Cowboy of Her Dreams

by Kira Barcelo

  “Sounds good.” Hurriedly, she shut the door behind her.

  What an amazing hunk of male. It took her a moment to propel herself away from the door. With a shaking hand, she took hold of the banister and headed back down the stairs.

  What has been seen cannot be unseen. Never was a saying truer. How was she supposed to talk to him now? To work with him? They’d be having supper together that evening, and there she’d be, seeing him fully nude in her mind’s eye, even though he’d be fully dressed. How was she supposed to get that image out of her mind?

  What was worse, too, was what she was experiencing inside herself. Some kind of tingle running through every vein in her body, which she had experienced before but not recently. Jenna couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a boyfriend. Better said, she couldn’t recall the last time she’d had time for a boyfriend. Well, there was Tom, but he didn’t really count.

  As for Stone, he wasn’t hers, not in any way, shape or form. It was a waste of her time to even think of him that way, either sexually or otherwise.

  “Hey, Jen—where’s Stone?”

  Twirling around, she faced her younger brother, who was only now entering the house through the back door.

  “Uh, Stone…” She forced a smile. “He’s upstairs.”

  “Doing what?”

  Taking a shower. Out of the shower. Getting dressed. Every single one of those answers might have been the truth, but they sounded too intimate coming out of her lips.

  “He’ll be right down. Why?”

  “He said he wanted me to introduce him to the hands. They want to meet the boss, too.”

  Those final words brought her back to reality.

  They want to meet the boss. Jenna pursed her lips. Suddenly, she wasn’t as aroused as she was irritated. The man was upstairs, taking a shower, when all he’d be doing that day was getting dusty again out there on his own property. Yet she was supposed to think of him the same way Jake and the guys did: as the boss. This was the same man with the cavalier, maybe-I’ll-keep-the-place-maybe-I-won’t attitude.

  “You can tell them the boss will be out when he’s ready. Which I guess could be,” she snapped, “whenever he’s through calling his agent and practicing writing his autograph.”

  “Hey, now, that’s not very nice of you, Miss Price.”

  So it hadn’t taken that long for him to dress and come downstairs after all. He was smiling, but his expression was somewhat stern. Stone had overheard her remark and apparently he didn’t care for her sarcasm.

  She didn’t care. Jenna turned to him, ready to come back at him, and then the words died in her mouth.

  That actor knew his stuff. That much had to be said for him. Stone stood there, a clean, fresh, woodsy scent about him, looking the part of the modern cowboy. With his hat in one hand, he filled out those faded jeans as nicely as he did that shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. It was tight enough across the expanse of his chest and those arms that had seen regular workouts.

  The look was very authentic…and on him, sexy. Breathtakingly sexy. Or maybe she could still picture what was under those clothes, considering she’d just seen the man naked and wouldn’t be forgetting that sight any time soon.

  Or, for that matter, his very formidable manhood.

  “Jake, you tell the men I’ll be right out,” he instructed. “I need a word with your sister. That okay?”

  Her brother grinned. Stone was, hands-down, his new hero. “Sure, Stone. See ya outside.”

  Was he expecting her to quake in her boots? Really, now. The audacity of that man. She leaned against the kitchen island, her arms folded across her chest. The moment her brother was out of the house, Stone turned those steely blue eyes on her, surprised to find they were dancing with humor.

  “All right, Jenna. Let’s have it,” he began. “Let’s get this out of the way. You don’t think I’m right for this role. That’s it, isn’t it?”

  She shook her head. “That’s the whole problem, Stone Farrell. This isn’t a role. This is the real thing. This is a real ranch. Your father’s ranch. The one he left to you and your sisters. That’s not a movie set out there.”

  “I’m well aware of that. But you’re not giving me enough credit, Jenna. And you’re sure not giving me a chance. Listen, I don’t just jump into a role, willy-nilly. I do some research into whatever part I’m going to undertake.”

  “Oh, really?” That drew a giggle from her. “So you’ve researched being a cowboy, have you?”

  Much to her chagrin, her little dig failed to rile him. On the contrary, it seemed to sweeten his attitude.

  “Well, obviously, experience is the best teacher,” he told her. “And I did do some work here when I was a kid, before I left for New York. It’s not like I’ve forgotten everything. I do need some refresher courses, though.”

  “New York? I thought you left here and went straight to Hollywood.”

  “Nah. I lived in New York for a couple of years. I worked in the theater—small productions, off-off-Broadway shows—and I had some small parts in TV shows that filmed in Manhattan. I did get to Hollywood, but it was when I got my first part in a film.”

  “And as for this research: I guess that would include watching old cowboy movies, huh?” Jenna asked the question with a straight face, trying not to let on too much that she was teasing him.

  Stone shrugged, pursing his lips. “I did watch some on the old movie channel and the western channel, before I came over here.”

  “Well, so I guess that’s all it takes! Watch a little John Wayne, Gary Cooper in action, some Clint Eastwood for good measure. Then, hey, you’re ready to saddle up and get the job done…huh, boss?”

