COWBOY (Unfit Hero Book 5)

by Hayley Faiman

  “Yeah, honey, you can,” I rasp.

  STEPHANIE

  Ford thinks I can do a hell of a lot, like come so many times in one evening that I’ve lost count. The fact is, I can’t. I’m not a machine and I hurt, but then with his hand around my throat, his mouth against my ear, I wonder if I can indeed come again.

  “Last time?” I ask as I lick my dry lips.

  “Last time, tonight.” He chuckles.

  I whimper, wondering if my pussy will ever feel the same again after tonight, I highly doubt it. I think this man is going to break it—break me.

  “Tip your hips, I need to feel you again,” he whispers against my ear, sending chills throughout my entire body for the umpteenth time tonight.

  “Okay,” I exhale, doing exactly what he’s asked.

  I let out a long moan as I sink back along his length. He stretches me so fully. I don’t remember him being quite this large when we were younger. He thrusts his hips, fully seating himself inside of me, both of us letting out a groan.

  With his hand still loosely cradling my throat, I fall forward slightly, his other one slides around my hip and I feel his fingers touch my clit.

  “Ford,” I whimper.

  He chuckles as his hips shift. My hands brace myself on the mattress and on the second thrust, I no longer care about any pain, any uncomfortable anything because once again, all I can think about is the way that I feel when he makes me come.

  “I want you to touch yourself, honey,” he gently demands.

  His hips are moving a bit faster, his force stronger as he fucks me to his own slow, smooth, rhythm. Slipping my hand between my legs, his disappears and I touch my clit. It’s warm and swollen, and I’m sure just as tired as I am. In fact, I feel almost delirious.

  Ford’s fingers curl around my shoulder, the hand around my throat tightens, and then he’s no longer moving to a smooth rhythm. He lets out an animalistic growl, his fingers gripping my shoulder and my neck even harder, and he fucks me.

  Crying out, I’m not sure if I hate it or love it as his hips thrust, slamming against my ass harder and harder with each pump. His cock hits me in a place, at this angle, that sends chills up my spine. I can feel his balls slap against my clit and fingers, and it’s amazing.

  Ford is rough, animalistic, unyielding and nothing like I’ve experienced before. “Relax,” he growls.

  I do. Closing my eyes, I will myself to completely relax. Then something happens. Warmth washes over me, inside and out. He fucks me harder, his grunts, growls, and howling moans filling the room.

  “Slap that pretty clit, honey,” he grinds out.

  I’m not sure why I listen to him, but I do. For the first time ever, I slap my clit and I can’t describe the feeling that it sends throughout my entire body. It’s like nothing I’ve felt before, that mixed with the rough strokes from Ford, I’m immediately on edge.

  “Fuck,” he shouts behind me.

  His fingers curl into my shoulder, digging into my flesh even more. I’m going to have marks there to match the dozens of other marks he’s left all over my body, but I don’t care, not a single ounce.

  Closing my eyes, I let out a silent scream as I slap my clit again and I come, hard. “Fuck, yes,” he roars, burying himself inside of me.

  I feel his cock grow, then twitch as he fills me with his release. He loosens his grip on my throat but doesn’t release me as he lets out another roar, his hips continuing to shift and move, his cock sliding in and out of me much softer and gentler than just a few moments ago.

  Ford’s lips touch my temple, his mouth moving down to my ear. “I’m sorry if I was too rough, I’ll make it up to you in the morning. Eat your pretty pussy again,” he whispers.

  I hum, my body so sated and worn out. “You weren’t,” I rasp. “It was perfect.”

  His body is still behind me, but I don’t register the move. I let out a little sigh as he lowers me onto the bed. Ford arranges me, tugging the bedding back before he pulls it around my naked, sore, tired body.

  I don’t even realize that he doesn’t join me, as soon as my head hits the pillow and I’m surrounded by the fluffy bedding, I pass the hell out.

