Keep You Safe, page 2
“Fine, be that—” I didn’t get to finish my retort as he pulled me under for a vicious dunk that left me sputtering. I splashed angrily in what I hoped was his direction as I blinked the pond water out of my eyes. “No fair.”
“You started it,” he said smugly, treading water in front of me, deliciously close to giving me a glimpse of his goods. Driven by an impulse I didn’t fully understand, I reached under the water and snagged his foot, dunking him right back. I had brothers. I knew how to give as good as I got, but this wasn’t that. Something about Grayson made me want to rail against him, push in a way I didn’t with others. I was known for being nice, a people pleaser to the core, everyone’s favorite friend, and a respected concierge who could sweet-talk his way into any tickets or reservations a guest desired. But Grayson made me snappy, almost bratty, a side I hadn’t been aware of having two minutes prior.
That was about as much thinking as I got before Grayson grabbed me around the waist to dunk me again, but this time, I resisted, flailing elbows and knees and twisting in his grip until we were face-to-face, chest-to-chest, and I was painfully, intimately aware of our nakedness.
“Knock it off,” he said sternly, still holding me tightly. He’d wrangled me as easily as if I were one of those baby cows escaped from the pasture. And never had I wanted to be caught quite so badly.
“Or else what?” I taunted, amazed at how good it felt to rile this man up. “Who’s going to make me?”
Chapter Two
Grayson
Adler Kelly was a brat. A surprise given his affable nature all week. In fact, I’d found his relentless cheerfulness combined with his utter cluelessness about ranch life vaguely annoying. I wasn’t sure exactly why the guy got on my nerves, but he did. And annoying wasn’t quite the right word either. He’d gotten under my skin in a way few people managed. He lingered in my brain after each brief encounter, causing a restless twitchiness I didn’t know what to make of.
Even more of a shocker than Adler having a bratty side was that I liked it. I’d always been drawn to a certain amount of spunk, but up until this very moment, I couldn’t say as I’d found it appealing in a guy before.
I also couldn’t say as I’d found a guy appealing period, but with an armful of Adler, wet, slippery, and naked, I was hard pressed to deny my body’s reaction, cold water be damned. The restlessness I’d felt all week suddenly had a name: desire.
Huh. I’d always been one to keep sex simple—the occasional hookup, mainly. Sure, I knew what I liked in the bedroom, but I kept encounters as uncomplicated as possible. My attraction to Adler was the definition of complicated, yet here we were, and I was far more curious than I ever could have predicted.
“Who’s going to make me?” Despite being trapped, Adler radiated defiance. However, something more than disobedience lurked in his eyes. Want—no, need—to be brought in line. I’d seen similar expressions from stubborn horses plenty. They wanted to please, but they needed a firm hand and plenty of inducement to cooperate. The trick was to harness that feisty spirit, not break it.
“Splash me again, and I’ll show you,” I threatened, not entirely sure what I was doing here, only that further play needed to be Adler’s call. I wasn’t a stranger to providing some…direction in the bedroom, yet this particular situation was far outside my usual wheelhouse. It would be easy to say this was simply two dudes engaging in harmless horseplay, but nothing about this felt harmless or ordinary, and my half-hard dick underscored the erotic energy zooming between us.
I had Adler trapped in a bear hug, but I loosened my grip to see what choice he’d make. To be fair, I wasn’t sure what choice I was making. I had strict rules for fooling around on ranch property or during working hours. Technically, I wasn’t working now. Break time. I further rationalized my curiosity about whatever Adler was trying to accomplish as being a one-time deal. It wasn’t like Adler was a hand or someone I’d have to see more than a few more days. Maverick had said Adler was scheduled to leave soon, having extended his original plan of only staying a week because of Faith’s accident.
And maybe that was playing a role too—I’d been on edge ever since Faith and Maverick argued about the future of the ranch. Maverick said he wanted to give ranching a try and not sell the place as planned, but I wasn’t sure I trusted his decision to stick. If I were about to be out of a job, would it be so bad to let this little game with Adler unfold a bit?
