by Ivy Jordan
I nodded. I slid down from Marlo, gripped Duke’s reins, and walked him out of the puddle. Owen sat there in the middle of the mud, now laughing pretty hard himself. “Can you help me outta here?” he asked.
I was still giggling. My body was shaking so hard with laughter that I could barely see. My eyes squinted, teared up, and began to itch as I rubbed them vigorously to calm them. “Seriously?” Owen asked, his tone sarcastic and frustrated.
“I don’t want mud all over me,” I laughed.
I looked around for something to extend to him, anything but my own hand. I found a long twig on the ground, quickly picked it up, and then extended it to Owen to grab. His hand clutched around it tightly; he pulled, tugging me from my feet enough to make me squeal. He laughed at my anxiety, tugging it again, this time harder. I flew toward him, my feet slipped in the mud, and then suddenly I was in Owen’s arms in the middle of the giant puddle. We were covered in mud, so much mud that neither of us wanted to get back on our horses. “We can walk back,” I said, scraping what mud I could from my face, skin, and hair.
We gripped the horse’s reins, headed back toward the house, mostly laughing, but holding hands, and talking a bit as well. I was still stuck on what he had said, about not having time for a woman. I didn’t want to ask him to clarify, or to specify if that included me, as well. Instead, I enjoyed the moment, walked beside him, and just prayed the mud wouldn’t dry me into a statue before I made it to the house to get cleaned up.
“I’m sorry,” Owen muttered as we neared the house.
I laughed. “For what?”
“I didn’t mean for you to get dirty,” he said, sounding somewhat bashful.
I laughed again. I didn’t mind. I actually enjoyed it. I hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time.
“Yes, you did,” I smiled, the mud cracking on my face.
He smirked.
“Hey, it’s cheaper than a day at the spa,” I added, scraping the mud from my cheek.
His eyes lit up, his lips curled into a smile, and then a soft growl escaped his lips and rolled from his throat. “You look pretty damn sexy in all that mud,” he said.
“Oh, so you have a thing for dirty girls?” I teased.
“You betcha,” he laughed. “And, you’re probably the dirtiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on,” he added with a sly smile.
I reached for him, trying to grip him, but he ran, taking off toward the house. I ran as my mud cracked when I picked up speed, causing me to laugh even harder than before.
When I finally made it to the barn, Owen was holding a garden hose. “Are you serious?” I asked, knowing that water was going to be ice cold. It was a warm day, not a hot one, and that icy water didn’t look too appealing, not even to clean off this mud.
He grinned, turned the faucet to on, and held it over his head. He let out a yelp as the water first hit him, letting me know it was really cold.
Mud rolled down his face, finally clearing his skin and offering up a glimpse of his full, pink lips. I didn’t care that they were muddy. I leaned in, kissed him hard on the mouth, and then pulled back, screaming from the cold water soaring down my back. He’d held the hose over my head while I was trying to be sweet.
Owen apologized, and then promised to keep me warm. He held me in his arms while he let the cold hose water roll between us. He cleaned off the mud as best he could, but then stopped and stared at me with a strange hunger. “You need to take off those clothes,” he said.
We were in the middle of nowhere, his farm stretching out for acres before any neighbors could be found, but it still felt dirty to undress outside. I watched as he pulled away his shirt, and then his boots and pants. He ran the water over them, cleaning the mud from the material and hanging it over the wooden fence. His boots were trashed, so he flushed them out with water and hung them upside down on the gate to dry. “Your turn,” he said with a wicked grin.
I slowly striped out of my t-shirt, and then my jeans and boots. He carefully cleaned the material and hung it on the fence next to his before turning the hose on me. I screamed when the cold water hit my skin, causing him to laugh as I jumped and squirmed.
“I can’t take it,” I yelled out, jumping away from the hose as he tried to clean the mud from my hair. The cold water rolling down the back of my neck made me want to cry.
