Grump’s City Girl (Boots and Heels #2)

16. Cassie

Chapter 16

Cassie

D espite my doubts, Beau did pull it off, and we were on the lonely country road heading to a city called Laramie.

“They have the best farming outlets around, believe it or not,” Beau said as we traveled down the freeway. “Cheyenne is too noisy and oversized, and the pundits there think they know better than the men who work the land and dance with bulls.”

“Ugh,” I sagged into my seat. “My dad hates those people.”

“Your dad, huh?” He looked at me quickly. “That’s the first time you mentioned him. What's he like?”

I paused to think of the best words. “He’s a wrecking ball in the boardroom and a minor wrecking ball at home, but he’s got a good heart, and he will not stop at anything to keep the people he loves safe…” I swallowed, trained my gaze out the window, then slowed my breath.“…Even if it means sending them away… not that I didn’t bring it on myself.”

Beau didn’t say anything, but as much as I didn’t want him to hear me, I knew he did. Eventually, he said, “D’you want to talk about it?”

Puffing out a breath, I said, “Not really.”

“Y’know, I figured something had you running… something bad,” Beau said calmly as he switched lanes. “Do you wanna tell me?”

Again, I paused; could I tell him the most shameful secret I had? Had he proven himself trustworthy? “I was stupid?—”

A scoff punched itself out of Beau’s mouth. “You? You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“—It’s true,” I added. “I trusted a person I shouldn’t have because I thought I was in love. I gave him more power over me than I should have, and that was what had me running.”

“Until daddy hunts down the poor sonofabitch and makes him a eunuch,” Beau laughed.

“No, my father cannot touch him,” I replied. “He’s got diplomatic immunity, but my father is keeping a close eye on him.”

“Where is he from?”

“Italy,” I replied, “But he’s bounced around from country to country all his life, proudly speaks French, Italian, Dutch, and some things in Portuguese.” I laughed softly. “I once thought it romantic when he whispered those soft sweet nothings in my ears… but now I wonder if he was calling me a fool instead.”

“You’re the farthest thing from a fool.” Beau’s voice had taken on this possessive, growly tone that made my gut tremble and sent shivers up my spine. “Don’t even think about it. I get it, you trusted the wrong douchebag, but we’ve all been there, trusting people we shouldn’t have. Years ago, I thought I could count on my brother to help me out, but I was wrong about that, too.”

“You know when you said you’d never fallen in love?” I asked while looking at the countryside passing by. “Sometimes I think it’s a shitty thing, but then I remember what happened to me, and I can't help but believe maybe it was for the best.”

“Funny, I thought I would be happy and married by now,” Beau replied. “I guess somewhere along my priorities shifted; the ranch, Grandpa’s legacy came first instead of my wants and needs.

"The guys would tell me every day to take a night out, go to a club, a restaurant, a damn park, something, and meet someone, but I thought to myself, what was one night of fun going to help when I could be figuring out how to turn the ranch around.”

I turned to him and traced my eyes over the curve of his jaw, the ever-present five o’clock shadow on his cheeks, his untamable hair, and hooded brows. “I hope the woman you find is kind and generous and loyal,” I said. “You deserve it, Beau.”

He shot me a grin, and then we came to a large warehouse with large tractors and containers scattered around the pavement; men and women in workwear heaved bales of feed and other things into wheelbarrows and truck beds.

In the next half hour, we were busy filling up the truck bed with feed, a lockbox of medicine that would be diluted for all the animals on the ranch, and a couple of bottles of vaccines. But I was getting worried; now and then, I’d hear rumbles in the air, soft rumbles that grew louder as the minutes slipped by.

“It’s coming down, Beau,” I told him as they tightened the Tonneau covers over the haul. I checked my phone to see the weather updates that were coming in. “And it looks bad. There is a tornado coming our way in Montana. We need to find shelter, quick.”

His eyes darted to the sky, where rain clouds were gathering on the horizon. “There's a motel down the road with an overhang garage. We can stop there.”

We jumped into the cab as the rain began to pitter-patter on the windshield. We were a couple of miles away before large raindrops started pelting towards the ground, and thunder rumbled. I bit my lip as lightning cut the sky in two.

“Almost there, baby,” Beau said, almost without thinking. “Just about now?—”

He turned the wheel hard, and we sped towards a building with the overhang. Thank God not many cars were there, and we parked at the back in a corner near a beam. I slumped into my seat as the wind picked up, and it began to howl like a deranged beast.

