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

by Ali Parker

  More than that, I was ready for him to call the big house I'd built home. His home. Our home.

  I wanted him to move in. It was time.

  Chapter 2

  Jason

  I glanced around the restaurant where I sat, waiting on one of my clients to return from the restroom. The noise level was almost annoying, but I quickly found myself lost in my thoughts. It had been an interesting year, but the best of my life thus far. I was an old soul, trapped in a time and place I didn't much feel like I belonged to. I wanted peace and serenity in my life far more than action and adventure.

  It left me with few friends and a longing to marry Becca far before she'd be comfortable with agreeing to it. We'd only been dating for nine months, but I was ready. Beyond ready.

  "Sorry to keep you waiting. The line to the restroom was ridiculous." The pretty blond that ran Deming Electronics sat down across from me and gave me a cute smile. They would be a great client for Martin and Co., and Becca would be thrilled. She'd been after Deming for a couple of years from what she told me.

  "No worries." I pulled my napkin into my lap and picked up my fork. "I'm glad we could work out the details of you bringing your company on board with us. We'll take good care of you."

  "I hope so." Her voice softened, and I looked up, not at all surprised that the cuteness had morphed into something a little more bold. Too bold, perhaps. "I want you on the account, Jason."

  I nodded and cut my steak. "Sure. I'll talk to Rebecca about it when I get back to Houston."

  "Good." She smiled and picked up her fork. "Now that we're done with business, tell me about yourself." She took a bite of her lasagna and moaned softly.

  It was hard not to chuckle at her. Women. Sexuality wasn't the only thing on a man's mind, but you'd think they all believed it was, or maybe that it was the only key that might unlock their attention. Might work on some poor chaps, but my door was locked tight. A beautiful redhead with soft lips and more confidence than I'd seen on most men had my heart. My thoughts. My body. All of me.

  She'd soon have my ring too.

  I picked up my napkin and wiped at my mouth. "I'm from Houston, born and raised."

  "A country boy. I like it."

  I smirked. "My father owns a construction company, and I originally went to school to learn accounting to go work for him, but he found a good partner the year before I graduated who had plenty of business savvy to play the part of back office manager for him. So, I decided to research the market, and I found Martin and Co. I was beyond impressed with what Rebecca Martin had done with the place, and knew without a doubt that if she'd have me, I'd work for her forever."

  "Nice." The girl's eyes brightened. "And there's no way I could possibly talk you into considering a shift into industry? You know your stuff and I sure could use a man like you around to help us grow like we plan to."

  I smiled and picked up my iced tea. "I will be around. Rebecca and I will take good care of your company. That's part of you bringing us on board."

  "Do you and Rebecca work that closely?" She tilted her head to the side a little.

  "We do." I took a bite of my lunch and watched her reaction as realization rolled over her pretty face.

  "Wait. Is she just your boss?"

  "And my girlfriend." I chuckled as her cheeks burned red. "I'm going to ask her to marry me this Christmas. We're all headed up to Denver for some skiing here in a few weeks." I shrugged. "It's probably too early, and she's going to give me hell for surprising her, but I found what I was looking for. Time to make sure she's mine forever."

  "Oh. Wow." She sat back in her chair and reached for her wine. "I seriously thought you were single. I don't know why. You're incredibly good-looking and so damn smart. Stupid of me."

  "Were you hitting on me, Dina?" I smirked, loving the way she backtracked quickly. I lifted my hand. "I'm picking at you. We're good. I'll draw up the rest of the papers when I get home and we'll get everything taken care of at Deming. I'm a taken man, and I have been for a while."

  "I see." She tucked her head down a little and started to eat.

  Funny enough, the conversation died out pretty quickly. I couldn't have been more pleased. My steak was incredible, and my thoughts filled up the time, like they always did. Quickly moving from the present to the future. A future where my boss wore my ring and helped me raise our babies.

  I was lost to her. I could only hope she agreed when I hit my knee later that month. Her saying no was the only thing that kept me up at night.

  She won't say no. Will she?

  ***

  I sat on the plane, waiting for the door to close and couldn't stand the tension in my chest any longer. I hadn't talked to Becca for a few days, namely because I didn't want to look like the sap she'd turned me into. Pulling out my phone, I dialed her number and pressed the FaceTime button. I had to see her. A week was too long.

  "Hey." She smiled as her beautiful face came into view on my phone.

  My cock twitched in my slacks, and my heart skipped a beat. "Hey, beautiful."

  "You on the plane?" Her smile faded a little.

  "Yeah. I'm looking forward to getting back home. Are you still free tonight?" I hated to ask seeing that we'd moved into something more serious than casual dating, but I wanted to offer her an out in case she needed it. She was a fickle woman with more demons to slay than any other I'd met before.

  "Of course I am."

  Parker appeared behind her, a string of lights dangling from his fingers. "Hey, buddy. How was it? Did you land the deal?"

  "Sure did." I lifted an eyebrow. "What are you two up to, and should I be worried?"

  "Never." She rolled her eyes.

  "Always." Parker wagged his eyebrows. "You should never leave a woman this beautiful at home alone. It's relationship suicide."

