Taken

by Mia Ford

  “Why did you say you came here to get away? Get away from what?” She asked him. Leon looked away again, but he didn’t move. She could see that he was clenching his jaws now.

  “If we’re never going to see each other again, how does it matter if you tell me the truth?” She asked him, taking a few steps in his direction. She could see the muscles on his back tense up. His jaws were still clenched; he was battling his own emotions. Ivy had a sudden urge to simply throw her arms around him and give him a hug. As annoyingly arrogant as he was, she felt like this strong rugged man just needed a hug.

  “I have to get to work. I’ll call your daddy and tell him to come pick you up. I’ll tell him I changed my mind and I don’t need help around the house after all.” He said, in a flat emotionless voice and then he was out of the door.

  Ivy threw the kitchen towel from her hands to the floor in anger. What was wrong with this man? He made her want to scream. Why couldn’t he just say something to her? Tell her the truth? Why was he pushing her away, when he clearly just needed some human company?

  Ivy clenched and unclenched her fists and then turned around and tied her hair up in a bun. The golden ringlets framed the sides of her face, exposing her delicate pale long neck. She told herself that she didn’t care anymore. That was all she could do. If Leon Cooper didn’t want to be open to her, if he didn’t want to talk about what was going on in his life, she couldn’t make him.

  All she could do now was kill time till her father arrived. Her father would tell her, he told her so. But she would lie and tell him that Leon Cooper changed his mind. She wouldn’t allow her father to find out what happened between them, and she wouldn’t let him find out that Leon Cooper was firing her because he couldn’t keep his hands off her and it made him feel guilty.

  Ivy strode out of the house in a huff. She was going to find the horses, and she was going to brush them. She was going to brush them so good that Leon Cooper would regret his decision to banish her.

  She walked determinedly towards the stable, till she spotted the chestnut colored beauty that Leon had been riding the previous day. She would begin with that horse, she decided. She blew some ringlets of golden hair off her nose as she placed her hands on her hips and smiled at the horses in the stable. If Leon was going to fire her for being attracted to her, she was going to show him that she was made of more than just an ability to turn him into warm butter in her hands.

  Ivy had worked with horses before; she had brushed several horses as well. Her uncle had a ranch, much smaller than this, but she helped him and her cousins sometimes as a teenager, when her parents allowed her to.

  But none of those horses were as feisty as this one.

  Ivy brushed the horse gently, trying to cooingly talk to her as she patted her down. The horse neighed loudly and wouldn’t stand still.

  With crossed brows, Ivy couldn’t understand what she was doing wrong. Animals loved her usually, especially horses. She stepped away from the horse and stood with her hands on her hips.

  “What’s wrong horsey?” She spoke to the horse in a childish voice. “Are you afraid of me still?” She asked. An idea struck her, and Ivy decided that the best way to get the house accustomed to her touch would be to climb on her back and pat her down from there. It sometimes calms horses down.

  Excitedly, Ivy hooked her foot on the saddle loops and hauled herself up on the horse, talking to her the whole time. But it had barely been a few moments that she was up on the horse, before she knew that it had been a bad decision. This horse was more agitated now than she had been before.

  Still locked behind the gates of the stable, the horse began to neigh loudly and was kicking her hind legs high up in the air. The horse was trying to fling Ivy off of her, while she tried to hold on for dear life. A jump from off a horse as tall as this would mean a cracked spine or a broken leg at the least.

  She had started screaming already, holding on to the saddle, afraid of what could happen in any second.

  Then she saw the stable door open and in a flash, Leon had climbed up on the saddle behind her.

  “There there Mocha, I’m here now, it’s alright.” He was coming to the horse. He had reached over Ivy’s shrunken shoulder to pat the neck of the horse affectionately. Ivy was still scared stiff, holding on to the saddle with both her hands. Then she felt Leon’s hand rise up her waist and hold her, while he continued to stroke the horse with his other hand.

