Always On My Mind: A Bad Boy Rancher Love Story (The Dawson Brothers Book 1)

by Ali Parker

  "Sounds great. How's your mom?"

  Geno appeared beside them, pointing to the menus. "You-a guy’s gonna order off the menu or you want to try something new I whipped up today?"

  "Chicken Parm for me." Marc looked toward Geno, the two of them smiling like a joke was being passed between them.

  "I'll try whatever you whipped up today. I'm not picky." She handed over her menu before reaching for the wine bottle. She poured Marc a glass and then herself. Marc and Geno talked for a few minutes about Kari and her adventures in Maine.

  "I'll have some salads out here for you guys soon." He popped Marc on the shoulder. "Hang on to this one, boy... She's something special."

  "How so?" Lisa asked, leaning forward and letting her confidence find its place back on her features.

  "You're willing to trust me and try my new creation. Smart girl. I know Italian food. I've cooked and eaten my share of it." He patted his large stomach and chuckled, the sound drawing Lisa's lips into a smile.

  Geno walked away, singing something in a beautiful tenor. Lisa turned her attention back to Marc.

  "Are we really going to pussyfoot around this conversation?" he spoke, leaning toward her, his stare pinning her in place. She reached across the table and ran her fingers through his unruly hair, sliding her hand down the side of his face.

  "I can't have this conversation. I don't know how it will go and being vulnerable isn't something I'm interested in. I'll leave if you bring it up again. Got it?"

  He nodded, placing his hand over hers and turning it to kiss her palm. "Fine. But we're talking about us before you leave tomorrow."

  "I agree. Tonight let’s just enjoy the food, the wine and the possibility of you taking me violently again later tonight."

  "Death, taxes and me wanting to fuck you senseless. All unavoidable events." He kissed her hand again and moved back. Lisa sat back in her seat, letting out a soft sigh.

  "Tell me how your mom is."

  "She's good. She's making a big lunch after church tomorrow. I told her I would drag you over there if you're free."

  "She wants to see me?" Lisa laughed loudly, the emotion bringing a buzz of happiness to her. "She hates me."

  "She does not. She's just a holy roller. Cursing and fucking offend her. It's not you... it's your wicked, sinful ways."

  "So no telling her that you took me in a dressing room today?"

  Marc visibly paled. Lisa laughed loudly again, leaning back and crossing one arm over her chest, her other hand tilting her glass of wine back and forth.

  He was beyond stunning. His chestnut hair was almost too long, the large curls fitting him well. Dark brown eyes filled with mischief stared at her, his lips full and so very kissable.

  "What’re you thinking?" He spoke softly, leaning forward and slipping his hand under the table. His fingers brushed by her knee softly as he watched her.

  "I was thinking about how handsome you are."

  "All the men in the world and I'm handsome?"

  "Handsome. Sexy. Funny. Brilliant."

  He laughed and sat back, picking up his glass. "I think you’re just horny. I'm not brilliant. I'll take those others and run with them, but brilliant?"

  "I'm always horny when I let you infiltrate my senses." She took a sip of her wine, her lips lingering along the edge of the glass as she undressed him with her eyes. "Your degree is in biology. You're brilliant. Enough said. I'll not be stroking your ego."

  "I have something else you can stroke." He set his glass down and winked at her as the server approached. Depositing salads before them, the young man worked fast to clear bread plates and move back out of the room.

  "So you'll come to lunch tomorrow with us?" Marc asked.

  "Yes. I need to get back to my parents tonight, but let's spend tomorrow night together if you're free. I leave Monday morning early."

  "I'll clear my schedule." He looked down at his salad, his expression shifting again as he glanced back up. "I hope you've been as miserable dating other people as I have since we met. I'd hate to think I'm suffering alone here."

