by Scott, Tarah
He laughed at her. “You’ve got to be kidding.” TJ ran back up the front porch steps and pulled a spare cowboy hat off the railing. “Thanks,” he said, slapping the hat against Train’s shoulder.
With the ease of a seasoned rider, he mounted his dark brown horse with hooves the size of an elephant’s. He maneuvered next to the gentle sorrel Allison rode. He handed her the hat. “It’ll keep the sun out of your eyes. Ready?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’d prefer a wagon ride.”
“Can’t live on a ranch and not know how to ride a horse.”
She nodded. “Then I suppose I’ll need to move back to town.”
TJ laughed. “If you’re too scared—”
“I’m not.” She furrowed her brows. “Just tell me what to do.”
“That’s my girl. Follow my lead.”
Allison couldn’t look at Joseph, couldn’t stand to see hurt and confusion on his face. And this wasn’t the time to try to explain. Did she really have an explanation? She couldn’t say no to TJ, not the way she’d been able to say no to Joseph.
Allison mimicked TJ’s actions, urging her horse forward. She fidgeted with the reins. The horse seemed to want to go in every direction except straight ahead. Shifting slightly, she adjusted her weight in the saddle. Her horse whinnied, twisted its head, and pulled the reins. She gripped harder.
“Allison, let the reins loose.”
Allison tossed the reins to the side of the horse’s head as if they were hot to the touch. “Why?”
TJ laughed and brought his horse close to hers. “Perhaps I should’ve phrased that differently,” he said, handing her back the reins. Picking up his, he demonstrated rather than explain. “She’s a good gal to follow.”
“I’m on a mare? Well, that gives me a little comfort. Females have much better temperaments than males. It’s true in most species.”
TJ chuckled. “You’ve got a clever tongue.”
Allison loosened her grip on the reins, and the horse did just as TJ said she would and fell into pace. “That’s much better.” She smiled and patted the horse on the neck.
“Her name is Sugar,” TJ said, moving his horse to trot along side hers. “Because she is sweet-tempered and easy to ride.”
“And what is his name?” She white-knuckle gripped the saddle horn as the horses moved along.
“Rocky. Come on.” He urged his horse into a quicker pace by squeezing his thighs. Allison let out a scream as her horse followed. Leaning forward she held onto the horse with every muscle in her body. Her heart raced with the speed of the horse beneath her.
After a few minutes, TJ asked, “Are you closing your eyes?” He slowed the horses.
“I’m scared,” she cried. “I want to go back to the house.” Tears spilled onto her cheeks.
TJ quickly dismounted his horse and then helped her. “I’m sorry.”
“I told you I didn’t know how to ride.” She slapped his chest after he set her on the ground. “Let go of me.” She pushed him away and dusted herself off. Her eyes scanned the area around them. “Where are we?”
They stood high on a bluff overlooking the ranch and all the outbuildings. She could see from one end of the valley to the other. In the distance, a herd of cattle grazed in a drying pasture. She walked toward the edge of the cliff. Almost out of range of her vision was the blue water of a lake. In the other direction, mountains loomed majestically to the north and west. “I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
TJ pulled the saddles from the horses. He took a blanket and unfolded it under a tree. “This is my favorite spot on the property. Do you know why I brought you here?”
“No. What is this place?”
He smiled and patted the blanket, inviting her to sit next to him. “Everything I am, my land, my home, the herds. My granddad started this place with fifty head of cattle. My dad took over and when he died, it fell to me to carry on.” He put a blade of grass between his teeth and leaned back, propped up with his elbows. His cowboy hat sat low on his head so Allison couldn’t see his eyes when he talked. It didn’t matter. She could hear the pride in his voice.
“What are you going to do if it doesn’t rain soon? I can see how dry the fields are.” She sat in front of him, becoming part of his view. She took off her hat and wiped her face with the hem of her dress. Pulling her hair loose, she let it tumble down her back. Because of the heat, she went to pin it back in place.
