One minute Blake could be like a balm to my soul, and the next, she had me going off like a bomb.
I had the perfect opening when she trailed her fingers on me to tell her that we should explore our apparent feelings for one another, but at the time, my heart and my mind weren’t exactly in the best place after seeing her in the sights of those brumbies.
Directing Stash through the open gate separating the stables from the paddocks, I noticed Blake standing with three of the HHH hands. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence, the time to knock off from work well and truly upon them, and all the workers we employed got along well. So seeing Blake huddled with the men was not something that should piss me off.
And yet it did.
Blake was a gorgeous woman, blonde, curvy and funny. She never had any trouble getting along with anyone on the farm, and she had practically lived here all her life. Everyone here protected her. Yes, most of the time, it was at my request, but she had that certain something special that made all the men fall at her feet and treat her like a little sister.
Looking at the group now, however, seeing how close Joe was standing to Blake, his shoulder way too close, and his attention way too focused on Blake—the look on his face did not resemble one of a brother looking at his little sister.
Clicking my tongue, I urged Stash into a trot, more than ready to break up the party.
“Isn’t it knock off time fellas?” I growled as I approached my employees, my eyes fixed on Joe and his hand, which was sitting on Blake’s shoulder. With a pointed look at the young farmhand, he quite smartly removed it from my cowgirl’s body with a jerk.
“Hey, hey boss,” he stammered, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. And well he should. I was a decent and fair employer, and the Triple H offered generous wages and excellent conditions to work in, all hands had access to accommodation on the property if they needed it. We had a one weekend on and one off system so there weren’t any complaints about getting or not getting weekend work and rates.
What I wasn’t, was overly friendly with my workers, I drew a line getting personally involved in their private business, going to the pub with them on their time off other than once a month when my brothers and I shouted them a night out at the local.
My only exception to that steadfast rule was Blake.
“No overtime tonight blokes. Pack it up and head out,” I ordered, not acknowledging the glare Blake was throwing at me. It was her fault I was still out at six o’clock rather than sitting in my favourite chair, enjoying a cold beer and Friday night footy.
Swinging down out of the saddle, I flicked the reigns over Stash’s head.
“I got that for ya, Drixx,” Eddy said quickly, expertly taking the leather strap out of my hand, the smirk on his face knowing and amused. “Joe, meet you down the pub in thirty,” he said as he led my horse past the little tick turd, his tone giving no room for argument.
Good to know at least one of my men know the fucking rules around here.
“Blake. My office now!” I grunted as I strode past her, not waiting for her to follow. I knew she would, even just to give me shit for embarrassing Joe, also to find out where I had chased the brumbies. The wild horses meant just as much to her as Lancelot did, her mind would be going a mile a minute to know their whereabouts.
Striding into the main stable, I walked down the cobbled pavement until I got to the end of the row of stalls. I’d turned the second last stall into my office a few years ago, changed the wooden stable door to a glass one, put up some plaster walls, and added some homely comforts, even a day bed. The reason I did this? Blake. My office was right next to Lancelot’s stall. Perfect placement to catch my devious, sexy blonde if she tried to sneak our stallion out and ride him.
I did mean our stallion, not that I was going to tell Blake that just yet. When I first laid eyes on the big black beast, I knew I was going to buy him not only because I wanted him, but because Blake would fall for him instantly. He had the perfect combination of feisty and lovable, just like her. He was stubborn, headstrong and sometimes completely unmovable. Just like Blake.
Both equine and woman did my head in more often than not, but I was obsessed with them both equally, for different reasons.
And speaking of my obsession.
“Hendrixx Nathaniel Hott, you better have a good reason for being a dick to Joe!” Blake shouted, her voice close.
I figured I had no more than twenty seconds before the blonde cyclone made her appearance, so I lazily sat down in the comfortable wingback desk chair and lifted my legs to lay on the top of the scarred wood. If I was going to get an earful from Blake, I might as well be comfy. Sometimes she could go off on a tangent for quite a while depending on the subject and how pissed off I made her, and judging by the use of all three of my names, she had a full head of steam going on.
“Office!” I yelled back, not that I need’ve bothered because she stormed in two seconds later her hazel eyes spitting fire.
“What the hell is wrong with you? I mean really, no overtime? You always offer the guys overtime. Fenixx does, Lenoxx does, hells bells Drixx, did you leave your brain cells back in the valley?” I watched with amusement as
