Chapter 44

A month later…

"It's completely sold out."

"What do you mean, it's sold out?"

Ace's eyes dance from Lincoln's to mine, and then back again.

Lincoln snorts a laugh. "I know I'm the smartest of the three of us, but there's no hidden meaning, Ace." He nods at me to finish the details. It was mine, after all.

"Foxx Bourbon's Cowboy Edition is completely sold out. We've gone ahead and created a collector's edition of a completely new and original blend in one fucking weekend!"

Ace smiles big and wide.

Griz mumbles, "Told you."

"Shut it, old man," Ace says, still with a smile on his face. "How many bottles did we keep?"

"Two cases. Everything else has been claimed for tastings that kick off in"—Lincoln looks down at his watch—"'Bout an hour. And the rest are pickups for attendees. If they don't claim their bottle in twenty-four hours, then it'll go to our waiting list.

"You think we should keep making it? Let this edition be our special edition, and then change up the bottles?"

I look at my brothers, and then over to Griz. "You're asking me?"

Ace shrugs. "Your bourbon, your decision."

I glance toward the stables, where Laney is walking with Lily and Lark. They're talking about something with their arms flailing and the girls laughing. She didn't lie about being really fucking good at throwing big parties. There are carnival rides set in the front of the distillery, where kids and families stay entertained. Local bands on a main stage behind the distillery, performing all day. And then VIP guests and ticketed lovers of bourbon filtering throughout the property. Tastings from local chefs paired with all our blends for a Bourbon Brunch. Tonight, Crescent De Lune prepared a VIP dessert tasting to top it off. The adult-only tasting also features Romey's Hemp Chocolates, and Marla opened Hooch's for one day only to tourists who wanted to try a "real Kentucky dinner."

"Let's do it."

Lincoln clears his throat. "So does this mean there's another master taster joining my team?"

"Only when you want me there. That job is all you, big brother." I clap him on the shoulder and squeeze.

"I want you there. Period."

"Proud of you boys," Griz says as he stands from the stool he's been perched on for most of the day. It's smack dab in the middle of the distillery that can be seen from every angle with the way that the double doors around the space are open. He'd said he's as much of an attraction as the bourbon itself. It's true.

Ace told him to fuck off, but people stood in line to shake his hand and talk to him about what it was like growing up and seeing his family flourish in this business.

He grasps Lincoln's shoulder and gives me a smirk. "I knew that girl was going to be good for us."

Ace drains his glass. "Grant, no more secrets like this one. It may not have started as our business, but you damn near saved us from tanking this year after losing that rickhouse." He claps his hand on my other shoulder and squeezes. And then does the same to Griz. It's the first time in a long time that I feel proud of what I've helped build.

"To no more secrets." Lincoln raises his glass, and we clink our glasses and cheers.

"What the hell, how am I left out of this circle jerk right now?" Hadley laughs out from the doorway.

Ace just grumbles and turns away to stalk off somewhere as Griz starts cackling.

"Hadley Jean, get your ass over here," Griz says to her.

Lincoln gives her some dumb-ass handshake they've been doing for decades as he leaves with me to go find our girls at the stables.

"Dad! You have got to try the stuffed croissant that Laney got for us," Lily says as we get closer.

Laney greets me with her sweet smile. Every time she does, my chest warms, and I can't help but lean into it. The way she refused to leave my side as my leg healed, how she doted on Julep when she came home from the vet in a cast for her broken hind leg. I'd discovered that Laney was more than just funny and beautiful. She was sexy and kind. She was caring and sassy. She became my partner in every way. And I love her a little harder every single day.

She wraps her arms around my neck as I slip mine around her waist. I lift her up just enough off the ground to kiss her.

"You guys are gross," Lark says while Lincoln and the girls walk off in search of something sweet to top off their night.

That has us smiling against each other"s lips. She tilts her head back. "The hat was a good choice."

