Bouquets and Buckles: An Age Gap, Snowed In, Cowboy Romance (Crimson Ridge)
Bouquets and Buckles: Chapter 24

My house is filled with people, music, and laughter.

Brad is in his fucking element, practically buzzing with joy as he makes sure everyone is enjoying themselves and putting on one heck of a night to celebrate the ranch.

I gotta hand it to him, the kid knows the value of networking and being peopley. Thank fuck he’s got the gift because I certainly don’t.

Instead, I’ve been firmly planted in front of the grill, keeping busy with the night air for company and an excuse to be away from the crowd. There are plenty of people I know here tonight, and most have sought me out for a chance to chat and catch up, shooting the shit before heading back inside into the warm.

Another reason I’ve kept myself occupied in this spot, is to not follow Skylar around like some kind of stray dog. The girl deserves a night with her friends, and I wish it was a different set of circumstances between us, but it’s easier this way.

The night is crisp, not below freezing, but cold enough that I’ve been pleased to have a hot flame to warm myself in front of.

It’s getting closer to midnight, and I know I should probably put in an appearance inside. Mingle, or some shit.

Just as I’m steeling myself to enter the house, my phone buzzes in my pocket. That small vibration sends a twitch through my lips and a jerk straight to my cock.

Sweetheart:

Where are you?

Outside, packing up the grill.

Having fun?

Not as much as if you were here.

I know you’ve been hiding.

I catch myself smirking at my phone like a goddamn teenager.

How much have you had to drink?

Not much, a couple earlier on.

Aren’t you enjoying yourself?

I’ve been waiting for midnight…

What happens at midnight?

You meet me at the barn.

A dark groan escapes out of me as I scrub one hand over my mouth at the sight of those six words on screen.

I don’t think that’s possible.

There are too many people. How are you gonna slip away?

I’ve already told Brad my parents want to video call me at twelve, so I’ll need to disappear off somewhere quiet to chat with them.

Don’t you think it’s too risky?

Well, either you meet me there and fuck me at midnight, or you can watch me ride my fingers until I make myself come when I send you the video.

Your choice.

Holy crap. This girl. She knows I’ve already lost this battle, I don’t even need to see her face to know the way her lips will be quirking, the way her blue eyes will be sparkling.

You’ve got two minutes to get your ass out of that party.

The only way you’re gonna be falling apart is if my cock is filling your perfect cunt.

Yes, Daddy.

Jesus.

You’re trying to kill me.

Well, I’m wet and need you inside me.

Clock’s ticking. One minute.

This time, instead of text in reply, an image comes through. It’s of her hand holding a bottle of whiskey, and even though the background is dark, I can see that she’s already two steps ahead of me.

Skylar is already inside the barn.

My pulse hammers in my neck as I slide the wooden door closed behind me.

It’s dark in here, and the horses make little huffing noises, asking me what the fuck is going on and why we’re intruding on them at this time of night.

There’s a faint glow from the far end, inside the tack room, and I head straight there.

Sure enough, that’s where I replace my girl.

Except, I stop in my tracks in the doorway when I see her. She’s wrapped up in her coat, but her makeup is bolder than usual, her hair styled into loose curls. She’s got the same boots and tights on as the first night she hurtled back into my life when I picked her up amongst the snow.

Stunning doesn’t even do Skylar Addams justice.

She’s perched on a saddle stand and wiggles the neck of the bottle in my direction, eyes bouncing over me.

“You look hot as fuck.” She beams my way, and I don’t know what the hell I’ve done to deserve a single moment with this girl.

My tongue pokes against the side of my mouth, and I allow the weight of my gaze to linger on every inch of her in return.

“It’s a good thing I didn’t see you earlier, or we might not have made it to midnight without me trying to steal you away.”

Skylar blushes and it’s cute as hell.

“You want to have a drink with me?”

“No.” My boots thud as I cross the space between us.

The sweetest little laugh erupts from her as she lets me steal the whiskey and set it on the shelf before cupping her face, tasting those lips, sinking our mouths together in a deep fucking kiss. One that I’ve been dreaming of all week, a constant loop of memories since our desperately quick moment in the shower.

“How long do we have?” Drawing back, I already know it won’t ever be goddamn long enough.

Skylar makes a seductive little noise against my lips. “How fast can you get inside me?”