Beau rubbed the back of his neck and winced a little. “Well, let's get out of here and get a room.”

Leaving the truck, we headed to the side door and stepped into the dim hallway. And Beau dropped a hand to my back and gently walked us to the front desk where a young woman, maybe in her mid-twenties, was holding down the fort.

She blinked. “Hello. Can I help you? Do you want a room, or are you waiting out the storm?”

“A room,” Beau said. “It might pass quickly, but I am bushed. Is there a kitchen here or?—”

“Sadly, we don’t do in-house catering, but the mini bars are filled with snacks and drinks, liquor too,” the woman said. “I know it’s not much, but it might alleviate something a bit.”

We shared a look. “We’ll take it,” I said.

“Sure,” she smiled as the windows rattled. “Oh, don’t mind that rain. This building was constructed with tornado shutters and other precautions to make sure we don’t turn into Dorothy and Oz.”

“Oh.” I looked around and noticed the shutters inside the window. “That’s good.”

She pulled a book out and gave us a tiny smile. “It is not safe to use computers right now, but everything will be recorded, and considering the circumstances, you can pay when this storm passes. Names, please?”

When we got that squared away, the bill—seventy-six dollars for the night—and got our keys, we headed to the room. The couch, coffee table, and chair were the same shade of dark brown, the walls had been painted a soft cream, and there was actual artwork on the walls.

I went to the mini kitchenette and found a kettle with packets of coffee and sugar. “Well. There is coffee, at least. Want a cup?”

“Sure,” he replied while bracing his hands on the windowsill and looking out. The rain was getting harder now. The wind grew stronger and the rain louder, and I felt a quiver of fear crawl down my spine.

It was just a thunderstorm , I promised myself as our cups of instant coffee finished.

I heard the rattle of storm shutters as Beau closed them and came to claim his cup. “On the ranch, after a rain like this, the grass gets so green, you smell the rain and honeysuckle and the rich scent of the earth. It’s like… I dunno… mother nature is saying hello. Everything looks so new and vibrant.”

Curling up in a corner of the couch, I smiled. “It sounds novel. Back home, rains are bothersome when you have errands to run, business meetings to go to, and stuff to do.”

“Home,” he said. “The concrete jungle of…”

“New York, Helena, Montana, San Francisco, California,” I replied, then shot him a look. “I’m always on the go.”

“You need to stay somewhere a while,” he said, stretching out his long legs. “Let loose, connect with yourself, breathe fresh air, feel the rain on your skin.”

“I’ll do so when we get off this damn show,” I muttered. “Are you sure about us staging a fight?”

Resting the cup on the end table, Beau nodded. “Yeah, it might help, but not so much. Knowing those producers, they might cock up something to make us stay right where we are.”

“What should we fight about?” I asked. “Something from our ‘ history’ ? Something new? Maybe I told you I nearly married someone else, and you got pissed?”

“Something like that,” Beau replied. “Or, you could be flirting with Rome or somebody, and I’d get pissed.”

“Rome would have to be in on it,” I said while a harsh wind battered the shutters. “Or it wouldn’t work.”

He breathed out. “This thing is not going to stop for a while. I’m going to take a shower and grab some shuteye. You probably should, too.”

“I most likely will,” I replied, my eyes trailing to the window. “Take your time.”

Two hours later, the rain was still going, and after a dinner of coffee and a cup of instant ramen, Beau was in bed, in his boxers, and, after my shower, I was wrapped up in a courtesy robe.

Usually, I would avoid those things like the plague—who knew how deeply they steam-cleaned these things—but I wouldn’t be comfortable in bed with a pair of jeans on.

“I don’t think that couch is comfortable,” Beau called from the bed, his voice heavy with sleep. “Come over here, Cassie. I’ll make a pillow wall if you’re concerned about your innocence.”

I snorted, then got up from the lumpy couch. “That ship sailed a long time ago.”

Going to the lone double bed, I spotted Beau’s face, highlighted by the lone lamp we dared to keep on with the storm still outside. The tornado had dissipated hours ago, but the rainstorm that followed was still at it.

He looked so sleep-rumpled. I hated to term him as adorable, but he was adorable. Sliding under the sheets on the other side of the bed, I turned on my side and smiled. “You look so handsome when you’re sleepy."

His grin was flickering. “Same goes for yourself.”

