Bronco

by H. P. Mallory

  “Bullshit.”

  Rue shrugged. “Fine. You can get back to me on that in the morning, but right now you need to take some pain medicine and get into bed so I can start icing it.”

  Summer rushed in and hurried over to me. I could have reached out and touched her fingers, she was standing so close. “Is he okay?”

  “He will be,” Rue said. “He’s too stubborn to die.”

  Brady glared at her. “Lucky for you.”

  She huffed and crossed her arms, but I could tell she was really worried about him. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she spent the night on the couch so she could keep an eye on him. In fact, that was probably exactly what she’d do.

  “I got the horses all settled,” Summer told me under her breath.

  I smiled down at her but the truth was that I was still worried about the cows. They were too far to make it back to the shelter and too far from the barn to make it home, but other than going back out, I didn’t have many options left.

  “They’ll be fine,” Brady said, glaring at me like he’d heard my thoughts. “Don’t you start getting any wild, stupid ideas in that head of yours, boy.”

  I shook my head and leaned forward, bracing my elbows on my knees. “I’m not so sure they’re fine. I feel like I should at least ride out and make sure they got tucked up somewhere. This rain doesn’t look like it’s going to give up anytime soon.”

  “I know,” Brady answered with a deep sigh, followed by a wince. “I’ve been thinking about what to do, but there’s no way I can help you and you can’t go by yourself.”

  “I could go.” Summer sat on the arm of the couch and faced us both eagerly.

  Brady shook his head. “No way. I don’t even want him going back out in this rainstorm, so you’re sure as hell not going.”

  I glanced at her over my shoulder. She crossed her arms and I couldn’t tell if she was insulted or relieved. I was relieved that Brady was the one to tell her no because I knew she wouldn’t take it well coming from me. I thought she was a good enough rider though...

  “Will the cows be okay in the storm?” she asked.

  Brady grunted. “More than fine. They were already sheltered when we found them, ready for the storm we hadn’t even known was coming. That was part of what screwed this whole thing up; they hadn’t wanted to leave, and dammit—” He slapped his good thigh and looked away. “I should have taken half a second to figure out why they kept circling back to the grove of trees. They knew this storm was coming and they knew it was going to be bad.” He pierced me with a stare that was almost apologetic since that was exactly what I’d suggested after we’d unsuccessfully spent an hour trying to push them while they scattered like water droplets around us anytime we got more than a hundred yards.

  Rue crossed her arms over her chest. “You can wait until it passes. Those cows won’t come out without a struggle, especially with their calves.”

  I sighed.

  “We can go first thing in the morning.” Summer shot a pointed look at Brady, daring him to tell her that she wasn’t good enough to attempt it with me.

  “Yes,” Rue said. “You can. And in the meantime, Jake, please help me get this curmudgeon into his room.”

  It took the three of us, but we got Brady settled and then Rue surprised us all when she gave Summer instructions on what to do with me. “He may not have gotten hurt, but he’s hungry and he’s tired.”

  “I can take care of myself,” I started.

  Brady laughed. “See how fun it was when they’re fussing all over you?”

  Rue pushed the two of us from the room. “Men are horrible patients,” she started as she shook her head and faced Summer. “Don’t let him tell you he’s fine. I don’t need him being a tough guy and falling over between here and the barn. Make him some dinner and see that he gets safely to his bed please.”

  “O-kay.” Summer seemed as uncomfortable as I was.

  Because I might have been tired, but I wasn’t that tired. And getting that woman anywhere near my bed was like throwing a shot of fuel onto an already raging fire...

  Chapter Eighteen

  Summer

  Bob greeted us at the door, overexcited to see Jake. I understood how she felt, because I got excited every time I saw him too, even if I didn’t break out into a silly looking, wiggly dance. Seeing her, Jake smiled as he bent down and scratched her behind the ears before sending her out in the rain to pee.

  He paused beneath the small overhang and turned to me. “I’m fine, really.”

  “Rue said,” I started as I shook my head, remembering her exact directions.

  “Just tell her that you tucked me in and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.”

  My skin prickled at the thought of tucking him in and each pinprick lit on fire, until it felt like I was being consumed by flames from the inside out. Even though I was standing underneath the eaves of the barn, rain still managed to splatter me. I was pretty sure every drop hitting my body instantly evaporated and turned to steam because my skin was so scalding. This was just what Jake did to me. He always made me feel like I was on fire, burning with the need to feel him.

  “I told her I would see to it that you got to bed and I intend to do just that,” I insisted, my jaw tight. I was beyond nervous at the thought of stepping through the door, but I couldn’t walk away either. I forced myself to stare into his heated gaze as it melted my insides. I crossed my arms and cleared my throat as he stared down at me, his eyes daring me to enter the barn, daring me to go upstairs to his bedroom with him.

  But I wasn’t going to back down.

  That pointed, azure gaze slid across my face as the storm intensified once more. The rain was now coming in at an angle as the wind bulleted against us, drenching us both in a new deluge. Without a word, Jake gripped my elbow and hauled me inside.

