by Twyla Turner
“Oh…uh…follow me and I’ll take you to your room.” Bo said and swiftly turned on his heels.
Val saw the red creep up his neck and face before he turned, though. It made her feel somewhat better knowing that he had been embarrassed by his staring. She doubted a serial killer rapist would blush at being caught ogling a woman’s breasts through her shirt.
Her mouth gaped open, taking in her surroundings as he guided her through the house. It was impressive, masculine but not overly so, and tastefully done. His home seemed to fit him perfectly. She tried to imagine someone of his size moving around her tiny apartment in San Antonio and couldn’t see it.
He needed…space.
“So here’s where you’ll be staying.” He gestured into a spacious bedroom. “My room is the last door down the hall. You get your own private bathroom. It does connect to the adjoining spare bedroom, but since no one is in it, the bathroom’s all yours.”
Val walked into the room and peeked into the bathroom. The two bedrooms and connecting Jack and Jill bath were obviously for kids with the master suite down the hall for parents. Yet here he was all alone in this monster house on a sprawling ranch. Her curiosity about the big man steadily built each minute she was with him.
“Thank you,” Val said without making eye contact.
She barely looked at his face for more than a few seconds at a time. She had no idea why she was so incredibly nervous around him. He seemed sweet and genuine. So it wasn’t that she thought he’d hurt her that was putting her on edge.
It was awareness.
He was the type of man you could just feel in the room. You didn’t even have to see him to know he was there. His sheer size and masculinity drew her to him. But she didn’t know him from Adam and the pull towards him made her feel uncomfortable.
Val was a ten-date-minimum kind of girl. She didn’t jump into bed the first night she met someone. She had to feel at ease and relaxed with a man first. So her nipples drawing tight and the tingle between her legs at the electric current that flowed invisibly between them, threw her off-balance.
“I’ll…uh…just go and get you something to change into after your bath,” Bo said awkwardly, trying to shove his hands in his wet jean pockets.
Val just nodded her head, unable to speak. He left the room and she let her pent up breath swoosh past her lips. She padded into the bathroom, switched on the light, and shut the door. Val cringed as she took in her reflection.
“I look like a drowned rat.” She dropped her gaze to the drawers of the vanity. “The big country boy wouldn’t happen to have a random flatiron laying around, now would he?”
She looked through the cabinets and drawers and was surprised to find a large barreled curling iron. That meant a woman had been there at some point. Her curiosity built even more.
Val started to pull it out of the drawer, but then thought better of it and put it back.
“Are you really trying to impress him?” She asked her reflection.
“Val?”
“Uh…yeah,” she called back, nearly jumping a foot at hearing his voice.
“I’m gonna leave the clothes on the bed. They’re probably way too big, but I figure it’s gotta be better than wet clothes.” Bo said nervously from the other side of the door.
“Thank you, Bo. I’ll be out in a little bit.”
“Alright. Whenever you’re ready, the stew will be waiting.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Val could tell that he hesitated, but then his footsteps faded away.
She turned towards the enormous soaking tub. Soap, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion; pretty much everything she needed was there. Another clue that a woman had left her imprint.
“Since I’m here, I might as well enjoy it.”
Val sighed and then turned on the water. She wondered who the woman was who had left behind so many feminine products.
What is his story?
Chapter 3
Bo walked out of her temporary bedroom and headed to the master suite. Once inside, he closed the door and leaned back against it. The back of his head hit the door and he took deep breaths.
She’d only been in his presence for a few minutes and she was already affecting him. Bo couldn’t get the image of her soaked blouse clinging to her large breasts out of his head. Her nipples had been hard and poking through the thin material. And all he could think of was tasting them. One by one.
Which was why he was grateful that his wet jeans had zero give in them to show how aroused she made him. Otherwise, she’d be calling in a helicopter to come airlift her off of his ranch, instead of spending the night in his home. She was already on edge being alone with him. He didn’t want to give her another reason to be scared.
With a sigh of resignation, Bo pushed off of the door and headed for the bathroom for a much needed shower. He quickly stripped out of his wet clothing. The moment he unzipped his jeans and peeled down the wet fabric, his painful erection sprang free.
I better take care of him while I’m at it. Maybe it’ll keep me from embarrassing myself later.
Normally, he had much more control over his reactions and erections in the presence of a woman. But it had been years since he’d been with anyone. Especially, someone who he was actually extremely attracted to. Now his body was just letting him know that it had had enough.
Bo hopped in his large shower. He cleansed himself of the rainwater and mud and stroked his cock until he quietly groaned his release. He tried not to think too much about the fact that visions of his new houseguest was what brought him to climax.
He finished up his shower and strode naked into his walk-in closet to find something to put on. The closet was three-quarters empty since Lou Ann had left five years ago. He didn’t even have close to enough clothes to fill it. He was a rancher. What did he need with anything more than jeans, t-shirts, some sweatshirts for colder weather, and one suit for special occasions?
He pulled out a pair of gray sweatpants and a plain black tee and dressed quickly. He wanted to be out in the living area before Val was done with her bath. He left his room and headed for the kitchen to stir the stew and wait for his guest.
