Page 5 of Tusks & Saddles

Chapter Three

Willamina

Y ou both do. “Don’t you go teasing me, motherfucker,” she sighed to herself, brushing her teeth twice as hard than when she went to bed.

Spent the whole night, tossing and turning.

The only way to get her mind to shut off was to return there at the post. The momentary freeze when he stared her in the eyes, saying it so blasé like it didn’t spark her insides.

Like it didn’t make her chest ache. Like…

he wasn’t the prettiest fucking guy to wink at her.

She punched her pillows, thrashed in her sheets, but returned to that moment.

Over and over, she replayed it until her mind made up events that would never happen.

One where she hopped the fence, and he snatched her by the waist. He’d spin her to face him, and they yelled in each other’s faces, getting ever close.

Then he kissed her. Grabbed her by the damn cheeks and smashed their lips together.

Will had received maybe four kisses in her life.

One of them didn’t count cause she sure as hell wasn’t going to give that stupid twig from Gloomsdale the title for being her first. The other three were trial and error.

But none of them held a candle to the imaginary kiss.

His hands roaming up her sides, his lips against hers, even the pressure of his tusks against her cheeks; she wanted all of it.

She woke up gasping for air, flush like a heretic in a temple, burning alive .

Get your shit together, you ninny!

With a hard spit, then a gargle, then a rinse, her teeth ached but they’d be better for it.

Out in the sands, there wasn’t much. She wouldn’t be able to wash up like she did at home.

Best to leave as sparkling new as she could.

After a quick dunk in the shower, the pipes rattling to rat her out to the rest of the house, she felt the ranch awaken.

Despite the fact it was still an inky black outside her window, the world around her woke up.

Wrapped up in a towel, clothes on her bed, she was applying deodorant to her pits to let it sink in when the first person interrupted her.

“Baby, you want me to cook up some bacon and eggs for breakfast?” Her mother fully stepped into the room, leaving the door wide open while Willamina was as naked as the day she was born.

“Momma!” she shrieked, motioning at the door. As if it could get any worse, her mother huffed, putting her hands to her hips instead of closing the fucking door. Willa threw one of her house shoes at the door and it rattled hard behind her mother. “I am naked, Momma.”

“And? I’ve seen all your skin. Don’t take that tone with me, young lady.” Daniella Jones tapped her clawed fingers irritably against her house robe.

Will scowled, narrowing her eyes on the harpy looming over the end of her bed. “I’m sorry, Momma.”

“Thank you. Now, you want bacon and eggs? Or sausage?”

“Sausage,” Will grumbled, propping a leg up onto the bed to apply deodorant to her thighs and around her belly.

Any way to keep the sweat from riding through the boiling sun from stinking up her whole body.

At some point, she’d have to just accept the stink.

One of her least favorite parts of pushing cattle was the body odor.

“You got it, baby.” Her mother softened her tone, a low whisper that only Will could hear. Her mother slid up beside her, cupping the opposite cheek of Will’s, and planting a kiss to the side of her daughter’s head. “I’ll have some food for the road packed by the time you get downstairs.”

“Thanks, Momma,” she murmured. Daniella slipped out of the room and shut the door.

Willamina grabbed her panties and yanked them on before hoisting up a pair of thin leggings for under her jeans.

While it would be hotter than a daemon’s ass crack at mid-day, it would keep everything sealed in better.

She learned her lesson quick after the first push.

Never going out in only a pair of jeans and a t-shirt ever again.

Her chest was still wrapped in a towel as she wrangled on a pair of thick socks when the door burst open again. She yowled, “What?!”

“Do you think this looks infected?” Jacobus whined, hobbling in further to her room. He dropped his ass directly onto her bed and propped up his wounded leg onto her bedside table, cutting her off from the rest of her clothes.

“Jacobus!” she snarled, swatting at him only to scramble to keep the towel around her chest. The door…was still open. “Were you raised in a barn?”

“Yeah,” he laughed, peeling back his pajama pants to show his leg. “No, but seriously, you think this is infected?”

Willamina slapped his hand away, bending to stare at his leg.

His shin was bumpy, all colors of purple, green, yellow, and more.

A daemon with a leg that’d been set in place.

While it had been wrapped up in order to get him home, he’d need to see a real healer to have it fixed.

Something Irongarde didn’t have, neither did Gloomsdale.

Something she didn’t have the time or money to deal with either.

“Bruised to hell? Sure. Infected, no! Serves you right. ”

She flicked him on the ankle for good measure. Jacobus howled in pain, yanking his leg away from her. “Ow! The fuck you do that for?”

“For busting in here to make me look at your leg. Knowing I’m still pissed at you for breaking it.” She hugged the towel to her chest with one arm and pointed to the door with the other. “Get. Out.”

“Fine! Jeez, grumpy much?”

Willamina throttled his shadow as he retreated from the room.

He didn’t even close it. She was forced to stomp up to it and throw it closed.

Grumbling to herself, she pulled on her bra before anyone else could burst in while her nipples were still out.

However, before she could even pull on her tank top, the door opened again.

She ripped around, hands out, “ Can’t I get some fucking peace and quiet to get fucking dressed— Boone.”

He stood there, hand on the door handle with his other forearm braced against the door frame.

His eyebrows were high up on his face, eyes wide behind those ridiculously small, round spectacles he used to read.

A book was dangling from his free hand, the pages fluttering as the world around it froze in place.

Boone locked eyes with her for only a moment.

Then, she watched in slow motion as his eyes roamed down her chin, across her torso, to her legs.

“I…will..let you get dressed,” he murmured, his eyes cast down at the floor.

“Wha-wha-what did you even need?” She was spitting mad and embarrassed. Her face felt like she pressed it to the top of the stove and left it to char.

“It’s not important now.” He dropped his arms, twisting from the doorway.

Will’s arms wrapped around her chest, roasting alive in her own body.

Shit. She cleared her throat. When she glanced at him, his eyes were on her again.

With a snap, he closed the book and turned away from her doorway.

He shut the door behind him and she was left itchy in her clothes.

She’d never ripped on the rest of her clothes so fast.

Was it just me…was I just imagining it… he wouldn’t…

But she could almost have sworn his lips were curled just an inch.

His eyes took their sweet time traveling her and she wanted to pull her lower lip up and over her head.

And fucking swallow because Boone basically saw me naked.

A flimsy t-shirt bra, and leggings that were practically painted on did not leave much to the imagination.

However, once that overshirt was tugged onto her body, she bounced into her boots and flew out of the room. I’ve got to get a fucking lock on my door.