Page 23 of Wild Hearts (Ruby Ridge #1)

carter

. . .

I wipe the sweat from my brow and hurl the shovel against the barn wall until it clatters to the floor.

It’s loud as hell, but I barely hear it over the pounding in my chest. The summer sun’s high and merciless, heat clinging to my skin like guilt, and everything around me reeks of hay, dust, and poor decisions.

I should be focusing on feed deliveries or the vet check coming tomorrow—but instead, my head’s a fucking carousel of her.

Catalina Ajemian.

Her lips, her moans. The way she whispered sweet nothings into my ear like she meant it with her whole soul.

I backed off, and I apologized. And now? She’s been gone for hours, with my goddamn truck.

I haven’t stopped moving all fucking day. Shoveling feed, checking fences, anything to keep my hands busy. But no matter how hard I fucking try to sweat her out, she’s still under my skin, still on my tongue, still burning through me like wildfire.

Slamming the barn door shut behind me, my boots hit heavy against the dirt, every step toward the house echoes with regret. I kissed her, touched her, whispered filthy things into her ear like she was mine to fucking ruin.

I’m halfway to throwing myself onto the couch, marinating in my shame when the front door explodes open so hard it nearly comes off the damn hinges.

Catalina storms in like a Category five disaster, the scent of champagne and citrus trailing after her, she’s dressed in a clingy black dress that might as well be painted onto her curves. Her eyes blaze as she stomps through the entryway, and for one brief second, I forget my fucking name.

Before I can blink—POOF. POOF. POOF. POOF.

Four goddamn glitter bombs explode against my chest. Pink, black and gold sparkles rain over me like I pissed off a vengeful fairy. It’s in my beard, my lashes, and my fucking boots.

Is that cow sequins?

In utter disbelief, I settle back into the couch, glitter-coated, while she marches toward me, her delicate hands planted on her hips, looking so fucking edible it hurts.

“?Eres un pedazo de mierda, Carter Hayes!” she screams, her voice shaking with rage.

I blink. I have no goddamn clue what she just said. But fuck if it isn’t the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.

“?Eres un vaquero estúpido y terco!” she fires off. “?Sigue chingando!”

Every syllable is wrapped in that molten Spanish that shoots straight to my dick.

God help me, I’m not listening. All I can think about is her pretty little mouth wrapped around my cock. Those lips, already bruised from kissing, stretched open as she takes me in. Her throat swallowing every inch of me like she was made for it .

I lean back into the couch, my arms crossed, legs spread wide, and I watch her fall apart in front of me. Her fury is sharp, but all I can see is the way that thin dress moves when she does, clinging to her thighs, peeks of skin I’ve already memorized.

She snaps her fingers in my face. “Are you even fucking listening to me?!”

I stand, towering over her tiny frame, trembling with rage. My hand lifts before I can stop it, my fingers brush over her plump lips, tracing the softness there.

“Not a damn word.”

She slaps my hand away and shoves me hard in the chest. It doesn’t move me, not physically. But inside? I’m fucking obliterated.

“That all you got, princess?”

She snarls, actually snarls and spins around, muttering in Spanish like she’s casting a spell to burn me alive.

“You apologized,” she spits, pacing. “Like what happened was a fucking mistake. Kissing me, touching me, grinding your fucking hard cock against me while whispering how bad you wanted to be inside me—was something you needed to take back.”

I flinch. Because every word’s true, and every word fucking hurts.

“I can’t—” I start.

She whips around, facing me, chestnut eyes burning into mine.

“You can’t? Or you won’t? Because I was there, Carter.

I felt it. I felt your mouth, your hands, your fucking dick pressed against me so hard I couldn’t think straight, and you wanted it.

So don’t stand there now acting like I hallucinated the whole fucking thing. ”

I stare at her, the fire burning within her, at the pieces of me she holds in her fists like they were always meant to be hers.

“Yeah,” I finally say. “I wanted it.”

She freezes.

“I still fucking want it,” I say, my voice shaky for some reason. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I shouldn’t, you’re Vartan’s daughter and?—”

“Oh my god,” she groans, throwing her arms up. “You’re still hung up on that?”

“I respect him?—”

“You respect him?” She laughs. “He sent me here like I was a broken toy that needed fixing. He’s done everything but be a father, and you’re over here playing Saint Cowboy with a conscience?”

