Page 84 of Braving the Storm
Today was the best feeling ever. I completely lost track of time, indulging Teddy in the world’s longest grooming. Even though I wished I didn’t have to stay on the other side of the door, it also seemed like it would be an incredibly foolish decision to jump into his stall after Lucas Rhodes had specifically said not to.
While we were at the ranch today, the entire experience felt almost like being weightless with how much I enjoyed myself. I mean, time spent up at Devil’s Peak has the same effect on me, but having the chance to hang out on my own, chatting to Teddy and brushing his coat, the whole thing was special in a way I can’t quite put my finger on.
Now, I have to turn my attention to a far more tricky scenario than a horse who might try and take a chunk out of my flesh, given half a chance.
Tonight, I’m supposed to have fun, relax, enjoy a meal, and pretend everything is perfectly normal. Not that I’ve barely comeup for air or escaped the bubble of bliss and fucking Storm has indulged me with since we first crossed that invisible line.
If I ever doubted he was actually serious about the cuff being on, meaningit’s on,then I’ve been well and truly educated otherwise.
Working together during the day is like a constant round of foreplay, only for him to proceed to make it a game to corner me and eat me out in extremely compromising places and positions.
He knows my body so well by now that the more risky the moment, the harder I come, and he seems to have made it his personal mission to have me damn near losing my mind and my pussy to him again and again.
At night, well, we’re all over each other, tangled up in whatever this addiction is. Sometimes, he literally won’t stop, chasing me up the bed to the point when I’m shaking and gasping and pleading with him that I can’t take anymore.
Only, he knows by now that I’m a dirty rotten liar.
That cuff could be taken off at any time if I truly, genuinely wanted him to stop.
The insane truth is that I don’t want him to. I don’t care if I’m boneless and limp and can’t feel my legs anymore. All I want is to be used and treated to more helpings of the uniquely filthy yet worshipful concoction of whatever potion this man has pumped into my veins.
He fucks me like some sort of cowboy fantasy, winds me into a frenzy by calling me his toy and his slut, and at the same time, it feels like the tenderest thing he could ever say to me. Afterward, those tattooed hands are so gentle, so caring, so damn careful it makes my blood ache with longing.
I’m in a world of trouble.
Logically, I know it, even while my stupid heart insists on ignoring reality, but my head understands that I’ve strayed onto perilously thin ice.
I’ve lost sight of the shore, risking the chance I could fall and plunge beneath the frozen surface at any moment.
Coming here tonight, I’ve kept an eye out for she-who-lost-her-lip gloss, but our overly friendly server from that night when we came here and grabbed a meal doesn’t appear to be working.
The Loaded Hog remains Crimson Ridge’s one and only option for a meal after dark, and even though it’s prominently set up as a bar, we’ve all made the decision to stick with water or soda tonight. I discovered that Kayce has been completely sober for about a year. He filled me in on a few more pieces of his story while we were out riding up at Devil’s Peak Ranch the other day assuring me he finds it helpful to not try and avoid socializing.
That guy is absolutely the type of person who lives for being in the thick of a crowd, so I get it, he’d possibly struggle far more if he was to simply sit out any occasion like this.
Laughter drags my attention in the direction of the doors, and the arrival of the other members of our party for this evening. Layla bumps shoulders with a girl beside her, who immediately fills the room with a certain energy you can’t help but sit up and take notice of. The two friends wear broad smiles and share an ease with each other that seems more like being sisters than besties—not that I’d know that feeling, considering my own she-devil of a sibling—but they exude the type of energy that is like a sparkling sun catcher.
It’s fun and light, and of course, this is Layla’s best friend, considering how incredible the woman in question is to spend time in the company of.
“Sorry we’re late.” Layla wraps me up tight in her arms straight away. “Sage, meet our city girl, Briar.”
The beauty-queen in question, launches straight in for a hug. She’s flawless, with dark brown skin, a dewy complexion, and silky raven hair that falls in loose waves around her shoulders.
Where Layla looks like she’s walked straight off a photo shoot for horse-girls to swoon over everywhere, in her tan cowboy boots and cute floral-print dress, Sage is dressed all in black. Jeans hug her thighs, a simple jersey molds to her curves, and the matchingleather jacket shrugged over her shoulders completes a look that is effortless and chic all at the same time.
She’s so cool I could melt.
“Ok, ok, put the city girl down, let’s go fucking eat, man.” Kayce playfully inserts himself between me and the other two, steering me by the shoulders in the direction of the largest booth. As he does so, he gives Storm a slap on the back. “I’ve been clinging to a bronc all afternoon, and I’m starving. You can bet if I’m hungry, then this asshole here is ready to eat a damn horse.”
“You should totally hitthem up, this place will need all the help they can get rebranding.” Kayce waves a fry in the direction of the bar.
Apparently, in the past months, The Loaded Hog has been taken over by new owners after some shit went down last winter that no one seems particularly interested in talking about, but I suspect they all know more than they’re letting on.
“Next time I see them, I can put in a good word with the Hayes boys for you.” He adds, then gives me a shit-stirring grin. “Or maybe, our girl here can set things up for you, since she’s getting friendly with one particularHayesand all.”
I nearly swallow my tongue.
“I was chatting with the guys when I saw them last. It’s Wes’ younger brother—well, he’s not actually a brother, more like an adopted-in kinda deal—but anyway, he’s the one who bought the business, the premises, the whole kit, and caboodle…” Kayce pauses to dunk another fry in sauce before shoving it in his mouth.
