Play Me

by Kelly Elliott

  When I turned back his way, Hunter grabbed me by the shoulders and stopped me. “I never figured you for a coward.”

  I reared my head back and narrowed my eyes at him for throwing the words I’d said to him back at me. “I am not a coward.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “You ran. You got scared because we both know that night was more than a fuck.”

  I swallowed hard. It had been. Memories of his touch swirled through my head. In a whisper, I asked, “What do you want from me?”

  “To be honest with me and with yourself.”

  I closed my eyes, forcing myself to say the words. “It was more than a fuck. I admit it. And I am terrified.”

  “Why?”

  I opened my eyes to find Hunter still watching me intently. He didn’t appear mad, his expression was more concerned than anything else. That made it easier to open up to him. “Because this isn’t part of the plan. Having a relationship wasn’t supposed to happen yet—or maybe ever. You weren’t supposed to happen, Hunter.”

  “Hell, Kendall, there’s no script. Life isn’t some damn movie you play a part in. There are no guarantees. None. Do you think I wanted this to happen? Trust me. This...”—he gestured between the two of us—“complicates the hell out of things.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about. What if the complications lead to a fallout, and we hurt more than just ourselves? What if I hurt you? Or you hurt me? What if I fail?”

  He took a step forward. “And what if it leads to something we never imagined? The question you have to ask yourself is if it’s worth the risk. Only you can answer that.”

  “Is it worth the risk to you?”

  I waited for him to respond, and he reached out to cradle my face. “Yeah, baby, it is. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head.” He brushed a stray hair out of my face. “What do you want to do, Kendall? It’s your turn to call the play.”

  I laid my palm on his chest and spread out my fingers over his heart. “I want to try whatever this is, but I also want to make sure we aren’t so consumed with each other that we bring down the team. If we don’t handle this right, it’ll doom us from the start.”

  I felt his heartbeat speed up. “I would never put your career at risk, you have to know that, Kendall. I feel something between us, and I don’t want to ignore that. We’ll make sure we handle this right.”

  “I’ve never tried to balance the two. And I’m terrified.”

  Without another word, he grabbed my hand.

  I asked, “What are we doing? Where are you taking me?”

  “We’re going to spend the day getting to know each other. No plans. No structure. Just you and me.”

  I’d doubted my own eyes when I saw Kendall parked outside in my driveway. The fact that my body felt alive for the first time in two weeks hadn’t gone unnoticed, either. This woman had a way of both getting under my skin and making me want her at the same damn time.

  “Hunter?” she asked with a girlish giggle. “Where are you taking me?”

  “To the barn,” I said.

  “Oh.”

  Her voice was laced with disappointment, and I knew she probably would have preferred for me to take her to my bedroom. In truth, it was hard to not throw her over my shoulder and take her to bed. But after the way she’d run away, I knew I needed to take things in a different direction. Focus on the us part rather than the sex part.

  “I don’t have the right shoes on to go to the barn, Hunter.”

  I stopped, turning to face her. She was wearing jeans that fit her body perfectly and a long-sleeved blue T-shirt that had the Carolina Lions plastered on the front. I’d have to admonish her later for her taste in NFL teams. When my gaze landed on the stylish boots, I rolled my eyes.

  “Did you bring any other shoes in your bag?”

  “Um... my bag?”

  I lifted a brow. “Your overnight bag. You did pack one, right?”

  She kicked at something on the ground and lifted one shoulder in a half shrug before mumbling something that sounded like no.

  “I’m sorry, what was that?”

  Her blue eyes lifted to meet my gaze. “I didn’t pack a bag.”

  With a sigh, I dropped my head back and looked up at the sky. “Did I not teach you anything on our little road trip?”

  “I hadn’t planned on staying the weekend. I hadn’t actually planned anything. The only thing I knew was that I needed to talk to you.”

