by Irons, Rose
Copyright 2015 Rose Irons
All rights reserved.
The Cowboy’s Dark Desires
Book design by Rose Irons
Cover Image Copyright Deposit Photos
Warning: This book contains graphic depictions of consenting adults engaging in explicit sexual activities, and is only intended for mature readers over the age of 18.
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Mina smoothed her hands over her satiny dress and looked at her curves critically in the mirror. A confident, poised, sexy woman looked back at her. Her brown hair was falling just right, a stray curl wisping free of her bun, artfully asking some kind man to brush it aside for her. The dress hugged her breasts, revealing just enough of her creamy skin to keep her date distracted. She only wished she felt as confident as she looked.
Normally, Mina could flirt and dance with the best of them, but tonight wasn't just any date. Tonight she had to swallow her pride and ask for help.
Her perfectly fixed smile faltered. Yesterday, she had realized even with her next paycheck, she wasn't going to make rent. So she called Marcus and asked him to meet her tonight. Marcus was a well-off friend who had asked her out before. But Mina was always too busy and she didn't think of him in that way. True, he was handsome, but there was always something about him, like he was holding back. She didn't know what it was, but every time he had asked, she had said no.
When she called to tell him she was ready, there had been a long pause on the other end of the line. "Really."
"Yes," she told him, hoping she didn't sound too desperate.
"Eight o'clock, then. At the Quarry House."
There it was again, that strange note in his voice.
"I'll be there," Mina promised, and hung up, hoping she sounded eager and not scared.
She certainly looked the part tonight. And Mina had seen Marcus frankly checking her out even in jeans and a t-shirt. She was sure he would approve of the outfit.
Still, she was nervous.
Forcing a smile, Mina met her reflection's eyes once more. "I'm so glad we could finally do this, Marcus," she practiced.
~
"I'm so glad we could finally do this, Marcus," she murmured as the waiter poured their wine.
Marcus smiled. "So am I, Mina. Tell me, have you been here before?"
"No, never." Mina was trying her hardest not to feel self conscious. She was out of her element; a city girl, despite the endless prairie just a short drive from her home. It was beautiful, but she never felt compelled to spend any real time there.
When Marcus had inherited the family business, a very successful cattle ranch, he had exceeded everyone’s expectations and demonstrated a keen knack for business. Mina had assumed he’d take her somewhere befitting a man of wealth, but instead she had met him at a run down dive. Now she was overdressed and trying not to make a spectacle of herself.
"You aught to try the ribeye. All their meat comes right from my ranch.”
Mina smiled. "Why don't you order for me? Surprise me with whatever you think I would like."
His gaze hardened and turned hot for a moment. Then, just as quickly, he smiled and began to tell a story. It was such a brief look she thought she might have imagined it but for the shiver that came over her. She could feel her nipples strain against the thin cloth of her dress and hoped they weren't too noticeable.
As the night went on, Mina was surprised to find she was actually able to relax and enjoy herself. Marcus was the perfect gentleman and an amusing date. He had a flair for storytelling that more than once set her to laughing a little too loudly in delight. If he was casting surreptitious glances at her décolletage, she never caught him.
And she was definitely surprised by the food he chose for her. She hadn’t been expecting much, based on how the place looked, but the meal was absolutely delicious. Marcus explained that absolutely everything they made came from local ingredients and prepared on the spot.
As the last dish before dessert, the waiter brought forth the one dish she had been unsure of: oysters still in the shell.
"I don't know how to eat these," she confessed to Marcus once the waiter had gone.
Marcus smiled. "I'll show you. Here."
He pulled his chair close to hers and selected an oyster and a knife. "Slip the blade in like this," and he demonstrated, "give a little flick of your wrist until it comes free. Use only a small amount of pressure. Trim here, and it's done." He held the shell up to her lips, his eyes dark. "Now, take it all at once. Try not to lose the liquor on the shell; it's the best part.
"Are you ready?"
She wasn't sure why, but she shivered again. Slowly moving her lips to the shell, she nodded.
He tilted it, letting the warm oyster slip into her mouth. Mina felt one of his fingers brush her lip, and then he leaned back.
"That was delicious. Thank you."
"I'm glad you trusted me enough to try it. They’re my favorite; it’s not on the menu, but I had them acquire some just for me " Marcus' eyes were unreadable. "Now, Mina. Tell me why you're really here."
She tried to busy herself with opening another oyster, nervous about meeting his gaze. "I need help," she admitted.
He took the oyster from her without comment, flicking and releasing it before handing it back. "I'm assuming you didn't just mean with the oyster."