  Chapter 7

  Lisa let the conversation die between them, the warning look she gave pensive and painful. She was stunned to think that he might feel the same. Even if he did... nothing was going to change. She didn't do long-distance relationships, or relationships in general. Falling in love with Marc couldn't change that. It was core to who she was as a person. She had built her identity on her sexuality, on her prowess. It was a protection if nothing else.

  They finished dinner and Geno refused to let Marc pay. Lisa tugged at his arm, urging him to let the restaurant owner treat them.

  "Thank you. See boy? Beautiful and smart. Hold on to her. Once in a lifetime." Geno reached over and touched Lisa's shoulder before popping Marc on the back again. "Get out of here and go live your life, eh? You only get one."

  "Thanks, Geno." Marc opened the door as Lisa moved out onto the busy New York street. She turned to wait for Marc to move in beside her. "Let's go get the car and I'll get you home."

  "Sounds good. Dinner was delicious. Just enough, but not too much."

  "I can't believe you ate vegetable lasagna. Fucking nasty." Marc scrunched up his face.

  "I like vegetables. Not everything has to be meat and potatoes."

  "I would have taken you as a girl who loved a big piece of meat."

  She turned toward him, pulling him against her as she flipped her hand around and cupped his crotch, leaning into him. "I like certain types, but it has to be a prime cut for me to even consider wasting my time on it."

  He slid his hand over her and pressed his hips forward, rubbing himself subtly against her as his other hand slid along her neck, squeezing softly.

  "I think you'll be quite pleased with what I'm packing. You didn't get a good look today, but I'd say by the convulsions of your sexy ass, you felt it."

  She leaned in and nipped at his lips. "Are you wanting me to get up close and personal with it?"

  "Do I want to see your mouth spread around my dick? Is that what you're asking me, you naughty girl?"

  "Do you?" She pulled her fingers in a come hither, scratching at the stiffening base of his erection.

  "I do. I need to. I want to see that sexy look on your face that says you can handle anything I can throw at you. I can't imagine not getting to live in that moment for a long time."

  "Mmmm... So hot, Marc."

  "Yes, you are, baby." He moved his hands to slide along her face, leaning down and kissing her in the middle of Times Square. People moved past them, but the world slowed down for a moment.

  His fingers were warm and gripping, his lips so soft and wet. He explored her mouth, groaning into the kiss. The vibration of his actions brushed across her tongue. Her fingers dug into him, need rolling over her in crashing waves. She pulled back breathless, unsure of how things could get any hotter between them.

  "We're going to get arrested for public indecency." She smiled and moved back, pulling her hands from him and letting out a long aggravated sigh.

  He moved toward her, wrapping her in a side hug and moved them toward the parking garage. "I couldn't agree more. Many more kisses like that and I'm going to rip your panties off of you and have my way with you until you beg for mercy."

  "More."

  "More?" He turned to her as they crossed the street.

  "Beg for more. I don't believe in mercy and sex."

  "No? Looks like you have a lesson to learn."

  "Who's going to teach it to me?" She bit at her lip, hurrying with him as cars began moving toward them.

  "The only man who's capable of it. Me."

  "What if another man has the ability to as well? He might exist."

  "Doubtful. Why... have you been dating?"

  Lisa moved from underneath him and pressed the button on the elevator. He was going to keep pressing until they exploded at each other. She wanted to strangle him when she thought about how much the need for him had dicked up h
er life. Was his any different? Didn't seem like it from his comments at dinner.

  "I've seen a few men. I can't seem to get past thinking what you would think of them." She walked into the elevator, leaning back to hold the door for him.

  "I don't like men, so no need to take my thoughts into consideration. Uck." He winked and pressed the top floor before turning toward her. "I would hope that you make them fuck you from behind."

  "What? Why?"

  "So that it's me you imagine doing it."

  "Is that what you do? Fuck all the girls you date from behind so it's me bent before you?" She moved toward him, anger sprouting in her chest. How dare he put that on her. It was poking too close to the truth.