Bo grinned to himself when it took twenty more minutes before he heard her door open. He knew she must have enjoyed her bath. He hoped that she’d relaxed a bit. He had been reading the paper while waiting for her and turned when he heard little bare feet padding into the kitchen.
He’d left her a pair of gray fleece pajama pants and a gray t-shirt to wear after she finished her bath. The pants swallowed her short legs and she nearly drowned in his t-shirt. She was about average height for a woman, but within his clothes, made for his six-foot-five and two-hundred-and-eighty pound body, she looked like a munchkin.
And Bo found her to be absolutely beautiful. Her eyes stayed downcast as if she found her toes peeking out from under the long pant legs more fascinating than him. And she’d tucked her wavy hair behind her ears, exposing her beautiful natural face, scrubbed clean of makeup.
Bo gulped hard and tried to ignore the braless state of her breasts underneath the shirt. Though it was hard with her erect nipples poking through the material, calling his name like a beacon of hope and lust.
He squeezed his fists and internally asked for strength.
It’s like being stuck between a rock and a hard on.
“Ready to eat?” He asked as he rapidly stood up and busied himself with getting down bowls for the stew.
He needed to keep his mind off of her nipples and stop looking at her all together, because he hadn’t thought to pull on a pair of boxer briefs with his sweats. He’d lived alone for too long to even think about it. So if the blood that had started to collect in his junk continued, he’d completely embarrass himself within a few minutes.
Bo filled their bowls with the beef stew he’d started earlier that afternoon. It was one of his favorite things to make on a cold rainy day. He placed the bowls on the kitchen table and glanced up at Val.
She hadn’t moved from her spot, but she was finally looking at him.
She hadn’t looked him straight in the eye since he’d pulled her from her sinking car. Their eyes finally meeting sent shockwaves through him. Val didn’t look immune either. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, she worried her bottom lip with her teeth, and her eyes were almost frozen on his. Unable to look away.
Bo felt his body start to react and knew he had to focus his attentions on something else and quickly.
“Come sit.” Bo’s voice came out a little more husky than he’d intended as he pointed to the chair across him his.
Val blinked rapidly, the spell broken. She slowly walked over to the table and sat quietly.
“Would you like water, soda, beer, or wine?”
“Um…wine would be nice.”
“Alrighty. Some wine, coming right up.”
Bo was relieved that she’d asked for wine. He hoped that it would help her relax. He also hoped that the beer he chose, calmed his nerves as well.
Once her glass was filled with the red wine Lou Ann had left behind, he’d cracked open his beer, and he sat across from her as an awkward silence spread over them. To ease the discomfort Bo cleared his throat to get Val’s attention.
“How about we say grace? Maybe that’ll ease up the awkwardness,” he suggested, figuring he might as well address the elephant in the room.
“That would be great.” Val’s shoulders sagged in relief, making Bo happy that he’d done the right thing.
“Okay,” Bo nodded.
He reached his hand across the table, palm up. Val hesitantly took it and he felt warmth spread through him like a soothing balm. They bowed their heads and he began.
“Thank you, Lord. For sending me out to find Miss Hart right on time. Thank you for giving me the strength to bring her to safety. And thank you for this food we are about to receive to fill us and warm us on this cold day. In Jesus name, amen,” he finished quietly.
“Amen.”
Bo looked up to find Val looking at him with a small smile on her pretty lips. He smiled back. The anxiety before had seemed to pass. They ate in comfortable silence.
~~~
Although her nerves had calmed quite a bit after Bo addressed their obvious discomfort and said that lovely prayer, Val still had a strange tension in her stomach. It began the minute she’d finally fully looked at Bo as he’d started to prepare their meal.
Her eyes had devoured him. She couldn’t get over how big he was. He stood at least a foot over her. Solid muscle from hard work was evident throughout his whole body. But soft layers covered them from good, hearty home cooked meals. He was literally a walking, talking teddy bear.
As he’d ladled stew into their bowls, her eyes had taken in the breadth of his shoulders, the flex of his massive arms, and the plumpness of his round behind in his gray sweats. But it was once he turned that her breath became stuck in her throat. Those sweats did little to hide what he had been gifted with by nature. The material outlined every long, wide inch of him. That strange tension inside of her grew. And she’d prayed for strength right then and there.
Val’s eyes had traveled up his thick waist, to his burly chest, and connected with his eyes. More like, collided with his eyes. When he’d rescued her, the sky had been dark with gray clouds and his hat had covered most of his face, not to mention the fact that she’d refused to look at him square on. So she hadn’t gotten a good look at him, until that moment.
Bo’s eyes were steely gray and seemed to penetrate her soul. She had been spellbound. Unable to look away.
He had a solid and sturdy jaw, covered by a soft brown beard. His wheat blond hair was just a smidge too long so that the ends curled up around his ears and the back of his neck. The quintessential farm boy. But he wasn’t a boy. He was all man. It was his shy demeanor that reminded Val of a boy. She had admitted to herself in that moment, Bo was beyond handsome.