I could see the outline of his cock in his tight, wet briefs, and it was obvious the cold water had shrunk what used to be a large hunk of meat. I giggled as he caught me staring. His face turned to a frown, and he took the hose to me, spraying me in the belly against my bare flesh. I screamed out, jumped, and he chased me as far as the hose would reach. When I realized he couldn’t get to me, I stopped, laughed, and wiggled my hips to taunt him. It reminded me of one of those old cartoons, where the cat would sneak into the neighbor’s lawn, wake up the angry dog and get chased until the dog’s chain would pull it back. Just like those cartoons, there was always a twist where the cat would come back, thinking it was safe. The dog would move the dog house, or maybe even get off its chain somehow. Well, Owen did something like that when he dropped the hose, his face was filled with intent, and before I could react, he was already on me, lifting me up by my waist, and carrying me away—to where, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was I was no longer safe, and taunting him may have been a bad idea.
The ground bounced beneath me as he slung me over his shoulder. I smacked at his back, kicked my feet, and wiggled, but I couldn’t get away. His grip was too tight, his arms too strong.
Owen jumped from the ground, lifting me even higher into the air. Suddenly we were submerged in the water—at least it was warmer than the hose—and he released me.
“Now, why couldn’t we have just done this in the first place?” I asked, swirling around in the large pond.
He shook his head and smirked. “I didn’t want you dirtying up my pond,” he said with a large grin.
I splashed water toward him, hitting him in the face as he swam toward me. He disappeared under the water and suddenly a tug on my foot pulled me under. Strong hands held my waist, spinning me around until I was dizzy. Finally, they pushed me to the surface where I was face-to-face with him. Our lips met, and my body melted into his. I was so glad he’d called. I was so glad I answered. I was so glad I was wrong.
Chapter Six
Owen
Damn, her body felt so good against mine. It was like she went limp in my arms when we kissed. I could feel her weight pushing against me in the water, her arms growing heavy around my shoulders, and her mouth so delicately parted, and my dick flinched just from the slightest touch of her lips.
“You hungry yet?” I asked, remembering my promise of dinner with the invitation.
Her eyes barely opened, her head tilted back, and a long sigh escaped her lips. “Hungry for what?” she asked softly, her hand sliding between my legs beneath the water.
A growl rolled through my throat and past my lips as her hand clenched around my cock. Her fingers rolled around the loose skin that was tightening quickly with each stroke. My hands reached around her, gripping her ass cheeks and pulling her closer to me. My mouth reached down for her neck, sucking in her delicate skin until she squealed with delight.
She was fun, sexy, and didn’t even mind getting dirty. The fact that she felt so damn good was a bonus.
Her legs wrapped around my waist tightly as I grinded between her legs. I tugged at her bra until the latch let loose and her breasts were freed for my mouth to consume. Hard nipples teased my tongue as I flicked at them, and then sucked just hard enough to make her arch her back. “Damn, you taste good,” I gasped, working my way to the other nipple.
Her hands reached around my waist, tugging at the briefs I still wore. I backed up enough to allow her to lower them into the water. I didn’t see them come up, and I didn’t catch them with my toe, so there they went, sinking to the bottom. I gripped her bra as I slid it from her body, careful not to let it meet the same demise as my drawers. I wrapped
the arm strap around my finger, and then worked on removing her panties and carefully twirling them around my finger as well.
My concentration was off with her hand back around my cock. Her strokes were precise, smooth, and with the water gushing around my balls, the sensation to explode was growing fast.
My head fell back as she tightened her grip, her fingers rolled to my balls, tickling them as she stroked me. I lost my grip on her panties, and watched them begin to sink. I reached for them, but missed. “I’m sorry,” I said with an apologetic grin.
“I don’t need ’em,” she said with a smirk.
“No, you don’t,” I agreed, pulling her back around me and letting my cock rest at her opening.
