Page 19 of The First Day of Breeding Season (Wildfire Ranch #4)

brYNN

I spin on my heel and stammer out something about checking on the horses and do not follow me.

My pulse hammers, furious and confused, so hard I can hear it in my ears, as I race down the path.

When I get to where we’ve tied up the horses, under a leafy stand of tall trees, Ace is lazily munching on grass and Drew’s horse is drinking from the still full water bucket Drew left for them.

They don’t need anything.

My feet keep going, carrying me further away from Drew and the casual, thoughtless way he just… he just…

I trip over a root and go flying, tumbling hard.

With a thud, I land on my back, all the wind knocked out of me.

Oh, no.

The forest above me swims, so I close my eyes.

Shit shit shit.

“Brynn!”

I try to cry out, to tell him I’m fine, don’t follow me , but it just comes out as a broken sob.

Just breathe , I tell myself, but my lungs won’t work right. Nothing works right.

I squeeze my eyes shut tighter. I’m shaking.

“Brynn!” He’s above me now, I can feel his presence, but I still don’t want to look at him.

I’m mortified.

“Sweetheart, can you hear me? Fuck .” He kneels down, his leg a solid tree trunk next to my hip, and then his hand is on my neck, my shoulder, my wrist.

Checking my pulse , I realize.

“Wildfire Ranch, this is Drew, come in.” He drops his radio next to me and leans all the way over me, his lips brushing my forehead. “Brynn, wake up, baby.”

“I’m fine,” I stammer.

He huffs in surprise. “Okay. Jesus, you scared me. Can you open your eyes?”

“No.”

Another laugh.

Another forehead kiss, and—oh no.

The tears start before I can pretend that I’m fine. Hot and fast and mortifying, they course down my cheeks.

He doesn’t say anything.

He just wipes my cheeks and stays there, kneeling next to me.

The radio crackles, someone answering him.

He doesn’t reply to them, he just waits next to me, as if he can see that I’m more embarrassed than injured. Hurt, but only emotionally.

Slowly, I blink my eyes open.

“You look like a giant bending over to inspect a mouse,” I mutter.

“A beautiful mouse,” he says softly. “Did you hit your head?”

“No.” I wince. “I landed on my back.”

“Can you wiggle your toes?” He runs me through a very detailed first aid checklist before allowing me to get up.

And then he pulls me hard against his chest, and I let him.

As he finally radios back to the ranch, pretending his call was about something else, I breathe in the scent of him. He’s warm and solid, and his shirt smells like sunshine, but underneath that is something sharp, like panicked adrenaline.

Flop sweat.

That makes two of us.

I start crying again.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” he says into my hair. And I hear it in his voice, too, that scared note that matches exactly how I feel inside. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I fucked up.”

I press my face tighter into his chest. His heartbeat is fast, like he’s still running.

Running after you, Brynn Hughes.

“It’s too much,” I whisper.

“What do you mean?”

“Everything is happening too quickly, it makes my head spin.”

He gently tips my head back, his thumb tracing my jaw as he looks at my face in concern. “You sure that’s not a head injury?”

I laugh.

And then he smiles, those little lines crinkling, and my heart goes whoosh.

“Don’t make a joke,” I mutter.

“But you like it when I smile,” he says softly. “And laughing feels like a good way to hit pause. We don’t have to go fast.”

I know. He already said that, at the waterfall. When he kissed my ankle—but then everything escalated anyway.

My heart is bouncing around like my chest is a pinball machine. And I was never any good at games like that.

“I should have told you as soon as I saw the letter.” He kisses my forehead. “I should have brought it to you and said, I think there’s something personal and private in this . I’m sorry I didn’t do that.”

“I would have been mortified.”

“And then we would have pushed past that. Instead, I’ve ruined what was an absolutely magical day.”

I shake my head. “It’s not ruined.”

He exhales so loudly, it’s almost like the word relief dances around him. “Yeah?”

I nod hesitantly and burrow deeper into his chest. His arms are the only solid thing in my world right now. His hands run up and down my back, slow and steady.

“I hate secrets,” he says after a bit. “Hate them. Always have. My father was the king of secrets, and he didn’t care who it hurt, as long as he didn’t need to face the consequences of his actions. I’ll never be that kind of man, Brynn. I will always stand tall for you, I promise.”

