I looked up at Ian. “Huh?”
“With us, I mean. You, Ryland, Carson and I. That’s our thing, and I know I speak for all of us when I say we’re not going anywhere,” he said.
I smiled. “What about when you get a new, even hotter assistant?”
Ian raised an eyebrow. “Hotter than you? Have you seen you?”
I laughed. I walked around his desk, leaned down and gave him a kiss. I handed the folder back to him with a smile. “I’m fine with my current placement, thank you.”
Ian looked shocked. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I may revisit it later, but for now, I like where I am. Great benefits.” I gave him one last kiss. “I’ll see you tonight?”
“Yeah you will,” he said.
He swatted my ass as I was turning to walk away, I stuck my tongue out at him as I turned to walk out the door.
That night, Ryland, Carson and I collected dinner and drove out to Ian’s lakehouse. The plan was to enjoy dinner before a night of revelry, but given that Ian was completely naked and stroking his cock as we entered, he clearly had other plans in mind. None of us questioned him. We set the food on the table and walked over and I dropped to my knees immediately and started to suck him off. I kept my eyes on him as Ryland lined up behind me and shoved his cock all the way up my ass in one fell swoop, thank god I’d prepared for it. Carson climbed under me and finagled himself so that he could slide his massive girth up my pussy.
Stuff from all sides, just the way I liked to be with my men. I could enjoy them individually or in pairs, make no mistake, but as Ian forced my head down until my nose was tickling his public hairs, while Ryland and Carson alternated pounding my holes, there was no denying that it was the best when all four of us were together.
We never made it to the food that night. We made love all around the lakehouse until we ended up in bed, with Carson behind me, Ian in front, and Ryland on top. Their smells conglomerated and rocked me off to a distant slumber, knowing that I could be happy like this for the rest of my days.
THE END
Coming Soon: Four Ranchers’ Bride (Love by Numbers Book 3)
Jada
My knee seemed to have a mind of its own, bouncing quickly up and down to the beat of its own making. The person next to me on the plane side-eyed me more than once, no doubt wishing my leg would cramp and be unable to bounce any longer.
I wanted to stop, wished I could stop, but my nerves got the best of me. My life was changing at breakneck speed and it was a lot to process. Of course, all the change was my own doing, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with.
Being a bad flier didn’t help the situation either. I tried to watch Golden Girls, a show my mom and I always watched together when I was a kid, but my eyes kept wandering over to the window to my right. I should have just closed the shade, but I felt weirdly calmer being able to see the ground. It was less like I was venturing into the unknown despite the fact that it was exactly what I was doing.
I thought back on my old job at the animal clinic in Las Vegas. Because of the location, I mostly treated rich folks’ pets. The money was good, but the boredom was unbearable. There were only so many times that I could treat broken bones and help reassure pet-owners hairballs were normal before I lost my mind.
When I went to school, I’d envisioned myself truly helping animals, trying to save their lives after they were hit by cars or were sick. I wanted to make a difference in not only animals’ lives, but also in the lives of their owners. I wanted to be able to bring comfort to people during one of their best or worst days.
But after graduating from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, it made sense to stay in the city. I was sure I’d easily find a fulfilling job in the city. Afterall, Vegas was home to the Circus Circus Hotel & Casino, SeaQuest, and the white tigers at the Mirage. I thought I’d surely find a job with one of them.
Except I hadn’t. After each interview, I was told they were looking for someone more experienced, someone with different credentials, or that they’d already hired someone. During some interviews, I saw the surprise on the interviewer’s face when a woman named Jada Hartville turned out to be a Black woman. It was hard not to wonder if my race played a part in their decision too, even subconsciously.
So I eventually had to settle, settle for a job I hated and coworkers I disliked in a city I loathed. I hated how the dry heat made my skin and natural curly hair dry out and I hated how my hair frizzed during monsoon season.
I hated having to wear tank tops and shorts or skirts every day to stay as cool as possible and I hated the way creepy men then stared at me because of it. I hated the cockroaches everywhere in Las Vegas and the roof rats that liked to chew through your wires. Look, I spent my childhood in the Louisiana bayous and New Orleans before my family moved to Las Vegas when I was a teenager. Louisiana was filled with bloodthirsty mosquitoes and rats that could squeeze under the crack under your door and humidity that made my corkscrew curls even curlier. But I was used to them. They were my pests, and completely normal to me. In my years living in Las Vegas, I’d never grown used to the pests. I hadn’t allowed myself to.
Las Vegas never felt like home and I desperately wanted to find one.
Finally, it all just became too much. I got home from work one night and scoured the country for veterinary jobs. I’d looked for jobs back home in Louisiana, wondering if the familiarity of it would be helpful to my mood. I still had some family there, so I’d at least know someone when I got there. But it hadn’t worked out that way. Just three weeks after my job search began, I was on my way to Montana where I would be the veterinarian for a ranch on the outskirts of Seeley Lake.
My mind drifted back to the Skype interview I had with the ranch’s owner. With a name like Hank Brekker and the fact that he was the CEO of a ranch, I’d expected him to be a lot older, in his fifties at least.
