Western Dreams (Rescue Me Saga Extras #1) by Kallypso Masters Page A
Authors: Kallypso Masters
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babies looking for unusual shots. Her eye was impeccable.
After O’Keeffe was settled in, he rotated his shoulders to work out some kinks. They ached from this week’s fence-mending project with Luke. It was taking him longer than expected to get used to the amount of physical labor running a ranch required.
While physically demanding, the hard work helped keep his mind away from dwelling on the past too much, which wasn’t easy with the eighth anniversary of the attack his team had taken on that rooftop in Fallujah only weeks away now. Autumn had been the most difficult time of the year for him ever since.
The last few nights, he’d come in late and fallen into bed exhausted soon after supper, sorely neglecting his bride of four months. Thank goodness he and Luke had finished work early today after spending all morning and most of the afternoon mending the last of the fences. Ryder was ready to kick back awhile, and he got the impression from Luke that he wouldn’t be coming off the mountain again for a couple of days.
Straddling O’Keeffe’s flanks out on the range, Ryder’s thoughts had drifted to baser ones a number of times. As they did again now.
Where’s that woman of mine?
A few stalls away, he heard Megan start singing to one of the horses. Cassatt, most likely. Walking down the aisle to that door, he peeked inside, watching her currycombing her favorite mare. Megan enjoyed the challenge of this high-strung horse who displayed more spirit than Fontana.
She glanced over the black-and-white paint’s back and smiled. “I should be finished here in a few minutes. Dinner’s in the crockpot.” She shrugged as if that was something to apologize for. “I didn’t want to spend all afternoon cooped up in the house on such a gorgeous day.”
“So you decided to be cooped up in the barn instead?”
“Oh, no! Cassatt and I took a nice, long ride this morning, and I have the most amazing photos of the lingering amber aspen leaves on the mountain. Then I took some shots of her and the ranch for the web site we’ll be working on this winter. We’ve had all kinds of fun today, haven’t we, Cassatt?” She patted the horse’s neck. “Much more interesting than being in the house or barn—or mending fences. But you’re back early, aren’t you?”
“All done. Luke’s already headed home to Cassie. Probably won’t see him again for days.”
“Finally! I have you all to myself.” She giggled as she kissed him sweetly and pulled away.
Her ginger hair had been pulled into a high ponytail. Sounded like Megan might want to horse around, too, knowing they’d be alone a while. He’d been wanting to demonstrate his whip skills on her ever since Gunnar had given him the go-ahead several days ago but had been too bone tired to trust himself with a whip.
Tonight, they’d play for the first time with the four-foot single tail he’d laid on the worktable in the tack room before supper. Ryder kept some of their other favorite toys hidden in a duffel bag tucked behind the worktable in that room, too. While he knew Luke made BDSM furniture and equipment, Ryder still couldn’t get a read as to whether the private man lived the lifestyle, too, or merely enjoyed using his carpentry skills in this way. Deciding it best to be cautious, concealing his and Megan’s secret lifestyle seemed prudent—and many of the implements they used fit in naturally inside a horse barn’s tack room.
The sound of a popper cracking would frighten the horses, but Gunnar had taught him that was just for show anyway. His mentor had let his break the sound barrier at the dungeon that time—making Megan jump—but he’d stressed the importance of precision and controlling the amount of force used over showboating, as he called it.
Ryder had perfected his throw until he didn’t make a sound. Only a swish of air as the whip raced toward his intended target. Tonight, for the first time, that would be Megan’s upper back and
After O’Keeffe was settled in, he rotated his shoulders to work out some kinks. They ached from this week’s fence-mending project with Luke. It was taking him longer than expected to get used to the amount of physical labor running a ranch required.
While physically demanding, the hard work helped keep his mind away from dwelling on the past too much, which wasn’t easy with the eighth anniversary of the attack his team had taken on that rooftop in Fallujah only weeks away now. Autumn had been the most difficult time of the year for him ever since.
The last few nights, he’d come in late and fallen into bed exhausted soon after supper, sorely neglecting his bride of four months. Thank goodness he and Luke had finished work early today after spending all morning and most of the afternoon mending the last of the fences. Ryder was ready to kick back awhile, and he got the impression from Luke that he wouldn’t be coming off the mountain again for a couple of days.
Straddling O’Keeffe’s flanks out on the range, Ryder’s thoughts had drifted to baser ones a number of times. As they did again now.
Where’s that woman of mine?
A few stalls away, he heard Megan start singing to one of the horses. Cassatt, most likely. Walking down the aisle to that door, he peeked inside, watching her currycombing her favorite mare. Megan enjoyed the challenge of this high-strung horse who displayed more spirit than Fontana.
She glanced over the black-and-white paint’s back and smiled. “I should be finished here in a few minutes. Dinner’s in the crockpot.” She shrugged as if that was something to apologize for. “I didn’t want to spend all afternoon cooped up in the house on such a gorgeous day.”
“So you decided to be cooped up in the barn instead?”
“Oh, no! Cassatt and I took a nice, long ride this morning, and I have the most amazing photos of the lingering amber aspen leaves on the mountain. Then I took some shots of her and the ranch for the web site we’ll be working on this winter. We’ve had all kinds of fun today, haven’t we, Cassatt?” She patted the horse’s neck. “Much more interesting than being in the house or barn—or mending fences. But you’re back early, aren’t you?”
“All done. Luke’s already headed home to Cassie. Probably won’t see him again for days.”
“Finally! I have you all to myself.” She giggled as she kissed him sweetly and pulled away.
Her ginger hair had been pulled into a high ponytail. Sounded like Megan might want to horse around, too, knowing they’d be alone a while. He’d been wanting to demonstrate his whip skills on her ever since Gunnar had given him the go-ahead several days ago but had been too bone tired to trust himself with a whip.
Tonight, they’d play for the first time with the four-foot single tail he’d laid on the worktable in the tack room before supper. Ryder kept some of their other favorite toys hidden in a duffel bag tucked behind the worktable in that room, too. While he knew Luke made BDSM furniture and equipment, Ryder still couldn’t get a read as to whether the private man lived the lifestyle, too, or merely enjoyed using his carpentry skills in this way. Deciding it best to be cautious, concealing his and Megan’s secret lifestyle seemed prudent—and many of the implements they used fit in naturally inside a horse barn’s tack room.
The sound of a popper cracking would frighten the horses, but Gunnar had taught him that was just for show anyway. His mentor had let his break the sound barrier at the dungeon that time—making Megan jump—but he’d stressed the importance of precision and controlling the amount of force used over showboating, as he called it.
Ryder had perfected his throw until he didn’t make a sound. Only a swish of air as the whip raced toward his intended target. Tonight, for the first time, that would be Megan’s upper back and
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