“I’ve never ridden a horse before,” Blair says as I pick out her clothes for the day.

“I know,” I say and turn around to give her a wink.

She huffs and then rolls her eyes, but there’s no changing my good mood today. I woke up next to the woman of my dreams, and I’m going to enjoy every second of it. I hum as I lay her clothes on the bed and get some out for myself. I enjoy picking something out for her and taking care of her for a change. I know she’s taken care of herself her whole life. I want to show her how I’ll be different than everyone else in her life. I’ll be here for her in all ways.

I slept the best I have in years last night, and even though it was damn near impossible to pull myself from the bed this morning, I want to show her around the place. Otherwise I might never let her out of this room. It’s too soon for that. I don’t want her to think this is only about sex. Oh, I want her, but I want her to see this is about so much more than that.

“Time to gear up, Cricket. We’ve got work to do.” I smack her on the ass as I walk towards the bathroom to brush my teeth. She lets out a small yelp, but I see her fight a smile as she shoots me a sassy look that only makes me want to do it again.

When I’m finished I come out to see she’s got her jeans and a button-up shirt on, but she’s struggling with the boots. I kneel down in front of her and help her get them on. Then I lace them up and tie them for her.

“Thanks,” she says, and I see her soft blush.

“You’re welcome.” I take her hands in mine and kiss the back of both before standing up. She studies my face for a moment before she goes into the bathroom and shuts the door, but I hear the water running. A moment later she comes out and I’m tucking my shirt into my jeans. She looks me up and down, and when I see her tongue glide across her lip, I can’t control myself any longer.

I move quickly and push her against the wall. “You keep looking at me like that I’ll put you back in that bed,” I say, right before my mouth lands on hers.

The kiss is possessive, because she’s all mine, and I want to erase every ounce of the man before me from her mind. I press my body fully against hers, and I feel her hands come up to my shoulders, then to my neck, where instead of pushing me away, she pulls me closer. She tastes like summer and fresh mint. And when her sweet little tongue touches mine, I know that was her doing. She’s kissing me back, and it’s more than I can stand. I want to take her to the ground, but she’s not there yet.

“Fuck,” I grunt when I’m dizzy with need, and I press my forehead to hers. “You’re gonna make me go too far.”

“How far is that?” she asks, clearly as out of breath as I am. I’m not even sure she understands what she asked me or what she said because she’s flirting with me. Or maybe my plan is working and she’s forgetting that I’ve taken her. That I’m pretending everything is normal.

I don’t answer her. Instead I just growl as I take her hand and walk out of the bedroom, with Bear following us. Being in the bedroom with her is too much temptation and I’m not strong enough to last much longer knowing there’s a soft surface for me to fuck her on. Hell, I’ll take a hard one right now, but I’m trying not to go too fast.

“I think we both could use some fresh air,” I say and lead her to the back of the house.

When we get there, I jump on the Gator and hold my hand out for her to get in with me.

“What is this? Some kind of golf cart on steroids?” The look she has on her face is adorable and it makes me laugh. God, I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much. “I thought you said I was going to get to ride a pony.”

“A horse, Cricket. And yeah, this is a fancy golf cart made for the farm. It’s going to take us out to the horses. Unless you want to walk a couple of miles in your new shoes.” I make a point to look down at her feet and then back up at her.

“Fine. But I better at least see a pony,” she says before getting in.

I immediately pull her right beside me and wrap my arm around her before I take off. She melts into my side without hesitation. When we get to the top of the little hill behind the house, most of the plantation from either side is visible.

“Is this all yours?” she asks as she looks around. “It’s so beautiful.” I hear the awe in her voice as she looks down one side and sees the fields of peach trees.

We both woke up before the sun, mostly because we went to bed so early. Or maybe because I was excited to just be with her today. Either way, I asked her if she wanted to go for a ride before breakfast and she seemed to like the idea.

“It goes on for miles,” she says, and I don’t know if she’s thinking about how isolated she is or if she finds that comforting. I don’t ask because I don’t want to bring up the reminder that I’ve taken her when everything feels so normal right now. A normal couple. I like it even if I know we will never be normal. Even if she comes to accept what is happening and chooses to be here. The obsession and need I have for her will never be normal.

“On the other side of that little hill is the barn. But you can look back and see the house behind us.”

She turns back, and I laugh when she curses.

“Are you kidding me? That thing is a freaking mansion.” She whips around to look at me. “Ryker, who are you?” Her voice is soft now and laced with curiosity.

“I invested well, and my family comes from money. My daddy started a business when I was young, and when I got older I helped him run it. I still do, but I’m taking some time off at the moment,” I say, looking at her and winking.

“Hmmm.” She makes a sound but doesn’t say anything else. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but I feel the need to impress her.

“I took over the family business, but I more than doubled the profits in the first year. When I made my own money, I used it to buy my daddy out so he could retire. Now he and my mom get to sit back and live the good life while I’m the one working and building my own way.”

“And now you like peaches and horses?” she asks, and I’m surprised when she gives me a playful nudge.