  Chapter Thirteen

  STEPHANIE

  I feel like a cat as I stretch my sore muscles beneath the warm comforter, a purr escaping my lips before I even open my eyes. Reaching out next to me, I find that the other side of the bed is cold. Frowning, I force my eyes open and look around the room.

  It’s empty, the bright sun of the day shining in through the open windows. Just looking out of the window, you’d never guess there was any kind of storm last night. Tugging the bedding up over my chest, I push myself to sitting straight up as I take in the floor of the room.

  My clothes are strewn around, including my cardigan, but Ford’s clothes are nowhere to be seen. He’s gone. The house is so small, I would no doubt feel his presence if he were here, but seeing the absence of his clothing, it confirms it.

  Biting the corner of my lip, I inhale a deep breath before I let it out on a long exhale. Lifting my eyes a few inches, I hold my breath as I look around the room in the daylight. My heart squeezes as I take it all in. He did this, for me, for us and I shit on him.

  “You look like you’re gonna be sick, was it that bad?” a deep voice rumbles.

  My body jerks back slightly, my eyes flicking up to meet Ford’s. “What?”

  “Last night and this morning, was it so bad you regret it and look like you’re about to be sick in the daylight?”

  Licking my bottom lip, I sink my teeth into my flesh as I shake my head once. “It wasn’t bad, it was better than I could have ever imagined,” I admit, whispering softly.

  His mouth drops open slightly, then a look of tenderness crosses his features, covering his surprise. He doesn’t say another word, instead he takes a step toward me.

  I hold my breath as he lifts his knee, sinking it next to my hip into the mattress as he leans forward, his fists planting on either side of me, his nose almost touching mine. His mouth brushes across mine and I continue to hold my breath, not wanting to breathe my no doubt terrible morning breath around his nose.

  “Honey, it was the best I ever had,” he rasps against my lips.

  Letting out a gasp, my eyes widen when his lips touch mine, his tongue slipping inside of my mouth and tasting me.

  Tasting. Me.

  Morning breath and all.

  “Ford,” I whisper in a daze.

  I shouldn’t want him kissing me, not without having brushed my teeth. But he didn’t care and I find it odd that in the end, neither did I.

  Sebastian demanded that both of us brush before anything happened, or toward the end, didn’t happen. I was fine with that, because I always thought it was disgusting, but what just happened between Ford and I was nowhere near gross.

  “Don’t know what this means for us, Stephanie. I want to say that I liked last night a hell of a lot,” he mutters.

  Nodding my head, my eyes meet his. Lifting my hand, I wrap it around the back of his neck, my fingers sliding through the strands of his soft hair against the nape. My eyes search his, wondering what could be, no longer thinking about what might have been, but instead—what could be?

  “Does it have to mean anything? I’m only here for a few weeks, can’t we just enjoy one another?” I breathe against his lips.

  He grunts and I think that he’s going to demand more of an answer from me, but thankfully, he doesn’t. The truth of the matter is that I don’t know what can be between us. I know that I have obligations waiting for me in Los Angeles and I don’t know how Ford fits into that life. At the same time, I don’t know how I can fit into his life here.

  Could we be more than we are?

  Could we be anything?

  “You’re thinking too hard,” he mutters against my lips.

  Without another word, he pushes off of the bed and takes a couple steps back, his eyes searching my face. I watch him, unsure of what t
o say. I could be thinking too hard, it’s possible, I kind of do that.

  But, could I also be allowing a bit of hope to build inside of me, hope that something can grow between us? Something other than guilt, disappointment, resentment, and bitterness?

  “I am,” I say, nodding my head in agreement.

  Ford’s lips twitch into a smirk. “I pulled your car up the road and under the covered parking. If you want to take a shower, water here works. Checked the shower for scorpions and snakes this morning.” He grins.

  “God, do not remind me that we’re in snake and scorpion country,” I groan.

  He chuckles, his eyes dancing as they take in my look of utter horror and disgust. “You’re in snake and scorpion country, honey, there’s no way to hide your head in the sand about that shit.”

  I let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah, I know.”