“Leave it.” He reached up and combed it with his fingers. She sat motionless. “You are a beautiful woman.” His hand ran along her arm and then traced her knuckles with the pad of his finger. “Do you ever think about me?”
Her hands trembled. “Not unless I’m mad at you,” she lied.
His deep laugh vibrated into her chest, settling in her breast. She tingled where his finger touched her, sending chills along her arms.
“I don’t believe you.” He sat closer and leaned into her ear. “You’re shaking. Are you afraid of me?” He inhaled her scent. His lips barely brushed the shell of her ear. Yet, the powerful response created a rift in her resolve.
“No,” she whispered, acutely aware of his earthy scent. “It’s not fear.” She closed her eyes when his hands reached under her hair and wrapped around her nape. She leaned into the touch. Her stomach twisted, tied into knots. She ached for this—to know what his hands would feel like on her skin.
Gently, he turned her toward him and pulled her onto his lap. His heavy, thick and hard arousal pressed against her rear. With one arm wrapped around her back and the other hand resting close to her breast, he closed in on her slightly parted lips. Lips against lips, barely touching. Shivers of desire followed the warm pressure. His mouth opened over hers. She sank against him. Her fingers gripped the front of his shirt when he moved his head to deepen the kiss. His tongue seared the inside of her mouth.
Tentatively, she allowed her tongue to follow and linger as his had done, savoring the flavor of his moist mouth. Blood pounded in her brain, and between her legs leaving her weak and wet. She was breathless when he finally pulled away. They stayed in the embrace and stared at each other.
Allison reached her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. She was shocked at her own eager response to the hardness of his kiss. Quivering with anticipation, her body molded to his. He ran his hand up her spine. His lips parted, and she let her tongue slip inside meeting his again.
TJ growled from deep in his core and pulled her tightly against him. He buried his face in her neck and kissed at the spot under her ear, touching his tongue to her flesh, slightly salty from their ride. Her head fell back exposing her entire neck to his wandering mouth. As he savored the taste of her silken skin, he explored the curves and hollows of her body.
He gently lowered her to the blanket. Once on her back, he then partially covered her body with his. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”
She nipped at his lips. He took it as permission and his mouth ravaged her completely.
Inhaling deeply, her chest rose. He touched the swell of her breast and then cupped it with his palm. Brushing his thumb against the hardened peak beneath the fabric of her dress, he captured a moan of pleasure with another heated kiss.
“I want you.” He whispered against her mouth as he ground against her hip. “I need you—need to be inside you.”
Allison broke the kiss and pushed on his chest. Her breath came in heavy gasps as she sat up. “Good heavens, no.”
TJ couldn’t focus. Blood roared through his head. His heart raced and his body tensed. “Ah, hell.” He ran his hands through his hair and lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Allison.” Her reaction to his kiss both surprised and alarmed. Passionate Allison had almost made him come undone. But wasn’t that why he’d brought her to his favorite spot, to prove she wanted him? He sure as hell knew he wanted her.
“Don’t be sorry, I’m not. We’ve both been curious and now we know,” she said. “It would be wise for us not to allow lust to consum
e our thoughts, better we not speak of this at all.”
“Allison,” he said wanting to tell her something, anything to smooth the worry lines creasing her forehead.
“We better go.”
They rode back to the house in silence. Allison couldn’t stop thinking about his hands setting her flesh on fire. She’d told him not to dwell on what happened, but she wasn’t sure she could do that herself. If TJ had wanted, he could’ve lifted her dress and taken her virginity. Still moist from his kisses, she remembered how her heart had pounded and heat had swelled between her legs. Even now, she ached to have him lying on top of her, pressing her into the ground as his hard length speared into her. Flutters filled her belly. Allison finally understood the wants of a woman.
Once at the ranch house, TJ helped her off the horse and then rode back toward the stables. Standing there, watching his retreat, she didn’t hear Joseph come up behind her, until he spoke.