Reaching up, I grab my hat, and set it over her hair, brushing a few loose strands behind her ear as I do so.

“You see, that’s where we’ve got a problem, sweetheart.” My palms replace her thighs, and I lower myself onto my knees in between her parted legs. The place I will happily always occupy for this girl. “I don’t want to do anything fast. I want to take my time, and I want to spend hours lost inside this perfect cunt of yours.”

She lets out a little moan as I hitch her coat higher and hook the soft jersey material of her dress at the same time. My good girl braces herself so I can separate her thighs even wider.

“Then, give me your phone.” Skylar runs her fingers through my hair, tugging a little to tilt my head up toward her.

My heart stalls.

“Are you serious?”

“I want to watch. You want to take your time. Sounds like a good compromise if you can spend as much time replaying this moment as you want.” Her teeth catch that pouty bottom lip, and I damn near groan.

“How the fuck are you so perfect?” I dig my phone out of my pocket, unlock the screen, and hand it to her.

“Better save this somewhere safe.” Skylar’s voice is a little husky as she hits me with the most tempting of looks, pink hair framing her gorgeous heart-shaped face, my hat perched on top of her head. It’s a sight I’m already imprinting and committing to memory, with or without a video on my phone.

Her fingers sink into my hair once again with a soft hum of pleasure, and that’s when I realize she’s already recording. The light of the camera flash plays over the place where my palms wrap her thighs, and she pans up to where she holds onto my hair, threading her grip in the spot where I know my streak of white stands out.

“Are you gonna keep quiet for me? Or do you want to be loud? Do you want all your sweet little moans recorded on camera?”

I don’t give her time to answer, maybe because part of me isn’t sure it’s a good idea to have her saying anything. Just in case someone ever did watch this when they shouldn’t, I selfishly don’t want anyone to know it’s her.

Working the coat and dress all the way up to sit above her hips, that’s when I have to pause. Skylar holds on to my head a little tighter, keeping the camera trained on my face, and I run my tongue across the swell of her inner thigh, giving her a stern glare as I do so.

“We’ve talked about this, sweetheart.” My teeth nip her delicate flesh, and she yanks harder on my hair in response. “It looks like you’ve forgotten your panties… again.”

A soft little noise gusts past her lips, like she’s as relieved as I am we’ve somehow found a way to be in this position once more.

This time, my girl is completely bare.

Garters hold her tights up, hooked to a belt around her waist, and holy fuck I swear my heart nearly stops at how sexy this girl is. Her hips shift as my mouth roams closer and closer. The whole time, I’m keeping my eyes fixed on her. Looking straight into that camera lens because I don’t know if she’ll ever keep a copy of this video for herself, but goddamn, do I want her to know exactly how obsessed I am with every little thing.

“Look at your pretty little cunt. Already dripping wet, and I haven’t even touched you yet.”

Above me, she angles the camera so that her pussy and my mouth is the main show. My hands come up to push her thighs wide, and using each thumb, I part her. It’s lewd and filthy, and she’s entirely goddamn gorgeous. Swollen and slick, ready to be devoured.

“You know what would happen if I had you to myself all night? I’d lick this pretty little cunt until you begged me to stop. I’d have you shaking and soaking my face and telling me you couldn’t take any more, but we’d both know that’s a lie. Because you want this all day and all night long, don’t you, sweetheart?”

I’m not interested in waiting for a reply; my mouth fastens down over her clit, and Skylar bucks as my tongue slides over her. She makes the most gorgeous noises above me, keeping the camera fixed on where I’m lapping and sucking and working her hard. We don’t have the luxury of time, and I need at least a couple of orgasms out of her.

If this is the last moment, truly the last, then I need to taste her falling apart on my tongue.

Which doesn’t take long.

Skylar is a goddamn dream, shaking and whimpering as I feel her get close to the edge. Sucking down on her clit, my girl dissolves. Her fingers pull on my hair so hard it stings, but I couldn’t care less.

Pushing to my feet, my cock is a steel bar, ready to shove into the tight, velvety heat of her.

“This is how perfect you are. The reason I could get lost between your thighs all fucking night long.” With one hand, I wrap hers and guide the camera up to make sure she captures this moment. Kissing her, sliding our tongues together, and letting her taste herself there.

Skylar moans into my mouth, her fingers clutch the front of my jacket to steady herself.

