Page 37

GIDEON

U rging Juniper into a gallop, Trigger and I leave Beau, Levi, and Gertie to their work.

Is it a little early to end the work day?

Yes.

Is it because of Winnow?

100%.

Do I feel a little guilty?

Absolutely, but not enough to stop me.

And it’s not merely because of sexual desire.

If I’m entirely honest, I’m a little worried.

Winnow’s in a strange place, alone, in my house while she endures some unknown upheaval, and fuck me, but I wanna take care of her.

Every moment I’m away from her causes this fucking throbbing ache in my chest to steal my breath in a way that, if I didn’t take such meticulous care of my health, I might otherwise confuse for a fucking heart attack.

Being as self-aware as I am, I also recognize this is an unhealthy level of attachment, but it’s beyond fighting, and it just feels so fucking right. Like the stars have somehow aligned, or whatever sappy shit Beau might say.

By the time I reach the back porch, the weight of anticipation that’s been stifling my breath finally lifts from my chest. Trigger and I step through the back door into the mud room where I toe off my boots, and I can hear the melodic hum of Winnow’s voice in the kitchen, making my heart swell with an emotion that’s far too soon to give a name to, and it’s tinged with fear.

For the first time, it’s not fear of a woman turning toxic or cheating that haunts me. Looking back, I ignored countless red flags with Seraphine out of a deeply flawed loyalty, shaped by childhood scars that made me believe love had to be earned by fixing someone.

But Winnow doesn’t need fixing. Despite her trauma, she’s grounded, honest, and deeply appreciative. There are no red flags—only moments where she sees and values parts of me I’ve long overlooked.

So, the only fear Winnow inspires in me is that one day she’ll wanna leave, and I won’t always be able to come home to the sound of her humming strange yet hauntingly beautiful melodies I’ve never heard.

Simply being in her presence makes me feel alive, and as bizarre as it sounds, I feel like my strength, endurance, and energy have increased beyond what I would deem natural.

As has my sex drive.

Nearly every time I go to the bathroom, I have to jerk off just to take the edge off.

Each time I do, my fantasies of her become increasingly desperate: Winnow tied up just for me in every which way, spanking her with hand and paddle until she’s trembling for me and ready to squirt around my cock, filling each and every pretty little pink hole of hers with every drop of my cum…

And on top of that, the sheer volume of fluid my balls have been producing is borderline cause for concern.

It’s honestly a wonder I’m not suffering from dehydration.

There have been a number of other unusual developments that I can’t help but notice, such as the fact that my strength and reflexes seem to have increased manyfold.

Even today, when I had to flank our calves—sweet little 500 to 600-pound

babies—so Gertie could vaccinate them, what is normally a grueling,

muscle-burning task of driving them to the ground and flipping them onto their sides

felt like light work.

Gertie, Levi, and Beau had all watched with raised, stunned brows as I performed the feat with swift ease.

Entering the house, my heart thuds with excitement and anticipation, like when you ascend the peak of a rollercoaster and are about to reach the precipice of that thrilling plummet.

The moment Trigger and I round the corner, we find Winnow, dressed in nothing but my baggy t-shirt and boxers, bent over on all fours and scrubbing my floorboards.

To see this woman, glistening with sweat and cleaning my house with a smile on her face, makes my heart feel all kinds of twisty, turny, achy, fluttery things.

Maybe it’s the fact that my love language is acts of service, and every chance Winnow gets, she finds a way to show her appreciation for me.

Maybe it’s that she’s taking care of my house like it’s her own. Like she knows she belongs here.

Maybe it’s that gorgeous smile and sheer joy lighting up her face at the sight of me and Trigger.

Maybe it’s that she makes me feel like we’re teammates supporting one another.

Maybe it’s all of the above.

And maybe it also has a little something to do with the sight of her down on her hands and knees, in a position that I’ve visualized in my mind over a dozen times as I fucked my fist in the shower.

Because good-god-all-fucking-mighty.

However, her cleaning my house, I pray to God, isn’t something she’s doing because she feels obligated. Though if the mega-watt smile splitting her heart-shaped face is anything to go by, it would seem she’s doing it for all the reasons I hope.

I can’t help the heavy-lidded gaze I give her as I lean in the kitchen doorway, folding my arms across my chest because otherwise, I just might not be able to hold myself back from fucking her right where she is on the floor.

Winnow’s cheeks flush as she sits back on her heels, wiping the back of her hand across her perspiring face, framed by loose tendrils of that rosy-blonde hair. My eyes choose that moment to play tricks on me again, giving me a flickering glimpse of those petite horns, and flowers in her hair.

And now a tail.

That’s new.

But then I blink and they’re gone, making me wonder if I really am just hallucinating. Her soft, melodic voice returns my attention right back to where it belongs.

