Taken Outback (The Dusty Rider Series Book 1)

by Stella Knights

  He pulls me to my feet and whispers, “Not yet.” Guiding me towards the big mirrors lining the bathroom walls, Aiden pulls me close. He turns me around so that my back is to him and I am facing the mirror. He moves my hair out of the way and over my shoulder, so he has access to my neck. Leaning in, he kisses where he has just exposed as his arms wrap around and unbutton my shirt.

  I reach behind to grab that hard, hot member pressing against my backside, but he moves away. Not letting me have what I want to hold. Another moan escapes my lips at the disappointment of not being allowed to touch him.

  “Let me guide you, Holly. Give into me. Let me watch your reflection as I ravage you.”

  On my shirt, he releases the last remaining button, then pulls it open to get access to my bra. His deft hands gently undo its clasp. Sliding both my shirt and bra off in one motion, he lets them fall to the ground.

  His rugged, strong hands cup each of my exposed breasts as he gently massages them, causing my nipples to go taut against his palms. His kiss has found my neck, causing a shiver to run through me.

  Watching my face in the reflection in the mirror, he moves one of his hands across and down my flat stomach, stopping at the top button of my shorts. He undoes this button before pushing my shorts firmly downward, making them fall quickly to the ground.

  He smiles as he continues, kissing and lashing his tongue against my neck. Taking his index finger, he teases me on the outside of my lace panties, letting it linger right over the top of my folds. I moan out as the anticipation of his touch against my hot flesh sends my insides into overload. I want him so bad that I push my body against his hand, begging for him to move inside. But he won’t give it yet. Instead, he moves his hand to my hip to slip off my lace panties. He stops kissing my neck to admire my reflection in the mirror.

  He takes my hand in his and walks me towards the shower. Turning it on, he guides me into the stream of hot water as he grabs a shower sponge. Pouring some body wash onto the sponge, he begins to rub this all over my back. Moving to my front, he soaps up my breasts, then props my leg up on the ledge of the back of the shower.

  He kneels between my legs, leaning over with his mouth close enough to my breasts that I feel his hot breath against my skin, exciting my hard nipples even further. Using the sponge, he washes up my lifted leg but stops right at the top of my thigh as his tongue teases my breasts. I whimper, begging for his hands to work my body and finally touch between my legs. But no, he’s one to take things slow, making me wait as he repeats this with my other leg.

  Turning me around, he guides me backwards to sit against the ledge my leg was just propped up on. He pushes my legs apart so that the stream of shower water washes over me, right between my legs.

  I want him inside of me now. I try pulling him close to me as I don’t know how much more I can take. I need that release, but he will not give it to me easily.

  Instead, he gets between my legs with the sponge and lovingly cleans my sex. He’s gentle, yet I want him to be harder.

  I moan for more.

  He stops and lets the water wash the soap off of me. He leans in between my legs and with both hands spreads my lips apart exposing all of me. Placing his mouth right onto me, he starts licking and sucking me, causing me to scream out in ecstasy.

  Grabbing the back of his head, I pull him further into me. I am close to exploding against his tongue when Aiden backs away from me. I moan out, this time in agony, as I want to come on him.

  Why must he tease me like this?

  He gazes at me intensely. “Let me make love to you.”

  Breathless, I nod.

  He presses his body firmly against mine as we let the hot water run across our flesh. The strength of those firm muscles presses hard against my skin, overwhelming me with how sexy this man is.

  I collapse and melt into him as his maleness presses against my entrance. He lifts one of my legs and holds it up against his hip as the tip of his swollen cock pushes into me oh so slowly, just a little and then…

  BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

  My alarm rudely wakes me.

  For a moment, I don’t register where I am. And then when I do, my body crumbles with disappointment. I realise I’m lying in my cold bed next to Tom.

  I wonder if I will ever have that sort of heat again in my life.

  I lie there thinking how it feels like so long ago when Tom would drop everything to care about my satisfaction and take me like Aiden did in the dream I just had. Somehow, Tom’s passion for his job replaced his passion for me.

