“You can’t be taken away from me Blake, I won’t allow it. My world works because you are in it, I get up in the mornings because you are out there waiting for me. I work my fingers to the bone because I get to do it beside you, every single day.”
Tears burnt the back of my eyes, and my lids blinked furiously to keep them at bay so nothing could obstruct my view of him. And what a view! Hendrixx Hott emotional, speaking from the heart, the honesty I could hear in his words and see in his eyes.
But of course, Hendrixx wasn’t finished.
“I have never thought of you as a sister, or part of the family, not like others see you.”
I frowned at that, I always considered that I fit in with the Hott family even when my father was alive, so Hendrixx saying he didn’t, knocked a little wind out of my sails.
Two strong hands reached out and cupped my cheeks, then his thumbs stroked my eyebrows, smoothing them.
“Don’t do that sweetheart, don’t look worried. I just mean the Triple H has always been your home, the people who work on it see you as a member of the Hott family. But I have always seen you as part of my family, part of me. Mine.” He stressed his words with a gentle tug on my face, bringing it closer to his.
“My feelings for you began a long time ago Blake, back when it could have been seen as wrong or obscene.”
I opened my mouth to disagree, but his mouth landed on mine in the barest of kisses, his warm lips hovering just on top without really touching.
“I know there has always been something simmering between us, but I also couldn’t help feeling it was wrong. My parents took you in, trusted that you would be safe here with us. You lost your dad, and damn Blake, you were so young, so full of spunk and sass, but that is what I love about you, sweetheart. You didn’t fall at my feet, didn’t follow me like a puppy. You fought me, pissed me off, and by Christ, you have given me more joy just being around you and knowing you, than I ever thought possible.”
Kiss me, kiss me now before I melt into a puddle of mushy goo.
“I have been waiting for the right time, the moment when I don’t have to hide how I feel. Giving you time to grow up, and to find out who you are, to accomplish your dream of working with horses, to decide if you want to be with me.”
“Am I too young now, Hendrixx?” I asked so softly it was a wonder he even heard me.
“I don’t think you are,” he answered, his lips moving against mine as he spoke.
“Is this the right time now, Hendrixx?” Winding my arms around his waist, I clasped my hands at his lower back. Enjoying his intake of breath just from my touch.
“I reckon it is,” he whispered, his mouth so close I could feel the heat from his lips.
“Then, I guess my decision is made.” I barely finished the last word before Hendrixx put me out of my misery and pressed his lips to mine. However, instead of slamming his mouth down, his lips moved gently and languidly over mine, like a slow erotic dance, melting away any doubt that this was just one of my dreams I had conjured up.
This was no harried, frenzied kiss. This was a promise, a beginning, a declaration of things to come.
Going with my instincts as I did last night, I opened my mouth wider, ready to give him my tongue when Hendrixx pulled his mouth away, his forehead leaning against mine while we both took in a much-needed breath.
“Slow sweetheart, we go slow. Just a few minutes ago, you thought I was hooking up with Mallory. I don’t want any doubts where my mind is and who my heart belongs to before we go any further,” Drixx told me, bringing me back down to earth. A heated blush crept across my cheeks, not from embarrassment but from the memory of seeing them wrapped in an embrace.
“Well you can’t blame me Hendrixx, I can only go off what I saw,” I scoffed, defending my wild conclusion. Anyway, who was he to talk? Didn’t he jump to the same reasoning about Joe?
“You got all bent out of shape when Joe was talking to me if I remember correctly, and you have been over at Waterford so much more lately, how could I not assume you were there to spend more time with Mallory,” I countered, jutting my chin out in defiance.
Hendrixx gently bit me on the chin, a smirk gracing his lips.
“He wants you sweetheart, whether you can see it or not. The only thing Mallory wants is my head on a platter and my balls on a stick.”
