The valley behind the Triple H was their home, but being more than a thousand acres, I hadn’t nailed down that special place as yet, but I wasn’t going to give up looking. Not even Hendrixx Hott was going to stop me.
Just thinking about him made me ache and get riled up at the same time. No one could bring out my temper more than Hendrixx. His insufferable over-protectiveness both pleased and annoyed me, and that pissed me off because why would I be happy that Hendrixx stalked me to the point he even had spies on the HHH watching every move I make and report back to him? The more he pushed, the more I acted out, the more he laid down the law, the more dangerous stunts I pulled. I deliberately goaded him, I could admit that to myself, I enjoyed the growls and low timbre grunts every time he found me doing something he expressly forbade. And the list was long, Hendrixx took it upon himself to see to my safety the minute my father died when I was only fourteen.
My mother ran off two days after I had been born, she hated life on the land, but hated more that Dad refused to buy his own farm, instead opting to stay on as manager of the Triple H for his lifelong mate Will Hott. Dad had always been forthcoming on the reasons for my mother’s departure from Cattle Ridge. He had been an open parent, never kept anything from me, always considered me older than my age, and therefore, capable of handling the truth.
When he passed away suddenly, I knew that my future was in good hands. Never once did I worry that I wouldn’t have a roof over my head or a family, Will and Lillian Hott immediately embraced me and took over my care. I had always been part of the family, but from that day, my financial stability was never in doubt. Will saw to my education and Lillian saw to my care. I gained brothers as well, or rather Lenoxx and Fenixx saw me as a little sister, they pulled my braids, teased me and egged me to climb trees and generally get into trouble. Hendrixx, however, followed me with his icy blue eyes, kept his distance, but never left me alone.
When we went into town for shopping, it had been Hendrixx who stared down the local boys who paid me too much attention. Hendrixx, who waited for me to get off the school bus and walk me up the long driveway, never walking too close, but always within touching distance just in case I stumbled on the rocky road. I remember one occasion when one of the older boys on the bus waved to me from the window, Hendrixx didn’t like it and questioned if I was interested. When I refused to answer because, well, I knew it annoyed him, I took off at a run only to tumble on the rocky road, Hendrixx ordered the farmhands to dig up the drive and have it paved. When I asked him why he had it done, he replied in his deep voice that nothing hurts his girl. At the time, I didn’t understand, at sixteen boys didn’t interest me; I never read romance novels or watched much TV. But something in his blue eyes when he called me his girl made my stomach flip.
And nothing had changed since I still got all fluttery when he cast his gaze my way, I felt that ache when he growled at me when I was doing something he thought could hurt me. I still didn’t understand all that was going on between us, other than Hendrixx didn’t see me as his little sister. I wasn’t clueless, and I was twenty after all, I might not have had a steady boyfriend, thanks mainly to Hendrixx chasing prospective beaus away before they could get past the front gates. Not that I cared, not really. My life was all about horses and working on the Triple H.
Causing Hendrixx grief was just an added bonus, believe me he deserved it and gave as good as he got.
Lately, he had been spending most of his week over at Makena’s farm, Waterford Views. Her marriage to Lenoxx now well and truly back on, Noxx lived there full-time now with his wife and son, and soon they would be adding to their family with a daughter due in a couple of months.
Hendrixx being absent was a blessing and a curse; it was good because I didn’t have to look over my shoulder every time I headed into the main stables to get my Lancelot fix, but knowing he was over there with Mallory Rogers didn’t sit well with me.
I might be a lot younger than Hendrixx, but I was old enough to remember how Mal and Hendrixx got along back when everything was still okay between Noxx and Mack.
Mallory made Hendrixx laugh, where I made him growl.
She flirted, where I just got frustrated and said the wrong things.
Mal was pretty and Hendrixx liked to comment on her body, I had been too young to have a woman’s body and wore flannel shirts and dusty jeans. Nothing head-turning about me.
