15. Booker

Chapter 15

Booker

I shouldn't have kissed her. I also shouldn't have brought her into my shower last night and let us wash each other with soap. But alas, I'd done both, and now I was royally regretting it. Brynne was here for one reason, and that was to get the damn deed back for this fucking ranch. Not to chisel her way into my granite heart and make me fucking feel.

I'd left her in my bed this morning—because of course, she'd slept next to me—and found Austin and Henley in the kitchen. Austin was lucky. He wasn't the one falling for a girl he had no business catching feelings for. He had his fun with her, and walked away without a worry in the world. But me? I'd started caring for her after the first time I made her come uncontrollably, and that's where I was going wrong. For some fucking reason, though, I couldn't fucking stop.

The woman had wrapped herself around my head—both of them .

"She sending the text today?" Austin asked, not looking up from where he sliced into a sausage.

I stared at the knife in his hand, hesitating, which was a mistake, because Austin's eyes shot to me. "Oh no."

I looked at him. "What?"

"Don't tell me you're feeling soft."

I shifted on my feet the slightest bit, but of course he fucking noticed that, too.

He set the knife down on the counter. "She's here for a reason, Booker."

"Well the fuck aware," I said, biting out each word.

Henley shook his head where he sat, as if he had a fucking right to be disappointed in me.

I pinned my glare on him. "You got something to say, asshole?"

He looked at me like he was fucking innocent in this. "Don't lose sight of the plan."

I scoffed, stepping closer to him so he had to tilt his head up at me. I only had a couple inches on him, but it made all the difference in the world right now with him perched on his seat. "We wouldn't need this fucking plan if you hadn't gotten us into this bullshit mess in the first place."

Henley stood, the stool tipping over onto the tile floor. "Don't take your feelings for her out on me."

One more step, and our noses were nearly touching. "Or what, Henley? Huh? It's not like you can do any more damage than you've already done."

Then, his fist swung, and my jaw snapped to the side. My nostrils flared as I tried to keep my calm, tasting blood in my mouth from where the inside of my cheek had snagged on my tooth. Austin stood to the side, shaking his head. But it wasn't him who kept me from swinging. It was the little pitter patter of feet coming down the stairs.

"Good morn— Oh my fuck! What happened?" Brynne rushed over, stepping in front of me and placing those delicate little hands on my face to turn it every which way like she was a fucking nurse or something.

I batted her hands away, stepping back. "Nothing."

Hurt flashed in her eyes, but I pretended I was blind. She was coming in between us, and I couldn't let that happen. We needed this ranch, otherwise we had nothing.

Henley stood there, remorse clear on his face. I wouldn't hold his punch against him. Even I could admit, I may have been out of line. It was simply because she was brought up, and I hated how fucking protective I got with just the thought of her. She was a disease, infecting my very blood.

"You still in?" Austin asked her from the other side of the island.

She turned to him, and that almost hurt more than her glare. I wanted those eyes back on me.

She nodded. "I'm in."

"She's out."

All eyes turned to me, but mine were so focused on her, I didn't give a shit about the other two in the room.

"You don't get to tell me what to do," Brynne said, as if I hadn't been doing that since that night in her motel.

"You could get hurt." And that wasn't something I was willing to risk. Not after finding her in the gym, feeling her shake in my arms, hearing her panicked breaths in my truck.

"Then I get hurt," she said, like that was a fucking option. I started to protest, but she cut me off. "Anything for the ranch, right?"

My eyes narrowed in response, my jaw going stiff.

If she wanted it her way, then fine.

"You remember the plan, then, right?" I asked, my words clipped.

She nodded, and I wanted like nothing else to fuck the furrow out of her brow, to erase any concern that clouded her mind.

I realized then that Brynne couldn't be temporary. Not with the way she infiltrated the fortress I'd put around myself when it came to women. They were nothing but trouble, but something about her erased any doubts I once had, making me want to claim her again and again until the only name she knew was mine and hers, together.

Brynne had sent the text two hours ago for Chase to meet her at the gas station off eighty-two at nine tomorrow morning. After she'd sent it, she'd disappeared upstairs and hadn't come down since. I sat in my office for the past hour and a half, waiting for her to return. I watched the clock tick by as I stared at my blank computer screen, and with another minute wasted, I shoved out of my chair, heading for the stairs. She could be mad—hell, she could hate me—but she couldn't hide.

Peeking in my room, I found it empty, which boiled my blood the slightest bit. I hadn't demanded she move into my space, or told her that was where she'd be staying until this was over, but knowing she was in her temporary room pissed me off.

I stomped down the hall, my boots echoing off the hallway walls as they pounded on the hardwood. Without a knock, I swung her door open to find her lying in bed on her stomach, her elbows digging into her pillow by the headboard. She was on her phone, and when the door slammed into the wall, she jumped, her eyes shooting to me.

"What the fuck, Booker?" she shrieked, dropping her phone.

I stormed over to her, grabbing her by the back of her neck, and crashed my lips to hers like a fucking idiot. I wasn't thinking. Never when I was around her.

I slid my tongue past her plump lips, tangling it with hers as she threaded her fingers through my hair, unexpectedly tugging me closer. I'd half expected her to slap me, and I probably would've been fine if she did, but this was beyond what I anticipated. I didn't want her to hate me—to think I didn't want her hands on me. Fuck, I wanted every ounce of her attention.