She told me the only requirement she had of me today was to wear the black cowboy hat she brought home last night.

"How long have you been wanting me to wear this?"

She squints one eye, pretending to think about it. "Literally the first time I saw you."

I lean up against her cheek so the next few words are only heard by her. "Wouldn't mind seeing it on you later."

I can feel her smile against my scruff. "Just the hat?"

I give her a slow nod as she smiles.

Damn, I love it when she looks at me like that.

"Tell me what else, cowboy."

"How about I show you?" I give her a knowing smirk. But she has no idea what I have planned for her.

Her eyes flare. "Yes, please."

I link our fingers and walk with her toward the top floor of the distillery. It's a spot that I hadn't learned about until I was in my early twenties. It wasn't something that many people knew existed. It was only meant for Foxxes and whomever else we wanted to share it with. And I want to share everything with this woman.

With her lips still painted in that red she loves so much, Laney bites it, making me want to do the same. "Where are we going? I didn't think anything was down here except offices." She laughs out, "Grant, are you going to have your way with me on top of Ace's desk?"

I stop in my tracks. "Wasn't on my agenda tonight, but now that you mention it..."

She laughs so loud that I do the same.

The artwork displayed along the corridor is a mix of old and new. Paintings that are worth plenty and photos that are older than Griz. But to the left of the small gallery is a Foxx Bourbon logo. The newest version that Ace had rebranded when he took things over. The wrought-iron F intertwined with an outline of a fox isn't there just for show; it has another purpose.

I tilt the logo up and the wall slides open as a hidden door.

Laney breathes out a laugh as her jaw drops with excitement. "Are you kidding me?"

I lead us both into the dimly lit space and close the door behind us, but when I raise the chandelier lights a little brighter, that"s when she sees it.

Her hands cover her mouth as she gasps. "Grant, is that?—"

"Took me a little while to find the right one. There are plenty online, but the version they had in Coney Island in the nineties was a little bit different. This Zoltar machine took a little longer to find."

I rub my hand along my neck as I watch her move closer. I hope she likes it. She quietly walks around it, examining the lever to pull. I'm second guessing myself as she says absolutely nothing in response. Maybe this wasn't a good idea, after all.

"Say something."

She smirks. "Since when does silence bother you?"

"Since I'm watching my fiancée not offer any of her tells that give away if she thinks this was a great idea or if I just tanked in the surprises department."

Tilting her head, she pinches a piece of her hair between her fingers.

I smile to myself. I did good.

"Show me how it works." She smiles with tears rimming her eyes.

I pull out a token from my pocket that's been there waiting for this exact moment and insert it into the slot. This particular Zoltar machine had been in a Manhattan museum, according to the person I negotiated with. It didn't need money in order to operate, but it needed a coin to shoot into Zoltar's mouth. Then the ticket would come.

With the coin positioned along the track, Laney studies the timing as Zoltar opens and closes his mouth. But before she releases it, she says, "This is the most unexpected—" she cuts herself off, trying to swallow the emotion that surfaces. "And I love you so much for it." Wrapping her arms around my neck, she kisses me hard. When we pull back, our foreheads stay connected for just a moment before she presses another quick kiss to my lips, and then turns back toward the fortune teller, or "future teller" as she called it.

"Make a wish, baby."

That was the point of this thing. It was a silly carnival game that held nostalgia and memories for her, which meant I'd do just about anything to give her a part of the past she had left behind.

She reaches into the covered slot to retrieve her ticket and flicks her eyes up to meet mine. "Where did you say you got this particular machine again?"

"I didn't. I worked with a guy that Griz knew." I watch her face crack, barely holding back a laugh. "Why?" I deadpan. I knew I shouldn't have trusted one of Griz's guys.

"The Zoltar in Coney Island was a little less...detailed. Those futures tended to be more about when to travel the world or if there was a happy reunion on the horizon, and then some lucky numbers."

