Rodeo Rancher

by Lauren Wood

  “I would really like to talk to you, but I don’t want to put a damper on the evening festivities. Perhaps after we enjoy our meal and the desert to follow, then I might be able to open up more readily. If anybody would be of no judgment, it would be you. Perhaps it is time to get something off my chest, but I think I need to get a couple of drinks into me first. I don’t mean to change the subject, but you do look absolutely stunning this evening. Jillian has outdone yourself with getting that dress to fit you like it was made for you. You probably never thought that you would be caught dead in something like that. I’m glad that I’m the one to introduce you to a different way of living. You don’t have to be lost, when I have found the perfect way to showcase the beauty that you have inside and out.” He was used to praising his dates, but this was the first time that he ever meant a word that he was saying.

  “If you think for one second and I’m going to give up and forget about what is obviously making you worried, then you really don’t know me at all. I’ll give you a little room to breathe, but I think that you primarily brought me here to help you. I’m actually a little flattered that you would think that I was capable of doing that. You may be a business man, but even you have your problems. Everybody lives with demons and baggage. We all decide what faces we’re going to show and how much baggage we are willing to let other people see.” “I’m trying to get through to him, but all I really want to do is grab his package again. It still lies there like a sleeping giant.”

  “I don’t know why you even concern yourself with me. You think that I asked you out to get your unbiased opinion about my life. I’m afraid that I’m going to have to throw cold water on the parade. I don’t even allow my closest friends to know who I am deep down inside. You look innocent, but I see that you have a darker side yourself. The way that you gave me that sweet mouth was not good for somebody that had a heart condition. You could easily become the eye candy and trophy wife of those octogenarians that are looking to reclaim a bit of their youth.” Royce didn’t feel like he was part of that crowd, but there was a small part of him that thought that he was corrupting a young mind.

  “I guess I got the wrong impression of what tonight is all about. I suppose in some small way I figured that you might have some interest, but I couldn’t even imagine for a second that you would even consider someone like me. I do have some education and in a past life I used to move with the people that had their hand on the pulse of the city. Those days are gone and I don’t really miss them. I do miss the company of someone that can talk about politics and even the wonderful world of art. It’s not like I don’t know this world, but I’ve also become painfully aware that this is all a bunch of mirrors. You never know what somebody is thinking. It’s my personal opinion that people can’t be trusted, as far as they can be thrown.” “I’ve had my hand in this kind of life, but walking away was the best thing that I could do for myself. Maybe there is room to have both sides of the coin. It’s possible that I’ve been spoiled and that these blue collar workers don’t do it for me. He thinks that I’m just this mild mannered waitress, but I wasn’t always like this. Something of what I was is still there.”

  “I have looked into you, Nicole. I like what I see and you have this unique insight. I never thought that you’d be the type of girl that would go down on me in the limo, but I have to say that I am curious to find out what other naughty little things that are going on in your head. I think you know that you’re not exactly what I have on the menu. I’ve been known to spice up my love life from time to time. I am not shy and when I see something that I want, I don’t let anybody stand in my way. This is the kind of guy that you’re looking at and if that scares you, then maybe we should call it a night.” Royce waited for her to say something, but instead of doing it with words; she did it by straddling his waist and wrapping her hands around his neck.

  “I’m not usually one to do these kinds of things, but you seem to bring it out in me. I’m not sure if I can say with any degree of certainty that I like it or not. I do find it liberating to let myself go and to literally let my hair down. It’s nice to know that you’re not, so stuck up that you can’t enjoy what life has to offer.” Nicole could feel a resurgence of strength and vigor underneath her body. “I had always believed that everything had a black and white quality. With Royce, there are all different shades of gray. I want to believe that everything is going to be all right. Getting to know him has been a pleasure and his taste still lingers like an aftershock from what I just did with him. He’s unpredictable and I never know what’s going to happen next.”

  “I think that we should go inside and see what that chef has in store for one of his VIP guests. I took the liberty of ordering us a bottle of champagne and I do hope that I didn’t overstep my bounds. I also have a few surprises in store.” He saw that she was looking at him strangely. He had a funny feeling that the letter in his pocket was still very much hanging in the air. He still couldn’t believe that today was the day that his past was coming back to hit him where it hurts. He hated the man that he was, but those days had long been buried. At least he thought it was, until that letter came into his possession. He had only a couple of days to figure this out, before his world was going to crumble underneath them like walking on thin ice.

  Royce went and did the gentlemanly thing to do. He stepped from the limo and then offered his hand to his wonderful date. He hadn’t considered that she would be so into him that he wouldn’t be able to keep her from going after his body. She was younger and there was a part of him that thought that he was doing her a disservice by trying to seduce her into his arms. All thoughts of impropriety went out the window, as her hand touched his and it electrified the night air.