I pulled back, sliding my hand around her neck to grip the front. Shoving her back, I pinned her to the mattress, crawling on top of her. I let her breathe—for now.

"You want to make your own decisions, Darlin'?"

She nodded, my hand slightly constricting the motion.

"Then do it. But I won't let you put yourself in danger. Not for me."

She wrapped a hand around my arm, the limb small in comparison to mine. "You'll be there. I won't get hurt."

God, I hated the way my throat tightened. How my tongue tripped over itself. What the fuck was she doing to me?

I leaned closer to her, adding pressure to her neck. "I won't let a soul lay a hand on you unless I allow it."

Her cheeks tinged a bright pink as her eyes watered the slightest, and I wanted nothing more than to bury my cock so far in her pussy that she had that same expression on her face. I released her, and as she gasped, I flipped her over, hiking her ass up high. She was still fully clothed, so I hooked my fingers in the hem of her shorts, yanking them down around her thighs along with her underwear.

Her pussy glistened in the light as I pressed a hand to her back, lowering her chest to the mattress. "My little slut is always so fucking ready for me."

She turned her head, looking over her shoulder at me as I visually devoured the sight of her exposed like this. Without hesitation, I leaned forward, burying myself between her cheeks. I dragged my tongue down her crack to her center, reveling in the taste of her. My cock twitched behind my jeans as I speared my tongue inside her, tasting her sweetness. She moaned into the bed as she rubbed her pussy along my mouth.

I straightened, grabbing her hips to keep her steady before using one hand to free myself from my jeans. I was a rock, my cock thick and heavy with the need for her. She was the world's sweetest craving, and I had her all to myself.

Spitting a drop of saliva on my cock, I ran my hand along my length twice, wetting every inch of the skin. I aligned the head of my cock with her entrance, and she tried to rock back, but I spanked her in warning. "Such a needy slut. I should punish you for that little move. "

She groaned, swaying her hips side to side like she was practically begging me to.

I smirked. The woman wanted what she wanted. I could only deliver her wishes.

My palm met her ass hard, the slap ringing through the room along with her yelp.

"I don't know if that was hard enough," she challenged, her voice slightly muffled with the blanket as she rocked her hips back again.

My cock fucking surged with her words. Bringing my hand back, I spanked her again, harder this time, and my handprint instantly painted her cheek.

"Just like that, Nightmare," she managed to get out, her voice full of breath.

Gripping her ass, I slid my cock inside her, burying myself to the hilt. Granting her wish, I spanked her again, her pussy clenching around my length with the act.

"Fuck, Brynne," I hissed. She was so fucking naughty .

Pulling out to the tip, I pounded back into her, shoving her forward slightly on the bed. Then, I lost control, fucking her relentlessly. I watched as my cock slid in and out of her slick pussy, her ass pressing against me every time I hit that spot deep inside her that I knew made her crazy.

My eyes landed on her vibrator sitting on the nightstand, so I reached over to grab it. I set the toy in her hand after clicking it on. "Put that on your clit and don't you dare fucking take it off until I say so."

Her hand disappeared between her legs, her body instantly tensing as it purred over her sensitive bud. Her gasp filled the room as I spanked her again, her cheek reddening further from my hand .

I gripped her hips, my fingers digging into her flesh as I went fucking feral. Her body slid up the bed further as I let go of her hip, grabbing her hair in a fist. I yanked her head back, her pretty little neck exposed as she moaned.

"You like when I fuck you like my dirty little slut, don't you? Like it when I fill this needy pussy to the brim."

"Yes, Nightmare," she breathed, clicking up the speed on her vibrator.

Her pussy began to clench, her thighs shaking as I fucked her with no restraint, and then she was screaming, her sounds filling the room. Her hand went to fall to the bed, but I grabbed her wrist, keeping the vibrator pressed firm to her clit. Her orgasm wracked through her body in waves, her pussy so tight around my cock that it ripped my own release out of me. I spilled into her, filling her tight entrance full of me.

I finally released her wrist, the toy falling to the mattress. She lay limp, so I picked it up to turn it off. Setting the vibrator to the side, I pulled out of her, watching as our release dripped from her center. Like before, I trailed my fingers through it, shoving it back deep inside her. Her belly jumped as I did, then I pulled them out and straightened her legs so she was lying on her belly on the bed.

I tugged her shorts and underwear the rest of the way down, then got off her to go into the bathroom across the hall. Letting the water warm up, I grabbed a washcloth from under the sink and soaked it, wringing out the excess water. I turned off the faucet, going back to her room to find her in the same position I'd left her in. Her breathing was deep, and I assumed she'd most likely fall asleep soon.

I kneeled behind her, wiping between her legs with the damp cloth. I cleaned her skin, then stood, pressing a kiss to her temple. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted, so I left her there to nap, closing her door with a soft snick .

I tossed the washcloth in my hamper, then headed downstairs to take care of a few ranch chores before we turned in for the day. All the while, I forced any lingering anxiety about tomorrow away.

I never worried about myself—not in any situation, really—but tomorrow, my senses would be on high alert.

Brynne's safety in this was my top priority, and it was the only thought that raced through my mind as the day passed by, turning to night when the sun sank below the horizon.

Tomorrow would go as planned.

I wouldn't allow it to be any other way.