When he reached her room, he opened the door and deposited her onto the bed, expecting her to straighten herself out. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted to the side as if she’d already dozed off. He swung her legs onto the bed. So as not to get the beige comforter dirty, he removed her boots and socks.
Pink nail polish covered her delicate, manicured toes. She looked so young and innocent. Christina opened her eyes and must have realized she was in her bed for she tried to unbutton her jeans. Her fingers kept slipping.
“Here, I’ll do that.”
He pretended he was a father and she a young girl. If he hadn’t, who knows what he would have done. Zach swatted her hands away when she tried to help undo the button. He pulled down the zipper and slid off her pants in a few short tugs. To his dismay, the tight jeans also took her panties with him. Seeing her bare snatch made him harder. Shit.
He must have been staring, for Christina lifted up on her elbows. “You like it?”
Caught. Damn. “Good night.”
“You don’t want to help me?”
Glancing back, he saw she’d pulled her up her panties. “Help you with what?”
“Deke buttoned my blouse up wrong.” She fumbled with the buttons then burped. “Whoops. Sorry.”
Aw hell, she probably wouldn’t remember anything in the morning anyway. He kept his gaze focused on the task at hand and undid her blouse. As he slid the sleeves down her arms, he realized his mistake. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and he immediately averted his gaze, though God knows he wanted to look, to taste, but mostly to enjoy.
“You’ll need some aspirin. Where’s your nightgown?”
“Nightgown?” She frowned and acted as though she’d never heard the word before.
He walked over to the cedar chest and pawed through her belongings until he pulled out an oversize T-shirt. After tossing it to her, he strode into the bathroom and retrieved two aspirin and a glass of water.
Back in the room, he handed her the pills and glass. “Take these.”
She managed that task but still hadn’t put the shirt on. She sat there naked. Bad, carnal thoughts bombarded his mind. As the head of the family, he had to keep it together.
“Fine. Sleep naked.”
He pulled back the covers, lifted her naked body, and slid her into the sheets. Her arms wound around his neck, and he barely managed to hold in a groan. Her smooth skin took his mind to all the wrong places.
“Kiss me.” She closed her eyes and puckered her lips.
“No.” He reached behind him and pried off her fingers.
“Why don’t you like me?”
He did not need this conversation. “I never said I didn’t like you.”
“Then play with my pussy and make it up to me. Those mean men only teased me tonight, and I’m really horny.”
That comment was supposed to make him feel special? “You’re drunk. Good night.”
He strode out before she asked him to do something he couldn’t refuse.
* * * *
Christina opened her eyes. Her tongue was thick and her stomach achy, but there wasn’t the usual head pounding she got when she drank too much, which fortunately wasn’t often. She tried to sort through last night’s events. The movie had been funny and they’d all laughed until it hurt. She couldn’t remember the last time thoughts of income statements and balance sheets hadn’t entered her mind for an entire evening. It was as if all the stress of the last month had disappeared the moment she stepped onto this ranch.
Maybe it was because Deke had made them popcorn, and Brett kept the beer coming. She’d been so relaxed, she didn’t balk when Brett started playing with her tits. She tried swatting his hands away so she could finish watching TV, but he’d been insistent. His touches were light and exciting. One thing led to another, and then Deke started on the other side, and she got into the wonderful sensations.
She must have dozed, because all of a sudden, someone came into the room and turned off the TV. She thought it was Zach, but her memory was a little fuzzy.
Her mental vision cleared. Oh, shit.
He’d carried her to her room. On her first night here she gets drunk with two hired hands. How uncool was that? She’d woken up naked. Oh, my God. Did Zach strip her, or had Deke or Brett done the deed? Her pussy wasn’t sore, so she didn’t think she’d had sex.
If Zach saw her naked, he’d think the worst of her and dislike her even more.
The glowing alarm clock read 5:30 a.m. Maybe if she got up and fixed breakfast, it might help make up for her actions last night. She sat up and immediately regretted her move. Her headed pounded. Too bad, she had to move, achy body or not.
After she brushed her teeth and washed her face, she put on the most conservative outfit she’d packed and headed to the kitchen. The refrigerator door’s light allowed her to find the overhead light switch. She wasn’t sure what the men would want for breakfast but figured she couldn’t go wrong with pancakes and sausages.
She set the table, prepared the batter, and turned on the coffeemaker. About fifteen minutes later, Zach arrived. His step faltered the moment he noticed her, but he didn’t say anything, which probably was a good thing.
“Good morning.” She used her cheeriest voice. “Thanks for the aspirin last night. It helped.” Please don’t say anything about me being naked or I’ll shrink from embarrassment.
He grunted some response, about what she couldn’t tell.
Note to self. Zach was not a morning person. Retract that. Zach just might be a bear all the time.
He poured coffee into his cup and headed to the back door.
“I’m making pancakes and sausage. Don’t you want any?”
“No.”
The door slammed behind him. “What a jerk.”
“Who’s a jerk?”
She whipped around. “Brett! No one. I’m making pancakes and sausage. You want some?”
“Does a homeless man want to win the lottery?”