  Nicole slid from the limo with her high heels clicking on the pavement and the smell of various foods now wafting from the open door of the restaurant. She had heard of this opening and tried to get reservations through some various sources, but was unable to make any headway. He must’ve had a lot of clout to be able to open up doors like these. She never did believe that money could buy happiness, but he was starting to turn her head into thinking otherwise. “I know that I shouldn’t, but I can’t help, but feel that I’m shining like a light. He’s the one that welcomed me back into a world that I didn’t want anything to do with. I cost a lot of people a lot of money and I have no idea how to make up for the mistake that I’ve made. It hurts me to this day that there are those that are out there that hate my guts. I’m watching him move and I have to admit that he seems to have this confidence like he has the world at his fingertips. Everything is changing and I feel like I’m adrift in his eyes.”

  “It doesn’t look like it took much to transform you. I think that you may have given up living the high life a little bit too soon. The stress might have been a little bit much for you to take, but you still hunger for the finer things in life. You may deny it to others, but you can’t deny it with me.” Royce escorted her through the throngs of people never waiting in the long line around the block. They were all here for the chance to sample something that would put a smile on their face.

  Nicole was worried that people could see how he made her feel. She was more worried that they knew what she had done in the limo and was judging her with accusing eyes. “I feel like I’m in a dream. A part of me is still in the limo on my knees breathless in front of you. I feel vulnerable and I hope that you don’t take advantage of that.” “Those mistakes that I made in the past are something that I will never be able to forgive myself for. I wasn’t sure if it was too late to apologize for my actions. Like a coward, I walked away and didn’t concern myself for them or the consequences of my actions. I was only trying to help my clients find that nest egg that they could use in their twilight years. Instead of helping, I made their life infinitely worse. I didn’t think that I was deserving of this kind of happiness, but how can I say no when Royce is right here handing me the keys to the kingdom.”

  “Nicole, I have to tell
you that the perfume that you’re wearing is making me a little crazy. There’s more to you than just the nubile young body that cries out for attention. I would never want to let you down and believe me I’m not the type of guy that takes and doesn’t give anything in return. By the end of the night, I am going to fuck you, until your head is about to explode off the top of your shoulders. My cock is going to be deep within that tight little pussy of yours. I’ll have you flat on your back with my hips driving into you with an insistence to cum. You do want to have my nice hard cock pushing you to your limits and making you cry out in a kind of joy that can only be had by a man like me? I know that you do and you tremble by my touch.”

  Nicole had had some restless nights where she tossed and turned with visions of those faces pointing at her. She would have gladly given away her fortune to give them something to hold onto, but she lost her shirt along with everybody else. She had the inside track, but it was only rumors and at the last minute the merger went south. The company that she had invested in becoming a growing concern had fallen due to an economic crisis within the industry.

  Royce opened up the chair and watched her sit down with her cleavage now making him salivate to bury his head in between. He was glad that she was here and it gave him a reason not to think about the one thing that was the elephant in the room. That letter and the words contained within had a ring of truth that made him anxious to put all of this behind him.

  “I think that we both may have some issues to work out, but tonight is not the time for recriminations. Tonight is a time for the enjoyment of the food, the people and of course my companion that looks like she is ready to bust out of that dress. If we didn’t have this restaurant opening to go to, I would have gladly had the limo driver drive around this city. That way, I could’ve had a few choice moments to get to know your body. To feel you sinking down on every inch and to see her eyes come alive with the kind of passion that can only be found on a woman that is ready to give herself freely. You are that kind of woman and I know that the kind of sex that you’ve had in the past is nothing compared to what we can have together.”

  “I don’t know if there is going to be the two of us, but I would like to think that there might be a chance. I’ve been sleepwalking for a long time with no way to wake up from the nightmare that I found myself in. I’ve been too close to the fire, but it’s the only place that I’ve known. I took that job with Tony, so that I could find myself. I was like you and all about the money. I actually found getting back to the simpler things a lot easier to swallow.” “It may have been a hard pill, but being with him has been easy. He draws the animal out of me and I feel alive for the first time in a long time. I don’t want to lose that burning sensation in the pit of my stomach. I don’t want to lose him, but I would be foolish to think that I could hold on to him. He’s not what I would consider a one woman kind of man.”

  Chapter 2

  During the meal they talked openly, but they were still holding things back. They were both worried what the other might think. Royce had something deep and dark that he didn’t want to reveal to anyone.

  Royce knew all about what happened to Nicole. He had the resources to ferret out any kind of secret. It was kind of ironic, considering that he had one huge one in the closet that he would like to keep there, until the day that he died. He didn’t have any ill will towards Nicole. She had been in a situation to help others and she decided to jump on it before fully realizing that there were still risks in playing that kind of game.

  He looked at her and felt this pain in his heart. At first, he thought that he was having some sort of attack, but then it dawned on him that he was feeling something for another. He had tried to avoid the entanglements of the heart. He kept out of the public eye, but he eventually learned that he didn’t hide well enough.

