Chapter 2

William

William Hunter sat back in his leather chair, a curious expression on his handsome face. He had seen the entire exchange between his team and Alice White from the comfort of his office. He watched the scene unfold, courtesy of digital cameras in the board room linked to his computer.

This feisty young woman was a pain in his ass, but he was oddly intrigued by her, and if he were being honest, he was impressed by her tenacity. She stuck out like a sore thumb in this environment, the antithesis of all the suits she stood up against in that boardroom, and yet, she held her own.

She was a spirited cowgirl in dusty boots. And the only thing standing between himself and a development worth millions and millions of dollars.

He chuckled at the ridiculousness of it all. In all his years in this business he had never come across anyone as stubborn as Alice. Most people eventually caved. Everyone had a price. But not Alice. She didn’t seem motivated by money at all.

If they wanted her to sell they had to find out what made her tick. They needed to learn more about her and what her weaknesses were. Only then would they have an advantage.

He was curious about her. Not only was she spunky, but she was sexy as fuck. She was not like the women he was usually attracted to, in fact he couldn’t recall dating a woman that wore denim since high school. The women he dated wore expensive designer clothes and Manolo Blahniks. They donned manicured nails and expensive hair extensions. He couldn’t imagine that Alice ever painted her nails.

He wondered what she was like in bed, or in a haystack. The thought made him chuckle but he couldn’t spend too much time dwelling on it. He had too much to get done before the end of the day.

* * *

William was walking through his front door when his cell phone rang. It was business, as usual, and he patiently took the call.

He was a workaholic, he knew that, but he really had nothing else in his life. He had more money than he could spend, a slick waterfront penthouse with an outstanding view, and a ridiculously expensive Audi.

On paper, he had a charmed life, but the truth was, his high-rise apartment was usually empty because he was always at work, he never took time to appreciate that beautiful river view, and his fancy ride only had two seats because he didn’t have a family to tote around. He liked the fast pace of his life but it wasn’t fulfilling.

William had always known he would be wealthy. He had a plan from a very young age and he executed it to perfection. Ever since he was a kid eating canned tuna and hotdogs on Wonder Bread, dinners that he made for himself, he dreamed of the life he wanted.

They were dirt poor, mostly because his father was a lazy son-of-a-bitch who loved his booze more than he loved his boys. William’s mother had the good sense to walk out on the bastard when he and his brother were no more than five and six years old.

Unfortunately, she didn’t take them with her.

He remembered very little about her, but he never forgot the last conversation she had with him. He was holding onto her suitcase with as much strength as he could muster, crying and begging her to stay home. She promised that she would be back in a few days and told him to stop crying because he would upset his little brother. She needed him to be brave. So, he trusted her enough to loosen his grip on the handle

of her bag. She gave them each a kiss and left them behind while their good-for-nothing father, slept off a bender on the sofa.

She never came back.

When he was young he often wondered if she had died, or maybe been abducted by aliens or something. In fact, he didn’t hear from her until about twelve years later. She sent a sympathy card to him after his brother died. She told him she was sorry for his loss.

The letter held no explanation for her actions and no forwarding address.She didn’t come to the funeral. The letter was postmarked from Maine, clear across the country. That was the only clue he had as to her whereabouts.

In the months that followed, he tried to imagine her life in Maine. He wondered if she had a new family, but it hurt too much to think about her loving other children so he eventually learned to close himself off from any feelings for her. It was easier that way.

It was no surprise that he had trust issues with women. He did enjoy the company of the ladies, but he was never able to let down his guard or build any sort of intimacy with anyone. As soon as anyone started to get close to him a switch would go off and he would suddenly grow distant.

It didn’t trouble him in his twenties, but now that he was in his mid-thirties, it was becoming a problem. He didn’t want to be alone, but that best before date kept rearing its ugly head. In fact, he had quite the reputation and it was getting harder and harder for him to date. Quality women weren’t interested in dating a perpetual Peter Pan-workaholic-bachelor with intimacy issues. Go figure.

William’s phone chirped and he picked it up to read the text message. It was from Lindsay.

