“That would be great.”
While we walked around the house, I noticed that Sloan wasn’t wearing one her regular nightclub outfits. She still looked amazing and was still far more nicely dressed than the women in this town. But she at least looked like she wasn’t trying so hard anymore.
“What?” she asked as she caught him staring.
“Nothing,” he said and continued to walk.
“Wow, this place is amazing, Brady.”
“Really? It’s not quite a New York loft though, is it?” I teased.
She laughed. “It’s not. But my apartment would look very odd in this town. This house is great. It’s bigger than I expected. Do you live here alone?”
“All alone. I’m used to wide open spaces. I don’t think I could live in a place that was small. And this,” I said as I took her to the porch outside. “This is where we’ll be having dinner tonight.”
I watched as she took in the scenery before her. The best thing about my house was definitely the expanse of garden. It was the best place to sit and enjoy food on a beautiful summer’s day.
“Oh wow, this is your yard?”
“Part of it is. My brother lives next door, and he has the other part. But yeah, it’s mostly mine. And can you see that building all the way there in the distance?”
She looked out and nodded. “Yeah.”
“That’s the ranch.”
“Seriously? Oh wow, it’s close.”
“Yeah. Every now and again I walk to work. But for the most part, I take the car. It’s close, but it’s still a fair distance to go on foot. And after a long day out at the ranch, I don’t usually feel like walking. But yeah, this is my life.”
“It’s great, Brady,” she said, and she actually sounded like she meant it.
“Thank you. Anyway, like I was saying—this is where we’ll be having dinner tonight. There’s no way we can’t eat outside on a day like today. I hope you like steak.”
“You’re grilling them here?” she asked.
“Oh yeah,” I said and patted the grill. “It’s the best way to have them.”
“I’ve never had steaks cooked on an outdoor grill.”
“What? Are you serious? And before the other day, you’d never ridden a horse. Well, you’re experiencing lots of firsts in Wyoming. Before I start the meat, can I get you a drink? A glass of wine maybe?”
“Wine sounds lovely. Red if you have it.”
“Red wine and steak. Of course. Take a seat, Sloan. I’ll be right back.”
I walked back in the house to get the wine and marveled at the fact that Sloan had never had meat prepared on an outdoor grill before. I’d spent so many years out on the ranch that I’d almost forgotten what it was like to hang out with city people. Even then, I’d hung out in Arizona, which is still a far cry from the people in New York. They were different.
I poured us both a glass of wine and took it outside. When I got there, Sloan was smiling out into the distance.
“Thank you,” she said. “You know, it’s quite something out here. It feels so peaceful.”
“It is,” I said. “It’s my favorite place in the world.”
I put the steaks on the grill and went to join her. I’d been worried that things were going to be awkward between us, but so far the conversation was flowing.
“So, what’s your favorite place?” I asked her.
She seemed taken aback by the question, and for a while, she just sat there sipping her wine and thinking about it. Finally, she shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Really? Come on; there must be one place you love over anything. What about your apartment? I thought you loved that place.”
“I do. I mean, it’s wonderful. And it overlooks the whole of New York City, which is really something. But I’ve only just moved there, really. It’s not my favorite place or anything. It’s not like . . . this. Uh, I don’t know, Brady. That’s an interesting question.”
It wasn’t exactly a hard question. I thought everyone had a favorite place. A place that they felt completely at ease. It was sad that Sloan didn’t have that, but I decided not to push it.
“Do you also live alone?” I asked.
She nodded. “Oh yeah. And I like that. So, you say your brother lives next door? Do the two of you get along?”
“Grant. Yeah, he’s a good guy. He moved here from Arizona awhile back. He was working as a real estate agent and wanted a change. He came to stay with me for a while, and I put him to work at the ranch. He ended up falling in love with the place, and falling in love with one of the local girls. Now he’s moved in, he got a full-time job as a firefighter, and he’s engaged. And he never wants to move away.”
“That’s quite some story. I hope I get to meet him.”
“Oh, you will. He’s dying to come and see what’s happening at the ranch. Also, he knows all about you, and I’m sure he’d love to meet you.”
She laughed. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, go for it,” I said and got up to turn the steaks.
“Did you have any idea who I was when you first met me?”
“Uh, no. I’m sorry.”
“Did you know anyone else? The rest of the cast?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. I’m a little far removed from society sometimes. I don’t think I realized that until now, though.”
“I see that.”
I took the steaks off and set them down on the table, then I went to the kitchen and came back with a big salad and a few small buttered rolls.
“Okay, help yourself,” I said as I handed her a plate.
“This looks amazing,” she said as she admired the food on the table.
“I’m glad you like it. It’s simple food, but tasty, I hope.”
We sat back down and started eating, and I was pleased to see that Sloan was enjoying her food. She took a bite of the steak and told me it was the best piece of meat she’d ever eaten.
“I don’t usually cook for people. So, I’m glad you’re happy. Don’t you want a roll?” I said as I sliced mine open to butter. “They’re made by a local baker, and I got them fresh today.”
