“Serves him right for being such an ass,” I replied. Once we had contained ourselves, we finished loading and then said our goodbyes. Now that I had milk, eggs, and cheese in there, I needed to get back in a hurry so they wouldn’t spoil. It wasn’t hot but it wasn’t cold during the day either.
“I’ll see you in a few days,” Deb told me as I climbed in the pickup.
“Looking forward to it,” I told her. I climbed in, started the truck and turned around to head back to the ranch. As I drove by, Deb waved. I wished I could have stayed longer. She was nice, not what I expected from a former porn star. I guess doing that didn’t mean she wasn’t a real person. I didn’t judge her. I’d always expected to get a scholarship. It was a goal and I worked hard to earn it. That was my way out but if I’d have failed, who knows what I would have done to get away from home.
>>O<<
The drive back to the Vermillion Ranch didn’t seem as long as it was the day before. It might have been that I was already getting used to the long, boring drive. Or maybe it was that I had discovered the kick ass stereo in Avery’s truck. I rocked out all the way back to the ranch to the music on my phone. I didn’t even need a cord since the receiver had Bluetooth. It was a nice truck and Avery must’ve spent a lot of money on it.
I almost felt bad for mistakenly taking it...almost.
Earl and one of the ranch hands were around to help me unload. Earl didn’t say anything about my choice of vehicle but I could tell by the look on his face, he was amused. His lips curled up slightly. As I expected, the kitchen needed a thorough scrubbing and that’s what I spent the rest of the day doing. It was almost four o’clock when I finally finished and began making dinner, spaghetti, garlic bread and green salad. Nothing fancy but way better than those horrid tuna fish sandwiches Clancy was fond of making.
“You know, you should ask a guy before you take his truck,” Avery said as I readied to serve the meal. He had sneaked into the kitchen as I worked.
“Uh, yeah...sorry about that,” I said. I expected Avery to be mad but instead he walked over and slipped his arms around me.
“No harm, no foul. You can make it up to me later. Something tells me a filly like you knows all kinds of ways to thank a man for using his truck,” Avery told me. I tried to push his arms from me but he was far too strong.
“Let go of me!” I told the tall cowboy.
“Why? You a lesbian like that gal in town?” Avery said. If he meant Deb, I didn’t know and didn’t care at the moment.
“No, just let go of me,” I reiterated. Avery just smiled and let go. He walked away without another word until he got to the door.
“You’ll come around, filly,” was all he said as he left. I clenched my fists. I was as mad at him as I was at myself for wishing he hadn’t let go. He smelled of earth and sagebrush and I found myself warming considerably beneath my yoga pants.
“Asshole!” I swore but then smiled despite myself. I tried to stop but I couldn’t. Damn that man. I shook the thoughts I was having from my head and finished getting dinner ready. I was greeted by a group of happy men as I emerged with the meal I had prepared. It was something quick and easy but they appreciated it as if it was steak and lobster. I sat between Earl and Stan again. Avery held court at the other table, yammering on about this and that while the other men listened intently to his boasts. Stan must’ve seen me roll my eyes.
“A fine meal, ma’am. You shouldn’t let the young charger bother you. It’s just his way. He’ll settle down someday, probably broken by some pretty gal,” he said. I looked at him, then at Earl, who had the slight curl to his mouth, and back again.
“Are you suggesting something...old man?” I asked and Stan laughed.
“No, ma’am. Just stating a fact. They all get tamed one way or another,” Stan told me.
“Sounds like you know firsthand,” I countered.
“Let’s just say I was once young and wild. A woman tamed my heart but I was too stubborn to let her tame my spirit. After a bumpy decade or so, she’d had enough of this life. Still, I’d been broken,” Stan said.
“I’m sorry,” I replied.
“No need to be sorry. Some men aren’t made to be tied up to a hitchin’ post. Others just act that way,” Stan told me. I glanced at Earl but he looked away as if he wanted no part of this conversation besides listening.
“All right, enough astute cowboy advice. You just volunteered to help me do the dishes,” I told Stan. I liked him. He was a good man, kind and fatherly, something I hadn’t had much of in my life. He laughed under his big mustache, stood and began picking up dishes. I grabbed mine and went to the kitchen to fill the big sink with hot, soapy water.
