by Aria Cole
Rough Rider
Aria Cole
Copyright © 2017 by Aria Cole
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
For the girls who chase their dreams and the boys who encourage them.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
EPILOGUE
Modern Fairy Tale Collection
Acknowledgments
Also by Aria Cole
About the Author
Introduction
After years of living alone, Nash Campbell sets eyes on curvy beauty Eden Sutherland again, the day she steps out of her brother's pickup truck and falls directly into his arms. He may have made a promise to her brother to take care of her, but it isn't long before Nash is fixed on wrangling his best friend's little sister into his bed—and his life.
Eden Sutherland enjoys living alongside her brother in the old farmhouse where they grew up, but when he's deployed, she's uprooted to Circle C Ranch and dumped in the arms of her brother's best friend, irritatingly moody and maddeningly sexy cowboy Nash Campbell. The boy who pulled her pigtails and made the butterflies jump in her stomach for the first time when they were kids. She may have grown up running through the pastures at Circle C, but that doesn't mean seeing Nash again is easy on the heart. She's been purposefully avoiding this man for years, and now she has to call him roommate…
Warning: When this filthy-talkin' cowboy falls, it's hard and fast. Insta-love obsessed, countrified goodness is the best way to describe this rough rider.
Chapter 1
ONE
Eden
I wrung my hands in my lap, eyes focused on the long gravel driveway that led to my imprisonment.
“You know, I don’t need a babysitter,” I spat to my brother in the driver’s seat.
“Sweet young girl like you, you most certainly do. These damn cowboys would eat you alive,” he drawled, eyes cutting to me then back to the windshield. The old truck rattled to a sputtering stop in front of the giant red barn I spent too many summer nights playing hide-and-seek in.
“I’m not sweet or young. Since I've managed to handle you my whole life, I figure these cowboys will be easy.” I shoved open the door of the truck, storming off with a desperate slam of the door for dramatic effect. But instead, it squawked on its rusty hinges. Baxter, the old golden retriever that’d been wandering this dusty ranch since the time I was eight, rambled up to me. I knelt down and put my arm around the old dog, giving him a good rub. His scent was so familiar, just as it had been all those years ago. I closed my eyes, sucking in a fortifying breath before I faced the man who inhabited this place.
“Welcome, Eden.” His throaty voice sent fire through my veins, just like it always had. My cheeks flamed, hands shoved into the pockets of my cutoff shorts when Nash Campbell’s dusty cowboy boots came into view.
I wanted to die.
Colt, Nash, and I may have grown up together on this ranch, bonfires and swimming in the pond from sunup to sundown, but I hadn’t laid eyes on him in nearly two years. And there was a reason for it.
“Hey.” Colt came around the back of the pickup and pulled two giant duffles out of the bed. “She’s not too pleased ’bout me dropping her off here, but she’ll grow up and see I was right. Someday.” Colt shot me a glare.
“I should have gone away to college,” I grumbled. I still hadn’t looked Nash in the face yet.
I couldn’t. One look into those intense eyes would have me lost. It'd been too long, and those feelings and memories were still all twisted into knots from my head to my toes. The worst place those knots tangled around was my heart.
There was too much history wrapped up in my feelings for him. Nash and my brother had been best friends since the time they were in diapers, and then I came along five years later, the annoying, tagalong little sister. They’d picked on me relentlessly, daring me to eat bugs and touch garden snakes, and then the teen years had hit, and everything changed.
Nash’s voice had deepened, suddenly sending spirals of excitement through my nine-year-old stomach. And then dark stubble smattered his cheeks and jawline, and I couldn't help thinking about what the scratchy scruff would feel like against my skin. And by the time Nash was fifteen, he was working in the field or around the barns all summer. Slinging hay bales six hours a day did a lot for his once lean, taut physique.
Nash had bloomed into a damn Adonis right before my eyes, his body rivaling the sketches of David I’d seen in my art class.
I fell in love with Nash Campbell the summer I turned eleven.
While my brother still seemed perpetually immature and annoying, Nash’s confidence grew, his eyes lighting with genuine kindness whenever he saw me. I’d never met anyone like him back then, and I still hadn’t now. Nash was a once in a lifetime dream—a dream that was unattainable. Like a mirage, a faint whisper on the wind. A man like Nash would never want someone like me, but still, that didn’t matter to my heart. When I thought of him, I was still that eleven-year-old little girl who fell in love with a boy she could never have.
That was probably why today was all the harder.
Colt was leaving for his deployment in the Army, and I was moving in here, with my brother’s best friend, at Circle C Ranch.
“Got your room all made up for you, the corner room upstairs, the one you used to sleep in when we were little.” Nash was addressing me.
Oh shit, that meant I’d have to actually look him in the face. I’d been considering a way to avoid his eyes for the entire time I was here, which would hopefully just be the summer. Colt didn’t know it, but I’d already filled out a few applications for colleges. I’d been going to the community college in our small town, but now that Colt wouldn’t be here, I didn't have a reason to stay.
