Chapter Eight

Liam stared at the food tray before him, wondering where to begin. Heaping mounds of protein, starches, and carbs glistened with fat under the merciless glare of fluorescent lighting.

“...and your bunk is conveniently situated closest to the door.” His bubbly companion hadn’t stopped prattling throughout the change of lodgings. She was all but seated in his lap, playing footsie under the cafeteria table. “All the better for our late-night rendezvous, Daddy. Here, try the mashed yams. They’re good for your stamina.”

Before he could blink, Gabriella scooped something pink and buttery onto a fork and held it to Liam’s mouth. He grunted approval at the fluffy texture and nutty flavor.

The dining hall thronged with activity. Beefy farmhands on sturdy bench seats crowded large timber tables, sitting shoulder to shoulder and shoveling down the slops. A noisy kitchen and serving area bustled at one end of the huge, shed-like structure where more nameless female cousins wearing hairnets and small frilly aprons ladled generous helpings onto segmented steel trays, feeding the famished menfolk with brilliant smiles on their pretty faces.

“Oomf… thanks, baby.” Liam said, swallowing the mouthful. “I should probably introduce myself to a few folks since I’ve moved into their dorm.”

They were eating alone at their table. Separate from the throng, as though an invisible barrier repelled any intruders on their intimate dinner. Several had eyed the empty seating but quickly found other alternatives after Gabby shot them a frown.

“Don’t bother, Daddy. Most of them are seasonal workers and will be gone after harvest.” She lifted a chunk of gravy-drenched steak to his lips and tittered in delight when he accepted the morsel. “The farm looks like a big operation now, but we don’t have many who stay on year-round. It’s not worth your time, honestly, and they’re not what I’d describe as ‘engaging conversationalists’ anyhow. Unlike you, sir.”

Liam felt her dismissive tone should have bugged him more than it did, triggering unpleasant memories of being patronized in his youth. But the food was actually quite good–very filling–and her free hand was snaking up his leg towards parts she was increasingly familiar with.

Those plump strawberry lips drew closer, parting for a kiss like a blossoming rose when an authoritative voice cut through the clatter of the packed dining hall.

“Gabriella. I would speak with you for a while, daughter.”

The room fell silent as Miss Lily announced herself from the doorway. The mature, caramel-haired matron had a commanding presence, attired in a flowy gingham gown with puffed sleeves and a swooping neckline that revealed an abundance of ivory cleavage.

Behind her towered Randolph, his beady gaze landing on Liam as Gabby grumbled and rose to her feet.

“Stay here and eat, Daddy,” Gabby whispered, passing him the fork. “I’ll chat with Ma and be back in a jiffy.”

Pecking him on the cheek, she hurried away. Joining her mother outside for a hushed conversation. Randolph smirked and winked at Liam before turning to accompany them.

What the heck was that about?

“Mind if I sit?” A deep voice rumbled. Thaddius loomed like an obelisk on the opposite side of the table. The piled-high steel tray appeared child-sized in the hulking brute’s paws.

“Yeah… um, sure.” Liam said distractedly. “Knock yourself out.”

“Thanks.” The bench creaked alarmingly when he settled and tucked into the meal. “So you’re Miss Gabriella’s first stud, huh?” His words were slow and ponderous, as though traveling a distance before reaching his tongue. “Never thought she’d get involved in the family business.”

“Uh… stud? I guess it’s no secret we’re very fond of each other.” Liam felt abruptly nervous, alone with the shaggy-haired Goliath and no Gabby. Already missing her constant, cheerful company. “By family business, do you mean the farm?”

“Yup.” Thaddius didn’t look from his tray, steadily hoeing through the food. “Was one of Miss Ruby’s, me. A favorite for new alpha, ‘till I screwed up. Ditched me like a bad penny, she has. Says I cost her points in the rankings. Was wondering if Miss Gabriella would be willin’ to take in a stray buck.”

He gave Liam a dull-eyed stare, face slack and chewing dolorously.

“I–I don’t know.” The talk of alphas, bucks, and rankings confused Liam. Rural lingo was as incomprehensible as Latin to a city boy like him. “Should probably go check with her, right?”

“Appreciate it, fella. I’ll wait here. Ain’t got no place else to be.”

One major difference between town and country living was how incredibly dark it got without the light pollution. Lights glowed through the windows of the farmstead and outbuildings, only to be swallowed by the moonless night. Liam swore internally as he stumbled through the oppressing gloom, searching for Gabby.

“...expect you to take him by the horns if you throw your hat in the ring, girl.” Miss Lily’s imperious voice came from inside a ramshackle feed shed. “No half measures. This isn’t playtime, ya hear?”

“Yes, ma’am. I understand.” Gabriella was serious and determined–quite unlike her usual self. “He’s responding well to the initial therapies and showing lotsa promise. Prime stock, I swear. Just gimme a fair shot, and I won’t disappoint you.”

Liam crept to a chink in the plank siding and peeked within.