"No." Mina forced herself to look at him. "I’m in trouble. My shop went under and I’ve got nothing but debt. In a few days I won’t even have a place to stay."
The words came out of her in a rush, and Mina found now that once she started, she was unable to stop. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to come to you like this. Things have just been so hard lately, and I don't know what else to do."
"So you got dressed up and came down here to plead your case?" He raised an eyebrow.
Mina busied herself with another oyster, unsure of how to reply.
They ate in silence for a few minutes. Marcus didn't offer again to help with the oysters, and seemed content to let her struggle as he waited for an answer.
Finally, it was too much for her. "I'm sorry."
"Thank you." Marcus leaned back in his chair. "Mina, I can't help you."
"Oh." Flushed with embarrassment, Mina pushed back her chair to go.
"I can't just give you money," he continued as if he hadn't noticed her awkward attempt at departure. "I like to think I am a good man, Mina, but I'm a businessman first and foremost. That's why I've been so sucessful."
She nodded, unsure of where this was going.
"But if there is something you can offer, some service you can perform, then maybe we can arrange something."
Something about his phrasing made Mina squirm in her chair, but his face was calm and guileless. "I can -- " she stopped herself. As a beautician, what exactly could she offer to do for him? She rarely worked with men and anyway, Marcus already clearly had a good hair dresser, and maybe a barber as well. "I can't think of anything."
He arched his eyebrow again as if to say, Can't you?
"I could try to help around the house, maybe? I can clean and do laundry... I can cook a little." M
ina hated housework, but faced with that stare, she needed to say something.
"I already have a staff, Mina. You know that."
It was true. Mina had met them on more than one occasion. Sophie and Gavin had been kind to her; she couldn't imagine putting them out of work.
The waiter came to clear away the oysters, and Marcus sighed. "Mina, we both know what it is you came here to offer. I want you to say it."
Mina felt her cunt give a little clench at that. Trying to get a hold of herself, she pressed her legs together firmly. "Marcus, I --"
"Say it."
The commanding tone in his voice made her tingle. "I'll sleep with you if you help me."
Marcus leaned forward, an intensity in his eyes that frightened her. "And what if it isn't sex that I want, Mina? What if what I want is you?"
Aroused, but confused, Mina shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
He sighed again. "Mina, if all I wanted is sex, I would have had you long before now. But I was content to wait. I enjoy being your friend. But if you are going to make this offer, you need to understand that what I want isn't only friendship or only sex. I want you, Mina. The deepest core, the truth of you. I want you to need me in your soul once I finally take you. And I won't take you unless you do.
"That is what I want."
His words burned into her, setting her flesh alight. Her nipples hardened again, and Mina knew no pressing together of her legs would keep her panties from growing damp this time.
"Dessert?" The waiter was back, menu in hand.
Marcus leaned back. "That's up to the lady."
Mina took a deep breath before meeting the waiter's expectant gaze. "Yes. I'm ready."
~
Mina shivered as she looked around the bathroom. It wasn't cold, but she couldn't help but shake. Had she finally gotten herself in over her head?
Marcus had been quiet after they left the restaurant; quiet, but attentive. She hadn't been very interested in talking, either. Something between them had changed and it was going to change more. The dark promise she had made now lay between them, waiting. She hoped they were ready for it. She hoped she was ready for it.
She had been in Marcus' sprawling wooden home before, of course, but that had always been as a guest at a party. Mina had never been in the upstairs rooms, and never alone.
Before he left her in the huge guest bathroom, Marcus had squeezed her hand. "Do you trust me?"
"Yes," she answered hesitantly.
His dark, piercing eyes searched her quickly. Whatever he saw reflected back at him in her wide green ones must have been enough; he nodded once, and then he was gone.
Mina wasn't sure what the night would bring. She was already dressed and coifed, but Marcus had brought her to the guest bath for a reason. Tonight, she was going to be the mistress of the house -- or at least, a mistress in the house. She stifled a nervous giggle.
In the end, it was the tub that decided her. It was a deep cast iron and porcelain affair with more room than she had ever seen before and gently sloping rose walls. It looked comfortable, and Mina hoped that a bath would help relax her.
As the bath filled, Mina sniffed at the bottles lining the tub rim until she found a smell she liked: honeysuckle. She added the salts to the water and inhaled. Perfect.
Shimmying out of her dress, Mina undid her clasps until she was more naked than she had ever felt in her life. Gently, she hung the dress over one of the cushioned chairs and then pinned back her stray curls that had escaped during dinner.