“I wanted to do something more to show you my appreciation than just making you the same damn sandwich every day.”

The term swoon may normally be reserved for the way a man can make a woman feel, but lord almighty …

This woman has swooned the fuck outta me.

I gradually follow as Trigger trots over to shower her with affection that she eagerly returns—and I feel another tug of the invisible rope she seems to have lassoed me with drawing me closer.

Kneeling in front of her, I can’t hold myself back from reaching out to touch her, to caress her jaw with my thumb. The way she instinctively leans into me makes my chest tighten with emotion.

“You know that you don’t have to lift a finger, right? I’m more than happy to have you here regardless of whether or not you help with chores.”

Winnow’s throat works as her eyes study mine, searching for any evidence that my words aren’t one hundred percent the truth.

Finding none, she gradually nods.

A beat passes between us, and it takes everything within me not to lean in and kiss her because what kind of message would that be sending after I just told her she doesn’t owe me anything by staying here, only to make a move on her?

I’d never forgive myself if I gave her the impression she needs to fuck me to earn her place here.

Even if I had told Winnow the whole truth about my past—a guilt that plagues me daily–I wouldn’t have allowed myself to do more than kiss her hair or forehead when we read to each other in bed. And it’s why I’m still sleeping in the living room despite her many protests.

“How was work?”

Her question breaks the tension, and I stand to extend my hands to help her off the floor. Not that she needs it, but I can’t help but wanna have my hands on her at all times.

“Good. The cattle are happy and healthy. Got an apple orchard that’s starting to blossom. It’ll be the first year, I think, that they’ll produce edible fruit… Hope you like apple pie.”

Winnow’s grin widens. “I love apple pie. It’s one of my favorites. That and lemon meringue.”

Duly noted.

My eyes pass over the kitchen and living room to take in the fruit of her labor.

The house is spotless, and the coffee table, kitchen window sill, and kitchen counter each have a mason jar filled with freshly picked wildflowers and other leafy branches that I would never have thought belonged in a bouquet but somehow work.

She’s added a feminine touch to my home that I hadn’t even realized was missing, but is now painfully obvious.

When my eyes return to Winnow’s, there’s an anxious look on her face and heat crawling up her cheeks. “I hope you don’t mind that I took the liberty of?—

“No… not at all. I love it. I’m honestly touched you went to so much trouble…”

Her smile returns as her energy shifts, and her body language opens up in a way that takes me a moment to recognize.

She’s preening. She likes my praise.

At the same time, the darker side of me internally licks his chops as my dick thickens, and my heart thumps a goofy beat that can only be likened to lovesickness.

The hunger in my gaze is evident, only further encouraged by the deepening of her blush.

Never in my life have I desired a woman the way I do Winnow.

“It wasn’t any trouble at all, actually. If anything, I enjoyed it. I’m used to working a lot and always being busy, so this was a nice break to be able to do something that’s… not work.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “I’m pretty sure most everyone considers cleaning to be work.”

She shrugs, grinning at the evidence of her touch in my home.

“I found it therapeutic, actually.”

“In what way?”

She chews her cheek as though hesitating to say.

“Well, just… I guess there’s an aspect of instant gratification because you see the results of it right away, which is kind of a rare thing, but most of all, the idea that maybe, after busting your butt all day, it would make you happy to come back to the comfort of a clean home. ”

Goddamn, if this woman didn’t just pluck at my dusty little heartstrings right in fucking tune.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a woman’s life extending far beyond homemaking. But anything Winnow does for me, so long as it makes her happy, will turn me into putty at her feet.

That woman could spit in a cup and tell me to drink it, and I’d greedily lick it clean just because she did it for me.

Winnow’s eyes flee mine as her teeth sink into her bottom lip, fidgeting with the hem of the borrowed shirt she’s wearing.

That rope tying me to her seems to pull tighter, and before I can even consciously register the action, the backs of my fingers are grazing her arm to draw her eyes back to me.

“It means more to me than you know, angel, but I feel the need to reiterate that I didn’t take you in with the expectation of you earnin’ your keep.”

If it were literally anyone else, I’d feel differently, but there’s something inside me that wants— needs —to take care of her.

Winnow gives me a smile that belies a hint of melancholy. “And I wouldn’t expect you to do that without repaying you somehow.”

I don’t bother to mask the appreciation glowing behind my eyes as I take her in. She fidgets beneath the building tension.

“You want to show me how to make another one of your favorite dishes so you don’t have to eat BLTPAMs every day? I really wanted to cook something else for you, but I’m terrified of messing it up and ruining your evening with an inedible dinner.”

My lips tip up in a grin as that sweet, twisty knot of affection tightens impossibly further in my chest.

“How about tonight we go grab something to eat in town? It’s still early enough that we could make it there before the stores close, and we could finally get you a proper wardrobe.”