I hold out my hand, but she backs up.

"What's on that card?"

She bites her lower lip and clears her throat. "When things get hard"—she looks at me and smiles—"it's up to you to take the reins. Sometimes the best types of control come when you submit. Your future is more of a penance this time around. Accept five spankings by hand or belt."

"Jesus Christ, Laney." Groaning, I drag my hands through my hair. Mortified.

She holds up her hand. "I'm not done reading my future. Hold your horses, cowboy."

"Funny." At least she's amused.

"May pleasure be forever in your favor. My lucky numbers are 6 and 9." Looking up from the card, she smiles cheekily. "Good numbers."

I rub at the back of my neck. "Honey, I promise I didn't–"

"It's honestly an even better surprise now that I know this puppy is chock full of dirty deeds." She leans against the side of the machine where fucking Zoltar still has his mouth open. Reaching down, she grabs two handfuls of her long skirt in her fist, hiking it up higher as she watches me. "I'd like to collect on that future now, cowboy."

My cock is hard by the time the bottom of her skirt hits the tops of her bite-worthy thighs. I walk backward toward the same wall where the hidden door slides open and press the lock. "Belt or hand, honey?"

"Dealer's choice." She holds up her skirt high enough now that I can see her panties.

I take a seat in the brown leather club chair that's to my right. "My wife wants me to redden up her sweet little ass?"

"Not your wife just yet, baby."

"You know I like practicing. Now show me how wet you are just thinking about being spanked."

She moves her panties to the side, revealing her delicious pussy.

I fucking salivate, thinking about how she tastes. "Drag two fingers through those pretty lips and show me how wet, honey."

She does exactly as I ask. Her fingers shiny with her arousal as she holds them out.

"Taste."

She steps closer, but I stop her. "Not me. You. Taste."

With her skirt bunched up with one hand and a strap from her white tank falling from one shoulder, I watch her lick her fingers. So damn sexy.

I unbuckle my belt and crook my finger for her to come to me. When she walks closer, she's such a good fucking girl that she waits for me to tell her what to do next. "Turn around."

She turns her body so her back is to me, looking over her shoulder with those big blues. "Touch your toes."

The way red flares up her neck and her eyes widen slightly, she wasn't expecting it. And fuck, do I love throwing her off.

Widening her stance, she bends forward, forcing her panties to ride up the crack of her plump ass. My fingers loop around the waistband and roll them down her legs. I lean closer to her ear and whisper, "Hands on the chair, baby."

She's going to need some leverage. Sucking in an audible breath with the demand, she does as she's told. Her skirt falls slightly with the movement, so I bunch it up around her waist and rub a small circle around right before I give her one swift smack on her ass that pulls the tiniest noise from her lips. When I rub that spot and do it again, this time, she stays quiet.

"You okay, honey?"

She inhales, and on the exhale, laughs, "More than okay."

"Good," I say, and then follow it up with three good slaps that leave her with a pinkened cheek that'll be long gone by the time we're done in here. And now, I'm hungry.

I drop to my knees and spread her open, growling into her as my tongue swipes her slit. I glide my thumbs along each side of her ass cheeks and spread her open even more so I can reach and roll my tongue against her clit. The moment I circle it, she moans, long and low, her ass wiggling back for more.

As easy as it would be to bury my cock in her right now, I want to finish out this impromptu fantasy. I stand and take a step back, admiring how perfect she looks bent over that chair.

She peeks over her shoulder. "Where'd you go, cowboy?"

I look down at the black hat I tossed on the table when we came here. The lights are dim and warm, bathing her in a hue that makes those pretty lips painted red look even more pouty than usual. She twists her body so she's sitting on that club chair, gazing up at me. "You want to try out those lucky numbers now, too?" She wiggles her eyebrows.

