COWBOY (Unfit Hero Book 5)

by Hayley Faiman

  Keeping one of my hands gripping her ass, the other slides up her spine, grabbing a hold of the pigtails that are lying along her back. I twist them in my grip before I tug them, forcing her mouth from mine and her head back as I let out a growl. Her back arches, her tits pushing closer toward my face, those numbers practically glowing for me and me only.

  “Don’t move,” I demand.

  She stays still, her breathing becoming labored as she focuses on staying still instead of doing what her body most likely craves to do, which is ride me like the fucking goddess she is.

  Leaning forward, I touch my mouth to the center of her neck, lifting my hand from her ass, I shift my face back and slip my fingers into my mouth, making sure to get them nice and wet. Her body trembles as she struggles to do what I’ve asked as I slip my wet fingers between the cheeks of her ass.

  She tries to lift her head, but I don’t allow it. I keep my grasp firm on her hair, returning my lips to her throat as I snake my tongue out and taste, suck, and bite her sensitive flesh. My fingers between her cheeks rub circles against her back entrance, not penetrating her there, yet.

  “I need to move,” she whimpers.

  “Not yet,” I growl against her skin.

  Stephanie surprises me by arching so that she gives me more of her ass, her breathing becoming more and more labored. Slipping a finger inside of her back entrance, I almost explode inside of her when she lets out a moan and a soft mewl.

  “Move, honey,” I rasp, my mouth still devouring her soft neck.

  I expect her to bounce on my dick immediately, but she doesn’t. Instead, her hips roll forward before they push back, causing my finger to dip inside of her even farther.

  “Yes,” she breathes.

  I take it as my permission to continue with the play. My hesitation now gone, I begin to pump my finger in and out of her sweet hole. She doesn’t say another word and neither do I. She rides me while I finger fuck her ass, my cock on the verge of exploding the entire goddamn time.

  It doesn’t take her long to climb until she’s on the edge of her release. Her thighs begin to shake, her pussy flutters around me and I grunt, knowing that she’s close. I don’t stop my manipulation of her ass, instead, I add a second finger which makes her gasp before she groans, loudly.

  “I’m close,” she needlessly announces.

  “Come all over me, Stephanie. Squeeze me, honey,” I rasp.

  It’s all she needs to be pushed over the edge. She cries out at the same time my teeth sink into the side of her neck and I suck on her delicate skin, no doubt leaving a mark. Her body shakes, her ass contracting around my fingers at the same time her pussy pulses around my cock.

  It’s too much, I can feel it all, and it’s fucking phenomenal. So much so that I come right there, without a single warning.

  “Fuck,” I shout as my dick twitches and my cum fills her.

  Releasing my grip on her hair, she falls forward and buries her face in my neck as I slowly remove my fingers from her back entrance, grabbing a hold of her ass cheek again.

  Her lips touch the side of my neck with a sleepy sigh. As her body comes down from its release, only then does she lift her head to look at me. My fingers slide up and down the center of her back, my other hand still gripping her sweet ass.

  “I’ve never, wow,” she breathes.

  “Never, nothing back there?” I ask with a smirk.

  She shakes her head. “No, not ever. I didn’t know you were that kind of boy, Ford Matthews.”

  I grunt, looking deep into her eyes, wondering how I got to be this lucky of a bastard. “I wasn’t that kind of boy, Stephanie. But I am that kind of man,” I say with a chuckle.

  She leans forward and touches her mouth against mine. “You’re dirty, Cowboy.”

  “Fucking filthy,” I grunt.

  STEPHANIE

  I stretch, wondering how my body is this sore. We only actually had sex once last night, which is nothing like the usual. Ford has an appetite that I didn’t know existed in thirty-five-year-old men.

  Letting out a moan, I tug the sheets over my bare breasts as my eyes flutter open. The sunlight spills in the room and I’m not surprised to find that I’m alone.

  Ford is an early riser, he has to be. He has a lot of chores to do all by himself and I know he does them alone because that’s the way it’s always been done here. Not only that, he takes pride in running this ranch alone.