I reached out and moved a lock of his hair from his face. “I cannot believe no woman ever fell in love with this face.”

Beau turned his face to kiss my palm, his thumb coasting over my cheekbones before ghosting over my lips, his pupils slowly expanding. “If I can’t get love, I’ll take lust instead.”

Our eyes met, the air shifting from calm and playful to thick and heavy. It had already moved into the territory of hazy lust. His hand came up, trailing up my arm to slide behind my neck, and teased the soft hairs there.

I don’t know who moved first, but his lips crushed against mine, and as his hands threaded through my hair, I forgot everything and everyone at that moment. I was consumed with his scent, his taste, his touch.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said before claiming my mouth once more.

This time, his lips weren’t gentle or tentative, and I met him with as much intensity as he gave. Beau’s hand slipped under my robe as I carded my fingers through the hairs on his chest. He peeled the robe away and undid the bra clasp with one flick.

Shifting me on my back, he dipped his head and took one aching nipple into his hot, wet mouth. My head fell back as it went taut between his lips.

The things he did with his mouth made me tremble all over; his touch was like a living bonfire, devastating everything in its wake and leaving me helpless to do anything but go along for the ride. He moved to the other breast, taking his time and teasing the tight bud until I was straining against him.

My breath came in short gasps, and my core tightened with desperation.

“Beau…”

“Shh.” He swirled his tongue around the hard, little nub, alternating sucking and licking until I was squirming against him. He slid down farther, brushing featherlight strokes of his tongue around my stomach, kissing down the ridge to my belly button, my hips, and the inside of my thighs. “I’ve got you.”

Holding my legs open, he swiped his tongue right down the middle of my slit and chuckled as I let out a gasp, “Guess you like that. Pinch those pretty nipples for me, baby. Make them hot and tight while I eat your wet pussy.”

The constant rain pounded on the roof; my breath was coming out hot and fast while he held me firmly in place, found my hole, and plunged his tongue deep inside. Over and over, he fucked me with his tongue until I was a screaming, writhing mess, white-knuckling the sheets.

“What did I say about those pretty nipples?” Beau’s voice vibrated on my inner thigh. Prying my hands from the sheets, he placed them on my chest, slid his tongue into my mouth, and kissed me hard.

I moved against him, our bodies fitting together easily, his lips hard and his kiss demanding, urging me to open wider. I forced my hands to do as he ordered, and satisfied, he pulled away, kissing down the curve of my neck and nibbling until my whole body was covered in goosebumps.

“Don’t move them,” he instructed lightly.

Back between my legs, he licked and nibbled and suckled, pulling nonsensical words from my mouth. When he found my clit and sucked it erect, I abandoned one nipple and dug my fingers into his unruly hair.

Rough hands grabbed my ass, and Beau lifted me to his mouth, attacking my most sensitive places with his lips and then nipping my clit with the tiniest touch of his teeth; I screamed. “I’m coming—” and then Beau’s mouth was gone.

The shock had my eyes flying open, and I found him grinning like the fucking cat who’d gotten into the cream. “Can’t have you coming so early on me.”

My lungs strained for air. “You’re a wicked, wicked man.”

He chuckled against my quivering pussy, sucking my clit between his lips, and licked long and slow over me again. “I’ll take that.”

“Remember that when I get my mouth on you,” I said. “I’ll have you begging.”

“Fuck,” he breathed, eyes raking over me so intensely it felt like a physical touch. “You’re… perfect.”

“I doubt that,” I whispered, eyes fixed on his, pulling his head down. “But I damn well like hearing it.”

I slanted my lips across his and sought his tongue, and this time, Beau didn’t take cover. He only slid one arm around my waist and used the other to slide his fingers into the hair on my nape.

I found his tongue and sucked on it—trying to show him how I would do it with his cock in my mouth—and every inch of our skin was pressed tight.

Beau’s skin was a mishmash of smooth and rough. His hands were callused, and I loved how they rubbed over my skin. His legs were spattered with hair like his upper chest, but his belly and thighs were toned and smooth. His cock was stiff and leaking on my inner thigh, and I slid my leg between him; he stiffened even more.

Pulling away, Beau said, “Baby, I need to get protection.”

“Hurry,” I dropped my legs, and he slid off the bed.

Pinching a nipple, I slid a hand between my legs and felt how wet I was; a mere brush over my clit had my nerves singing so sweetly, but Beau pulled my hand away. “Let me.”

