by Parker, Ali
“This is all fantastic, Helen. I can’t wait to write about it. It is all so impressive, especially for a single woman,” Todd said, looking at her as though I wasn’t even there.
“Thank you,” she said, glancing at me but looking mostly at him. If I had some drink in me, this man would already be flat on the floor for looking at her like that.
“Todd is a writer. He’s writing a piece on the ranch for a Chicago newspaper,” she said to me.
“Uh-huh,” I said, not giving a shit.
“Yes, and it will be a good one. This is a great place for families, couples—I wish I was in a couple to experience this with that special someone,” he said, smiling at Helen.
“Oh? No girlfriend?” she asked.
Underneath the table, my hand folded into a fist.
“Nope, single. Just like you, Helen,” he said, with a damn charming grin.
I cleared my throat.
“Here you are! Eddie’s cowboy stew and freshly baked garlic bread,” Eddie set down a tray in front of me.
“Thanks Eddie. It smells delicious,” I gratefully thanked him.
I dug into the stew to keep myself from looking at Helen flirting with this man.
“So, Helen tells me you are a ranch hand here. What is that like? To be a real cowboy?”
“It’s rough and tough, but that’s how I like it,” I said bluntly.
“Yeah, you look like you could handle yourself,” he said.
“Mister, you have no idea,” I said.
“You ride?” he asked.
“Of course,” I answered. “Helen can ride too. You should see her ride,” I grinned, talking about how she rode me, not a horse.
Helen coughed in her iced tea. “Um, I need to speak with Eddie about the stargazing activity.” She stood up and walked away quickly. I smiled, knowing I had brought back a memory in her mind that made her blush.
“That Helen is something else, isn’t she?’ Todd said, speaking quietly, almost as though it was not directed at me, and just a thought he was thinking out loud.
“She is,” I said. He turned to me, stunned.
“Everyone, can I have your attention again!” Helen shouted. “After dessert feel free to roam around, or go back to your bungalows and rest, but as soon as it gets dark in about an hour we’ll be going out to the pasture for some stargazing with our wonderful cook Eddie who also knows how to point out constellations. Feel free to join us. We will be meeting back here in an hour and walking out to a really great spot!”
Everyone nodded and then the conversations started again. I ate my food while Todd and I looked at each other. He was trying to figure me out. He never would.
When nighttime came, the guests dispersed to take on some stargazing in the field. Even the city guy, Todd, went with the group and this gave me time to find Helen. She was walking away from a group of guests.
I quietly said to her, “I need to talk to you. Meet me in my bunkhouse.”
“No. I’m not going to do that.”
“You want me to say what I need to say out loud right here in front of everyone?”
She sighed. “Fine. I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she whispered and walked away.
I walked away, heading toward my bunkhouse. I opened it and found everything just as I had left it. I wondered if she had even been inside of here, wouldn’t she think that I’d at least come back for my stuff? I paced the room back and forth, waiting for her until she finally came in. She quickly opened the door and closed it behind her.
“What is it? Why did you come back? I know you got my text asking you not to.”
“Look around. Did you not know that I left my stuff here?”
She looked around and I realized she hadn’t even been inside the room. Then her face turned into a frown, “So that’s why you came back? To get your stuff?”
“No. I came back to be here. I have no plans to leave. I’m here just as I said I was going to be. Why are you doing this? Why have you been ignoring my calls? I don’t understand what’s going on,” I said, taking a step toward her. She stepped away and leaned against the table. Her arms crossed in front of her chest, shutting me out.
“Just leave me alone. This—what we have between us can’t last. It’s best to end it now.”
“I can’t do that, Helen.”
“Yes, you can.”
“Why now? Who is that guy? Is that why? Are you seeing him?” I asked angrily.
“Todd? No, I am not seeing him.”
“But you want to? I see it in your face. I’ve never been so damn jealous in my life,” I paced back and forth like an angry bull.
“Just—Dylan, please. I can’t deal with this now.”
“I saw the way he was looking at you. I know you saw it, too. You were smiling at him, encouraging him. What is really going on here?”
“It’s not what you think. He is nice, yes, but that is all. I only just met him yesterday when he checked in,” she said.
“And you like him more than you like me already?”
“No. I didn’t say that.”
“But you were flirting with him right in front of me. Are you interested in him in the future? That’s the kind of man you want to be with?”
“That is none of your damn business, Dylan.”
“It is my business, because you are mine," I said, as I stepped over to her. I couldn’t take it anymore. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her.
For a few moments, her body fell against mine, pressing against my chest. She let out a soft moan, and my hands moved up and down on her back. I had been waiting for this, wanting this. Since she had been ignoring me, I thought I would never have it again. She thoroughly kissed me back and her hands went around my neck. We were locked in this embrace and nothing was going to take her from me. My tongue explored her mouth. My hands roamed over the soft curves of her body. I felt my cock growing hard just touching her. Her body pressed firmly against mine and I knew that she had the hunger too.
Then distant voices of the guests pulled her out of the moment. She put her hands on my chest and pushed away from me. I groaned in annoyance.