Adler grinned, a wide, mischievous smile that transformed his face from ordinary to rather attractive. He was tall but rail skinny, no muscles to speak of, with wild red hair that seemed to defy the rules of gravity, freckles and pale skin that made him look far younger, and soft blue-green eyes not unlike the color of this pond. I was far from an expert on what made men sexy, but Adler Kelly was hardly movie star material. Until he smiled, that was.
Seconds after he smiled, Adler drew back his arm in slow motion, gaze locked on mine the whole time as if I didn’t know how deliberate his defiance was. Continuing to grin, he sent a wall of water in my direction. I wanted to make a point, not drown the guy, so I didn’t go for another dunk as he probably expected. Instead, I picked him up, threw him over one shoulder, and marched out of the water to deposit him on the bank of the pond.
“Hey!” He made indignant into an art form, all pouty lips, wide eyes, and upturned hands. “What was that?”
“Playtime is over,” I said sternly, looming over him.
“Is it?” Adler cocked his head, considering. He also made no attempt to hide his blatant appreciation for my nakedness, eyes raking over me every bit as slow and deliberate as that splash had been. “Your dick seems rather hard for someone who wants me to quit taunting.”
“Maybe my dick’s hard at the notion you might actually behave,” I countered. I remained uncertain as to what was up with my body’s sudden decision to cross the tracks, so to speak, but that was a problem for me to sort out later. Right now, I wanted to see what would happen next, the sort of reckless urge I hadn’t known since my rodeo days. Also, it wouldn’t do for me to project anything other than the sternness Adler seemed to crave.
“What do I get if I’m good?” Rising from his untidy heap of limbs, Adler kneeled in front of me, reaching out to place a hand on my thigh. His touch seared my damp skin like a brand.
“Depends.” I met him pointed look for pointed look. “How good can you be?”
“Oh, I can be so good,” Adler all but purred. “I can blow your mind.”
He put enough emphasis on blow that a satellite from space could’ve picked up his meaning. And his own cock was plenty hard, in case I had any doubts. I’d seen my fair share of naked men in bunkhouses and locker rooms, but this was the first I’d seen one erect and ready up close. Long, lean, and with a pronounced oval head, Adler’s cock was proportionate to the rest of him.
“And if I let you?” I undoubtedly shouldn’t be considering a blowjob from my boss’s best friend out in the open like this—or at all—but we’d come this far. Didn’t have to mean anything, and honestly, I was stunned at how hard my dick pulsed at the notion of Adler sucking me off. In fact, the longer I stared at his erection, the more my hand flexed, an unfamiliar urge to touch.
“Oh, I’d play with that tasty cock for free.” Adler flashed another of those devastating grins of his. “But if you’re offering a reward, I wanna ride a horse before I leave.”
“That all?” I drawled. If Maverick hadn’t been otherwise occupied all week, Adler surely would have gotten his wish by now. With any other guest, I would have likely offered myself or sent him to Kat for a lesson, but I’d let Adler under my skin and then avoided him, probably for reasons related to why my dick was so damn hard at the sight of him on his knees. “I suppose that can be arranged. If you’re good.”
“Trust me. I might not be cowboy material, but I do have a few unique skills.” Adler stuck his tongue out, rolling and contorting it as if tying an imaginary knot, and holy hell if a drop of precum didn’t appear at the tip of my dick at his antics.
“So you say.” Somehow, I managed a disinterested tone. “How about you stop bragging and start working for that reward?”
“Gladly.” Adler reached for my cock, making a happy noise as he fisted it. He took his sweet time stroking me, letting his fingers brush my balls and his thumb tease my cockhead.
“Sun’s a wasting,” I drawled.
“Hold your horses.” He stuck his tongue out again, not to arouse me, but to show more of that bratty side. Accordingly, I brushed his hand aside and gripped my cock myself, teasing his lips and tongue with featherlight passes.
“Watch your manners, or I’ll make sure you hike back still hard,” I warned, even though I had no intention of doing that. But Adler’s cock bobbed as soon as I got stern, so I was happy to keep it up. “Say please.”