  I felt my breath hitch, heard the shocked sound of my own voice as I yelped out my shock. Our bodies collided the second we were inside the barn and I took a dizzying step backward, trying to catch my breath. I sucked my lower lip between my teeth as I begged my heart to slow down.

  “If we go upstairs, you know I’m not letting you leave,” Jake started as he glanced up and then outside as the rain continued to pound the ground. It was almost like he was saying he wouldn’t allow me to make the trek back to my cabin because of the rain. But we both knew his reasons were otherwise.

  He looked down at me, his eyes inquisitive, awaiting my response. As for me, my words were lodged in my throat. My body was screaming at me to let him do whatever he wanted with it while my brain was worried about what would happen once the thrill of the moment wore off. The last thing I wanted to be was another notch on Jake’s bedpost, another conquest, just another girl whose name he’d forget after a few months.

  Not to mention the whole issue known as my virginity. I was more than sure Jake didn’t know I was a virgin. And if he found out, what would he think? Maybe it would bother him that I hadn’t told him? Maybe it would scare him off because he’d be afraid I wanted to corner him into marrying me or something equally ludicrous? Or maybe he wouldn’t care?

  Bob came back inside, a wet and dirty mess. Jake laughed as he reached for a towel which was hanging on a nearby hook. He toweled her off and then pointed to the stairs as he barked an order at her to go to her bed. And then he turned to face me.

  “I can walk you back to your cabin if you like?” he asked. “I don’t want you to go alone in this storm.” He paused a moment. “Lightning has been known to strike down ‘round these parts.”

  “No,” I insisted as I held my ground. “I don’t want you to walk me back.”

  “Summer,” he started.

  “Rue,” I interrupted.

  “Damn Rue!” he yelled back at me, silencing me for a moment because his vehemence surprised me. “You know as well as I do that if you come upstairs with me, you aren’t coming back down until the morning.” He took a deep, frustrated breath as he ran his han
d through his wet hair and then faced me again, looking like he’d stepped right out of my dreams.

  “I know,” I answered with a gulp.

  “Whatever this is between us,” he started as he inhaled again and shook his head. “I can’t fight it anymore. I’m not strong enough, Summer,” he finished, his shoulders sagging as if his announcement was one he was ashamed of. He dropped his gaze to the dirt floor and held it there for a few seconds before glancing up at me again. “I want you more than I can ever remember wanting another woman.”

  I swallowed. Hard. I wanted to tell him that I felt the same, that the burning, stinging feeling I felt inside only happened with and for him. I wanted to tell him that I thought about him constantly, that just a smile from him could brighten my worst days. I wanted to tell him that I wanted nothing more than for him to be the first man I ever had sex with. But I didn’t say anything.

  Instead, I turned on my toes and started for the stairs. I’d made my decision. Maybe the truth was that I’d made it way before I’d even stepped foot inside the barn. If Jake wanted me, I wanted him just as bad and tonight was going to be the night I had him. Tonight was going to be the night we had each other, the night we finally found out what it meant to be one.

  I’d been right to think his apartment above the barn was teeny and cramped, but he’d managed to keep it from feeling like a storage unit. He had a small single bed covered with a bright blue comforter, a shelf nailed into the wall that served as his nightstand and was curiously stacked to overflowing with books. I hadn’t pegged him as a reader and I was dying to know what type of literature interested him.

  “What are your books about?” I asked, my voice sounding nervous.

  “Mostly science fiction,” he answered, his coming out throaty and raw. “I like an escape every now and again.”

  I nodded but didn’t say anything, just followed the spines of each book with my eyes but I couldn’t say I was actually reading the titles. Instead, I was trying to calm my frantic heart down, trying to beat the dizzy feeling that was already overcoming me.

  I heard the pitter-patter of Bob’s paws against the wood planked floor as she obediently went to her bed. I turned around and found Jake standing right in front of me, his eyes glued to me.

  And then it was just him.

  And me.

  And this awkwardness that seemed to fill the air between us anytime we were within a dozen feet of each other.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he whispered, even as he made no motion to close the distance between us.

  My lungs squeezed tight and I was captivated by those eyes, those lips.

  Him.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jake

  I looked down into Summer’s eyes. She was gazing back up at me, in a way that said she was ready to give herself to me. God, but I had waited for this moment for so long. Now that the time had come, I could hardly even believe it was really happening. There was a part of me that warned me not to take her, to force her right back into her cabin and pretend like this moment had never happened.

  But the rest of me felt exactly the opposite. That part of me felt like this was right, that it was a long time coming and that it was about time. That part of me was convinced that every moment I’d spent with Summer was leading up to now, to the moment I could claim her and make her mine.

  “Are you real?” she asked.

  “Of course I’m real!” I answered with a slight laugh, completely caught off guard by the question.

  “No.” Summer placed both her hands over my heart and said, “Are you being real? Or is this some kind of a game to you? Am I just another one of your women? Am I just another conquest to you?”

  I sat her down on my bed. I held her hand tightly and looked her straight in the eyes, needing her to understand that I would never consider her to be a conquest. I wasn’t a man who found it easy to say what was in my heart and knowing that about myself, I paused for a few moments as I tried to gather my thoughts. “I have never and I would never think of you as a conquest,” I started. “And this is as far from a game to me as possible. Having said all that, I don’t want you to feel like I’m pushing you or pressuring you into something that maybe you aren’t ready for.”