  The corner of my mouth turned up and my chest tightened when she gave me the most adorable smile. Does she have any idea how beautiful she is? Add in her intelligence, mix it with the strong stubborn Boardroom Kendall, and you had one sexy-as-hell woman.

  “Tell me you’ll stay with me all weekend.”

  As she pulled her lip between her teeth, her sweet and adorable smile turned into something more sinful. There was no denying the connection between the two of us. I’d felt it the very first time she’d approached me.

  “All weekend?” she asked with a purr. “I don’t have any clothes, remember. What will I wear?”

  My dick instantly went hard, and it took everything I had to push away the thought of her walking around my house naked.

  “I would say you could go naked, but that might give my mom and dad the wrong first impression of you.”

  Her smile dropped, and she stepped back. “What? Your parents? Here? Now? Oh. My. Gosh.”

  And there was the freak-out version of Kendall. She didn’t show up often, but when she did, it was in full force.

  “They’ve been staying here, watching the place for me, until I hired someone to take care of running things. They’re going to be here one more night, and tomorrow morning they head back to Wyoming.”

  She swallowed hard, her eyes cautious. “So I have to meet them?”

  I tilted my head and replied, “Unless you want to hide out in the barn tonight. I could bring you out scraps of food and a blanket.”

  Her forced smile told me she was really worried. Wringing her hands together, she said, “It’s just so soon. I mean, you don’t really meet the parents until after like six months of dating.”

  “Six months? Jesus, is that how long you’ve made your boyfriends wait before meeting the folks?” I laughed. Kendall didn’t laugh. She looked up with me with a blank look that told me she wasn't exactly used to meeting the parents.

  The last thing I wanted to do was cause her more stress. Placing my hands on her cheeks, I leaned down and softly kissed her lips. It was the first contact we’d had since that morning two weeks ago, and damn it all to hell if it didn’t feel incredible. “They don’t have to know anything about our relationship.”

  “Then why would I be here?” Her voice was soft. Not weak—Kendall didn’t do weak. No, it was more unsure, uncertain. As if she was stepping into uncharted territory and had no clue how to chart the course.

  Smiling, I said, “You were out of town for a few weeks and decided to come to the ranch so we could catch up on work.”

  Kendall worried her lip.

  “Stop using your brain so much, Kendall. Will you please just relax? It’s my folks. Meeting them does not commit you to anything. Let’s just do us and let this thing go where the universe wants it to go.”

  She stood with a nod and a smiled before placing both hands on my chest. “You’re right. I need to relax. Being here this weekend will do just that.”

  “Besides, my mother is going to know we’ve slept together the moment she sees you.”

  With that, I turned and walked to the barn.

  “What!” Kendall cried out, running up next to me. “Hunter, why would you say that?”

  I laughed. “I’m kidding. But they know something is up considering the way I’ve been acting the last two weeks. It’s hard to keep things from my mother. It’s like she has some sort of weird magical mom power and knows when something’s off.”

  “Yours, too, huh?”

  Kendall laced her fingers in mine, and my heart rate
dropped before speeding up again.

  “This still doesn’t solve my boot situation. I’m not wearing the mucking boots again.”

  “What size shoe do you wear?”

  Her brows pulled in tight. “I am certainly not wearing a pair of boots your old girlfriend left here, Hunter. No, thank you.”

  I looked down at her boots and then back up to her face. “I’m talking about my mother’s boots. You’re about the same size, and the woman has added about ten pairs to her collection here over the years.”

  “Oh,” she said, a small smile playing on her face. “I’m a six and a half.”

  “Perfect, I think she is around that size. Come on, she has a couple pairs in the tack room.”

  “She won’t mind?” Kendall asked as I took her hand and led her to the barn.

  “Are you kidding? She would probably give them all to you if she thought we had something going on.”

  This time her cheeks flushed. Which was equally hot.

  After we fit Kendall with a pair of boots, she sighed and looked around the tack room. “What chores are we going to do?”