“Please.” This time, he used his devilish tongue along the underside of my cock, darting in between my fingers. “I’ll be good.”
“You better.” I removed my hand so he had more room to play, and he made a grateful hum right before taking my cock in his mouth. And, okay, I was solidly in my mid-forties. I’d had more than a couple of blowjobs in my life, but Adler, well, Adler managed to make it look and sound like I’d given him a plate of expensive truffles and told him he had five minutes to eat his fill. He moaned around my cock as he slid deeper, eyes fluttering closed, expression completely content.
“Mmmm.” He made a satisfied noise, and I swear to God, each moan was more erotic than anything he was doing with his tongue. He stuck to a shallow but devastating rhythm. Opening his eyes, he met my gaze, a little mischief returning to his expression.
“That as deep as you can go?” I scoffed when, in truth, what he was doing would work just fine, especially if he got his hand involved again.
Adler’s eyes turned hot and grateful, like my request was exactly what he’d craved. “You want deeper?”
“Oh yeah.” I had a feeling I was going to like whatever trick he unleashed next. He wiggled his mouth for effect, as if he needed to unhinge his jaw like a snake. I might be on the thicker side of average, but I wasn’t that huge. However, my ego didn’t mind the warm-up, especially when he followed it by swallowing me to the root in a single motion, graceful as a swan dive. “Fuck, that’s good.”
Adler moaned like he’d been waiting for my praise all afternoon. Him moaning with my cock deep in his throat was hotter than the midday sun and likely to get me there in short order.
“Let’s see if you can keep doing that if I go faster.” I gave an experimental thrust forward, watching his expression carefully to make sure he was good.
“I can take it.” Adler pulled off long enough to brag again, a clear challenge in his eyes. “Go hard.”
I thrust with measured caution, chasing his mouth but letting him control most of the depth. However, the more I thrust, the more Adler moaned until I was fucking his mouth in earnest. He sucked hard on every retreat and relaxed on the downstroke so I could go deep.
“Fuck.” I groaned low, his eagerness making me harder than I could remember. “You love this, don’t you?”
“Mm-hmm,” Adler hummed his reply around my cock, and the vibrations had me right on the edge, way sooner than I liked.
“You weren’t lying about being good.” I gasped. “So good for me. Fuck. You gonna swallow?”
“Want it.” Adler nodded with half my dick in his mouth, hottest fucking sight ever, and I finally went as hard as he’d been begging for, thrusting fast and deep, a sloppy gallop to the finish.
“Close, baby. Here it comes,” I warned. All he did was suck that much harder. “You swallow it all now.”
Climax hit me like a flash flood in a slot canyon, swift and devastating, little warning as it cleared out everything in its path, mental clutter and rational thought be damned. Before this moment, I’d only ever achieved similar clarity when getting a tattoo. It took all my remaining focus to keep upright as the waves retreated, leaving me boneless.
“Yummy.” Adler licked his lips. He jacked his cock with quick motions like he was already most of the way there. “Do I get my reward?”
“Hell yes.” I’d give him whatever the fuck he wanted after that.
“I was good?” Adler stroked himself faster. A deep flush spread from his chest up his neck to his cheeks.
“Amazing. Best I’ve ever had.” I wasn’t lying either, so I put all my gratitude into my voice. “So good for me.”
“Thank you.” Adler gasped as he spurted all over his fist, creamy ropes that dribbled down his wrist. His body shook and shivered. “Oh God.”
He rested his head against my thigh, and stroking his mess of damp hair felt as natural as breathing. I didn’t know what to make of this urge to pet and take care of him, so my back tensed as restless energy gathered in my torso.
“Wow.” Adler glanced down at his hand. “Gonna need another swim.”
“Yep.” Pleased to have something to do with myself, I waded into the cool water, leaving him to follow. “Better behave this time.”
“I will.” Adler was back to his usual eager-to-please self, and if I missed the brat, well, that was for me to mull over later, along with my dick’s continued interest in Adler’s talented mouth. I’d just come, but my body seemed to have forgotten we weren’t twenty anymore.
