Taboo: A Dark Romance Boxset (Stud Ranch 1)

Ha, who am I kidding? He’s not little. He’s in the 99th growth percentile for his age. He was a ten-pound baby to start with. About tore me in two. Xavier actually had a reason for being concerned about me riding. Well, not being that concerned, but it did take me longer than average to heal.

I told him he had another thing coming if he thought I was birthing an army of his kids. Maybe one more. Well, that’s what I say until I see Xavier with Dean and I’m like, damn, I want a passel of these.

We’ll see.

“How’d the interviews go?” I ask as we head up toward the house.

Xavier nods. “Good. There were several I think will be a good fit. We can start taking on more horses as soon as we get them on board and familiar with how we do things here.”

I glance back at the stables and my heart does a little twist. We’ve been talking about expanding the rescue for almost a year now. We have the land, the facilities, and, now that Xavier’s inheritance has come through, the resources to take on more needy horses.

The only thing we lacked was the manpower. The big house had been originally built as a lodge, so we’ve done some remodeling to get the six small one-room suites on the first and second floor ready to take on residents again. We’ll live on the third floor and share the common areas on the first.

I couldn’t be more excited to take on this new chapter in our lives. It breaks Xavier’s heart every time he’s had to turn down taking in a horse because we just didn’t have the set up to take on any more.

His heart is so big. I love watching him with our son, too. He’s so tender and patient.

Dean drops his head on Xavier’s shoulder right before we get up to the house, his pudgy little cheek flattening in a way that’s so goddamned adorable I feel like my heart’s gonna split straight down the middle. His eyelids flutter and then close.

“I think it might be time for someone’s nap,” I whisper as Xavier opens the back door to the kitchen. Which is good because we’re supposed to go to Hunter and Janine’s later and it’ll go much better if Dean is well rested. They’ve become close friends over the past couple of years. Even if Janine can be a bit hard to take sometimes.

She’s more than a bit bitter about living out here in Wyoming. Hunter was being generous when he explained the situation that day when he came for Hellfire. I try to be a friend to her, but frankly, both Xavier and I feel bad for Hunter. Xavier’s solution is for Hunter to invest in a good riding crop. I rolled my eyes at that suggestion. I hope that they’re able to either work it out or, as hard as it might be, decide to go their separate ways. I don’t see the point in them continuing to make each other miserable like they are now.

“Naptime. My thoughts exactly,” Xavier says, bringing me back to the moment. He steps inside with Dean. “Let me just run him up to his room.”

He does just that, walking smoothly so he doesn’t wake the kiddo up. Not much chance of that. One good thing about living on a farm, Dean spends his days running around outside so he always naps and sleeps hard at night.

I set up a late-afternoon lunch while Xavier’s upstairs. Just some sandwiches and chocolate pudding I whipped up earlier. I cut the sandwich into squares.

Then I take off all my clothes and position myself on the plush cushion at the foot of the head chair.

It’s rare to have the resort all to ourselves like this. After Carlos left, we’ve continued hosting volunteers to help out so we can take on even more horses in need. But Caroline, our current intern, is visiting family for a couple weeks, and I intend to take full advantage of the time alone.

“He went down easy, no problem at—” Xavier’s words freeze in his throat when he sees me. “Well, what do we have here?”

“Your pet is awaiting her meal, Master.”

A low growl is all I get in response. His feet scrape across the kitchen tile as he prowls toward me.

“Is that right?” His voice is low. Predatory.

He sits in the chair in front of me. “I’ve missed playing with my favorite pet. It’s been far too long.”

I swallow hard, my sex clenching as moisture gathers. “Yes, Master.”

I think he’ll start with the sandwich but instead it’s a glob of pudding he shoves in my mouth.

“Suck,” he commands, voice harsh.

I suck for all I’m worth.

He hisses out a low breath.

And then he does something rarely does. I hear the sound of his buckle being undone and then, my head still down, I see his pants drop to his ankles.