She was a sexy flight attendant he met a few months back at a charity event. That evening had been rather boring until Lindsay sauntered over to him. She was a tall, leggy blond with delicious cleavage and a naughty smile. They had a few drinks and then left the party together to go back to his place. They really had only one thing on their minds, and didn’t waste too much time before they were peeling off each others’ clothes.

Lindsay wasn’t one of those women that needed a whole lot of conversation or foreplay. She just enjoyed fucking, and she was well skilled, which suited William fine. He was certain he wasn’t her only fuck buddy. It was quite possible she had lovers all around the world. It didn’t matter to him. It was obvious that they served only one purpose for one another, and aside from a few booty calls over the past few months, they didn’t share much of a connection.

She was in Sacramento for the night and wanted to come over. William didn’t take long to reply. After the day he had, a few hours with Lindsay would be a welcome distraction.

She texted him back instantly, promising to be there in 30 minutes. He made himself a ham and cheese sandwich, opened a Perrier, and sat down.

He wasn’t much of a drinker aside from the occasional glass of wine, and he never touched the hard stuff. His father had died of cirrhosis of the liver about ten years earlier.

After his brother Brandon died, his father seemed to drink more, if that were even possible.

As soon as he finished high school, he began working for a construction company. He started out as a gopher, fetching tools for the crew, delivering messages, going on coffee runs and keeping the work sites clean and free of debris. He kept his mouth shut and he worked hard, sometimes fifty or sixty hours a week. He made himself indispensable and eventually his boss took him under his wing and started teaching him the trades.

He would go home at the end of each day completely exhausted, too tired for anything but his bed. He didn’t have the energy to think, let alone grieve. Work was better than any drug, and just as addictive.

It didn’t take long for William to work his way up the ranks. He was young, strong, and enthusiastic, but most importantly he was smart.

He knew his body couldn’t keep up at the pace he was going so he started switching gears. He was a natural born leader and incredibly charismatic. Soon he had a team of his own and he easily fell into the role of General Contractor.

He built a strong reputation in the industry for being a bulldog. He ran a tight ship. Show up on time and do the job you are paid to do or find someplace else to work. He didn’t miss a thing. If someone tried to screw him over, he would deal with it swiftly and then put a quick end to the relationship. He was all business.

He met James Johnson about eight years ago. He was an up and coming developer and had just purchased some property in a questionable area of Sacramento. James had a vision to turn run down real estate into high priced condos but he needed a kick-ass contractor to run the show.

William no longer had any interest in contract work. He wanted to be the man at the top. So, he convinced James to make him a business partner and thus the Hunter-Johnston Property Group was formed.

Each had strengths where the other was lacking, and together they were a fierce duo.

He would never call James a friend, but he was a hell of a business partner. They made a killing on that first project and reinvested in more properties in and around town.

It was a lucrative business in spite of the economic instability. It didn’t surprise William that they were successful. He had envisioned it his whole life. Within five years he became one of the richest developers in the county, if not the entire state. He had achieved everything he had dreamed about, money, success, power. It didn’t surprise him that he didn’t have a woman or a family. He had never pictured any of that in his life.

The door buzzer chimed and William punched in the code on his cell phone, allowing Lindsay through. Minutes later she was at his door.

He invited her in, her perfume teasing his senses as she breezed by him. He reached out for her arm and pulled her into a kiss. Her lips parted quickly, inviting his tongue into her mouth. He backed her into the wall, pushing his body into hers. His erection grew quickly, anticipating the pleasure to come. She reached down and squeezed his cock through his slacks, moaning when she realized he was already hard.

“Take me to your fucking bedroom,” she urged, her voice cracking with passion.

William didn’t waste a second. He scooped her into his arms, lifting her from her feet, and carried her to his room, kicking open the door and knocking over a lamp.

Lindsay squealed as he flung her down onto the bed. She looked up at him, breathless, her eyes begging him to fuck her.

“Spread those legs,” he said.

She kicked off her stilettos and slid back on the bed, pulling her little black dress up over her thighs.

