Mmm, fuck. The man could kiss. Bull’s tongue glided in and out of Fox’s mouth, and he sucked greedily on it, his hands still fisting Bull’s coat in case he thought of ending the kiss too soon. Which he did. Fox gasped for air when Bull pulled away, his lips tingling and tender from the assault. Bull dipped his head and pressed their foreheads together, his eyes screwed shut as if he couldn’t believe what he’d done.
Fox plunged his hands into Bull’s dark waves. “Hey. What is it?”
“Nothing.” Bull sighed. “I thought you—”
“You thought I left and wasn’t coming back?” Fox frowned. “Why would I do—?”
“No. I thought you’d left and you couldn’t come back,” Bull clarified, his rich eyes boring into Fox’s soul.
He understood what Bull was saying. Fox lived a dangerous life—his career choice guaranteed it—so he shouldn’t disappear in the middle of the night. It was just no one had ever given a damn whether he’d had a rough shift before, or whether he returned from one, period. But that was exactly what Bull had done. He’d cared. Fox got it now.
“You don’t have to be concerned about my work for a while, okay?” Fox told him. “I’ve taken some time off.” Bull didn’t speak, and Fox got even more fucking hot around the collar. Who knew he’d like the big and silent type? “I think I need to reassess some things in my life that I didn’t know were problems until I spent one night here.”
“Meaning?” Bull muttered.
Fox almost leaned in to kiss him some more and bring their lower bodies back into contact, but he refrained, not wanting to come off as the sex-repressed man he was. “Meaning, I like it here. It’s nice, and you guys put on a pretty good show for these kids. I want to stop whoever’s trying to destroy it.”
“Is that all you’re here to do?” Bull gritted out. “Then you’re gone.”
Fox narrowed his eyes. What was this man wanting from him? A promise, a declaration of some kind? He couldn’t give Bull any of that, not after only a couple of meetings and one sleepover—where he didn’t even get to first base because of that cockblocking son of a bitch, Dale. Which was another problem all in itself since it seemed the man was a worthy opponent. Fox welcomed that shit because he had every intention of bringing out his best tricks.
“I’m here now, Bull. Let’s see what you do about it.” Fox cocked his head to the side, hoping Bull understood. And from the deep nod he gave him, Fox believed he did.
It took Fox two weeks to set up the new security system, which was basically just him building on to what Free had already done. There hadn’t been any more vandalism, but Fox had a feeling it was coming any day now, since the fence still appeared to be undiscovered.
Bull had a phenomenal operation going on, far more than Fox had initially thought. Granted, before now, he’d only had a one-hour tour a few months ago, but this was an empire big enough to draw out some serious haters. Which was common with small towns and wealthy newcomers. Bull had expanded the seventy-five acres he’d purchased when he’d first come to Atlanta, to three hundred. The ranch’s farm stand alone probably brought in more sales than the county food market in town. Bull’s wide range of services included private lessons by qualified instructors, trail rides and he also provided horse boarding and training. The ranch was also a sanctuary for abused animals that Bull had turned into a petting zoo. It was as if he had the Midas touch, and whatever he set his mind to, he accomplished. It was just another one of Bull’s very attractive qualities.
Fox was enjoying the minimal time he got to spend with Bull in the evenings, since the man left most nights right after dinner to go for a ride, sometimes with Dale, then was gone again by five in the morning. That was about the time Fox was crawling into bed. It’d been a while since he’d worked the graveyard shift, but watching the monitors every night and keeping Bull’s family safe gave Fox purpose. Sometimes he’d walk the grounds after midnight and check the blind spots he couldn’t see on the cameras. It was always so peaceful when he did, and sometimes a cat or a couple of dogs would join him, especially when he began bringing treats with him.
He’d only slept a few hours this morning because he was too excited to stay in bed. Today would be his first day of riding lessons, and he already couldn’t wait to get good enough to run his horse over Dale. That guy had become an annoying thorn in his side, but he was so damn sneaky about it that Fox couldn’t help but respect him.