by Ava Walsh
He stopped moving and shifted onto his knees in the steel bed of the truck before he fell onto the woman, who was trying to cover herself as Nadine glared at the both of them. “I came here with you from a whole life that I had back home. Why did you even ask me of you didn’t want me to begin with?”
“Nadine, let me explain.” He tried to get his pants on before the crowd that was listening to them drew closer, as he begged her to hear him out. “Nadine!”
She pushed her way through the crowd as the anger turned into sadness, then desperation. Nadine had given up a fantastic job to move here. Even with the generous severance pay, the money had gone primarily into moving into their new condo at the edge of town, leaving her nothing. “Fuck. What am I supposed to do now?” Nadine didn’t know anyone well enough even to ask to stay with them, and there was no way in hell that she was going to forgive Cole. She ran around to the entrance of the parking lot, then she turned sharply and crashed into a sturdy body, falling to the ground.
“Are you okay?” Nadine was crying too hard to answer as he helped her up and looked her over before she nodded and kept going to a part of the rodeo where she could be alone and collect her thoughts. She had seen it earlier when they arrived, and Nadine leaned against a tree as she played the whole scene back in her head. Their entire relationship seemed like a joke when she thought back to when they’d met at a deli in the city when she and Cole were both still in school. Despite their skin color being completely different, they had clicked and moved quickly into a long term relationship. Moving in together in Chicago happened within six months after they were both settled in accounting firms, and the move here had seemed like a no-brainer at the time. She loved him and expected marriage at some point shortly, but all Nadine had now was the shame of returning to Chicago only to tell everybody what had happened.
That is, if she figured out how. Nadine had had no real need for a high-limit credit card before now, so she had nothing to work with. She hadn’t even found a job yet, though she’d been looking.
She slid down the tree trunk in the dark, and her ass hit the soft grass as she started to cry again. So many emotions flooded her brain: rage, betrayal, heartbreak, disappointment and confusion, just to name a few. Nadine buried her face in her arms as she let it all out to try to get to a place where she could figure out just what to do.
“Ma’am? Are you okay?” Her head shot up as she blinked to see the man she’d crashed into standing at the entrance to the trees with his hands in the pockets of his fitted jeans. He was wearing a black cowboy hat, and his voice sent shivers down her spine as his drawl settled over the clearing that she was sitting in. “I wanted to check on you after our collision back there.” He was clearly a local with that drawl, and Nadine looked slowly up his body before she tried to see his face.
“I’m fine from that. The fall was nothing; it’s what caused me to run that I’m having an issue with,” Nadine admitted, as the man walked over and sat down in the grass across from her. He took off his hat to reveal tousled chestnut hair and a dimple that almost made her forget about all of her problems as he smiled crookedly. The light was dimmer here than other parts of the area, but it still showed off his full lips and tormented gray eyes when she took a closer glance at him. “I found my boyfriend with a girl in his truck just now. I moved from Chicago to start a new life with him here and now…I don’t know what I am going to do.” She wiped away the tears that flowed freely from her burning eyes. “I have no home, no car, nothing. I don’t even have money to get back to Chicago because I’ve been supporting his sorry ass.”
He pulled something out of his back pocket and offered it to her. “Want a little distraction for the night?” It was a flask, and she shook her head as she stared at it. It was clearly expensive. “You’re not trying to drug me, right? Not that it would necessarily make this night worse.”
“No, ma’am. I don’t find myself having to drug beautiful women to get them into bed with me.” At least he was honest. She shrugged and took the lid off before she took a long swig of the alcohol inside. It was a good whiskey, and she swallowed it before she took a slow breath.
“That is just what I needed,” Nadine told him, as he watched her and settled back on his hands. “Want some?”
“I’ll be driving you to a hotel for the night in a while, so I’ll hold off for now.”
“Hotel? I don’t even have money for that.” Reality struck Nadine, and she took another swallow from the bottle. “What’s your name?”
