Chapter 16

Billy

Alice captivated him. Although he wished it weren’t the case, there was no more denying it. As her story unfolded he found himself drawn to her spirit, inspired by her courage. Like him, she had been dealt some shitty cards, situations that could have crushed her, but instead they motivated her, strengthened her, challenged her. He respected her for that.

At first, when he found out about Amy, he was upset. Not so much at Alice, but because this was information that they should have had prior to him arriving at the ranch. Maybe knowing that information would have changed his approach, altered the plan.

He wasn’t the kind of guy that would fuck over a single mother, was he? Well, he certainly didn’t feel like that guy anymore. If he hadn’t struggled with his ethics up to this point, he was certainly questioning his integrity now.

Alice explained why she couldn’t tell him about Amy and he had to admit it made perfect sense. He totally understood her reluctance. Her instincts were bang on. He was being ambiguous, and she had been picking up on it all along.

When she had invited him back to the house that morning, for a moment he forgot all of it, the plan, the condo development, James. None of it even entered his mind. As they walked up the path to the house, the three of them singing Old MacDonald, he felt happy.

Alice set down her empty wine glass and Billy picked up the decanter, holding it over her glass. She nodded and he poured her a little more.

“Lisa moved in shortly after my parents died. Her mother Dottie is my mother’s sister. Dottie stayed here for a short time after the accident, helping out where she could, but she eventually had to get back to her real life. Lisa and I have always been close, we are practically the same age. She spent most of her summers at the ranch, so it just seemed like a natural choice for her to stay,” Alice said, continuing her story.

Billy set the wine down and leaned back in his chair.

“She loves taking care of the house and is a natural with Amy, making it easy for me to run the ranch. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

“She seems like a very nice woman,” Billy agreed, “and Amy sure seems to like her.”

Alice nodded.

“She’s like a sister to me.”

Alice sat back in her chair and grew quiet for several minutes. Their silence wasn’t uncomfortable, in fact they both seemed to relish it, taking a moment to admire the evening sky.

“Billy, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Amy,” she apologized.

Billy shook his head slowly, meeting her gaze. He reached his hand out to her and she accepted it once again. He liked how easy it felt.

“You don’t need to apologize, Alice. I get it,” he assured her, caressing her fingers.

He met her gaze, resisting a strong urge to kiss her. As if sensing his need, she eased herself out of her chair, and knelt in front of him. She kissed him softly on the lips, the warmth of her breath triggering his arousal. He wrapped his hands loosely around her waist, enjoying her assertiveness. She parted her lips, inviting in his tongue until their kiss became more urgent, matching the intensity of their desire for each other.

He gently guided her into his lap and she sat down, her legs dangling over the arm of the chair. He placed one hand behind her head, while his free hand explored her curves. She moaned softly into his mouth as his hand slipped up her inner thigh, stopping just before reaching her mound. He could feel the heat from her pussy, beckoning to be pleasured.

“Wait,” she moaned, grabbing his hand.

Billy growled, not wanting to stop. He wanted her right there and now.

He grinned at her and shook his head.

“No, please, I want you, Alice. Please, don’t stop me,” he begged, his voice cracking with desire.

Alice chuckled softly.

“Ssssh. I don’t want to stop either. We just need to find somewhere a little more private,” she whispered, kissing him again.

She stood up and took his hand, gesturing for him to follow. Together they walked hand in hand as she led him to the barn. She scanned the room making sure they were alone, grabbed a blanket off a hook, then invited him up the stairs to the hayloft. He eagerly followed her, anxious for what was to come.

She handed him the other end of the blanket and together they spread it out on a soft pile of hay. She kept her eyes glued to his as she peeled off her clothes, easing herself out of each item, while he watched. Finally, she stepped out of her panties and walked seductively toward him. He opened his arms and she stepped into his embrace, raising her chin so he could easily locate her lips. He kissed her eagerly as her hands fumbled with his belt buckle. She unfastened it and quickly unzipped his jeans. She tucked her hand into his pants, wrapping her fingers tightly around his cock. He was already wet, his pre-cum lubing her fingers.

