Page 33 of Toxic

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the guys standing there. Half had their mouths hanging open—they weren’t used to seeing women spitting mad, not at me anyway—the other half were trying to hold back laughter. Hush’s shoulders were shaking as he tried to contain his laughter. A shocked Hellfire held up a twenty and four others held their own money up in agreement. The fuckers were taking bets.

“Lightning,” I said in warning as I looked back at her angry face.

She ignored me. “This ismyranch.I’min charge.Youwork forme.You’ve helped me so much over the last couple of days,” she barked, “and I’m so appreciative of that, but I have rules.”

I could hear my asshole brothers howling with laughter now, though my woman wasn’t paying any attention to them. She was like an angry little kitten and spitting mad. She was so damn adorable when she was all worked up. I crossed my arms over my chest and stared down at her, just waiting for her to get it all out of her system.

“I’m the boss,” she said again, waving her finger at me. “So no nicknames. No touching me. You’ll check withmebefore you do any more projects on this ranch. Not Gramps,me.”

I cocked my head, eyes roaming over her. Her tits were heaving as she railed at me. I wondered if she’d punch me if I just reached out and grabbed one. Probably. I looked back into her eyes. They were darker now with anger. I liked them betterwhen they were soft as butter, staring up at me as she tried to figure me out, like I was some kind of puzzle.

“...do you understand me?” she finally stopped, panting as she waited for my response.

We were at what my pops liked to call an impasse. She was used to being in charge. Understandable. This was her ranch, after all. However, she wasn’t taking into account the fact that she now belonged to me. Of course, she probably didn’t know that yet. I hadn’t told her. She also didn’t know that while I was an easy going man in our club, this was different. The club was Lock’s world to rule. But on a ranch? This was my world. I was in charge when I stepped on a ranch. That included this one because she needed the damn help. She was in over her head here alone. And I didn’t like that. There was no reason I couldn’t help her. Except ego.

Back to that impasse. She wanted to be in charge. Only, she’d let me in and nowIwas the one who was in charge. And I didn’t want us to be butting heads about things like who should be lifting the hundred pound bales of hay, me, or her?

So, I was going to need to set her straight. Now. Before she got the idea that she was going to be doing any heavy lifting or dirty work with me here. She could give the orders. She could do the paperwork. She could play with her myriad of animals and ride her horse, all while I hefted hay and drove tractors. That worked the best in my mind.

“You done?” I asked her. The men off to the side stopped laughing when I spoke, but I could see them elbowing each other out of my periphery.

She scowled at me. “I’ll be done when you tell me that you understand the rules of my ranch. I-” Her gasp of outrage was soon drowned out by her scream of rage as I bent and tossed her over my shoulder.

The laughter was back, as well as the guys calling out suggestions on what to do with her. I knew exactly what to do with a little spitfire who was too angry to see reason. She wasn’t going to like this though.

I strode toward the barn with my hand on her thick ass.

“Toxic! Put me down! Now, you neanderthal!”

My eyes were locked on my target on the side of the barn. She squirmed in my hold and pounded her fists against my back. Too bad for her that just turned me on more. My cock was like a fucking crow bar in my jeans. But if I kissed her, she’d just slap me. I didn’t feel like being slapped right now, so this was my only other choice.

I stopped and she squirmed, lifting to see what was going on. My smile was grim when she gasped again.

“Don’t youdare,” she threatened.

I bent again, because I didn’t want to drop her from my full height. I’d rather gouge out my own eye than hurt her. Her head disappeared under the liquid in the small, clean trough of water. I’d just filled it last night for the animals in the corral. The sheep and goats watched, chewing their cud, as I dumped their owner in their water tank.

She came up sputtering. And despite the cool water, she was still steaming mad. “You,asshole!”

I gripped the sides of the metal tank and leaned down until my face was in hers. She wiped away the hair plastered to her face and I waited so that she’d get the full impact of my intense stare. “You’re used to doing things your way,” I said, cutting her off before she could hurl more curses my way. “I get that. But I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere. I do shit my own way.”

Her jaw dropped and she blinked in shock. She wasn’t used to men putting their foot down with her. I was sure of it. Probably had most of them wrapped around her little finger. And I was there on that fucking finger, too, but I wasn’t about tolet my woman do anything that would be harmful to her. Which meant I didn’t need to follow rules. I’d just take care of whatever I noticed needed taking care of, and anything she asked me to do. I had zero problem helping her with whatever popped up, but it would be me fixing fences and shit like that. Not her.

“You can be the boss, Lightning, but I’m going to be doing the work. Just wanted to make sure you knew that.” With that, I walked away from her.

Hellfire had a smug grin on his face as the other men slapped cash into his hand. Whatever the bet had been, he’d won.

Billie was an independent woman. I wouldn’t want it any other way. But now that I was in her life, there were going to be things I took over for her. She could go be independent with something else. She wasn’t going to like that, but it was just the way it was going to be from now on. I hadn’t mentioned her being mine yet because she’d kick my ass off this ranch so fast my head would spin. I didn’t want that.

It had been a dick move to dunk her. I realized that. But I needed her to know I wasn’t one of the men she was used to ordering around. There wasn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do for her, but if I let her establish dominance over me, then when we came to the point where she was trying to do something stupid, something I should be handling, she’d think that I would have to toe the line. She couldn’t be more wrong.

I wasn’t a man who toed lines. It was why I was in a fucking motorcycle club. I, too, was used to being the boss, at least in environments like this one. I only made it halfway back to the men when they started elbowing each other again.

Turning, I watched her storm up to me again, dripping wet and still mad as hell. I waited, an eyebrow arched as she marched up.

“You’re such a jerk,” she hissed.

“That’s true enough,” I said. I only just managed not to smile.

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