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

17. Beau

Chapter 17

Beau

I t felt like a crime leaving Cassie after we just had such an intense encounter, but I had to get rid of the condom and clean up a bit. I got rid of the condom, wetted a rag, and wiped up, then braced my hands on the sink.

I dropped my forehead on the cold glass, myriad emotions whipping through me like the goddamn storm outside.

These emotions were crushing my chest, gripping my gut tight, telling me that I had crossed the line from pretend love to something more. I knew I had to ignore it, to say to myself that it was all my hormones tricking me into this feeling… but the logical part of me knew it was too late.

Twisting the tap on, I splashed my face with icy cold water, then dried it off with scratchy paper towels. Wetting the rag again, I headed back to Cassie. She was half asleep but responded well when I wiped the dampness off and slid into bed with her.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulled her to rest her head on my shoulder, and brushed her hair from her eyes.

“That was intense,” she whispered.

“It was fantastic.” I kissed her temple while rubbing a hand up and down her back. Cassie coasted her lips up my jaw, teasing and tempting me, and I turned to meet her for a soft kiss. When she pulled away, I could see questions brimming in her eyes.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said after a long pause.

I sat up and finger-combed her hair over a shoulder. “I’ll pretend you’re not lying to me.”

Cassie sat up and brought the sheets with her, hunched over, and twisted her lips. “I hate to bring this up after that … but what the fuck are we doing?”

The worry I just had disappeared, and I even laughed a little. “If I knew, I would tell you… but I don’t.”

“I don’t think we need to analyze it that much, to be honest. We’re attracted to each other, and I admire you, your hard work and self-sacrifice; you’re kinda hot?—”

“Kinda?” My eye twitched.

“—and even with the hard knocks life gave you, you made something out of it,” she smiled. “What’s not to like?”

My hand canted to the right, and my chest felt tighter as I reached for her face and moved even closer, her eyes holding mine captive until my mouth was just a breath away from hers. Her lips brushed over mine like a whisper, but I slipped around her waist and pulled Cassie closer.

As we deepened the kiss, need pooled low in my belly—again, but it only simmered, not boiling up and erupting like before when we desperately needed those clothes gone. We kissed lazily before we sank back to the pillows, and she tucked one of her legs over mine.

Rain was softly pattering against the roof like a rhythmic beat, lulling me to sleep.

“Where have you two been?” Ryker was the first to come by as we entered the house. “Lover’s trip?”

“We got trapped by a cyclone and had to wait it out,” Cassie said, knowing I had no patience with his man. “Be glad it didn’t touch this place… my God, Montana is ripped up.”

“Yeah, well, we got a few more days of downtime,” Ryker said with a shrug while heading off. “Apparently, Ariana had to run off home to deal with a private situation.”

She shot a look at me. “Oh, I guess we can kick back then.”

“Not me…” I shook my head, doing a mental rundown of the list of never-ending things I needed to get done. As much as I wanted to delegate control and tasks to the people that worked on the ranch, there were still not enough hands to complete them all, and I still had to jump in. “I’ve still got a ranch to run, remember.”

“Oh.” She blinked, and I managed to smile. “I’ll see you later then.”

“About six or seven, come by the stables,” I said, hoping it was the best timing. “We should be done by then.”

“I need to go talk to Nelly and Sissy anyway,” Cassie sighed, then dropped her voice and offered, “Do you want me to talk to Rome about our… blow up?”

My lips tightened, and my chest burned bright with jealousy, undue jealousy, but still, I didn’t know if I could handle seeing her flirt with a guy I was becoming close to. We had to do it, though. “Oh, yeah, do that, but do it again when the cameras come back… make sure they get a shot of you flirting with him.”

“You don’t like that.” She bit back a snicker.

“Fuck no, I don’t like it, but we’ve got a game to play and play it smart,” I said. “I struck out at getting up and kicked off the last two times, so maybe you will have better luck this time.”

“I’ll sort it out.” She promised me. “I’ll talk to Rome, and maybe you could talk to him too.”

I got to my room and changed out of fancy, clean clothes into faded wranglers and flannels before heading to my truck.

