d helped him. “I appreciate what you did, more than words can say. I’ll pay you back when I can.”
Joseph and Noah scoffed at his words. “Nonsense, you’re our friend. No payment necessary.”
“Whatever you need, whenever you need it, you can count on me for anything.”
“I told you that I owed you one,” Josh laughed. “I just wasn’t expecting automatic weapons on foreign soil.”
“Neither was I,” Bull agreed. He glanced over at Isabella. “She’s changed my life in countless ways. I can’t let her go.”
“Are you staying here?” Canyon asked, knowing what his answer would be.
“For a little while, I need to see if she’ll forgive me. What comes next, I don’t know.”
After shaking each man’s hand one more time, they gathered Salazar’s horses and guns, riding off in the direction they’d come.
When Bull returned to Isabella, it was to find her in the arms of Magdalena, with Renata at their side. She looked exhausted. All he wanted to do was take her home and make her feel cherished and safe. But would she go? He glanced around at Terra Dura. Who in their right mind would want to leave this paradise to live at his shirttail operation?
“Benedict!” She came running to him, her face filled with doubt. “You aren’t leaving, yet, are you?”
Bull felt tongue-tied. He’d made so many mistakes with this woman. How she could still want him was a mystery to him. “I think we need to talk.”
Isabella’s face fell. “Okay, can we go up to the hacienda?”
Bull agreed. “Of course.” He knew she needed to rest.
Manuel brought them mounts and a wagon to transport Magdalena. Renata left to reassure her parents, promising to bring Lola home that night. Bonita was so glad to see Isabella that she couldn’t be quiet, nickering and whinnying, dancing beneath Isabella as she held on with a smile. The only dark cloud on the horizon was Isabella’s fear that Benedict Redford was about to tell her goodbye. Again. Heroes did this type of thing, they swept in when troubled threatened, but they didn’t always linger.
Once they were indoors, Magdalena insisted on providing her mistress with refreshment.
“You need to rest, I can take care of myself,” Isabella said, but her argument fell on deaf ears.
“We are just thankful Don Luis is gone,” Magdalena said what they all were thinking. “He has been an arrogant leech to your kind nature.”
After learning all the details, Bull couldn’t agree more. “You’ll have to tell the authorities your story, but I’m sure your lawyer can provide whatever guidance you need.”
Isabella wasn’t concerned about all of this now. She only wanted to know where she stood with her hero. “How did you know I needed you?”
“Dax’s friend, Armando,” Bull began to explain. “Esteban was keeping his sister against her will, raping her repeatedly. Armando wanted to expose Esteban and his ties to the cartel. When he learned of the crook’s plans for you, Armando saw an opportunity to take him down with our help.”
Isabella nodded. “I see, this is good. He has done a great deal of harm to many.”
Knowing she felt that her rescue was just a means to an end, he went to his knees. “No, you don’t see. I came for you. I would have turned the world upside down to rescue you.”
She took his hands. “You came to me when I needed you most.” Isabella wanted to say more. She just didn’t know how to begin.
Bull looked into her face. “I love you. I’ll always love you.”
Isabella’s closely guarded control shattered. “You sent me away!” Her voice broke, she was unable to hold back the tears. “You’re reconciling with Carol! She told me so.”
Bull stared at her. “She did what?”
“Right after you told me to leave, you left your phone. She called and I was afraid not to answer, afraid something might be wrong with Luke. Carol told me you never wanted the divorce and you were taking her back so you could be with Luke.”
Bull frowned, shaking his head. “I didn’t feel like I had anything to offer you. I will probably have to declare bankruptcy.” He told her about the virus his stock had contracted. “I’ve had to cancel all of the upcoming events. My reputation is going to take a major hit. Bottom line, I didn’t think I was good enough for you. But I never, ever, not for one moment considered reconciling with Carol.”
“You would have Luke with you again.”
Bull framed her face with his hands. “I’ll always take care of Luke. He’s my boy.” He kissed her again. “But I could never be happy with any woman but you. You are everything to me.” He hugged her tight.
“I want to come home,” Isabella told him. “I will help you rebuild your business. I have faith in you.”
Bull kissed her neck, cradling her head to his shoulder. “I was wrong to push you away. I just didn’t think I was worthy of you.”
Isabella pulled away from him to stand next to the window. “Please, don’t ever utter those words to me again,” she stated emphatically. Spreading her hands, she indicated her home and all it contained. “I would trade everything I own for your love. Compared to what I feel for you, none of this means anything to me.”
Rising, Bull went to her, taking her hands in his. “You will make me the happiest man in the world if you’ll just be my wife. Will you live with me, Isabella? Will you be my love?”
“Yes!” She threw her arms around his neck. “Yes! I want to be your wife more than anything!”
“I will never ask you to give up anything you love. This is your home. This is your legacy. I just want to keep my business separate, I want to make my own way.”
She clung to him, so happy she thought she might shoot off into the sky like a falling star. “You are your own man, Benedict, but what I have is yours. I will live with you anywhere you say. Maybe we can spend part of our time here. You will help me run Terra Dura.”
Taking her by the hand, he began to lead her up the stairs, passing by portraits of her family. “This is my mother,” Isabella told him, pointing to a beautiful lady in a red mantilla. “And my father.” Romero Miguel Cortez was painted in full Matador regalia. “And this stately gentleman is my mother’s father, my grandfather, Jose Mercedes.”
Bull stared at the bewhiskered man in the white linen suit. “I know him. I’ve met him twice. He’s a nice fellow. He watches over you. I’m glad Esteban didn’t know he was here, he might’ve got caught up in the firestorm.”
Isabella looked stunned. Shocked. Thrilled. “You saw him? My grandfather?”