“Higher,” he said, his voice commanding and full of authority.

She pulled it higher, revealing her bare pussy.

“No panties today?”

She shook her head and smiled at him seductively.

He let out a growl that told her just how turned on he was.

He got onto the mattress and crawled up between her legs, kissing her thighs. He let his tongue lick the inside of her right thigh, all the way up to the quivering lips of her pussy. She was soaking for him and when he kissed her pussy, she cried out in pleasure. He started kissing her pussy lips, sliding his tongue as far into her opening as it could reach. She arched her back and grabbed the back of his head, pulling his face tighter against her sensitive clit.

As he sucked her clit, she tightened her legs and squirmed in pleasure. Her body writhed and her fingers pulled his hair.

As he continued to suck on her clit, he reached up and slipped two fingers into the opening of her pussy, sending her instantly over the edge. She cried out in pleasure as her body convulsed, her orgasm rushing through her like a summer wild fire.

Her juices flowed freely, soaking William’s face as she came all over him.

“Woman, you are soaking wet,” he moaned, pulling his glistening fingers out of her.

Lindsay giggled and opened her legs wider.

“So, what are you waiting for?” she asked playfully.

William considered her question for a brief second. What was he waiting for? Something more? Something meaningful? He was certain that Lindsay didn’t ask that question to spark a deep conversation, but it crossed his mind nevertheless.

He quickly shook off his uncertainty, his physical need demanding something urgent in that moment.

He unzipped his pants and slipped them down, freeing his dick. She reached down and stroked him enthusiastically, using his pre-cum to lube his pulsating cock, and making him even harder.

Although he could have easily cum just from her touch, he wanted to fuck her. He reached into his side table for a condom but before he could slip it on, Lindsay stopped him.

“I want to taste you,” she purred.

She eased his pants all the way off and took him into her wet mouth, taking him into the back of her throat. She fucked him with her mouth, her moans offering him sweet vibrations that he could feel deep in his scrotum.

He knit his fingers in her hair and let her mouth fuck him for a few minutes, waiting for that sweet spot just before the point of no return. That exact moment when a man was caught between heaven and sweet, sweet hell, and cumming was the only relief.

He looked down at her, her head moving expertly up and down his shaft as her tongue coaxed him to orgasm. He tried to resist, he tried to make the moment last as long as possible, but it was impossible. As her tongue moved in circles around his head, he reached down and grabbed her, pulling her mouth further onto his shaft. Like a stallion bucking, he felt his orgasm rush up through his cock and pour into her delicious, delectable mouth. He came over and over, pouring himself onto her tongue, and the sensation of her swallowing his hot jizz nearly made him faint from pleasure.

When his orgasm finished he tried to pull his shaft out of her mouth. She looked up at him and shook her head.

“I’m not done with you yet.”

“What?”

She smiled and then took his softening cock back into her mouth. Using her tongue, she teased it playfully. She pressed her tongue against it, and slid her lips all over the head as if it were the most delicious, most enticing thing she’d ever had near her mouth. As her mouth worked it’s magic, he grew stiff again, quickly getting back to the point of full erection.

“Now,” he gasped, when he felt he was approaching the point of orgasm for a second time.

He pulled his cock out of her mouth and she rose to her feet. He slipped on a condom and then, grabbing her by the butt, he pulled her up off her feet. She flung her legs around his waist and he pulled her close against his chest, his cock easily finding the opening of her pussy and sliding deep inside her.

She cried out and gasped as she felt the huge girth of his manhood filling her. Their eyes locked and for just a brief moment, less than a second, they were motionless. There was nothing else in the universe except the two of them.

And then it happened. He came inside her so forcefully that the sensation of his cum pouring into the condom brought her to climax too. He felt her legs grip his waist like a clamp and she cried into his neck as he pulled her toward him for a passionate embrace.

His cock poured, over and over, and when he was finally done, he collapsed back onto the bed, letting her fall on top of him.

“Oh my God,” she cried, panting.

She was exhausted. Utterly spent. And now it was his turn to surprise her.

“On your hands and knees,” he said.

