by A. D. Ryan
Jensen smirked. “So, you want to give him to me because I can catch him within thirty seconds?” he joked.
“No. I want to give him to you because you’ve made a lot of great progress with him in the last few weeks. He trusts you more than he ever trusted me. And mostly, because I love you and want you to have him.”
“But, Madi, he couldn’t have been a cheap horse. I’ve seen his papers …” Jensen was still unsure of this; it definitely wasn’t the reaction I had anticipated.
“True, but you’ve done so much around the ranch. I just wanted to show my appreciation.”
“I don’t feel right just taking him,” he admitted. “I’ll pay you whatever he’s worth.”
I cocked my head to the right with narrowed eyes and slightly pursed lips. “If you pay for something, it’s not much of a gift, now is it?” He refused to back down on his offer, so I continued. “Okay, you won’t take him for free, so this is what I want from you. Should I decide to breed him when we find the right mare, you’ll loan him out to me.”
“So, you want me to pimp him out,” Jensen kidded.
Shrugging, I laughed. “I guess you could look at it that way.” I eyed him carefully for a minute. “So?”
“You’re really sure about this?”
I nodded several times, knowing that what I was about to say was a million percent true. “There isn’t a doubt in my mind.”
I had the emotional-pregnant-lady card at the ready, but he surprised me by smiling wide, nodding and nudging Ransom forward a few steps until we were beside each other. When our knees touched, he leaned over and pressed his lips to mine softly. “Thank you.”
For the next two hours, we walked the trails before turning back for the day. The sun decided to grace us with its presence about thirty minutes in, so it wasn’t nearly as brisk as when we started our ride. After brushing our horses down, we put them in their stalls and stowed our tack before helping Dad bring in the horses for the night. As soon as they were all secure in their stalls, I peeked in on Halley once more and noticed that her water bucket was a little low.
I took the bucket to the wash stall, letting my thoughts drift from how perfect the day had been to the days when Jensen and I would be taking our child out for trail rides on a pony that we’d picked out together. I could imagine us heading out and enjoying a long picnic lunch followed by a game of tag, which Bones would be more than happy to join in on.
When the bucket was full, I turned the water off, picked it up and turned to leave the wash stall, only to be startled when I found Charles standing there, watching me. The bucket was back on the floor, tipped on its side and soaking the concrete and my shoes, leaving me cold, wet, and severely pissed off.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded angrily, righting the bucket so I could fill it again.
“It’s good to see you again too, Madison,” he said, probably trying to sound more playful than creepy. “You know, you could have gotten me in a lot of trouble.”
Laughing dryly, I shook my head and looked down at the water still flowing from the hose, unable to hold his menacing stare. “You can’t be serious?” When he didn’t say anything, I knew he was. Not wanting to get into it with him, I sighed. “What do you want, Charles? I’m trying to finish up here before locking up for the night.”
“Well, I was here to ask your dad about something but couldn’t find him.” He took a step into the wash stall, and I grew a little nervous; it was almost like he was cornering me. My panic rose, chest tight and body trembling, when his eyes moved up and down my body. He took another step and licked his lips, making me even more nervous. “Maybe you could help me out instead?”
I suddenly flashed back to the way Dane leered at me before attacking me a couple months back. The way Charles was staring wasn’t much different, and it worried me to the point that my hands began to tremble. Swallowing thickly and trying to calm my racing heart before my fear started to show with ragged breathing, I kept my eyes on him, only quickly glancing up at the camera to make sure it was on—just in case. I hoped he couldn’t see how nervous he made me. “Uh, maybe. What’s up?”
He took another step, and I kind of shifted my weight so I was heavy on the foot closest to the door in case he made a move. “A couple of my horses—”
“Not actually yours, but go on,” I reminded him sharply, my unease momentarily forgotten.
I could feel his own irritation rolling off him as he huffed a heavy sigh. “Well, they’re on my land, so …” I glared at him, forgetting about my earlier apprehension. Thankfully, he took the hint and carried on. “Anyway, a couple of them won’t load into the trailer, and I was wondering if I could get a hand.”