Fast forward five years, add curves, and a chest that seemed to appear overnight at the age of seventeen, and all of a sudden, Hendrixx turned from protective to outright feral. Every man who worked on the Triple H was warned not to look at me, not to get too close to me. Hell, if they even spoke to me, not one of them looked me in the eye, they always looked over my shoulder or at the ground, and I knew that was Hendrixx making that order, I just couldn’t understand why. Why bother giving a shit when for the last seven or so months, he spent more time with Mal than he did with me.
She was engaged to a local farmer, off the market, so they say, so why did Hendrixx not want to come home, opting to hang out with the girl everyone assumed at one time he would end up with eventually?
My inexperience wasn’t helping me figure out men, let alone Hendrixx. I couldn’t ask Lillian, and asking Makena for advice on the subject seemed strange, with Hendrixx being her brother-in-law, and there was no way I was going to ask her sister. Whenever she came over to the Triple H, Mal sought me out and watched me. Just watched me, not in a creepy way, more like she was trying to figure me out. For what? I had no clue, she never talked to me, just went off to find Hendrixx, and the two of them would disappear into the main house for hours, or sometimes they would go to his cottage. When they went there, it was these times I found myself doing something stupid like climbing on one of the bulls, or jumping on a farm dirt bike anything that would have Hendrixx bursting out and stomping down to stop me. It was those times when Mallory would narrow her eyes at me, almost as if she was sizing me up. Not that I gave a shit, she was taken, she shouldn’t be hanging with a single man.
My man.
Where the hell had that come from? Hendrixx wasn’t my anything other than my boss and constant shadow, a pain in my arse, and worst of all—I was in love with him.
I loved his sexy swagger, his cheeky grin, the way his eyes followed every step I took, and those things and more evoked feelings deep inside me.
If I was being honest, my feelings for Hendrixx Hott started when I was no older than fifteen. For a year Hendrixx took me under his wing, getting to and from school, I went riding with him, fixing fences and learning everything there was to know about being a worker on a farm the size of the Triple H. I was practically born on the farm, but my father kept me confined to our cottage and the stables, it was Hendrixx that let me get more involved, spread my wings and furthered my knowledge. Horses are my first love and Hendrixx and Fenixx took the time to teach me all they knew. Hendrixx and I made a good team, apart from his over the top growling every time I went near his stallion. For that year until my sixteenth birthday, our friendship had been spot on all of the time. Then suddenly, he went from caring to almost combative, arguing with me, pushing me around, dictating to me what I could and couldn’t do, even chasing off boys from my school.
And then just like that, Hendrixx and I began a new phase in our relationship, one that consisted of him ordering me about and me ignoring him and doing whatever he didn’t want me doing. I had to say it was fun running him off his feet, looking for me all over the HHH property, I loved seeing the relief spread across his handsome face when he found me. The way he would wrap himself around me, feel his heart beating out of control against my chest and that sexy growl when he scolded me for making him worry, the whole time his trembling hands would be running down my back. Soothing him or me, I wasn’t sure. All I was sure of was I loved it, but now everything was changing.
Hendrixx was changing.
Since Mack and Lenoxx reconnected, Hendrixx was less present at the Triple H. At
first, I was happy to hear that Noxx had a son, one he never knew about for three years. His reconciliation with his wife a good thing, but it also brought a problem to my life in the form of Mack’s sister. As if it was easy as pie, Hendrixx jumped back into his friendship with Mallory as if they never parted in the first place. He fell back into old patterns being on the phone with her, and now staying there overnight and even days at a time, I barely got to see him at all anymore.
In the grand scheme of things, I accepted that Hendrixx would never mess with a woman in a relationship with another man. Logically I believed that, but logic didn’t have a place when it came to my wild and out of control imagination. Granted, I was far from experienced in the ways of love and men, but I also wasn’t stupid. It felt to me that Hendrixx was definitely stepping back from me.
Was it because of Mallory? Or was he sick of me?
Under me, Princess shied to the left, losing her footing in a small rabbit hole.