  “No chores. We’re going riding. I need to figure out a name for this horse,” I said as I approached the Akhal-Teke mare. I smiled as I stepped into her stall and ran my hand over her golden coat. Her head bobbed, and she made it known she was happy with the attention. My father had spent the last few weeks working with her and finally got her to take a rider for more than a minute. I should have known he’d get through to her.

  “She is so beautiful. I thought you couldn’t stay up on her?”

  I huffed. “My father had to go off and prove who was the better horse trainer. Let’s see if she’ll let me ride her the way she lets him. She’s beautiful to watch when she’s got a rider.”

  “Maybe she has a crush on him. I’ve seen pictures of your father; he’s quite handsome.”

  Turning to face her, I lifted a brow. “You got a crush on my father, Kendall?”

  She gave a half-hearted shrug. “I’m simply stating a fact. I see where you get your good looks.”

  When she winked at me, it took everything I had to not pull her into my arms and take her right there in the stall.

  “Your mother is beautiful, as well. And your sister. She looks exactly like your mom.”

  “Thank you. My mother is stunning. So is Charlotte. But you didn’t answer my question. You got a thing for dear old Dad?”

  This time she smiled. “No, but I do have a crush on you.”

  “Just a crush?” I asked, lifting my hand and tucking away a stray piece of hair that had come loose from her ponytail.

  Kendall worked her lower lip a bit. “It’s more than a crush.”

  “Good,” I whispered right before I leaned down and kissed her. When she moved to wrap her arms around my neck, I stepped back.

  She let out a sound somewhere between a whimper and a growl.

  “Who do you want to ride?”

  That question made her brow lift and her cheeks turn red again. Damn, it was a major turn-on knowing she wanted me.

  Keep it slow, Owens. Keep it slow.

  She drew in a quick breath before letting it out slowly. “I’ll let you pick.”

  “I’d go for Romeo.”

  My father’s voice caused us to turn toward the door. My mother stood next to my father, a huge smile lighting up her face. She really was beautiful. Her dark hair was pulled up, and when she glanced up toward my father, I could see the love for him all over her face. I longed for that kind of love someday. The way my father told their story, my mother had given up her dreams to be with him. The way she told it, my father was her dream and she’d given up nothing and gained so much more when she left her job at ESPN.

  Kendall looked at me and then back to my father.

  “I meant Romeo the horse,” he clarified with a wink.

  “You must be Kendall Wales,” Mom said as she slipped her arm out from Dad’s and made her way over toward Kendall.

  “Y-yes,” Kendall replied, apparently a bit shaken from the unexpected encounter. “And you must be Mr. and Mrs. Owens. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

  Kendall stepped out of the stall and extended her hand to first my mother and then my father. Of course my mother’s eyes darted over to me. I could read her expression and was pretty sure where her thoughts were going.

  Beautiful woman. Check.

  Smile back on my face. Check.

  In the barn with my prized horse. Check.

  I gave her a look that asked her to back off. With my last girlfriend, Rachel, my mother never really pushed hard at all. I often wondered if it was her mother’s intuition that told her Rachel wasn’t the one. She’d never pushed me for details on the progress of our relationship. Not that my mother was pushy in that way, but I had dated Rachel the longest out of any of my exes. Looking back on it now, I should have seen that as a warning sign.

  “What brings you out to the ranch, Ms. Wales?” my mother asked.

  “Please, call me Kendall. I, um... well...”

  “She was back in Atlanta for a couple of weeks and wanted to catch up on some work. I told her I was here for the weekend, so she decided to come down and stay for a few days.”

  “For work,” Kendall added... and not in a convincing way at all.

  That made my father chuckle and pull my mother back against him. It was obvious they weren’t buying that excuse.

  “Aubrey and I are happy to finally meet you.”

  “Finally?” Kendall asked, glancing up at me and then back to my father.

  “Yes!” my mother stated with excitement in her voice.

  “We’ve been wondering who the woman was who had our son turned upside down the last few weeks,” Dad added.