  “I didn’t know…I couldn’t stop…” Ivy’s words were jumbled; she was still frightened and visibly shaking. In all her years of working with animals, and visiting ranches, no horse had reacted to her this way.

  “It’s fine. She suffers from anxiety and is only calm when she sees me.” Leon had leaned in to whisper in Ivy’s ear. She felt his lip graze her earlobe as he spoke. The same mix of the scent of his masculinity with his aftershave rose up her nose, sending goosebumps down her arms.

  “Sorry, I didn’t know.” Ivy whispered back to him.

  “I only remembered right now that you said you would come to brush the horses. I didn’t get a chance to warn you not to go near her.” He said, in a gruff whisper, their bodies were still close together.

  He was sitting behind her, with his legs hanging off the saddle of the horse, and Ivy could feel his growing throbbing dick pressing into her butt. She straightened her back, aware of his hand on her waist. She was struggling to contain herself, to stop herself from just simply turning around and kissing him. She wanted to do it, but she wasn’t sure how he would react. Even though she could feel that he was aroused by her.

  “We must get off her now.” Leon said, back to his normal voice again, possibly aware that she could feel his growing dick. He moved away from her, his hands falling off her waist as he jumped off the saddle.

  Ivy gulped as she looked down at him. Leon was still stroking the horse’s neck, whistling to her to comfort her.

  “Just grab my hand and jump off, then step away from her as smoothly as you can. She’ll be alright as long as I’m here.” He said, looking up at her. Even though she was out of danger now, even though he had come to her rescue already, Ivy could see the worry on his face still. Leon Cooper had been worried for her? She nearly smiled.

  Ivy grabbed his extended hand and used it as support to jump off the horse. Then in one quick step she had moved away from the anxious horse, who was still whimpering and neighing.

  “She’s a beautiful, loving horse. But only to me.” Leon said, and turned to Ivy with an unexpectedly warm smile. She could see it in his eyes, he loved his horse, and that made her smile too.

  “I can see that. You have a special place in your heart for Mocha.” Ivy said, holding his gaze. Leon’s smile lasted a few more seconds, before he looked away from her and kissed the horse’s neck.

  “C’mon off to the house. You shouldn’t hang around here.” He said, and hurriedly led the way out of the stable. Ivy smoothened her skirt with her hands and followed him, unable to suppress the smile on her face.

  In the midst of a dangerous situation, she had seen a different and new side to Leon that she couldn’t have predicted. He wasn’t angry with her, as she had expected him to be, he wasn’t angry with the horse either. He had thought quickly, come to her rescue and completed the task without losing his temper.

  Ivy watched his muscular back as she followed him back towards the house. Why was he forcing her to go away? She didn’t want to go away. She wanted to stay with him, feel his hands on hers, find out as much as she could about him, because there was no greater mystery to her than Leon Cooper. But he didn’t seem to want to be solved, he wanted to be left alone.

  Leon left Ivy alone in the house for several hours, and she wasn’t sure if he had even called her father yet. She cleaned the rooms, dusted, washed the dishes and in a few hours, went down to her bedroom and sat on the bed looking outside.

  She was still not happy to go. Especially now that Leon had revealed a new side to him that she hadn’
t expected to find. This was the man who had taken her virginity, the one to whom she had given it willingly, and she didn’t simply want to forget about him that easily.

  At around mid-day, she heard Leon enter the house again, and then the sound of his boots approaching her bedroom door. Ivy sat up in bed, wringing her hands together. She was afraid of hearing the words she believed he was going to say, “Your daddy is on his way to pick you up.”

  Leon knocked on the door, and Ivy cleared her throat before asking him to come in.

  He had his hat in his hands, and a somber expression on his face. He had only opened the door, but hadn’t stepped in. It seemed like he was also avoiding her eyes.

  “I spoke to your daddy and he said that he won’t be able to pick you up till day after morning, he can’t leave the business open.”