“The name’s Owen James. What is yours, if you don’t mind me asking?” He let his eyes drift down her body, over her tight fitting jeans and loosely buttoned plaid shirt with a white camisole underneath it that teased Nadine’s generous cleavage. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
“Nadine Parson,” she replied in a soft, shy voice, as he extended his hand to her easily. It was evident that this man was a bit on the cocky side, but someone had taught him some good manners.
“Pleasure to meet you.” She reached out to shake his hand as she smiled and he shook it firmly as the heat passed between them.
Chapter Two
The seriousness of her situation, as well as her growing attraction to Owen, made Nadine keep sipping at the bottle and soon she was giggling as she dropped back against the trunk. He moved closer to her and slipped a hand over her thigh as she stared into his eyes under the white lights that lined the fence. “Would you like to stay with me tonight?” There was a look in his eyes that told Nadine that he needed this as much as she did, a pain that she had picked up on despite his flirting and smiles. Owen had something of his own that he was going through, and Nadine found herself worrying about him more than herself.
“Yes, I’d like that a lot.” She could pretend that everything was fine for a night and then deal with things tomorrow.
“To my chariot, my lady.” Own stood and held out his hand to help her up as she smiled at him and allowed him to lift her into his arms. Owen barely paused before his lips crashed over hers and Nadine wrapped her arms around his neck as she pulled him closer. A kiss had never made her knees weak like this one did and she parted her lips at the prodding of his tongue against her mouth and moaned as he tasted her. They kissed for several moments before he led her urgently to a shiny SUV in the corner of the lot and opened the door for her before he kissed her again. A phone was ringing over and over as he pulled away with a ragged breath and ran around to his side. Owen started the engine with a quick twist of his wrist as the phone sounded again.
“Shouldn’t you get that?” Nadine prodded him. Whoever it was seemed to need to talk to him, and Own glanced at the screen before he tossed the phone into the back of the Tahoe.
“No. It doesn't matter.” His voice was dark, and she stared at him for a moment before he backed out of the space and headed to the main road with a hard press of the gas pedal. Nadine looked around as they drove, fairly sure that they were moving in the opposite direction to her condo—her old condo. Once she got the few things she’d brought along with her, Nadine would never see those rooms again.
The car moved into the country with sprawling land and crops on both sides of them. Nadine looked at it and decided this part of Texas was beautiful as she leaned back against the comfortable leather seat. Owen took a sharp turn left into a long driveway and then a right to drive away from what looked like the main house. “Where are we going?”
“I don’t live in the house. I have my own space,” Owen responded. He kept driving until they reached a top-of-the-line double wide trailer out in the middle of nothing but miles of land.
Nadine allowed him to open her door for her and slid out before staring up at the stars in the sky. “Beautiful.”
“Yes, you are,” Owen assured her, as Nadine looked up at him and soaked in the compliments to soothe her wounded soul. “That man was a fool to throw away somebody like you, if you don’t mind me saying so. I am not too familiar with relationships myself, but I would c
herish one with the proper woman.”
“You are charming, Owen.” Nadine allowed him to lead her to the front door through the porch that offered a few chaise lounges and tables that were perfect for stargazing. They walked into a large living room with an old style rock fireplace and mantel as the focus of the large space. It was simple and beautiful, and she watched as Owen dropped his keys onto a table and headed into the kitchen. He took two glasses from a cupboard and a bottle from near the fridge before he walked over to her with a needy look on his handsome face. Nadine had never been into the cowboy look, even when her former boyfriend had taken it up, but Owen was stunning, and she stepped closer to him.
He didn’t hesitate to pull her body against his as she stood up on her toes to kiss him again. She felt like a whore as she sucked his tongue between her lips and wrapped her legs around him to feel his hard cock pressed against her. Nadine had never been like this in the past, always just going along with sex because it seemed like what she was supposed to do. Cole had offered her some excitement in the beginning, but they’d soon settled into the relationship.