I let Stan off the hook after he’d cleared the tables. He offered to stay but I told him I didn’t mind the work. It would keep me busy and my mind off of my predicament. “Goodnight, ma’am,” he said before leaving.
“Night, Stan. And thanks,” I said. He turned, bowed and then left with a smile on his face. He seemed to know something everyone else didn’t, some secret to the meaning of life or something. Maybe he did. He seemed happy with his lot. I wished I was happy with mine but all I could think of was how long it would be until I could leave. I liked Stan, Earl was nice too though not real talkative, and Deb was really sweet. I wondered if what Avery said about her was true.
She seemed to appreciate his looks as much as I did but that didn’t mean anything. It didn’t matter but I couldn’t help but wonder about her former occupation. I’d never ask but I was curious. Avery was probably just being his normal self, in other words, an ass. And then there was the other dilemma I faced. It would be so easy to just dismiss him but as much as I hated to admit it, there was something about the man that held my attention. Stan seemed to be hinting at something too, though what I wasn’t sure.
I retired to my little home after getting stuff ready for the morning. I’d have to be up at four to have breakfast ready by five. Something told me I’d be awake before that anyway. But once I was in bed, the wood stove lit thanks to Earl showing me how after unloading the groceries, my mind wandered for a while. I thought of Deb and Stan and my life back home, both in Portland and Seattle. I found I wasn’t really all that homesick.
Life back in Portland was hard. With no father and a mom that had all but given up, I raised myself. I knew when I was a ten I’d leave as soon as I could. College became my escape plan. I worked hard in school, avoiding friends and boys to focus on my goal. The day I found out I got that scholarship, I was so excited but my mom was indifferent, too drunk to even care. But Seattle wasn’t much better.
At first, I enjoyed it. College was fun and exciting even though I wasn’t very popular. I kept to myself and studied hard. I had a few friends and even a boyfriend for a while but I wasn’t out partying every weekend. When I graduated, I invited my mom but she didn’t bother to come. I hadn’t been home since my sophomore year and I decided I’d likely never go back again.
That’s why getting laid off was so traumatic. I had no safety net. I wouldn’t accept welfare, not after seeing what it had done to my mom, and I couldn’t go back to my mom. I made due for a while but it wasn’t long before my savings was gone and I’d sold everything I had just to eat and pay rent. Now I was stuck in the middle of Wyoming hoping to escape but at least I was doing things on my own.
And then Avery walked in. Not into my bedroom but my thoughts. Why did he make me feel so strange, so out of control? I remembered his arms around me earlier that afternoon in the kitchen and sighed like a schoolgirl despite myself. I didn’t admonish myself, however. Instead, my hand wandered between my legs. I let Avery, the version of him in my head where he wasn’t a complete ass, take over. Oh, the things he did to me in my fantasies. I needed the release but I went far beyond that alone in the dark.
I finally forced myself to stop as I lay there panting and shuddering. I felt a bit of a fool for the fantasy but damn, it was hot. I curled up, satisfied and sleepy. I g
iggled to myself letting the memory of the things my made-up Avery did to me linger. I wondered if he could ever possibly be that good for real and that’s the last thing I remember thinking before I was asleep. I didn’t wake up until my phone’s alarm went off at five minutes before four the next morning.
>>O<<
The next couple of days were pretty tame. I got up early cooked the men a hearty breakfast and then went about trying to organize and decipher the files the last manager, Juan, had left me. I could only do so much without a computer and I wished I hadn’t sold my laptop to buy the plane ticket to get here. I almost wished I hadn’t bought the plane ticket at all but I stopped myself. That was a dead end. I was here and I was going to do the best job I could. I was going to leave once I’d saved some money, but I’d leave the office in a better state than I’d found it, a much better state.