I stood up straight, my eyes narrowed and menacing. “So, you want someone from my ranch to come and aid you in illegal and, might I add, dangerous activities? Have you lost your mind completely?”
“You deal with horses every day,” Charles retorted, clearly not seeing the difference between what I did and what he did.
“Uh, yeah. Trained ones,” I deadpanned. “I can tell you that my dad won’t help you, and I most certainly wouldn’t, even if I could.”
“What about your … ranch hand?” The way he inquired about Jensen led me to believe he was really wondering if that’s maybe all he was to this operation.
It made me nauseous when his eyes travelled up and down my body again. It wasn’t like Jensen and I were exactly subtle with our affection toward one another, but I felt it necessary to be extra clear so he wouldn’t misunderstand. “Boyfriend,” I corrected, hoping to get him to back the hell off in whatever it was he hoped to accomplish.
Charles laughed dryly. “Well he’s a lucky man.”
“Which is something I am acutely aware of, Mr. Dalton.” Jensen’s arrival filled me with relief, and I could feel the knot in my stomach begin to loosen. His posture was rigid, fists clenched tight at his side, and his dark hair was disheveled from the wind outside. The look in his eyes was one I’d seen before, and while it worried me to know his composure was teetering just barely on the edge, it also made me feel safe. Surely Charles wouldn’t poke the bear.
Having sensed my unease, Jensen moved around Charles and stood next to me. It wasn’t until I heard Bones snarl quietly at Jensen’s side that I even noticed he was with him, acting protective over me also. “Now, what is it we can do for you?”
“Uh, two of my horses won’t load into my trailer,” Charles told Jensen, straightening his posture as though he wasn’t at all affected by Jensen’s presence.
Jensen scoffed. “I fail to see how that’s our problem.”
“Well—”
Jensen wouldn’t even let him finish his sentence, clearly as upset at finding him in such close proximity to me as I was. “And you expected my girlfriend to help you with something so risky?”
“It was one of several suggestions that came up,” Charles challenged right back, shooting me another creepy grin.
Jensen forced a smile and stepped toward Charles. Neither of them was backing down, and I really thought that with Jensen having a few inches on him, coupled with the rage that radiated off him in waves, that Charles would. “Dalton, while I don’t know exactly what your angle is here, I suggest you look elsewhere for … help. You’re not going to find what you’re looking for here. Wayne won’t help you, in fact, he told us he gave you a deadline to release the horses you’ve illegally penned before he contacts the authorities and the BLM.”
That seemed to get under Charles’ skin, though not in the way I thought it would. It only seemed to fuel the fire that was already raging within him. “Is that a threat, farm boy?”
Reaching out quickly, Jensen grabbed the front of Charles’ shirt and yanked him forward. The sparks of anger in his eyes ignited as his jaw clenched. “You’d be wise to get off our land before I personally, and quite literally, throw your ass out of here,” Jensen snarled, smiling the entire time before thrusting him back and releasing
him.
Not another word was spoken between the two of them as Charles continued to stare Jensen down, probably testing to see just how serious he was. Finally, Charles took one more glance around Jensen and smiled at me before turning and leaving the barn.
Once Charles was gone, I released a breath and noticed the water was still flowing over the sides of the bucket. Through my periphery, I saw Jensen shut the valve to the hose off before returning to my side.
“Are you okay?” Jensen asked, rubbing his hand up and down my back and leaning in to kiss my temple as he did.
When Bones nudged my hand with his cold, wet nose, I nodded, reaching down to pet the top of his head. “Yeah. At first I was annoyed that he startled me, but the more he started talking and the way he kept looking at me … I thought the worst. I’m so glad you were here.” I couldn’t seem to shake the comparison between the way Charles leered and the way Dane looked at me when he showed up at the house unexpectedly. It chilled me to my very core, and I couldn’t help the tremor that moved through my body.