She fell to her knees, pulling his jeans down with her. He easily slipped off his shoes so she could remove his pants completely, in an almost seamless maneuver. She tossed his jeans aside and then wrapped her hands around his ass, pulling him closer to her lips. She took his hard cock into her mouth, a little at a time, until it was deep into the back of her throat.

He loved watching her please him, the sight of her lips around his cock intensifying his desire. He inhaled deeply and moaned, enjoying the sensations, the earthy scent of the barn making him feel raw, dirty, and primal.

She was pleasuring him thoroughly, her mouth eagerly exploring every inch of his manhood, her tongue playing with his scrotum as much as his cock. She gently wrapped her hand around his sack and pulled down ever so gently while she deep throated him, toying with that fine line between pleasure and pain. He held her head in his hand, guiding his cock into her mouth. In and out, in and out.

His excitement was peaking to the point of no return. Ten more seconds and he would explode, his hot cum coating the back of her throat. While he normally would love to finish in her mouth, he wanted to be inside her more, to feel her body writhing under his weight.

He slowly pulled himself out of her mouth, and she looked up at him smiling. He shook his head playfully and helped her up.

“Christ, woman, you could take me to Heaven with that mouth,” he growled, and pulled her into his kiss, tasting his salty essence on her tongue.

He placed his hands under her ass and easily lifted her off the ground. She wrapped her legs around him and he carried her over to their makeshift bed, laying her down carefully. He slipped his hand between her legs, and slid two of his fingers deep inside her. She was already soaking wet, which served him well. As much as he wanted to take his time and pleasure her, he was too far gone. He needed to fuck her.

He positioned himself over her, grabbing her wrists in one strong hand and pinned them above her head, bringing his lips down on hers, hard. She moaned into his mouth, clearly responding to his urgency. In one swift motion, he spread open her legs with his knees, driving his cock into her. She opened her legs wider, welcoming his desperate pounding.

He didn’t hold back. He wanted her to know just how frustrated she had made him over the past two weeks. He wanted to possess her, punish her, and please her, all at the same time, until she finally understood that she was the one he craved.

Alice squirmed and moaned beneath him, urging him, through raspy breaths, to fuck her harder. She wrapped her legs around him, using her feet to pull him tight against her body. He forced himself deeper inside her, slamming his pubic bone against her clit. She crushed her thighs against him and arched her back, releasing a deep, primitive moan.

He could feel the gush of her warm wetness icing his cock as her orgasm peaked and she couldn’t hold back any longer. He let go of her wrists and grabbed her hips, raising her pussy so he could easily thrust himself in and out of her. She grabbed at the blanket, her pleasure refusing to release her. She called out his name. She was in the throes of such orgasmic fury that he thought he’d cum right then and there, but he refused to allow himself.

Instead, he let the waves of orgasms flow through her until they seemed to subside. Then, still deep inside her, he pulled her even closer.

“You’re the best feeling in the world,” he whispered.

She sank her lips onto his and kissed him in the most passionate embrace imaginable. As her tongue toyed with his, dancing in his mouth, he pulled her groin even closer to him, pressing himself so far inside her that he felt she’d be his forever. When he reached that point, right in the very core of her body, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

Without even moving, just pulling her so tight to him, his cock exploded in an orgasm that made his vision blur. His cum pulsed out of his cock, over and over, and with each exquisite pulse, he cried out into her mouth, his cry muffled by her relentless passionate kissing.

To him, it felt as if his orgasm lasted forever. It felt as if it was going to kill him! He’d never experienced anything so intense, so intimate, in all his life. His cock pulsed but it was so far inside her body it felt like it was her pulse he was feeling. His orgasm was becoming her orgasm.

And as his cock continued to pump cum, her pleasure rose back up to the point of climax, and she was ravaged by another wave of orgasms.

“Oh, my God,” he cried, paralyzed as his cum continued to spill inside her.

She kept herself entwined around him while they both recovered, until he grew flaccid inside her. Perspiration from his exertion trickled down his neck. He rolled off her but didn’t go far, instead he pulled her close to him and spooned her, breathing in the familiar scent of her peach shampoo. He kissed her temple, drawing a smile from her.

“Wow,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Billy kissed her again.

“Yeah. Wow,” he agreed.

They held each other for several more minutes, quietly enjoying the afterglow. Finally, Alice broke the silence.

