The cabin air hung warm and still, carrying the faint smell of dust and the day’s heat. Outside, cattle lowed low and steady somewhere beyond the yards.
Bryce lay on his back, one arm crooked behind his head, watching the last light bleed out of the sky through the window. He’d spent most of the day working through the property in the side-by-side, checking cattle, water and fences as he went. His body hummed with the tired satisfaction of work done properly, the kind of ache that settled into muscle and bone and asked nothing of him.
He heard the ute before he saw the headlights sweep across the cabin wall. The engine cut, a door opened and shut, and then footsteps crossed the yard with a purpose that made him smile before he’d even seen her face.
Saige appeared in the doorway, silhouetted against the last of the dusk. She was wearing a pair of his old work shorts and a tank top, her dark hair loose and tangled from the ride over. She didn’t knock—she never knocked anymore.
“You’re back,” she said, and there was something in her voice that made the tiredness fall away.
“Just got in.” He sat up, swinging his legs off the bed. “Everything alright?”
“Everything’s fine. I just—” She stopped, and in the dim light he saw her bite her lip. “I missed you.”
“You saw me yesterday.”
“I know.”
He crossed the room in three strides and pulled her into his arms. She came easily, her hands sliding up his chest to loop around his neck, and when she tilted her face up to his, he kissed her. It was slow and deep and hungry, the kind of kiss that said more than words could. When they finally broke apart, she was breathing hard, her eyes bright.
She laughed, a soft, happy sound. “You smell like cattle and dust.”
“That’s the job.”
“I like it.” She pressed closer, her nose brushing his jaw. “I like you.”
He kissed her forehead, then her temple, then the corner of her mouth. “I like you too.”
She pulled back, her hands still resting on his chest. “The trail ride’s on Saturday. Mum and Dad are doing the barbecue after. Are you coming?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Good.” She grinned. “Because I already told them we’re coming together.”
“We?”
“Yeah. Us. As a couple.” She said it with a kind of defiance, as if daring him to argue. “Is that alright?”
He thought about it—about Grant and Elara, about the way they’d looked at him that night on the veranda, about the weight that had lifted when they’d given their blessing. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s alright.”
Her smile widened, and she kissed him again, quick and bright. “Good. Now feed me. I’m starving.”
Saturday came in warm and clear, the kind of late-summer morning that promised a good ride and a better afternoon.
Bryce took the side-by-side along the track between their places, an esky strapped in the back beside his chainsaw. He’d spotted a fallen tree across part of the ride route a few days earlier and figured he could clear it while everyone else was riding, then meet them back for the barbecue.
Saige was waiting by the yards, dressed in riding boots and a pair of jeans that fit her like they’d been made for her, her dark hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. She lit up when she saw him, and the sight of it did something to his chest that he was still getting used to.
“You’re early,” she said, walking over to meet him.
“So are you.”
“I wanted to make sure you actually showed up.” She grinned, teasing, but there was a flicker of something else in her eyes—a question she didn’t quite ask.
He reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I said I’d be here.”
“I know.” Her voice was softer now. “I just—this is the first time we’re doing this. Out in the open.”
“You worried?”
“No.” She said it quickly, then paused. “Maybe a little. I don’t want anyone to make it weird.”
“They won’t.” He said it with more confidence than he felt, but he believed it. Grant and Elara had given their blessing. The rest of the group would follow.
By the time the rest of the riders gathered in the yard, Bryce felt the tension in his shoulders ease. Mauve was there, along with Adele and Ethan, Tessa and a handful of others Bryce had met over the past year.
Saige nodded toward the chainsaw in the back of the side-by-side.
“You’re still not riding with us?”
“You know the answer to that.”
“You could.”
“I could also clear that tree before you all get there.”
Grant laughed from behind her.
“He’s got you there.”
Saige rolled her eyes.
Bryce climbed back into the side-by-side.
“See you back here?”
“That’s the plan.”
She leaned down.
Bryce looked at her.
Then at everyone around them.
Saige smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
She kissed him.
Not particularly discreetly.
Somebody behind them laughed.
Bryce shook his head.
“Go.”
Saige grinned and rode after the others.
The fallen tree lay across the track exactly where he remembered it, thick enough that taking horses around it would mean pushing through scrub.
Bryce cut the branches first, dragging them clear, then worked through the heavier sections of trunk and used the side-by-side to pull them away from the track.
He was finishing when voices carried through the trees.
Saige appeared first around the bend.
She saw him and smiled immediately.
“Useful having you around.”
“That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”
Grant rode up behind her and surveyed the cleared track.
“Could’ve left us something to do.”
“There’s still plenty of tree.”