“I don’t think he had the balls to try anything,” Jensen told me calmly, but I could see right through him; he was just as scared as I was about what may or may not have happened had he not shown up. I could tell by the way his hands trembled as they moved through the length of my hair. “And I don’t think he’ll be back. Come on, let’s go home. All the horses are in for the night and Wayne left already to watch the game with Tom.”
Jensen held my hand as we dropped off Halley’s bucket and exited the barn before locking up. As we made our way home with Bones, I began to wonder if Jensen was right about Charles not coming back. If you asked me, it all seemed a little too easy.
Chapter 14. Too Much of a Good Thing
“How on Earth did I let you talk me into … holy shit! That’s cold!” Jensen cried out as I trailed some melting ice cream just above his belly button before promptly licking it off. The minute my tongue touched his skin, his complaints turned to moans, and I had to fight the urge to shake my head and roll my eyes at him.
My late-night craving for ice cream unexpectedly led to some sexy-fun times. Well, it was unexpected for Jensen. I’d been telling him that this would happen for weeks. He was a fool not to believe me.
Licking the remnants of the sweet dessert from my lips, I looked up at his sex-face. “Oh, don’t be such a baby,” I teased, kissing my way down his abs until I had come face to face with his erection. Taking a moment, I pondered my next move. If cold showers helped to kill off arousal, then I can only assume putting a cold dessert on it will do the same thing …
Though, if said dessert was promptly removed with, say, one’s tongue, it should cancel the cold out, right? Seemed logical. I bet even Spock would agree. If he was into this sort of thing.
“Madison …” Jensen warned, watching me with one arched eyebrow as I sat up and dipped the spoon into the carton, all-the-while eyeing his lower half’s best impression of the Washington Monument. “That would not be wise.”
“No?” I asked playfully, tilting my head to the right as I lifted the messy spoon from the tub of ice cream and looked at him. “Have you tried it before?” Jensen shook his head slowly, holding my gaze the entire time, and I smirked. “Then, how can you be so sure?”
Before he could stop me, I tilted the spoon slightly until the shaft of his dick had a thin trail of ice cream trickling down it. Sure, he jumped at the sudden temperature change, but he remained hard—take that, Mythbusters.
“Cold! Cold! Co—ooooh …” Before the ice cream dripped any lower, I lowered my head and wrapped my mouth around him, being sure to use my tongue to lap up any excess spillage. “Oh, God,” Jensen moaned, his hands fumbling around mine until he took the carton and the spoon away from me. I groaned in mock-disapproval of him ruining my dessert, and that only made him buck his hips slightly until he was buried deep in my mouth. If I could have smiled around his cock, I would have.
I moved my hands until I had one wrapped firmly around his erection, moving in time with my head and the other kneading the flesh of his hip. I could tell he was trying to keep his hips from moving too much, wanting to let me set the pace, but his base urges were still there every once in a while.
“Shit, baby,” Jensen groaned, his fingers threading into my hair and pulling it away from my face. “Ohhhh, watching you do that is … oh, God … it’s …” Without removing my lips from around him, I opened my eyes and looked up. His eyes seemed almost darker with lust (which was ridiculous, it was probably because it was somewhere around midnight), and his mouth was opened partially as he grunted through the beginning stages of his orgasm.
I increased both the pressure and speed at which I was moving until his hands tightened in my hair—a telltale sign that he was so close. “Fuck, Madi … I’m going to …” And, after one more languid stroke up his length, I plunged myself back down as he came.
His fingers relaxed in my hair and his legs went limp as I licked and sucked my way back up, being sure to take care of any messes that might still linger. “See,” I gloated. “Frozen food in bed is fun.”
I should have recognized the glint in his eyes for what it was before everything happened: retaliation. With a savage growl, Jensen had us both flipped over until he had me pinned beneath him, his legs on either side of my thighs, holding them in place, and his right hand holding both of my wrists above my head as I squirmed and giggled.
“What are you doing?” I demanded loudly through my laughter as he reached for the ice cream on his nightstand. “Oh no… Nononononono!” I continued to giggle through my protest.