I planned to head to town on Saturday with a check from the ranch for Deb to pay for all the supplies and hopefully pick up my new office machines. The ranch ran seven days a week but the weekends were more relaxed and only the essential chores needed to be done. Or so I was told. I hadn’t been here long enough to see it for myself. After I made breakfast, I planned to make the boys some potato salad and set some steaks out to thaw with instructions they should just grill them up themselves. Earl told me that was fine. They were adults and could fend for themselves from time to time. I wondered if that were true.
But my plans didn’t go off as I’d expected. Friday night after dinner, I climbed into bed to finish the last book I had on my phone. I was going to download more when I was in town because other than work, there wasn’t much to do around the ranch. I didn’t ride horses and there wasn’t much to see, or so I thought, so I didn’t really go exploring. I worked long days and went to bed early. At least the time passed quickly that way.
As I lay in bed, reading a steamy Scottish Highlander romance, someone knocked on my door. I assumed it was Earl. I had on a long sleep shirt and fuzzy socks and that’s how I answered the door. But it wasn’t Earl. It was Avery. I’d been avoiding him for the most part, only enduring the occasional rude comment or suggestive remark. If he hadn’t been so damned pretty, as Deb put it, I’d have had much less tolerance for his childish behavior, not to mention that when he spoke to me I couldn’t help but remember my torrid fantasy and the things I commanded him to do to me in my head.
“Oh, it’s you. What do you want?” I asked dismissively.
“That’s no way to greet a visitor,” he replied smugly.
“What do you want?” I asked again, the contempt thick in my words.
“May I come in?” he asked. I almost closed the door in his face but for some reason, I didn’t. I did hesitate, however. I couldn’t deny that part of me wanted to see what he had in mind.
“Fine, come in,” I told him as I braced myself for what I was sure was about to happen.
“Much obliged,” he said as he brushed past me. I closed the door and turned to face Avery.
“Really, what do you want? I’ve got to get up early and make breakfast and dinner before I go to town,” I told him.
“I want you,” he said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I was sure he meant something besides what I thought.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“C’mon, stop being coy. I can see it in your eyes. You want me as much as I want you. Why are we denying the obvious, little filly?” he said without leaving much doubt to his meaning that time.
“Are you for real? Why would I want you? You’re a cocky, self-indulgent, prick,” I told him. Avery seemed to puff up at that.
“Yes. Yes, I am. And you love it,” he shot back.
“No, I don’t. I think you’re an immature ass. You’re not sexy and I don’t want you,” I said and immediately knew I was lying to him as well as myself. Avery took off his hat and the duster he wore. I’d yet to see him without his hat and his hair was dark and thick, though worn short. Without his coat on, I got an eyeful of his manly form in those tight Wranglers and his western shirt. I noticed he wasn’t dirty, as if he’d showered and dressed for me.
“You’re a terrible liar, little filly,” he said as he sat in the swivel office chair and threw his legs up on my desk.
“Stop calling me that,” I admonished him.
“What? Little filly?” he asked playfully.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Naw, I don’t think I will,” Avery replied like a stubborn child.
“You should go. I need to go to...sleep,” I told him correcting myself and not wanting to give him any ideas that I was going to bed for any other reason. It didn’t work.
“I like the way you think, little filly. Let’s go to bed. I bet you’re a screamer,” he said. That was enough of that. I don’t care how sexy he was or how he made me feel in my core. He needed to go. Or maybe I needed him to go before I did something I might regret.
“Out! Get out of my house,” I shouted and pointed at the door. Avery pulled his boots off my desk and got to his feet. He ignored his hat and duster as he came towards me. I backed up until the front door was against my back. Avery came as close as he could without pressing his body to mine. He smelled of musk and shaving cream. I noticed his scruffy beard was gone.
“And what if I don’t want to go?” he asked as his hand stroked my cheek. I realized my breath was ragged and deep. A pleasant tingle spread from between my thighs. I tried to ignore the physical longing but when he kissed me, I couldn’t deny it any longer. His warm, surprisingly soft lips met mine and I gasped despite myself.
“I know I’m a scoundrel. Maybe I just need a woman like you to break me,” he said after he broke the kiss. I wasn’t ready to give in just yet, however. Some shred of resistance remained and I let my hand fly meaning to slap him for be so presumptive. Avery, however, grabbed my wrist and stopped my hand just inches from my face. “You’re feisty. I like that,” he said as if my attempt to slap him was just part of the game.