Propped up on an elbow, he reached over and slid a thick finger between my folds, searching for the tight little nub that was still tingling from his kisses. I trembled as his finger grazed over it again and again, stroking gently at first, increasing pressure, making me arch into his hand.

Back and forth, up and down, circling the throbbing nerve until I cried out. He slid one finger inside me and hissed when I clamped down on it.

“Easy,” he kissed my temple. “Let me in, sweetheart.”

Then he slid another inside. I was embarrassingly wet, his fingers sliding between the slickness easily. He increased the pace, finger-fucking me until every nerve ending flared to life, and I bit my lip to keep from exploding.

“I’m close,” I panted. “But I want you inside me first. I-I want us to come together.”

I needed that connection with him, and those words were the best I could use to express the need. “Please,” I tugged him down.

He lifted the condom to his lips and tore it while keeping his gaze on me, slid between my legs again, and hefted my knees to rest over his elbows. I took a hint and locked my ankles around his back. “Go slow at first.”

“I know…” he smoothed my hair from my face. “You’re extremely tight, baby.”

Baby—that word again.

Did he know he was saying it?

With one hand between us, one hand on the side of my head, and his gaze not shifting, he pressed the head of his cock against my core; our gazes held as he inched inside, slow, tantalizing centimeters at a time.

His jaw clenched, not because I looked like I was in pain, but because I knew he was stopping himself from taking all I offered. His hands fixed over my butt, adjusting me slightly for better balance, as he continued.

“You feel so damn good around me.” Restraint was written all over his tightly wound body.

As he bottomed out, I let out a shuddery breath, feeling stretched to the seams, fingers digging into his shoulders. “Goddamn, you’re thick.”

He chuckled. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I reached for him, “I fucking love it. Move, Beau, let me feel you.”

When he started, it was with gentle, deliberate strokes, more like rocking in and out of me than thrusting. “Fuuucckkk…” he growled, sweat beading on his forehead from the restraint. “I can’t keep this up, baby, I need… I have to move faster.”

Tugging his head down, I met his plunging tongue with mine, stroking it in time to the thrusts of his cock. “Yes. I’m better.”

Beau’s hips snapped in, and his cock felt thicker and harder each time he bottomed out. I shifted, overwhelmed with a beautiful mixture of incredible pleasure and the aching need for release.

“Yesssss,” I arched back.

He started to glide in and out, watching my face like a hawk with its prey. The sounds that left my mouth with every stroke were utterly embarrassing: gasps, strangled cries, a whimper or two. My body was straining against his, nails digging into the skin of his shoulders.

“Harder,” I whispered.

“Say it,” Beau’s voice was rough, “Say my name and ask me for what you want.”

“Harder, Beau,” I cooed, my body undulating under his. “Fuck me harder.”

He unlocked my legs and, pushing back, he spread my thighs until my knees were near to my shoulders, his hips snapping forward, hard, deep, and so scintillating, bottoming out every time, over and over, until my cries filled the room.

I had never felt something like this, something so attuned to the lust burning me from the inside out. Beau was meeting my body, stroking my lust but soothing my soul. Sweat dripped down his face, warm and hot, like the blood raging through his veins.

I licked it off.

The insistent coiling in my belly told me that I wouldn’t be doing anything but feeling in the next minutes. “Beau… God, yes, fuck-fuck-fuck…”

My words were garbled, but he knew what I meant.

“Want to come, baby?”

“No want,” I panted, “I am going to come, very, fucking, hard.”

He licked his thumb and slowly brought it down to the swollen nub between my legs as his cock kept shuttling inside me. I shuddered against him, my body convulsing with each thrust. “Like that?”

“Yes, almost?—”

Beau pressed down, slammed hard into me—and my entire world flipped upside down.

The orgasm possessed me; it scraped me raw from my toes all the way up the back of my eyeballs, and my body convulsed around him. There was nothing but pure ecstasy, a sensual symphony of bliss that left me walking on air. A rough, guttural sound burst from Beau’s mouth, but I was too far gone to respond.

His lips on my throat, a gentle kiss, brought back reality, and a kitten mewl left me when he pulled out, leaving me with an emptiness I couldn’t describe.

“I’ll be right back, baby.” He disappeared into the bathroom.

I watched him go, swallowing over the lump in my throat. Where in our pretend lives had we crossed over into this? Were we pretending anymore?