“Hey chickee, calm down,” I crooned, tightening my grip on the reins with one hand while rubbing her neck with the other.
“What has you so spooked?” I asked, looking over the vast valley, my breath catching in my throat.
“No way,” I breathed out, not believing the sight only a few hundred metres in front of me.
There, just across a gully, was the big grey brumby and his mob. Quickly doing a headcount, I surmised there had to be at least forty other horses, all different colours and all gorgeous.
“Look at that Princess, isn’t he a magnificent beast?” Swinging one leg over, I hooked it over the pommel and sat back and stared in quiet reverence, just watching the brumbies grazing on the lush green wild grasses and the thick bush of gum trees behind them. This was what I loved about living on the land, seeing wild horses roam free without man interfering. The people who lived in the high country were divided on the subject of what should be done about the brumbies. One side insisted they be left alone to live their lives the way they always had for generations.
Wild and free.
The other side of the argument wanted to cull the mobs to more manageable numbers in order to reduce the damage they did to the futile land and grazing for the cattle and sheep.
I myself had a foot on either side of the fence. On one hand, I had seen first hand the destruction the horses created on the landscape, but I also saw their beauty and couldn’t bear the thought that someone would or could shoot such a beautiful animal. The debate had been going since I was a kid and well before I was ever thought of, and it would probably still be a topic well after my time on earth came to an end.
Thankfully the Triple H was an officially registered conserve for the wild horses of Cattle Ridge and surrounding districts due to the consideration and compassion for the brumbies by the Hott brothers.
Their generous natures, the way the triplets loved the land, and the place they were born and grew up, and their money meant Cattle Ridge and its people benefitted in many ways, the animals included.
The reach of the Hott family was vast and wide. I myself one of the lucky ones to fall into their embrace.
Living in Cattle Ridge, on the Triple H and getting to see the Great Dividing Range in my own backyard–my life was definitely magical. I loved the bush, the rugged beauty of the vast range, the snow-capped mountains in winter and the constant heat in summer. There was no better place on earth, in my opinion.
I don’t know what I would have done or ended up like if, when Dad passed away, I was made to leave this place. I didn’t have many relatives, not close ones I knew, what if Will and Lillian had turned me away? Put me in foster care, or worse, sent me to the city?
Closed in streets, buildings and smog … perish the thought!
Tossing my legs back over, I shoved my foot back into the stirrup and urged Princess into a walk. I wanted to get closer to the mob, this was as close as I had gotten to them without them bolting away. This time they weren’t going to shy off from me.
The grey was my target, the beast stood at least seventeen hands towering over the mares in his harem.
“Slow girl, take it nice and slow,” I whispered to Princess leaning over her neck. “Don’t scare them off. I want the big fella to see you and become entranced with your beauty.”
My plan was to get close enough that the grey would see my chestnut girl and find himself under her spell. Then he would follow us home, where I would yard him, and then I could start to earn his trust before breaking him in and finally riding him.
My own stallion and no one could keep me away from him.
Under me, I felt Princess tense, her hooves moved in a nervous jig with every step.
So close. We were so close, and the mob was still lazily grazing, not taking any notice of our intrusion. This close, I could make out the darker grey around the stallion’s eyes, the pretty dapple pattern over his crest and wither then all the way across his back. Dark greys and spotted blacks made up his colouring, but it was the dark charcoal that graced his mane and snout that set him apart from any horse I had ever seen. His mane didn’t look matted, it looked soft and silky, just like his nose. I itched to run my fingers over him, to feel his softness first hand.
I was so lost in my daydream, I didn’t notice my mount tremble under me until it was too late. Princess let out a loud whinny gaining the attention of the stallion. All of a sudden, the grey beast snorted loudly, his neck stretched out and his head high.
“Oh shit. Back up, girl, back up!” I shouted, pulling on the reigns trying to get Princess from listening to the stallion and to me instead.
