Page 155 of Giddy Up, Daddy

“Hang on. You don’t, I mean, I don’t–” I stammered.

“You got nowhere to be tonight. After our walk, we can come back to the house, cuddle, and watch a movie.”

“Cuddle?”

“Unless you'd rather be doing something else?”

“I didn’t think you’d ever want to curl up with me.”

His face lost its hard edge and he scratched his throat. For a moment he stared at me, his expression unreadable before stepping to my feet.

“Tell me what you need, Wyatt. Whatever it is, I’ll give it to you. But I’m shooting in the dark.”

“I’ve wanted to be yours for a long time. Why do you think I’ve been asking you to get back into the circuit? It’s not just because you’re the best top I’ve ever had.”

“Well, I’m not one to brag.”

Alden played off the name of his spot in our team roping but he was right as usual. He was dominant in more ways than one.

“I meant in the… you know what I meant. I miss you. We haven’t spent as much time together because my ass is in that ring more often than it’s not.”

“Why is that, Wyatt?”

I said nothing. He was going to crack me wide open. Then he’d see all my insecurities and vulnerabilities. The ones I hid deep down inside of me whenever I entered the ring. And he hadn’t even spanked me yet. Once my ass wore his handprints, anything I’d ever stuffed away deep in my gullet would sputter out of my mouth like a hose filling a trough.

“You’ve been chasing something tangible because you won’t admit what you’re missing,” he continued as we walked. The sky was clear with a smattering of stars. Chilly but not overly cool, perfect weather for stargazing. The smell of something burning off in the distance, maybe his fireplace, reached my nostrils. I kept my eyes on the sky instead of on the man next to me currently unraveling my resolve.

“You might be onto something,” I said.

“It’s not that you won’t admit it to me, but to yourself.”

“I don’t know.”

Taking in the familiar sounds and smells of the barn, the hay crunching under my boots, the moonlight filtering in, eased some of the mounting tension swelling around us. Some of the nerves firing through my brain eased, but not all of them. We spent a lot of time here having picnics, celebrations, game nights and so on. Alden had added a small kitchenette, fridge, freezer and cozy, comfortable furniture. Focusing on the space instead of Alden’s intentions kept me walking forward instead of hightailing it home. If I didn’t get my thoughts and feelings out tonight, I may never do it. Not that I was looking forward to confessing.

“You did a brave thing today, rebel.”

Alden’s praise drew my attention to him again instead of keeping me trapped in my head.

“Huh?”

“Not everyone would have jumped the way you did. It may not have played out so well if you weren’t here.”

“You’d have handled it.”

“While I appreciate your faith in me, I may not have.” Alden unbuttoned his flannel shirt.

I’d seen him in various stages of undress in our lives, but his slow, purposeful movements had my nerves on edge. He slid one arm out and then the other leaving him in only a black A-line tank top along with his jeans. His thighs were magnificent: muscular and strong from all his years of riding. I wondered what it would be like to be held across them. Alden had spanked me more than once over the years, but never across his lap. My gaze shifted from the ropey muscles of his biceps and forearms back to his pecs.

Alden stepped closer, a cocky grin on his face. “You done starin’?”

“Uh, what?” I wiped a line of drool from my mouth in what I hoped was a subtle fashion.

“Last chance. Are you done–”

“I haven’t answered you yet, Alden. What makes you think I’m going to do it now?” Interrupting my best friend wasn’t a smart move on a good day.

“Right.”

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