In the tit for tat world of niceties, her dad would require her to do something for me, but time alone with Brandt was the real prize. My palms were sweaty but a quick dip in the dishwater hid the problem. The flush on my cheeks was harder to explain. But the wetness between my legs was going to be a dead giveaway for my true intentions. So many problems.
I washed while Brandt wrapped up the left-overs. No need to act desperate because it was unlikely he’d believe how hard and fast I’d fallen for him. Physically he was near perfect, GQ meets the Wild West. His rough hands served as a reminder of the hard work he put in every day. The type of work that left a man with a hard body. I’d confirmed it when I fell against his chest. Solidifying my initial attraction to him that had took hold in the grocery store.
The clencher was his personality, how he handled life. A single dad who ran a ranch, an ice cream shop, and a teenage daughter while not letting anything rattle him. I shook all of the gaga-ish information from my brain.
He needed to understand my timeline. As cutesy as Hopeful, Colorado was, and as much as it made me want to sit at home and make casseroles, I couldn’t get enough gigs to support myself. It took a big city and a lot of work. It was my passion.
Brandt would have to make the decision if we were going to cross a line. He had more at stake. How had Hailey handled their divorce, and would it be too hard on her if I got involved then left?
He stepped beside me and rinsed the soapy dishes. “Thanks for talking honestly to Hailey. She’s a smart girl. The truth is always best with her.”
“Are you sure?”
“She needs to hear it straight.”
“Bummer.”
He stopped rinsing and looked at me with a furrowed brow.
“When she saw me leaning against your muscular chest with your arms wrapped around me…” I ran a wet finger up his arm and hooked it under the edge of his sleeve. “…she asked if there was anything between us. You said no.”
His jaw dropped open and I went back to washing dishes. “I, well, uh…” He was cute when he was speechless.
“Too bad. I thought I’d felt something between us.” I set a pan in the rinsing side of the sink.
“You did,” he said. His voice was low and barely audible. He was inches from me and my body burned with need for him make the next move.
“Is this weird?” I asked.
“No. Weird doesn’t feel like this. But promise me if you end up figuring out I’m a small-town cowboy, you won’t hold it against Hailey. I’m worried I’m going to get in the way of what you two have, and don’t want her to hate me.” He unloaded his worries in one fell swoop.
“I already know you’re a small-town cowboy and it’s charming.” I set another dish in the sink and he grabbed my hand. The warm water had nothing on the heat between us.
He angled me to face him. Inches between us, I stared at his lips peaking through his beard and mustache. His chest rose and fell, mimicking the trouble I was having breathing. Slipping a hand around my waist, he pulled me into his hips and his lips hovered over my forehead, asking for permission he clearly wanted.
“I’m only here for one semester.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.” My words were a whisper, betraying all of my plans. I had no intent of staying, but couldn’t imagine being anywhere other than in his arms. I couldn’t mislead him. “I’m only hired through June. I have a life to get back to.”
“Let’s worry about that later.” Brandt cupped my head with one hand and held the small of my back like he feared getting bucked as he pulled me into a kiss. Firm and weighty surrounded by the soft tickle of his facial hair.
My arms were stuck under his muscular arms only allowing me to reach around his broad back. So much of him, and I’d barely explored anything. His chest pressed into my breasts with each inhale, pressing them into him, fueling my need.
He shoved a firm leg between mine and every nerve ending in my body screamed in anticipation. My sex pressed into his leg creating the pull of an orgasm. He scooped me up and my legs wrapped around his lean waist, my arms worked their way up his arms, over his broad shoulders, up his neck, and wove into his hair.
My tongue mingled with his as our kisses locked us together.
He sat me on the counter and cupped my breasts sending shivers through my body. Our contact wasn’t enough. I craved his body on top of mine, pressing me into the bed, enclosing me in a world where nothing existed but us.
His head dropped onto my shoulder. “I’m going to have to run to the store.”
Abrupt halt. Did I do something wrong? Disbelief carried through my single word question. “What?”
He ran his hands through my hair, tracing it down my back. “It seemed like we were going all the way, but we don’t have to. But if we do, I don’t have any condoms.”
I put a finger over his lips. The fumbling nature of his words brought his endearing, cute side to the forefront again. “I’m on the pill, always use a condom as backup. But shit. I’m not sure I can handle a trip to the store. Are we good?”
He pulled me tight against him. “Good is an understatement. Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
Picking me up, he headed out of the kitchen. “Let me get you to a proper place for this.”
“The barn?” I asked.
He stopped. “I was thinking the bed.”
“Willing to make a city girl’s fantasy come true, Cowboy?”
“Is that why you wore those ass hugging jeans? To tempt me?” Continuing to hold me in the hallway, he cupped a hand under my butt, grabbing my ass, driving me to insanity. Even with only one arm holding me up, he had no trouble. The flex of his muscles egged on my eagerness.
“No, but I could wear them more often.”
“It won’t matter, you won’t be in them long. Do you really want to do it in the barn?”
I shifted my weight and snuggled closer to his body, kissing his neck. “Yes, if you can hurry. Otherwise, I’ll drop my pants right here.”