  “I don’t feel like that.”

  “Well, regardless, I want you to hear what I’m saying. Summer, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do or something you aren’t ready for or whatever.”

  She shook her head and sighed as she glanced down at her hands. When she looked back up at me, her eyes were wide, emerald pools. “I want you, Jake,” she announced. “I want you in ways I never thought possible.”

  “Then give in to that want and let’s just be,” I said with a big smile. “I promise you that I won’t hurt you,” I continued, needing her to understand how serious I was on this point. “I care about you and I wouldn’t ever do anything that would hurt you.”

  “Thank you,” she said as she nodded up at me and seemed nervous. I tilted my head down and kissed her gently on her mouth. She kissed me back with a fierceness that surprised me. Before I knew it, we were laying down on my little bed, with our bodies pressing against each other and I began kissing her sensuous lips more vigorously. She arched up underneath me as soon as my tongue found hers. Then I felt her hands in my hair as she held my head in place and kissed me with a passion that surprised me.

  I pulled away from her because I wanted to look at her, to take in that pink, rosebud mouth and the stain of color on her cheeks. She was stunning. Easily the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. And she was flushed, panting. Her breath was coming in ragged gasps and if I’d had to guess, I would have said she was about as ready for me as she was going to be.

  “I’m dying to see you naked,” I whispered as I looked down at her. And that was the truth. I couldn’t remember how many times I’d masturbated thinking about her soft, feminine curves and the sweet flesh between her thighs. She smiled up at me as I started unbuttoning her shirt. I pulled it away and found she was wearing a white, lace bra. Her nipples were already as hard as stones and bright pink underneath the lace.

  “So beautiful,” I whispered as I ran my fingers across the lace and reaching around, unbuckled it. When I pulled the material away, I immediately captured one of her nipples in my mouth and started sucking on it as she arched underneath me. As soon as she moaned, I felt myself grow rigid in my jeans. I wanted her and I wanted her so bad, it hurt. But I also didn’t want to rush this so I forced myself to slow down.

  There was something about Summer that seemed innocent somehow, something in her mannerisms or the way she looked at me that hinted to the fact that she didn’t seem to be very well-versed in the art of seduction. Even though I was sure she’d been with a man before, there was something about her that seemed otherwise, a certain naiveté and innocence that I’d never found in another woman I’d been with.

  I started toying with the button of her jeans and then I was unzipping them and pulling them down the length of her long, velvety legs. She was wearing matching white, lace panties that revealed she was cleanly shaved beneath them. My mouth started salivating with the need to take her into my mouth. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d wanted to lick a woman as much as I wanted to taste Summer. Usually, I was much more selfish when it came to sex—I wanted what I wanted. But Summer was different. All I could think about was pleasing her, making her feel good. All I could think about was loving her in such a way that she wouldn’t ever seek it from another man. I wanted her to surround herself in me, make her remember our night together so much that she never wanted to share herself with anyone else.

  The thoughts caught me off guard and surprised me. I wasn’t used to thinking the way I was or feeling the way I was. I had to forcibly push the conversation to the back of my mind, though, because I didn’t want to lose a second of basking in the beautiful woman beneath me.

  “If I’m going to be naked then you have to be naked to
o,” she announced as she reached for my shirt and pulled it over my head. Instantly, her eyes fastened on my chest and based on her expression, I assumed she was impressed. I pulled up and unbuttoned my jeans, pulling them down as my Johnson sprung forward. She gulped hard as soon as she saw it.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered, her voice sounding nervous and awed all at the same time. “I almost forgot how huge you are.” She swallowed hard.

  I was huge. There was no denying it. I’d heard as much from every woman I’d ever bedded. At over nine inches and a width of two, I was big in that region and then some. And I couldn’t deny the fact that Summer’s reaction to it was making me feel pretty damned good about myself.

  “Don’t worry, baby. It will fit,” I kidded her as I stepped out of my jeans and then reached forward, pulling her panties down the length of her legs. As soon as she was completely naked, she sat up.

  “I, uh,” she started. “I, um… I haven’t done this—”

  “It’s okay if it’s been a while for you,” I interrupted with a big smile. “I kind of figured that out already.” I took a deep breath and smiled at her consolingly. “I’m gonna go slow.”

  She nodded as her gaze traveled down to my raging erection again. She reached out and caressed my inner thigh, dangerously close to my penis. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. I froze and waited in anticipation to see where her wandering hands were going to lead her. She reached down and grasped my balls in her hand, slowly and gently rubbing them. She did it in a way that showed she was curious, like she’d never done this before. Her hand slid up into position to take a strong but satisfying stroke of my Johnson. As soon as she touched me, I moaned and it felt like I got even harder, if that was even possible.

  “I love how you touch it,” I whispered as she began stroking me up and down in long, tight strokes. I was so excited by her and I wanted her so badly that her strokes were bringing me dangerously close to coming. I reached out and pulled her hand away.