A Rancher's Desire

by Nikki Winter

  Something she said made him freeze as a slow smile spread across his face. “Hermosa, you said ‘willing.’”

  Her eyes widened and she took a step back as he took one forward. He kept walking until he had her pinned to the wall, each of his hands on either side of her head. “You also seem pretty sure that you would’ve ended up in my bed that night. If you are so certain of this, why do you fight what is so natural? Stave off the inevitable, hmm?”

  “Because this is not natural.” She motioned between the two of them.

  “Who says?” Julian questioned as he leaned down, putting them nose to nose. “Since when is it not natural for two consenting adults to desire one another?”

  Aiyanna bit her lip. “Since this is the second time you’ve stood in front of me and I feel like...”

  He brought his eyes up from her mouth. “What? You feel like what?”

  “I feel like if I let you walk out of that door I’ll regret it, but I know that if I give in to what my body wants, I’ll regret that too.” That vulnerability was back and it twisted his gut.

  “I would never hurt you, Hermosa.” She needed to know that. As insane as it was, Julian needed her to understand that this went beyond his need to lay claim to her body. In just these brief and seemingly minuscule encounters, she’d touched a part of him that had never been reached before.

  “I don’t know that.” Her gaze focused over his shoulder.

  Cocking his head, he made her lock eyes with him again. “Then let me prove it. What do you have to lose?”

  Her heart. Aiyanna could lose her heart. She’d never had this acute of a reaction to any man and that scared her shitless. Julian Almanza was a danger to her mind, body and spirit and if she went any further down this rabbit hole, she would fall faster than Alice did but it might not have a happy ending.

  Insanity, it was pure insanity and yet the side of her that could never wait to try something new was begging her to do it. It was begging her to give this man a chance.

  “Let me prove that getting you into my bed isn’t all I want,” Julian whispered. “I want to know what makes you laugh, what pisses you off besides me. I want to know what foods you hate and the ones you love. I want to understand what makes you think so hard about the simplest of things. You are right Hermosa. I don’t know you but if you give me the chance, I would sooner walk away than cause you any more pain than you’ve already experienced.”

  Jesus...the sincerity in those stormy, blue gray eyes took her breath away. Just standing there, having him look down at her was more than enough to make Aiyanna want to do whatever he asked. Yes, Julian Almanza was a very dangerous man but she wanted a little taste of that danger—even if it meant risking her heart in the process.

  She told him her fee and he didn’t blink but he did smile again. “Done,” he replied enthusiastically.

  “Double it, but take half and give it as a scholarship fund for UVA,” Aiyanna added.

  Julian nodded his dark head. “Whatever you want.”

  Taking a deep breath, she said, “Set an appointment with my assistant for Wednesday. I’ll come check out the house and we’ll go from there.”

  If anything, his smile widened. “You won’t regret this, Hermosa.” Taking her by surprise, he leaned down and pressed the sweetest of kisses to her cheek.

  Then, he stepped back and waited until she moved aside so he could open the door and stroll out. Aiyanna touched her cheek. “I hope I don’t.”

  Chapter Three

  “Mama, I don’t need to be set up,” Aiyanna sighed trying desperately not to go out back and find her Daddy’s shovel so she could dig a hole and push the woman who gave birth to her in it.

  Her twin brother Elan snorted in the seat beside her and she kicked him under the table. Giant bastard didn’t even flinch, just grunted. Aiyanna wasn’t surprised being that he was double her size and almost a foot taller but she would’ve appreciated it more had he been in pain.

  Evelyn King waved a hand, “Yes you do.”

  “Evie...” Aiyanna’s daddy started.

  “She does Hassun and you know it. At the rate she’s moving I won’t have any grandchildren until I’m in diapers my damn self.”

  “I was hoping you’d be at the pearly gates way before then,” Aiyanna murmured but Elan still heard it and choked on a laugh.

  She narrowed her eyes on him and he swallowed down a smile.

