by Chloe Plume
It was inevitable. If someone was so indifferent about breaking the law, they wouldn’t think much of breaking your heart. Everything and anything could be rationalized.
I brushed a tear off the side of my face as the elevator closed.
No. Not this time. Not again.
I wasn’t going to break down crying twice in a week. I wasn’t going to be the naïve little girl left in anguish by one man and then another. I’d pull myself together.
I stepped out of the elevator with my head held high and strolled into the lobby.
So what? It was just one more confirmation that this wouldn’t work out. I’d known that all along. This wasn’t a sudden realization. It was an obvious reality. All I’d done is forget myself in the moment. That’s all.
I plunked down at the hotel bar and ordered a glass of wine. Then I changed my mind.
“Actually, make it a whisky. A double.”
I slumped against the counter propped on my elbows, my head resting between my palms. I must have looked pathetic. I was in such a sorry state that no one bothered me. Not one drunk guy out of the dozens trolling the bar at 2 am.
“Hey, you’re the girl seeing my brother.”
I turned around. One tattooed arm carried a glass of dark brown liquid and the other held, of all things, a tattered book. I recognized his warm blue-green eyes.
“Ink…Sorry, it was Julian, right?”
He slid his glass onto the counter and took a seat. “I’m assuming you’re here with my brother.”
I hesitated. “Oh. Yes, I was. Kind of a coincidence.”
“I’m here for Mayhem’s fight. Rev too.”
“Oh, right.” I thanked the bartender as he handed me my double shot. “What’re you doing down here so late?”
Ink tilted his head to the side, pausing for a long moment as if in a world of his own. “I don’t sleep too well.”
“Yeah, well tonight me neither.” I tossed back the whisky. It burned all the way down.
“You know, I can tell he really likes you. He’s never kept seeing a girl like this, one weekend after another.”
“Well, I guess everything can go back to normal now.” The last of the whisky hit the back of my throat and comforting warmth washed over me. “I’m thinking of heading back to New York tomorrow.”
“What happened?”
I hesitated. “Do you know anything about Rev’s extracurricular activities?”
Ink raised his eyebrow. “I’m surprised he told you.”
“He basically started bragging about it.”
“Ah,” Ink acknowledged. The corners of his mouth rose slightly. “Well, that does sound like him.”
“And you’re okay with all of that?” I asked.
Ink raised his own glass, took a slow sip, and then settled into the seat beside me. “My Uncle Norman started an operation to get money back to the families in Desert Haven. The people they steal from are smuggling drugs. I’ve known about it for a while, and I’m not sure it’s the best way to address the situation.” Ink gulped down the rest of his drink. “But hell, the place is going to shit: kids speedballing on heroin mixed with cocaine, people abusing prescription drugs for a quick escape, no jobs with the ranches and farms closing down, and they’re planning on building up more fucking golf courses and resorts once they can figure out how to get rid of all the old communities.”
“That sounds awful.”
“Yeah, it really is. But our father doesn’t see it that way. He calls it progress. Uncle Norman never did buy into that line of thinking.” Ink looked straight at me, his blue-green eyes cutting through the space between us. “And you can bet that Rev doesn’t either. He’s a reckless moron most of the time—” Ink paused, grinning thoughtfully—“as I’m sure you know by now. But he’s got principles. It’s why he doesn’t take a cushy job with Gryffin Transportation. And it’s why I think you should give him another chance.”
“I…” Stammering, I glanced down at the bar counter, taken aback by Ink’s directness. “Julian, thank you for telling me. The context changes things.”
“It always does.”
“But the drugs…if they keep doing this.” I shook my head, sorting through one implication after another. “I mean, doesn’t that make what Rev is doing even more dangerous?”
Ink nodded. “Yeah, put that right alongside jacking shipments from your father’s own business.”
“Wait, what?” My head shot up. “He didn’t mention that.”
Ink exhaled deeply. “Mayhem’s up in arms over some punks stripping a dozen Maseratis off a Gryffin hauler on the interstate earlier this week. I’m just putting two and two together. Problem is, our father’s not an idiot. But, Uncle Norman’s not either—he only targets drug shipments. So the bigger problem is, Gryffin Transportation is running drugs.”
“Unintentionally though, right?”
Ink wavered. “I hope so.”
I shook my head as the bartender asked if I wanted another. “The funny thing is, a week ago I thought I’d be wrangling over flower arrangements. Not worrying about car heists and drug lords.”
“Ink smiled, quickly putting things together. “So, you’re heading back up then.”
“Yes.” I slapped cash on the counter and stood up. “Because, you know what? Life’s too short.”
The elevator raced to the top and time ran quickly. I had the sensation that everything around me was pulsing with energy. For once in my life, I wasn’t holding back.
I knocked on the door. He answered, empty bottle in hand.
“Winter…”
An avalanche of emotions slammed into me as I stepped into the room.
“I talked to Julian downstairs.”
Rev nodded. “I’m sorry. The way I put things before—”
“Julian told me. I understand.”
He continued. “I just want you to know the way I feel about you. It wasn’t just sex for me this past week. I want all of you, Winter.”