But instead, Hank was in his late twenties or early thirties. He was an incredibly handsome guy with emerald green eyes, sandy blonde hair, and one of those adorable chin dimples. A small white scar was visible on his left temple. He looked like a guy who worked outside a lot with his tanned skin, broad shoulders, and muscular arms. Despite the fact that he was sitting down during our interview, I imagined he was tall and couldn’t help but wonder if his thighs were just as muscular as his arms.
Though I wasn’t looking to hook up with my new boss, it did help that there would be something nice to look at on the ranch.
The interview went well and, by the next day, I got off work to find a job offer waiting for me on my voicemail. I’d waited as long as it took for me to get to my car to drive home before I called Hank back to accept.
Hank’s ranch, the Break-Ridge Ranch, agreed to pay for my moving expenses. I needed time to settle everything in Las Vegas before I made the big move. There was a lot I had to do, including packing the things I wanted to take with me to Montana and separating out the things I wanted to put into storage and the stuff I’d planned to toss. There was also the fact I wanted to wait out my lease so I could get my security deposit back and wouldn’t have to pay a hefty fee to break the lease.
I was grateful for the time they gave me to get all of my affairs in order. In the end, it took three weeks to accomplish everything. I counted down the days until I was scheduled to leave Las Vegas, marking them off on a calendar I kept hanging in my bedroom. I’d never tell anyone this, but I’d drawn a heart around the day I was to fly out.
I felt bad that I didn’t really tell anyone but my family that I was leaving the city. I especially felt guilty that I hadn’t told my friend Sascha. She’d always been such a good friend to me, but with her job hunt, she’d been busy a lot lately. The day I’d planned to tell her, she had to rush off before I’d had the chance.
I decided to email her now, letting her know about the move, about my disconnect from the city, from my life. How I was depressed by the turn my life took. I made sure to tell Sascha how much I
’d always valued her friendship and that I would remain in touch. Maybe I could invite her to come visit sometime down the line. That made me feel a little bit better.
As for everyone else, well, there really wasn’t anyone else other than my parents and sister.
Some acquaintances and coworkers and a few ex-boyfriends, but that was about it. My depression made me isolate myself from nearly everyone and rebuff the people who’d tried to enter my life. I’d been miserable longer than I cared to admit, keeping it to myself, and lying whenever my family or Sascha asked how I was.
No, I just wanted a clean break from my old life, a truly fresh start. I didn’t exactly want to reinvent myself when I got to Montana, but rather wipe the slate. I hoped I would finally found the place I was meant to be, but only time would tell.
I paused Golden Girls and looked at the time. There was still at least forty-five minutes until we were set to land. I sighed, eager to get off the plan. My leg started bouncing again and I saw the guy next to me glance my way again. He sighed, no doubt eager for me to get off the plane too.
My eyes wandered back to the window, taking in fields far below us. That tingle of anxiety returned, making me a little nauseous. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed it would soon subside. I didn’t want to feel sick on the first day of the rest of my life.
Seki
I hated airports. I really hated airports. Everyone ran around like chickens with their heads cut off and never seemed to know where they were going despite both the airport employees and numerous signs telling them where to go.
After parking the car at Missoula International Airports’ lot, I dodged numerous distressed people frantically running around, their suitcases trailing wildly behind them. I walked to the gate that Jada Hartville, the new vet for the ranch, would soon be walking through, and waited.
Not wanting Jada to wait if the plane landed early, I arrived at the airport well ahead of time. I sat down to wait, cracking open the paperback I’d brought with me to pass the time until the plane landed.
The original plan was for Hank to pick our new vet up from the airport, but when I saw he was up to eyes in paperwork and behind on it, I volunteered to go. I’d finished most of my duties for the day and had the time in my schedule.
Besides, I was curious about the woman that would be spending so much time with the animals on the ranch. As a veterinarian myself, I would soon be spending a lot of time with her too. I was glad Hank finally agreed to hire a full-time vet for the ranch. With the ranch expanding, I wasn’t able to handle everything myself anymore, especially since I worked as a ranch hand as well. Someone who could tend to our animals’ welfare full-time was exactly what Break-Ridge Ranch needed.
When people began emerging from the gate, I stood and walked over so I could watch for Jada. Hank had only given me a general description of Jada, stating she was a pretty black woman with light skin, brown eyes, and curly hair. But nothing could have prepared me for the real Jada.
I knew her as soon as she walked through the gate, her carry-on bag slung over her shoulder. Hank hadn’t done her any justice in his description because the woman I saw walk through the gate was absolutely breathtaking.
Jada had smooth, light brown skin and shoulder length golden-brown hair. She was tall, at least five feet, nine inches tall. The skinny jeans she had on emphasized her long legs that were tucked into brown ankle boots. Briefly, I wondered if this woman moonlighted as a model when she wasn’t off rescuing Las Vegas’ cat and dog population.
Her curls bounced around her face as she walked forward, her dark brown eyes scanning the room. She was probably looking for Hank, so I quickly stepped forward.
As I got closer to Jada, I saw that she had adorable freckles across the bridge of her nose. My weakness.
“Jada?” I asked when I was a few feet away.