“Not in the way.”
“That was the idea.”
The riders moved through.
Saige lingered.
“You’re holding everyone up.”
“They’ll survive.”
She leaned down and kissed him.
Grant called from farther along the track.
“Saige.”
“Coming.”
She smiled against Bryce’s mouth before straightening and riding after them.
Bryce shook his head and went back to clearing up.
By the time the riders returned, the barbecue was going and the group spread out on folding chairs around the yard, eskies open, cold beers handed around, the easy laughter of a good day settling over them.
Bryce had cleaned himself off and changed out of his dusty shirt. Saige finished seeing to her mare, then came straight across to him and wrapped both arms around his waist.
“Miss me?”
“It’s been a couple of hours.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Bryce laughed and kissed her.
Across the yard, Mauve watched them.
“Well, fuck.”
Elara looked over. “What?”
“I had plans for him this weekend.”
Elara laughed.
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Might have left that a little late.”
Mauve watched Saige settle beside Bryce, her shoulder against his.
“Apparently.”
Elara bumped her shoulder against Mauve’s.
“Behave.”
Mauve sighed.
“I suppose.”
“Mauve.”
“I said I suppose.”
Bryce found a spot in the shade and settled in, Saige dropping down beside him with her shoulder pressed against his.
It was strange, being here like this. Not as the neighbour or the handyman or the newcomer, but as hers. He could feel the shift in the way people looked at them—not surprised, not disapproving, just accepting. Like it had always been this way.
Then Holly arrived.
She drove up in her battered ute, a cloud of dust following her down the track, and the moment she stepped out, Bryce felt Saige tense beside him. Holly looked the same as always—blue hair, tanned skin, a denim jacket thrown over her shoulders—and she moved through the group with the easy confidence of someone who belonged there.
“Well, well,” she said, grinning as she reached the cluster of chairs. “Didn’t think I’d be back this soon.”
There was a round of greetings, questions about where she’d been, and Holly deflected them all with her usual charm. Then her eyes found Bryce.
“Bryce,” she said, walking over. “Long time.”
“Holly.”
“You’re looking well.”
“So are you.”
Her gaze shifted to Saige.
Saige sat against Bryce, one hand threaded through his.
Holly’s eyebrows rose.
“Well.” She looked between them. “What’s this?”
Bryce didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
Understanding crossed Holly’s face.
Then she grinned.
“You go, girl.”
Saige laughed.
“Thanks.”
Holly gave Bryce another look, still grinning, then moved into the group.
Beside him, Saige was still tense, her jaw set.
“Hey,” he said, his hand squeezing her knee. “It’s alright.”
“I know.” She looked at him, and some of the tension eased from her face. “I just don’t like the way she looked at you.”
“She’s not going to cause trouble.”
“You sure about that?”
“Yeah.”
Saige nodded slowly, then leaned her head against his shoulder.
“Alright. But if she tries anything—”
“You’ll what?”
“I’ll handle it.”
He laughed, a low sound. “I don’t doubt it.”
A little later, Elara caught Holly near the veranda.
“Just so we’re clear. Saige isn’t part of any of our arrangements.”
“I know.”
Elara smiled. “Alright.”
Holly grinned.
“Shame though. That could have been fun.”
“Holly!”
“I know. I know. Just stirring you.”
The afternoon wore on. The barbecue was good—steaks and sausages and salads, the kind of spread that made you want to lie down and nap in the shade. Bryce stayed close to Saige, their hands finding each other at odd moments, and the day settled into something comfortable, something that felt like it could last.
Tessa was there too.
As people began packing up, Bryce helped stack some of the folding chairs while Saige sorted out her mare.
When she returned, she found him beside the side-by-side.
“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
They said their goodbyes and started back across the paddocks toward his place.
The side-by-side bumped along the track, the late afternoon sun stretching shadows across the paddocks.
For a while neither of them spoke.
Then Saige turned slightly toward him.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Holly.”
Bryce glanced across. “What about her?”
“How did that happen?”
Bryce smiled.
“She turned up at my place one afternoon and convinced me to knock off early. We went into town.”
“Where?”
“The pub.”
“Just like that?”
“Pretty much.”
“And?”
“We had a few drinks. She made me dance.”
Saige laughed. “You?”
“Apparently.”
“Then what?”
Bryce told her a little. Not everything. Enough for Saige to realise Holly had been spontaneous, uncomplicated and considerably bolder than Bryce had been expecting.
“She taught you things.”
Bryce glanced across at her.
“Some.”
Saige smiled.
“What things?”
“You’re nosy tonight.”
“I’m interested.”
“Apparently.”