  Her daddy shot her a sympathetic look, his black irises holding more warmth and acceptance than she’d ever seen in her mother’s gaze. It was sad, but Aiyanna had always wondered exactly what he saw in her mother. Evelyn was beautiful, yes, but her insides were twisted; her logic superficial.

  Hassun, on the other hand, had the gentlest heart Aiyanna had ever known—even with him being as wide as a door. Evelyn had a fun time blaming Aiyanna’s height and weight on his side of the family being that in the forty or so years that they’d been married, her size four status hadn’t shifted in the least.

  Evelyn thought Aiyanna needed a good diet plan. Meanwhile, Aiyanna thought her mother needed a good therapist and to stop sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.

  “If she’d just take the card for that personal trainer I have—”

  “Evie, enough.”

  Evelyn clamped her mouth shut and Aiyanna bit the inside of her cheek so she wouldn’t smirk. When Hassun King spoke, people listened or they found themselves on a side of her father that they didn’t appreciate.

  “She’s perfect just the way she is,” her Daddy continued, his jaw clenching.

  “She has a weight problem, Hassun.”

  “She,” Aiyanna jumped in, “is sitting right here. And I like the way I look. You have a problem with my weight.”

  Elan placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed before letting go. Aside from Lalani, her brother understood exactly how much shit she’d had to put up with her whole life when it came to Evelyn.

  Out of the two of them, he was physical perfection in their mother’s eyes, taking after both their parents in the best of ways. His features strongly read Cheyenne coming from their father while his slim build and darker skin came from their mother. Elan had been the one to receive most of Evelyn’s affection because he fit the mold of the perfect son.

  Aiyanna, on the other hand, was far from what Evelyn had envisioned for a daughter but damned if she hadn’t tried to sculpt her into it; ballet, gymnastics, instruments and any pageant she could get Aiyanna in she’d tried. And Aiyanna ruined every opportunity, purposely, until she finally gave up hope and moved on to trying to run Elan’s life.

  There was love and then there was the obsessive need to control someone else’s life. Evelyn was leaning towards the second and Aiyanna was tempted to push her over the edge.

  “Do you want to find a husband? Or are you just going to end up barren and lonely?”

  Aiyanna looked over at Elan who was pleading with his eyes for her not to say what she was about to say. Twin powers were funny that way.

  “Mama, there’s something I think you should know,” Aiyanna said softly, leaning forward in her mother’s direction.

  “A.J. ...” Elan groaned.

  “Well? What is it?” Evelyn asked.

  “Lalani...well...she and I are more than just business partners and friends.” She kept her face straight and her gaze focused.

  Evelyn’s eyes widened in her face. “Aiyanna Jordyn you better not be saying what I think you’re saying.”

  When her Daddy and Elan started laughing, Aiyanna grinned. “Oh c’mon Mama, you can’t tell me that for the briefest of moments,” she held her fingers a millimeter apart, “that you weren’t happy I actually had somebody—even if she has a cookie jar just like me.”

  Evelyn ran a hand down her face. “You’re determined to drive me into an early grave.”

  Aiyanna opened her mouth and Elan slapped his hand over it. “Don’t. You. Dare.”

  She deflated and sat back in her seat, rolling her
eyes.

  “Despite what you may believe Aiyanna, I actually do care if you’re happy.” Evelyn almost looked sincere, especially with the added touch of the pearl clutching.

  Aiyanna looked at Elan and he shook his head no. She sighed, “I know you do.”

  Smiling, Evelyn stood. “I’m happy to hear that.”

  She froze as the doorbell rang and looked at her mother. “Mama, you didn’t...”

  “I promise you’ll love him.” Then she shuffled off to answer the door.

  Aiyanna looked at her Daddy, horrified. “You set me up!”

  Hassun raised his hands. “You get to leave and go home. I have to stay. Do the math, baby girl.”

  Damn, he did have a point.

  Evelyn reappeared a few minutes later, tugging along the potential victim...er prospect. Once again, Aiyanna slowly turned her head and looked at Elan, one brow arched. He arched one back and shrugged.

