Texas Big Man (A Small Town Bad Boy Romance)

by Penny Wylder

  We’re both breathing hard, and I couldn’t have asked for something better than that. She winces when I pull out of her, and I pause. “Are you all right?”

  She nods. “I’ll be right back.”

  I take care of the condom and Melena slips down the hall to the bathroom. The storm rages outside, and I pull down the blankets for us.

  She’s quiet when she comes back and slips in beside me, but she’s smiling too. I pull her close, tucking her against my body and leaning over her so I can see her face. “Are you sure you’re all right?” There’s something I can’t put my finger on that she isn’t saying.

  “Yes. That was…there’s no way to say it.”

  “Mind-blowing? Earth-shattering? Incredible?”

  She laughs. “Yes. All of those.” She’s relaxed against me, eyes drooping, and I feel it too. For the first time since she arrived we’re both entirely relaxed, the chemistry between us having had its reaction and settled.

  But I still want more.

  It was just one fuck, and who knows, maybe it was just the storm outside that made her say yes, but I realize as I sink into sleep beside her, that Melena is quickly becoming more to me than I imagined.

  9

  Melena

  I’m not a virgin anymore.

  That’s the first thought that’s in my head when I wake, the sun peeking through the shuttered window. Daring to open my eyes, I see Harlan stretched out across from me, still fast asleep. His arm is slung across my hip, the blankets slipping down his body so nearly everything is on display.

  I can’t believe I slept with him. But I only feel surprise, not a trace of regret. When he asked me if I was having second thoughts, there weren’t any in my head. I was sure that this was what I wanted, and I still feel that way.

  Harlan is beautiful. Scorchingly attractive. And kind. He took his time with me just like I asked him to, even though he didn’t know that it was my first time.

  I look for the twinge of pain thinking about the fact that I won’t be a virgin on my wedding night, but it doesn’t come. I was ready for this. Current happiness is better than waiting for something nebulous in the future.

  My only small regret is that I didn’t tell him that it was my first time. I was planning on it, but I didn’t know how. Will he be angry that he didn’t know? Had he figured it out and not wanted to embarrass me?

  There were moments where he was so impossibly gentle that I wondered if he had known. Either way, I have no regrets. My first time was perfect. More than perfect. It was…incandescent. Even having just woken, I can feel the smile on my face and I expect it will stay there for days.

  My body aches in ways I didn’t know that it could, and I’d never had orgasms like I had last night. I want more, and if he wants that too, I’d be happy to keep doing this. I’m falling for him fast, I realize, and I don’t even care. We have three months ahead of us, and I’m excited to spend them with him.

  I can’t stop myself from reaching out to touch his face. He stirs, opening his eyes, and his smile matches mine. “Morning,” I whisper.

  He doesn’t say a word before pulling me toward him and on top of his body, kissing me hard. “I like waking up with you in my bed,” he says, voice still rough with sleep.

  “I like that too.”

  He’s hard underneath me, and in seconds he’s grabbed a condom and sheathed himself in it. “I could get used to this morning ritual,” he says, thrusting up into me.

  Even though I’m aching from last night, I’m already wet for him, and that thrust is the perfect blend of pleasure and pain that makes me gasp. All the self-consciousness I felt last night has faded away, and instead, in the dim morning light, I feel powerful and sexy as he pushes up into me.

  I’m not used to the sensation of being filled. It’s still strange and new, a different kind of pleasure sparking inside from when I take matters into my own hands.

  Unlike last night, this doesn’t start slow. Harlan’s hands land on my hips, yanking me down on his cock in brutal strokes that hit deep. There’s nothing I can do but hold on to him, gasping for breath. I look down between us and watch as his cock disappears inside me, and it makes me even hotter.

  This is an entirely new kind of pleasure, rising like the sun, and I’m helpless against it. It’s so fast. Harlan stops thrusting into me, and pushes me up so I’m riding him now. His hands are still on my hips, but I’m setting the rhythm now. It’s so foreign to me, but after a few minutes, I find the exact angle I need, and I concentrate on my movements as my orgasm begins to grow. Harlan has a strained look on his face, and I know he’s holding back, letting me take my pleasure from him. I can feel my pussy involuntarily clenching around him. Teasing me, he sucks on his finger and then places that finger on my clit, massaging it gently as I continue to ride him. It’s swollen and sensitive already from arousal, and my orgasm builds faster, stronger, brighter, until it rushes up and out in a wave.

  A cry is torn from my lips, echoing off the walls, and I collapse onto Harlan. He holds me tight, fucking me wildly now as he races to his own orgasm, groaning into my ear. I feel him jerking inside me, and I watch as his abs flex and ripple as he comes. I’m grinning as Harlan rolls us together, pinning me to the bed with his body, cock still deep inside me.

  “Morning,” he says.

  “Morning.” I grin up at him. The way he’s looking at me, like I’m perfect, makes me feel things in my chest that I’m not ready for. Again I have the twinge of regret and anxiety for not telling him that I was a virgin before last night, but he looks so happy, and I don’t know how he’ll react. But I do have other questions for him. “You have me at an advantage,” I say.