At the time, Nadine thought it was a normal progression, but now she wondered how many women there were before she felt herself being pressed against the wall and her mouth ravaged by his demanding tongue. She moaned as he rocked against her and made her thighs tingle with need and lust. “I need you, Owen. Please.”
“I need you just as much,” he told her hoarsely before he kissed down her jaw and sucked her skin between his teeth. “I need to eat this sweet scent right off of your skin and taste that sweet honey between your legs. You’re addictive, Nadine.”
He turned her around and carried her into another part of the house while kissing her mouth hungrily, and she wrapped herself around his body as tightly as she could manage. They walked for a few feet as he molded his lips against hers and turned her into a pile of molten heat, before kicking open a door and dropping her on a bed.
Lips met as she tore at his long sleeved shirt with clumsy hands before he slipped it over his broad shoulders. Owen was perfect with a toned chest and rippled abs that Nadine wanted to lick. He kissed her and unbuttoned her shirt and slid it off of her shoulders. He made quick work of shredding the thin camisole off of her body before he found her neck with his lips and sucked and bit her in slow, teasing movements.
They were both pulling off their jeans in a moment apart before Owen dropped his body over hers and drew a nipple between his lips. His hands moved eagerly down her body and between her legs, and he shoved the lace thong aside and plunged his fingers into her folds as she cried out and arched her back. His fingers were long, and they slid deeper inside of her and found the spot that would make her fall apart in an instant. “Owen, oh my God. I need you.” He bit her nipple, and she groaned as he kept dragging his fingers against her until she was trembling underneath him.
Owen knew what he was doing, and it was safe to assume that he was not new to this, but what did it matter? Nadine was leaving tomorrow, and she just wanted tonight, wanted him deep inside her as she let go before she had to face her life again.
He pulled away from her breast and kissed down her stomach as he told her to play with her nipples in a hoarse whisper. Nadine lifted her hands over her full heavy breasts and pinched her nipples as his mouth found her hot center and licked with one long, firm stroke. “Ohhhhhh,” Nadine reached down with one hand to stroke his hair as she tugged harder with the other and surprised herself by enjoying the feeling of the pain and pressure.
She came hard against his mouth and gasped as warm liquid covered his mouth and her thighs. Nadine felt her skin flush red. “Jesus, Nadine. You’re soaked.” He sucked her clit into his mouth, and she pinched her eyes tightly closed as the sensitive area throbbed for more. “I want to fuck you now.”
“Yes. Yes.” Nadine panted as he pulled away and moved towards a drawer next to the bed, before sliding a condom over his hard and ready cock. Owen moved between her legs as he spread them and pulled her feet up to his shoulders before driving himself into her with one hard thrust. Nadine nearly wept as Owen spread her open and dragged against every part of her with his cock. She pressed against him with her feet.
He took her hard and fast this way before he huskily ordered her to get on her knees for him. Nadine complied easily and grunted at the feel of his hand spanking her before Owen spread her legs and took her again. Their bodies slapped together as she pushed against his thrusts and started to explode all over again while he moaned her name and kept fucking her. “Nadine…fuck…I’m going to come so deep inside of your tight pussy.” She gripped him with her body as she released in long pulses and he shot inside of her with a rough groan. She felt it hot and deep as she rocked against him and tried to come down from the high that she was riding. Nadine had never felt this way before.
“Shit, are you on anything? The condom broke.” Owen sounded panicked as he pulled out and Nadine cleared her mind.
“Yeah, it’s okay.” She was on the pill but sometimes it was hard to remember to take it, and Nadine hadn’t tried anything else with her diminishing sex life. It made so much sense now. She didn’t think that this one time would hurt anything in her blur of lust and need.
“Good. I’m not finished with you.” Owen watched her roll onto her back and take deep breaths as she looked at him with a weak smile.
“No?”