She shook her head. “Oh, I try not to eat too many carbs. Got to keep the figure, you know.”
I looked over at her slender body and sighed. “You could stand to put on a few pounds. And trust me, the bread is worth it. Life is far too short to worry about calories.”
She hesitated, and then reached over for a roll. She buttered it and took a bite. She grinned at me. “Whoa. This is amazing.”
“And you honestly shouldn’t worry about your weight. In fact, you should think of it in the opposite way. You’re a role model for so many girls out there. Better to show them that worrying about weight is not the most important thing in life.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she said as she took another bite.
I was surprised to find that I was enjoying myself with her. And there was definitely a softer side to Sloan that I enjoyed.
“So, a brother next door. Who else?” she asked.
“I have four brothers. Ian, Ryan, Grant, and Reed. Or, as I know most of them, Gunner, Knuckles, Patriot, and Moneymaker.”
“What? Why do you know them as that?”
I chuckled. “My father is part of a motorcycle club back in Arizona, and for a while, we were all part of it too. We were all given those nicknames once upon a time.”
“And yours is?”
“Shotgun.”
She laughed. “It should’ve been ‘Horse Whisperer.’”
“Yeah, that is more fitting than Shotgun. Anyway, that’s my old life. My father and Ian are still big into the club, but the rest of us are out there in the world doing our own thing.”
“Sounds like an interesting life. So, does your father visit often?”
I shook my head. “No. Anyway, enough about me,” I said. I didn’t want to talk about my father. I wasn’t even sure why I had gone into so much detail about the motor
cycle club and the nicknames. She made me a little nervous, and I was talking more than I used to. “So, do people usually know who you are?”
She laughed. “Usually, yeah.”
“Must’ve been weird coming here and not being recognized, then.”
“A little weird. But not necessarily a bad thing.”
“You know, Sloan, you’re not nearly as annoying as I thought you were in the beginning,” I said. My wine was obviously giving me confidence.
I hoped she wouldn’t take offense, but when I looked up, she was laughing. “And you know what, Brady? You’re not nearly as exasperating as I thought you were, either.”
Chapter Twelve
Sloan
Dinner with Brady had been far more interesting than I had expected it to be. He’d been more talkative than usual, and I wondered if it was because he was at home. He seemed comfortable in the space. It was clear that he loved his home, and that he was proud to show me around, and I liked that.
“Thank you for a delicious meal,” I said to him. He’d gone to clear the plates, refusing help, and had now come back with some more wine for the two of us.
“Your first steak cooked on an outdoor grill. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“I loved it. I may never want steak any other way now.”
He grinned. “Good to hear. You know, this wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”
I looked at him and laughed. He really was not the sort of guy that minced his words. Which, I was learning, could be both a blessing and a curse. “You thought it was going to be bad?”
“Sorry, that came out wrong. No, I didn’t think it would be bad. Well, I mean, I sort of did. It’s just that you and I are from such completely different worlds. It’s hard to think that we would’ve been able to just sit and enjoy a nice meal together. But I was wrong, I had a great night.”
“I’ll be honest; I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn out either. I mean, for the first few days I kinda hated you.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. You were so rude to me,” I admitted openly.
“Was I? I guess I was. I’m sorry about that. I’m not usually like that. I just got a bit protective over the ranch. And I couldn’t say anything because Harold was just so happy to have you all there. And he’s such a good man and a very good boss to me. But he’s lonely, and I think this whole thing has just given him such a boost again. I let my emotions get the better of me sometimes. It’s hard to share your life with a whole crew of people. I’m a very private kind of guy, so this has been difficult for me.”
“We’re all private people, you know. Even those that flash their lives in front of the world. Just because they show a certain side to the world doesn’t mean it’s who they are all the time.”
He went silent as he thought about what I had said. He seemed surprised by it for some reason. “Yeah, you’re right.”
I’d not been this honest with someone in a very long time. And it had been forever since I’d had a real conversation with anyone that didn’t revolve around shopping or gossip. I hadn’t realized how much I’d been lacking in good conversation until that moment. Brady was an interesting man, and he had a lot of layers. Perhaps it was the second glass of wine, or simply the fact that I was out in the open air, but every time I looked at him, I found myself liking him more and more. When he let his guard down, he was absolutely beautiful. I wondered if he knew just how good looking he was.
“So, there’s scene coming up for the movie that I’m a bit nervous about,” I said.
“Oh yeah? Want to talk about it? I don’t know much about the movie world, but I do know a lot about this world, so I’ll try help.”
I smiled. Was I really going to say the sentence that I had already formulated in my head? I could feel my heart racing. I quickly took another sip of wine and looked out into the darkened sky.
“Well, it’s a kissing scene. And here’s the thing, I’ve never kissed a real cowboy before.”
“Oh,” Brady said. I could tell I had taken him by surprise. He laughed nervously. “Well, I don’t see how that would be different from kissing anyone else. What, uh . . . what’s it like kissing on screen, by the way?”
“It’s not nearly as nice as it is kissing someone off screen. I mean, all those eyes on you. All those cameras. It’s hard to get as sensual as you’d like to.”
