★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I woke up slowly, the kind of slow where your body feels like it’s floating just on the edge of sleep, reluctant to fully return to the waking world. The warmth of the blankets cocooned me, heavy and safe, and for a second, I let myself sink deeper into it, nuzzling my face into the pillow.Something smelled good. Familiar. Comforting.Colton.The realization hit me all at once, and my eyes fluttered open, taking in the dim morning light filtering through the curtains. I was wearing his shirt. I had fallen asleep in it, and his scent still clung to the fabric—rich, deep, a mix of cedarwood and something unmistakably him. It was distracting, and I hated that it was distracting. Ugh, I’m an idiot. I’d gotten some juice on my shirt last night and he offered me his to wear. What sort of dumbass does that? I didn’t need his nice-smelling shirt.I forced myself to roll onto my back, blinking up at the ceiling as last night came rushing back. The fire. The smok
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★The walk to Doctor Reeves’ place was hell.I don’t know why I thought it would be any different. Maybe the slight breeze this morning had fooled me into thinking I’d get lucky, but no. The moment I stepped onto the dirt path leading out of Colton’s place, the sun turned into a relentless enemy.The heat pressed against me like a physical weight, making every step feel more miserable than the last.God, I hated the countryside.Everything about it—the never-ending land, the suffocating humidity, the fact that every bug in existence seemed to have a personal vendetta against me. The air smelled too fresh, the quiet was too loud, and the roads felt like they were designed to make my life miserable.But then again, the city wasn’t much better.I’d been in the city during heat waves that felt like walking through the ninth circle of hell. Asphalt turned into lava, buses became saunas, and stepping outside for more than ten minutes was a death sentence.So mayb
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★“Enjoying the drink?”I hadn’t touched it really. Like I said, I’m not about to have another drink put my ass on the floor. I rolled my eyes at Reeves, but the old man just chuckled like he’d already won whatever silent battle we were having. Before I could snap back at him, my phone buzzed.I glanced down, expecting maybe a delayed response from Laia or some random spam text, but instead, it was from Colton.Colton: Meet me by the running river.That was it. No explanation. No mention of dinner. Just... meet me.I frowned, staring at the message. It wasn’t like I expected him to say yes- or no- but he could’ve at least given me an answer. Instead, he was summoning me like I was some kind of errand girl. Typical alpha male nonsense.I sighed and looked at Reeves, who was already smirking like he somehow knew exactly what was happening.“Is there a running river around here? I saw a line of it once while Catia was working the sheep.” I asked, slipping my
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★“So,” Colton drawled, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked beside me, “this dinner thing. Why do you want me there?”I rolled my eyes. “Because Samson is going to make a scene, and I’d rather not stress out his wife.”Colton made a low, thoughtful sound, but the teasing glint in his golden eyes made me wary. He shook his head with mock disappointment. “Come on, darlin’. Tell me why you really want me there.”Clicking my tongue, I feigned confusion. “What are you talking about?” Sometimes Colton flirts and it takes me off guard. I think it’s all in his natural charm, but it’s devastating. I barely had time to react before Colton caught my wrist, tugging me behind a large tree, out of sight. My pulse skipped, but I kept my face composed, raising an eyebrow at him.“You said we’re casual,” he murmured, his voice low and smooth, wrapping around me like a slow drag of honey. “That we can fuck around with each other. So I don’t see why I have to be
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★The day had started off light. I hadn’t planned on following Colton around as he worked, but there was something about watching him move through his day that made me feel… calm. It was an unusual feeling, one I wasn’t sure I liked. Normally, I preferred the chaos of the city, the anonymity of it, the way people kept their heads down and minded their own business. But here, in this small, slow-moving town, everything was personal.Colton made it worse.He talked easily, made me laugh without trying, and somehow managed to make the heat of the day a little less unbearable. We talked about stupid things—his favorite type of beer (cheap and cold), my favorite type of wine (expensive and red), and the worst jobs we’d ever had. He told me about working at a feed store when he was younger because he lost a bet, and how he once had to chase a goat around the property for over an hour. I told him about my short-lived stint as a bartender, and how I got fired for p
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★The silence between us stretched, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was just… there. I somehow thought he would bring it back, guilt me into saving this innocent girl’s life. But now. He respected that it was my choice. No one but me could decide what I did with my body. I find that honestly surprising. What happened to the guy who argued with me because I said fuck in front of his sister? That wasn’t long ago. I watched as Colton moved through his work, handling the animals with ease, checking crops like he could hear them speaking to him. He was thorough, strong, and—unfortunately—distractingly good-looking. I hated that my mind kept drifting back to the way his shirt clung to his back, the way sweat dripped from his jaw when he ran a hand through his already messy hair. It was unfair, really.I was still lost in my own thoughts when he suddenly straightened, wiping his hands against his jeans before turning to me. “You hungry?”I blinked, needing a sec