  “I have to say that I’m very impressed by how the chef made these things melt in my mouth. I think I can think of something that’s a little better than what I’m eating right here, but I don’t think that I want to give credence to something that is better left behind closed doors. There is a time and place for something like that. We’ve barely scratched the surface of what we’re going to accomplish tonight.” “I’d always been someone that was ready to fly by the seat of my pants. My life was about moving money around, but that was then and this is now. I feel like I’ve lost a step, but maybe I’m regaining that confidence that I had left behind after closing that door on one chapter of my life. Royce maybe another chapter, but I won’t know that until I get a better feel for the man. He’s obviously dealing with something that is preventing him from being here in the moment with me.”

  Royce thought that he had her undivided attention, but he didn’t even realize that he was keeping her at arm’s length. He wasn’t sitting by her and he was across from her with his eyes looking at her, but not really looking at her at all. His mind was occupied, but there were times that he found himself casting all that aside for the beauty that was Nicole. She was that light in his life that he never thought that he deserved. He wanted to believe that the letter was a joke and that somebody was fucking with his head. He knew the truth. It was painful, but it was something that he was going to have to accept and deal with accordingly. That was for another day. He couldn’t lament over something that he couldn’t do anything about tonight. It was hard not to, but he needed to be here for Nicole and not just an empty shell of himself.

  The dessert was a chocolate soufflé and something that both of them found to ignite a certain other appetite that had nothing to do with food. They wanted to lose themselves in each other and to forget about their past and how crushing it could be to have that kind of secret weighing them down unnecessarily.

  “I wouldn’t tell you this if it wasn’t true, Nicole. I know that you don’t know it, but you have given me something here tonight. You might be my golden sun and I want you to let me treasure you. I know that you are reluctant and that you think that I’m only after you for your body. I’m not going to lie and tell you that it wasn’t part of the reason why I decided to pursue you. I know about your secret admirer.” He left that revelation sit there in an awkward silence that had them both squirming in their seat

  “I don’t like people spying on me. I can only assume that Tony has been feeding you with all the things that have been going on in my life. I’m not blind and you pretty much already told me that you and Tony have been thick as thieves. You tried to make me believe that you just wanted to invest in his business, but I could see the recognition that the both of you shared out on the street. That was the reason why he didn’t wanna stick around. He didn’t want to alert the others that you had a standing arrangement. You may not have taken advantage of it, but I think that there’s more to the two of you than meets the eye. As for my secret admirer, I think that I’m going to forget you even mentioned that. That’s my business I really don’t like that you think that you know me better than I know myself.”

  “I don’t think there’s a reason to make a scene. I never wanted to mislead you, Nicole. I guess the cat is out of the bag, but I still have something to tell you about your…your.” Her smile was making him think of her as that piece of the puzzle that was missing. He was in the process of telling her that he was her secret admirer, but then he saw something that was causing his skin to go freezing cold. His chest constricted. There was a man in a gray trench coat. He was sitting at the bar like that of a phantom. He almost choked on the sentence that he was trying to spit out.

  “You have shown me more honesty than any man in my life. Don’t stop now.” The very idea that he can have any knowledge of my secret admirer tells me that he can’t be trusted. I don’t think that matters. I still want what he can give me. It could be just this one night, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. He has me ready and willing to do practically anything he wants. Blindfolds, whipped cream, chains…and anything in between is what I’m waiting for. I used to have limits, but I don’t think that with hi
m I will have any kind of safe word. I won’t need it and I won’t want it.”

  “I don’t want to do this, but I need to excuse myself. I see somebody that I need to talk to, even though I really don’t want to. Stay here and enjoy the rest of your dessert. Don’t worry your head about anything. I’m sure that I can handle the situation.” Royce made it sound like a business transaction, but it went beyond that. The man sitting at the bar should’ve been a thousand miles away, but he was right now sitting and drinking what looked like a cosmopolitan. “I wouldn’t do this, unless it was absolutely necessary. I just want to make that perfectly clear. I don’t want you ditching me out the window of the bathroom or the exit at the back of the building. I want you to stay here.” He got up without hearing her response and made his way over to the man.

  Nicole craned her neck to see what was going on and why he seemed, so troubled. She wanted to be there for some kind of support, but it didn’t look like he wanted her to stand by his side. She could barely make out Royce through the crowd and then he vanished like he wasn’t even there in the first place. She got the sense of abandonment and it brought to mind a painful memory that had her thinking that she had done something wrong. Leaving that life was not the only thing that she left behind. There was a man.” I think that I was ashamed of who I was. I did love Gregory, but what I saw in his eyes was not something that I wanted to live with for the rest of my life. I’d made a mistake by making things personal. I’d taken money from him and his family and they lost everything in the one day that I didn’t predict what was going to happen. I convinced myself that I made a mistake because I was too personally involved.”