  Aiyanna tugged her left ear and he cocked his head to the right. The plan was set. Poor dude didn’t even know what he had coming.

  “Wait, wait, wait. You’re doing all of this for a woman?”

  Julian shook his head and looked over the stable door of his favorite horse at his brother. Havan had caught him in the middle of grooming. “No, I’m doing all of this because she and I both need it.”

  Havan frowned. “What? Sex?”

  Julian rolled his eyes. Of course that’s what it always came down to with his sibling. Havan didn’t exactly embrace the idea of marriage and family. Julian couldn’t blame him. When one grew up in the environment that they had, love was trivial. Havan described it as fickle and unnecessary. On that Julian disagreed. In his eyes, a person couldn’t choose who they fell for. It just happened.

  He didn’t pretend to know what was transpiring between him and Aiyanna, he just knew he’d never felt it before. The way she smelled, her smile, her curves, they all stood to be a temptation that was slowly weakening his resolve to show her that he wanted more than her body. But Aiyanna was worth the ache that developed every time he got near her so he would continue to push through it until it got better.

  “No,” he finally answered his brother. “We both need love.”

  Havan stared at him for a few seconds before he started laughing; long and hard. He kept going until he was bent over at the waist and barely able to breathe. When he saw that Julian hadn’t joined in, he stopped. “Oh...you’re serious.”

  “Yes, I’m serious.”

  Sighing, Havan leaned against the stall door. “Little brother, let me clue you in on a small fact.”

  “I would say no, but I believe you’d drag me out of here, and sit on me then tell me regardless.”

  “One time. I did that one time and still you will not let it go.”

  “Please give me the advice that I plan to avidly ignore so I can move on with my life,” Julian replied drolly.

  Havan slapped a hand against his own chest. “Usted no se merece un hermano como yo.”

  Julian gave a cheeky smile. “On that we agree. I don’t deserve a brother like you.”

  “One day, Julian. One day you will need my wisdom and I will turn you away.”

  Brow arched, Julian asked, “Will I need a new coat for the arctic temperatures in hell also?”

  Havan simply snarled before turning and storming out of the stables.

  He chuckled, watching his brother stomp off. Havan had been irritated with him more times than he could count. This time would be no different. He’d be back before he left for Pennsylvania to prod Julian into coming to see him compete and he would of course go and cheer for him in the stands.

  Despite Havan’s tendency to be an asshole, Julian really couldn’t have asked for a better protector, teacher or brother. Their bond had always been there. From the time they were boys and watched their mother go from man to man searching for something their father hadn’t given her for the brief period that he’d been around until now.

  Julian had needed someone to care because their mother certainly hadn’t. Maybe that was why he’d hit this point in his life—searching for something more; something deeper.

  As a boy, all he really wanted was affection. To be told that he was loved or wanted, but what he got was the constant reminder that he looked just like his no good Padre and that he would probably amount to nothing. Julian looked around his horse stable and smirked.

  How wrong Alyss Almanza had been.

  Just as quickly as he felt a spark of pride, it dissipated. Alyss had yet to forgive Julian and Havan for leaving Argentina to pursue their bull riding careers in the US. The amazing thing was, she had no problem taking the monthly checks they both sent to keep her more than comfortable back home.

  He shook his head. His mother had complained every day that they’d been in her presence, yet she acted heartbroken when they gave the news of their leaving.

  Maybe it was guilt? Julian didn’t know. He just understood that now he wanted to know what it felt like to be loved. Correction. He wanted to know what it felt like to be loved by Aiyanna.

  Grinning, Julian left the stables and realized tomorrow was the day that he would get to be around Hermosa again. That was enough to knock away his maudlin thoughts as he made his trek to the main house.

  Chapter Four

  “Okay, two things,” Aiyanna stated, walking into Lalani’s office, “my mother may honestly have the fear that over the past ten years of our friendship we’ve become lovers—”

  “Wait...what?” Lalani looked up from the game she’d been playing on her Android.