  Though, I know that he does hire seasonal help when he needs it, namely his cousins who work for extra side cash.

  Biting the corner of my lip, I let out a sigh as I force myself out of bed. I don’t have anything to do, really, but I can make myself useful. I don’t want Ford to think that I’ve gone soft since moving to Hollywood, even though my sore muscles tell me otherwise.

  I groan with every step that I take on my way to the bathroom. Starting the water in the shower, I look at my reflection in the mirror. My hair is a mess, but what I see staring back at me is a little surprising.

  A hickey.

  I can’t remember the last time that I had one, come to think of it, it was probably Ford who gave it to me. Lifting my hand to my neck, my lips curve up into a smile at the sight of the purple bruise.

  Hurrying through my shower, I wash and shave everything, then grab some clothes and slide my shoes on as I hurry downstairs. Rushing toward the coffee pot, I’m not surprised to feel that it’s gone cold.

  Looking around, I decide that I’m going to have to get a Keurig machine for myself, I don’t know if I’ll be able to wait until mine is packed up. I’m not sure if I can go without my favorite brew for months.

  Filling up a mug, I stick it in the countertop microwave and start it as I go in search for the creamer that I grabbed when Damion was still here. Taking it from the fridge, I pour it in my now steaming hot coffee before I head outside to find Ford.

  After turning them upside down, I shake my wellies for scorpions, before I slip my feet inside and tug the backdoor open. I don’t see Ford anywhere and I frown. I’d kind of hoped that he’d be working close by until I got moving, something that he’s been doing the past week.

  Taking my phone out of my back pocket, I send him a text. I know that there are a few places on the ranch that don’t have any reception, but then again, he’s never gone to them without telling me, so it surprises me when the text stays on unread for a couple of minutes.

  Touching his name at the top of the text message and then touching the audio button, the phone rings twice before it goes straight to voicemail. Frowning, I look around to see if he’s somewhere close and maybe I didn’t realize it, but he’s nowhere near and it’s eerily quiet.

  Taking my coffee over to one of the rocking chairs on the porch, I sink down and decide to try to relax, just drink my morning java. He’s somewhere, working hard and I’m just being ridiculous. I can’t be with him twenty-four seven, even if I want to be.

  I try to remain relaxed and calm as I drink my coffee, expecting to see Ford ride up on his horse, or his truck to appear down the lane, but by the time I reach the bottom of the mug, neither happens.

  Pressing my lips together, I decide to see if both his trucks are still here. Making my way over to his shop, I tug the door open and frown at the sight of both of his trucks tucked away neatly, his tractor and his riding lawnmower all in their rightful places.

  Closing the door, I turn and head toward the barn. I freeze at the sight. Starlight is lying on her side, her stomach isn’t moving, she’s not breathing. There’s an old chair that’s broken to pieces.

  My eyes frantically search for any sign of Ford, then I cry his name, and nothing happens. He doesn’t appear, no sound is made and I fall back, flat on my ass and let out a blood-curdling scream and I’m met with nothing, complete silence.

  My hand shakes as I reach for my phone. I stare at it, the words all blurry as tears stream down my face. I don’t know who to call. Do I call the vet? Do I call the police? I don’t know what
to do.

  “Hey, you okay, Stephanie?” the voice on the other end of the line asks after I spend what feels like several long minutes trying to not only search for his number, but touch the call icon.

  “Help,” I wheeze.

  “Where’s Ford?” he barks.

  “Help me, please,” I whisper. “Ford’s barn.”

  I end the call, unable to say anything else. I can’t hear anything either, I don’t want to. If it’s not Ford’s voice, I don’t want to hear it, none of it. I stay on my ass in the dirt, in the middle of the barn next to Starlight for God only knows how long.

  “Oh fuck,” a voice barks roughly behind me.

  Turning around, I look up and into the angry green eyes of Louis.

  “I don’t know what to do,” I whimper as the tears continue to freely flow down my cheeks.