“How was the ride?”
She turned, but fearing he would see what she had done, she avoided a direct glance at him. She put her hands to her hair. She plucked a leaf from her tangled hair.
How was she? Confused, aroused, torn. TJ had kissed her hard. And she’d wanted more. “I’m fine.” What more could she say?
He gave her a half-smile and left her standing on the porch.
Train met up with TJ on the trail back to the house.
“Did the kids behave?” TJ asked Train.
“Did you?” Train snapped back.
“Don’t say something you might regret.” TJ attempted to walk past, but Train stepped in front of him. “Is there something you want to say?” TJ slipped his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans.
“I’m not backing off because you found a way to entertain yourself for the afternoon. I like her. Maybe I could even love her.” Train aggressively rammed his shoulder into TJ’s as he walked past. “Stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours.”
* * *
As soon as Allison entered the house, she changed her clothes and combed her hair. Putting her hand to her heart, she took several deep breaths. She shouldn’t let TJ know how much she enjoyed his kiss, how much she wanted him to kiss her again. But she couldn’t stop smiling.
Returning to the living room, she sat on the sofa and tucked her feet beneath her as she waited for him to return.
The door burst open and slammed closed behind him. “What went on with you and Train?”
Uncurling her legs, she sat straight. Fury radiated off him in waves and his eyes sent shards of fear through her. “Train? We’re just friends.”
“More than that, I think. I just had a conversation with him.” He went to the bar and poured a drink. “He fancies himself in love with you.” He slammed the drink. “Did you fuck him?”
“No!” She covered her mouth with her hand and shook her head. “How could you think that? I swear, we had one kiss. One kiss,” she cried. “And I’m not sure it was a kiss after today.”
TJ’s drink stilled halfway to his mouth. “Explain.”
“He gave me a simple peck on the lips.” As much as she wanted to plead her innocence, a bigger need to lash out at TJ surged over her. “Not that I owe you any explanation, but I’ve never done anything like we did today.” Her voice grew louder. “Ever.”
TJ’s shoulders relaxed.
“Damn you.” She spun away. “You can’t do this to me.”
“I’m sorry.” He crossed to her, rested his hands on her shoulders, and turned her to face him. “Forgive me. I can’t help that I’m jealous over your relationship with him.”
“My relationship with Joseph has nothing to do with us. I’m different with you.” She stood on her tiptoes and gently brushed his lips with hers. So much for abstaining from intimate contact. She hadn’t been away from him more than a few minutes and already she felt a mysterious ache spreading through her breasts and sinking into her sex.
TJ wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Then he kissed the top of her head. “I want you to have Sugar.”
She pulled away and smiled. “Really?”
“She’ll remind you of what happened today.”
Allison’s cheeks warmed. “I won’t need a horse to remember.”
“I told you her name was Sugar, because she is sweet tempered and easy to ride. I’m beginning to think of you the same way.”
Allison’s mouth dropped open. “As in easy to ride.” She shoved hard against his chest. “I’m not a mare…or a whore. How dare you? Why do I care what you think?” How dare he insinuate what happened between them equated to nothing more than animal attraction.
“Easy now,” he laughed, taking her by the shoulders. “I didn’t mean it the way it sounded.” He laughed. “Okay, I did. But I meant it in a good way.”
She wiggled, attempting to break free from his grip.
“I want you to know how good you felt underneath me,” he whispered. She thought he might kiss her again so she lifted her knee, impacting his thigh and jerked free from his embrace.
“I’ll take the horse as a way to remember why all you’ll ever have of me is the memory of today. Go to hell TJ, I don’t want anything to do with you.”
* * * * *
Allison sat in the dark for a long time. She couldn’t stop seeing the look of devastation on Joseph’s face when he left. She had hurt the only friend she had at the ranch for an afternoon tryst that meant nothing to TJ. He affected her in ways she never knew possible, but he professed no real feelings. It seemed his only concern was she not be with someone else. Blaming anyone, save herself was pointless. TJ had declared his intentions from the beginning. He’d only ever have one wife, and she was gone.