“I forgot how much I missed sex,” she said lightly.

Billy shifted a little so she could turn over and face him.

“How so?” he asked, urging her to continue.

“It has been a long time since someone fucked me like this, not since before Amy,” she admitted.

Billy raised his hand and gently caressed her face with his fingertips, secretly pleased that she had been so discerning all these years and yet had offered herself to him now.

She smiled at him sweetly and sighed.

“What is it?” he asked with genuine concern.

“It just feels too good to let go, you know?” she said quietly. “I have so much responsibility around here. I’m always on the move, making things happen, taking care of so much, especially now with these next steps underway.”

Billy nodded, and took her hand in his. What she said was true. Alice had proven herself one of the hardest working women he had ever met, and she made it look so easy.

“I know I’ve been really wishy washy with you these past two months, but only because I’ve been so afraid to let down my guard, especially since my parents died. I feel like it could all fall apart so easily sometimes,” she continued.

“I think it is remarkable what you have accomplished, Alice. I have been wondering something though.” Billy said, his words gently baiting her.

“What’s that?” Alice asked, searching his eyes.

“You’re so young. You could do anything you wanted. This ranch, the dream of turning it into a resort, talk about being pulled in a million directions. Have you ever considered just selling the ranch and starting off fresh? Make a whole new life for you and Amy? You could probably walk away a wealthy woman and take some pressure off yourself,” he offered cautiously.

Alice sighed and nodded, quietly contemplating his words.

“Truthfully, I have thought about that. I’m not going to lie, it does hold a tiny bit of appeal, but then I think about everything my parents and grandparents sacrificed for this place. What it has meant to our family? I can’t take that away from Amy. It’s so much more than a deed to some property. This land is our legacy. It’s in our souls. I feel like I owe it to all of them to stay put, to make it better,” she explained, her passion evident.

Billy nodded and pulled her closer to kiss her forehead, mainly to avoid her eyes. Her words were deep, and honest, and true, and yet invited so many mixed emotions for him. One of the things he really admired about Alice was her devotion, and yet it was the same damn thing standing in the way of his own goal. She was a pain in his ass, but he couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted to take away her ranch, but at the same time he wanted to give her the world. What the fuck did it all mean?

“Billy?” she whispered, pulling him out of his troubled thoughts.

“Yeah?” he whispered back.

“Tell me about your family.” she urged gently.

Billy inhaled sharply, and stiffened up. She had asked about his family once before, and he still wasn’t sure he was ready to conjure up those ghosts. Even thinking about it triggered a lot of pain for him, making him feel like a vulnerable and damaged teenager again. He must have hesitated a moment too long because Alice leaned back to look at him. Her eyes held both curiosity and compassion.

“It is ok if you don’t want to talk about them, Billy. I can see that it upsets you,” she said kindly. “but you can trust me. I’m a safe person to open up to.”

Billy felt emotion rising in his chest but quickly choked it back down. He couldn’t recall a time in his life that anyone made him feel as safe as Alice did, and she was the one person he didn’t deserve it from. He shuddered involuntarily. Alice reached beside her and pulled the excess blanket over them both. He appreciated the gesture. Not just to cover their naked body, but to provide security for his naked emotions.

“It is not that I don’t trust you, Alice, there just isn’t much to share. My family is gone,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t press him further.

“Gone?” she pressed.

Billy sighed. Of course, she would. In a normal relationship, this was the appropriate time to share this kind of stuff, and she had been very forthcoming, especially today.

“My mom left when I was pretty young. I guess I was around the same age that Amy is now,” he began.

Alice searched his face mercifully, not showing him pity, just listening attentively.

“My dad raised me and my brother. Not well, mind you, he was an addict. Alcohol,” he explained.

Alice nodded, as though she were patching everything together.

“He died about ten years ago. Honestly, there wasn’t much left of him. The booze pretty much killed him,” he said, trying to control the bitterness in his voice.

“I’m sorry, Billy,” Alice said quietly.

Billy shook his head.

“Don’t be. He wasn’t a nice man,” he said, suddenly aware that maybe he had more in common with the old bastard than he liked.

After all, ‘nice’ guys didn’t go to lengths he did to get what they want, did they?