“No, I can’t. I can’t do this with you.”
“Why not? What has changed since I left? I asked her.
“You wouldn’t understand. You’ve never understood,” she said, as she headed for the door. But I cut her off. I stood in front of the door leaning my back against it.
“What are you doing, Dylan?”
“I’m not letting you out of here.”
“Yes, you are, move aside.”
“No, I am not letting you out until you tell me what’s going on here. Not until you tell me what is really going on in your heart. You tell me that I don’t understand and that I never have, so tell me. Help me understand.” I crossed my arms over my chest, making my stance firm. I was not going to move.
Fire flashed in her eyes and I could tell she was angry that we were having this heated exchange, but I was angry too. Didn’t I deserve a little better? I had been going on this roller coaster with her for a while, and now I deserved some answers.
26
Helen
This was unbelievable. I wasn’t expecting this from Dylan. I had no idea he felt so strongly about me, about us. This was more than just a fling and lust. He was actually hurt, and it was clear that seeing me with Todd had really made him angry and jealous.
This was not what I was expecting from him, and as guilty as it made me feel, a small part of me was happy that it bothered him to see me smiling with Todd. Perhaps I had done some of it on purpose when he arrived, just to test it a little. He didn’t like that at all. Then he demanded that I see him in his bunkhouse, which I didn’t want to do, especially considering that there were guests on the ranch. They were right outside, some of them getting ready to go stargazing. I should be attending to them, not fighting with my lover.
But when he kissed me, all was lost. I forgot that I was angry and was trying to push him out o
f my life. Over the last few days I’d held strong, not contacting him back. But I had no idea that he hadn’t packed up his bunkhouse and had left all his stuff behind. I had avoided going in there because I knew it would smell like him, and I hadn’t wanted that to shake my resolve. But now I could see that he hadn’t packed at all, and that would have been good to know. I might have been more prepared, instead of being surprised when he showed up.
But as soon as he kissed me, I kissed him back and knew that I really wanted it. Nothing existed, not even the ranch, not Todd, not even my guests. It was just him and I locked in this together and I wanted him so badly. But the moment I heard the guests outside, it shook me from that hypnotic spell he so easily cast on me.
Now he had demanded answers from me. I felt like he deserved them, but it was such a vulnerable topic, I didn’t know if I could tell him the truth. But he apparently wasn’t going to let me out until I did.
“Tell me, Helen.”
“The truth is—Dylan,” it was all that I could say.
“It’s all right. You can tell me. I’m not going to judge you. Look Helen, it’s me. We’ve been intimate together, does that not mean anything to you? Does that not give you some sense of trust in me?”
He looked at me sincerely with those gorgeous blue eyes. How could I say no to that face?
“The truth is I’m afraid of what people in town think of me. I knew it would get out no matter how much of a secret you and I kept it. People see someone like you staying with a single woman like me and—well, I’m older than you. Of course they are going to talk, and even if we weren’t involved they would still say that we were. First Imogene from Mickey’s said something to me about you—then after you left, I ran into Billy Taylor. We got into it at the grocery store. She had her friends with her, hanging on every word. Right there in the store she called me out. She said that I was using you as my boy toy. Oh, and not just you—she said I brought in hot young ranch hands for sex. She has a mouth on her and I’m sure she’s spread it all over town by now.”
“A tramp like Billy Taylor said something to you? Those Taylors—why can’t they just leave you alone?”
“It’s all right, I took care of it," I said.
He raised his brow at me. “You did? What did you do?”
A small smile crept across my face. “I slapped her. Right there in the store.”
“Woo-wee! Look at you. You are one feisty cowgirl,” he said.
“No one messes with me like that,” I said.
“Damn right,” he nodded his head.
I shouldn’t be proud of what I had done. But the fact that he was rooting me on only made me feel better. Perhaps I had some of his reckless spirit in me after all, and we weren’t the complete opposites of each other.
“So that’s it? Because of some words that little brat said, you just want to stop what we’re doing here? You don’t want to see how this turns out?” he asked.
“I can’t, Dylan.”
“You can’t? Or you won’t? You’re just gonna let other people in this town decide what you can and cannot do? That’s not you, Helen. Don’t let them have that control over you. Yes, people are going to talk, but they are always going to talk. If it isn’t about me, it will be about something else in the future. That is just how small towns are.”
He had a good point. There were always rumors floating around a small town and I had heard many about other people too. But it was different when it was you that everyone was talking about. It really affected me. But I should not be letting other people run my life. I shouldn’t care what they thought. But it was really hard to get used to that.
“All I’m saying is that I’m falling hard for you, Helen.”
Dylan’s words pulled me out of my thoughts on small-town gossip.
“You are?”
“Damn right. I can’t get you out of my mind. You’re all I think about. I’ve always thought about you. I don’t want to be without you. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let Billy Taylor and her damn brothers or anyone else keep you from me.”
He took a big stride toward me and pulled me into his arms. Once more, he kissed me good and hard.
