PREORDER Wide Open Country - Endless Sky #2 - Signed Paperback

Connor I’m thirty-five, fresh out of prison, and walking a razor’s edge. Probation is simple: Curfew. Routine inspections. No mistakes. The McGrath Ranch was supposed to be my quiet place to disappear. The owner is old-school, strict, and looking for a reason to cut me loose. Then Ryder shows up. He’s twenty-two, all sunshine grins and dangerous rebellion. He rides like he’s invincible and looks at me like he wants to be ruined. He calls me "Sir" with a smile that makes it hard to breathe. I know the risks. One slip, one accusation, and I’m back in a cell. But when we’re alone in the barn, keeping my hands to myself feels like a crime.

Ryder I live my life in a cage made of my father’s expectations. Brand the calves. Say grace. Be the perfect heir. Connor is the only thing on this ranch that feels real. He’s scarred, silent, and terrifyingly controlled. I want to provoke him. I want to see the man beneath the discipline. In the daylight, we ignore each other. In the dark, he ties me down and sets me free. He protects me. He owns me. But if my father finds out, I lose my home. And Connor loses his freedom.

Welcome to McGrath Ranch. Where the fences are high, the secrets are heavy, and the forbidden fruit tastes like freedom.

Wide Open Country features: 🤠 Ex-Con x Boss’s Son 🔥 Age Gap (35/22) ⛓️ Power Dynamics & Rope Play 🤫 Strictly Forbidden ⚡ "Touch Him and Die" Energy

Excerpt from Chapter Five:

“Need some help?” he asked, approaching my horse.
“I can coil a rope all by myself,” I replied, not looking at him.
“You know,” he said, resting one hand on my horse’s neck, “when Dad said we were getting a new batch of guys, I didn’t expect any of them to have actual skills.”
I snorted. “What, you think ex-cons are just worthless criminals?”
“No,” he answered, surprising me with his sincerity. “But most of them just do the bare minimum to get through their probation. You’re... different.”
I finally looked down at him. The sun caught his strawberry-blonde hair, making it glow like burnished copper. His lips were curved in a smile that seemed almost genuine rather than teasing for once.
“Different how?” I asked, immediately regretting giving him an opening.
His green eyes sparkled. “You care about doing the job right. You take pride in your work.” He paused, his voice dropping lower. “And you’re fucking incredible with those hands.”
There it was. I wondered how long it would take him to add some sort of flirtation to the mix. The man was insufferable.
“Yeah, well, I’ll be keeping those hands to myself.”
Ryder’s expression shifted, his playful smirk replaced by something more genuine. He stepped closer to my horse, lowering his voice.
“You don’t have to keep them to yourself,” he said, his eyes holding mine. “Not on my account.”
I tightened my grip on the reins, the leather creaking beneath my fingers. “Look, I meant what I said before. I’m not here to play games. I’ve got six months to get through without screwing up, and then I’m gone.”
“Who says it has to be a game?” Ryder asked, reaching up to stroke my horse’s mane, his fingers brushing against my thigh. “Maybe I just like what I see.”
My body responded traitorously to his words, heat pooling in my groin. I shifted in the saddle, trying to hide my reaction. “Your father would have me back in prison before sundown if he knew what you were suggesting.”
Ryder laughed, the sound rich and untroubled. “Dad doesn’t need to know everything that happens on this ranch.”
“Easy for you to say,” I countered, anger flaring suddenly. “You’re not the one with everything to lose.”
His smile faltered slightly. “You think I don’t have anything to lose?”
“Not like I do.” I gathered the reins, preparing to ride away. “This isn’t just a job for me. It’s my freedom. And you,” I scoffed. “Well, you’re just a rich boy used to getting what he wants. But I’m not gonna be your plaything.”
Before I could nudge my horse forward, Ryder placed his hand fully on my leg. The touch sent electricity through my body. I don’t think I’d ever gotten hard that fast in my life.
“I saw the way you handled that rope,” he said, his voice dropping to barely above a whisper. “The control, the precision. I bet you know exactly how to use it for... other things.”
My breath caught. The bastard had figured me out completely. I stared down at him, fighting the urge to grab him by that expensive shirt and pull him up into the saddle with me.
“You don’t know what you’re playing with,” I warned, my voice rough.
His eyes darkened. “Maybe I want to find out.”
I leaned down, close enough that I could smell his cologne, see the faint freckles across his nose. He seemed to gravitate towards me, pulled in by all that pent up frustration I was exuding. But I had him right where I wanted him. Then, with all the softness in the world, I gave him the last answer he ever wanted to hear.
“No.”
With a flick of the reins, I rode off, leaving him breathless, wanting, and hard by the look of his jeans. Maybe that would finally teach him.