Downpour: A Grumpy Sunshine Romance (The Griffith Brothers Book 2)

The new colt was a handful. I don’t know why I was surprised. His name was Riot.

“Keep your head on your shoulders,” CJ called from outside the arena. “He’s acting like a kid—testing your boundaries. You’re in charge.”

I let out a slow breath and focused on control.

CJ had been putting me through my paces for the better part of the afternoon, making me jump from horse to horse to get used to riding all of them. Some of the old faithfuls—like Bree’s horse, Dottie—were easy as pie.

The new ones? Not so much. They were in unfamiliar territory with unfamiliar people. It would take time and peppermints. Luckily, I had plenty of both.

Riot whipped his head back and forth when I tugged on the reins, but he trotted back to CJ without much more fuss.

“I gotta head out,” he said. “You good getting back to the barn?”

“Yeah,” I said as I grabbed a canteen off the top of the fence post and took a long drink. “I’ll get him untacked and turned out.”

Riot’s attitude seemed to calm down when we strolled into the shade. The barn was blissfully quiet. Dusty, the barn cat, snoozed away in the corner of Indy’s stall.

“Are you gonna give me trouble?” I asked Riot as I started to remove the riding equipment. He didn’t seem bothered by me talking away as I brushed him down.

I officially had a week at my new job under my belt and it was … going.

Working for Cassandra was like working for a porcupine. Frankly, she seemed like the kind of animal who would eat her young. But Christian stopped by the office a few times a day to make sure I was still alive.

Ray stopped by too, but he had more or less settled into the routine of letting me go every morning. But as soon as the clock hit five, if I wasn’t home, he would be in the office pestering Cassandra to let me clock out.

Frankly, I was a little surprised he hadn’t shown up at the arena when I was out with Riot and CJ.

I finished up in the barn and headed to the office to clock out. Some days it still felt strange to leave Ray during the day. I had grown so accustomed to being with him nearly every waking moment, that watching him leave the ranch with Bree, Claire, or one of his brothers was an out-of-body experience.

I felt like I was missing out. For the longest time, it was him and me hiding out together and sneaking off to his appointments in town. The transition back to working a real job where I wasn’t paid to ignore my boss was brutal.

I liked the routine of caring for the horses, doing chores, and tackling scheduling and a budding business launch. The physical labor helped me sit still and focus on the office work. I would have never thought that living and working on a cattle ranch was the right fit for me. But with each passing day, I realized how perfect it was.

Even more so since I got to go home to Ray at the end of each day.

Mickey wandered into the office as I was punching my timecard in the archaic machine. I gave him a scratch under the chin and readjusted the pool noodles on his horns that kept him from breaking everything in sight.

The walk home was my favorite part of the day—that, and the fact that I called it home.

Part of me, an incessant part of me, was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Ray to realize he wanted someone older, someone settled, someone who could bring more to the table.

But every day I walked through the door, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

Ray made me feel wanted like I had never been before.

“I’m home,” I called out into the house as I hung my bag on the hook by the door. “Ray?”

No answer.

Maybe he was out with Christian or something. I shrugged it off and dipped into the shower to rinse off.

I swear, I took more showers now than I ever had. Between the heat, animals, and dust, I was filthy in seconds. I had no idea how Cassandra managed to waltz around the ranch in crisp white pantsuits. Either her dry cleaning bills were outrageous, or the dirt was simply afraid of her.

The calming aroma of eucalyptus and lavender floated in from the bedroom as I slipped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around my chest.

Candles had been lit, and the lights were dimmed. Ray was sitting on the bed, waiting for me.

“There you are,” I said as I tiptoed to the stack of clothes sitting by my side of the bed. I really needed to ask him if I could move the dresser from the guest room into the room we shared. “Were you outside?”

Ray leaned back on his elbows. His eyes raked over me as I dropped the towel. “I was up at Momma’s house waiting for a package I ordered.”

“How was your day?” I asked as I pawed around for a pair of underwear.

“Better now,” he said, reaching over and curling his hand around my hip. “You don’t need those.”

I laughed. “I don’t need underwear? What? You just want me to walk around naked?”

He chuckled. “I’m not gonna argue with that.”

“I like the candles.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s relaxing.”

“Good,” he said. “Lay down.”

“But it’s barely six o’clock.”

Ray lifted an eyebrow. “Are you arguing with me?”

I clammed up and stretched out on the bed. Ray leaned down and lightly brushed his lips against mine. The touch of his kiss was gentle and warm, like a familiar hello. As he deepened the kiss, his hand caressed my stomach and his tongue slid against mine. A whimper escaped my lips as he moved his hand up and over my breasts.