Living on my own would be tight, but I was accustomed to making do on a budget. I just had to hope I would be awarded a few grants or scholarships for housing. I could afford the classes for the coming semester at least, but I couldn't pay for the housing on top of that.
And I needed to get out of this town.
I needed to get away from all these memories.
The gorgeous, impossibly sculpted, stubbled, and rugged memories.
“Thanks,” I finally muttered, allowing my eyes to wash across Nash’s face for the first time.
Oh God, was that my heart beating so loudly?
It sounded like a John Deere vibrating in my ears.
“I can get this carried up for you. Dinner’s at five, so you've got some time to settle in before—”
“I’m not hungry. I had a big lunch,” I lied.
Colt shook his head at my side. “She’s lying. If you don’t force her to eat, she’ll peck like a bird.”
My cheeks flamed as my teeth gnashed together. “I thought you had somewhere to be tonight?”
Colt chuckled, taking off ahead of us toward the house.
“Still treating you like a dick, I see,” Nash said at my shoulder.
Shit, when had he moved closer?
This was too much. His body so close to mine felt like a ticking time bomb waiting to detonate.
“He says he means well, but I personally think it’s a control thing.”
“Can’t blame him. A man should take care of his only sister. I’d do the same thing.”
I chanced a glance out of the corner of my eye, catching his gaze hovering at my neckline, then dipping lower.
My stomach dropped, my feet screaming at me to run before I made a fool of myself somehow. I’d never known quite how to act around men, especially this one, when it felt like he stole all the oxygen from my lungs with one look.
“Maybe you’re on a power trip too, then,” I finally replied, stomping in the dirt after Colt and toward the house.
I was a prisoner here; there was nothing willing about it.
If Colt and Nash thought I needed a babysitter, that I couldn't be left to my own devices, I’d sure as hell prove them wrong—and have fun while doing it.
No way could they keep this woman down.
“Eden!” Nash called after me, amusement lacing his voice.
I stuttered to a halt, turning to find him hot on my heels, an intoxicating half grin darting across his face.
“What?” I asked.
“You have no idea what kind of power play I’m into. Keep that in mind.” That cocky grin deepened, and my thighs grew slick with drop-dead desire.
Oh, shit.
What the hell was I in for this summer?
Chapter 2
TWO
Nash
I walked in on Eden the next morning, ass in the air, bent over in my kitchen in the shortest pair of shorts I’d ever seen a woman wear.
And boy had she grown into a woman.
I’d never forget the last time I’d seen her, at her high school graduation party. Colt and I had shown up drunk and stupid, looking to crash the festivities, when really, I’d just been there to see her. Watching her giggle and smile with her friends had done me in then, and Christ, I didn’t think it was possible, but she was even more beautiful now.
My memory hadn’t done her dark eyes justice, the way that sarcastic smile seemed to play perpetually across her lips roped me in, and the way those curves had developed—the luscious curves of her round ass, the heavy tits hugged by a thin cotton tank—sent me to my knees. She was a fucking vision and the only woman I’d seen since that night nearly two years ago. It wasn't long after that that Colt joined the military, I’d taken over working the ranch full time, and Eden? I didn’t know what had happened to Eden. I’d asked Colt once how she was, but he’d just given me a funny look and asked why I wanted to know.
And then tragedy had struck Colt and Eden Sutherland. Their mom was diagnosed with some rare cancer, and within months, she was gone. Their dad picked up and left town a few weeks after the funeral, shacking up with some woman up north, according to Colt. The memories here were too much for him to bear, so he’d up and left his kids, and they’d only spoken to him a few times since.
That’s why Little Miss Short Shorts was bent over in my kitchen right now.
I grunted, shifting my aching cock behind my jeans before walking into the kitchen and grabbing the bowl of salad Ms. Jenkins had left in the fridge. “Lasagna’s probably done.”
She whipped around, standing up straight and nailing me with those haunting eyes. “I was just going to get a snack and head back upstairs.” I wanted to kiss her in that moment. I wanted to take those lips in between my teeth and leave her panting and bruised with a look of lust in her eyes that only I could satiate.
“Like hell you are.” I dropped the bowl on the table and pulled out a chair, gesturing for her to take a seat.
She narrowed her eyes then approached slowly. “You know, you can’t boss me around. I’ll help out, keep the house clean, make sure I don’t leave a mess, but I’m not taking orders from a wannabe cowboy.”
That fire burning inside her was such a turn-on. Just the thought of that sassy mouth wrapped around my aching cock made a shiver cut through me.
I gritted my teeth together, patience running thin. The urge to bend her over my knee and spank her was overwhelming “Y’know, maybe your brother is a dick to you because you need someone to keep you in line.”
Her eyes flared, fists clenching at her sides. Hell, she looked cute when she was angry. I’d forgotten that about her. No wonder I’d teased her so much all those years ago.