  I sigh at how depressing my this is. But then I remember what Lisa said the other day. She had said something about how fantasies can be a catalyst for hotter sex.

  I wonder if that actually works.

  I look over at Tom, seeing his body eclipsed by a greyish hue as the city lights shine through the gaps of our Venetian blinds. I gently shake him to try and wake him up. My insides are craving the feeling of a man’s body pressed hard against my flesh. I need to release the heat built up inside me from that dream.

  I’m still mad at Tom, but I can forget that for a moment of my own satisfaction, right?

  He’s not waking up easily, so I wrap my arm around him and place my hand over his shaft. I massage it gently, hoping that as it awakens, Tom will be roused as well. My lips find his neck as I increase the intensity of my hand against his cock.

  Surely every man loves being woken up this way.

  Tom stirs from his slumber. To my disappointment, he pushes me off of him. “Babe, not now. I need to sleep, I didn’t get back until late last night and I have a meeting in a few hours.”

  WTF? What guy turns down morning sex?

  Deflated, I get up to go make coffee. As I lean against the marble benchtop, I sip my coffee, thinking of how I will be seeing Aiden in a few hours.

  I bet he wouldn’t turn down morning sex!

  I realise I need to get rid of this pent up sexual energy before going to work, or I may never get through my meeting with Aiden. Thinking I should go for a run, I glance at the clock and realise I just do not have enough time. I guess a cold shower will be the only way to cool down the heat that has built inside me.

  Urgh! How frustrating!

  When I finish my shower, I walk towards the mirror to brush my hair. Looking at my reflection, I contemplate making myself up a little more than usual today. Normally, I shy away from doing this on a work day for fearing of drawing attention from the wrong person.

  But maybe doing it this once will be okay. He might not even notice. But, it can’t hurt to try, right?

  My insides clench tight as I think about how in a few hours I’ll be sitting across from Aiden, a man I was dreaming about having sex with.

  How will I ever look Aiden in the eyes and keep a straight face?

  I leave for work without waking Tom or even saying goodbye.

  Oh well!

  CHAPTER NINE

  WHEN I WALK into the office, Lisa looks me up and down. Her lips curl into a smile as she mocks me in a playful way. “Look who’s dressed up today? Any particular reason?”

  I lie to her though we both know the truth. “No reason. Just thought I would make an effort to feel a bit better about myself.”

  “Oh, darling. You’ve got it bad. What time does he come in today?”

  “About two o’clock, like usual.” We both grin at each other and burst out laughing like a pair of teenagers.

  While I’m starting to read my emails, she says, “It makes the job much easier when they are nice to look at, doesn’t it?”

  “It sure does, Lisa.”

  “I always wonder if they ever notice us back?” She asks, but I know she’s not expecting an answer.

  “Who knows what a man notices?” I joke with her as my mobile phone rings.

  Picking it up, I sigh when I see it is Tom. My finger hovers over the screen as I debate whether to answer. I’ve still been lingering in that grey area between anger and trying to salvage my marr
iage. The ‘save your marriage’ part of my head wins, so I answer the call. “Yes, Tom?”

  “Babe, I was wondering what time you think you will be home tonight?”

  “I’m not sure. Depends on how the afternoon goes. Is there something we have scheduled?”

  “No, I, uh, just thought maybe we could go to dinner.” His voice was shaking with tension. “I know things have not been great, so I, uh, thought I could take you out, and we can talk.”

  I’m surprised by his gesture. “Oh, okay. Well, I’ll make sure I leave on time then. Where do you want to go?”

  “How about that little Italian place on Caxton Street?”

  Is Tom trying to be thoughtful? That’s my favourite restaurant.

  I’m not sure if I should be happy or concerned. Hearing a phone ringing in the background, Tom says, “I have to go. Talk later?”

  “All right.” I hang up, still in disbelief that he’s asked. Turning to Lisa, I say, “Well, that was odd. Tom wants to take me to dinner tonight.”