Chuckling, I pluck the hat off the table with two fingers and twirl it in my hand. "No, honey." I tilt her mouth toward mine and bend lower to kiss her, letting my thumb rub along her bottom lip. And then I watch that red lipstick smudge along the side of her chin. Fuck, I've wanted to see her like this—messy and willing to do whatever I ask of her.

I run my hand down from her chin to her neck and glide it past her shoulder, letting my fingers glide along her arm and down her wrist until her fingers line up with mine. I lift her hand and guide her up out of the chair. When she stands, I place the hat on her head. She watches me do it with a tiny, knowing smirk that kicks up along the right side of her mouth.

I'll never get over the way she looks at me.

She pulls the other strap of her white tank down, and the move has the tank sliding just enough so it teases me with the tops of her breasts. The allure of her is almost as gratifying as having her. Almost. Grabbing at her skirt again, she drags it higher, showing me the edges of her pussy. "You taking me for a ride?"

I don't answer. Instead, I flip open the button to my pants and fold down the zipper.

She studies me doing it, biting at that lip like she can't wait to hear what else I want.

"Take it out," I demand. I can't see her eyes from under the brim of that hat, but I can hear her breath hitch when her hand finds how hard I am.

Fuck, she's good for my ego.

I sit back in the club chair. "I think it's a good time for that lesson. You wanted to learn how to ride? Be my good girl and ride me."

She doesn't hesitate. She steps closer, throwing one leg over my spread thighs and then straddling me, hovering right above my cock and lining her pussy right up. Holding her skirt nice and high, she sinks down onto my length with a sigh. I'll never take for granted how good this feels. She rolls her hips forward to find just the right spot. The sweet sounds she makes have me eager to fuck up into her, but she's supposed to be riding me, and I want this to last.

"Like this, sir?"

My eyes dart up to her smirking face, and I rub my hand over my mouth. She's playing right along. "That's it. Shoulders back, tits out, baby." I bite back the smile from this little role-play moment, rubbing my thumb along the tip of her hard nipple. "Now squeeze when you're ready to move."

Leaning back, I grip the front of her skirt that's fallen from her grasp and pull it up and tight. I want to see it. Fuck. The way she's rolling her hips, slow and deep, is working me over so damn good. "Look at how we fit together, baby."

I meet her gaze and then look down at where we're connected, urging her to do the same. To see the way I'm so deep inside of her and how she moves so that I can hit her just the way she likes. I lick the pad of my thumb and bring it to her clit. With a whimper, she grinds down onto me and rolls her hips faster. I'm so damn close, but I won't let go until she does. "That's my girl, making herself feel good on her man's cock."

"Oh god," she groans, and then breathily says my name. "Grant."

"This pussy is mine, isn't it?" I squeeze my eyes shut. Fuck, I'm so close.

She chases her orgasm that I know is quickly rushing through her. "Yes," she answers, just as her body tenses, and she leans forward, trying to hit everything she needs to get there. Crying out, her body bows, and she falls apart, her pussy squeezing me and pulsing so tight that I fall right over with her. The reality of spilling inside of her, claiming every part of her, finishes me. Her sweaty forehead meets mine as our bodies take turns working out what"s left.

"How did I do?"

I smile, my eyes still closed. "Might need a few more lessons. You got a little wild there for a sec—Ow!" I laugh from her pinching my side. "Laney, that was the best ride of my life."

She nuzzles her cheek into my touch as I curl a piece of her wild strawberry-tinted hair around my finger and tuck it behind her ear. When she sighs, the sound of it makes my chest feel even warmer. I had never allowed myself to think of a moment like this one. A life like this. The life where I get to share it with a partner. The part where I'd figure out all the ways I could love a person. Even on our hardest day, I was happy alongside her.

"A little more every day."

I run my fingers through her hair and down her back. "A little more every day," I say back to her. A promise we made when I asked her for forever.

She kisses my chest, right over my heart, before she says, "Now it's your turn. Pour me some good bourbon, cowboy, and let's go for a ride."