I pull back enough to see his face. His jaw is tight, but his gaze is soft and unwavering. I nod. “I believe you.”

“And I will always chase after you.” He touches my cheek with a reverence that makes me feel light as air again. “I don’t want you to think for one more second that I don’t want you here, that I don’t need you. That I won’t do anything and everything to make things right.”

My chest aches.

“Don’t let go,” I whisper.

His arms tighten around me again. “Never.”

Instead of climbing back up to the campsite, Drew takes my hand in his and suggests we go check on Thor, who’s not that far below us.

My clever cowboy can hear his bull making his way through the wooded meadow, apparently.

I trust him.

I trust him with my whole heart, I realize with startling clarity as he rubs my knuckles with his thumb. The fear that blazed through me when he revealed that he knew I wanted a baby sooner than later has simmered down to a bright, hot excitement.

“I want to tell you about something else,” I say.

His hand tightens around mine. “Is this about your Five Year Plan binder?”

“How do you know about that, too?” But this time I’m just exasperated, not upset. I shake my head as we stop walking.

He chuckles and tucks me into his arms, kissing me softly on the mouth. “I’m observant. And your backpack was open.”

I sigh against his lips. “It’s actually called the Five Year Brynn Plan .”

“I like it already.”

“I need to update it when we get back to the ranch. There’s no cowboy in it right now.”

“But you’re open to changing that?”

“Changing?” I laugh, and it’s part resignation, part realization, because the plan has already changed. Completely. “You’re it, now. You are my new plan. No pressure.”

“Fuck that. Bring all the pressure.” He whoops and picks me up, spinning me around.

I squeal and hold on tight, pressing my face into his neck.

His lips brush my ear. “So what is the Five Year Brynn and Her Cowboy Plan ?”

My pulse races because I see it so clearly. Babies. How many babies can I give this man in five years? Does he even want babies?

But also ranching. I sure hope he wants a permanent intern who asks a lot of questions, because I’m not going anywhere.

“Happiness,” I whisper back. “That’s the plan.”

By the time we get to the clearing where we expect Thor to be, he’s nowhere to be found.

But there’s a fresh trail of trampled grass to follow, and holding Drew’s hand and climbing around on the mountain is perfection even if we don’t find the bull today, so I don’t mind that we need to keep walking.

But Drew is more safety conscious than me.

“We need to turn back in ten minutes,” he warns.

I get it. The sun is low in the sky now, golden rays casting super long shadows.

We don’t want to get caught in the dark.

“All right,” I agree.

He casts an experienced gaze over the tree line, then points to a cut in the brush. “Through there. There’s a bit of pasture that will take us back to the path, and then we won’t be far from camp.”

“Lead the way, cowboy.”

His brows rise, and he tips his head to the side.

“Lead the way, Daddy?”

That makes him smile. “I like that, too. But…I think you should lead the way.”

“But I don’t know…” My words fade, because of course he’ll be right behind me. I grin. “Okay.”

The way is obvious, and I speed up, moving through the grass quickly where the footing is sure, only slowing down when we need to climb over something.

And as I enter the pasture, I understand why Drew said I could go first.

Thor is just ahead of me, making huffing sounds as he sniffs at a young heifer.

“Oh,” I whisper. I look back at Drew. “Did you hear them?”

He nods.

“Thank you.” I bite my lower lip.

She’s the smallest of the herd, I think, and Thor…he’s bigger than Ten Gallon. And we don’t think he’s had a chance to mount any of the cows yet, so if she’s in heat, this will be his first release of the season.

“Is she okay?”

“You tell me.”

I watch the bull circle the heifer, slow and deliberate. He’s caught her scent, it looks like. She shifts her weight but doesn’t move away. Her tail lifts, and my stomach flips.

Breeding is breeding. This isn’t that different from what we observed earlier.

But with Drew right beside me, close enough that his arm brushes mine, I can’t stop a startling parallel from forming in my head.

And in the details of how Thor approaches the smaller animal, it’s different enough.

“I think she’s ready…” Her tail is flagged to the side, and when she shifts, I can see she’s swollen. Ready.

Her first heat, and the bull knows.