  “Sounds like he wants to apologise.”

  Furrowing my brow, I say, “I don’t know. Tom hasn’t been one to apologise in a long time.”

  “How have things been since his trip to Sydney?”

  “Well, he called a lot when he was away, so I still don’t know if he cheated on me with Beth. He was adamant that she means nothing to him.” I shrug my shoulders. “I, ah, sort of looked at his phone, but didn’t find anything.”

  “You finally looked.” Lisa’s eyes widen as she grins. “Maybe you can break some rules after all?”

  I shake my head laughing, with her poking fun at my staunch, rule-following ways.

  TWO O’CLOCK FINALLY rolls around. Like usual, Aiden is on time and looking as hot as ever in a pale-yellow t-shirt and jeans. I walk into the waiting room to get him. My cheeks are already blushing because I keep thinking about the dream I had about him.

  If he only knew what was going through my mind.

  “Hello, Aiden. How are you?”

  With his Akubra hat in his hand, he says, “Hi, Holly, I’m doing well. We’ve had a couple days of hard yakka with the cattle.” He pauses and with a grin, teases, “Oh wait, you might not know that yakka means work, being American and all.”

  I shake my head and laugh at him. “I know what yakka is. I’ve been here a little longer than you think.” We sit down to get the questions underway. “Aiden, I want to apologise that I was a bit distracted the other day.”

  “No worries. It’s not a problem. Did you get things sorted at home?” He leans closer towards me as he speaks.

  Hmm, I can smell his cologne and listen to that sultry voice of his all day long.

  I try hard to maintain my composure though it’s almost impossible as images of me being with him in a hot shower keep flashing through my mind. Shaking my head, as if I am shaking away the thought, my voice cracks as I speak. “I’m fine, but I need to focus only on you this morning, all right?” I fear if I let him get any closer, I will open up and break every single rule I have ever had for this job.

  “I understand, but I want to know you more, too.” His smile makes me quiver inside.

  “Aiden, we can’t do that here.” But where could we do it?

  Shaking his hands out in front of him as if to admit defeat, he says, “I get it, you have to follow all types of rules and everything. I don’t want to get you in any trouble. Though I have to say, you look beautiful today, even though I thought you were before you were dressed up and all.”

  Oh, my God!

  My face must be redder than I could possibly imagine as my cheeks feel on fire. He just called me beautiful, and he thought this before I made an effort to wear a little more makeup and a dress.

  “Am I being too forward?” Aiden asks as he leans back in his chair, not taking his gaze off me.

  I bite my lip. “No, you’re not. I appreciate what you’re saying but let’s focus on the work we have to do for you.”

  “All right, but I would love to know if that man of yours is the reason you were upset.”

  “I can’t answer that Aiden.”

  He again raises his hands in the air. “Okay, I give up. I’ll do what you want me to do.”

  He rests his hands on his thighs, drawing my attention to the hard muscles I dreamt about touching last night. An image of him in the shower from my dream flashes before my eyes.

  Oh, how I would love to live out that dream. I hope he can’t read my mind. Or perhaps, I do want him to know my thoughts.

  Clearing my throat, I try to regain my focus on the job I must get done. “Aiden, today, I have to ask you about your relationships with family and others around you. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “Brothers. I’m the youngest. My older brothers already work in the family business. One is married, and the other is a bit of a playboy.”

  “The other day you said your family business is quite large, what do you mean by that exactly?”

  “My parents inherited two beef cattle properties. They built the company up by buying more land after they got married. They are in the process of buying a fourth property they thought I could manage as well. Maybe it will make my dad proud if I do.” Aiden stops talking and stares out the window. “I once hated the idea of doing anything my father approved of. Prison changed that. It made me realise I missed being on the land. I know he just wants what’s best for his sons.”

  “Do you want your father’s approval?”