“Oh please! No guy on the Triple H has even expressed interest in me, they keep their distance most of the time, and if they do get too close accidentally, they jump away like they have touched an electric fence. It’s weird, they even mumble an apology like they did something wrong—wait.” I stopped and looked at Hendrixx, he looked happy, too happy.
“No way! You did, didn’t you? You warned them to stay away from me!” I spluttered, not sure if I should be pleased or outraged.
“You’re mine Blake, they might as well known from the get-go, saves me from knocking some teeth out,” he replied, completely unrepentant of his underhandedness.
“And what if one of them was my soulmate and not you?” I asked, not meaning a single word. Hendrixx Hott was meant for me, he knew it, hell he knew it before I knew it. Maybe even my father knew it, which is why he trusted me to the Hott family in his Will.
“Don’t be ridiculous woman, don’t say shit that will just get you in trouble later,” he scoffed again, taking my hand and leading me out of the lounge towards the front door.
“Where are we going?” I demanded, lacing my fingers through his, loving the rightness of the act of holding hands with the COO of the Hott empire.
“I have to go back out and help Eddy finish up baling,” he replied as if that answered my question, which it didn’t.
“So, why am I going too?” I enquired, pouting that he planned to go back to work and not … kiss me some more.
“Because if you are with me, you can’t stand on the back of a horse, chase wild horses or try to ride our stallion.”
My heart skipped a beat, knowing he considered Lancelot ours. He bought Hercules because I fell in love with him, Hendrixx did not want a dangerous animal on the farm, but he saw how affected I had been when we heard how badly treated Hercules had been by his owner. He pulled out his credit card and bought him for me, buying Lancelot when I was just a teenager because of me and my desire to train and break horses. In fact, most of the horses on the property he’d purchased, he did after I expressed interest in them.
So much was slowly beginning to slip into place like a jigsaw puzzle. His promises to always look after me, his over the top protective behaviour. The heated looks when he didn’t know I was looking. All of it made sense now.
I was his.
HENDRIXX
A calm settled over me as I drove back to the paddock where I left Eddy in charge and all because of the woman sitting beside me, her hand sitting on my lap my hand securely wrapped around hers.
Blake was finally mine, she might not know just yet what that entails, but she was going to find out and fast.
I could hear the cogs turning in her head from the driver’s seat in the ute. She had to be overwhelmed, not that I could blame her. I went from zero to ten faster than even I thought possible, I gave her my truth, I didn’t beat around the bush how I felt, the only thing I held back on was telling her that I was in love with her, but that would be sharing too much, too soon.
Blake was in with me, that much I knew, but until we sat down in private with no ears listening in the next room, I was happy with our start. Holding her hand and definitely a lot more kissing.
Kissing Blake for the second time only reinforced that last night’s kiss had not been a fluke. Every glide of her lips was etched into my brain as were her moans. Fuck her moans turned me on, I could come from them alone. The realisation that now I could kiss her whenever I wanted damn near made my dick explode in my jeans.
I was definitely going full throttle where Blake was concerned, but why the fuck not? Lenoxx lost four years of his life with Mack, and Blake lost her dad too
young, life was too goddamned short to sit back and ponder. If it was right, then go for it, I say.
Our age difference was still a small issue, I was her first kiss let alone anything else, so I had to admit it played on my mind, was I going to be enough for her forever or just for now.
Joe was interested in her, but he could go fuck himself if he thinks he has a chance with my cowgirl. Blake was mine, and when she was ready for the next step in our relationship, then I would be more than happy to make it a done deal.
“What are you thinking about over there Hendrixx that is making you grip the steering wheel in a white-knuckle death grip?” Blake suddenly asked me, snapping me out of my silent musings. Just as well considering where my mind was about to head.
“You under me, on top of me, riding me, the possible positions are endless,” I answered her honestly. I was the kind of guy that said what was on his mind, I didn’t beat around the bush, I didn’t talk shit or pussyfoot around. Once I made up my mind, then that was it. That motto applied to every aspect of my life, on the farm or in the boardroom. Granted, Lenoxx took care of the meetings more than Fenixx or I did, and that suited me fine. I hated button up shirts, unless they were flannels. I reckon I owned only two dress shirts, and they were both black and understated, and I still paired them with jeans and boots.