  He sinks down on his haunches, grabbing beneath my arms, and helps me to my feet. Then, without a word, he slips one arm behind my knees, the other behind my back, and he carries me straight inside to the living room before placing me down on the sofa.

  “Let’s call the Sheriff Deputy, okay?” he says softly.

  “Okay,” I whisper.

  “We’ll call Wyatt and Rylan, too, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” I nod, my eyes still so blurry. I’ve given up trying to wipe the tears away, they just keep falling, over and over.

  Something is really, really, wrong.

  So wrong.

  I can see it with my own eyes, but it’s not just that, I can feel it in my gut. It’s so fucking wrong and I know that he’s gone. He’s been taken from me, I don’t know who did it or why, but I can feel it. He’s not coming back home. He’s not coming back to me.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  FORD

  A moan escapes my lips. It sounds pained, it doesn’t sound like my voice at all, but it must be, because everything fucking hurts. My body feels heavy, I try to lift my arms, but they don’t move.

  Grunting, I force myself to open my eyelids. It takes every ounce of my brainpower, of my sheer determination to open them, too. The bright light causes me to wince, but I continue to force myself to take in my surroundings.

  I don’t know how I got where I am, but I know it wasn’t by choice. There is no way I would voluntarily leave my ranch or Stephanie. My gut clenches as soon as I think about her. Fuck, I hope she’s okay.

  “Morning, sunshine. That shit must have been seriously potent,” a voice snickers from behind me.

  I can’t turn around to see who is there. I’m lying on my side and I can’t move my body at all whatsoever. Footsteps walk around me and a pair of shoes appear in my vision.

  Swallowing the lump in my throat, I try not to panic at the feeling of complete helplessness. The last time I felt this way, this complete and utter helpless was when Stephanie left me all those years ago.

  I’ve made it a fucking priority never to feel that vulnerable again, except for some reason I always feel that way with her, and right now, I feel fucking weak and pathetic. My body is not my own to move, and it’s making me feel downright fucking crazy.

  The man connected to the shoes bends his knees, going down on his haunches and dips his face to look into my eyes. I blink at the face that fills my vision.

  “Sebastian?” I ask.

  I only met him once. Didn’t peg him for someone who could pull this off, kidnapping, and whatever else happened, all of which I still can’t fucking remember. He grins, it’s fucking evil and I wonder if Stephanie knows this side of him.

  It’s the same side that would borrow money from the Russian mob, the same side that would expect Stephanie to figure out how to pay it back or, at the very least, figure out how to use her to pay it back.

  He hasn’t gotten what he wants so now he’s going after me because, to him, I’m now the enemy. I’m okay with that. As long as he doesn’t go after her, I don’t give a fuck what he does to me.

  Clearing my throat, I wait for him to speak, I’m not even sure that I can say anything more than just his name right now.

  He tilts his head to the side, his eyes searching mine. “Do you know what the Russians have me doing to pay back my loan?” he asks.

  I bite the inside of my cheek, waiting for him to continue, knowing that I don’t have to say a word. This is a selfish mother fucker who just likes to hear his own voice. He proves me right when he lets out a bark of laughter, then leans in even closer toward my face.

  “They had me doing porn. No limits. Have you ever had a man stick is rock hard cock up your ass?” he asks on a laugh. “It’s something I don’t think I could even describe. But you’re going to find out exactly what it’s like. You, my cowboy friend, are going to be a star,” he hisses.

  My stomach turns. “Don’t worry though, you won’t be alone. I’ll make sure Sterling is here to watch and to participate. Because why wouldn’t the world want to watch Sterling LaRue star in porn? I’ll make more than you could ever imagine off of that. I’ll be out of debt in a week.”

  “You’ll never get away with it,” I seethe.

  “Hey, why don’t you stand up? Move around? Prove me wrong?”

  I struggle, but it’s useless. I’m not bound, but my limbs won’t fucking move. I’ve been drugged, not just hit on the head, but fucking drugged, and there’s nothing that I can do about it. I am completely vulnerable to this sick mother fucker.