“What?”

“Do it.”

She crawled off him and got onto her hands and knees, presenting her pussy to him, swollen and dripping with desire and pleasure. He pulled off his spent condom and grabbed another.

“What are you doing?”

He leaned down behind her and traced his tongue over her dripping pussy.

“Don’t,” she protested, but he wasn’t listening to her.

He slid his tongue into her pussy and then traced the line through her ass cheeks to her anus. When his tongue ran over her ass, she cried out in protest again.

He ran his tongue in circles over the rosebud of her anus until his cock got hard again. Then he pulled on the fresh condom and, gripping her hair with one fist, and grabbing her breast with another, thrust himself deep into her with all his might.

This time they both screamed.

His release was intense and gratifying, like nothing either of them had ever experienced before.

When they collapsed, they lay side by side for a few minutes catching their breath. Finally she kissed him warmly and gently peeled the condom off his recovering cock.

“Allow me to take care of this,” she said, easing herself off the bed.

She pulled her dress down with her free hand and walked into his bathroom, closing the door behind her.

William stood up and slipped his slacks back on before sitting down on the edge of his bed.

As he waited, his mind drifted back to Alice White. He now knew what he had to do. He needed to get close enough to her to understand where her weaknesses were and the only way to do that would be to work on her ranch. She had already lost most of her crew, a bunch of disloyal assholes who jumped at the measly payout James dangled in front of them. As far as William was concerned, she was better off without them. There was nothing William despised more than disloyalty.

When Alice declined one offer after the other, James became impatient. It wasn’t easy finding qualified ranchers, so if he could weaken Alice’s work force and burden her with one challenge after the other, then perhaps selling would seem like the best option.

James was counting on Alice to be naive and weak, but she was proving that she was neither. In fact, James’ tactics only seemed to fuel the fire inside of her.

William was a bright guy and he tried to tell James that his approach was shady and transparent, but James wouldn’t listen. He lost money every day that the project was on hold, and James hated losing money. William didn’t like it either.

A woman like Alice wasn’t likely to let anyone fuck her over. Bullying and intimidation might work on lots of people, but not that cowgirl.

In order to break a wild filly, you need to create trust, build a relationship, let her know she can count on you. You get her to focus on something else, so the training isn’t obvious. If you get too controlling or act like a predator, she gets skittish and even rebellious, so every action must be deliberate and restrained. If done right, you could get whatever you needed and have her eating straight out of the palm of your hand.

That’s how Alice’s needed to be dealt with.

Lindsay opened the bathroom door, bringing William back to the present. He shook off his thoughts and smiled at her as she sashayed over to the bed. She landed in front of him and he reached up and placed his hands on her hips, resting his head onto the soft flesh of her belly.

It was an intimate and uncharacteristic gesture, and she quickly pulled herself back. He wasn’t sure why he even did it.

He chalked it up to feeling lonely. Thinking about his dysfunctional family earlier made him feel especially vulnerable.

Embarrassed, he stood up and gave her a kiss on the cheek and a playful smack on her ass, immediately redeeming himself.

“Can I make you a coffee or a tea? Maybe a drink?” he asked casually.

Lindsay smiled kindly at him but said nothing. Instead she located her shoes and picked them up. She gestured for the door with a nod, encouraging him to follow her. She led him out of the bedroom and casually made her way to the front door. This was her way of saying no, he supposed.

“I have an early morning,” she said flatly, but not unkindly.

William nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets.

“Rain check on the coffee?” she asked, convincing no one that it would ever happen.

“Sure,” he said with a smile, letting her off the hook.

He didn’t want her to linger anyway, if he were being honest.

“See you soon?”

She leaned against the wall and carefully slipped into her heels.

“Text me,” he answered without committing himself.

She leaned in and kissed him quickly on the mouth, then turned and opened the door.

“Take care.”

She didn’t look back.

William shut the door behind her.

* * *

“If we are going to have any chance at all of securing Alice’s ranch, we’ll have to find a crack in the foundation and exploit it. We have to get close to her and the ranch,” William explained calmly.