My chest tightened. Deep down, I knew it. But hearing him say it pulled at my heart.
“You’re all wrong for me, Rev. And I know you’re devil-may-care attitude is going to break my heart. But you’re fucking gorgeous and there’s an honest beauty in how you live your life. You’re real. You’re authentic. You’re just what I need.”
His eyes flashed and he stepped into me, pulling my body against his. “And you’re the most stunning girl I’ve ever met.”
I was falling and there was nothing I could do about it. But finally, I pushed past my fear. I stopped denying myself the pleasure of losing control. I was ready to risk my heart. I opened it to the good, the bad, and the unknown.
My stomach fluttered. I jerked off my dress and ripped off my bra and panties. Rev pulled his t-shirt off and stepped out of his jeans. My body throbbed with desire.
God, he was beautiful.
I gazed down his heaving chest past the V in his hips and right to his long, hard-as-steel arousal.
He shot me a brooding, heavy look. I could feel the heat radiating from his tensing body. “Let’s take a shower.”
He grabbed my hand and led me to the bathroom. I followed him under the steaming water.
His fingers immediately rushed to my breasts, cupping them and circling closer to my nipples. He teased me, taking his time, slippery hands caressing my curves.
He reached back and grabbed a handful of my ass while his mouth rushed to my breasts. I hissed when I felt his teeth tugging at my nipple. It was pleasure. It was torture. It was Rev.
My arms encircled his neck, resting on top of his broad shoulders. As he played with me, I leaned back exposing myself more to him. His hungry mouth roamed across my breasts and neck.
“I can’t get enough of you Winter,” he groaned.
He slid a finger inside me.
“I think about this constantly. When I’m driving a hundred miles an hour, all I can think about is being inside you. It’s fucking dangerous you know.”
&nbs
p; “I thought you liked danger,” I moaned. My hand ran down the deep ridges of his torso and circled his shaft.
He pushed his finger deeper into my center, sliding against the wetness. The pad of his thumb pressed against my clit while his fingers strummed delicately inside of me.
He knew how to play me. Heat built through my body and my spine tingled. He teased me with an expert touch. And all I wanted was to be his. To be possessed by his body and consumed with the thought of him.
I quivered in his arms. I was going to orgasm and he knew it. But he didn’t let me.
“Not yet,” his voice huffed out.
He twisted me around and threw my arms up against the wall of the shower. The gentle pressure of his hand against my back bent me over.
“Hang on,” he said with a depth in his voice that made me squirm.
His massive cock pressed against me. I felt him grasping himself, easing it into my slit, going deeper and deeper.
I took all of him, until I felt his heavy balls pressed to my ass. My sheath clenched around him. We were tight and throbbing against one another.
“Uhh...” Rev groaned. “You feel so good. And you’re all mine.”
His body flexed and he stroked into me. He cupped my breasts from behind, and I angled my hips higher to get more of him.
He pounded me. His hands ran over my curves, gentle and rough in turn. My mind froze in that incredible moment. I was lost in the feeling of our bodies tensing together and the sound of our sex under the cascade of warm water.
He grasped my hair and turned my head around to stare into my eyes as he plunged his cock deeper. My body shuddered and pulsed from the inside out. I closed my eyes in ecstasy and shattered in his arms. He gripped me tight and erupted deep inside me.
Chapter Fourteen
REV
The sound of our fucking consumed me.
Her gasps, my grunts, and the smack of my balls against her juicy ass.
I shouted as I came inside her. A single burst of sensation rippled through my body.
I surged inside of her, shuddering with the most intense pleasure I’d ever felt. Stream after stream of my seed poured inside her as I grinded against her soft body, filling it to the brim.
Waves of heat washed over me as I emptied. I had nothing left. I panted over her, heaving.
We stumbled out of the shower and barely made it to the bed before collapsing. Her head nuzzled against my chest and our legs entangled. We breathed deeply and in unison. I went out like a light.
I woke up with her there in my arms. She yawned and ran her delicate fingers down my chest. Light peeked from behind the curtains of the hotel room.
“It must have been difficult to watch what happened to your hometown,” she said. “Julian told me that after your dad started selling off the farms and ranches, people lost their jobs, the drugs came in, and families are really hurting.”
I exhaled deeply, my chest rising against her hand. “A whole way of life went out the window. And since my Uncle was the only one doing something about it, I just went ahead and did what felt right. Though now I’m not so sure.”
Winter propped up on her elbow and looked into my eyes.
Those big, warm brown eyes.
“Your brother told me you were only stealing from drug smugglers.” Her expression was full of understanding. “You’re getting the drugs out of your hometown. You shouldn’t feel bad about crippling the ones hurting the community and aiding those most hurt.”
“Our efforts are like a drop in the ocean. And we’re not exactly stemming the tide. Not to mention, just throwing money blindly at the problem doesn’t seem to work. Sudden windfall for one person stirs up all kinds of jealousy and temptation. Fights are breaking out more often. Theft and violence is on the rise.”
I watched her eyes grow heavy. Then her brow tensed in thought. She turned back on her back, head resting pensively in her pillow, and started up at the ceiling for a long drawn out moment.