  I held my tongue as Rebecca popped him in the chest and turned so that it was only her again. "You have nothing to worry about. You know that."

  "I'm ready to get home to you." I let my eyes move across her face as every part of me woke up. She might not feel as deeply as I did, but I was more than ready to make the plunge into marriage with her. She was everything I'd wanted my whole life. Strong, confident, brilliant, beautiful.

  "Me too." She glanced up and back down at the phone. "We hired a new marketing agent this morning."

  "That's good. Parker do okay in the interview?" I couldn't help but stare at her lips, so pink and welcoming. I wanted them all over me.

  "I think so." She smirked. "You know Park though. The girl who applied was stunning, so I'm not sure he really could concentrate on anything but her looks."

  "Oh hell." I laughed as the flight attendant came over the intercom and announced that we needed to turn off all electronic devices. "Did she flirt back with him?"

  "From what I understand, no. She's very professional and ran the interview herself."

  I laughed again. "Why am I not surprised by that?"

  "I miss you." Her expression softened a little. "I know it's stupid, but I've been a little edgy with you gone."

  "Scared in the house alone?" I wanted so fucking bad to move in with her, but I couldn't push it. She was complicated.

  "No. Nothing like that." She pursed her lips as if trying to decide if she were going to tell me.

  "Then what, baby?" I glanced up as the flight attendant started to walk my way. "Hey, I gotta go. See you back at your place in a few hours, okay?"

  "Dina didn't hit on you, right?" Her worry was written all over her face.

  I winked at her. "It wouldn't have mattered if she did. I'm yours, remember?"

  "Right." She nodded, her expression tightening a little. "I'll see you tonight."

  "Yeah, you will. I love you, Becca."

  "Me too."

  Seemed like someone needed to be reminded just how 'over the moon' I was for her. I had no problem showing her as many times as she needed to see it. Every day for the rest of my life.

  Sounded like heav
en to me.

  Chapter 3

  Rebecca

  "You heading out soon?" Parker stuck his head in my open door as I worked to close down my review notes from one of our client files.

  "Yeah. Why?" I didn't look up.

  "Just wanted to see if you wanted to grab a drink."

  I pulled my attention from the screen and glanced over at my best friend. The look on his handsome face said that he needed me. He hadn't needed me in a while, which was good and bad. It gave me and Jason time to work on our relationship without Park hanging around the edges of it so tightly, but I missed him a little. The side of him that opened wide as he bared his soul to me. I was likely the only person in his life that he did that with.

  "Okay. Sure. We can talk about the interview a little if you want to?"

  "I'd like that. She was a great candidate. Better than the dimwit I interviewed yesterday." He moved back into the hallway as I stood and gathered my things.

  "The guy was brilliant yesterday." I pulled the strap of my bag over my shoulder and walked toward the door.

  "Too brilliant. I hate it when people try and make me feel as if they're the most intelligent thing ever to grace the earth. Give me a fucking break." He closed my door behind me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we walked to the front. "I'm going to hire the girl."

  "Keira? I knew that." I pulled out of his hold and opened the front door to the office.

  "Whatever. She's smart, beautiful and confident. Seeing that you're already taken, I need another woman around here that leaves my body aching."

  "Behave. Seriously." I moved out into the hall. "You know what you need to do?"

  "Please tell me. I'd love a little bit of guidance here. I've been sleeping with a different woman every week. I'm starting to feel like a slut."

  "Starting to?" I laughed and walked toward the exit. "You're not the kind of guy who sleeps around, Park. You can try and heal your heart by sleeping around, but it's not going to work."

  "You saying I'm a softie?" He stopped beside my car as I worked to get in it.

  "You're totally a softie." I put my stuff down and turned to face him. "You're a good man. You need to join a dating site, or let me set you up."

  "With who?" He snorted as his phone started to ring.

  "With someone." I shrugged. "I don't know, but I'll find a few girls."

  "Women, please, and you talk to me and Trisha. I'm pretty sure we're going to be limited by your lack of choices."

  "You don't know that." I pursed my lips as he lifted his phone to his ear and motioned for me to be quiet.

  "Parker here. What's up?" He turned his back to me and walked a little ways away.

  I wrapped my arms around myself and let out a long sigh. I didn't want to go out for a drink. I wanted to go home and make dinner for Jason. He'd be there in a few hours and curling up on the couch beside him sounded like pure heaven.

  It had taken me almost nine months to get over our age difference, and I still struggled from time to time, but it was getting easier. Namely because he made it easy. There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't remind me how beautiful, intelligent or successful I was. He was far too good for me, though he readily disagreed with my assessment.

  "Hey. Something has come up." Parker walked back toward me.

  I tilted my head to the side. "Like your dick?"

  "Yep. It's going to at least. A cute little number I met at a bar last weekend wants to get together for a quick dinner and maybe some dancing."

  "Horizontal dancing?" I smirked.

  "You know it. That's the only type I do." He shrugged. "I'm a player. What can I say?"

  "You're a player all right, but not by choice."

  "Life hands me lemons and I make lemonade." He smiled. "Rain check?"