  “Also, brought you a pair of workout shorts and a t-shirt. It’s all I had.” He shrugs. “There’s soap, but no hair shit in the bathroom here.”

  “Okay,” I mutter.

  “Also, saw your phone in the car.”

  I watch as he reaches in his back pocket and tugs my phone out, tossing it on the bed toward my lap. Reaching for the device, I wonder how I went this long without it. It’s usually attached to my hand, the first thing that I reach for when I open my eyes in the morning, and yet, this morning I didn’t even think about it.

  “Thanks,” I mutter, lifting my eyes to meet his. “Did you find your horse?” I ask.

  He smirks. “Yeah, I got her last night. She’s a little shook up from the storm, but she’s fine.”

  Nodding my head, I bite the inside of my cheek, not saying anything else. Suddenly, I feel really awkward.

  “There’s hot coffee in a thermos next to the clothes on the table. Didn’t have much to eat at the house, the store isn’t really a priority of mine most days. You want some eggs, I can grab some from the hens,” he rambles.

  “I don’t eat breakfast,” I whisper. “Coffee is good.”

  “I gotta go do a few chores, I’ll be back in about an hour to take you to your car.”

  He turns and I watch him walk away from me. He doesn’t offer anything else, and neither do I. Instead, I watch his retreating form, then flick my gaze down to my phone. I have fifteen texts from Damion, a missed call from Grace, and another text… from Sebastian?

  Great.

  Ignoring everyone else’s messages, I tap on Sebastian’s first. I haven’t spoken to him in a month, then those photos were released just days ago and now a text. The hairs rise on the back of my neck with suspicions.

  SEBASTIAN: CALL ME. MISS YOU, STERLY.

  God, how could I forget his nickname for me. Just reading it, my heart does something funny inside of my chest. I don’t know if I read his message with dread, excitement, or trepidation. I can’t quite define how I feel.

  I know that I don’t love him, but even though he was a complete ass, it was easy. Sebastian doesn’t have the power to obliterate me, even when he cheated on me, multiple times, never once did I cry. A true testament to the fact that I didn’t love him, probably never could, but he’s easy.

  FORD

  I want nothing more than to take her into my arms and slide inside of her all over again. I would be a liar if I said that things were the same between us, even in bed. They aren’t.

  Last night was better than I could have ever imagined, but it was not the same as it used to be. Mainly, because we are not the same as we once were. I’m no longer an eighteen-year-old boy and she’s no shy eighteen-year-old girl, either.

  We’re adults now, with pasts and experiences, our tastes and desires have changed also. I, for one, am glad that she didn’t seem disappointed in the man that I am now, seeing how nothing about her was even close to a disappointment.

  I couldn’t sleep next to her, though. Generally speaking, I don’t sleep next to women, not unless I’m drunk and pass out. I can count on one hand the times that I’ve slept next to a woman in the past seventeen years. It’s just not something I feel comfortable doing.

  Maybe it makes me feel too vulnerable.

  Maybe it’s just too domestic.

  I don’t know and I’m not really one for self-discovery, so I’ve never really thought about it until now, until last night when the first thing I did was get the fuck out of that bed and run.

  Now, I’m wondering what the fuck happens next and if I can allow anything to happen. The fact that Stephanie doesn’t want to talk about it, just wants to fuck around while she’s here should be a relief, but it’s not.

  The thought of her walking away again and never looking back fills me with sadness, and I hate that shit more than I’m fucking willing to admit. Thankfully, my phone rings in my pocket, taking my thoughts away from that pansy-assed shit.

  “Hey,” I mutter.

  The voice on the other end chuckles. “Heard the storm last night, wanted to make sure all was well,” Wyatt mumbles on the other end of the line.

  I snort. “Bullshit.”

  “She there?”

  “Yeah, she showed up in the middle of the storm, I was getting ready to go out looking for Starlight. Got caught up in the rain, had to put her up in the little house.”

  Wyatt knows exactly what house I’m referring to, especially since he helped me on more than one occasion with some of the interior repairs. He also knew where to find me when I disappeared after the failed wedding ceremony.