“I like peaches because they remind me of you. The way you smell. And I like horses because I’m a man raised in the south.” I watch her cheeks pinken once again. She bites her lip, looking away from me.

When we get to the barn, the horses are ready to go, but I take Blair inside to see the ponies like she asked.

“They’re so cute,” she says, smiling from ear to ear as she feeds them apples.

“You better stop, or Diamond is going to get jealous,” I say and point to the white horse at the end of the stable.

“Who?” she asks, looking up and seeing the mare. “Oh, wow she’s beautiful.” Her face lights up.

“She’s yours,” I say and lead her out to her.

“Mine?” Her eyes are wide with shock, but her face is nothing but happiness.

“She’s gentle and should be a good first horse for you. She’s smart, so if you give her a command she’ll listen,” I say as I help her mount the horse and give her the reins. “I’ll be right beside you the whole time, so you’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” she says, sounding a little nervous but excited. “Who is that?” she asks, looking at my horse.

“This is Memphis. He’s her stud,” I answer and then wiggle my eyebrows at her.

She rolls her eyes, but she laughs, and every time I hear that sweet sound I know I made the right decision to bring her here.

I give her a quick lesson on how to lead Diamond, and then we take off at a slow pace. “See how Memphis is ready to go faster? His feet move up and down and he wants to take the lead. But he also doesn’t want to go without his woman, and she’s protecting her rider.”

“Will he be okay to go slow?” Blair asks as she reaches out to pet Diamond’s mane.

“He’ll wait for as long as it takes,” I answer without taking my eyes off of her, letting my words sink in.

As we make our way to the creek, Blair is chatting away about always wanting to ride a horse but never being able to. She tells me about seeing one at a circus she snuck into and how she thought all horses had feathers on their heads until she was in middle school. She talks nonstop, and the sound of her happiness makes me happy, too. I stay quiet, but I hang on every word she has to say.

The orchard is split in half by a creek big enough to let the horses walk around in, but only about a foot or so deep. When we get to the edge of it, I get down and tie Memphis up to the nearby post. I help Blair down off Diamond and she ties her up with Memphis.

“We’ll let them take a break, and you can see the orchard,” I say, taking her hand and leading her up to the grove of fruit trees.

“It smells so sweet,” she says, inhaling the scent of peach blossoms and ripening fruit.

I bring her wrist to my mouth and kiss it before running my nose across it. “It sure does.”

There’s a heat building between us, and I don’t know how much longer I can hold it back. I lead her to the middle of the trees so we’re surrounded on all sides.

“I needed to bring you here,” I say as I stop and slowly pull her into my arms.

“Why?” she says, and her breathing is a little quick.

“I wanted to know if your pussy tasted as sweet as a summer peach,” I say, pressing her back against the tree.

“What?” she asks as her cheeks turn bright red.

“You heard me,” I say, moving my lips to her neck. My hands move down her body and to the waist of her jeans. “Does it, Blair?”

“I-um-I,” she stammers as I unbutton her jeans and slowly open them.

I kiss my way down her neck as she leans back against the tree, and I kneel down in front of her. She doesn’t protest. She only watches me.

“Have you ever had a man between your legs?” I ask as I pull her jeans off her hips and down her thighs. I leave them bunched up around her ankles and then reach for her panties. “Tell me, Cricket. Do you want me to taste you and find out?” I slide my hands slowly up her thighs and to the edge of her white cotton panties. “How about you just tell me to stop if you don’t like it?”

“Ryker,” she whispers as her hands go to my shoulders.

“That ain’t a no, baby girl,” I chuckle as I pull her panties down and reveal her pink little pussy. “Fuck, look how pretty you are.”

I lean forward and place a kiss on her lips, and her body tenses.

“Shhh, just relax, Cricket. I know what will make you feel good.”

Gripping her hips, I pull them towards me as her shoulders lean back against the tree. I push her thighs apart as far as they’ll go and then run my tongue up and down the slit of her pussy lips. I can taste her already, and she’s better than any peach I’ve ever had. This whole goddamn grove can’t compare to the sugary pussy I’ve got in front of me.

“So much sweeter,” I say against her pussy as I run my tongue between her lips and lick her clit.

My hands move around to her ass and I pull her as close to my face as humanly possible. I smother myself with her creamy little cunt and nearly lose my mind when she moans out my name.

I don’t dare take my face from between her legs to tell her how much I like it. Instead, I feel her fingers gripping my hair and holding me closer as I lick and lick and lick.

“I can’t, it’s—it’s too much,” she moans, but I don’t let up.

I’ve got her pinned against the tree with her jeans around her ankles and my face buried between her legs. She’s going to cum on me, right out here in this orchard, and make me a goddamn king.

“Ryker!” she shouts, and I smile against her pussy as her legs shake and her hips jerk.

She cums hard. It’s more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. She’s loud and doesn’t hold back as her pussy juice runs down her thighs and I lick it up.

It’s raw and I can tell by her reaction that she’s never had one before. Did she think I would ever let her go after giving me this gift? It would be impossible before, but it’s laughable now.

She just cemented our forever.