Except now, teasing her had a different effect. Now I wanted to fuck the sarcastic smile right off her face. Bury my cock past those pretty lips and show her who owned her. I had a feeling Colt wouldn't take kindly to that kind of punishment, though. And hell, did I even give a shit? I could take care of her better than he could. I would take care of her better, make sure she had everything she could ever need. She would be my queen, and I would lay my entire world at her feet. All I would ask was that she admit that she was mine and only mine forever, just as I would be hers.
“Keep me in line?” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re fucking insane.”
She whipped around the small kitchen and pounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time. My gut flamed with anger as I stalked after her, my only thought to get her ass in that chair and get some food in her.
“Eden!” I growled, trying the door of her bedroom, only to find it locked. “Let me the fuck in!”
“No!” She screamed from behind the thick-paneled wood, and I swear I had a sense of déjà vu to a time not unlike this when we were a lot younger.
“Eden.” I lowered my voice an octave. She didn’t reply. “I’m gonna need you to get that cute little ass downstairs and in that chair.”
“Not hungry,” she replied with defiance.
“Christ.” What in the fuck had I gotten myself into with this? I thought I was just doing a favor for a buddy when Colt had asked if his sister could stay here for the summer, but there was a sudden pounding in my head that I had a feeling was about to take up permanent residence. “Open the goddamn door, Eden.”
She did the unexpected and unlocked the door, swinging it open and brushing past me.
“Where are you going?” I called after her.
“To eat.” She shot me a glare. “Saw there’s a new cafe that opened down the road—”
“A cafe? The one two miles away? How the hell you gonna get there?”
“Walk.” She shrugged, smiling at me sweetly from the landing. “Hitchhike. Whatever it takes.”
My anger flamed as she bounced down the stairs, ponytail bobbing as she went.
I shoved a hand over my face, suddenly regretting this arrangement, before taking off down the stairs after her. She was halfway across the yard when I finally caught up with her, looping her elbow and hauling her against me. “Like hell, you’re hitchhiking. I’ll bring you to the goddamn place myself if that’s what you want.”
She arched one eyebrow at me, something simmering in her dark brown eyes that made me anxious. Upended me. Like she was excavating my soul.
“I’d prefer to be alone,” she finally said, pulling out of my grip and taking off again. She kicked up clouds of red dust as she pounded across the farmyard, headed for the driveway.
“I’d prefer you to calm the fuck down and talk to me.” I caught up with her again, spinning her in my arms and clutching her against my chest. “I think I finally understand what your brother meant about you being a pain in the ass.”
“Pain in the ass?” Her eyes narrowed further, lips pursed as she steamed under my grasp.
I finally cracked a grin, my eyes cutting across the fine angles of her face, itching to meld our skin. “Always were a pretty little thing when you were mad.”
Her eyes widened, mouth popping open. “Fuck you, Nash Campbell. I’m not the little girl whose pigtails you used to pull. I have a life, and just because you and my brother are forcing me to live here—”
I couldn't help laughing at her. Everything about this display was so endearing. “Still got fire, don’t ya, Eden? Always wondered if you kept that kinda flame.” I traced the pad of my thumb across her cheek. “You’re not a little girl anymore, no denying that no matter how hard I try.” Her eyes stayed unwavering on mine, silence stretching between us. “Like to get to know you again. You’ll be living un
der my roof, so I don’t think a conversation is too much to ask.”
She swayed on her feet, the gorgeous swell of her tits brushing against my hard chest. Just that soft brush against me had my cock throbbing behind my worn denim jeans. The zipper bit into my shaft, begging to be buried balls deep in the most gorgeous creature I’d ever seen.
“Been a long time, Tiger.” I brushed the pad of my thumb across her full bottom lip. A shiver raced through her, nipples pebbling under that thin little tank top she wore. “You don’t want to know what you do to me.” Her big, round eyes hung low on mine, something pulling deep down in my gut, telling me to kiss this woman. Press my lips to her skin and drown deep inside her.
Her little fingers dug into the skin at my forearms, her lips parting on soft breaths before I did the only goddamn thing I’d been thinking about doing and placed my lips on hers. I slid my tongue across the seam, lust barreling through my body when she opened her lips farther and our tongues pushed together. All bets were off then. My thinly veiled control vanished as my hands dug into her hair, pushing her against the wooden fence at her back and hiking up her thighs around my hips. She whimpered softly, nipping at my bottom lip as her chest heaved with breathy pants.
“You stayed away too fucking long, Eden.” I dug my cock into the hot cleft of her pussy, enjoying the way she moaned, eyes shuddering closed with pleasure. “Fuck, don’t do that.”
“What?” Her eyes shot open, hands at my face with fingertips whispering across my jawline. Jesus, her soft little hands on my skin felt too good, urged my arousal on, made me desperate to have her underneath me, sucking on every inch of her skin until she came in a wave around me.
