Brutal Heir (Billionaire Heirs #2)

Chapter 7

Ezequiel

I’ve been cooling my heels at the hangar for over an hour, waiting for the security truck to arrive. That’s time wasted. I could have been doing something else, like looking for my missing cows.

The sun beats down on the damp ground, sending a hot wind whipping through the open hangar doors. It makes sitting here that much less tolerable.

Damn Addler for making it a point that I take security with me. I’ve been working this ranch for years, and I know my way around better than even him. But Addler insisted, and I suspect he has a good reason for the decision. The fact he can’t say more is telling.

I turn to my laptop, moving the screen to a movie I plan to come back to before going home, so I can look at a map. The list Addler sent will take us across the ranch and back then out to the newest portion. My property. More to the point, the property my kid, or kids will own someday. It’s my exit strategy from the life my family has chosen.

The security truck finally pulls up beside the window. I turn to the security monitor, a massive seventy-inch screen that displays feeds from around the building.

Sage climbs out of the truck, and every muscle on my face goes slack. She’s in shorts and a tank top. My eyes are immediately drawn to her pulling down at the inseam where the loose material of her shorts was bunched up against her pussy.

“Fuck my life,” I curse under my breath.

She walks past, but I can barely see her head over the hood. The wind’s picking up, tossing her hair all over…and her shorts. She just ducks and runs a delicate hand along her temple while the wind points out every curve.

I don’t get it. What’s this damn princess doing out on a ranch, running security, for fuck’s sake. At this point, she’s probably a magnet to every dangerous thing on the ranch, me included. She’s 100 percent distraction, something I don’t need or want.

Or so I keep telling myself.

I turn back to the computer, bringing up a map of the ranch. I needed to focus on the task and not on Sage’s distracting presence. But the memory of her curves and the way her hair whipped around in the wind lingers in my mind. I’m going to need a minute to let my cock simmer down.

“In here,” I yell out as Sage finally makes her way into the hangar. The faint slap of her sandals echoes through the empty space. I try not to look, but I couldn’t help noticing how the shorts hug her hips and show off the curve of her ass.

She finally pulls the door open, I give her a frown of disapproval. I should have expected she wouldn’t be properly dressed since she was so hell bent on going back to change. Still, it’s not a bad idea to take out some insurance.

I take in her appearance with a critical eye. Her top shows a good bit of cleavage. I’m not even going to let myself get below her waist.

“Is that what you consider appropriate for the ranch?” I ask, not trying to mask my irritation. I know it’ll rub her the wrong way.

“It’s hot out. And I didn’t know I was going to be working today,” Sage retorts, meeting my gaze with a steely one of her own.

I grunt in response, actually impressed she’s showing some backbone. “Fine. Let’s get to business.”

“Great,” she says with a slight nod, “What do you need?”

“An escort.” I put it as plain as I can get.

Her eyebrow shoots up. “Excuse me?”

Okay, so maybe that was a bad choice of words, but her appearance shook me up a little. And maybe it got my mind heading in the wrong direction.

I start again, trying to remain professional. “I need you to escort me around the ranch.”

She looks at me skeptically, “Why do you need me for that?”

“I just do.” I shrug, trying to hide my annoyance. Isn’t this basically what I thought when Addler called me? “You got a problem with it, you can call your boss.”

She folds her arms under her chest. so I make it a point to look her in the eye.

“I just don’t understand why you’d need me to take you around the property.”

I can see the mistrust, and I can’t blame her, but this is really testing my patience.

“Addler asked me to call you,” I admit, grudgingly.

“Oh.” She loses the pissed-off expression and puts her arms down.

Hell, why didn’t I think to start with that. Addler’s pretty face can solve most problems when it comes to women.

“You know he bought the construction part of Kelly Oil & Gas.” I assume she knows, since he was at the office yesterday.

She gives a short nod. “Found out yesterday when he went to the office.”

“Well, he wants us to do inventory on some of the equipment he got as part of the deal.”

“And it has to be done today?” she asks.

“Yeah.” I get it. It is her day off. Probably one of the few three-day weekends she gets throughout the year, and she ends up being called in. A pang of what might be guilt goes through me. “Apparently so.”

She blows out a breath. “Okay. It’s late, so we can split up—”

“No.” I shake my head. “If it was that easy, I would’ve taken care of it by now.” Her shoulders slump in defeat. “Here, let me show you.” I pick up the remote and click to switch away from the security feed. It closes out, which should leave me with a map of the ranch, which I have as a background.

Sage’s jaw drops and she turns to me. “Umm…”

Instead, it’s the screen I’d moved away from my laptop. An image of a woman bent over, her fingers between her legs, showing what she’s got. The mirror in front of her reflects tits that would make any man’s mouth water, her fingers pinching a hard nipple. But the topper is the foxtail attached to the butt plug she’s wearing along with a set of matching ears.

Ah, fuck .

“ What is that?” she asks, glancing over at the screen.

“It’s an action movie,” I reply, uptight at having her see what I was watching. Of all the people who could be here when this happened, she’s got to be the worst one. I can only be grateful the woman isn’t a redhead.

“You’re watching porn at work?” she asks, eyes narrowing.

“Hey, I’m an adult. I can watch whatever the hell I want,” I reply in a challenging tone. Who the hell does she think she is?

She gives me a look of disbelief. “You’re at work,” she reiterates, folding her arms across her chest again.

I’m not about to tell her the truth. She’ll have to keep thinking I’m some lackey paid by the hour to look over the ranch. Because she doesn’t need to know I chose to be here as part of the arrangement between families with a longstanding agreement.

The silence extends, and tension fills the room.

I break in with another question. “Weren’t you heading to town, dressed like that, in a company truck?”

Her back straightens. “I was going to pick up office supplies while I was in town,” she says, defensively.

“Well I’m here twenty-four seven,” I inform her in an irritated voice. “So I can decide when I have time off.” That’s more than I usually tell anyone.

She blinks then gives me a hard stare. “Fine, whatever. Let’s just get this over with.” Her mouth is little more than a slash of annoyance.

I click on the X on the upper right, switching to the map. “Anyway, this is where we’re going.” I go site by site, from one part of the ranch to the other, ending in the property I’ll own.

“Okay, well, let’s get started,” she says then turns around and walks out the door. Sage moves along ahead of me as we walk through the expansive hangar. She looks over, admiring the jet on the far side. In this part of the state, it’s not unusual to have a jet, or like the de Marcos, two. The other is in Florida with the old man, Addler’s grandfather.

Sage has to think she has the upper hand. In her eyes, I’m a slacker. And what’s worse, now I can’t complain about her being late. She’s going to think I spent that hour watching porn. And I’m not about to defend myself to her.

I put on my sunglasses, my gaze trailing down her back as I follow her. With my longer stride, I could easily catch up, but I’m enjoying the view too much to try. All right, so maybe I haven’t turned my back on all women. But why the hell did it have to be this one I can’t get off my mind.

We exit the hangar, and Sage heads to her truck. “Where are you going?” I ask.

She points to where she parked. “To the truck,” she responds, as if I’m too simple to figure it out on my own.

“We’re taking my truck.” I go to the driver’s side. There’s no way I’m letting a woman drive me around my own ranch. These guys are going to know who’s in charge around here, and it’s not her.

I can see the hesitation in her eyes, but she tightens her lips and comes in my direction. So this is what it’s going to be like for the next few hours.