  "Yeah, and I'm honestly sick of it." He moved toward her, the two of them meeting in the middle. His expression moved from playful to angry. "I need you to get out of my head. My life is spinning out of control. I used to fuck and have fun. Now I've got this schoolgirl crush and nothing tastes good, nothing feels right... I can't even masturbate without groaning your name."

  "You think I'm not sick of it too? And schoolgirl crush? You think this feeling is some silly pathetic response to the fact that we're attracted to each other?"

  "Lisa, I'm trying to get on with my life."

  "We've not even tried us yet. You're delusional." She pushed her hand against his chest, anger burning a hole in her resolve to stay far away from the present conversation.

  He caught her hand and pulled her toward him. "Why haven’t we tried us? What are you so fucking afraid of?"

  "I'm not the only one afraid."

  "I don't want you with other men. I don't want other women."

  "That's your problem. I don't want this emotional bullshit laid on me. I'm dealing with enough of my own." She moved back, jerking from his touch, needing it far too much.

  He turned and hit the red button on the elevator, the steel machine screeching to a halt as it stopped in mid-air. The glass walls around them showed the city in full effect, the beauty of it fleeting as she looked back at him.

  "Start the elevator again. I'm not doing this with you. I'm not fighting over what could be. Lust is my king. Whatever this thing is... I don't want it. You don’t either."

  "Yes you do." He took a few steps toward her, moving her until her back hit the glass wall. He took her wrists in his hands and pulled them up, pinning her in place as he pressed his forehead to hers. "Tell me you don't want me."

  "I don't want you," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. "Don't do this to me."

  He brushed his lips by hers, his hand shifting to leave one holding her wrists pinned high above her. His other hand slid down her extended arm, over the curve of her breast and down her flat stomach. He pressed himself against her, a soft sigh leaving them both.

  "Just let it be about sex, Marc. Leave it there. It's better there."

  He released her hands and turned her fast and hard, pressing her chest against the glass. "I agree. Let's leave it there. I'll try not to lose my mind over another guy buried deep inside of you, Lisa."

  He pressed himself against the curve of her rear, his hands coming to press against the glass as he nipped at her neck. Licking slowly from her throat to her ear, he whispered, hot breath rolling across her back as she sagged against him.

  "I'm going to fuck you in here. I want the world to see what should be. I want you to concentrate on how right we feel together. If lust is what you want from me, then lust is what I'll give you. But when no one else can satisfy you..."

  One hand moved to her stomach, sliding down over her thigh and lifting the cotton dress. His fingers slid into the front of her panties, her breath catching as she whimpered.

  "When no one else can satisfy... come back to me. Come find me and when you're ready to plead for it, I'll be ready to give all of myself to you."

  He slid his fingers deep into her wetness, Lisa crying out and arching against him. The firm press of his body against hers left her weak and far more needy than she ever remembered being.

  He pulled his hand from her, licking at his finger just over her shoulder. "Lust says you don't come until I'm ready for you to. Love would beckon me to make it happen for you over and over, denying myself for you until you were close to breaking."

  He reached back and pulled her skirt up, yanking down her panties angrily. She cried out, his movements filled with meaning that she couldn't take hold of. He unzipped his pants and pulled her back, filling her completely.

  "Oh God," she whispered, pressing against the glass to get more of him. He took hold of her hips and pounded into her over and over, his cries beautiful, filled with the same emotions that tore her apart.

  Pleasure mixed with emotional pain as she turned to look out at the world, the city living far more than she was.

  "Lust, hmmm? You just want lust from me. A casual hard fuck." He jerked her hard against him, groaning against her hair. "Just sweaty fucking and nothing else. Don't want me to hold you? To take care of you?"

  He wrapped his arms around her waist, one hand moving to press between her breasts, the other sliding back into the front of her panties to press the top of her sex. She whimpered again, hating the sound of it.

  "Don't want me to trap you beneath me? To whisper how much I need you. How your smell drives me mad, your smile lights me on fire. None of that, hmmm?" He pulled from her and stepped back, pulling her hips and moving her to the middle of the elevator.