“Good boy.” I’d issued the praise without really thinking and was about to walk the comment back because Adler wasn’t a kid, but he made a pleased noise, expression going soft and warm.
“Oh, I’ll be good.” He fluttered his eyelashes. “Now, when do I get to ride a horse?”
“Soon.” More time with Adler was a bad, bad idea, but a promise was a promise. Surely, I could manage a riding lesson and keep my dick in my pants. What happened at the swimming hole, stayed at the swimming hole.
Chapter Three
Adler
Foreman Foxy didn’t seem like the type to tolerate tardiness, so I was five minutes early to our agreed-upon evening time for a horse riding lesson. I had a feeling Grayson was giving up his dinner hour for me, but he’d also likely chosen the time because the horse barn was otherwise deserted. It was still light outside as I trudged up from the main ranch house. Maverick had messaged that he and Hannah were doing more school prep and getting dinner out after the hospital, which was a good thing because I hadn’t had to answer any questions as I showered off after my sweaty hike back. Of course now I was sweating again because what was left of the day remained a scorcher.
And sweating because I might never be able to think of hot weather again without also thinking of skinny dipping with Grayson. Otherwise known as the most sexually charged encounter of my life. I was no virgin, but blowing Grayson had been a rush unlike anything outside of certain chemically assisted experiences. I’d assumed sobriety meant never again achieving such a lofty high, but I’d lacked the imagination for what it would mean to play with someone stern and sexy like Grayson. I wanted more where that came from, but as soon as I entered the barn, he greeted me with a deep frown and grunt.
Playtime is over. Oh well. He’d said that earlier and not meant it. Maybe I could wear him down for a repeat regardless of the disinterested and put-out vibes.
“Which is my horse?” I kept my expression and voice bright as if I hadn’t noticed his glower. Grayson was in the same beige work shirt and jeans as earlier, and his short hair had long since dried, along with any semblance of a positive attitude.
“The horse you can ride is Magnolia.” Grayson’s tone was more formal than usual, like he’d taken special exception to the use of my. “Hannah usually rides her. She’s gentle and hard to spook.”
“Good.” I followed him down the line of stalls, enjoying all the fanciful horse names, not that Grayson’s determined stride gave me much time to linger. “I see you’re back to not liking me.”
“I don’t hate you.” He turned back toward me as we arrived at Magnolia’s stall. His scowl only deepened, and if he was also caught up in memories of earlier, he sure wasn’t showing it.
“But you don’t like me either.” I was determined to wiggle my way under his skin, and if that meant calling out his bad mood, then so be it.
“You’re a bit…aggressively cheerful.” He and the horse, a chestnut mare, sighed in the same long-suffering tone.
“Are you saying I’m too nice?” I tilted my head at him. Most people liked my pleasant demeanor and optimistic spirit. Heck, I worked hard to be charming, and Grayson took offense? “You’re annoyed because I’m friendly?”
“When you put it that way…” He trailed off with another harrumph. “Look, let’s get the horse ready.”
Contrary dude. It was almost like he’d liked me better in that weird mood from earlier, where I’d felt compelled to keep poking him until he felt the need to punish me.
“We’ll have more room to work out here.” Grayson led the horse out of the stall and clipped her lead to a hook on the wall. One would think he was afraid to be in close quarters with me, but naturally, Grayson didn’t show it as he bustled around fetching a brush, saddle, and other implements. In fact, he kept his tone maddeningly businesslike as he walked me through the process of getting Magnolia saddled.
I liked brushing the horse’s velvety coat, but much more of Grayson’s distance and I might throw something. Finally, I’d had enough.
“I take it we’re also not talking about earlier.”
“No.” Grayson didn’t even look up from adjusting the cinch on the saddle. “You’re leaving in a couple of days. It was a one-time thing—”
“Doesn’t have to be a single time.” I made my voice as seductive as possible. As much as I wanted to try riding a real horse, I’d happily ride him instead if he so much as whistled in my direction.
“Yeah, it does.” He glowered at me as he fiddled with a stirrup. “I don’t fool around at work.”