  "For you? Of course." I got in my car and turned on Christmas carols as I headed toward the house. We needed to decorate soon. December would be over before I knew it. Maybe Jason would be willing to help me.

  I ignored the concern that rose up in the center of my chest. Decorating was often domesticated. Would I give him the wrong idea? I wanted to take another step together, but I wasn't sure he'd understand if it was just one step and not ten.

  ***

  I'd just finished pouring a red sauce over the chicken when the doorbell rang.

  "You have a key," I mumbled and set the pan down. Nervousness rose up in the center of my chest, which made no sense at all, and yet... there it was. Ever present.

  Falling in love was terrifying, and yet I'd done just that somewhere over the last nine months. The man at the door had stolen my heart, and some part of me was waiting for the other shoe to fall. For him to wake up and realize that maybe he'd made a mistake. Twelve years between us was a lot. Surely it would come back to bite me in the ass.

  "Hi, handsome." I opened the door and smiled as my heart fluttered in my chest.

  "Hi, baby." He moved into the living room and wrapped me in a warm hug. His lips were soft against mine, his skin cold. The bouquet of red roses in his hand were more than I expected, and yet he was always bringing something with him.

  I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and forced the voices in my head to hush for a minute. The warmth of his tongue was delicious, soft and wet against mine.

  "I missed you," I mumbled against his mouth.

  "Yeah? Maybe I should go away more often." He pressed his hand against the small of my back, trapping me against him. "I smell something good. Did you cook for us?"

  "I tried to. You know I'm talented in the office and the bedroom. I'm humbled in the kitchen." I kissed him one more time as he smiled.

  "I'm good with both of those. I'll be good in the kitchen and you just make it up to me in the bedroom." He kissed me again, licking at my mouth before moving back.

  A growl lodged in my throat, but I pushed it down. We were always so quick to move from the softness of the relationship to the white-hot passion. Where I enjoyed that so much, I wanted to make sure that our relationship stayed grounded on something more than lust.

  Parker would have laughed me all the way to the bank. Lust was a form of love in his mind, but I wasn't so sure.

  We moved into the kitchen, and I took the roses from him, working to get them into a vase and fill it with water.

  He breathed in deeply and moved to the stove. "We got the Deming account."

  "Did you have to work hard for it?" I moved up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist before pressing myself to his back.

  "Not really. The woman is a little too forward, but I told her you and I were together. Hope you're okay with that." He ran his fingers over my forearm and worked on the meal.

  "Forward how?" I stiffened and moved back as he turned and pulled me tightly against him.

  "Forward like some women are." He leaned down and brushed his nose by mine. "Nothing to worry about. I'm lost to you. You know that."

  I lifted to my toes and kissed him. "Right. Until you decide to turn me in for a younger model."

  "Not happening." He rolled his eyes, kissed me again and turned back to the stove. "Go change and get comfortable. Let's just relax and spend some time together tonight."

  "I like the sound of that." I walked to the bedroom and made quick work of my suit. A pair of boy shorts and a tank top and I was back in the kitchen.

  Jason plated up dinner and glanced up when I walked in. "Wow. Damn."

  "Stop it." I shook my head and moved to get two wine glasses from the counter. "You've seen me like this a million times."

  He moved up behind me and ran his hands down the outside of my thighs, tugging at my shorts a little as he gripped the bottom of my rear. "And it never gets old." He kissed the back of my neck, sending chill bumps racing down my skin. "Maybe dinner can wait."

  "No way." I bumped him with my butt and walked back to the stove. "This looks so much better. What did you do to it?"

  "Added cream."

  I turned in time to watch him a
djust himself. "God, you're sexy."

  "Stop trying to flatter me. It will get you nowhere, Miss Martin." He reached for me and cupped my face in his strong hands.

  "No? But I wanna go everywhere." I lifted up and kissed him as he growled.

  "Oh yeah? Then forget I said anything. Every inch of me is up for grabs."

  I chuckled and slid my hands down his back to grab his perfect ass. "Good. I'll start right here."

  Chapter 4

  Jason

  Dinner was delicious the night before, but as much as I wanted to make love to Becca, my stomach started to hurt so bad that I left after we snuggled on the couch for a while. I could tell she wasn't too happy about it, but it had to do more with her being worried over Dina than anything else. It was trivial. She had nothing to worry about.

  "Morning, Jason." Mary glanced up from the receptionist desk as I walked in. She'd been with the firm for a few months, and was doing great, but she was a little older than the women Parker usually hired. Becca had been involved in the hire, which was a good thing.

  "Morning. You been holding down the fort?" I smiled and walked by her, pausing until she answered.

  "Sure have. We got all the decorations up yesterday." She pointed and I turned to see a tree in the corner of the foyer.

  "Nice. Did the bosses help out at all?"

  "We sure did." Parker walked toward me from the hallway and slipped his hands into his pockets. "How did the Deming meeting go?"

  "Really good." I nodded toward Mary. "Have a great day, okay?"

  "I sure will. You do the same." She turned back to the stack of papers on her desk as I joined Parker in the hallway.

  "So you got the account?" He turned and walked with me toward our offices.