I rake my hand through my hair, tension clawing its way through my chest. “I can’t just touch his daughter and pretend there won’t be consequences,” I say, every word dragging like glass down my throat. “I have some goddamn morals left, even if it doesn’t look like it.”

She laughs. And it isn’t the pretty kind that makes her nose crinkle.

It’s fucking terrifying.

“You’re so full of shit,” she snaps, her lips twisting with disgust. “You want me, Carter, and you’re too fucking pussy to admit it.”

Before I can speak, before I can take one step toward her, she spins on her heel and storms out the front door.

The screen bangs hard behind her, and I catch one last glimpse of her hair whipping behind her. It shouldn’t make my heart ache—but it does.

She disappears into the pasture, and I just stand there, watching her go like a fucking moron. My jaw clenches so tight it aches, the glitter is still stuck to my shirt itching like hell, but I don’t move.

She’s right, I want her, more than I’ve wanted anything in a long fucking time.

Fuck it.

She’s already halfway through the goddamn field, moving faster than she has any right to in that skin-tight black dress and those ridiculous heels. Her hair whips wild around her face, catching the breeze like a banner, her fists clenched and her body fueled by pure fire and mimosas.

She’s half-stumbling, half-running, but fuck if she’s not putting distance between us.

“CATALINA,” I bark, my voice cutting through the breeze.

She doesn’t even flinch, and she sure as fuck doesn’t slow down. Instead, she throws her middle finger in the air and screams across the field with every ounce of dramatic flair in that little body.

“BYEEEEE!”

Jesus fucking Christ.

My boots hit the dirt hard, each step pounding with the force of every mistake I’ve made in the last twenty-four hours. I should’ve stayed away, shouldn’t have fucking touched her.

I definitely should’ve never let her grind that pretty little body against mine.

FUCK .

I did all of those things like a fucking idiot and now she’s stomping across my land like she’s about to light it all on fire.

“Don’t you dare run from me in those goddamn heels!” I yell, my stride eating the distance between us.

She speeds up as she hears me, wanting to spite me harder.

I reach her just as she stumbles over a rock, her ankle wobbling. Grabbing her by her waist before she can hit the ground, and without a second thought, I haul her up and throw her over my shoulder.

She shrieks, pounding her fists against my back, her heels fall off as she kicks at the air.

“?Vete a la mierda!”

“Let go of me you fucking ape!”

“You gonna shut up and listen now?” I grip her thighs tighter to keep her from wriggling free.

“Eat a dick, Hayes!”

She’s slung over my shoulder like a sack of fire-breathing rage, thrashing and cursing in Spanish so fast I can’t keep up.

Every word that flies out of her mouth bounces off me like a bullet, but none of it sinks in, not when all I can feel is the heat of her thighs against my chest, the sway of her hips pressing into me with every furious kick.

Finally reaching my truck, I’ve officially lost every fucking shred of patience.

I need her. I crave her.

Dropping her onto the tailgate with a grunt, I grip her hips hard, anchoring her there so she doesn’t bolt off again.

She tries to push me away, her palms against my chest, still hissing venom between clenched teeth. “You are such a fucking?— ”

“Brat,” I growl, cutting her off. “You’re being a fucking brat.”

Her chest rises and falls in quick bursts, her hair’s a tangled halo around her pretty, flushed face, and her plump lips parted in shock—or maybe it’s want.

I don’t know, and I don’t fucking care.

She looks at me like she wants to stab me and ride me at the same time, and shit, I don’t even know which one I’d prefer.

“And you’re a fucking coward,” she spits back. “Talking all that filth one night, and running away the next. Did you get scared, Hayes? Scared you might feel something under all that gruff bullshit?”

I snap.

Slamming my mouth to hers, I swallow her gasp. My hand locks around the nape of her neck, holding her in place, dragging my tongue into her mouth and fuck it slowly. Her lips part wider, hungry for it, letting me take what I want. I bite her bottom lip, pulling the soft flesh until she moans.

She grabs my shirt, pulling me closer. Her legs spreading for me without hesitation, and I step between them.

She wraps around me, pulling me closer until I can feel the heat of her pussy through her clothes.

I grind into her, my cock pressed thick against the spot I know she needs, her hips jerk up, chasing the friction.

I keep moving, dragging against her like I’m already inside her.

Her head falls back, as she lets out a moan that sounds so fucking sinful, I could listen to her forever.

I thrust again, and her pussy clenches even through the layers between us.

I can feel how soaked she is; she’s dripping for it, soaking my jeans, begging without a single word.