“You want to get sensual?”
“That’s the weird part. It’s not like you like the person you are kissing, and it’s super awkward with everyone watching. But at the same time, you are aware that you have to make it look as genuine as possible. You want the viewers to think that you want to be kissing that person.”
“That sounds like far too much effort,” he said.
“Yeah, and I haven’t kissed a guy in a long time.”
He looked at me. “I don’t believe that.”
“It’s true.”
We sat in silence for a while, and I thought about what I was saying to him. It was true; I hadn’t kissed a guy in a while. It was hard to have a boyfriend with the whole world watching you. And I had yet to find someone I was willing to make the effort with.
“Well, uh, you’ll be fine,” Brady suddenly said out of the blue.
I stood up and walked over to him. I reached for his hand and pulled him up. I was worried that he was going to pull away and that I was about to make a huge fool of myself. But he looked down at me, not smiling, but not frowning either.
“I think,” I said as my hand trailed over his arm, “I might need to practice. The last thing I want to do is look like an idiot. And Harold did say that you would help me with anything that I needed.”
He looked at me, and I saw hunger in his eyes. Then, before I could say anything else, he leaned down and kissed me. His lips were hard against mine, his tongue meeting mine in an immediate burst of passion. I put my hands on his face and moaned softly as his facial hair rubbed against my sensitive skin. He was by far the manliest man I’d ever kissed.
When we eventually pulled away, we both stood there in shock, neither one of us knowing what to do. I knew I wanted more, so I pushed him back down on the chair and I slowly took off my clothes while he watched me. I felt the cool air move around me, and as I looked down, I saw that my nipples were now standing erect. I walked over to him and sat on his lap. I took his hands and put them on my breasts, and felt his rough skin against mine. His were hands that had done a lot of hard work, while my skin was soft from years of pampering. The contrast felt good. He kissed me everywhere, and leaned down so that my nipples were in his mouth. I arched back so that I was at his mercy.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I stood up and pulled him back up with me. Then I looked at him and indicated to his clothes.
“Your turn,” I said.
I watched as he took off his shoes, his jeans, his shirt, his underwear. His body was lean, toned and tanned. He had the body of a man that knew what hard work was. He walked up to me and took my face in his hands. He kissed me, pressing his mouth against mine with a hungry passion, and then picked me up and took me inside. He didn’t bother going all the way to his bedroom. Instead, he set me down on the sofa inside the living room. The house was warm and inviting, and yet my body was still shivering from the delight of his touch. For a man with such a rough exterior, and such coarse hands, he certainly knew how to be gentle with a woman. He put me down and smiled.
“You’re beautiful.”
It was the first time he’d ever said anything remotely nice to me about my appearance, and it completely took me by surprise. I pulled him down toward me and kissed him. I’d never wanted anyone more in my entire life.
“I want you,” I told him.
He smiled down at me, kissed me, and got up. For a second I thought he was going to just leave me there, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that he was only going to get a condom. He put it on, climbed back on top of me, and gently eased his way inside me. I groaned with
pleasure as I felt him move within me, and I held onto him as he rocked over and over and over against me. It started off gentle, but it didn’t take long for the passion to take over and for Brady to push harder and harder against me, his thrusts growing more fervent. I came before him, in a burst of absolute ecstasy. I was usually quite shy in bed, but that night I cried out with happiness as the orgasm took over me. Brady seemed to like my confidence, because as I was nearing the end, I felt him come inside me too.
Afterward, Brady walked naked to the kitchen to make me a cup of coffee, and I watched in amazement at this solid man in front of me, admiring his muscular physique. He came back and handed me the cup, and I got my first real look at his body. In the heat of the moment, I hadn’t noticed the scars running up and down his back. I trailed my finger over them.
“How did you get these scars?” I asked him gently.
“Oh, well, that’s what you get when you ride bulls and work on a ranch for a living. It comes with the territory.”
I wasn’t sure how bull riding or even working on a ranch could give someone scars like the ones that he had, but I had a feeling I shouldn’t question it. And just asking him about the scars made his entire body stiffen next to mine. I wondered yet again what made Brady tick, and realized how I little I knew about him.
We made small talk while we drank our coffee, and when I finished, I decided that I’d better get going before I overstayed my welcome. I’d seen another side of him throughout the night. A more open and caring side. But every now and again he retreated back into the solemn man that I’d first met. I didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable, and I had a feeling he could be easily pushed in that direction. Instead, I put my clothes back on and smiled at him.
“Well, that was an interesting night,” I said. “Thanks for a delicious meal. Honestly, it was so good. And trust me, I’ve been to a lot of fancy restaurants. This was better. Well, I’m going to call the driver now.”
“I can take you back if you like,” he offered.
I shook my head. I didn’t want to put him out for me. “Nah, the driver is close by. He’ll be here in five minutes,” I said and got out my phone. The driver answered immediately, and I told him to come and get me from the same place he’d dropped me off.
Dirty Stepbrother - A Firefighter Romance (The Maxwell Family) Page 139