“Roll over,” he whispered.

My eyebrows furrowed. “But…”

Ray chuckled as he leaned back. “Roll over, Sunnyside.”

I grumbled and turned onto my stomach. The breeze from the ceiling fan caused goosebumps to cover my back and legs.

Ray sat up on the bed and positioned himself next to me. Something clicked in his hands, then he rubbed them together.

I moaned as soon as he slid oiled-up palms down my back. “Oh my god, I love you.”

Ray laughed. “Good. Because I love you too.”

“My back is jacked up,” I muttered into the covers. “That feels so good.”

He pressed his thumbs into the small of my back. “It’s from riding. Eventually, you’ll get used to it.”

I whimpered when he exerted a little more pressure. “Not there yet.”

He chuckled and moved up to massage my shoulder blades. “I watched you on Riot for a little while. You looked good.”

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. “It feels good to be up there.”

He poured more oil into his hand and smoothed it all the way down my back to my ass. “Open your legs.”

I parted my thighs and bit down on my lip as he circled one leg, kneading and working out the knots in my hamstrings. The side of his hand grazed my pussy, but I tried to focus on the massage.

I felt as though I was floating as he relieved the tension in my legs. I bit my lip when his hands circled my thigh, just under my ass, to work on my sciatic nerve. His fingers grazed my cunt and danced over my clit. It was enough to tease, but not nearly enough to satisfy.

“On your back,” he instructed, moving to sit at my head.

I groaned. “You’re teasing me.”

“I’m not teasing you, baby girl,” he said in a low rasp as he moved my head to rest in his lap.

I closed my eyes as he massaged the oil into my collarbone and chest. “You only call me baby girl when you’re horny. Otherwise, it’s Sunnyside or Brooke.”

“Am I that obvious?”

I grinned. “I like it.”

He squeezed my arms, working the stress out of my biceps before cupping my breasts.

“Best massage ever,” I mumbled.

Ray interlaced his fingers in my hair, massaging my scalp and temples. I had almost drifted off to sleep when I felt his hand cupping my breast again. A sudden pinch on my nipple startled me.

My eyes flew open, and I gasped as he attached a second clamp to my other nipple.

“Just relax,” he soothed, returning to massage my shoulders. “You look so beautiful like that.”

He flicked one of the hanging gems that hung from the left clamp.

I squeezed my thighs together. An odd haze of lust and leisure washed over me. I was a puddle of relaxation and arousal.

“Touch me,” I pleaded.

Ray scraped his fingers across my scalp, sending pinpricks of delight down my spine. “I am,” he replied.

“You know what I mean,” I whimpered, shifting my body closer to his so that my chest pressed against his hands. The jolt made my tits bounce, and I felt the tug of the clamps on my nipples.

“Maybe I enjoy watching you squirm,” he said, licking his thumb and then grazing it over my nipple in small, steady circles.

A high-pitched whine slipped from my throat, and I spread my legs apart.

“That’s it—open your legs for me. You know exactly what I want,” he whispered, leaning over me.

Something cool and smooth teased my exposed folds. Ray pressed a button, and vibrations coursed through me as he used the toy to circle my clit.

I gasped, arching off the bed. My hips pushed into his hand. He placed the toy against my clit and held it there with his palm until I became a desperate, writhing mess.

Flashes of light and heat radiated from my nipples as the gentle weight of the clamps pulled on the sensitive nerves.

He inserted two fingers inside of my pussy and parted them wide, stretching me open before sliding the egg vibrator deep inside.

His hand shackled my throat. “That should tide you over until I’m ready to fuck you.”

Nowhere near close.

It was a sick tease, bringing me right to the edge of ecstasy, but not quite giving me release.

His chuckle sent chills down my spine as he grazed my lips with his thumb. “I probably don’t need to say this, but don’t you dare orgasm. I expect you to wait until I give you permission.”

“No promises,” I gasped as pleasure washed over me in waves.

Ray slipped two fingers between my parted lips, pressing down on my tongue. I moaned around them and sucked as my body was hit with pulses of electricity, dancing from my breasts to my core.

“Be a good girl for me. Wait to come and I’ll make it worth your while,” he whispered, stroking my cheek with his knuckles. “Or I can just keep you like this all night.” He tugged on one of the clamps, eliciting a moan from me. “Will you be good for me?”

I nodded.

“Up on your knees. Face the headboard.”

I struggled to move as the sensation from the massage left me in a daze.