▄︻デ══━一 COLTON HAYES💥After tasting her in the bathroom, a polite way of saying I had her grinding and cumming on my tongue, I cleaned us both while she regained herself. Then after a much colder shower, we stepped out, dried up and she went to her too to put on something new. In true Vanessa fashion, she left naked... refusing to take my towel. And returned with her bag and a tight shirt that stopped above her knees. My gut tells me there’s no underwear past that but I can’t confirm that.I’m pretending to be fine. That laughing, kissing, and tongue fucking her is easy. But it isn’t. I want to find my mind drifting to the wrong area sometimes. Like right now. I moved through the kitchen with ease, the scent of sizzling eggs and toast filling the air as I worked. The space was quiet, save for the occasional sound of my spatula against the pan and the rhythmic tapping of Vanessa’s fingers on her laptop.She was completely absorbed in whatever she was writing, brows drawn together, l
▄︻デ══━一 COLTON HAYES💥After lunch, I told Vanessa I had to get back to work and that I would be back at six to get ready for dinner. She gave me a simple smile, and a wink telling me to pet Honey for her. I’m dumb because I felt like giving her that cow as a gift. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. Am I a virgin? I wasn’t even attached to the woman I’d first slept with. It was one night I barely remembered. I leaned against the fence, watching the cattle graze under the late afternoon sun. The air was thick with the scent of earth and grass, the kind of smell that settled deep into my bones. It was familiar, grounding—but today, it wasn’t enough to clear the tension knotted in my chest.My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I fished it out, seeing Catia’s name on the screen. A sigh slipped past my lips before I answered.“Hey, Cat.”There was a beat of silence, then a sigh of her own. “Another one’s dead, Colton.”I closed my eyes briefly, pressing my fingers against my temple. Shit.T
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★It was buried.Like someone had wanted it to be.I’d been combing through articles for hours, the motions mechanical now, almost numb. My mind was on autopilot—just picking through keywords, cross-referencing names, digging into obscure land deals that didn’t make sense, tracking down vague, half-mentioned connections between people who seemed irrelevant at first glance. The rabbit holes I’d gone down had been endless, some of them leading nowhere. But I couldn’t stop. I had to find something. Anything besides what I found about the drug dealer. Still, I wanted more details. My eyes were aching, and my fingers were numb from tapping the keys. I was running on nothing but cold coffee and the burning need to dig deeper. I had spent the better part of the morning and afternoon chasing down leads that now felt pointless. But then… I found it.It was another old article, buried under thousands of newer headlines, hidden like someone had intentionally tucked i
▄︻デ══━一 COLTON HAYES💥 I stayed long enough to make sure they both ate. Ashley had come down minutes after I'd urged Samson to bathe and dress in something else. He didn't need my judgment and neither did she. Didn’t matter that it was just eggs, pancakes, and the last of the sausage from the freezer. I stood in that damn kitchen like a drill sergeant, arms folded, watching Samson poke at his plate like food was something foreign. Ashley sat across from him, silent, her eyes rimmed red but dry now. She wouldn’t meet my gaze. I didn’t ask her to.I didn’t ask them anything.I just waited, and eventually they started eating. Slowly. Quietly. But they ate.That was enough for now. They drank some juice and told me they'd be staying indoors for the day. Well, not Ashley. Catia was coming to take her to her place so she could be away from Samson.Once I was sure they wouldn’t go back to bed hungry, I stepped out and headed down the porch stairs. The air was already thick with humidity, t
▄︻デ══━一 COLTON HAYES💥 The water ran hot over my shoulders, and for a while, I just stood there, letting it scald the edges of everything I didn’t want to think about. My hands braced against the tiled wall, breath slow, heavy. It didn’t do much to rinse away the ache in my chest—but it helped. Just a little.It was easy to smile around Vanessa, but away from her, my brain was starting to think again. I'd love to have my ability to think fucked out of me. When Vanessa and I have sex, I can only think about her. I do love just thinking about her. It's better than thinking about all the problems in my life. By the time I dried off, dressed, and placed my hat over damp curls, the morning had already fully settled in. Vanessa hadn’t moved from her spot in bed when I peeked into the room again—still buried in her research, sharp as ever, focused like she was stitching the world back together with a single thread. She didn’t even look up when I asked her if she'd need my truck to go into