Her eyes snapped to me. “Hi?” she asked in an unsure voice.
“I’m with Break-Ridge Ranch,” I said quickly, hoping to put her at ease.
“Oh, hi!” she said, sticking her free hand out to me.
I shook it, noting the calluses on her hands that were the result of hard work. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Seki Paulson.”
“It’s great to meet you, Seki,” she replied, smiling. God, her smile was glorious, so vibrant that it lit up her entire face. “I’m Jada Hartville.” She frowned and then laughed. “But you already know that, don’t you?”
I chuckled and then pointed at her bag. “Let me get that for you.”
She looked surprised. “Oh, wow, thank you, Seki. But I think I’ll keep it for now. You can help carry my suitcase if that’s alright with you. It’s heavy and you look like a strong guy.”
I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. “Fair enough,” I said. “Besides, I like a self-sufficient woman.”
“Huh,” she said, a small smile gracing her lips. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
We began walking toward the baggage claim to grab her suitcase.
Worry filled me as we walked, and I hoped Jada didn’t think I was a total creep. I didn’t mean to flirt with her the way I had, but it was like verbal vomit, just spilling from my mouth. While she seemed receptive to it, I sincerely hoped she hadn’t felt the need to flirt back out of necessity.
I was going to have to cool it if I was going to work with her. Hank would kill me if she went screaming back to Las Vegas because I’d made her uncomfortable, which wasn’t something I ever wanted to do to a woman.
Ugh, I was probably just overthinking everything.
As we waited for Jada’s luggage to appear, I told her, “The reason Hank sent me to pick you up is because he got caught up in doing paperwork.”
“I’m guessing it never ends when you own a ranch, huh?” she joked.
“You have no idea. Just wait until we get there and I will show you around our clinic. There’s a surprising amount of paperwork that comes with being a vet on a ranch.”
Jada’s face lit up. “Oh! So you’re the other vet? Hank mentioned the ranch had a part-time one.”
A little embarrassed, I nodded.
“Looks like we’ll be spending a lot of time together,” Jada said.
And, if I wasn’t mistaken, she had a twinkle in her eye.
* * *
After we found Jada’s luggage, I led her out to the van. We chatted along the way, mostly just talking shop because it was the one thing we definitely had in common.
When we got to the utility van Break-Ridge Ranch proudly emblazoned along the sides, I opened the trunk and put her things inside. Then I walked around to the passenger side door and opened it for Jada.
She stopped short. “That’s the second nice thing you’ve done for me since we met,” Jada said with a chuckle.
“Oh?” I asked, again worrying I was perhaps overstepping.
She gave me a shy smile. “I’m just surprised, that’s all.”
I frowned in confusion. “You aren’t used to people doing nice things for you?” I asked.
She shook her head, her curls bouncing beautifully. I couldn’t help but imagine other things, sexier things, that would make those curls bounce too.
“You may not know this about Vegas, but chivalry isn’t just dead, it’s a freaking fossil.”
I was unable to prevent the bark of laughter that escaped my lips. Jada was funny. I liked that about her. It would make working with her all the better.
As we left the airport, Jada must have sensed that I was tense. She didn’t say anything until we got down the road and I let out a sigh. “I really don’t like airports,” I said.
“I really don’t like airplanes,” she retorted.
“Yeah, they both kind of suck, don’t they?”
As we left Missoula, I told her it would be about an hour until we got to the ranch.
“Why don’t you fill me in on what I should know about the job?” she asked. “Since we have the time to kill.”
“Sure,” I said. “That
sounds great. I’m not sure if Hank mentioned it, but the reason we hired you is because the ranch has been expanding and I frankly just can’t keep up with the animals anymore.” I ran a hand through my long hair. “Besides, I don’t have all the skills necessary to handle a ranch by myself. I studied animal husbandry in school and minored in veterinary sciences.”
“It does sound like you have a lot on your plate. I’m happy I’ll be able to help.”
“You have no idea how much I appreciate you saying that. It’s been a lot.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Jada pause, clearly lost in thought. “So I’ve been reading a lot about problems specific to cattle since I got hired, but was hoping you could give me a firsthand account of what I’ll be dealing with.”
“At Break-Ridge, we mostly deal with the things all other cattle ranches face. Bloat, grass tetany, prussic acid poisoning, foot rot, white muscle disease. They’re all common to varying degrees. It’s hard when you have so many cattle that need your attention, and I’m not really equipped to handle surgeries. We’d always have to call in an outside vet, but they’re always so booked up, the animal often died before they could get there.”
“I’ve dealt with a lot of dogs with bloat at the clinic in Las Vegas, but I know it’s a bit different in cattle. It’s caused by eating legumes, right?” she asked.
“Typically, yeah. Our cattle are all grass fed so it isn’t as big of a concern for us as it is for grain feds, but it’s still possible for grass fed cattle to get bloat from eating clover,” I explained.
“Oh, I remember learning about that in school,” Jada said excitedly. “Clover ferments in their stomachs and they’re unable to burp. If that happens, they can end up suffocating, right?”
Three Bosses’ Assistant: Love by Numbers Book 2 Page 11
