Page 69 of A Curse On Black Lake (Black Lake Gothic Cowboys #1)

“And?” I ask her, squeezing her thighs.

“Please, Killian,” she pleads, lifting her hips, reaching for what only I can give her.

I grin, ignoring the little stab of disappointment from her missing words, and lean into her ear, pushing her leg back further.

“I love it when you beg, such a good girl for me,” I whisper, and bite the curve of her ear.

She keens, and I press our foreheads together, somehow managing to get her there as I lose myself.

We pant into each other, sharing breath, as her nails dig into my back through our release.

I finally drop her leg, and she hooks it around my hips. We’re still holding on like we’re about to be ripped apart. I gaze down at her, still wanting, and entirely powerless to her.

“I need you,” she whispers.

Eliana tips up and kisses me. I lean into it, grabbing her neck, consuming her with the reckless abandon that grows in my heart and takes root around my bones, deepening my love for this woman.

We finally pull away and rub my thumb over the arch of her cheekbone. “Okay?” I ask her.

She nods with a sated smile on her face. I stare at her a little longer, silently begging her to say the words I so desperately need from her, but she keeps them to herself. Even though I can see it in her eyes. I can feel it in the way she holds me; I can hear it in the way she calls my name.

I kiss her one more time and throw myself onto the bed. She shimmies into my side, resting her cheek on my chest.

“We need to get a move on,” I grumble.

Her body starts shaking against mine, and I lift my head to check on her. She’s grinning, laughing silently, and I chuckle.

“That was so romantic it makes me want to puke, even if it’s true,” she says.

I smile, tucking my face in her messy hair, opting to stay in bed for a few more minutes.

I wish we could spend all day in bed. It’s one of the downsides of being a rancher.

There’s always work to do. It doesn’t matter if you’re tired, sick, sore, want to sleep in, or want to make love to your woman.

“Hey, Eliana?”

She hums.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask her.

She sits up on her elbow, tilting her head. Her fingers push back my hair. “Why wouldn’t I be? I mean, I think I’m going to hate my life when we go out to the pastures, but I’ll live.”

I chuckle and push her wild hair back. “No, I meant … before us. The Spirits, the trance, vision thing. We didn’t really talk about it, and it’s been bothering me.”

Her gaze drops, and I don’t like it. She’s hiding something.

“You can tell me,” I say, hoping she comes out with it.

“I’ve learned that these things can take a toll on you if you let them. I’m choosing not to let it, and you help me with that whether you’re aware or not. I need you, Killian, okay?”

I drag my hand up and down her spine.

“I need you too.”

She smiles softly, but I swear there’s an edge of sadness in it, and she drops her mouth on mine before rolling off of me. “Come on, cowboy, we’ve got work to do, daylight’s a burnin’,” she hollers over her shoulder as she leaves my room.

I smile to myself and rub my chest. She’ll come to me when she’s ready, and whatever it is, we’ll figure it out. We have to.

By the time we get downstairs, we’re both starving.

We clean up the now-melted popsicles with grins on our faces.

But I sober the moment I step outside to retrace my steps from last night and inspect the grass and dirt surrounding the porch.

I don’t pick up on any footprints similar to the ones I saw at Eliana’s.

I walk around the perimeter of the barn, but no latches were messed with.

I swear he was here, though. Tiny knew it too. He must have taken off maybe when he heard Tiny or me open the door. Dammit. There’s no way of knowing short of staying up all night to wait and see. And that’s if the bastard shows up again.

Eliana and I get the stalls cleaned out and the goats, cow, and horses outside to enjoy the weather. The chickens are already out poking around.

While I brush the horses down, Eliana fills water troughs and gets all the animals fed.

When we’re done with these animals, we saddle up and head out to the pastures.

I need to check the herds and look at the next pastures for movement.

The one closer to the lake is the next area, and it should be ready for them.

I haven’t wanted ranch hands so badly in a long time because they would be doing this and I could still be in bed with Eliana, at least for an extra hour.

Eliana and I head out to the pasture with the dogs. She grins, holding her hat as she pushes Winnie harder. She comes alive when she’s outside like this, and I keep trying to come up with ways to keep that smile on her face.

We check on the herd and the next pasture over, then start moving. It’s a slow process, and the heat of the Texas day starts to bear down on both of us. I take a swig of water from my bottle and lift my hat to shake my sweaty hair out.

I hear Eliana giggle. “Woof,” she says.

“You callin’ me a dog, darlin’?”

“If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck,” she says, pouting her lips.

I grin and point at her. “I’m gonna handle that smart mouth later.”

“I was betting on it,” she grins and takes off towards the barns. Tiny not far behind her.