  “Oh?”

  “You know about my family, but I don’t know about yours.”

  His smile falters. “Honestly there’s not much to tell there. It’s not a happy story.”

  “A story doesn’t have to be happy for me to know it,” I say.

  He sighs, them gives me a closed-lip smile and kisses my forehead. “My parents got married way too young. High-school sweethearts. Everyone thought that they were meant to be together, and so they didn’t tell them not to be idiots at eighteen, and a year later I came along. But they weren’t ready to be parents. Things just…got worse I guess, I don’t remember most of it because I was so young.”

  He shrugs one shoulder. “But they dropped me off with one of my aunts when I was about five and never looked back. I think they’re divorced now. I lived with my aunt until I was old enough to make my own way, and I’m grateful for her.”

  “That’s awful,” I say. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

  He’s not looking at me, and he pulls out and rolls away to look at the ceiling. “Told you it wasn’t fun. It’s what happens when you jump into things like marriage without thinking twice. Getting married doesn’t mean anything if you’re not committed to it. Most people have no business getting married. Personally I think it’s overrated.”

  Cold shivers run down my spine, and I’m looking at the ceiling now too. I don’t have any regrets about sleeping with Harlan—or I didn’t. But I realize that I’d still been living in a dream of marriage and family, and that somehow, in the short time I’ve known him, that I’d attached Harlan to that dream. It seems stupid now that I think about it.

  I barely know him. Have I made a huge mistake? This was fun. He was hot and sexy, but clearly not ready to settle down with someone like me. Why would I even think that he would want to spend forever with someone like me? He said multiple times that we’d be stuck here together for months. Maybe that was the only reason that he wanted me.

  Sitting up, I push the blankets off. “The storm has passed,” I say. “Should we check to see how bad the damage is.”

  “Mel,” Harlan says. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  I don’t stay in the room long enough for him to figure out that I’m not okay. My mind is swirling as I pull on my clothes as quick
ly as possible and get down the stairs and out the door.

  What did I do? I let myself get so caught up that I made a rash decision, and I don’t even know if it’s something that I’m regretting. Everything about last night and this morning was perfect until he told me that story. But it’s my own fucking fault. I was the one who let my heart dive in too deep without even realizing it.

  My eyes flood with tears and I brush them away. Now isn’t the time to cry. Not over him. Not over this. I made my own decisions. Now I have to live with them.

  I skid to a stop on the porch when I see a strange car in front of the house, and my jaw drops when Trevor steps out of the car. “What are you doing here?” I call before I run down the stairs and nearly tackle him in a hug.

  “I have weather alerts for this place,” he says. “When I saw how bad the storm actually was, I wanted to come down and see any damage for myself.”

  My brother pulls back to look at me, and his smile immediately turns to concern. He’s always been able to read me better than anyone else. “What’s wrong.”

  I force a smile. “Nothing.”

  “Don’t lie to me. It’s Harlan isn’t he. You guys get into some kind of fight? I’ll talk to him, I swear. But I can’t fire him after we signed the deal.”

  For the second time this morning my stomach drops. “What deal?”

  Trevor’s brow furrows. “He owns part of the ranch,” he explains. “Big piece of the property by the lake, equity, and a percentage of profits. I can’t go back on that now. But I’ll talk to him and make sure he’s not pissing you off. I can’t have my right-hand-man and my sister butting heads.”

  I’m shocked. How come I didn’t know this? Harlan took me on a tour of the entire property and didn’t mention that he owned any of the land. Why wouldn’t he have told me? All this time I imagined Harlan was just a ranch hand, and that after these three months I may not ever see him again. But it seems my brother and Harlan will be partners for the foreseeable future, and that means I’ll be seeing more of Harlan than just these three months. And I can’t wrap my head around how I actually feel about that.

  10

  Harlan

  Trevor is the last person I expect to see when I burst out of the door after Melena, but there he is. She’s the only one that I have eyes for, but she won’t look at me.

  “Sorry Trevor,” she says. “We’ve been working on a lot of things and we missed a lot of worktime yesterday because of the storm, so let’s catch up a little later. The barn needs a new coat of pain and I want to get a good portion of it done before it gets too hot.”

  She’s right, the barn does need new paint, but we’d talked about it and decided not to paint it for at least another month. But I see her heading that way with determination in her stride. What the fuck is going on?

  One minute I was fucking Melena and telling her about my family and next she’s running away from me. I have no idea what I said to make her run, but I can’t just follow her while Trevor is standing right here.

  I shake the man’s hand. “Didn’t expect to see you.”

  His gaze is cool as he meets mine. “When I sent my sister down here, I didn’t do it so that you could upset her.”

  My body goes stiff. What did she say to him?

  “I know that you guys aren’t getting along, but can you please try to be nicer to her? Melena has been through a lot, and you guys only have to work together through the end of the summer and then you never have to see each other again, I promise.

  Shock rolls through my system. The end of summer.

  I knew. I mean of course I knew, but hearing him say it like that makes it hit home. Melena isn’t going to be here that long. It’s the feeling of loss that takes me by surprise. She fits so naturally here with me, that it somehow seemed like it would last forever.