  She started to turn, but he stopped her, his hand pushing on the top of her back as she bent over and reached for the bar on the wall. Holding herself up she felt like a whore, like something he would use and leave.

  "Stop." She looked over her shoulder at him. The expression on his handsome face breaking her heart. He slid his hand in her hair and pulled hard as his elbow pressed to the center of her back.

  "No. This is what you wanted. Just fucking. I'm down." He slid back inside of her as she arched her back. The pleasure was far more rewarding than the pain of his lesson. She pushed back, rolling her hips and bringing him to climax within minutes.

  His voice rolling over the back of her as he groaned his pleasure. He touched her with shaky hands, his lesson for the evening having broken him as much as her. She pulled away from him, and tugged her dress down.

  She didn't look at him as she pressed the buttons on the panel of the elevator. He moved to touch her and she jerked from him.

  "Don't."

  The elevator opened and she moved back, lifting her hand to motion for him to leave. "Your floor. Have a good night."

  "Lisa... don't you understand where I'm at?"

  "Don't say it. Don't say a fucking thing to me. You don't know me at all, but you think you do. Bravo. Get off and don't look back."

  He stood there for a few minutes as she turned and pressed herself against the glass. The warmth of him still inside of her, his smell all over her. She was lost to the need to be his and yet he was a boy with games to play.

  He walked out of the elevator, his shoulders slumped from what she could see in the window.

  "Lesson learned," she whispered as hot tears dripped onto her cheeks.

  Chapter 8

  Lisa had grabbed a cab from downtown, the driver kind enough to wait for her to run into her mother's house for money while he waited. The night had been filled with tears and screams into her pillow, the emotions accompanying love so much more violent than lust.

  It had been a mistake to come to New York. Seeing him only compounded the fact that she was in love with him. If she gave him an inch he would drown her. She would pick up and move back to New York just to be near him. Love felt like obsession, wicked and controlling.

  The morning came quickly, Lisa still staring at the white dress he bought her on the floor. She forced herself to get up and shower again, the one the night before not seeming like enough. She could still feel him on her, smell him all over her. Where there was nothing she wanted more than to bathe in his scent, his way of control
ling her was confidence shattering.

  Maybe she wasn't who she thought she was?

  Her phone buzzed. Kari asking if Lisa was going to visit her mother. She started to respond, but Kari sent a pleading text asking Lisa to take her mom some of the little vanilla scones from the bakery near Lisa's parents’ house. She hesitated before simply saying she would.

  Marc had texted multiple times during the night, trying to prove his point, but never apologizing. He felt like his point was made and if she wasn't willing to see him after it, then she didn't understand him at all.

  "Fuck off," she grumbled toward the phone and launched it across the room.

  ***

  A quick shower left her feeling a little better. Pulling her long copper hair into a high ponytail she slipped on a pair of comfortable jeans and a Metallica t-shirt. It would piss her mom off, which would make her feel better either way. She smiled at herself in the mirror and tried to shrug off the nagging sensation that Marc was right. Lust was part of the past, a part that felt almost dirty and unyielding. Love was something he wanted to move toward.

  "That was the message, right?"

  But why lord over her? Why make her feel cheap and small? Why take pleasure from her and offer none in return?

  Anger burnt her thoughts away, Lisa jogging down the stairs to the kitchen. Her father looked up from his paper, a smile on his aging face.

  "Hi princess."

  "Hi daddy. Where's the beast?"

  "Lisa... your mother hates that nickname."

  Lisa let out a short laugh. "She knows about it?"

  "Yes and it hurts her feelings. You really should be more considerate. She did the best she could, baby." Her father motioned for her to join him. "Come here and tell me all about your life. Any prospects for marriage?"

  "Um, no." She walked to the cabinet and got out a travel mug. "I'm going to head over to Ms. Martin’s. Kari wants me to take her some pastries and I guess it would be nice to visit with her a little."