Page 24 of On His Ranch

And if the writhing she was doing on the bed was any indication, she was enjoying herself very much.

Chase knew he had hit gold when she bucked, then went still, her face even more beautiful as she came.X marks the spot. I’ll make note of that.She shuddered and uttered a long, wordless scream while her pussy grasped at his fingers greedily. He didn’t remove them until she went still.

“Are you going?” she mumbled.

“Have to. There’s work to be done.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Shh. We can talk about that later. For now, you’re gonna sleep.” He stood up and gently moved her until he could pull the covers up around her. He took a moment to tuck them in around her.

“Goodnight, Daddy.”

He was smiling when he made his way back downstairs.

Chapter 6

When sunlight hit her in the face, Piper rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately for her, once she was up she almost never could fall asleep again. Finally, she stopped trying to fight it and opened her eyes. She yawned when she sat up, stretching her arms above her head.

Huh. She’d thought maybe it would be late afternoon, or dark even, but the window showed a bright blue sunny day. Her eyes were drawn to the nightstand and when she read 8:31 a.m. on the clock, panic seized her.

How could I sleep an entire day away?

It didn’t seem possible, but as soon as she threw the covers back and stood up, she knew it was. Her stomach hadn’t felt this empty in as long as she could remember. Even ramen noodles or the cheap crap she could afford was better than sleeping through two meals entirely.

As soon as she opened the door, the delicious smells of cooking food greeted her nose. She tried to be as quiet as possible as she made her way downstairs, but Patti didn’t seem surprised when she entered the kitchen.

“Mornin’, sleepyhead,” she greeted her, as though she’d been coming down those same stairs forever.

“Morning.” She stared down at the floor sheepishly. “Sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry for?” the older woman asked.

“It looks like I slept all yesterday. I didn’t mean to inconvenience you.”

Patti clicked her tongue. “Nonsense. You didn’t bother anyone, and you must have needed the rest. Now, if you’re hankerin’ for something to do, you can help me with breakfast.”

“Yes, please,” she agreed eagerly. “What can I do?”

“Are you any good at makin’ grits?”

“Not as good as you, I bet. But I can make them from a package with a microwave.” Piper could tell by the look that crossed Patti’s face that it was the wrong answer.

“Well, never mind, I’ll show you.”

Thus began a cooking lesson Piper hadn’t known she’d be getting, but nonetheless enjoyed. Patti was either a misplaced hostess with few opportunities to showcase her skills, or else she just liked to watch people eat, because the enthusiasm and passion she had for food was undeniable.

“You want to keep stirrin’, don’t stop now,” she instructed, watching from over Piper’s shoulder.

“Like this?”

“Yep.” Patti laughed. “You could stir with the best of them.”

She could feel her cheeks flush with heat. “Sorry. I just don’t know how to cook.”

“Your aunt never taught you?”

“No, ma’am. My aunt is a busy woman,” she added, feeling the need to defend the only family she had left. “She works a lot.”

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