Page 22 of Taming His Brat

The tension began to leave his body slowly. The deep lines around his mouth and eyes smoothed out and he nodded. “You’re right. I thought back to the last time and it felt similar, so I thought…”

“Last time was before we worked things out. I wouldn’t dare do that now unless I wanted my ass busted. Besides I only ever wanted to sell the grass fields because I thought it would be more efficient to buy the hay than work them ourselves. I wanted to make the ranch better, not sell it off,” she pointed out.

That seem to assuage the last of his suspicions and he pulled her into his arms. “You’re right.” He frowned. “I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, but I believe you. I’m sorry, darlin’.” His mouth came down on hers with a fierceness that took her by surprise, but her body responded immediately.

She hadn’t gone to the barn expecting to have sex on his desk but somehow that was what ended up happening. It was fast and raw with passion. The location wasn’t ideal for either of them. It was especially uncomfortable for her, since her sore hot ass was rubbing against the hard surface of the desk every time he thrust into her.

But it was also satisfying in a way she couldn’t explain.

The best sex always seemed to come after a fight, and while this hadn’t exactly been a fight therehadbeen a building of emotions on both sides that needed to come out somehow. She couldn’t imagine how betrayed Sam must have felt to think she was trying to sell the ranch out from under him. That was something they were going to need to discuss in further detail when they could both think again.

But in that moment, she just wanted to lose herself in pleasure. Her eyes closed and the noise in the small room seemed to magnify until it became a background soundtrack of moans and rasping breaths, punctuated by the meaty sounds of his body slapping up against hers. It was raw and primal and exactly what they needed.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and rocked her hips to take him deeper. It was just on the edge of being too much, but somehow perfect and when he hit the right spot her whole body tensed without warning as a wave of intense pleasure rolled through her. She tightened around his shaft and he groaned.

“You’re mine, girl, and we’re not even close to being done yet.” The words were harsh and ragged with exertion.

She opened her eyes to see the concentration on his face as he deliberately held back his own orgasm so he could continue to invade her body with one long thrust after another. There was no complaint from her, not when she could already feel her body shifting gears to build towards another round of pleasure.

She loved Sam with all her heart, but at moments like this she felt like she was completely claimed by him and that she didn’t even have words for. It was everything.

Chapter Eight

When Charlie didn’t show up, he was pissed. He tried calling her cell, but she didn’t answer. No doubt she’d forgotten her phone at home when she went up to the big house. He didn’t have the time to run up there and grab her. They were short staffed, so he had to put off his own work to take the place he’d slotted her for.

That she was going to get her butt whupped was a done deal as far as he was concerned, but by the time he came back from the winter pasture, and got his horse settled down in her stall he’d calmed down about it. He’d worked some of the frustration out of his system and he’d gone back to reminding himself that this was all new to Charlie and she was just obsessed at the moment.

He was sure she’d break out of it eventually. He was more concerned with the changes he’d noted in his girl. He’d met Vicky a couple of times now, and she hadn’t impressed him much. Maybe it was Mike’s words influencing his opinion, but he sensed something shady and deceptive about Charlie’s mother. As far as he was concerned the sooner she hit the road the better.

But until she was gone, he was doing his best to support Charlie’s desire to form a relationship with her—while still keeping her feet on the ground. That meant he was going to be patient and understanding, but he was still going to punish her for not following through on her responsibilities.

All that patience went out the window when the phone in his office rang. It was an old school landline, and the unit itself had probably been on the wall since before he’d been born, at least it looked like it. These days most business was routed to his cell but every now and then someone would call direct and the sudden raucous sound would send him shooting out of his chair with his heart racing.

“For fuck’s sake!” he snarled as he grabbed for the handset with its mile-long coiling cord. “You’ve got Sam Mason here.” He made an attempt to sound professional because he knew it was likely something to do with the ranch.

But he wasn’t expecting the conversation that followed, and it was a conversation that would end up being repeated twice more that morning. The other at least came by cell, so they didn’t knock ten years off his life each time, but that didn’t make them much easier to deal with.

What the hell was Charlie up to this time?

He could barely even credit what he’d been told, but the repetition had certainly helped it to sink in. It was a struggle to wait until the end of the day when everyone left before he went to hunt her up. He knew he was going to want privacy for the conversation he was about to have with his bratty little girl. He also needed some time to cool down before he fetched her, because he was not only furious but hurt too.

Each time the story was repeated he felt like he’d been stabbed in the gut. He didn’t see how it could be a mistake, but he still hoped it was. Maybe she’d be able to explain it, but one thing he knew was this was a discussion for the barn not their home.

Once everyone was gone for the day, he headed off to get her. He knew where she’d be, of course. As soon as he saw her sitting alone in the kitchen, he forgot about the fact that her mother would be around. Charlie got all of his focus, but he had no intention of telling her that he knew.

He’d bring that up at the right time. He wanted to see if she’d lie about it, but for now the missed shift would be enough reason to call her to the barn.

When Vicky popped up suddenly it was irritating and he didn’t like the way she tried to override him, but he accepted that as Charlie’s mother a little of that would be natural. But then the woman had dismissed him as a hired hand with such disdain.

He didn’t really think of himself as better than the other people who worked the ranch. They were a team. So, if she wanted to consider him just a hand, he wasn’t going to quibble about it. It was the heavy disgust in her voice that bothered him. Like he was trash. He saw in that moment exactly what Mike did, and elitist snob didn’t even begin to cover it.

For just one second, he actually pictured himself putting the mother, and not the daughter, across his knee to knock some of that uppity attitude out of her system. He’d never do it, of course, but the thought was incredibly tempting.

He also didn’t say any of the nasty things that were right on the tip of his tongue. It was all he could do to shut the woman out and leave Charlie with a warning to be on time for their discussion. His tone made it clear that being late would be a big mistake and then he left before he could make a mistake of his own.

He had a feeling Charlie would find a way to make it to the barn on time and she did, barely. He had calmed down from earlier in the day and was no longer as furious, but the hurt was still there. It made him want to be harsh with her, though he held back on those instincts.

She didn’t seem to realize what was wrong. Her decision to try to sell the ranch, or even entertain offers, without talking to him first wasn’t a minor thing. It wasn’t something he could just spank her for and then move on.

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