  But she doesn’t belong here. I know that she doesn’t. She’s a city girl, even if she seems like she loves the country. She has an entire life back home that I don’t know anything about. Here, at the ranch, we’re living in a little bubble. She can’t stay here forever, but I don’t want to let her go.

  “I swear,” I say to Trevor, “I don’t know what’s gotten into her this morning. We’ve been getting along fine, actually. Making some good progress, too.”

  His face is grim. “That’s good news, I guess.”

  I swallow. “Can I ask you a question? I guess it may be too personal, so don’t feel like you need to tell me, but why is she here? You never told me why?”

  The tall man sighs. “I thought it would be good for her. She went through some stuff recently, that’s her news to share, and she needed to get away. Completely. Everything about her personality had changed in the last year, and my entire family thought she needed a break. I’m not sure I should be the one to tell you what she went through. That’s her choice.

  “But,” he says, “I messed up. She thought she’d be coming down here with me to do this, and I think it threw her off to find you here and not me. Our family is really close, and that’s always meant a lot to Melena. So being away from all of us is hard. And I know her main motivation for spending the summer here was me. She’d do anything for family.”

  Oh, fuck. It clicks in my brain why she’s upset with me. I just told her about my family. I basically told her that I didn’t want a family and criticized the thing that means the most to her. Although that couldn’t be further from the truth.

  Yes, I’m bitter that my parents didn’t want me. And yes, I think that marriage can be superfluous when you’ve found the right person. But commitment isn’t. I’ve always wanted to find that person, and more and more I’m thinking that Melena might be the one.

  Trevor grimaces. “She wants to be a writer, and I wanted to give her some space to really try her hand at writing. I convinced her to come down here to take that time for herself and help me get this place off the ground. And because I’m her brother, she did it. I’m hoping that it helps her. But from what I just saw…”

  I hold out a hand. “I know what’s upsetting her.”

  His eyebrows rise in shock. “You do?”

  “Yeah.” I clear my throat. “And just like you said, it’s not my place to tell you. But let me go talk to her. It might take some time. Make yourself at home, or if you want, we recently discovered that the diner down the road has some fucking amazing pie.”

  Trevor chuckles. “Okay. Pie sounds good. Especially since it looks like the storm didn’t do too much damage. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  “Make it two.”

  He gives me a long look, and I’m not sure how to interpret it, but he doesn’t argue as he gets back into the car.

  Now, I have to talk to Melena, and get her to understand the truth. That I want her more than I can say, and that’s never going to change.

  11

  Melena

  I stalked over to this barn to get away from Trevor and Harlan, but when I saw the buckets of red paint, I decided it was just what I needed. An activity to get out all my frustration and confusion and aggression. The deep red paint looks a little too much like blood when wet for my liking, but it’s also strangely cathartic too to spread the violent color on the wood. I go at it roughly, and the paint soaks into the wood as quickly as I brush it on. I reach higher than I think I can, cover a bigger portion of the wall than I thought I could. I guess this is a productive way to process feelings.

  I’m all mixed up inside, turmoil swirling, and I feel kind of stupid. I shouldn’t have let myself get my hopes up about Harlan and what kind of future he might want from me. The man propositioned me the minute we met. So boldly and graphically. How could I be so delusional to think that would be the beginning of a real relationship? And then I went and had sex with him. After years of waiting and believing I’d save myself for my wedding night, my vow flew out the window because of some sexy talk and candlelight. I came to this ranch to write my romance novel, not playact in one.

  Shoving the paint harder ag
ainst the surface, I scowl. I should have known. I should have seen the signs from a mile away. All the “accidental” touches, the flirtation, the gentle way he took me last night…I’ve never been so confused.

  The heavy footsteps are all the warning I get before Harlan comes around the corner of the barn. His eyes are a storm of lust and determination, and he’s on me in moments, kissing me hard. There’s a split second where I think about saying wait, but who am I kidding?

  I’m already kissing him back, already clinging to him as he pushes me into the barn’s wall completely ignoring the wet paint. The roller I’m holding is pinned between us, soaking us both with paint.

  “I’m sorry,” he says. “I just spoke to Trevor, and it made sense to me why you walked out.”

  I feel myself go pale. What did Trevor say? I already feel so out of control with Harlan, I don’t need my big brother making things even more complicated. “He told you why I’m here?”

  Harlan shakes his head. “No, only that he hoped it would help you. He told me how the family wanted you to have the time to write your book. He made it clear that you would have to tell me why they felt like you needed to get away from the city.”

  That, at least, is a relief. And I want to tell him about it. I know that I want to—even after everything, I know that he’ll listen and really understand me. And the way he’s touching me now makes me want to pour out everything in my heart to him. But I can’t. I’ve already been too free with my feelings. I need to be smarter. “I’m not ready to talk about it,” I say softly. “But I will tell you. At some point.”

  He presses his forehead to mine and breathes the words. “Any time you want to tell me, I’ll be here. But let me see if I’m right. You walked away from me after some of the best sex of your life because of what I said about my family and about marriage, right?”