Ranch Daddy

He frowned. “I don’t want them to—”

“Most of them would’ve been far worse off than you. Hell, I was scared as shit out there. If I hadn’t been, I would never have let this happen in the office.”

“I’m sorry. I just needed to—” I laid a finger over his lips.

“Listen to me, boy. There’s no shame in being upset about a bull turning on you or needing what you did from me afterwards. I allowed this to happen because I wanted it too, but now you need to go get cleaned up. Call me when you’re done, and I’ll figure out what you should do for the afternoon.”

“Thank you. For… for everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“I do. No one’s ever cared for me like this, and no man has ever been… I mean sex has never been…”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain.” It was probably better if he didn’t. “Go on now.”

I needed him to leave before one of us said something we might regret. We only had a short time with each other. We needed to be careful how far we let this go.

12

Riley

When I reached the main house, I noticed that my father’s car wasn’t in the driveway. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about running into him. I heard Maryellen moving around in the kitchen, but I managed to slip past the kitchen doorway and scurry down the hall without her seeing me. None of the other household staff were around. Maryellen might hear the shower running, but by the time I cleaned up and changed, I’d be able to tell her about the bull, and it would no longer be obvious how I’d dealt with my fear.

The warm shower felt amazing, and when I started remembering the way my heart had stuttered when Blake had fallen off Midnight, I forced those thoughts from my mind by replaying every glorious moment with him in the office. The way his cock stretched my lips and made my jaw ache. The pride I felt at being able to take him all the way down. The satisfaction of knowing how much I affected him. The way he looked at me like I meant something. I knew I shouldn’t let myself get carried away with thoughts like that, not when this was all going to end far too soon. I should focus on the pleasure we could give each other.

I dropped my hand to my cock, which was already hard and ready to go again. It took almost no time to bring myself to a shattering climax. I leaned against the shower wall, catching my breath as the warm water splattered against me. When I could stand without my legs wobbling, I quickly rinsed myself, turned the water off, and found myself some clean clothes. I reached into the pocket of the jeans I’d been wearing and pulled out the little golden horse. I rubbed it with my fingers as I thought about how I’d gotten the bull to ignore Blake. I pushed it into my pocket. Maybe it was good luck after all.

That afternoon, Blake asked me to work with Casey, and I thought I was fine when I headed out to meet him, but whether I was crashing from all the adrenaline or just having a delayed reaction, I felt more shaken up when I got out to the pasture than I had in those moments when I was ordering a two-thousand-pound bull away from the man I… loved.

“Are you all right?” Casey asked. “You look kind of pale.”

“Um… I…” The world started to swim around me. I managed to swing down from Ginger before I fell off. Casey dismounted too and grabbed her reins.

“Do you need some water?” he asked. “The heat’s crazy today.”

“I… Maybe.” He handed me a bottle of water from Ginger’s saddle bag. I took some careful sips, but I still felt shaky. “I might have to sit down.”

“I’ll tether these girls and join you. I was ready for a break anyway.”

Fortunately, there were some trees close by where we could sit in the shade. I sank down under one and leaned back against its trunk.

A moment later, Casey sank down beside me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I was starting to feel a little better. “Did Blake tell you what happened earlier?”

Casey frowned. “No. He just said you’d be coming out to check the water with me.”

“One of our bulls got loose. I went with Blake to round him up. Midnight spooked and threw Blake, and I had to get the bull away from him. We’re both fine, but it was scary as fuck.”

Casey looked pale himself now. “I bet. Did Blake send you straight out here after that? No wonder you need to rest.”

“Oh, no. I…”

“You what?” Casey looked eager for me to continue. Did he sense there was a juicy story? Did I dare admit what Blake and I had done? I needed someone I could talk to. Blake had said Casey was trustworthy, but still…