  Jenna watched as he leaned up against the island, moving in closer to her. What was that people said about “personal space?” Hers was definitely being invaded by a tall, imposing cowboy-ish figure. Enough that she could feel that tremble going through her insides again. He was too close, too intimately close, and her body was certainly reacting to it.

  Which was crazy, because he belonged to someone else. Getting all excited about his proximity was an out-and-out waste of her time.

  “Hell, I don’t know about that,” he drawled. “But I’ve watched enough of those cowboy movies to know they knew how to handle a naughty cowgirl who needed to be put in her place.”

  She’d been slouching slightly but instinctively straightened up. Jenna glared back at him.

  “That so?” If he thought she was going to back down to him, then that man had another guess coming to him. “So you think I need to be put into my place?”

  “Oh, no. I wasn’t talking about you, Jenna.” Stone shook his head soberly. “My sisters have told me what a great job you’ve always done on this place, and I respect all your work and dedication. And now that I’m here, even though I haven’t always been here, you need to understand perfectly well that I’m the one in charge now…”

  There were at least half dozen remarks she could have said that would have been sufficient to take him down a few pegs. Jenna stared back at him, keeping those comments to herself.

  “And I would appreciate all your help and advice, as someone who has been here,” Stone went on. “I’m sure you learned from the best—my dad—”

  “I did. He was a real cowboy. Not one that disappears when the next movie comes up.”

  Which was what Stone would do. Wasn’t that the truth? She didn’t know for sure. She sure didn’t know Stone Farrell that well, though she’d told herself that she did, back when he was nothing more than a fantasy. His father had a hand in that, painting him in a much different light than the man who had shown up that week.

  Tilting his head, Stone narrowed his eyes at her. “Is that what you think? That I’m going to run off the minute I get a call from my agent?”

  “I think that’s a very good possibility, Stone Farrell. So excuse me if I find it a little hard to think of you as the boss. And excuse me for being so forward. We naughty cowgi
rls, you know…it’s easier for us to be honest than it is for us to kiss a make-believe cowboy’s butt.”

  Over the past couple of years, Jenna had gotten better at taming her tongue. Melanie had told her it was something about learning to be tactful. Something that didn’t come easy to her, yet she did find it useful in keeping her out of trouble. Her mouth, her temper and her pride could make for one dangerous combination.

  And, speaking of dangerous, Stone’s good nature evaporated just at the moment his eyes widened with disbelief in reaction to her words. Suddenly, she regretted having shot off her mouth like that.

  Because he was going to fire her. She’d gone too far and he was going to fire her.

  Instead, she found herself being spun around, then physically lifted off her feet. In a flash, Stone had her bent over the kitchen island, pinned in place by one of those big, strong arms wrapped around her waist.

  “What—what are you doing?” she demanded.

  Now she was scared—and totally ticked off. It didn’t take her long to realize what was going on, nor for her face to flame with embarrassment. There she was, her feet dangling and kicking as she struggled to free herself, the seat of her jeans poised high in the air.

  Stone said nothing. The reply to her question was delivered by the flat of his hand with that first resounding smack thundering on her bottom. Startled, Jenna let out a cry before she realized any of the hands, or even Jake, could hear her if they happened to be standing outside.

  “Stop! Don’t you dare do this!” she ordered, but to no avail.

  Seven more spanks followed, each harder than the last. She had to hand it to him: For a would-be cowboy, he might not have known much about running a ranch, but he had the spanking down like a pro. Luckily, her jeans offered some protection, but not much. She grabbed hold of the island’s edge to steady herself, grimacing at the heat already generated in her behind from the spanking. More whacks followed, at least a dozen more, each harder and more painful than the last. Way beyond the point of being uncomfortable, her rear was completely smarting.

  “Ohhhhh, I think you made your point!” she groaned.

  The spanking seemed to have ended. She heard him ask, “Have I? Think I can get a little respect out of you, cowgirl?”

  She gritted her teeth. He’d spanked her—he’d actually spanked her! Better be nice, she warned herself. He hadn’t yet let her back onto her feet and his other arm still held her in place, preparation for another wave of hide-tanning swats.

  “Yes. Okay? Now can I please go?”

  He’d probably never spanked his girlfriend, that Ashley creature, but he’d spanked her. Part of her was infuriated at that thought. Then again, strangely, part of her wasn’t that upset over it. She didn’t know what to think of it, in all honesty. This whole odd episode—odd, because no one had ever spanked her before, and if anyone had told her that Stone Farrell would be the first, she wouldn’t have believed them—had her confused.

  First things first, however: She needed to get her bottom out of harm’s way.

  “Sure, Jenna. You can go. As long as you understand that I expect your respect…” His arm released her, right before his hands closed around her waist and brought her down, righting her onto her feet. “…And you understand that I’m the boss here, for however long I choose to be here.”

  The spanking had left with a glowing throb in her bottom. It took all her will to refrain from reaching back there and soothing her seat with some good rubs. The playful glint was back in his eyes, and she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing the spanking had hurt. It was enough that she could barely look him in the eye, expecting him to break into a chuckle at any moment.

  “You didn’t have to spank me to prove your point,” she said with a frown.

  “I beg to differ. I think I did. And besides, that was just a little something I learned…” On his way out the door, he tossed her a smirk. “…from those great, old cowboy movies.”