Allison had tempted him at every opportunity. Ever since the night he spent with Sandy, she had wanted him for herself. “I am a whore,” she told herself. She was willing to give him what he wanted without asking anything in return. She had left her life in Boston because she couldn’t do with Henry what she longed for with TJ.
Chapter Eight
Two weeks passed since the day of the ride and Allison had been avoiding TJ. She’d taken to waking before dawn to sneak into the stable to feed Sugar a carrot or an apple. Too many men wandered the grounds in the evening. She worried about seeing Joseph. She didn’t know what to say to him.
When she returned from the stable, she packed TJ a lunch for a long ride into Copper City. He’d be well on his way before sun up. He’d surely make time to see Sandy. She bristled as she shoved a couple of apples into a bag.
“You’re quiet,” TJ said.
Allison answered him with a shrug.
“I’ll be a couple of days.”
She gave him a snort. So he needed a few days to work out his frustrations. Good.
“We’re getting fireworks for the Fourth.”
“But it hasn’t rained,” she said concerned.
“I know. Been a rough year, I don’t want to disappoint Sissy. We’ll be extra careful.” He dropped a bag carrying his clothes on the floor next to the kitchen table.
“Here’s your canteen.” She turned and thrust it into his hands when he came up behind her.
“Do you have a cup of coffee for me before I head out?” He raised an eyebrow.
Why did he have to be charming? She preferred the bristly TJ.
“Allison? Coffee?”
“Sure. I’ll make your breakfast, too.” She went to the kitchen door. The room warmed with heat from the stove. Opening the door let in cool dry air. By mid-morning the house would roast if she didn’t leave the windows open throughout the night.
Allison set a frying pan on the stove. She made bacon and eggs while TJ drank coffee and made another list. He’d already gotten her list of needs for the house.
“I have letters for Sandy and Marion.”
TJ didn’t look up from the paper. “I’ll deliver them. Put them in my bag. It’s right here.” He nudged the bag with his foot.
Allison kept he
r eyes on the stove. “Thank you.” She set the food on the table and rushed from the room. “I’ll get the letters.”
Once in her bedroom, she dried her eyes and took a couple of deep cleansing breaths. “Why do I let him do this to me?” If he still desired Sandy, it was his business. The very private TJ made it clear she had no right to question any part of his life.
When she returned to the kitchen, TJ had finished his breakfast. His dish sat on the counter in the empty room. She rushed out the back door after him. “Don’t leave without my letters,” she said when she found him putting his things in the wagon.
“I wasn’t leaving. Finish loading,” he said to Charlie. “Come on.” He took Allison by the elbow and escorted her back into the house. Once the door securely latched behind them, he swung her around almost tripping her. He gently backed her against the wall. “Will you miss me?”
“Of course not. I have more than enough work to keep me busy. I doubt I will think of you at all.”
“I will think about you constantly.”
“I’m sure you know how to alleviate that.” She rolled her eyes.
“I do.” Pressing his lips to hers, he plunged his tongue deep into her mouth. His hand rested dangerously close to her breast.
Her head fell back against the wall when TJ moved his lips to trail along the side of her neck. “Tell me you’ll miss me.” His rough voice sent flutters quivering deep inside her.
“Not one minute. I hate you, remember.” Instinctively, she maneuvered her legs to fit the strain of his cock between her thighs. He growled and she smiled.
“Charlie will get suspicious it I take too long.” He rested his forehead against hers. It was an intimate embrace. “Stay close to the house.” He kissed her quickly and took his hat off the table before walking out the door.
Two can play your game Mr. Bester. She knew he wanted her close to the house because of Joseph, just as she tried to show him what he wouldn’t be getting from Sandy.