“The barn it is. We can try the hallway later.”
I wiggled to get down and he set me on my feet. Carrying me didn’t seem to give him any trouble, but I needed a second to breathe. I couldn’t do that very well when he was close.
Brandt grabbed a blanket off the easy chair next to the door and slung it over his shoulder. Holding my hand, he led the way outside. The firm grip of his hand made my heart race. How long had it been since he’d had sex?
The mere idea of a wanton romp on a haystack sent shivers up and down my spine. I tightened my grip on his hand and he responded by bringing my fingers to his lips for a kiss.
Letting go of me, he shoved the massive barn door open and flipped the lights on. I stepped forward and took in the haystack, the loft, the horse equipment, and the stalls where a couple horses were hanging out. The smell hit me as distinctly country, but I got over it quickly when his arms wrapped around me from behind.
The coldness faded as his body heat overtook me.
“You sure about this?” he asked.
I slid a hand behind myself and rubbed over the stiff rod of his erection. Fuck. I couldn’t. Long and hard, my senses were consumed with his heat under my hand. A verbal answer wasn’t possible.
He grabbed my chin and pulled my head to the side. His lips crashed onto mine, my breath hitched, and my knees went week.
Flinching an arm against my waist, he kept me from falling. Physically. The shift he caused in my world made me question if I fell in other ways. Neediness had never been part of my personality. I shoved the dependent feeling aside and faced him. “The loft?”
“You fine with a ladder, or do I need to carry you?”
“Let’s ignore whether I can do it or not, and jump straight to you carrying me.” I extended my arms.
His grin melted my heart a split second before he bent and hoisted me over his shoulder, my ass in the air, my body dangling over his shoulder.
I scrambled f
or leverage and grabbed the blanket that was on his other shoulder, not that it helped. Slipping my fingers into his belt loops offered more security as he entered the barn.
“You a ‘door closed’ kind of girl?”
“Anyone else here?”
“Nope.”
“Then open.”
No time wasted before we were ascending the ladder. The fabled farm boy strength was in full force making my panties wetter with each step.
From over his shoulder on the loft, I lifted my head and peered down at the animals and barn below. I’d truly moved to farm country and was about to have sex with a real cowboy. Was this actually my life?
He set me on the ground and shook the blanket over the wooden planks.
“Can we open this?” I pointed to a small wooden window.
“Anything you want.” He pulled a piece of wood from across the opening and revealed the night sky.
The rush of brisk air peaked my already heightened my senses. I stepped to the opening, putting my hands on either side of the window. No safety feature, nothing to keep me from falling. A different world than I was used to.
Brandt wrapped his arms around me and his body pressed against the length of my back. His breath and kisses warmed my cheek and neck as I took in the million stars sparking in the blackness. “I’m not used to this.”
“Me either.”
“I bet you carry all of your dates up here.” I ran my hands over his arms, cherishing the way he warmed my heart and helped me appreciate the simplest things.
“I’ve never been up here with a woman.”
“Then we have some christening to do.” I faced him and pulled his shirt over his head.
I couldn’t take it all in at once. His abs, chest, shoulders, arms…he was gorgeous. His nipples perked with the cool air, or because he was about to get laid and knew it. All the same. I kissed his chest and rubbed a hand over his bicep. Everything about him was hard. Everything about him drove me crazy.
Grabbing the bottom of my shirt, he stripped me and made quick work of my bra, flinging them both to the side. His mouth clasped around my nipple and my legs went weak again. Laughing at me, he moved me to the blanket.
I stripped my pants and panties faster than he got rid of his because he spent a hot minute watching me. I reclined on the blanket and stared at his rigid cock as he freed himself. A damn shame this man didn’t have a dating life. I was personally going to do my best to remedy the situation.
He knelt between my spread legs, shifting his gaze from my pussy to my face. His hands clenched.
“What are you waiting for?” I ran my fingers over my mound.
His eyes followed my hand. Was I too brazen for a guy who’d only hung out with his hand and a tube of lube lately?
Rubbing a hand over his cock, he exhaled hard and leaned on top of me.
I ran my hands over his arms and lifted my head to meet him for a kiss. The warmth of his body teased me with the promise of his touch. I dropped my knees to the side.
The hunger in his kiss demanded total abandon. His tip prodded my entrance.
My body ached for his cock. I rocked my hips and he slid through my slickness easing his tip inside.
We both gasped through our kiss. He pushed farther and paused his kiss, easing his face to the side, seeming to regain his breath.
Grabbing his ass, my hands had a frenzy feeling his muscles flex as he inched in and out, not seating himself fully.
I pulled hard, digging my fingernails in. “All the way.”
“Fuck,” he said breathily before slamming into me.
My body spasmed to accept his hot length as he filled me. I curled my legs around him, desperate to keep him close, finding an insane need to keep his cock in me.
He pistoned in and out, my fingers digging into his back as he picked up his rhythm.
With ragged breaths, I said, “I need you.”
He groaned and increased his pace. His breaths matched my loss of control.