My heart leaps into my throat. “But it’s still risky, right?” I’m not talking about the cattle anymore. “Being new. Being young. Letting someone that much bigger, that much stronger…”

Drew wraps his arm around me and silently tugs me in front of him. Holding me tight as we watch Thor mount the heifer instead, as she braces herself and takes his weight.

My whole body goes hot as Drew kisses my temple. “Some things just come down to raw biology. And sometimes that’s worth the risk.”

His voice is rough and his arms are strong around me.

He’s my massive bull. Bigger than me. Experienced, like Thor, but not interested in anyone else.

Just me, his little heifer.

His virgin.

My breathing goes shallow. It would be so easy for Drew to pin me down. Raw and basic and necessary.

Put me on all fours and?—

“Fuck, Brynn, I can hear your horny little thoughts.” He cups my aching breasts through my shirt, squeezing them in a way that lifts my back into an arch.

My ass comes up, too, rocking against his erection, and I moan out loud.

How many times in a day can we crash together like this?

Thor dismounts, and the heifer shakes herself, then lows, a long noise that makes the bull charge off.

In the distance, another cow moos back.

Thor changes direction, heading toward the watering hole.

And the heifer goes right back to grazing like nothing happened.

But if Drew takes me, when he takes me, it won’t be something I’ll just shake off. It will change me forever.

My breath rushes out of me, leaving me hollow.

“Is that what you want, baby? You want me to be the bull, and I’ve caught your scent?” He catches my earlobe between his teeth, his breath hot and lusty. “Watching you react like that does something to me.”

I moan. “Tell me.”

“It makes me want to fill you up.”

“Yes…” I grab his hands and bring them to my waistband. “I’m so empty, Drew.”

“My cock needs to be in your pussy. Tonight.”

“Now,” I pant. “Please. Cover me. Mount me.”

“Right here?” He unzips my jeans, shoving his hand down the front of my panties.

His fingers feel so good. I wrap my arms around his neck, anchoring myself as he strokes over my mound, my clit, and then—oh, oh —between my lips, to where I’m already slick for him.

“Oh, fuck, Brynn. You’re ready, aren’t you?”

I sob as he shoves my jeans down my thighs. I’m glad I wore an older pair tonight, that are soft and have some stretch, because when I fall onto my knees in the grass, they give me just enough room to spread my legs and tip my hips back.

Drew follows me down, his body covering mine. His mouth hot on the back of my neck as he palms my ass, then slides his fingers between my cheeks.

I squirm against his touch, desperate for it.

His voice rasps low and hot in my ear. “Good girl, rub your wet little cunt on my fingers. Show me how much you need my dick. I want you to come like this, yeah? Come like a horny girl I know you can be, and then I’ll give you my cock if you can take it.”

“I can take it,” I pant. A hopeful promise.

“Show me how you can.” He shifts, straddling my legs with his, moving his weight to behind me.

Pressing me down, his hand big and strong on my back.

My hips tip up and his fingers drag through my more exposed folds, right to my entrance.

I moan into the soft, sweet grass under my face.

“Show me,” he repeats. “Be a good girl for me, Brynn.”

And he slides a thick, stretching finger all the way into me, until his knuckles bump against my wet sex.

I scrabble at the grass, fisting the ground beneath me, as my body adjusts to the intrusion.

The delicious, shocking intrusion.

He pumps in and out of me slowly, twice, then adds another finger.

“Oh,” I breathe. My eyes go wide. And my hips push back against him.

“There you are. That’s it. Fuck, you’re pretty like this, you know that?”

My cheeks burn.

I feel…something. I wouldn’t have said pretty. I’m sure this looks completely slutty, in fact. But I feel desired . I know he’s looking at where his fingers pump in and out of my body, and even though I can’t see him, I know he’s aroused.

“You are so pretty like this,” he repeats. “A pretty girl who looks like she wants to get bred.”

“Drew…”

“Is that what you need today, sweetheart? It’s the first day of breeding season. Did you come up this mountain so I would put a baby in you?”

“Yes,” I sob.

“You gotta say it. I need to know you want me to cover you. Because once I’m inside of you, I’m never letting you go. If you want me to breed you, I’m going to marry you, too.”