“Let go of me,” I told him but the words had no force behind them.
“No,” Avery said. He looked into my eyes with his own icy blue eyes. I absolutely melted. God, he was such an ass but I’d lost the battle. I wasn’t thinking straight anymore. What could it hurt I wondered. I knew I’d probably regret it but I reached down and squeezed the crotch of Avery’s Wranglers and I was shocked at the heft of what I found there. But that didn’t mean I was going to go softly into the night.
“Then show me what you’ve got, cowboy,” I said breathlessly, almost daring Avery to make good on his promises. He smiled a devilish grin and let my hand go. He pulled me close and then lifted my full figure off the ground and kissed me. I wrapped my legs around his thighs and my arms around his neck, sure I’d feel some remorse in the morning but deciding to worry about that then, and kissed the tall cowboy back.
“You won’t regret this, little filly,” he said as he carried me across the office and into my bedroom.
“Oh, I’m positive I will,” I said as he laid me on the bed and left me there to watch him undress. I pulled my night shirt off, exposing my pale flesh, my round belly and my pendulous breasts. Avery growled at me as he all but ripped his shirt off and then unfastened the big, shiny buckle across his flat abdomen.
“I ain’t never had me a red head. Is that fiery red hair natural?” he asked as he tugged at one boot, hopping around the floor to keep his balance. I reached into my panties and stroked myself.
“Why don’t you come find out,” I told him boldly. His eyes flared as I slipped a finger into myself and sucked in a sharp breath. God, I was surprising wet. I found I wanted to be brash and daring for this man. Avery managed to get his other boot off and then down came those Wranglers along with his boxers. He stood and holy shit, he was fully erect and rather impressive. His body was all muscle and sinew, not an ounce of fat on the broad shouldered cowboy. A tuft of dark hair on his chest and a sexy fuzz on his legs was all the hair he had. His shaft and bal
ls were deliciously naked.
“I love me a real woman,” Avery said as he knelt on the bed between my thighs and ran his calloused hands over my soft, white flesh. I looked at him curiously as I enjoyed his touch. “I prefer my women...,” he said and then paused to consider his words.
“Careful, cowboy” I warned him.
“Yes, ma’am. I was just going to say I prefer my women full-bodied,” he said and pulled my panties down and over my legs and tossed them away. “Well, well. Looks like I’ll never know if that red hair is natural,” he said finding my pussy as naked as his manhood.
“Maybe you should torture me to get me to talk,” I said brashly. What the hell was wrong with me? I’d been with men and it wasn’t unusual for me to be playful in bed but with Avery, I wanted to be more than playful. I wanted to be naughty. I wanted to be bad.
Avery indulged me, diving between my creamy thighs to devour me. Torture it wasn’t but it wasn’t long before I was talking...and moaning, screaming and giggling. Avery wasn’t subtle and I suppose I didn’t expect him to be. He lapped at my velvet folds, teased my swollen nub and kissed my puffy mound, sending me into fits of ecstasy. But the one thing he didn’t do was drive me over the edge. Avery kept me just short of climax, slipping a finger into my slippery tunnel and lifting his head to regard me.
“Tell me, little filly,” he demanded as his finger massaged that special spot inside of me. Of course, my hair was natural. The freckles across my nose and between my fluffy breasts along with my pale flesh revealed the natural color of my hair.
“No!” I retorted as I propped myself up on my elbows. God, was I really doing this? This was crazy. I barely knew this man but damn, he was sexy and he apparently enjoyed my thick figure.
“I can do this all night, Brenda,” he replied using my name instead of the pet name he’d adopted, the pet name I was growing fond of despite myself. Damn him! Avery increased the pressure of his finger and I felt a climax coming. I began to pant and groan as the pleasure came close but Avery held me on the edge. He wouldn’t let me climax but he seemed to know just how close he could get me without letting me orgasm.
Big Girls & Bad Boys: 8 Scorching Hot BBW Alpha Male Romance Novellas Box Set Page 52