“What is it? “ I asked, somewhat amused. “You look like you’re contemplating the mysteries of the universe or something.”
Finally, her voice spilled out across the room. “I just had an idea: CSA’s. The money you guys are trying to put back into the community, well it can go much further.”
“How?” I sat up, curious.
“Well, you put together these cooperative structures: Community Supported Agriculture groups. And they use that money, in cash, whatever, to buy land, equipment, seeding. Everyone gets a share of what amounts to both a business and a home. You’re washing the money and creating real ownership.”
I nodded along. The picture started to emerge and it was exactly what we needed.
“So you’re not just throwing a Band-Aid on the problem,” Winter continued. “You’re investing in Desert Haven.”
“And you can set all this up?”
She turned to me with a smile. “Well, you’ll need a lawyer, but I can finally get some use out of my Accounting education.”
“Kitten…” I wrapped my arms around her. “You’re a genius.”
I pulled her back under the covers. Her hands roamed between my legs, drawing out my erection.
“I’d really like it if you came with me to a family dinner tonight.” I nibbled on her ear and she sighed sweetly, arousing me further. “Every couple weeks we have a Sunday Night Dinner, and we could meet with my Uncle Norman beforehand to go over your proposal in more detail.”
She whispered playfully in my ear. “But we still have hours and hours before then… Whatever will we do?”
I was hard at attention, throbbing in her smooth, delicate hand.
I grunted as the tip of my cock grazed the softness between her legs. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”
Chapter Fifteen
Winter
Rev’s Uncle met us on the family ranch, walking across the lush grass with a beaming smile across his face and his arms stretched out wide in exclamation.
“What’s this! Revon Gryffin, the incorrigible fool. Allergic to commitment. Could it be?” He stopped in front of us and looked me over with bright blue eyes sparkling out from a weathered face. “After all these years, I’m damn glad to bear witness to this moment.” He grinned, bursting with enthusiasm. “What she sees in you, Revon… well, you’re a lucky dog.”
I extended my hand. “Winter Calloway.”
“Norman Gryffin.”
Rev spoke up. “Alright, alright. Uncle Norman, let’s get to the point. Winter’s got a great idea. She can help set up Agricultural Cooperatives that transform the money we bring in. We won’t be playing defense anymore. We can go about looking at this whole thing like an investment.”
Rev’s Uncle nodded thoughtfully and ushered us along a faintly demarcated path through the field of high grass surrounding the Gryffin Ranch. “You wouldn’t believe it unless you saw it. This place is a utopia in the middle of an endless stretch of desert.”
“I couldn’t believe it as we drove up,” I said. “Suddenly, the dry sand ended and all I could see was lush green valleys and an expanse of abundant color on the horizon.”
“That’s what our father saw,” Rev’s Uncle explained. Arthur Gryffin came out to this place and fell for it’s natural beauty. Everyone was looking for oil back then, up and down the West. The old man looked past all that. This land was dry as bone, yet he wanted it with a passion.”
We stopped at the edge of a huge field. Cattle and horses roamed through the wild stretches, some so far off they looked like tiny moving specks on the horizon.
“Arthur Gryffin bought all of this for a song,” he continued. “And now my brother’s selling it off just as easily. Nothing I can do about it either. Not after he and the investors cherry-picked the board and diluted my share of the land holdings. Shit, according to the new bylaws, I can’t even sell them.”
I spoke up, uncertain and hesitant at first. “I really think these Community Supported Agricultural initiatives can hel
p.” I motioned to Rev indicating that he should chime in. “They’re a way for people to consider a viable long-term investment in their hometown.”
Rev extended his arm out over the landscape, motioning as he spoke. “Look, no one cares about this place as much as you, Uncle Norman. This place was your whole life. That’s what Winter is saying though. People won’t just be floating through life hoping for an act of charity. They’ll be rallying around businesses that are completely community owned. They’ll have an investment not only in their own futures, but the futures of their children.”
Rev’s Uncle nodded. He stared out over the horizon as the colors of the sunset settled down. “I get the appeal: stability, building up towards the future. It’s a good plan.”
“It’s a great plan,” Rev expressed.
“Yeah, except the big development companies are amassing land and influence in Desert Haven. I can’t help but feel we’re fighting a losing battle. Market goes up, families get priced out, and little by little everyone’s forced to sell.”
I approached closer, clearing my throat. “But then there’s politics.” Rev and his Uncle both turned towards me. I continued, “CSA’s give the community something to mobilize around. Look, no one’s saying you’re going to have more money than the corporations. And yeah, land will get more expensive—the bidding war’s begun. But hell, if families that have lived her for generations come together, they can take effective political action. If Desert Haven is a cohesive community of residents and business owners united in purpose and action—that’s the best chance there is, right?”
They both nodded. Rev walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.
His uncle thought things over. “Well, damn, that makes good sense. The way I see it, it’ll still be David and Goliath, but Winter’s given us the best damn sling we could get our hands on.”
Rev nodded, proudly. “I said it before, I’ll say it again—genius. “
I blushed a little. “It’s not that complicated. Not even sure it’ll work. But it seems like a step in the right direction.”