I didn’t wait. I didn’t worry about protection. I pushed into her warm hole, moaning as she tightened around me. My hands gripped her hips and lifted her carefully up and down so that her clit rolled against me. Her eyes closed as they began to roll back into her head. Her lips parted and sweet sounds rolled out into the afternoon sky. The water rippled around us in a beautiful pattern as my cock pushed deeper and deeper into her body.
I let my mouth move to her breasts as she leaned back into the water. I suckled her nipple, biting it gently, causing her to squirm while she worked her hips against mine in perfect synchronicity. “I’m not gonna last long like this,” I warned, feeling the heat take over my swelling cock.
Her tongue slid across her lips, like the news was more of a challenge than a warning. Her hips rocked into mine a little harder. Her hand reached between my legs and gripped my balls, squeezing them as they tightened upwards into my body. “Fuck,” I gasped, knowing I wasn’t going to hold on much longer.
Her moans grew as I swelled inside of her, and as my orgasm released into her, her own squeezed around me.
My toes barely touched the bottom of the pond, and after holding us both up for so long, I lost footing, sending us both under the water. I pulled us back to the surface quickly, afraid that she’d be upset, but she was laughing. “You tryin’ to kill us?” she teased.
“I’m so glad I called you today,” I admitted, pulling her close to me.
Her once relaxed body seemed to tense as I embraced her in my arms. “You okay, darlin’?” I asked, pulling back to see if her expression matched her body language.
“Yes. Sorry. I’m glad you called today too,” she said with a sweet smile, her body relaxing once again.
“I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but I’m actually glad my cousin is a pushy little busybody,” I said. Her body tensed again, but this time not as tightly. “Don’t tell her I said that or I’ll call ya a liar,” I laughed.
“She had to push ya pretty hard, huh?” she teased.
“Yeah.”
“Me too,” she admitted.
“I mean, once she showed me your picture, I was in. But, I still played hard to get with her,” I laughed.
“Me too,” she admitted with a bright smile.
“So, you’re awfully good with Carlos,” I said.
Her eyes lit up as I mentioned the little foal’s name. “He’s a beauty,” she said.
“I could really use your help with him. Maybe with the other animals on the farm as well,” I offered. She looked hesitant. “I’ll pay you for your time, of course. I know you could use the work,” I said.
Her face changed quickly from pleasant to pissed. It was obvious this wasn’t something I should’ve known about, or mentioned. Fuck!
“What do you mean?” she asked.
I struggled for a moment, trying to come up with a lie. Maybe I just thought she would like the side work, or maybe she told me about her job and forgot. In the end, I decided to go with the truth. “I’m sorry. Tracy told me,” I said.
Her eyes narrowed. “When did Tracy tell you that?” she asked.
“This morning,” I said.
Her lips tightened as she stared over my shoulder into space. It was obvious she was angry, but I had no idea why.
“So, you saw Tracy this morning, and she told you about my job,” she said with a strangely irritated tone.
I was confused. What was the problem? I didn’t care that she lost her job; shit happens. “She wasn’t trying to make you look bad, if that’s what you think,” I insisted.
“No, but I guess she made me look like a charity case,” she snapped.
“Whoa, no one thinks you’re a charity case. Carlos wouldn’t eat, you made him eat, and that’s all.”
“So, we know Tracy is a, what did you call her? A pushy little busybody. Did she shame you into calling me?” she asked.
My heart almost skipped a beat. It was why I called. She was dead on the truth, but that wasn’t the only reason, was it? I wanted to call, but I wasn’t sure I should. With her here now, I knew I wanted her here. I had no idea how to make this end well.
She pulled away from me abruptly, swimming to the shore. She climbed out of the pond, her beautiful, bare ass aimed toward me as she walked toward the barn. I swam to the shore, chased after her, but she was already throwing on her wet, dirty clothes. “Don’t go,” I said, gripping her arm as she started to walk away.
She jerked away from me, but not before I could see the tears in her eyes. I had enough female cousins to know that women’s tears didn’t always represent pain; they sometimes represented anger. And, when a woman cries out of anger, stay outta her way.
