Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 144435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 722(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
We hit the ground in a tangle of limbs. Well, he hits the ground.
I land squarely on top of him. Yay for me. Also…wow.
He's hard everywhere, his body a thick slab of hewn muscle.
"Jesus Christ," he growls, rolling us until I'm sprawled in the grass and dirt beneath him. Only then does it occur to me that the bull stopped trying to murder me when he told it too…and that he called it Hamburger.
"You named your bull Hamburger?"
Chapter Four
CORD
"You named your bull Hamburger?" Cassia asks, staring up at me with the prettiest doe eyes I've ever seen. It might be my imagination, but they're full of outrage, like she's pissed I named the bastard Hamburger even though he just tried to split her from her alabaster throat to her soft belly.
"Don't tell me you're one of those PETA people," I mutter, running my hands all over her curvy body, worried as fuck the goddamn bull hurt her before I got to her. Seeing her running for her life shaved a good ten years off mine. As soon as I heard the screaming, I came running to see what the hell was going on. Never expected to see her fleeing in terror from that fucking bull.
"PETA people?"
I opt not to answer her question. Just in case she is one. I've got nothing against vegans, hippies, conservationists, environmentalists, or anyone else really. But the fact that I raise cattle tends to rile most of them up. Never mind that my family and my ranch have done more to solve problems than they'll ever know.
"Are you hurt, pretty baby?" I ask.
"No." Her breath hitches when I call her pretty baby. And then she seems to catch hold of herself. Her stubborn little chin comes up and she swats at my hands. "Would you stop trying to touch all of my parts and let me up?"
"I'm checking for injuries."
"On my boobs?" she hisses.
I glance down and realize she's right. I've got a hand full of one perfect tit. It overflows my meaty palm, making me grin. God yeah, she's perfect. Exactly as soft as I knew she would be. The kind of sweet a man like me could drown in and not regret a second of it. Even covered in mud, she's somehow erotic as sin and as adorable as a day-old kitten.
"What the hell are you wearing, princess?" I ask, doing a sweep from head to toe. Her black coat hangs open over a black long-sleeved t-shirt that stretches tight across her tits. Her matching leggings hug her thick thighs. They're soaked all the way to her knee on one side. She looks like a cat burglar. One ill prepared for the weather and the ranch.
"Clothes," she sniffs, pushing at my shoulders. Is it my imagination or are her cheeks red? "Will you get off me, you giant bully? Jeez, you're bigger than that maniacal bull."
"Told you he was a bastard," I grunt, jumping to my feet. Hamburger stands a few yards away, his big body positioned between us and the herd. He's protective of the heifers…which is precisely why he still has horns. He's far better security than any cowboy with a gun. Meaner too.
I glance toward the ranch to see Jace and Toby hauling ass toward us. Of course, neither of them was smart enough to saddle a horse. It's a good thing Cassia isn't hurt. Fuck. I need to hire better help around here. I've got a ranch full of horny cowboys without a lick of goddamn sense between the lot of them.
"Excuse me?" Cassia sits upright behind me. "T-told me? I don't know you."
I turn to face her, wondering what the hell she's playing at. Surely she remembers calling me a video game playing basement dweller? The way she avoids looking directly at me tells me plain as day that she remembers me just fine. She just doesn't want me to know that.
"I'm a cattle thief," she blurts before I can sort out why.
"You're a cattle thief?" I blink down at her, trying not to laugh in her face. If she's a cattle thief, I'm a fucking ballerina. Why am I smiling so hard? Better question, why the hell couldn't her friend pick a better day to camp out at Cam's? I need him here to deal with…everything so I can carry this sassy little thing upstairs and plant my kid in her.
"Yes. A cattle thief. You should call the police and have me arrested."
"Right." I chuckle, running a palm over the top of my head. The only time she'll be going near the police station is when she's bypassing it on the way to the courthouse to marry me. But I don't tell her that. I'm guessing by the panic in her voice, she doesn't want me to know who she is. Until I figure out why, I'll play her little game. But we're playing it by my rules. "Well, come on then, little cattle thief. Let's go."