She smiled. At least she hadn’t alienated everyone. As she was serving Brett, Deke rolled in. His eyes were a little bloodshot, but he still looked good. She wanted to ask them about her state of dress, or rather undress, last night but feared that might lead to something she didn’t want to explore this early in the morning.
She poured a cup of coffee and handed it to him. “How are you feeling?”
“Remind me not to try to keep up with Brett in the drinking department.”
She chuckled. “Try aspirin before you go to bed next time.” She waved to the table. “Have a seat and I’ll bring over breakfast.”
“This will be a nice change. You see Zach this morning?”
“Yes. He took a cup of coffee and left.”
“Sounds like him.”
Once they were seated, the exchange seemed natural and easy. It was a good thing Zach wasn’t there. No doubt he would have brought down the breakfast party. So why did she want to get to know him? Last night she’d learned his fiancée had died a short time after his parents, but erecting a shield around his heart wouldn’t help him heal. She was no psychologist, but she knew that much about human nature.
After serving the breakfast, which she had to admit was quite good, Deke picked up his plate, washed it, and put the dish in the dishwasher, as if the movement was as natural as brushing his teeth in the morning.
“Brett,” Deke said, “I’m going to see that the men are up then check out the fence on the west side of the property that was broken a few days ago.”
Brett nodded and repeated the same cleaning process Deke had done. “Darlin’, I hate to leave you this morning, but I have a little business in town. When I get back, I promise we’ll do something fun, okay?”
“Sure.” He was probably dreaming up something that was more sexually frustrating in nature than fun. With the extra time, she could get some work done.
As if they’d done it for the last ten years, they each gave her a quick kiss good-bye and headed out to start the
ir chores. Alone in the house, she figured her first duty was to clean up the breakfast dishes.
Once she finished that chore, she wandered into the home theatre room. Dear God. Popcorn and beer bottles were strewn everywhere. She didn’t remember making such a mess, but then again, she didn’t remember how she ended up being naked either. Regardless, someone had to make this right. Miracles of all miracles, she actually found the vacuum cleaner and all the cleaning supplies in a large closet off the kitchen. To her surprise, she enjoyed going through the house straightening up. Even though Deke said the maid came once a week, she bet Zach would appreciate the help.
By the time she finished, the sun had been up for at least three hours. She wandered around the downstairs and found the office, and more importantly a computer. Booting it up, she was excited to find Internet access. She raced upstairs, gathered some papers, and returned. She spent the next hour copying and printing news stories and market data. Without a flash drive to back up the material, there wasn’t much more she could do. After shutting down, she stashed her work. Figuring Zach must be hungry after skipping breakfast, she returned to the kitchen, made a sandwich for him, and filled a thermos with hot coffee. She hoped he’d see this as a peace offering.
The problem was she had no idea where he was. No one was in the corral, so she decided to check the barn. If the place had ten workers like Deke claimed, she was bound to run into one of them who could direct her to the boss man’s location. As soon as she stepped into the barn, the sweet smell of hay that had perfumed the air hit her. It took a moment to decide she liked the earthy scent.
She spotted someone hefting bales of hay into the back of a truck. His muscles rippled across his sweat-stained back.
“Excuse me.”
The man turned around. Whoa. It was Zach. The front of his shirt was open, exposing a glorious chest. Every part of her jolted from the glorious specimen. She pulled her gaze up to his face.
“What do you want?” he said in his usual, not-so-friendly tone.
She would not be put off by his bad behavior. “I thought you might be hungry.”
He seemed to study the thermos and the bag she held in her hand. “Leave it.”
She had enough of his rude behavior. She’d done nothing to deserve his disdain, other than maybe allow his brothers to get her naked. “You know, a thank-you wouldn’t hurt.” When he didn’t blink, she stepped even closer. She didn’t flinch, though in a flash he could lash out at her. “Tell me what I did to piss you off. Or are you always in a foul mood?”
He kept his gaze on her, even as he removed the bag from her hand. He broke eye contact only for a second to check out what she’d brought. “You make this?”
“No, the tooth fairy did.” She could have sworn there was a hint of a smile. “It’s not poison, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
He took a bite. “This is good. I was hungry.”
“Eating breakfast starts the day off well.”
He almost cracked a smile, and her heart fluttered.
He picked up the thermos and tossed back a large part of the contents. A second later his eyes watered, and he pushed the drink away. “Shit, that’s hot.”
“That’s what thermoses do. They keep the drink hot. Wouldn’t you have been angry if I’d brought lukewarm coffee?”
He widened his eyes and blew out a breath. “You have a point, but damn, you didn’t have to make it boiling hot.”
When he inhaled, his chest expanded, giving her a magnificent view of his pecs. He’d softened a bit after he had a bite, and she was dying to know what it would be like to run her hands down his chest. Never before would she have considered touching a man whose body glistened with sweat, but this man looked good that way.
She reached out to test the waters, but his hand grabbed her wrist. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” Now she sounded like Brett.
“Did you mean what you said last night?” His lids lowered and he held her gaze. Desire flooded his eyes, and she came close to melting.
She didn’t remember saying much other than maybe an occasional groan. “What did I say?”