His kiss brought weakness to my knees. The heated fight only made the adrenaline rush through my body at a faster pace and now that adrenaline was transitioning into pure hot lust.
“Take me Dylan. Fuck me,” I whispered. It was as if someone else had taken over my body. I didn’t know what was happening anymore.
Dylan groaned. He slammed the door to the bunkhouse shut. Suddenly, I was lifted in the air as he carried me. I felt light as a feather in his arms. The mattress was soft underneath me as he laid me on my back. But I bounced back up. He looked confused as I stood in front of him, his beautiful blue eyes looking at me with anticipation.
Rip. I tore his shirt off of him. The material ripped in my hands. He followed my lead and ripped my tank top off of me. My breasts sprung free from the restraining material. Dylan’s mouth clamped over my nipple.”
My fingers fumbled with his jeans, pulling at them trying to rip them off of him. I yanked them down to the floor.
“Helen,” he groaned my name at my aggressiveness. I couldn’t help it. The lust was taking over. He pulled me to my feet and took off the rest of my clothes and boots. Now we stood there together, naked. His arms roamed up and down my bare skin, leaving a trail of fire from his fingertips.
My body ached for him. Fighting with him had done this to me again and again.
“Do you—”
“Yes,” he cut me off before I could finish the sentence. He moved to the dresser and pulled out a condom. I walked to him in all my naked glory and kissed his strong and toned chest. His hard abs were begging for my touch. This cowboy seemed like a true god when I looked at him this way.
I plucked the condom from his fingers, tore it open, and rolled it onto his hard cock.
“You’re playing with fire, Helen.”
I licked my lips and met his burning blue stare. There were only two words I was capable of saying. My brain was muddy with need. Every muscle sang for release and he’d barely touched me yet. “Touch me.” “Like this?” He cupped my pussy with one hand. Then he slid a finger up my slit, coating his digit in my wetness. He paused to roll his fingertip over my clit.“Yes,” I whispered breathlessly while his finger explored my clit, teasing and stroking it.
“Spread your legs,” he said.
I obeyed and spread my legs, balancing on my toes. His finger pressed more firmly against my clit, stroking faster and faster. I was already on the brink.
Dylan slid a finger inside me. “Your so wet, Helen. Fuck.”
I pressed my face against his chest; I knew that I would need to suppress my screams. Dylan sensed that I was about to lose control. He fucked me with his finger while pressing down hard on my clit with his thumb.
My thighs trembled. I clung to him as the pleasure mounted, and then I cried out as I came. My knees went weak and he wrapped his arms around me to hold me up.
Dylan picked up my limp body, still pulsating with orgasmic pleasure, and together we lay down on the small twin-sized bed. This was the bunkhouse after all, with twin beds on each side of the room. Ranch hands usually shared a bunkhouse, but since I no longer had ranch hands that stayed on for the season, Dylan had this one all to himself.
“I want you on top of me,” he said.
I raised a brow at him. “You want me to ride you?”
“Fuck yes,” he said.
I smiled and climbed on top of him, straddling him. I worried my trembling thighs wouldn’t support me long enough to ride him the way he deserved. His hands went around my bottom and lifted me up. I grabbed his cock and guided it inside of me. Slowly I moved down onto him.
“Damn that feels good.” Dylan gripped my thighs.
I threw my head back, letting my black hair fall down my naked back. His hard cock moved deep inside of me, until he reached the depths of me. I moaned and wiggle
d on top of him.
Dylan’s strong hands fondled and massaged my breasts, pinching my nipples. My whole body felt alive with the sexual energy between us. I moved up and down, waxing his cock. He felt like he was made for me. Full and thick and long. Worthy of being ridden for all he was worth.
It felt so good to be doing this, even while knowing the ranch guests were outside on the grounds. Yes, the ranch hand bunkhouses were out of the way of the main thoroughfares that the guests took, but I could still hear them outside. This made me feel naughty in every way. It was hot and sexy, and those thoughts were bringing me to the brink again.
I looked down at Dylan. His dirty blonde hair was disheveled, and his stunning blue eyes were looking at me with desire. My hands pressed onto his hard abs, feeling his muscles and strength. He was so beautiful. Looking into his eyes, I was on the brink again.
I bounced up and down on his cock, moving faster and faster. Dylan’s hands went to my waist.
“You are so sexy, Helen. Fuck. Come on my cock, baby.
I released in vast colors of pleasure that penetrated my very core. My body trembled. Sweat beaded on my skin. No longer being able to hold myself up, I laid my cheek down on his chest, catching my breath as I groaned in ecstasy.
“Allow me to pleasure you,” Dylan groaned. His arms wrapped around my body and he rolled us over. He dropped his hips and settled between my thighs. Slowly he pulled his cock out of me.
“Oh, Dylan.” I gripped his forearms.
“Relax, Helen. Savor it.”
“We should stop. We aren’t alone. The guests-”
“Can wait until you come for me again,” he growled, descending upon me to kiss my breasts, pinch my nipples between his teeth, and work his way up to my mouth to delight me with deep, delicious kisses.