  When Ivy heard the words, she tried to suppress a smile. She didn’t want to give away how delighted she was to hear him say that.

  “So, I’ll drive you up there today.” He added and Ivy’s face dropped immediately.

  “You don’t have to do that.” She was quick to assert, getting off the bed.

  “Well, there is no other way. You can’t walk back, it’s twenty miles away.” He said, finally meeting her eyes. The sparkle in his brown eyes had returned for some reason.

  “I don’t want to walk back, that isn’t what I meant.” Ivy said, feeling her cheeks beginning to flush again.

  “Well, you can’t stay here.” He said gruffly and shrugged his shoulders.

  Ivy stepped towards him and Leon stepped hurriedly back, like he was trying to defend himself against an attack.

  “Why don’t I stay here till my daddy is ready to come and pick me up?” She asked him.

  Leon looked at her silently, his face grim again. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her any more, she could see him studying her figure, her face, the curves of her breasts. He was trying to decide if he would be able to keep his hands off her or not.

  “You need somebody for the house any way.” She said, with a tear in her voice.

  “I can do it myself. I’m better off alone.” He growled, snapping off suddenly from his fantasies of her.

  Ivy shook the curls off her face and took a few more steps towards him. Leon was following her with his eyes.

  “You can’t. And I know you like my cooking.” She said with a smile on her face, and she placed a hand on his chest.

  Leon’s gaze fell to it immediately, and in one swift motion he shook her hand off of him. This was not the same kind, concerned man who had saved her from that anxious horse. He was back to being the same brooding Leon who she was first introduced to.

  “Don’t assume you know me, and keep your hands off me, woman.” He barked at her, and was quick to move away.

  Ivy was suddenly more embarrassed than she had ever been before. This was an outright affront. He had directly communicated to her now that he didn’t want anything to do with her, that the previous night’s sex had been a mistake.

  Ivy could feel hot tears pricking the back of her eyelids, as she tried to stop herself from bursting out in tears.

  “You can stay here till your daddy picks you up, but only because I have too much work to do to go around giving people lifts. Just stay out of my way.” He said and turned away from her.

  Ivy remained where she was, till she heard the sound of the slamming front door.

  Then she started crying. Hot fat tears were rolling down her cheeks, as she remained standing with her hands clasped together.

  She felt like she had made a fool of herself. She had thrown herself at a man who only treated her with anger and contempt. She wanted to get away. She would go away.

  Ivy slammed the bedroom door shut and sprung herself on the bed, reaching for her cellphone which was on the bedside table now. Her father had sent her a few text messages, which she ignored. She was only interested in the internet now, and accessing the emails that had been sent to her in the last few days.

  She re-read the email that had been lying there in her inbox, unanswered for several days.

  “Dear Ms. Ivy Hart,

  Thank you for applying for the position of Secretary to Mr. George Hernandez. We are pleased with your CV and would like to offer you the position.

  How soon will you be able to relocate to Miles City?

  Kind Regards,

  Debbie Howard

  Recruitment Associate, Hernandez & Co.”

  She had managed to keep the email a secret for several days, from her father and even from herself. She was ignoring it, and hoping that something better would come along, in her own town instead, which would mean that she wouldn’t have to move to Miles City. But she felt now, like Leon was forcing her to go away. She felt like she had no place here in this town any more. That it was destiny pushing her in the direction of this new job, on the other side of the State. Far away from this no-good small town and from a man who she should have stayed away from to begin with.

  “Where is my dinner?” Leon’s voice was thundering outside Ivy’s bedroom door.

  She had lain in bed all day, and now she looked up from her phone screen and rolled her eyes.

  “Ivy?” He called out to her, and knocked on her door this time, when she hadn’t responded to him.

  She continued to remain silent, and instead of answering him, turned over to the other side, her back facing the door, just seconds before he burst in through the door. She looked at him over her shoulder, and he had that worried expression on his face again. Did he think she had run away?

