Slow Ride Home (The Grady Legacy) (24 page)

“Dallas doesn’t count—you had a delivery to make, a meeting with your Uncle Charlie and then you visited your grandmother. While they might not be ranch work, they were still obligations. Be honest, you’ve not taken a single day off since...” She tilted her head, noticing the dark shadows beneath his eyes and the way his mouth pressed together. She wasn’t the only one who was exhausted. “Since before your dad died, I’m betting. In all the time I’ve been with you, I’ve never once seen you delegate anything. Or trust your people to carry out your instructions without checking up on them.”

“I trust them,” he said lightly, though his hands stilled on her waist.

“Then why do you check up on every single chore—like checking the fencing teams and the haying teams? Like that day you let me work the combine? That should have been Dale’s responsibility, not yours.”

“As you said, I’m the boss. It’s part of my responsibility to make sure the jobs I assign get done.” It didn’t take the clamped-down jaw to tell that he was pissed.

Shoot, when had this turned into an argument? “I know,” she said softening her tone. “I’m not criticizing you, Ben.” Mimicking his earlier move, she touched his chin and caught his gaze. “I know you love Bull’s Hollow, but you’re burning yourself out. You’re not alone in running the ranch. Jake’s there too. He loves it just as much as you do. You can spell each other off. Share the load.”

“Easier said than done.” His shoulders relaxed, as had his face, though she sensed sadness behind his eyes.

“Why? Jake’s a smart guy. He was raised with the same training you got.”

“It’s not that.” He glanced away, his brows drawing together. “It’s...he changed after Pop died.”

Yet another burden he was carrying. Her heart clenched, remembering that not only had his father died, but he’d fired Tank and held himself responsible for bringing the claim against the ranch. Too many burdens. “Talk to him. Get him help. Find a grief counselor or something for him. But when this is all over, promise me you’ll take some time off. Find some way to relax.”

“It’s hard to get away, Allie. You know that.”

She drew lazy circles on his chest. “You don’t have to leave the ranch to relax. I can think of plenty of things you can do right here.”

“You do a pretty good job of helping me relax.” With a deft movement, he pulled her shirt over her head and let it drop at their feet. “You’re fallin’ behind,
cowgirl
.”

* * *

Ben awoke curled around Allie, her hair trapped beneath his head, its coconut scent driving straight to his cock. Not that it needed any encouragement. He sniffed, not just coconut. Bacon. Another sniff of her hair confirmed the bacon didn’t emanate from Allie.

The murmur of two voices and a clattering of a metal pan drifted upstairs—Jake and Gabe probably. No doubt one of them was making breakfast, which would explain the bacon scent permeating the room.

Outside, the sun painted the tops of the distant hills golden. Had he been home, he would have been up and at work over two hours ago. No wonder he felt so well rested—it had been years since he’d been able to sleep in so late. The clock on the bedside table flashed twelve. At least the power was back on. Butch wouldn’t expect them to bring Cody back until later this morning. And he’d radioed in what the hands were to do while they weren’t around.

The kitchen door slammed beneath them, rattling the glass in the windowpanes. Whoever it was was singing a damned fair rendition of Zac Brown’s “Chicken Fried.”

The song stopped. “Hey, Buttercup, how you doin’, girl?” A horse snorted in reply. “You wanna go home? See your boyfriend who’s probably fretting thinking you stepped out on him last night?”

Holy shit, that was Jake singing?

Ben settled back around Allie, listening as Jake resumed his song—a different one this time, Dierks Bentley’s “Tip It On Back.” When the hell had his little brother gotten to be such a good singer?

Beside him Allie mumbled something and shifted, her lips pulling into a quick frown that quickly relaxed. He brushed the hair from her face, and lifted up on one elbow to watch her sleep, drawn into her peaceful expression. She’d kicked off the sheet. Since they’d both gone to bed without a stitch, he was treated to a glorious view of her dusky pink areolas. Grinning, he blew on one, delighting in how quickly it puckered. Her skin looked like cream in this light, the freckles sprinkled over her skin barely noticeable.

She’d challenged every move the night before. Constantly questioning whether his head ached, whether he should go to sleep after a head injury, checking his bandage to see if the bleeding had stopped. If he should engage in strenuous exercise, as she called havin’ sex when he’d tried to distract her. In short she’d driven him nuts. Until he’d finally captured her mouth and swallowed whatever questions remained.