  “Ford,” he says, his voice rumbling.

  Shaking my head, I tip my head back, feeling the hot sun against my face as I let out a breath. “Yeah, I know. She didn’t know it existed. We slept together.”

  “Fuck,” he hisses.

  “I know.”

  “How does that work? For the future?”

  Tilting my head down, I kick a dirt clod. “Fuck if I know. She wants to just have fun right now, while she’s here.”

  “Sounds like bullshit to me,” he snaps.

  I let out a chuckle. “No fuckin’ shit,” I agree.

  “What’re you going to do about it?”

  “What can I do?”

  There’s a moment of silence and I wonder if he’s going to tell me, or make me guess. He hums, then finally imparts his, oh-so-wise and infinite wisdom.

  “Don’t give her the fucking option, brother. You still want her and she obviously still wants you. Either you’re all in or you aren’t, but fucking around isn’t going to do either of you any good. All it’s going to do is make both of you goddamn miserable for even longer. Haven’t y’all wasted enough time?”

  I grunt, shifting from boot to boot. “I miss the miserable bastard you used to be. We had some good times together, now you’re all fucking optimistic and trying to get me to be happy and shit.”

  Wyatt lets out a boom of laughter, and I can’t help but join him. In reality, I’m extremely glad that all of my friends have found their slice of happiness. All of them have worked their asses off for it and deserve all of the sweetness that life has to offer. I just never quite imagined that it would ever really be within my reach.

  Could it be?

  Is it possible for me to find that for myself—to find happiness? And with Stephanie, of all people? It’s been something unattainable for so long, I feel like to even think it’s possible, is an overreach.

  But maybe it isn’t as impossible as it once was—maybe it never was?

  Chapter Fourteen

  STEPHANIE

  Shit.

  Letting the hot water wash over me in the shower, I replay the conversation that I had with Sebastian. I’m fucked. He wants something and he’s someone who will play dirty to get exactly that.

  Biting the corner of my lip as my skin turns red beneath the hot water, I pinch my eyes closed and shake my head a couple of times, fighting back the tears.

  I can’t do this.

  Any of it.

  I need to focus on finishing my dad’s house and get the fuck out of town. Whatev
er pain Sebastian wants to inflict, I’m not going to allow him to drag Ford or anyone else from Gallup down.

  I’m going to go back to him, figure out what he wants and do whatever that is to just shut him up. Then maybe I’ll be able to figure out my own life, my future.

  Once I’m dried off and wearing Ford’s clothes, I grab my dirty clothes from the floor and neatly fold them as I take a sip of the cooling coffee. It’s perfect, a little sugar and nothing else.

  Looking behind me, I double check to make sure nothing is on the floor of the bedroom. I’ve made the bed, it looks perfect, as if nothing raunchy happened on that mattress last night.

  The front door squeaks as it opens and my head whips around to see who is walking inside, though I don’t know why I even have to look, Ford is the only one here. The only one who would be here.

  “You ready?” he asks. He looks almost nervous, definitely unsure of himself.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  He nods his head once, turning around as he holds the door open for me. Making my way past him, I step out on to the porch, the humidity of the air hitting me so hard that I almost stumble backward.

  “Yeah,” he mumbles as he locks the door.

  “Ford,” I call out, turning around to look at him.

  Slowly, he straightens as he faces me. I watch as the man actually deflates in front of me. I’ve done it again. I’ve hurt him and this time I haven’t even said a single word. I have to say it though.

  I have to end this right now. If I don’t, Sebastian will do something, I can feel it.

  “I’m going to head back to LA in two days,” I announce.

  Ford watches me for a moment. He tilts his head to the side. His jaw clenches and then a muscle jumps in his cheek, other than that, he shows me zero reaction.

  “In the hour that I left you alone, something happened.”

  Shaking my head, I try to deny his words. The fact is that they are right. Something happened, something by the name of Sebastian. But if I tell him, I know Ford, he’ll try to fix it. I don’t want him to, I need to fix my own shit.