Alice placed a hand gently on his shoulder, silently comforting him. He resisted the urge to pull away, not because he didn’t want to be touched, but because he didn’t deserve it. Alice ran her hand down his arm and grasped his hand, entwining her fingers in his, intuitively reassuring him.

“And your mom? Have you not seen her since you were a child?” she asked cautiously.

Billy shook his head, afraid to reveal too much emotion. Spending time with little Amy that afternoon, seeing how trusting and honest she was, so hopeful for the future, made him realize just how cruel it was for his mom to just up and leave him and Brandon when they were so vulnerable and helpless. Maybe, just maybe, Bran would still be alive.

“Billy, are you ok?” Alice asked.

Her face held a concerned expression that Billy couldn’t figure out, until he realized that he was trembling. What the fuck was wrong with him? He cleared his throat and chuckled uncomfortably, trying to shake off his emotion. He rolled over onto his back, placing an arm behind his head.

Alice sat up, draping the blanket loosely over her breasts, and placed her free hand on his chest. He smiled up at her.

“I’m ok. Sorry. I don’t talk about the past too often, and this is why. I can’t trust myself not to act like a big baby,” he said, mocking himself.

“There’s no shame in being emotional. I’m not passing judgment on you, Billy. Just be yourself,” she assured him.

Just be yourself, she said. Here he was masquerading as a lonely, hardworking, honest, all-American cowboy and he never felt truer to himself in his entire life. Maybe William had been pretending his whole life. Was he really a powerful, tough as nails business man, impenetrable? The only thing that both personas had in common was loneliness. Billy shook his head, the irony not lost on him. He clutched her fingers gently.

“My mom never did come back, not even when my little brother Brandon died.” he admitted, choking on the words.

Alice bit her lip, but this time he took comfort in her expression. She was holding back her shock, reserving judgement, gathering her feelings so she could say just the right thing, and he appreciated that.

“How old was your brother when he passed?” she asked tentatively.

“Seventeen. Accidental drug overdose,” he explained before she could ask. “At least that was what they called it. I think he ended his own life.”

“My God, I’m so sorry, Billy. I’m sorry you lost your brother. And you had neither parent to comfort you. I can’t even imagine how painful that would be, or how much that could mess with someone,” she whispered, holding back her own emotion.

Billy was pretty sure that Alice could imagine that kind of pain. She had lost so much herself, and she too had to figure out how to navigate her way out of despair, and be strong for her own child at the same time.

“It wasn’t easy, but we do what we have to. I’m not sure how I got through it, but I do know that somewhere along the way I put up some awfully big walls,” he admitted quietly, as though he were just recognizing it himself.

Alice lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it gently. Billy shook his head and grinned at her, trying to lighten the mood.

“Come on, let’s get dressed and I’ll walk you back home,” he said, sitting up.

Billy and Alice walked back to the house hand in hand, respecting the silence they both needed. He was grateful that no one was waiting on the porch for them this time. Alice reached out for the door but Billy gently eased her back, pulling her into his embrace. She kissed him gently on the mouth, slow, deep, and heavy with intimacy, and even though it scared the shit out of him, he was more frightened by the thought of turning his back on that kind of passion.

“Good night,” she whispered as she pulled away from their kiss. “Thank you for tonight. I know it wasn’t easy to open up to me.”

Actually, it wasn’t that difficult, he thought, smiling warmly at her.

“Thank you for tonight, and opening up to me.” he said winking.

Alice feigned shock and chuckled then pinched his sides. He pulled back with a hearty laugh.

“Ok, don’t do that! I’m insanely ticklish,” he warned playfully.

Alice wrapped her hands around his waist, threatening to tickle him again.

“Ah, is that so? Have I uncovered your weakness, Billy?” she teased.

Billy grabbed her wrists and pulled her into another kiss, forcing her to behave.

“You’re my weakness,” he admitted, his words landing on her heart.

She cocked her head at him and smiled at him curiously, then turned around and went inside.

Billy walked down the porch steps. What he said to Alice was the truth, but what the hell was he going to do about it?

* * *

It was late, but Billy needed to talk to James. The man was a night owl so Billy had no reservations dialing his number. He sat down on his bed and kicked off his shoes, waiting for an answer on the other line.