“Hold on tight and arch your back,” he instructed, running his hand down my ass and then slipping his hand between my cheeks.

Something cool and slick pressed against my tight opening, and I gasped. “Ray⁠—”

“Relax and breathe for me. It’s just a small plug.”

I whimpered as he applied pressure and massaged, allowing my body to gradually accommodate the bulb before it closed around the tapered neck.

“Just a little one. There you go,” he murmured, tugging on the flared base. “Doesn’t that feel nice and snug?”

The movement made the vibrations from the toy in my pussy transfer through the thin skin separating it from the plug in my ass.

“Oh my god,” I gasped.

“Go ahead. Pray,” he said, sinking his teeth into the side of my neck. “You’re going to need it.”

Ray held both of my hands and drew them over my head and behind my neck. Smooth rope meant for bondage bound my wrists, keeping my arms up in a V shape. Ray tested the tension to make sure it wasn’t too tight or too loose.

I pleaded as the toys inside me brought me closer and closer to release. I desperately wanted to come.

“I love how much you trust me,” he murmured as he criss-crossed the rope around my chest.

The harness lifted my breasts, making me acutely aware of the clamps still dangling from my nipples. My whole body was a live wire, sparking and dancing with unshed energy.

“I love that you’re in this with me.”

Ray had undressed somewhere between the forming the loops and knots. He pressed his chest against my back.

I begged as he placed his hand low on my stomach, providing pressure where I wanted his touch.

He cupped my breast and squeezed. My muscles clenched around the toy he had put in my ass.

I licked my lips. “I think I would have loved you in any form, at any point in life. It would always have been you. Your soul and mine. Then, now, and whatever is still to come.”

My head spun as he wrapped the rope between my thighs, around my hips, and pulled until my legs were forced apart. I cried out when he slid his forearm behind the knots running down my spine. The harness was tight, but not uncomfortable.

I felt supported, safe, held.

He pressed the head of his cock against the entrance of my pussy. “So wet for me, baby girl.”

He slid a finger into my pussy, circling my walls as he removed the egg vibrator from inside me. My legs trembled as he pressed it against my clit.

“Ray!” I cried out. “Please—please⁠—”

“Beg for it,” he growled.

He nudged the head of his cock into my pussy, holding onto the headboard. His other arm was secured through the ropes, keeping me close against his chest.

“It’s going to feel tight when I fuck you with the plug in your ass, but you can handle it. You’re going to take me, and you’ll look so pretty doing it.”

Tight didn’t begin to describe it. His girth filled me snugly, almost painfully. I gasped and begged as he slowly sank inside of me.

“It’s too much,” I choked. “Too thick⁠—”

“It’ll fit,” he promised with darkness dripping from his words. “Now take it.”

When he was fully inside me, he released the headboard and caressed my nipples with his thumb.

“So damn beautiful, baby. All dolled up for me with jewels hanging from your tits, and your body bound so I can make you come until you beg for mercy.”

I was a desperate, writhing mess. “Please let me come. I can’t—I can’t hold it⁠—”

He thrust hard into me. “Come around my cock. You feel so fucking good.”

He let go of the headboard, grabbed the buzzing vibrator, and pressed it against my clit, then my swollen, throbbing nipples.

I thrashed, fighting against the ropes as he pushed himself deep inside me.

Ray nipped at my ear. “Doesn’t that feel good, baby?” He moved the vibrator back to my clit. “You are so beautiful. I want to spend every last breath making you feel your highest, your most powerful. You’re everything. Everything. Now come for me.”

The orgasm hit me out of nowhere. My pussy squeezed and clenched around his cock. My body seized, but he held me close.

Ray slid the vibrator down and teased his balls until he jerked and came inside me. “Breathe. I’m gonna lay you on your side to untie you.”

I nodded, gasping for air. The calm came as quickly as the rush did.

Our mingled release slid down my thigh as Ray laid behind me and began to undo the knots.

He rubbed my hands and wrists, checking them over until he was sure I was okay. I hissed when he opened the clamps and pulled them off my nipples.

“Bring your knee to your chest,” he soothed as he tugged on the plug. “Did you like using this?” he asked as he slowly slid it from my body and set it on the nightstand.

Heat and embarrassment flooded my cheeks. “I liked it… a lot.” I whimpered when his arm brushed against my swollen nipples.

Ray eased me onto my side, facing him. He lavished my breasts with sloppy kisses. His touch soothed the lingering aches until I felt warm and at ease. Ray covered me in fervent kisses, making it clear that I was positively, wholly, and incandescently his.