At first he’d been amused at her concern for him, and then it had dawned on him that she really had worried about that dunk in the river he’d taken, scared out of her wits from the way she kept pestering him. She cared for him, not just for his physical health, but from her questions about the hours he put in, and even his relationship with Jake, she genuinely worried about him. The knowledge that he’d broken through the barriers she’d erected had made him feel the best he’d felt in a long while.

He’d stretched her out on the bed beneath him, held her captive as he explored her body, the way he had that summer they’d used the lodge as their own personal hideaway. She’d been so brazen even then. Not afraid of telling him what she liked him doing, and or of pointing out what she didn’t. She’d been a quick study of what he liked too. He’d be the first to admit that she’d set the bar high for the women who followed.

Now here she was back in his bed, just as challenging and curious as she’d always been when she gave herself the chance. So he’d give her a chance...

He skimmed the back of his knuckles down her jaw, and stroked down her neck and over the soft rise of her breast. She stirred lightly, a soft hmm of approval puffed through her lips, though she didn’t wake. He skated his fingers around her perky nipples until they once again tightened into hard buds.

He was seconds away from leaning down to take that tasty nipple into his mouth when her face pulled into a frown again and she curled into a ball on her side, her arms clutched over her breasts.

Damn it, just when things were getting fun. ’’Course he always did love a challenge. Once he retrieved his last condom from his pants and sheathed himself, he scooted up beside her. He loved curling his body around hers once more and, with a minute’s hesitation about waking her too quickly, pushed his leg between hers.

He slid a hand between her thighs and found her clit, teasing it and pinching it, her moisture gathering on his fingers. A shift of position, of her legs, and his, until his cock nudged her opening. A soft sound of approval had him checking her face again—still that soft languid expression, though he was certain she’d woken—and he buried himself in her warmth in a smooth steady stroke.

He stifled the groan that gripped him clear down to his toes. So fucking perfect.

Another hmm, and her hips canted back, pressing him deeper. His head fell back on the mattress as her muscles tightened around him. He withdrew and surged back into her, loving the soft moan she made, and the way she clutched the bottom sheet. A slow withdraw, her flesh quivering, pulsing with each inch. Her eyelids fluttered and her teeth caught her bottom lip with the next pass. Again, and again, he pressed inside her until sweat dripped down his forehead, tickling as it crawled into his hairline, stinging as it slid over the gash.

But the angle wasn’t right. He couldn’t get that one spot she needed to have the full body orgasm he wanted to give her. One that would leave her boneless and breathless, to remember once she was in Houston.

He withdrew, and with a gentle hand on her shoulder, straightened her onto her back. Her thighs naturally fell open, making it easy to position himself over their welcoming cradle. He buried himself in her passage once again until he was fully seated. He flexed his hips, withdrawing his cock nearly the full length then rocked back in. Her inner muscles tightened around his shaft on each pass. He dropped his face in the crook of her neck and licked, tasting salt, and vanilla and his beautiful Allie.

Her hand cupped the back of his head, her fingers stroking through his hair. Her ankles hooked around his thighs, her heels pressing him deeper. If he had nothing else in the world but this place, this woman, he would have everything he could ever need.

“Please,” she begged as she moved restlessly beneath him. Needing no more encouragement, he slammed into her, again and again. Another adjustment of angle allowed him to slip his hand between them. He found the swollen bud of her clit and rolled it between his fingers, her body clutching with each squeeze, making her tremble and her muscles tighten as he rode her hard.

Her fingernails dug into his scalp as her back arched and her passage seized around him, convulsing as she came. The engulfing heat of her orgasm rocketed him over the edge too. With a hoarse shout, he pistoned into her, emptying everything he had and sending his whole world spinning.

He lay on top of her, a heavy blanket, gasping for breath, his body twitching beneath the soft palm skimming up his spine. When he finally lifted his head and met the gaze of her beautiful hazel eyes, the heavy lids couldn’t hide the passion within. A smile tilted those beautiful swollen lips. “Good morning.”

“It certainly is.” He rolled off her, his body slick with sweat.

“What time is it?”

God, he loved that husky not-awake-but-just-had-a-screaming-orgasm voice.