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I barely noticed the time passing.The world had narrowed down to my laptop screen, the dull hum of its fan, and the occasional click of my nails against the keys. Morning light had crept in slowly through the window, shifting from gray to gold while I chased paper trails and public records down digital rabbit holes. Every tab I opened spun into another, and another—property deeds, business filings, court case summaries, suspicious shell companies that seemed to tie back to a single name again and again.Alina.She was careful. Calculated. Her name was rarely listed, but the fingerprints were there—metaphorically speaking. I was stitching together something ugly. Bigger than what Colton had suspected. It wasn't just a bad deal gone personal. She was tied into something far-reaching. And worse—she was good at hiding in plain sight. I didn’t have the full picture yet, but I had the edges. And the more I found, the more certain I became: this was more than r
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I woke up warm.Not just in the way that meant the blankets were doing their job—but in the way that made my chest ache. Like a fire had settled there overnight. Slow, steady, and kind.Colton's arm was wrapped around me, his hand resting just below my ribs, his body curled into mine like he always belonged there. My cheek was pressed against the solid muscle of his chest, and I could hear his heartbeat—slow, even, completely at ease.It made me want to cry. In a good way. Maybe. This must be the good thing about having a partner. You're never truly alone. And if you want to be alone, you can. Take a moment to yourself. It works if you have someone who understands. Do I suddenly believe love strengthens and fixes everything? No. Heck, who knows if our relationship would stand the test of time. Who knows how this might end? In an affair? God I hope not. If Colton suddenly decides he's actually found his Mrs right, I'll kill them both. I nestled closer t
▄︻デ══━一 COLTON HAYES💥 I must’ve misheard her. No way she just said—Vanessa narrowed her eyes like she could feel my doubt. “I’m in love with you,” she said again, firmer this time. “I am. And when you said you wanted more than casual... well, I want that too.”My heart damn near leapt out of my throat. My wolf—usually quiet and brooding—sank somewhere warm and content like he’d finally been fed after starving.She said she loves me.I stared at her, stunned into silence for maybe the first time in my entire life. Vanessa. The girl who ran from any emotional talk as if it were fire. Who flinched at the mentions of true love, side-eyed people talking about mates and marriage, ducked out of the room when things got too real—just said she loved me. Out loud. On purpose.And she hadn’t even looked away. She stood there, her chest rising and falling like she was bracing for something, arms crossed like she needed to hold herself together. But she was still standing, still meeting my eyes
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I could have gone to my bedroom to take this call, but I didn’t want to go that far.. I stopped in the hallway, just out of earshot. I’m not the type to run from my problems. Hell, I run right into danger, that’s just who I am. But I’m avoiding the main conversation with Colton. I want to have it. I want to talk about it. I want to say, yeah, I want more than casual with you, too. I want more, I love you. I don’t know how or when I fell for you, but it kind of just happened. However, I cannot throw my whole life away. Long distance won’t work for us.... i mean, fuck, why am i even thinking about this?I brought my eyes back to my phone.The number was unfamiliar, but I answered it anyway, partly because I needed a distraction and partly because a flicker of dread told me who it might be.“Hello?” I said cautiously.There was a pause. Then a shaky inhale.“Vanessa?” a voice I hadn’t heard in days, maybe weeks, not in person, not like this. But I knew it i
▄︻デ══━一 COLTON HAYES💥 After a moment of watching the lake, each of us silently making a plan in our heads, we decided to return home.We didn’t say much on the walk back. Vanessa kept close, her steps quiet but fast to keep up with mine. The storm had left behind a world slick with mud and the chill of lingering rain. Trees dripped steadily, and the sky overhead was still a dull sheet of grey, hanging heavy like the grief inside me.By the time we stepped back into the house, I shrugged off my damp jacket and tossed it on a hook. Vanessa followed, tugging her sleeves down her wrists like she was trying to ground herself. The house was too quiet without the family. Too hollow. The air still smelled like breakfast and loss.“Coffee?” I offered, needing something to keep my hands busy.She nodded, and we moved into the kitchen. I prepped the machine in silence, only the gurgling hum of it filling the space between us.“I was thinking…” she said eventually, leaning on the counter, “we s
★。\|/。★VANESSA DAVIS★。/|\。★I arrived back at the farm—Colton’s house—just as the sky slipped further into gray.From the second I parked, I knew something was off. The driveway was clear. No voices floated from the porch. No creak of floorboards or clatter of kitchenware inside. It was empty.Too empty.I stepped out of the Jeep and onto the damp ground, the air thick with leftover moisture and the scent of wet wood. The storm had passed, but the rain hadn’t fully let go. It lingered in droplets that clung to the leaves and coated the windows like tears that didn’t know how to fall.Inside the house, the silence clawed at me.“Colton?” I called out, voice echoing just slightly. No response. My footsteps padded quietly over the wood floors as I walked from room to room, scanning for any sign of him.Nothing in the kitchen.Nothing in the living room, either of them.His phone wasn’t on the charger. His keys were gone.A slow panic started bubbling in my stomach.I checked the front p