Miss Lily sat, noble as a queen, on a hay bale with Randolph standing at her side, holding an oil lamp for illumination. Gabby kneeled before her, head bowed like a supplicant.

“Prime stock, that runt?” The older cowboy grumbled, twirling the ends of his curly mustache. “You ain’t half got your work cut out for you, lass.”

“Now, now. Let’s remain civil.” Miss Lily chimed, patting him gently on the leg. “Taking on a challenge is a fine thing. It shows ambition, which any successor of mine will need. So long as one doesn’t bite off more than they can chew, that is.

“You’ll get your fair shot, daughter dearest, with no interference from Randolph or myself. However, never forget that when you promise results, I’ll expect to see them. You may dangle the carrot all you wish, but when it comes time, don’t spare the whip. Because I certainly won’t.”

Her last words were such a clear threat that Liam had to suppress a protective snarl. He didn’t have the first clue what they were talking about. Was it cattle-related? He recalled they kept a few heads of steer somewhere, not that he’d seen hide or hair of anything vaguely bovine.

Gabby didn’t appear daunted, though, squaring her slim shoulders and meeting her mother’s stern gaze. Liam’s cock hardened at the resolve in his precious princess’s expression. He loved the flash of steel it lent to her normally free-spirited nature.

“That’s all I ask, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.”

With the conversation ending and fearing discovery, Liam slunk back towards the dining hall on silent feet, new questions dogging his heels.

“And this is your bunk, Daddy, exactly where I said it would be.” Gabriella giggled, plopping down on the mattress in a chorus of squeaky bed springs. “Hmm, the sheets smell a tad musty. I’ll fetch you fresh bedding first thing tomorrow. What do you think?”

In Liam's opinion, the farmhands' dormitory resembled army barracks from a 1970s war movie. The cement and cinder block structure could probably shrug off an air raid and was just as welcoming.

Arrayed in two opposing columns, industrial pipe bed frames ran the length of the large building with foot lockers at the base to secure personal effects. PA speakers and hanging tungsten bulbs were caged in wire, flickering and hissing as the yoked-out workers shambled about, preparing to rest.

His bunk was right at the end, closest to the door, where Gabby fluffed a pillow and grinned mischievously, brushing back her golden tresses.

“It’s fine, I guess. Got nothing on the big house for privacy, but it’s only temporary.” Liam groused, noticing several farmhands stripping to their underwear without a hint of modesty. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask; when can I see the cows?”

“What cows, Daddy?” Gabby’s lazing posture tensed, though her tone remained casual.

“The cows your mother spoke about at dinner my first night here. Legacy breeds, she called them. The cows that eat all the feed and hay I spent today hauling. Everyone keeps mentioning stock, and studs, and the like, but I’ve not spotted a single farm animal yet.”

His voice climbed in volume as the words fell like accusations from his tongue. Gabriella simply looked puzzled, tapping her chin before realization dawned on her delicate features.

“Oh, those cows! Of course, Daddy, how silly of me to forget.” She grinned sheepishly, reaching out to clasp his hand in hers. “They’re pastured in a far, far back corner of the property, ages away from here. Even I rarely see them. So it’s like, out of sight, out of mind for me. I think a couple of ol’ cowpokes truck the fresh feed down there every couple of weeks.”

She drew his hand onto the steep slope of a hefty breast, covered by the flimsy fabric of a floral print summer dress with thin spaghetti straps, and fluttered her thick lashes.

“I can think of more interesting activities than watching stupid cows, Daddy. How ‘bout you?”

“Jesus, Gabby.” Liam glanced about, but nobody paid them any heed. His cock, however, had snapped to attention. “Not here…”

“You’re so right, sir. There’s time before lights out and an empty barn on the other side of the yard.” A nipple stiffened under his palm, and the curvy little blonde moaned. “I won’t sleep a wink if you don’t send me to bed stuffed to bursting with your hot Daddy seed.”

Her ocean-blue peepers dropped to the thickening lump in Liam’s jeans, and she gnawed on a plump lower lip.

He still had questions and suspicions about the happenings around this strange farm, which purportedly was no longer a ranch despite evidence to the contrary.

But Gabriella was already leading him out the door by the hand kneading her heavy tit with a hungry grin and needy cooing sounds.

Liam’s arousal spiked, and thinking was difficult when all the blood rushed from his brain on a southward migration. His inquiries would keep until morning.

Five minutes later, he had her pinned against the wall of a cow stall, pants around his ankles, mindlessly pounding away like a jackhammer as she begged him to cum.

Afterward, totally exerted and luxuriated in Gabby’s happy mewling, sleep called to Liam. And a strange, distant buzzing tickled insistently at his ears.

A big shout-out to supporter VoidGolem for suggesting this sexy tale and brainstorming smutty ideas with me. Advanced chapters—in fact, all 11k words of part two of this story—are available on my BuyMeACoffee page for the low price of a hot cuppa. Cheers, and happy reading!