Just before he anticipated being bumped into voicemail, the call picked up.

“Hello,” James said, his voice heavy with sleep.

Maybe it was too late to call, Billy thought.

“Hey, it’s me,” Billy said flatly. “Sorry to call so late.”

“What time is it, William?” James asked, more curious than upset.

“I dunno, maybe close to midnight,” Billy offered impatiently. “I need to ask you something.”

“Is everything ok?” James questioned, a little more alert.

“It’s fine. I just need to know something. How come we didn’t know that Alice had a daughter?” Billy asked directly, wasting no time on pleasantries.

James was silent for a moment, breathing heavily on the other end of the phone. Finally he answered.

“I did know about the child. Of course I did,” he admitted, his voice tight with arrogance. “Is she back from Oregon already?”

Billy tightened his lips, trying to control his anger. Of course, James knew, and he also knew that Amy would be away for the summer. Did he hire a private investigator?

“Why wasn’t I made aware of this? A child is something rather important to know about, wouldn’t you say? Especially given the plan we were executing?” Billy asked, as calmly as he could muster.

“Well I did consider telling you, but I thought maybe the information would interfere with what you had to do. You’re far more sentimental than I am,” James chided. “I thought you would be in and out before the child returned.”

Billy felt his temperature rising. He was pissed off, but more than that, he felt played. Fucking bastard, he thought.

“Did it even dawn on you for one second that we were manipulating a single mother? That we could be hurting an innocent kid in all of this?” Billy spat, losing his patience.

“Of course it did, which is exactly why I kept the information to myself. Now calm down, William. This doesn’t change anything. Our end goal is to purchase the land from Miss White for as little as possible, but she is still going to walk away with plenty of money in her pocket. How the hell is that going to hurt anyone? The only ones who are going to suffer are you and I, if we don’t get that ocean front. We will lose out on millions, William. Millions,” James explained, as though he were the voice of reason.

Billy rubbed his forehead with his free hand, processing James’ words. They were both quiet for a few moments, the sound of their breathing the only evidence that they were both still on the line. Finally, James spoke up.

“Just keep moving forward with the plan. There’s still more to do on the arena, you have seen to that, right? When you ask for that last installment, the big one, it will flatline her account. She won’t have the funds to complete the job and a loan will be her only option if she wants to finish. She’ll be saddled with debt and a half finished arena. It will be over,” he encouraged, then added, “Nothing has changed, has it?”

His tone was bordering on accusation.

Billy wasn’t sure how to answer him. Technically nothing had changed, if you left out one minor detail, he was falling head over heels for Alice.

“Are we good, William?” James asked.

Billy still couldn’t respond. He cleared his throat, attempting to gather his thoughts.

“William, how do you think Alice would react if she found out the truth now? About what you have been up to?” James said.

Billy sensed a threat in his partner’s words, and didn’t care for his attitude.

“What are you fucking alluding to, James?” Billy replied curtly, ready to meet him head on.

James chuckled and tried to lighten his tone.

“I’m not alluding to anything. I’m just keeping it real. The fact is, no matter what happens now, the damage has been done. Whether you decide to take the moral high ground and come clean, or whether you see this to completion, Alice will despise you for double-crossing her,” James warned. “If you see this plan to the end without her learning the truth, she will probably beg us to buy the land, but if you admit the truth, there’s no chance in hell she sells to us, and it will all be for nothing. William, nowhere in this scenario is there a fairytale ending,” he concluded, a little more pompous than Billy liked.

Billy inhaled slowly, considering James’ assessment of the situation. He wasn’t wrong. Even if he told Alice the truth now, she would never forgive him. He would be walking away from the condo development without the girl, and a huge fiscal loss as well. He would return to the vapid life he had built for himself. His feelings would never be reciprocated and everything would lead back to that one simple truth. No woman could ever love him.

“So, are we good?” James asked cautiously, after a lengthy silence.

Billy paused for another moment, before he finally responded.

“Yes, we’re good. I’ll send you a report in a few days,” he offered flatly, hanging up the phone.

How the fuck did things spiral so far out of his control? William turned out the light and lay back on the bed, discontent and frustrated, considering every option, fighting like hell to extract all emotion from the equation.