  I focused in on my father. “Dad,” I said with a warning tone in my voice. I needed to stop him before he sent Kendall running to her car and heading back to Bowling Green, all thoughts of a relationship right out the door.

  He smiled and gave me an innocent shrug. “What? Did you really think your mother and I didn’t notice what was going on?”

  “Okay,” Kendall said, her voice shaking. “Here goes.”

  My head jerked to Kendall. What in the world is she going to say to them? Folding my arms over my chest and leaning against the stall, I waited. The Akhal-Teke standing next to me seemed just as interested because she came up and nudged my arm. I reached up and stroked the side of her neck while we both waited for Kendall to continue.

  “I like your son. There, I said it.” She tossed her hands up in the air, causing my nameless horse to bounce her head a bit and stomp.

  “Easy girl,” I softly said.

  Kendall turned to me and replied, “No, it’s okay, Hunter. I want to tell them the truth about us.” Facing my folks again, Kendall went on. “Some things happened between us and I got spooked, but now I’m ready to see where this goes. I’m ready to take the leap and trust where this leads us.”

  My mother perked up, and I had to admit she did a damn good job trying to hold back the megawatt smile I knew had to be threatening to take over her face. “Things? Such as?” Mom asked in a calm voice. I knew she had to be doing cartwheels on the inside.

  I shook my head. “Mom, please don’t go there.”

  With an innocent shrug and a wink in Kendall’s direction, she added, “What? A mother can ask.”

  Kendall cleared her throat and seemed to falter for a moment. “I have feelings for your son that I’ve never had for anyone before. This is new to me and we’re...” Her voice trailed off.

  I stepped closer to her and took her hand. “Exploring that,” I finished for her.

  My mother walked up to Kendall and kissed her on the cheek. “Sometimes admitting something to others is just as hard, if not harder, than admitting it to ourselves. Good job, sweetheart.”

  My mother. The personal cheerleader. I could practically see the plans swirling around in her head.

  Kendall beamed a
t my mom, and soon they were hugging each other. My heart pounded so hard in my chest I actually rubbed the spot in an attempt to settle it down. My body suddenly got hot, and I took a step away from the two women. I hadn’t felt this way when Rachel had hugged my mother for the first time. So what the hell is this feeling rushing through my damn body?

  I looked over at my father, and it was like he was reading my mind. He gave me a half smile and nodded as if to say he understood the realization I had just had. I was falling in love with Kendall. He also knew I’d only ever given my heart to Rachel, who’d broken it. Or so I thought it had been. With Kendall, I already knew if she were to break my heart, I would never recover.

  Kendall and I rode through the pasture in silence. The rolling mountains surrounding us were beautiful. It was spring in Tennessee, but there was still a hint of winter trying to hold on as long as it could.

  “What’s over there?” Kendall asked, pointing to a small corral.

  “That’s part of the original ranch. They used it for cattle. See the chutes? They loaded up the cattle in the corral and then herded them into the trailers.”

  She stopped Romeo, the horse she’d picked to ride—at my father’s suggestion, of course—and stared out at the scenery. Before we’d left for the ride, Mom had packed us a small picnic lunch.

  “This looks like a beautiful place to stop and eat. I’m starving.”

  I nodded. “This will be a good test for no-name to see if she runs or stays with Romeo.”

  “We could tie her up to the corral?”

  “Nah, I’m going to give her some trust and see how far she takes it.”

  Kendall smiled. “I have a feeling you were like that as a coach, too.”

  I smiled but neither agreed nor disagreed with her.

  We slid off our horses, draped the reins over their necks, and walked a few yards away from the horses. My nameless beauty seemed confused by my letting her wander. She let out a blow, as if she was curious about her freedom. She followed me for a few steps before she stopped. Glancing over my shoulder at her, I smiled. She bobbed her head a few times before she lowered it and started grazing. I wasn’t surprised by this. She showed me I could trust her, and I had just returned the same trust to her.