  “I’m staying away from you, just like you asked me to.” She said, with a bored look on her face. He looked like he was just about to burst into flames though.

  “Why haven’t you made us dinner yet? It’s past eight.” He said, clutching the doorknob with his hand, where she could see that his knuckles had started to turn white.

  “Why should I be making you any dinner? You fired me from the job remember.” She said, still not turning to face him.

  “What are you going to eat then?” He asked. She could see that he was trying very hard to calm himself down.

  “I’m not hungry, and besides, a few pounds knocked off of me might actually do me some good.” She said nastily, and looked away from him.

  “Don’t you ever say that!” She heard him say, and then there were footsteps behind her. When Ivy looked over again, she realized that he was standing right behind her, at the edge of the bed, glaring down at her with narrowed eyes.

  “Don’t say that, Ivy. You don’t need to knock off any pounds. You are beautiful.” He said, in a much more subdued voice, taking her by surprise.

  She straightened herself up and sat up straight to face him more clearly now. He was watching her as she pulled her knees close to her chin, wrapping her arms around her legs as she looked up at him.

  “Why don’t you just leave me alone, Leon? I thought we were going to stay out of each other’s way till daddy came to pick me up.” Ivy said, taking in a deep breath. As much as she had prepared herself to believe that Leon was a lost cause to her, that she shouldn’t be pursuing him, she still couldn’t help but conjure up the same feelings for him. His broad neck, his wide chest, those big rugged rough hands. She couldn’t stop thinking about how delicate and small he had made her feel when he had her in his arms. She wanted to nuzzle her nose into the hair on his chest.

  “You should get something to eat.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at her.

  “I can take care of myself, thank you very much. Why don’t you just worry about your own meal?” Ivy rolled her eyes at him and said.

  “Stop being difficult, Ivy.” She heard him say, and then his hands were on her. He was trying to haul her off the bed, while she started kicking her legs wildly.

  “I don’t want to eat. Just leave me alone, Leon. I want to stay away from you!” She was screaming at the top of her lungs, while he drew her in closer to himself. She knew she w
as acting childishly, that she was overreacting, but she felt overwhelmed. She couldn’t understand his alternating hot and coldness, what he wanted from her. All she knew was that she wanted him, and he was too complicated for her to have.

  Leon pulled her closer to him, and with his hand he pressed her head down on his chest, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace.

  Ivy could feel her breath getting stuck in her throat as he held her. She wasn’t crying, but she could feel the stinging reddening sensation in her nose which was always followed with tears. But Leon had managed to suffocate that, she was so taken aback by his kindness, the way he held her to his chest, that she could do nothing but be amazed by what was happening. She was actually in Leon Cooper’s arms.

  She could feel his heart beating against her ears, as he kept his hand pressed on the back of her head. She slowly drew her arms around his waist and remained there, submerged in the moment, her eyes slowly closing to the comfort of that position.

  “Ivy.” She heard him say her name, and her eyes flew open again.

  “Yes.” She said, in a soft embarrassed voice. She was ashamed of how dramatic she had just been.

  “Will you let me kiss you again?” He said, in a similar low voice as hers.

  She hurriedly drew herself away from him, she was so surprised to hear him ask that. How did he not yet know, that was all she wanted? To be kissed by him, to be fucked by him. That was all she wanted from the moment she laid her eyes on him.

  She lifted herself up on her toes, and this time she was the one who kissed him, pulling his lips into her mouth, her hands traveling up his hard-muscular chest. His hands were on her waist, drawing her closer to his body. She closed her eyes, to experience the fullness of that kiss, how tender and gentle it was. How it wasn’t hungry or wild at all, like it had been before. Suddenly, she wanted to break down and cry again. Because she knew this would lead to nothing, that as much as she wanted Leon sexually, she also knew by now that he could give her nothing more. Leon was damaged goods and she wouldn’t be able to fix him.