They’d eaten their stew in relative silence. Bo only stopping once to ask her if the stew was okay. Which it was. He was a fantastic cook, if the stew was any indication.
Now they had moved into the living room with their drinks. Hers recently refilled and his freshly cracked open. Val watched Bo as he started a roaring fire in the beautiful stone fireplace. The furniture in the room was large, dark-brown, and incredibly cozy. The effect of the cozy atmosphere was enhanced by the way he’d set up the furniture. The couch and chairs had been pulled closer to the fireplace to give it that warm, comfy feel in the large, open-concept space.
Val sat on one end of the couch with her legs curled up underneath her, her wineglass resting on her thigh. Once Bo was done stoking the fire, he sat down on the other end of the couch. Which put them only about three-feet from each other. Which only caused the tension in her belly to grow.
Bo brought one leg up to sit facing her. His long arm stretched across the back of the couch. His fingertips only a short distance away if she did the same.
She kept her arm down.
“So what do you do, Val?” Bo finally broke the silence.
She felt a tinge of guilt for being so closed off. She took a breath and decided to try to open up to the kind man who had saved her and opened up his home to her.
“I’m an administrative assistant. Well, actually I have the duties of an executive assistant, but without the title or the pay raise,” she rolled her eyes.
“So I take it, you don’t like your job very much.” Bo gave her a sympathetic smile.
“Not exactly,” she admitted.
“Well, if there was one thing you could do, what would it be? In other words, what are you passionate about?” He asked, leaning in, showing genuine interest.
“I actually have a small side business. I make organic, all-natural skin and hair care products for women. Particularly, women of color. It just hasn’t taken off enough for it to be my sole income. Mind you, it could be if I were able to give it more of my time and attention, but I have to pay the bills. So it’s a catch-22.” Val shrugged at the end of her explanation.
“That sounds like a wonderful business. I’m sure that you’ll do well eventually. Just have a little faith,” Bo said with confidence.
“Faith is all I’ve been running on lately.”
“Then you’re on the right track. It’s coming,” he reassured her.
“How do you know?” Val smiled and cocked her head to the side, her flirtatious nature peeking its head out.
“Oh, I have a feelin’ you’re a force to be reckoned with. There’s something in your eyes that says you don’t give up easily.”
“You just might be right,” she smirked before taking another sip of wine.
The red liquid was definitely loosening her up some. Her body felt more relaxed than it had in forever. And her brain was just getting warmed up to begin the subtle flirtatious acrobatics that were shared between two people who were attracted to each other.
Yeah, she’d finally admitted to herself that there was definitely an attraction between them. Val attributed her epiphany to the wine swirling around her head.
Maybe I should ease up or next thing I know I’ll be in his damn lap.
She took her own advice and leaned over to place her wineglass on the coffee table.
“Do you…have anyone that’s waiting for you at home? Someone worried when you don’t arrive tonight?” Bo asked, looking down at his beer bottle unable to make eye contact with her.
Val knew he was asking for reasons other than concern.
“No, I don’t. I live alone,” she answered honestly.
“Really?!” He asked in shock. “Well, is there anyone waiting to take you out tonight for Valentine’s Day?”
It was obvious he wanted to be sure she meant that she was single and not just living alone with a boyfriend elsewhere.
“Nope. There’s no one waiting. No dinner. No flowers. No chocolates. Just an empty apartment.” Val listed off, her voice turning somewhat snippy.
“I’m sor
ry, Val. I didn’t mean to pry.” Bo sighed and then continued honestly. “That’s a lie. I was prying. I just find it hard to believe that a beautiful woman such as yourself would be alone on Valentine’s Day or any day for that matter.”
Val felt heat creep up her neck and land in her cheeks.
“Thanks,” she said shyly.
She quickly reached for her wineglass again and took another large sip before putting it back.
“So what about you,” she smiled at him.
“What about me?”
“Why is a handsome, strapping man such as yourself living by yourself in this huge house on all this land?” Val added a teasing tone to her question.
“I was married. But we divorced five years ago.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said sincerely.
“It’s okay,” Bo shrugged. “We weren’t right for each other. We mainly got together because it was what our parents wanted.”
“Oh. Well, that makes sense, I guess. Are your parents mad that you got divorced?”
“They definitely didn’t celebrate. But I was tired of living my life for them.” He fidgeted with the label on his beer bottle. “Tired of giving up what I truly want just to please them.”
“I can certainly understand that, but you haven’t dated since then?”
“Well, I reckon I’ve just been too busy running my ranch to try and date. I don’t go into the city much and single women certainly don’t come this way very often. My parents have tried setting up meetings with women they think would be appropriate. But I usually decline, since they never choose anyone to my liking.” Bo opened up to her with ease.
“Where are your parents?”
“They live right down the road. They handed down the ranch to me and then ‘retired’ to a smaller place, not far from here. I tried to convince them to move to the coast or even to Hawaii or something. But they love Texas and love even more having a say in how I run this ranch and my life without doing the work or living here.” Bo finished with undisguised frustration.