  “And—”

  “And? How about we go back to the part of you proclaiming that I like cookies to your mother? Do you know what will happen to me if Alana Noble hears that? It’s not that she’d be upset about my alleged cookie liking, she’d be upset that I wasn’t the one to inform her of this sudden new preference.”

  “And,” Aiyanna continued taking a comfortable spot on Lalani’s couch, “I do believe I’ve officially been banned from family dinners.”

  “She tried to set you up again didn’t she?”

  Aiyanna grinned. “Tried and failed.”

  “Did you make this one cry?”

  Shrugging, Aiyanna said, “Nope. His eyes watered a little but he didn’t break. It was actually pretty admirable.”

  Lalani shook her head. “You were disappointed when he didn’t cry weren’t you?”

  “Well...”

  “Sick, just sick.” Her friend looked down at her watch. “Aren’t you supposed to be on your way up to Madison to see your future husband’s ranch?”

  Aiyanna snorted. “He’s not my future husband.”

  “Okay. Let’s try this. Aren’t you supposed to be on your way up to Madison to see the giant, gorgeous, panty soaking man who wants to fuck you bowlegged?”

  “Yup.” Aiyanna nodded making Lalani laugh. “I just came in here to warn you that if Mom Alana calls, it’s my fault and I’m sorry ahead of time.”

  Lalani smirked. “No you’re not.”

  “You’re right. I’m not. But you love me anyway.” Aiyanna stood and started for the door.

  “Oh, before I forget. Here.” Lalani stood and tossed her a brown paper bag.

  “What the hell?” Aiyanna was slow to open it, scared of what she might see. Her head jerked back up. “Lalani...”

  The other woman shrugged. “Be good. If you can’t be good then be safe. If you can’t be safe,” she grinned wide, “then name it after me.”

  The sad thing was, Aiyanna took the bag. She had no intentions of sleeping with Julian now, if ever, but with the way that man made her feel, she couldn’t be too sure that her resolve would hold.

  “Dear God, please don’t let me do anything stupid today,” Aiyanna murmured as she climbed into her truck and made her way to Madison.

  “Dear God, I’m gonna do something stupid today.” Aiyanna stood wide eyed, watching Julian as he herded his horses. The herding part isn’t what had her f
eet frozen and her mouth slightly open.

  No, with it being a few weeks into summer the heat in Virginia had already started to ratchet up and that inevitably meant less clothes would be worn. Apparently, that was also the case for her rancher because there was no full shirt in sight and God help her, Aiyanna was so grateful for that.

  His Stetson, a tight, white tank, dark jeans, and boots were the only things that made up his wardrobe for the day. Oh, and sweat. Sweat counted as a part of it right? How could it not with the way it glistened off of each and every cut of his abdomen, arms and back making his shirt virtually see-through. Aiyanna leaned forward and watched him move with his horse in a fluid grace that had her mesmerized. Okay, honestly it wasn’t the riding, it was the sweat but that was to be expected considering the fact he was so damn beautiful.

  Julian finally looked up and caught her staring from the side of the fenced in pasture. The smile that lit his face and eyes left her breathless and Aiyanna felt herself tumble deeper down the rabbit hole.

  She hiked her book bag higher on her shoulder as he directed his horse to trot over to where she was standing, wishing that she had chosen to wear something other than jeans, a v-neck tee, her work boots and a Falcons cap. Not wanting to tempt fate anymore than she was by coming here, she’d chosen to keep her clothes as simple as possible. But Julian was blowing through all her walls with one smile so the point had been moot.

  He finally stopped in front of her, his horse’s hooves kicking up dust. Julian’s grin never faded. “You’re early, Hermosa.”

  Gripping her bag’s strap and tilting her head back so she could look up at him, she said, “Sorry. I wanted to check everything out a little bit earlier so I can get started on some sketches.”

  Climbing off the horse’s back, he leaned on the only barrier between them as his blue gray irises sparkled down at her. “No apology necessary. What would you like to see first? The house or the grounds?” Then he took his Stetson off so he could pull that damn tank top up and over his head. He re-situated his hat then wiped the sweat from his neck and chest.