“You still haven’t answered.”
Bryce smiled.
“Some things are private.”
“Some?”
“Some.”
Saige laughed.
“And Tessa?”
“Tessa was different.”
“Different how?”
“She was curious.”
Saige turned a little farther toward him.
“Curious how?”
Bryce smiled.
“You’re still being nosy.”
“I know.”
“She hadn’t experienced a lot.”
“And?”
Bryce glanced across at her.
“And I introduced her to some of the things Holly showed me.”
Saige’s eyebrows lifted.
“What things?”
Bryce laughed. “I’m not giving you a list.”
“Why not?”
“Because some things are private.”
“Again?”
“Again.”
Saige smiled.
“So what happened?”
“It snowballed from there.”
“That sounds interesting.”
“It was.”
They travelled a little farther.
Saige was quiet for a moment, gathering herself.
“I’ve always wondered about my parents. The way they are with each other, the way they are with other people. I’ve never been sure if it’s—normal.”
Bryce didn’t answer right away. “What do you mean?”
“I mean the way they are with Adele. With Mauve. The way they seem to have—understandings.” She looked at him. “I’ve never asked them directly. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m asking you.”
She took a breath.
“Were you ever involved with either of them?”
“No.”
Saige looked at him.
“Neither?”
Bryce smiled. “Definitely not Grant.”
She laughed.
“Mum?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
She studied him for a moment.
“Okay.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.” She looked ahead again. “I just needed to know.”
Then she looked down at herself, a strange, almost shy expression crossing her face.
“I’m wet,” she said.
Bryce blinked. “What?”
“You heard me.” She took his hand and guided it to the front of her jeans, pressing his palm against the heat of her through the denim. He could feel it—the dampness, the warmth, the unmistakable evidence of her arousal. “This is what you do to me, Bryce. Just by being you.”
He swallowed hard, his fingers curling against her.
Then he began rubbing her through her jeans.
Saige’s breath caught.
“Out here?”
Bryce glanced across the empty paddocks.
“Who’s going to see us?”
Her eyes stayed on his for a moment.
Then she shifted in the seat, opening her legs a little farther.
Bryce kept rubbing her.
Her breathing changed.
“Bryce.”
“Yeah?”
“Take me home.” Her voice was low, steady. “Take me home and fuck me.”
He didn’t need to be told twice.
They reached the cabin in a hurry, and Bryce had barely stopped the side-by-side before Saige was reaching for him.
She landed against him as they climbed out, her mouth finding his before her feet were even steady.
They stumbled through the door, shedding clothes as they went, and Bryce kicked the door shut behind them. The bed was still unmade from the morning, the sheets rumpled, and he laid her back on it, his body covering hers. She was already reaching for his belt, her fingers working the buckle with practiced ease.
“I want to ride you,” she said, her voice breathless. “I want to use you.”
He kissed her hard, then pulled back, his hands working at his jeans. “Then ride.”
She grinned, a wild, hungry thing, and pushed him onto his back. She straddled him, her thighs gripping his hips, and reached down to take his cock in her hand. It was already hard, already aching, and she stroked it once, twice, before positioning herself over him.
She sank down onto him with a moan, her head falling back, her hands braced on his chest. He filled her completely, the heat of her clenching around him, and she stayed there for a moment, just feeling the weight of him inside her.
Then she began to move.
She rode him hard, her hips rising and falling in a rhythm that was all her own, taking what she wanted, using him exactly the way she’d said. Her breasts bounced with each thrust, her hair flying around her face, and Bryce watched her, transfixed, his hands gripping her hips.
“Is this what you wanted?” she asked, her voice a ragged whisper. “Me, riding you like this?”
“Yes,” he groaned. “Fuck, yes.”
She smiled, a satisfied, possessive thing, and sped up. She bounced on him, taking him deep, her body moving with a desperate, hungry urgency. The sound of their bodies slapping together filled the cabin, and her moans grew louder, more frantic.
“You’re mine,” she gasped. “You’re mine, Bryce.”
“I’m yours,” he said, his hands sliding up to cup her breasts, his thumbs finding her nipples. “I’m all yours.”
She cried out, her body shuddering around him, and he felt her climax ripple through her, her cunt clenching and releasing around his cock. He followed a moment later, his own release surging into her, his head thrown back, her name on his lips.
She collapsed onto his chest, her breath coming in ragged gasps, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. They lay there in the quiet, the sun setting outside the window, the world reduced to the space between their bodies.
After a long moment, Saige lifted her head, her eyes soft and satisfied. “That was—”
“Yeah,” he said, his voice rough. “It was.”
She smiled, then kissed him, slow and deep.