It was later when we all headed out to the field, so I got to my vehicle instead and backed it up to the feed house, a long rectangle building made of cement blocks with temperature control. It had cost an arm and a leg to build, but I knew it had to be done.

Lugging the feed in wiped me out, but I got the bags inside and set them into their proper corners before I got back to the house. The kitchen was empty when I made a cup of coffee and leaned on the counter as I sucked it down.

Footsteps came in, and I looked up—hoping to God it was not that dick Ryker—but it was Nelly and Rome chatting about seeds and fertilizer and crop rotation.

“Oh hey, Beau.” Nelly smiled. “Please don’t tell me you drank all the coffee already?”

I gestured to a pot. “It’s halfway full… help yourself.”

“Thanks,” she said and reached for a mug on a shelf.

I caught Rome’s eyes and tried to get a read on him but couldn’t. This guy could walk into Vegas and come out dirty rich with that poker face of his. “Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” Jerking my head to the left where the porch was, I asked Nelly to excuse us. Then, I stepped on the porch and he followed.

“I don’t know if Cassie talked to you about?—”

“She did,” he said evenly. “And I told her the same thing I will tell you, it feels unethical to throw the game like that.”

I snorted, then added, “And you don’t think the producers are rigging the game unethically just to drive drama and get views? C’mon Rome, neither Cassie nor I want to be in this damn thing any longer, and honestly, neither of us need the money they’re gonna give out.

“I got my due with them fixing up the ranch the moment I signed my name on the dotted line, and Cassie’s family is loaded. Honestly, exiting the game now would make it more ethical for someone who needs the prize money to get it… someone like you.”

Rome looked to the side, his expression contemplative. I pressed my advantage. “Think about what you would do for your ranch and your family, Rome, if you won this competition or even came in second. You’d still get out with more than what you came in with.”

Finally, Rome faced me. “And all I have to do is flirt with Cassie, right?”

“That’s all,” I said, taking another swallow of coffee and resting my cup on the railing. “We’ll take it from there.”

Rome still didn’t look convinced but contemplative. Finally, he nodded, “When are we going to do it?”

“By breakfast the day they start filming,” I said.

“Okay,” he agreed, then nodded. “I’ll better be getting back to Nelly. She’s got some tricks that I need to memorize.”

I lifted my cup in a mock salute, and he went off. I finished my coffee, made a quick trip to the kitchen for another one in a travel cup, and headed off to the stables. The guys were in the south pasture, moving the head of cattle out of the creek bottom.

I patted Sweetie’s side in the stable. “Not this time, girl. I’m sorry. Don’t hold it against me, but you’re getting up there. That hill needs someone with younger knees.”

She sniffed like a prima donna, turned away to her feeding basket, and even ignored the sugar cubes I held out for her. I’m getting sass from my horse—good grief.

Saddling a black gelding, Jimmy, I turned the gelding out and headed down the hillside. The hillside had brush and scrub grass while the rocks jutted out sharply. This was another bullet point in my plan to restructure the ranch. I wanted to get this part of the creek into a little park-like spot for picnics, but that was later down the line.

I got down to the spot where the guys were and watched the bulls roam the riverbanks, munching on grass and drinking from the brook. We kept an eye on them, the sperm bulls and the steers, praying that none of them got into a fight and fell into the water—but for once, no clashing came.

“Oh Christ,” Bran grunted, nodding to a thicket across the river where a steer had been caught up in a thicket. “What on earth did it smell in there?”

“I dunno,” I shrugged. “But we better get it out.”

Riding through the shallowest part of the river, we got to the hedge and found that the young Hereford bull had managed to wedge its head and its short, stubby but sharp horns in a tangle of twigs and leaves.

Bulls weren’t the easiest critters to deal with at the best of times, and when they’d been stuck as long as this bull likely had been, their tempers weren’t exactly sweet. It was impossible to lasso the thing's head this way, so I got down off my horse to see if I could chivvy the animal out of the hell it had made for itself.