Fenixx was worse than me, he never went into the HBC offices in Melbourne, and he never wore anything other than jeans, flannel shirts and his ever-present ball cap. He hated cities of any kind, he likened them to bearers of bad news. Not that I could blame the poor bugger, from the age of three to ten, he spent enough time in the Melbourne, or rather the Children’s, Hospital to give him a healthy disrespect for the city.
A hard slap hit me upside of my head.
“Hey, what the hell Blake!” I growled, rubbing my ear.
“Focus, Hendrixx. Stop thinking about me naked or riding you,” she huffed, but the cute pink stain on her cheeks told me she wasn’t all that upset about my dirty thoughts.
“Not going to happen sweetheart, but so that you know I was actually thinking about Fenixx.”
“What about him?”
“His dislike of Melbourne.”
Blake made a humming sound. “Yeah, that he does,” she agreed, falling silent, her hand slipping back into mine.
Expertly navigating through the open gates, one-handed the silence in the cab was comfortable. The only indication something was wrong was the way Blake’s fingers twitched and flexed between mine, while the fingers on her other hand, were busy twirling her long hair.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” I knew Blake better than she knew herself. I knew every mood and every tell. She was worrying about something and it wasn’t Fenixx.
Making a low sound deep in my throat, I yanked on the wheel and pulled over next to a stack of hay bales. I could see that while I had been gone, Eddy had made a good dent in the pick up, but there was still a lot of work to be done before we could call it a day. Time wasn’t on my side, but Blake was more important than the disappearing light.
Leaving the engine running, I put the car into park and immediately hauled my girl over the console and into my lap, laughing at the adorable scowl she gave me.
Settling her legs over my lap, I sat still while she wriggled her peach arse over my crotch, trying to get away. Taking hold of her hips, I stilled her with a chaste kiss.
“Tell me.”
“You’re such a caveman, Drixx.” Her indignation softened by her body melting into me. Yeah, she was in the same place as me, just maybe not on the same rung of the ladder, but I could handle that. I had a feeling I knew what was concerning her, but she had to trust me enough to tell me on her own. Our relationship now didn’t have to be that much different from our friendship. The basics still applied, in fact, it was just as essential to keep the groundwork of friendship and just add the sexy stuff. Talking was what we were good at, yeah we fought and yelled at each other, but mostly, Blake and I could talk about everything and anything. Hours out in the paddock, riding and fixing fences together, we did a fair amount of talking.
Familiar with each other was what we were, I wasn’t going to let that change.
“Sweetheart, don’t bullshit me. Now, what is going on in there?” I leaned down and kissed her temple, her skin warm and soft.
“Sex,” she blurted out, her head ducking into my neck.
“What about it?” I asked, laughing.
“I haven’t done it before.” Her words were mumbled, but I heard them loud and clear. I also felt her lips moving against my throat and that was doing some mighty fine things to my dick.
“I know, what about it?” I asked, gently pulling her face out of its hiding place so I could look at her, “I need you to look at me when you talk, so your lips and tongue aren’t tracing over my neck or else more of this is going to happen.” Pushing my hips up off the seat, I ground my hard dick into her firm arse, laughing again at the stain that was deepening on her cheeks.
She squeaked then moaned when I gave her one more thrust, but finally stopped moving.
“How many positions are there exactly? And I really don’t think that is going to fit inside me,” Blake blurted, a look of complete horror on her beautiful face.
As much as I wanted to make jokes to defuse her apprehension, I knew that would just set her off and risk getting a punch in return, but also I didn’t want to end the intimacy of our moment.
This was going to happen a lot more, cuddling with my girl only on a more comfortable chair, a steering wheel and a console did not make for comfort or romance.
