Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I entered the small town of Eden, Wyoming, but I can easily say that being accosted by a few thugs in a dirty alley because I had a modicum of fashion sense hadn’t been high on the list of possibilities. Growing up in Manhattan probably should have prepared me better, but it wasn’t like there was a sign posted outside of Eden warning me to ditch my Mongolian wool wrap and dark nail polish. Sure, I knew I’d get some looks of disgust, but I’d always had a snarky remark at the ready. Unfortunately, snarky only worked when you weren’t having the crap kicked out of you.
Enter the kind of hot cowboy I’d been fantasizing about since, well, forever, and within seconds the ignorant bigots were stumbling out of the alley, and I was alone with my gorgeous savior. Only problem was that said savior was under the assumption that he’d been rescuing a damsel in distress.
And I was definitely no damsel. A fact that Hot Cowboy didn’t realize until after he’d kissed me.
Flynn
Eden was supposed to be another small town just like all the others. A place to do some temporary work on one of the local ranches before moving on. It wasn’t a life for most people, but it’d been working for me. With the exception of my horse, I liked being alone.
A dusty, garbage-filled alley changed all of that. Helping someone who was the victim of a serious beating wasn’t a big deal for me. The victim was a big deal. As soon as I locked eyes with the person I assumed was a woman based on the clothes and nail polish, I was a goner. As confused as I was about my attraction to her since I played for the other team, she kissed like a dream. Only she wasn’t a she at all.
The young man in my arms did something to me with that kiss. I was both relieved and disappointed when the guy took off. In the long run, it would be good because the last thing I needed was an intense attraction to someone who clearly didn’t belong in Eden.
Enter Black Hills Ranch and a familiar stranger who wasn’t very happy to see me.
At all.
Jules, a New York city boy, was an enigma but that didn’t matter. I wanted him. Even though we were like night and day, arguing with Jules was just as much fun as kissing him.
It was also very dangerous. For him. For me. The last thing I could afford was to fall for a guy who’d never truly be mine. I had to let him go. It was the right thing to do.
Then why did it feel so wrong?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
FLYNN
Even if I’d been at my sharpest, which I currently wasn’t thanks to yet another endless night of trying to coerce my restless mind to take a break for once and shut the hell up, I never would have heard the sound on my own.
Thankfully, my horse didn’t suffer from the same malady. When the stallion’s ears flicked forward and his pace quickened, it was enough to snap me out of the haze I’d been lost in from the moment I’d left my beloved stirrup leathers at the saddlery.
Unlike most riders, I didn’t need the stirrups to support my feet as I rode because it wasn’t my boots that were doing the communicating with my mount anyway. I let my horse take the lead because his senses were sharper than mine. The second I made out the muffled moan followed by raucous laughter, I let out the smallest of clicking sounds that sent my horse into a smooth, quiet canter. I gave the animal his head so he could figure out exactly where the sounds were coming from.
We’d only gone a few dozen feet when my horse slowed his stride enough that he could slip between two buildings. There was no more moaning or whimpering, but it was clear the tormenters weren’t done based on their laughter and the way they were prodding each other on.
“Dude, do it,” one guy said.
“Yeah?” another voice asked.
I heard what sounded like someone spitting.
I already had my leg swung over my horse’s back before he even came to a complete stop. It took just seconds to process what I was seeing as my booted feet hit the alley’s hard dirt. Three grown men were in the process of kicking dust all over what appeared to be some kind of large animal—a dog, maybe.
“You want some help gettin’ some of that dust off those pretty nails of yours?”
I couldn’t hear anything after that because the inferno of rage that had already been building inside of me took over every part of my body. The fuckers weren’t mistreating a dog. No, the body lying in the dirt at the men’s feet was that of a person who’d tucked themself into a tight ball and covered their head in an effort to protect themself from the random kicks to the ribs, the dust being kicked into their face, and the spit raining down on their small body.
As I got closer, my body switched from hot and out of control to ice cold and lethal.
Exactly the way I needed it to be.
Since I was once again in control of my senses, I heard the man standing closest to the figure on the ground continue with, “Maybe you should try a little meadow yellow first.”
The guy’s words made no sense to me until I heard the sound of a zipper being drawn down. His two buddies were too busy to even notice my silent approach because they were egging their friend on. Even if the other two hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have changed the way I delivered my message to the man who was obviously their leader.
I had no idea if the guy had managed to pull his dick free from his pants before I reached him, but I was kind of hoping he had because it would make what I was about to do all the more satisfying.
After slamming my boot into the back of the man’s right knee, I stepped around him just long enough to let my fist slam into his face. The man’s moans of pain told me he was clearly finished, but the sight of his flaccid dick had me seeing red all over again. I yanked him to his feet long enough to knee him in the balls. The whoosh of air that left his lungs as he grabbed his nuts before falling flat on his face still wasn’t enough to satisfy my bloodlust, but I had something, or rather someone, far more important on my mind. I had no qualms about putting my back to the guy’s two wide-eyed buddies because I knew they were no threat now that their leader was out of commission.
“Get him out of here,” I ordered them, my voice dripping with ice. If it hadn’t been for the person huddled tightly in a ball at my feet, I would have happily taken what remained of my rage out on the two cowards who’d yet to move. I ignored the muffled moans and groans as the three men made their escape. There was a brief ruckus and several very un-muffled swear words a few seconds later, but I didn’t need to look to know what was going on. My loyal mount was making sure the assholes didn’t dawdle as they left the alley.
“Hey,” I said softly to the person still huddled in the fetal position before me. I couldn’t make out whether it was a man or woman because of all the dust covering their clothing, but I knew better than to touch the traumatized individual. My chest grew tight for some inexplicable reason, but I ignored the sensation. “Are you hurt?”