“I did, just today. I also sat by him at the bullfight, the one at the arena, the day we first made love. He told me all about the bullfight and all about you. I didn’t know he was your grandfather, then, he didn’t say.”
She grasped Bull’s arm. “My grandfather, Jose Mercedes, has been dead for years.” As Bull’s jaw dropped, she laughed. “Don’t you see? This is a sign. You and I belong together. It is ordained. Our lives are joined. Our futures will be shared.”
“Now, I’m a little spooked. I want a prenup,” Bull teased with a straight face. “Just in case you divorce me. You keep your holdings and I keep mine.”
Isabella narrowed her eyes and tapped him on the chest. “There will be no prenup and there will be no divorce.” She kissed him soundly. “Once I get your ring on my finger. I will never give you up.”
Bull could see there was no use arguing with Isabella. “You are adorably stubborn.” Taking her by the hand, he continued up the stairs. “I can
see we’re going to disagree about some things in the future.”
“Yes, I am sure we will.” She walked primly by his side. “There will be times when we are at odds. After all, I am a Matador and you are a bull.”
“Why you little minx!” He grabbed her to him, picking her up, while she giggled with pure joy. “You know what happened when you waved a cape in my face, my beauty.”
“Yea, you gave me the horn.” She gazed into his face, her eyes becoming hooded and sultry. “Do you think we could do it again?”
As Bull mounted the landing, he stopped and buried his face against her chest. He held life’s greatest blessing in his arms. “I’ll do it as often as you’ll let me.”
“I want you all the time.” She tugged off his cowboy hat and hung it on a post, then stroked his hair, lovingly.
Benedict Carson Redford carried his miracle to her bed, then undressed her reverently after undressing himself. “You’ve got me, goddess. Heart, body, and soul.”
Isabella reveled at the possessive look in his eyes. She returned his stare, marveling anew at his beautiful body, layered with muscles and his thick, imposing cock. Trembling, she offered him her hand. “Come to me.” Caressing his cheek, she layered her lips to his, rewarding him with a slow kiss of full devotion. Lowering himself, Bull covered her body with his own, wrapping his arms around her. Isabella felt secure and cherished, she pressed to him, her desire growing.
“Touch me,” he pleaded. “Let me know you forgive me.”
So, she touched him – feverish caresses to his back, his shoulders, his neck, and face. Each kiss they shared became more demanding, a swirling of tongues, hard, deep and burning. Sliding down her body, he spread kisses all over her plump breasts, suckling the swollen nipples, caressing her thighs and dipping his finger into the softness to tease her hungry clit.
Isabella burned for him. “Let me,” she whispered, nudging him to the side. “I need you in my mouth.” Kneeling over him, she clasped his cock and curled her tongue around the tip. When he tensed, stretching out his legs, she laved him, licking the thick shaft and suckling on the wide head. Wanting to please, Isabella savored him, soothing her hands over his thighs and sac as she pleasured him with her mouth. He held her hair, bucking his hips, pushing deeper and deeper down her throat. Isabella welcomed him, lapping at his flesh, ecstatic that he couldn’t hide how much he loved what she did for him.
Bull couldn’t be still. He was losing it, his hips lifting, shuttling his desperate cock into her mouth over and over as he moaned her name. “Isabella, my Isabella!”
She would’ve kept tormenting him until the finish, but he lifted her away, wanting more. “I need inside you, always inside you.” Easing her to her back, he rose to his knees and pushed between her thighs, plunging his hot, hard flesh into her welcoming heat. “Oh, God, yes, this is where I belong. Right here.”
Isabella felt the familiar rise of passion, a pleasure so intense she couldn’t explain it. And now, knowing he was hers forever, the sensations were even more mind-numbingly wonderful. With every thrust he made, Bull released a firestorm of desire within her.
As always, he was overwhelmed by her response. She lit up for him, gasping at his touch, tightening around him as she was flung over the edge in a breathless, mindless climax. He marveled how she clung to him, tightening her whole body to his, writhing beneath him in perfect pleasure. “Isabella!” he cried, unable to hold back, as he experienced her headlong response. “My Goddess. My wildcat. I love how you love me.”
“Forever.” She rested against him in perfect peace. “I will love you forever, my Bull.”
“My Toro.”
EPILOGUE
“Daddy! Daddy! Luke took my cape and he won’t give it back to me!” Gabriela Carmen Cortez Redford flounced across the yard and threw herself at her daddy’s feet. “How am I supposed to fight the bulls without my cape?”
Bull chuckled. “Oh, Gabby, you’ve chased those little calves around the pen until they’re exhausted. Luke’s just trying to give them a rest.” He picked up the tiny girl and laid her on his shoulder. “Why don’t you help your mother? I think she’s bringing out some cupcakes for us.”
“No, she’s not.” Gabby pouted. “She’s in the pasture talking to Desperado.”
Bull stood, shouldering his cuddling burden and took off for the pasture. He nodded at Juan who was helping Luke learn how to throw a lariat around a post. “If you two need a hand with that rope, let me know.”
“We’ve got it, Daddy. Juan’s a sexpert.”
“No, no,” Juan stammered. “I’m not whatever you said.”
Bull chuckled. Luke took after his father when it came to language skills.
Sure enough, when he came to the fence, he could see his beautiful wife feeding Desperado a cupcake. As she’d promised the old bull, Desperado had a home. He was safe. He was loved.
Benedict Redford was loved too. She never let him forget it for one moment. He’d rather have her than any reward a man could achieve, including the Hall of Fame plaque that hung in his den.
Taking a deep contented breath, he let his gaze rove over Terra Dura. This place would always be her home and that was okay, he had a home too.
Isabella.
Wherever she was, that was where he belonged.
THE END
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