“That you wanted to fuck me, and even begged me to do you.”
Her memory might not be crystal clear about last night, but she never said that. “That is such a lie.”
“What part of ‘play with my pussy’ didn’t you mean?”
Her mouth opened then shut. The words had a familiar ring. “I said that?”
“You don’t remember?” He moved toward her, and she stepped backward. He picked up a towel and wiped his face, then dragged off his shirt. He ran the towel over his hard pecs and down his ripped stomach in a slow, seductive manner as if he wanted her to want him. Damn, but she did.
She swallowed, trying to keep from staring.
He kept advancing. “You want to pick up where you left off? I know you’re just a cocktease, but I’m willing to put that aside.”
“Me? It’s your two men who fit that bill.”
Shit. She shouldn’t have implied she was horny.
His lids lowered as he advanced, and her defrosted pussy went into overdrive. Why she wanted to experience Zach, she had no idea, but if he showed her any part of his soul, it would be worth the sexual frustration.
He owned the ranch and would never jeopardize his reputation by having sex with her. Maybe she should call his bluff. After all, she was here to learn. This man had more passion than Brett and Deke put together, but would he be as good a teacher as them when he touched her?
His shoulder muscles flexed and hardened. “Are you turning me down now?”
“Not exactly, but remember, we can’t fuck, as you so politely put it.” She placed a hand on her hip and held her ground.
Without breaking his gaze, he picked up a rope. In less time than it took to blink, he was on her, pressing his lips to hers. Every inch of her body burst into flames. This man was hot. He dragged her hands behind her and wrapped her wrists together.
She struggled.
“Don’t. You want this,” he whispered in her ear. “I know you do.”
She stopped, the blood pounding so hard in her body she could barely hear herself think. He walked her backward until her body hit a wall.
“I want you helpless.” He licked her neck and her knees weakened.
She didn’t see him grab a second rope, but he managed to loop it through her bindings and tie it to something on the wall, so that she was fastened tight against it.
He stepped back and smiled. “My favorite position.”
She’d worn a modest, button-down shirt, which he opened in short order. Her bra clasped in back, so he wouldn’t be able to remove it since her hands were tied. Ha.
Wrong. His knife sliced through both straps. Once he unhooked the back, he tossed the ruined lingerie on the ground. Her breasts were totally exposed. The cold air pebbled her nipples, and she never felt more alive.
“That was a Victoria’s Secret bra.” As if he had any idea the cost of the classy item.
“You have the most perfect tits.”
Hadn’t he heard her? He tapped the tip with a finger, and her pussy went into overdrive. One touch. That’s all it took. “Thanks.” She failed to remove the sarcasm from her voice. She was pissed he’d made her so weak with a mere look and a tiny touch.
“I’ll buy you a boatload of them if you wish. Right now, I’m enjoying the view.”
She didn’t give a damn about replacing the bra, but his willingness to repay warmed her heart. His blue eyes had darkened with desire. Uh-oh.
He ran a hand from her lips, over her chin, in between her breasts, to her waist. “I want to strip you naked and do things to you that will make you climb the wall. The ecstasy will be beyond your wildest imagination.”
Yes, yes, yes. Do it.
Too bad her mouth couldn’t form the words.
Chapter Five
Zach’s gaze was as intense as a leopard ready to poun
ce for dinner.
“Lift up your foot,” he commanded.
Christina obeyed, helpless not to. It was almost as if he’d hypnotized her and she’d follow his every command.
Zach removed her boot and sock. “Now the other one.”
All that was left of her attire were her jeans and panties. He moved close enough for her to smell the earthy scent of man and hay. He lowered his head on top of her hair and kissed the crown. She inhaled to memorize this moment.
With an ease that only comes from experience, he unbuttoned then unzipped her jeans. When he moved away, she experienced a loss from his powerful presence.
Zach knelt in front of her and lowered her jeans in one smooth drag, partly taking her panties with them. She could have sworn he inhaled when he exposed her pussy. She was sure her scent was strong, full of need and clearly wanting.
After another tug, the jeans came off, but he left her there with her shirt down around her elbows and her panties at thigh level.
“Spread your legs.” She moved one leg to the side, but the black lace prevented her from opening wider. “Is that the best you can do?” He looked up and his eyes gleamed.
She cocked her head to the side. “Yes.”
He must have realized her dilemma and allowed her to step out of her underwear. Having freedom to move, she widened her stance, presenting herself to him. Using one finger, he dragged his digit down her opening. Her pussy nearly exploded from the touch.
“You are amazing.”
It wasn’t the words that thrilled her so much as the way he said them with awe and appreciation.
She sucked in an audible breath when he fully opened her pussy lips with his thumbs. Her body tingled in anticipation of his more intimate touch. She knew in another minute he’d send her over the edge.
Instead of the mouth she so desired, he did nothing but stare at her for what seemed forever. Was he waiting for permission? Not Zach. He was the type of man who knew what he wanted and took it. To his credit, she’d pushed and enticed him hopefully enough to give her what she wanted. She prayed he’d finally let go of his tight self-control.
Monroe, Melody S. - Fantasy Ranch [Fantasy Resort 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5