“I am going to get us water and drinks if you want one?” She nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
Nadine took another breath as she looked around the spacious bedroom with the king sized bed in the middle of the room. It seemed to be sparsely decorated, with photographs and a few pictures on the wall, but it was too dark for her to see much. She closed her eyes and relaxed against the soft sheets.
Chapter Three
Owen walked back into the room with bottles of water under his arms, and fresh whiskey poured into the heavy glasses. He looked at Nadine spread out on his bed. She looked beautiful after sex, with a soft flush over her mocha-colored skin and her eyes closed. He knew that he wanted her again and pushed the idea of her leaving in the morning away as he walked over to the nightstand and set the whiskeys down. “You alive down there?” Owen kept his voice soft as she nodded and smiled softly before stretching her arms over her head. He sat beside her as he felt his body respond to her peaked, dark nipples and soft skin. Nadine looked around and moved to the pillows to sit weakly as he passed her a glass. Owen opened the water and she gave him a grateful smile as she sipped the cold, bottled water.
They sat quietly together on the bed as the liquor settled in their veins and led to more kissing. They ended the night making love with him draped over her body and thrusting between her legs, after getting another condom. Their lips met with each thrust as he watched her face contort in another orgasm before they came together with low moans and heavy sighs. Owen moved to his side as he pulled her against him and watched her as she closed her eyes.
“Tell me about yourself,” Nadine said, as she snuggled against his chest and breathed in his scent.
“I live on this property with my family. Mom is in the main house with my kid sister Cindy while my brothers Jacob and Tommy have their own trailers on the other side of the house. My dad…he passed recently. This is one of the largest ranches in Texas, and it’s kept my family doing well. I don’t know what will happen now.” Owen swallowed slowly. “I am not really into the family business. I graduated with a degree in agricultural science, but college was about drinking and gambling at the local casinos. My brothers think I’m a fool and Cindy thinks I am her whole world, particularly since Dad is gone now. I don’t know who has it right.”
“You don’t seem all that bad to me,” Nadine told him, as she felt him brush his lips against hers.
“I am a womanizer and completely irresponsible in the eyes of my brothers.” Owen sounded defeated, and she wrapped her arms around his waist as she turned further towards him. “The ranch needs to k
eep going, and I couldn’t even go to the lawyer today. I came to the rodeo to get drunk. I can’t say that was a terrible decision since I’m here with you now.”
Nadine smiled as she wished for a fleeting moment that this could go on. In reality, she needed to go back home to Chicago where her family was and just start over. Owen was nothing more than a night for her.
“What about you?”
“I am an accountant. I had a great job in Chicago before Cole decided he wanted the simple life and told me that he was moving here. I thought we were strong, and I came with him, but now I don’t think he wanted me as much as he wanted my money to support him,” Nadine said in a shaking voice, as he kissed her again.
“You’ll be steady again real soon, Nadine. You’re a tough kind of woman,” Owen assured her, as she pressed her head into his chest and fought the sleep that was taking her over.
In the morning, Owen woke up first and made some coffee as he looked over his family’s land with heavy eyes. Owen had a lot to deal with today, and he knew that Nadine was likely leaving Texas. The thought made him sink deeper into the depression that was threatening to overtake him, and Owen raked a hand through his messy hair as he took a deep breath.
Owen knew that he wasn’t the kind of man to ask her to stay here and take care of him. That wasn’t his nature, and it had never been. He would just go on living the way he was and try to get through the loss of his dad. It was certain to be a mess with his family, especially his brothers and poor Cindy, who was heartbroken. If anything, Owen needed to become a better man for her, since she looked up to him so much already. He felt like he was living a double life, pretending to be responsible in front of her when he was a mess.
Owen shook his head to clear his thoughts as he heard footsteps in the hall. Nadine poked her head into the kitchen and gave him a shy smile before she stepped in wearing a shirt of his. “Good morning.”