James sat back in his chair and looked at William over his desk, his fingers tented under his chin.

William continued.

“I understand why you approached things the way you did, James, but obviously there is more to Alice White than either of us understand. I didn’t anticipate that she would fight back so hard, and neither did you. There is way more to this story, and to her, than meets the eye,” he said.

James nodded in agreement, still resting his sharp chin on his fingertips, processing Williams words. James never rushed conversations and hated when people didn’t give him time to formulate his thoughts. This was probably why he was better with money than with people, William thought.

“What do you propose, Will?” James asked, cocking his head to the side.

William smiled wryly.

“I propose that we find a way to infiltrate her farm for a few months, learn the ins and outs and get to know Alice better, build trust. We need to find out if there is anything she is unhappy about, anything causing her stress or grief. There has to be something we can exploit. Keep your friends close, James, but keep your enemies closer. Isn’t that how the saying goes?” he said, grinning puckishly at his business partner.

James pursed his lips, inhaling slowly through his nose. William waited patiently.

“I can see one small flaw in your plan, William,” James offered coolly. “She has seen everyone on our team. She walked in on our staff meeting, remember? Anyone who shows up at her door is going to set off alarm bells. She has proven herself to be pretty sharp.”

William nodded in agreement.

“Yes, I thought about that too. There is only one person that we can trust enough to get the job done, someone she has not met before,” he offered casually.

James looked perplexed.

“Who would that be?” James asked.

William sat back in his chair and grinned widely.

“Me.”

“You? We can’t do without you for that long, William. And what do you know about ranches? Or horses?” James said, his voice raising several octaves.

William raised a hand to calm him.

“I know jack squat about ranching and even less about horses, but I have a good work ethic, tons of aptitude, and a strong back. That is ninety percent of what I’ll need, the rest I can Google,” he chuckled.

William was never short on confidence, and his cockiness had always served him well.

“As for the time away, I’m not concerned. We have everything running smoothly at the moment, and if anything pressing needs my attention, I can do it remotely. This is the twenty-first century, James. People don’t communicate using smoke signals and snail mail anymore. I can do my job just as effectively from this swanky office as I can from a dusty old barn, as long as I have WiFi,” he said, offering a reassuring smile.

James shrugged and shook his head, always the pessimist.

“I don’t know,” he said, squirming in his seat. “Seems like a lot of effort.”

“With great effort comes great prosperity,” William offered with a smirk, making a mental note that he had maxed his quota on cheesy quotes for the day.

James didn’t seem to mind and in fact, he seemed to perk up hearing the word prosperity. Typical money man.

“So, let me get this straight,” James surmised. “You are planning to show up at her ranch, looking for a job, and hope that she hires you. You are going to work your ass off as a ranch hand, something you know absolutely nothing about, all the while trying to cozy up to the boss in hopes that she will divulge all of her secrets and woes to you? And then you are going to take all the information you learn and somehow use it against her so that you can manipulate her into unloading her beloved ranch to Hunter-Johnson. And you plan to do this all within a few months?”

William nodded, his eyes bright with enthusiasm. James sat back.

“Well, if anyone can do it, Will, you can. When do you plan to make this happen?”

“As soon as possible. I’ll do a little research and visit her by the end of the week. It is early-June now. I figure by mid-August I can cause just enough havoc to put an end to this once and for all. Alice will sell us the ranch, I promise you. I always get what I want.”

William flashed James a cocky smile.

“Well, first she has to hire you,” James said with much less confidence.

“Come on, how could she resist this?” William quipped, gesturing his hands up and down his torso.

James smirked.

“Pffft. She’s probably not into pretty boys. You are going to have to toughen up a little. Lose your razor for a few days. Trade in the Armani suit for some dungarees.”

William laughed heartily.

“No one says dungarees, James. Jesus. How old are you?” he said, tossing a pen at his partner in mock disgust.

James picked up the pen and put it in the pocket of his suit.

“Old enough to know that this cockamamy plan has very little chance of succeeding,” James clucked.

“Nothing ventured nothing gained,” Will said.