Stepping into the bath made Mina gasp in pleasure. The water was just the right temperature and the bath salts made the water effervesce pleasantly. She slipped in and reclined until the water came up to her chin. With a great sigh, Mina relaxed for the first time in weeks.
As she lay there, her mind inevitably drifted to Marcus and the deal she had made. Truth be told, she was relieved he hadn't taken her up on her initial offer. But something about his speech still stirred strange emotions inside her. They seemed oddly familiar, but she couldn't quite place them.
But was she leading him on? Mina examined that thought worriedly. It was true, Marcus had asked her out before, but she had been clear with him each time, she felt. And this time, all she had only agreed to was giving him a chance. He had said that she had to need him in her soul before he would consider consummating this unorthodox partnership. Mina wriggled in the bath and wondered if she had ever wanted anyone that much. Something in Marcus' demeanor told her that he had.
She wondered what kind of lover Marcus would be. He was always such a gentleman, but those unexpected flashes of something else made her think that there might be another side to him, a darker side.
Closing her eyes, Mina let her hand drift lower, resting it on her cunt as she considered him. She liked the teasing feeling. It made her thoughts feel all the more real.
She remembered the look he had given her during dinner when she asked him to order for her. Remembering the heat of his gaze made her quiver all over again. Should she have asked him then what it was he needed? Should she have let him know what it was she was thinking?
What she was thinking... God. Mina imagined Marcus, his eyes knowing and sure, purposefully fumbling a piece of silverware, and dropping to his knees under the table. She imagined his hands on her knees, forcing them apart. His tongue on her thigh, his breath on her panties. And then his fingers pulling back the thin layer of sheer fabric to give his tongue free reign within her folds.
Mina whimpered at the thought of keeping herself still, so still, while the bar's bustle continued around her. She imagined the sweet torment of his mouth sucking at her clit while she tried to keep her face from betraying how every movement wracked her body with spasms of longing and pleasure. She would have reached for the wine, then, but it would have shaken in her hand so hard that she was sure everyone would have seen.
She imagined the waiter looking down at her, his eyes curious, then lustful. What if he knew what was making her tense, knew that even as he sat there with his notepad, Mina was trying desperately not to come in front of a room of strangers.
"Oh God," Mina groaned, her fingers moving in time with Marcus' imagined tongue. He would be good at it, she knew, and her cunt ached for him to prove it.
From the look in his eyes, she knew he wouldn't have stopped. And she would have begged him to, but Mina knew she wouldn't have meant a word of it. Some terrible, dirty part of her wanted the force. The idea that he could make her shudder and beg for his tongue deep inside her while strangers looked on made her so wet she could feel it even in the bath.
Working her fingers faster now, Mina gasped against the sensation. She circled her clit, rubbing it quickly before moving to long, slow strokes between her lips once more. She could almost feel Marcus' tongue inside her.
Just as she was about to come, the smell of honeysuckle rose around her, swirling, as the door opened.
"Oh!"
Mina shot upright, and looked for a towel. Marcus' maid and ranch hand, Sophie, stood at the door, blushing furiously, a bundle of fabric in her hands.
Sophie's voice was thick with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, Miss Mina. I'll go."
"No, I'm sorry." Mina blushed herself. Marcus must have sent Sophie to check on her. How long had she been in the bath? "I was just about to -- well, I should be getting out, I suppose."
Still blushing, Sophie closed the door behind her and placed her bundle on the cushioned chair by Mina's dress. "I didn't mean to interrupt. Marcus asked me to let you know you were welcome to relax as long as you'd like, and that he would be in the library when you were through. He said that I should help you with anything you want."
"Thank you," Mina said awkwardly. It was hard for her to see Sophie as a maid; Sophie was about the same age as she was, and beautiful. She looked like a girl Mina might meet while out at the bar, except for the tailored black dress that she wore while working in the house.
Mina shook her head
self-consciously. "Sophie, I'm not very good at giving orders. What would you do in my place?"
Sophie grinned, her nose crinkling. "I'd ask for a big bottle of champagne. I happen to know we have some very good champagne in the kitchen. And if you're going to relax in the bath, you should do it right."
"Well, then." Mina lay back. "I think that sounds good."
Dipping a brief curtsey, Sophie slipped back out through the door.
Mina closed her eyes and tried to relax again, but the image, no matter how sweet it was, was gone now. She found herself impatiently waiting for Sophie's return. Having someone to talk to would be nice. And Sophie and Gavin probably knew Marcus better than most, having lived with him for so long.