  Aiden looks away out the window again and sighs. “I’ve always felt like a disappointment. It’s hard when you have perfect brothers that never do any wrong.” He’s quiet for a moment, then as if he’s shaking off some negative feeling, adds, “I thought about this a lot. I even talked to my dad, and he’s willing to give me a chance.” Aiden looks back at me and smiles, “I’m quite the prodigal son, aren’t I?”

  Nodding my head and smiling, I move on to the next question. “What is your relationship with your mother like?”

  “We get along fine. We’ve always been close.”

  “Was there ever any domestic violence, alcohol or drug use in your home when you were growing up?”

  “No. My parents argued, but my dad never hit her or anything.” He shifts in his seat as he sits upright, resting his arms against the table.

  “Was there any yelling at you and your brothers?”

  “You know three boys on a property can get up to all kinds of mischief. I think I was the worst of us, but when I was little, I got away with a lot being the youngest and all. It changed when I was a teenager and I started being the one always in trouble.”

  “Did you and your brothers ever get overly physical with fighting?”

  “Boys will be boys, you know. A few dustups, but nothing bad.”

  “I guess cowboys will be cowboys, right?”

  He shakes his head and smiles. “Ah, Holly out here in Australia we call ourselves stockman.”

  Is he mocking me in my mistake?

  “Oh, sorry I did not mean to offend you,” I reply just as playful, but at the same time, I try to conceal feeling stupid for making an innocent mistake with terminology.

  He leans closer and grins at me. “You didn’t offend me. It’s just I prefer stockman over cowboy, but if you want me to be a cowboy for you, I think I can handle that.”

  I think my insides just got a few degrees hotter. Whether Aiden is a cowboy or stockman does not matter because either way he is a stud.

  Trying to distract my carnal thoughts, I move on to a new question. “Did you have any violent issues in jail where anyone hurt you or you hurt anyone?”

  “No. I kept to myself in jail and spent most of my time either in the gym or my cell. I just wanted to do my time, and get it over with, so I thought it best to keep away from anything that might wind up adding time to my sentence.”

  “There were absolutely no issues?”

  Sighing, Aiden pauses for a moment. “Well, there was one time whe
n I first went in where I had to defend myself. You know, prove my strength to the guys already in. It was out of sight so it won’t be on my file.”

  I lean against the table and look into his eyes. “I hear things like that, so I’m not surprised. Was it just that one time?”

  “It’s like a wolf pack in there. If you act like a lamb once, you’ll be slaughtered. I made sure they knew I wouldn’t take part in their games. I broke the other guy’s jaw so after that incident, they left me alone.”

  “The guy didn’t try to retaliate?”

  “No, I don’t think he was that well liked to begin with. After a while, I relaxed and stopped feeling like anyone was going to cross me.”

  Moving on to the next set of questions, my body tenses. “I know your file said you weren’t married, but do you have a girlfriend or partner?” I hold my breath a moment waiting for the answer, thinking how I hope he says ‘no’. I hear Lisa’s voice in my head ‘girl, you’ve got it bad’ as I purse my lips.

  “No, but I am looking for someone special to have with me on the property,” Aiden stares longingly into my eyes.

  Why must he give me that look that makes me feel as though I’m hot enough to melt?

  “Have you ever bullied anyone or felt bullied by anyone?”

  “No.” I’m watching Aiden’s face carefully as he responds to my questions, but he speaks with certainty and no hesitation. There are also no red flags in his answers or facial expressions. Nothing that says trouble. This is quite unusual for someone that winds up doing hard time for a few years.

  What could have happened to this man for him to get into crime?

  I have my mental fingers crossed in the hope that when I get the court transcripts and full police records, they match up with what he is saying. Too many times we uncover their lies about their past, but for some reason, I’m hoping Aiden is being honest. I don’t want to see anything fallible in this man.

  “Aiden, we seem to be getting through these questions quicker than normal again, so we can stop for now if you want. Or we can keep going through them so you don’t have to come back so soon.”

  “We can stop and save some for next time.” He flashes me a smile that causes my insides to quiver.