I circle the cattle, and everyone seems happy.

My count is good, and we haven’t lost any.

They all have had proper vaccinations. But I still need to make sure they are healthy.

Circling them a few times, I observe them carefully, trying to see if all of them are grazing, and if there are any lethargic animals.

Everyone looks good, same as the other group.

I loose a thankful, and grateful breath.

I can’t afford to lose more cattle this season.

Turning Daisy, I go back to the barns and whistle for the dogs.

We trot around a copse of trees, and I find Eliana bareback on Sunny.

My heart leaps out of my chest, and I push Daisy to go faster.

Sunny took well to Eliana, and is much better with me now, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a bastard and won’t throw her.

I lean back on Daisy, and she skids hard as I hop off. “What are you doing?” I yell.

Her head lifts to mine, and she nudges Sunny towards me.

“What’s wrong?” Eliana asks, angling him next to the fence so we can talk.

“Darlin’, I know you have a connection with this bastard, but you definitely shouldn’t be bareback on him.”

Eliana shrugs. “He seems fine to me, like someone else I rode bareback,” she says with a lifted brow.

I huff. “For now,” I mumble.

“Killian, he’s fine. Honestly, I think he’d rather be like this than with a saddle.”

I glance at Sunny, and I swear he has an evil look in his eye. My anxiety ratchets up a notch, and I can’t take it. Climbing the fence, I reach around Eliana’s waist to pull her off of him.

“Hey! I’m fine!” she shouts and simultaneously grabs onto me for balance.

“I don’t trust him.”

Sunny lunges trying to bite me, and I pull back before he can.

“See?” I yell.

Eliana snorts. “Well, I do trust him, and it’s your fault for pissing him off,” she snaps.

“Seriously?” I glance at Sunny again, and he’s on the other side of the circle.

I get her on my side of the fence, and she huffs, crossing her arms.

“Seriously, you need to chill out. I know how to work with horses, and I know how to ride bareback. This isn’t my first rodeo, and I get that you’re all protective, but I can handle myself, and—”

I clasp the back of her neck, hauling her lips to mine.

She stiffens and pushes on my chest.

I relent for an inch.

She scowls at me, and I chuckle, pulling her in again.

Her body relaxes against me, and she sighs into the kiss, tightening her fists in my sweaty shirt.

“Why did you do that?” she asks, a little breathless, and less irritated.

I release her and kiss her forehead. “Your attitude makes me hot.”

“You should get that checked out. Wait…”

I watch her put it all together. Ever since we met, something about the way she sasses me is endearing.

I like her bite. Maybe that’s messed up.

I don’t know, but now that I know her better, I recognize it for what it is.

But those walls have dropped. I like that she’s being entirely herself with me.

In my mind, it means this is real between us.

“And I thought I was weird,” she says.

I laugh and shake my head. “You are.”

She rolls her eyes.

“So do you want to see if they released your house?” I ask her.

“Would they be that quick?” she asks.

I shrug. “Depends. I doubt they found anything, and we found the Death Flower in the study, so I doubt they will put together that the location isn’t only a matter of convenience for the killer,” I tell her.

“Do you think they really believed me about the garden?”

“If they didn’t, I'd assume Wyatt would already be here asking questions,” I say.

“Fine, let’s go,” she sighs.

I reach for her hand. “And you’re sure you’re ready?”

“I probably never will be, but it needs to be done. I have to make some money to keep the lights on.”

“I’m sorry … about all of it.”

“It’s not your fault,” she mumbles.

“And it’s not yours either,” I remind her.

“No, it’s just an angry woman from over a hundred years ago’s fault.” She glances at me, and her cheeks redden. “Sorry, I forgot she’s your…”

“It’s fine, Eliana. It’s not like I knew the woman, and it is her fault, to be honest.”

“I mean, I understand her anger. I probably would have done the same,” she says quickly.

“No, you wouldn’t,” I say.

“Do you really think all of this boils down to the curse?” she asks.

Black Lake is weird. It always has been. When I got out for training to be a Sheriff’s Deputy, I truly realized how strange it really is. And there’s no other explanation. It’s one thing to have coincidences, but coincidences over the course of more than one hundred and sixty years? No, not likely.

“Yeah, I think it has a lot to do with all of it. The Spirits told you that too.”

She nods. “I don’t really understand what stalking and terrorizing someone has to do with the curse, but fair enough.”

“Logically, there isn’t, but we’re not working with logic.”

“I want this to be over,” she sighs.

I pull her into my chest, uncaring if either of us is hot and sweaty. “I do too,” I mumble.

She looks up at me, and I take my hat off, leaning in to kiss her, to reassure her, and maybe even myself.