  Deciding not to continue verbally sparring with him, he must get bored. He stands to his feet, then turns around and walks toward a door. He stops, then turns his head to look over his shoulder.

  “You’ll be locked in here with no way out. The first filming crew will be here tomorrow, ready to make you look like you’re enjoying yourself. Better come to terms with all of this, because there is no way out.”

  I watch as he opens the door, walking through and slamming it behind him. Closing my eyes, I wonder how the fuck this has become my life. How could this have happened?

  I could blame Stephanie, but I wouldn’t dare. She doesn’t have control over this spoiled, selfish, psychopath. I do, however, partially blame the Russians, but I can’t fully blame them either. Sebastian is his own man and in charge of his own actions.

  Hope the Russians don’t mind when I figure out a way to end this crazy motherfucker, because I will. I am not his pawn and I will not be used in any way whatsoever, no matter what he wants to use me for—sex or otherwise.

  Stephanie won’t be touched by him, or any of his pornstar friends, either. I won’t fucking stand for it. I’ll die fighting to protect her. I’ll happily give up my life for her safety, without a fucking issue.

  I don’t know how many minutes or hours pass, but eventually, I gain use of my limbs again. I’m able to push myself up to a seated position, though it takes every ounce of strength that I have inside of me.

  Panting, I rest my back against the wall as I look around for a way to escape. Sebastian wasn’t lying when he said there was no way out. I don’t know where I am, but I have a feeling it’s a basement or a bunker somewhere.

  Not many houses in our area even have basements, maybe ones that are specially built, or very old could have them, it’s not something that’s common in this area. Pulling my knees up, I wrap my arms around my legs and let out a frustrated growl.

  The only hope that I have at this point is to overpower him when he comes back, whenever that may be. There are no windows, there are only two doors, a bathroom door, and the exit door.

  There isn’t even a fucking bed in here. It’s just an empty square room.

  Fuck.

  STEPHANIE

  The man standing in front of me dips his chin as he lowers himself to a chair. His gaze never leaves mine and I’m okay with that because he has really kind eyes. Ones that you can’t help but feel comfortable around.

  “Tell me, is there anyone that you know, that Ford knows that could have anything to do with this?” he asks.

  I bite the corner of my lips, wondering
if this could have something to do with the Russians, with Sebastian. I want to tell him, but I can’t. Not until I talk to Kirill myself. This whole thing, it’s crazy. Completely insane, but I have a feeling that Sebastian could be behind it.

  “Killing Starlight that way, it’s a felony,” he gently reminds me, as if I don’t know that animal cruelty isn’t a big fucking deal, especially in Texas.

  Nodding, I focus my eyes on his and I inhale deeply through my nose. “I know, Deputy.”

  “I processed the scene and the animal has been removed. If you think of anything, you’ll call me?” he asks.

  “I will,” I agree.

  The deputy leaves us and I look around at the men who are silently watching me, men who love Ford maybe more than even I do. They all know that I’m full of shit.

  “Call the Russian,” Wyatt snaps. “On speaker.”

  Pressing my lips together, I roll them around and nod as I reach for my phone. It doesn’t take me long to find his name and I press the speaker icon as it begins to ring. None of the men around me move, they’re all standing with their legs spread and their arms crossed over their chests.

  “Miss LaRue, I thought that I would never be graced with your voice again,” Kirill purrs.

  “Do you know where he is?” I demand, my voice sounding so much shakier than I intend, but I’m terrified.

  There is a moment of silence and I wait, it feels like a lifetime, my gaze lifting to the men around me who are all wearing matching expressions of anger.

  “Who?” Kirill asks, but the way he says it, I know that he is trying to find out how much I actually know.

  “Ford,” I shout. “Where is he?”

  “Ford?”

  I growl, tired of the back and forth. I want answers and I want them right now. “I don’t know what you’ve done, what you know or anything else. All I know is that you promised me I was not on your radar any longer. I leave LA for a week. My boyfriend is missing and his horse was slaughtered in his barn. So, where the fuck is Ford?” I end on a scream. My breathing coming out in heavy pants.