The rush of orgasm poured through me in a flash. The slide of his cock in and out became a blur as my walls contracted against him.
The swell of his cock pulled me through waves of bliss before a slight pause then he rammed into me.
I pulled him into me with what little coherency I could find.
He lowered himself onto me, pressing me into the blanket.
Between long breaths with sweat chilling our bodies, he dropped his head beside mine and I got lost in the stars out the window.
Heaven?
Chapter Five
BRANDT
Hailey left for New York to visit her mom for a week only because I insisted. For all the time her mom didn’t show any concern over having a daughter, she insisted on seeing her once a year. Maybe it filled her moral obligation. Since she moved across the country and her rights weren’t terminated, meeting the single request seemed reasonable.
This year it fell on Christmas and I’m not sure if that’s why Hailey revolted so much, if she was simply to an age that she wanted to control her own calendar, or if it was all about the blow up she and her mom had the other day.
Usually the week left me lonely, something I was going to have to deal with in a year and a half when Hailey left for college.
For the first time, that wasn’t the case. Melody and I took advantage of having the house to ourselves and continued the ‘get to know you’ process. A wake-up call for her was how early a day on the ranch could start. With Hailey gone, I had to carry out everything she normally did on top of my own work. And with Melody eager to learn the ropes, I took my time explaining and helping her try different tasks.
The early morning wake-up sex was even more effective than my usual coffee. I’d be damn spoiled by the end of the week because no amount of caffeine would compare to the offerings of an amazing woman. Ironically, the simple act of having an adult companion did wonders for my outlook, although I suspected not all companions were created equal.
“What’s on the agenda today?” she asked curled beside me with her head on my chest.
“I need to load a round bale into the feeder.”
“One bale?”
“One fourteen-hundred-pound bale.”
“Guess you won’t be doing that by hand.”
“Nope, but I can teach you to run the tractor. There’s an attachment that makes it easy.”
“Will I be an official farm girl if I drive a tractor?”
“Close enough.”
A week with Melody turned my world into a rodeo. Routines bucked free from their constraints. Plans escaped the lasso I’d kept around them. Namely plans for my heart.
I’d gotten used to Hailey and me being the family unit. Not many people moved in and out of Hopeful, so I wasn’t hopeful about having a girlfriend in my life, much less a woman who filled voids I’d long ignored.
Hailey was back in town and focused even more time on practicing. I couldn’t place what made her singing better, but I heard the improvement and she filled me in on the skill she was working on.
But her wild streak didn’t diminish. I’d hoped her elevated interest in music would calm her down, but the cops let me know otherwise. They didn’t like to arrest local kids and generally called the parents as long as curfew was the only problem.
The prevailing mentality in our town was that parents needed to decide on the discipline for their kids. Things like shoveling horse manure and mending fences were common consequences, as was getting grounded, which Hailey currently had the displeasure of being. Without a car and the privilege of leaving the house, Hailey had to call Melody. She wouldn’t be able to attend her private lesson, but she would have to pay Melody for the lesson she should have had.
The ensuing cold shoulder didn’t seem to take into account the alternative possibility of missing a lesson because she was sitting in a jail cell or had a court date.
Melody invited me over to talk about Hailey. Were our frequent meetings catching the town gossip’s ea
r? All anyone could be sure of was that Hailey took lessons, and Melody and I had meetings otherwise. Even though we’d grown close, we kept our relationship private. But it was still possible conclusions would be drawn.
When Melody asked to meet to talk about Hailey, I was disappointed it wasn’t for our usual rendezvous. I’d gotten spoiled by our days together.
Sitting on a separate chair from me near her crackling fire, she said, “Taking music away from Hailey isn’t the answer.”
“It got her attention. She told you she’ll pay for the missed lessons, didn’t she?”
“Yes, but music’s her passion. It keeps her centered. Without it, she’s likely to act out even more.”
“She was mad I made her visit her mother.”
“I don’t want to get into your relationship with her, but why does Hailey have to see her mom. The woman’s toxic.”
“She’s her mother, and she only asks Hailey to visit one week out of the year.”
“Isn’t seventeen old enough to have some say in that?”
“She has to learn respect for authority. We have to learn to deal with situations we don’t like. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a good kid, but she has more lessons to learn before she’s on her own.”
Melody stared past me, something weighing heavily on her mind. “Is there something else you can do for her punishment that doesn’t involve her music?”
“It’s easy to pass judgement when you’re not a parent. Why don’t you stick to teaching and I’ll stick to raising Hailey.” I missed her smile and the lightness in her eyes, but if I let everyone with an opinion dictate how I raised my girl, there’d be no coherency in my life, and I’d done a damn good job. On my own no less.
She let out a deep sigh and clasped her hands in her lap. “I don’t have kids. You’re right. But I was a kid, a lot like Hailey. I had dreams most people told me I’d never achieve. Hurtful comments are burned into my memory. Things like what her mom says. And the more people told me I should pursue something worthwhile, the more I rebelled.”
“I’m not telling her she can’t pursue music.”
“But you’re not appreciating how much it means to her. Your actions and your words aren’t in sync.”
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