Bran and Freddy snipped and sheared the bush away while I chivied on foot. When the bull finally broke free and rewarded me with a kick at my ribs, I flung myself away—and landed in the shallows while my ribs ached like the devil had stuck his fork inside my gut.

“Motherfucker,” I grunted, pressing my hand to my side. “Must be my lucky day.”

Bran hauled me up. “Doesn’t that asshole know the phrase, don’t bite the hand that feeds ya?”

“Remind me to put it on the top of the list for the butcher,” I grunted while I got on my horse and headed across the river again.

I was dirty, sweaty, tired, and sore by the time I got back to the stables. The bull might have missed breaking my ribs with his first kick, and I would be black and blue, but a hot bath and some heavy painkillers would do the trick later on.

“Want some help?” Ron asked as he brushed his horse down and led the stallion into his stall.

Most of the guys were already gone, and the stable was quiet, save the odd nicker and hoof stomp.

“Nah,” I said while undoing the saddle girth and felt my skin pinch. “That asshole didn’t get me that bad.”

“Suit yourself, but I’ll leave the doctor’s number on the fridge in case you wanna call her up,” Ron teased, then tipped his hat to me and left.

I was folding the saddle blanket when the doors screeched open. One of the guys had probably forgotten something, or Ron was there to tease me again.

“If you are here to bug me about that doctor again, I am sending you back to Montana for a forced vacation,” I grunted.

“Why do you need a doctor?” Cassie asked as she came closer.

“Oh, it’s you,” I gave her an apologetic grin. “A bull nearly clocked my ribs with his back hoof. Don’t worry, I got away with a nick. It stings like all fuck, but I am not so damaged I need to go to the doctor.”

She came closer and danced her fingertips over my chest. “That sucks because here I was planning on seducing you.”

I snorted. “Sorry. As much as I would love to back you up against that wall over there and have your legs around me, we’ve got two problems. I don’t have a condom on me—which I need, and I want to make sure I haven’t strained something.”

Smiling, she looked up at me and reached up. “You’re so damned gorgeous. Your hair was wind-tousled and…” her hand came to my jaw “…I love your day’s stubble.”

“Tempt a man, why don’t you?”

I left the horse’s brush dangling from my hand, and we moved together, lips meeting softly. It started soft and gentle—but kissing Cassie never stayed soft and gentle. I kissed her with growing passion, and it grew deeper, almost furious in its intensity.

I turned her around and pressed her up against the wall, both hands braced on either side of her, and caged her in as my mouth ate at her. She didn’t move, not even when she felt my erection harden against her belly.

Pressing against me, I felt her nipples as hard as rocks under my chest, and my cock got thick, pressing against my thigh. We were so pressed tight I didn’t need to reach down and stroke myself. With her rubbing against me, it was enough.

Her lips coasted over the stubble covering my jaw as her hand slid between us and down over my cock. “How about I repay the favor?”

I pulled her away. “As much as I want your mouth on me, baby, not this time. I stink like a pig.”

Cassie’s sigh was audible, but she kissed my cheek and stepped away. “Oh, I should tell you, I talked with Rome, and he?—”

“Oh, yeah, he told me,” I got the horse into his stall and then nodded. “I got him to agree to it anyway. We’re good for when they start filming again.”

“Oh,” her head snapped back. “That’s good then.”

Reaching for her face, I held her cheek. “I hated denying you, denying us both, but I feel like shit. Seriously, I must smell like a caveman wallowing in mud.”

She snickered and stepped back, wrinkling her nose playfully. “You’re right.”

Rolling my eyes, I stepped away and dropped a few more sugar cubes in Sweetie’s feeding tray, and she had the gall to turn her back to me. Cassie noticed. “What’s bugging her?”

“I didn’t choose her to take me on a ride today, and she’s put me in the doghouse,” I snorted. “Animal or woman, I am not a lady’s man.”

“Lies and slander,” Cassie giggled. “Even worse, self-lies and self-slander. They don’t suit you.”

I slapped her ass. “Go on, you. Git.”

She turned. “Ariana is coming back tomorrow. Are you ready for a performance of your lifetime?”

The reality check set in. “No, but I damn well have to try. I hope I don’t fuck up this time.”