I backed up, let go of her arm, and watched her walk toward her car. Charlie and a couple of the other farm crew pulled up as she was peeling her tires to get away from me. I slid on my wet, dirty jeans and walked toward the house.
“Who was that?” Scott asked.
“Nobody,” I snapped.
Charlie gave me a knowing glance, one that appeared to be filled with pity. I didn’t have time to deal with him, or any of them. I needed to get cleaned up and get on with my life. She’d wasted enough of it, and for what?
Chapter Seven
Charlotte
Damn, how could I have been so stupid?
The ride home from Owen’s was uncomfortable, to say the least. When I finally made it home, I stripped at the front door, tossing my dirty clothes in a pile on the front porch before heading inside. Why did I let him get to me again? He was a player, and that’s all he’d ever be.
“Oh, I think he’s gonna be calling you,” Tracy’s voice echoed in my head. Yeah, of course you believed he would be, because you twisted his arm, and probably threatened him, or worse, made him feel sorry for me. Ugh!
I turned on the shower, adjusted the water to hot, and then stepped inside. The water rolled down my hair, leaving a dirty mess at my feet as the rest of the mud finally released from my curls. It felt good to wash it all away. To wash Owen away.
Those beautiful, blue eyes taunted me every time I closed my own. The last image of him, standing there with no clothes on as I drove off, tore through my mind, and the way he made me feel caused my body to quiver each time I let myself remember. Why did he have to be so damn amazing?
I was so mad at Tracy, for whatever she’d said or done to make him call. I’d rather he hadn’t called me than to let me go through this all over again. Was it a game to him, a joke? I couldn’t even fathom what he truly thought of me.
I washed every nook and cranny of my body, finding mud in almost all of them. My hair had to be shampooed twice to get the tangles out, and extra conditioner combed through with my fingers to moisturize it back from where the mud and the sun dried it out. I started to laugh as I remembered how funny Owen had looked being thrown from Duke and into the mud hole. My cheeks hurt as I pushed the laugh back down, deep inside, and away from my mind. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered.
I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, over the drama of dealing with Owen. I had more important things to do with my life, like find a job. Mr. Thompson needed my help with a pregnant mare later in the week, so at least that was some money to pair with the unemployment that I was finally receiving.
As I thought about the job at hand with the mare, my mind immediately drifted to Carlos. I couldn’t help but wonder if Owen would be able to get him to eat like I had. I’d thought about stopping by a couple days after I’d stormed off, but figured it was best to leave it alone. I didn’t want him to think it had anything to do with him, even though a part of me did still want to see him.
I updated my resume, sent it out to a few local animal shelters, vet offices, and even another zoo that was just about a two hour commute. I decided if I didn’t find something soon, I would start looking further out, and even move if I had to.
Tracy tried calling several times that week, but I didn’t want to talk to her. I was mad, hurt, and a little embarrassed by the entire ordeal. We were best friends, so I knew I’d have to speak to her eventually. When my phone rang as I started out the door to Mr. Thompson’s, I figured it was a good time to answer. “Hey, Tracy,” I said quickly, rushing to my car.
“Why haven’t you answered me?” her voice was filled with panic.
I was sure she’d spoken to Owen, and she knew exactly why I hadn’t answered, otherwise she would’ve been over here checking to see if I was still alive.
“I’ve been busy,” I said calmly.
“Bullshit,” she snapped.
Aha, there ya go. You knew why, so why even ask?
“What do you want? I’m on my way to Mr. Thompson’s,” I said quickly.
I started my car, backed out onto the road, and plugged my phone into the Bluetooth speaker.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked.
“I’m irritated. But I’ll get over it.”
“I was only trying to help,” she pleaded.
“By turning me into a charity case?” I laughed sarcastically.
The roads were dark, and it started to drizzle, making it even harder to see. “I didn’t,” she protested.
