Training the Heart (Silver Pines Ranch, #2)

by Paisley Hope

I stare out to the field wondering what the fuck she’s talking about and what the fuck a slow burn is.

“Explain,” I say. “Explain? A slow burn? Or how the book made me late?” She doesn’t even give me room to answer if I wanted to. “Slow burn is…you know, the part that leads up to…the spicy side of the book…” Spicy?

I realize somewhere in the midst of all that brushing and hair drying, I ended up with another one of Ivy’s scrunchies on my wrist. I shake my head and toss it in the basket, adding it to my growing collection.

Another on the pantry that says “Don’t eat my Pop-Tarts.” I smile. Big mistake writing that, buddy.

“The fuck are the rest of my Pop-Tarts?” “Oh shoot, was I not supposed to move them?” I ask innocently as CeCe falls back on the bed in laughter. “I’m not sure what cabinet I put them in, you may have to check them all.” I giggle. “You wanna play, Trouble? Let’s play,” he says, his tone dark.

“There’s one thing that helps when you can’t sleep,” he says, his voice so deep, so enticing. Fuck, Chief, tell me what it is. “W-what?” I stutter. He stretches…Jesus, that body…those abs… “Ice cream,” he says. Oh. My desperate pussy dies a little.

“What am I going to do when I get home and have to go back to boring dinners?”

“For a fee, I could leave a plate on your doorstep,” I say, only half kidding because I like cooking for her.

Don’t do it, Wade. Don’t you fucking do it. I look up at the ceiling for a split second. Fuck it. I’m doing it. “Give it here, I’ll rub it out for you.” I motion for her to bring her foot to me.

“The way you’re looking at me right now, is this your war tactic?”

“And just what way would that be?” I ask, as my pulse hammers in my throat. “Like I want to find out if you taste as good as I think you do? Like it’s the only thing I’m fucking thinking about day in and day out?” “Yeah…” she whispers. “That.”

“Find out, Ivy…Say mercy.”

“Mercy…” she whispers at the same time I drop my face to meet hers. My lips devour hers without one ounce of uncertainty, licking, tasting, claiming. Fuck, do I want to claim her.

Without a thought in my head, other than I need to fucking cum now, I unbuckle my jeans and pull my already rock-hard cock out. I wrap the soft, blue satin scrunchie, the exact color of her eyes, around my dick and then I spit generously into my palm.

It’s official. I have fucking lost it. I need a fucking drink, and this scrunchie? Well, that’s definitely fucking mine now.

“I’ll tell you a secret, I don’t think my smiling today has anything to do with what city I’m in, Trouble.”

That little bit of fear I see in her eyes ignites me. She should be afraid, if I ever got my hands on her I’d never let her go.

“I don’t really go by stats, Chief. I go by their hearts. I can usually tell just by watching them if they’re serene but also a fighter, that has to come naturally. You can’t train the heart.”

“No training the heart, words to live by,” Wade says, looking amused. “That’s right,” I tell him. “Just like people. Your heart is what it is the moment you’re born.

I settle her in, sigh, and stroke her long silky hair, holding her tight to me, steady. “I’ve got you. You’re safe. Let it out.” An unmeasured amount of time passes as Ivy sobs into my chest.

“You need a man who can handle your sassy little attitude, not be threatened by it, and give it back to you tenfold,” he says, his breath warm on my neck.

“At the very least, Ivy, you need a man whose hands don’t shake when he touches you.” His lips hover in their place, bringing every nerve ending under my skin to life. I whimper and turn my lips up to his ear. “You got steady hands, Chief?” “Rock fucking steady.”

“Seeing as you don’t want any other man out here on the floor with me, can you dance?” His eyes shine back at me, accepting my challenge. “Fucking right I can dance, sweetheart.”

“Need clothes,” I tell her. She nods. Covering her eyes with her hands. “I won’t look. Scouts honor,”

“Truth is…well, I’ve never really been a scout, never even known one so, um…upholding their honor doesn’t mean shit to me.”

“Then own it. Fucking look,” I order.

“I’ve fucking tried, Ivy. But I’m just exhausted trying to pretend I don’t think of touching you every fucking second. See, I knew you were trouble, yet all I’ve wanted to do since the moment I met you is show you how to behave,”

“Every man has his breaking point,” I say as I run my knuckles over her cheekbone, my other hand still working my cock that is so desperate to fuck.

“Now, you came in here, so tell me you want it. Tell me to stop being a gentleman. Tell me to be the man yo...

“Just say the word,” I tell her. Ivy blinks up at me, wraps her arms up around my neck intentionally, and whispers the one word that takes away every ounce of control I possess. The one word that threatens to ruin me. “Mercy…”

I grab her hand from my cock and place her open palm under her lips. “Spit,” I growl, which makes her eyes grow as big as saucers.

“Again,” I say, knowing she has a lot to cover.

“I’m going to need to hear the words, Ivy. I don’t fuck around with consent.”

“I’m going to get you there slowly. I’ll give in when you’re ready to trade me your fucking soul for my cock,”

“Just one thing…the only name you call out when you come is mine, Ivy. I don’t even want to hear God’s name on your lips. He has no place in my bed with you, understand?”

“Let go, Ivy, soak my face. Fucking suffocate me, and say my name when you do,” I tell her and she does.

“It’s yours,” she manages. “What is mine, Trouble?” I ask her, loving that she’s this desperate for my hands on her. Her eyes open and focus on mine for a split second. “My soul…Take it, Wade,” she whimpers. “Just give me what I need.”

“You feel…you feel…” she mutters again, losing the words. “So fucking good,” I breathe out for her because holy fuck, this pussy. This pussy might just be the death of me. “Yeah…” she pants. “That.”

“Soak my cock now Ivy, come,” I order. “I’m going to, and Wade?” “Yeah?”

“I want you to come too, and squeeze my throat tighter when you do.”

“What I’m saying is, you’re a little brat and you leave me no choice but to fuck that sass right out of you.”

“Fuck me as hard as you want. But, Wade, you’ll never fuck the sass out of me,”

“Fuck, I change my mind. I’d never want to fuck the sass out of you anyway, Trouble. I think it’s my favorite thing about you.”

“Call me whatever you want, Trouble. But I’m not worried one bit. I’m not betting on the horse. I’m betting on you.”

I feel him pull my hat from my head and replace it with his own. “The only hat allowed on your head while I bury my tongue inside you is mine.”

I’d give him anything right now. I whisper, “Mercy…” The groan that comes from his chest is approval. “Such a good fucking girl, Ivy,”

I blink as I look down at it, noticing a word etched into his skin that was never there before. The ink is new, glossy, like he just got it done today. It sits perfectly between his thumb and forefinger in a slanted scrawl. Mine.

“Everything we do is only for us. What happens between me and you doesn’t belong to any of them, but if you ever had any doubt what I see when I look at you…” He smirks, then adds, “You’re going to look so fucking pretty wearing my collar, Ivy.”

“The only hands that touch this beautiful fucking body are mine, it’s me you use when you need someone, got it? If I ever see another man’s hat on you again, I’ll be putting him through the floor with it.”

I lean my head down to hers as I fuck into her hard, pulling her thong from her mouth with my teeth, I spit it out then kiss her lips. “Fuck it, scream my name, tell them all exactly who’s making you come, Ivy,” I tell her.