“Well, first, yes it will fit sweetheart, it might be a little uncomfortable in the beginning, but if I do my job right and get you ready for me, there is no reason it won’t be good for both of us,” I assured her, running my fingers down her arms, enjoying the freedom of touching her.
“And second, there is no real rule about how we make love, Blake. Positions depend on the couple and, more importantly, how the man treats and cares for his partner. I have no intention of fucking you for just my own pleasure. For me, my pleasure will come from yours, if you aren’t into it, then neither will I be,” I told her truthfully. Nothing was going to happen between us unless Blake agreed and wanted it, simple as that.
“But you are aroused now, right?” Blake asked, wriggling once more, my cock lengthening more, proving her point and pulling a groan from my lips.
“Fucking oath I am sweetheart, but I’m not going to take you until you say so, and definitely not in my dirty ute.”
“But when a man gets hard he needs to—”
Slipping my hand from her hip to her cheek, I cupped the softness loving the way she mewed and rubbed herself into my palm.
“A real man can wait, no matter the pain he might be experiencing in his pants. I am a real man Blake, and I can wait. As long as I know you are in this with me, you can take as long as you need,” I said, meaning every word. Forcing Blake was not an option, she will always have my respect until my last breath.
“What about your needs, Hendrixx? I’m not saying I don’t want to make love with you because I really do, but going slow after going so fast seems like a good idea.”
Smiling gently at her, I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers because … well, because I needed a taste of her sweetness.
“I agree Blake, we don’t have to make love straight away, but that doesn’t mean I can’t show you other ways of pleasuring you.” Sweat beaded over my brow, Blake just gave me so much information I couldn’t process it all at once all I could do was show her she had nothing to fear from being with me.
Pushing on the lever to release the seat, I leaned back a little, so the steering wheel wasn’t digging into Blake. Shuffling one leg over my lap, I had her straddling and facing me quickly and with little effort.
“You right there, Cowboy?” she asked with a smirk, but I could hear the nervousness in her voice. For all our teasing back and forth, this was all so n
ew for her and in a way for me too.
My last relationship dated back three years, a local girl I who I went to school with years before. It fizzled out not long after it began. She wanted a house, a white picket fence, and a husband to look after her and the five kids she planned on us having. After one night of dinner with her family, a coffee table covered with wedding magazines plus her father then introducing me to his jeweller older brother, I hightailed it out of there, breaking up with her the next day. I had to admit she took it well, telling me she didn’t have time to get all broken up about it and went out on the hunt for her next victim. Last I heard, she moved to Macedon was cooking baby number three and married to a rich sheep farmer. Better him than me.
Moving my hands to her cheeks, I cupped her and brought her mouth down till it hovered just over mine.
“I’m better than that sweetheart, I am fucking ecstatic you are here like this with me, finally.” I kept my voice low and gentle, fighting the beast inside me who wanted to howl like a wolf and claim my girl.
“You dreamt of this too?” Blake asked with a hitch in her voice.
“Every night for more years than I should have,” I admitted, watching her lips with a deep longing. Taking her in a devouring kiss right now was tempting, but first, she needed to hear the truth.
“When you turned eighteen, I longed to tell you that night how much I wanted you.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Oh baby, you needed time to grow up and enjoy being an adult, at least that was how I felt at the time. Each day that passed, I regretted not speaking up, but fuck Blake, watching you become a horse-breaker and healer, getting better and better at what you love was the best consolation prize. You earned a name in the field, your reputation for healing damaged horses is known far and wide. Because of you, the Triple H is renowned for more than just beef, it has also become a refuge for wounded animals.”
Blake stared softly at me, her head shaking gently.
“Hendrixx, I would have done that had I been with you. You have always been my biggest supporter since I can first remember. You have encouraged me to do anything I want, even when it drives you batty.”
Hott and Ready (The Hott Brothers Book 2) Page 7