“But you just said frozen food in bed is fun. How can you expect to not allow me to see for myself?” he asked, drawing the spoon from the carton, the ice cream mostly melted and dripping from it. “This is going to be so messy.”
I laughed, channeling Kyle for just a second. “Yeah, that’s what she said.”
Jensen froze to shake his head at me. “You, Miss Landry, have a filthy mind. I have half a mind to punish you.”
Feeling particularly playful, I winked. “Well, I’m pretty sure anything you deemed ‘punishment’ would really just light my fire, don’t you think?” Then, he did it. He tipped the spoon and light green, sticky liquid dribbled around my right nipple in an almost perfect circle.
“Holy crap! That is cold!”
Chuckling, Jensen leaned forward, his warm, wet tongue poking out and flattening against the trickling ice cream. “I told you,” he mumbled against my boob. “Now relax. You’ll enjoy this.” His lips placed wet, open-mouthed kisses down … down … down …
Okay, he was right; it was pretty awesome.
The minute he reached my belly button, he sat up, swirled the spoon into the carton and brought it back out, letting the cold liquid pour onto my growing belly. I wasn’t sure if he really thought that one through though, because he had poured so much on that it kind of went in two different directions down either side of me.
Working on my right side first, he licked and sucked and—
“Ow!” I said with a laugh as he gently nipped the skin of my hip. Smiling, he kissed his way back up my belly and cleaned up my left side before he worried about the rest.
He released my arms from above my head and shifted our positions so he was no longer straddling me, but between my legs instead. Hooking his hands behind my knees, he lifted and pulled until I was in exactly the right position. Then, his hands slid up the outside of my thighs until his thumbs hooked into the sides of my panties. Slowly, he pulled them down, forcing my legs from around him so he could pull them off completely.
Once my legs were back in place, he grabbed more melted ice cream from the carton and drizzled it on my lower belly. When my skin registered the cold, it trembled and Jensen chuckled before leaning down and letting his tongue catch it before it went too far dow—
“Holy frickin’ cold!” I said when he missed some and it trickled just above my pelvis.
W
ith a low, gravelly chuckle, Jensen lapped it up before letting his tongue travel just a little to the left until he was right where I knew he wanted to be. My hips moved in rhythm with him, but he was having none of it, ensnaring my upper thighs and holding me still while he continued to work his magic.
His tongue slid up and down, stopping every so often to tease that sensitive little bundle of nerves that catapulted me right to the brink of sexual release time and time again. He wasn’t ready to let me fall yet, though, moving his tongue back down. I could feel the warmth of my orgasm starting to spread beneath my skin, the tingles soon following and pushing it outward until my entire body prepared itself. Bringing my hands down, I threaded them through Jensen’s hair and encouraged him to keep going.
“So close,” I whispered, my voice cracking when he moaned against my flesh. “Yes …” Jensen’s right hand left my hip, kneading the flesh of my ass and holding me against his face and doubling his efforts until I was a trembling mess and begging him to keep going.
I was certain I saw fireworks as my orgasm crashed down around me, pulling me under and tossing me around like I was caught in a riptide of pleasure. As soon as the waves of release ebbed, my body quivered, and I sank back onto the bed, drawing in one deep breath after the other as my heart beat out a rhythm of holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. The intensity of my orgasm was colossal. While Jensen was extremely talented in the area of getting me off, this was just … wow.
Sheepishly, Jensen propped himself up on his elbows, still stationed between my quivering thighs as he used his hand to wipe the lower half of his face. “Was that … okay?”
“Okay?” I said in a high-pitched voice resembling that of a pre-pubescent boy. “Was it okay? Hot damn, that was insane. I don’t think I’ve ever come so hard in my life,” I assured him. “Get up here.”
Always one to comply, Jensen moved up my body and I pressed my lips to his. Kissing him hard and rough, I was still able to taste myself on him as my tongue insistently slipped past his lips and caressed his softly. We kissed for a few more minutes before he pulled back and looked over at the alarm clock. “As much as I’d love to go another round, love, it’s already after one. We should get to sleep.”