He lifted his wrist and checked his watch. “Going on six.”

He swore he could see the cogs of her brain gradually spinning up to speed. Damn, she was fascinating to watch. “I need to get a wiggle on if I’m going to get to the office before noon.”

He rolled on his side and pulled her into his arms so he could nuzzle her cleavage. “I was hoping you’d call in sick so we could play hooky together.”

“I can’t. I have to get into the office today.”

* * *

By the time Ben led Allie downstairs, they found Gabe in the kitchen, piling bacon onto a plate. “Hey there. Want some breakfast?”

Allie’s eyes widened. Not only had Gabe prepared bacon, he’d cooked a dozen eggs, hash browns, biscuits and gravy too. “My Lord, I’ll be full as a tick if I eat all that.”

“So stay here today, and I’ll make sure you work it off.” Ben grinned. “We’re short of hands, remember? I need someone who knows her way around a shovel.”

Gabe chuckled. He straddled a chair and loaded half the bacon onto his plate, along with three of the eggs.

“Looks delicious. You’re going to make someone a good wife one day.” Ben grinned when Gabe flipped him off. “I take it Cody’s still sleeping it off?”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah. He was up puking his guts out just after midnight, but he passed out again right after.”

“Jake still around?”

“Nope, he left about a half hour ago. Said he had to go into Dallas today once he got the hands all squared away. Said you’d know why?”

To search Gram’s place for the video again, no doubt. “That’s right. I’d forgotten he’d planned that trip.”

Of course with Jake over in Dallas, he was left running the ranch alone again. What else was new?

Which reminded him of Allie’s assessment about how he was taking on too much. He slanted a glance at her. She’d left her hair down for once, the long strands curling over her breasts and down her back in wild abandon. While he’d understood her intentions, taking time off wasn’t easy. Especially now they’d lost Dale, and too many other hands too. But maybe once she closed the case, and the ranch was back on steady ground with the bankers, he could ease up. Take a day off. Drive down to Houston and take Allie to lunch? Maybe the two of them could rent a place down in Galveston one weekend, walk along the beach, the warm waves crashing over their toes in the sand.

Now he was talking ditching work for a whole weekend? It would take some serious maneuvering and rearranging of his schedule around Jake’s and the chores needing to be done. But it might be doable.

Or would she want to see him again once the case was closed?

“Did you get the repairs finished on the irrigation system?” Gabe asked.

The discussion then turned to a cow and her calf that had disappeared.

When they finished, Ben carried his plate to the sink. “You going to wait for Cody to wake up or you planning on going in there with a bucket of water to wake his sorry ass up?”

“I’ll let him sleep it off. I remember having a few hangovers when I was his age.”

“More than a few from what I heard.”

Gabe shrugged. “Past tense. Anyway, Butch got on the radio to say he and Bitsey are heading out once breakfast is finished. Once they get here, I’ll head back.”

Her own breakfast finished, Allie brought her plate to the sink and rinsed it off. She laid her hand on Ben’s arm and lightly squeezed. “I hate to rush you but I need to get back to Houston this morning.”

At least she wasn’t avoiding his touch the way she had been when they’d first arrived last night. Something had spooked her. But damned if he knew what.

“Yup. And I need to make sure everyone’s set for the day.” He grabbed his hat from the hook by the door. “See you later, Gabe. And thanks for helping out with Cody.”

The ride home went too fast; before he knew it they were at his place, the horses brushed and turned out into the pasture, and she was racing into the house.

“I have to get ready for work.”

He leaned against the door as she grabbed the clothes she’d brought with her.

It wasn’t like he’d never watched a woman get dressed before, but he’d found himself entranced by her routine. Each item she’d put on, from the plain bra, to the silky half-slip camisole thingy and white button-up blouse, finishing with a no-nonsense blue skirt and blazer had been like watching a warrior donning his armor. She approached her makeup with the same sort of intensity. Then she’d started in on taming her hair, grumbling about the lack of hair spray or something or other to keep her hair in place. Maybe all that fussing made her feel better, more ready to face the urban jungle, but all he knew was he preferred the light, lacy demi-cup bra that let the top of her nipples peek out and her hair down over her shoulders, soft and loose, ready for him to thread his fingers through.