Snorts and nickers came from the other animals, each one now on high alert and watching their leader for instruction. The grey stomped at the ground in front of him, each movement sending a shiver down my spine. He was not happy at my presence and if I didn’t come up with a plan quick smart shit was going to hit the fan.
Then behind me came a loud gunshot. The loud ringing blast echoing over the valley, the sound of beating hooves followed, then a voice I knew only too well shouted out.
“Blake!”
Not wanting to take my eyes off the stallion, I gripped my knees tight on either side of my horse’s flank, my heels digging in warning her that I meant business.
“Move chickee before we get trampled,” I warned in a low voice, aware that I had to stay calm, so Princess didn’t flip out and …
Another shot from behind me this time closer was the last straw for Princess, she reared up, and a great whinny filled my ears then I went tumbling down her back, hitting the hard rocky ground with an unladylike curse. Pain radiated in my hip as I hit the deck and the rocks.
“Ouch!”
“Sweetheart! Shit! Fuck!” Hendrixx cursed, but I was too busy feeling pain in my hip and anger that Hendrixx interrupted my plan-making and shooting his rifle like Wyatt Earp, too busy to hear the thundering of multiple hooves coming my way.
“Blake, sweetheart, watch out!” Hendrixx’s voice came out like a roar, but it was the fear that laced it that made me look at him and not in the direction of the thundering hoofbeats. Not my best move, but what I saw coming towards me stole the breath from my lungs.
Hendrixx Hott was nothing short of the hottest man I had ever laid eyes on–especially when he was sitting astride a galloping white horse, with his black Akubra perfectly pitched on his head, a rifle raised in one hand and that perfectly handsome scowl firmly on his lips. The only difference, the scowl, had an added extra … fear.
Now, I could go on and on daydreaming about Hottie 2 and about the fit of his flannel shirt or how the muscles in his forearms bulged deliciously but …
“Blake, get the fuck up! Look behind you!”
Whipping my head back in the direction of the brumbies, I saw for the first time what had the look of horror coming from Drixx. The big grey and about twenty of his girlfriends were coming right for me, full pelt.
Thinking of Princess first, I brought two fingers to my lips and let out a screeching
whistle then another one. My mare stopped whining, then turned and bolted off to the west, understanding the command I just gave her to take off.
“Arm, Blake,” Hendrixx shouted as he leaned over and shoved the rifle back in the scarab, then veered over to his right, put his arm out and hooked it.
Knowing what he was up to, I jumped to my feet just in time to hook my arm around his tightly and allowed him to swing me up behind him.
“Hold on!” Another shouted command, but he need not have bothered. My arms immediately wrapped around his narrow waist my hands found purchase on his HHH belt buckle, my thumbs made contact with the tight skin above it.
“Hot damn, this man is a god,” I breathe out quietly against his back, not able to stop my traitorous thumbs from running over the ridges of his lower abs.
“And not an ounce of fat either.” I marvelled about to make another pass when Hendrixx made a growling sound. A sound that went right to the essence of me.
“Don’t!” The warning in his tone and Hendrixx’s body tensing against me stopped my roaming like he had dumped a bucket of ice water over me.
Freezing my movements, I slowly inched my thumbs back to the metal belt buckle, then changed my mind and completely removed my arms from around Hendrixx’s waist, instead, holding them behind my back and grabbed onto the cantle at the back of the saddle.
I grew up on horses, galloping, even doubling up at full pelt wasn’t frightening for me. Thankfully this saddle didn’t have a high cantle, so at least I wasn’t sitting on Stash’s hindquarters, that would’ve been very uncomfortable, and I definitely would have had to keep a hold on Hendrixx had that been the case.
Looking over to my left, I saw Princess bolting ahead of us, the stirrups flapping and the bridle hanging precariously in front of her legs. She needed to slow down, or she was in danger of catching her front legs in the leather straps, thinning my lips, I let out a long whistle through my teeth, then smiled despite my inner turmoil at Hendrixx’s reaction to my touch, when she slowed down to a canter, then a trot.
Hott and Ready (The Hott Brothers Book 2) Page 2