In the distance, there’s a whole lot of noise that floats on the night air from up at the house.

A countdown.

“Goddamn, I need you wrapped around me, right fucking now.” Nipping her bottom lip, I angle her hand to make sure she films what comes next.

Freeing my straining cock, I fist myself and give a few long strokes and eat up the way her eyes follow the glide of my fist.

“Happy New Year, sweetheart,” I murmur, positioning myself at her entrance and sliding forward to fit the tip just inside. She’s already dripping and messy and takes me perfectly. Stretching and welcoming me into that soft, satiny channel.

The sight of us joined like this is so hot, my balls are already tightening up. Pressure and anticipation are already winding together at the base of my spine.

“I’ll never fucking get over this. I’ll never fucking get over you.” My hips steadily work forward until I’m all the way to the hilt, and her pussy ripples around me.

Holy fuck.

Skylar whimpers louder, biting her lip as hard as she can to keep quiet, her eyes still fixed on the carnal image of where our bodies are joined. She holds the camera trained on that part of us as I withdraw right to the tip. Coated in the sheen of her arousal and glistening in the light of the camera.

“Christ. That’s so fucking sexy.” My voice is a deep rasp.

I slide forward, nearly losing it completely when she clamps down around me. She’s fighting it, already lingering close to the edge. Maybe it’s the fact we’re filming this moment. Maybe it’s the fact we both know this is really it—the last time we can do this. Maybe it’s the fact we’ve only got minutes left before I have to somehow get her back to the house without looking like she’s just had her brains fucked out.

Whatever it is, it drags us both to the edge, real fucking fast this time around.

I pump in and out, hooking one of her legs high so I can really open her up to show the camera exactly how insanely good this moment is.

That’s when I feel her squeeze harder, tightening around me, muffled desperate noises coming out in time with each punch of my hips. Skylar’s just as close to falling apart as I am. Using my thumb, I replace her clit and add that pressure I know will get her there.

I don’t even know what I’m saying. It’s a string of filthy fucking words. Telling her how perfect her cunt is. That she’s gorgeous when she’s leaking my cum. How I’d spend all night owning every single one of her pretty little holes if I could. That she’s my perfect little slut, who deserves to be bent over right here next to the saddles while I pump her full.

Skylar detonates on a low moan. Clamping down and gasping. It’s all so fucking intense that my own release follows right behind. My balls draw up, my dick jerks, and I bury myself to the hilt. Holding there as my seed spills and coats her channel, hardly able to register anything except for the pounding rush of blood in my ears.

Both her arms wrap around the back of my neck, filming long forgotten, as Skylar seeks out my mouth. I cradle the back of her head, holding my hat so it gives me access to her mouth but doesn’t tumble to the dirt. We kiss in a way that reminds me of being so much younger, without the burdens of being a solo parent, without the stresses and pressures that come with running this ranch. Being with her eases so much of that, in a way I can’t fucking explain. As she hums and melts against my mouth, lapping at my tongue and kissing me with all the warmth and goodness that is just her, I know it just feels right holding her. As if all those things that on the bleakest day feel like such a struggle, I’d easily face them knowing Skylar Addams was mine.

God, I want to tell her, but that would be madness.

She’s leaving first thing in the morning, and her life is waiting for her. I’d never ask her to give up that dream she’s working on, and I’d never risk her friendship with my son.

This is the type of kiss that lets me tell Skylar I’m in love with her, but it’s also the one that tells this beautiful girl that I’m letting her go.

Even though I hate that I have to.

I hate that we’ll still be circling each other in that inevitable way people do when there’s a connecting point between us—Brad. It kills me to think I’m going to be stuck on the sidelines, seeing her continue to live out her life and thrive.

As we pull back and I study her in the deep shadows, Skylar looks at me with that same expression as a year ago when she sat in the front seat of my truck with her hand resting on the door.

Only this time, she brings my phone back around and angles it so that it takes in the sight of her wearing my hat.

A sight I’m never going to be able to stop replaying in my mind’s eye.

I’m still buried deep inside her when she brings our mouths back to touching. Our lips brush together with the warmth and wetness there of our kisses.

This time she positions the camera to record the way we’re joined, and she brushes her mouth over mine, nudging our noses together. Skylar’s voice is a gentle, feather-like sound playing over my mouth.

“Thank you for taking care of me… Happy New Year, Mr. Rhodes.”