  That might not have been the smartest move on his part. Still, Stone had to admit that Jenna Price had that spanking coming to her. Truth be told, it was kinda fun, too. He could tell by how wildly her bottom had been wriggling that the heat had penetrated through the denim of her jeans. Not that he’d meant it to be fun; he’d meant to playfully but firmly correct her, to get her to adjust her attitude.

  His sisters weren’t going to very pleased about it, either, if and when that spunky, curvy cowgirl decided to report that little incident in the kitchen to them. Neither would his agent, who would be more concerned about her going to the press…as if he typically got that much press in the first place. Over the years he’d wondered if he should slip the tabloids a few bucks just to get his name out there, even if it was only a silly, fabricated story. After all, to quote the old cliché, no publicity was bad publicity, and all that.

  That was the first time in a long time he’d spanked a woman, too. In the town he secretly thought of as “Hollyweird,” such a thing was considered old-fashioned and, of course, politically incorrect. Anything politically incorrect was a mortal sin in itself as far as people in the entertainment industry were concerned. The most recent women in his life were all actresses—nobody hugely famous because an actor had to earn one of those. A man had to get into the Hollywood A List before a well-known actress or a world-famous fashion model would even think about being photographed beside him.

  Character actors, like him, didn’t rate that high up on the food chain. Most of his girlfriends were either character actresses themselves or someone like Ashley Covington, who was gorgeous (at least with all the fixings, the makeup, the wardrobe, the glitter, etc.), or the woman he’d dated before her, both of whom had been more like him career-wise. They’d both struggled to find any interesting role for anybody not commanding a seven- or eight-figure salary.

  He hadn’t been around too many real people, other than occasionally seeing his sisters and their family. They kept him grounded, although his schedule curtailed the amount of visiting he was able to do.

  And Jenna was the first real woman in a long time he’d spanked. Not to mention the first one who’d seen him naked.

  He’d inadvertently left the bedroom door open, forgetting about it after stepping out of the shower. Typical bachelor move. What could be expected of him, though, since he was used to living alone? He had to keep in mind that there were two other people in the household, although he’d assumed Jake was either outside doing his chores or out with some friends, enjoying that sunny summer day. Stone had thought Jenna was still out and about; he hadn’t realized she had returned.

  The moment she closed that door behind herself, he had to take a few minutes to compose himself. Saying he’d been aroused was an understatement. Sure, he’d noticed she was a pretty attractive woman. He hadn’t wanted to acknowledge that he was also attracted to her, just about right from the get-go.

  Not having even one piece of clothing on, not even his briefs, and being in the same room with her, added considerably more fuel to that fire.

  Those feelings hadn’t been present when he’d surprised her by warming up her backside. That was just a quick spanking, too. He made sure she felt it, though. Hollywood hadn’t had that much of an influence on him; he was still an old-fashioned guy at heart, the one thing he’d shared with his father. Stone figured Jenna needed a little reminder to mind her manners, and he’d made a special delivery of that reminder straight to the shapely seat of her jeans. It had been about discipline, not sex.

  But it was still fun, just the same. He’d had a lifelong interest in spanking. It wasn’t easy finding a woman who shared that interest.

  Seeing the three ranch hands and Jake waiting for him in front of the stable doors, Stone returned their smiles. Jake was a good kid, besides the fact that Stone had won him over immediately by having appeared in movies the boy had enjoyed. What about the guys, though? Did they share Jenna’s opinion? She seemed to think he was a bored Hollywood actor, there to kill a littl
e time in between roles.

  To be honest, that had struck a nerve with him, where his dad had been concerned. His father had been disappointed in him—in his career choices, mostly. There was also the matter of his youth, during which he’d been reckless and had seemed to be without direction. His father had always assumed Stone would take over the ranch, as a matter of tradition and family pride.

  Yet playing somebody else, taking on a fictional character’s life, had appealed to him from an early age as a form of escape. The lure of money and fame and all that came with those things had been pretty alluring for a young man, too. None of those things had come easily, at least not to him. He’d had to scrape by for every little success.

  Things were different now. He was like a man with one foot planted in one world, and the other foot planted in another.

  But he couldn’t think of any of that right now. Jenna, too, couldn’t cloud his mind. He found her in his thoughts too often in the past handful of days. Stone reminded himself that he belonged to someone else.

  He had enough to think about, without a willful cowgirl to worry about, as well.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Nearly a week had passed since Stone’s arrival at the ranch, and Hollywood had yet to call.

  Jenna kept expecting that. Every time the phone jangled, if she was within its proximity, she’d hold her breath before answering the call. She was afraid—no, she dreaded—meeting his agent on the phone, some man named Darrell-something, who’d tell her Stone had to leave the ranch ASAP because a big role in a major motion picture awaited him. She didn’t know much about the movie business, but from her conversations at suppertime with Stone, which were clunky at best but getting better with each passing day, she knew working on a movie could mean he’d be away for months at a time.

  Long months without Stone. That return to his work probably meant he’d realized he missed the life he’d been living out there on the west coast…and then he’d never come back to the ranch.