by BJ Wane
Last Saturday, Caden, Connor and the weekend hands had been called away from the ranch on an emergency involving a lost herd and hadn’t returned until sometime after midnight. Part of Sydney had been relieved at the call of duty that kept Caden from going to the club that night, but his attitude toward her hadn’t thawed a whole lot since he’d seen her naked and his orders had driven her to a height of ecstasy she’d never achieved with anyone else. A few times in the past five days, she’d caught him looking at her with an expression that brought on a heated rush through her veins, compelling her girly parts to sit up and beg for attention. Just from him. But he’d covered it quickly and treated her with the same friendly indifference as he did all his employees, damn it.
Still, those few looks were enough to inspire a thread of hope he would come around in two days and ask her back to the club himself. If not, she wouldn’t be above cajoling another invite from Connor. She’d enjoyed dancing last weekend, flirting with the men who all bore the same dominant air about them that tickled her in more ways than one. Just the socialization had helped dispel the loneliness she’d lived with the past few weeks. The weekly calls she’d been making to her grandmother were both difficult and heartwarming. She loved hearing Nana’s voice and catching up on what her cousins, aunts and uncles were doing. But they always ended with nostalgia pulling her down and an ache for her world to be put to rights.
Driving down the highway toward the small town of Willow Springs, she pulled up the few memories she could still recall about her mother. Sydney had only been eight-years-old when Nana’s only daughter died from an undiagnosed malignant tumor, leaving her grandparents and her devastated. She’d never known her father, and no one spoke of him. That had been fine with her; she had everything she wanted with her mom. After her death, her grandmother and two oldest uncles did everything in their power to keep her happy and well-grounded. Only Uncle Mike, the youngest and most spoiled of Nana’s four children, never bothered with her, always too busy with his self-centered life to mess with a young, clinging niece who lived in fear of losing someone else.
“Be careful what you wish for,” she mumbled, pulling into a parking space in front of the only grocery in town. When Uncle Mike finally got around to paying attention to her, she’d found out it had only been for his own, selfish purposes. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep the truth from the rest of the family as they kept threatening to track her down and drag her home. They didn’t understand why she needed to stay with her ‘friend’ for so long, confirming the story she’d spun failed to convince of the need to stay away this length of time. But until she figured out a way to prevent hurting her grandmother with the news of Mike’s attack on her, she would continue to struggle with balancing her growing fondness for her temporary new life with the longing for home and loved ones.
Winding her way through the aisles of the small, family-owned grocery, Sydney filled the cart with items lacking in both kitchens at the ranch, smiling inside as she imagined Caden’s face when she showed him the receipt for the amount she would put on his account. Then again, he didn’t appear to be struggling financially, so maybe it wouldn’t faze him. She was trying to think of another way to get under her rancher’s skin when a man stepped in front of her, his sudden appearance bringing her to an abrupt halt with a hand braced on her cart. His hold prevented her from moving and the cold look in his dark eyes sent a ripple of unease slithering under her skin.
“Excuse me,” she said in a polite tone, wondering what his problem was.
“I have a message for you, Ms. Greenbriar. Go home, or else.”
The wave of apprehension turned into gut-clenching dread as she stared at the stranger who not only knew her real name, but just threatened her. “Who… who are you?” she whispered past the tightness of her throat.
“An associate of your uncle’s. Unless you want to be responsible for what happens if you don’t heed my warning, I suggest you get on the road soon.” Tipping his hat in mock politeness, he walked away without a backward glance.
Sydney stood rooted in disbelief, her hands shaking, her abdomen cramped with trepidation. What did he mean by ‘what happens’? Her blood turned to ice in her veins as she stood there in indecision. He’d have trouble getting to her on the ranch; there were always men about, and rifles in all of their trucks. Surely that alone would be enough to keep her safe from the stranger’s cryptic remarks. God help her, she just realized how much she longed for more time at her temporary home. The thought of leaving Caden and the friends she’d made brought an unaccustomed ache to her chest. The stranger didn’t know it but delivering the threat from her uncle only reinforced her belief she couldn’t return home yet. Besides, if she left, where would she go?
With fear and despair clawing at her insides, she struggled to make her way to the checkout, stopping just once more to toss a six-pack in the cart. Engrossed with her thoughts and the overwhelming decision she needed to make, she didn’t see the sheriff entering the grocery as she headed out.
Clutching the two heavy bags with her head down, Sydney ran into Grayson, recognizing his deep voice when he grabbed her arms to steady her. “Whoa there. Let me take one of those for you. Sydney, right?”
Startled, her eyes flew to his face and she cringed at the sharp look he gave her followed by the slow removal of the toothpick in his mouth. “Are you okay?”
“I… yes, fine. I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She cast a frantic look down the street but didn’t see the man who had turned her inside out with a few words. “Thanks, but I’m parked right there, so I can get these.”
“I’ll get your door.” His tone, so much like Caden’s, didn’t leave room for argument.
Sydney set the bags on the back seat then schooled her features into a bland expression before facing his assessing gaze again. “Thank you, Sheriff. It’s nice to see you again.”
He nodded, his gaze remaining keen despite the small smile softening his hard face. “I hope you’ll join us at The Barn again tomorrow night. Have a good day, Sydney.”
Oh God. The longing to return to the club with Caden shook her. Gripping the steering wheel with damp palms, she struggled with her decision all the way back to the ranch, weighing the need to stay a little longer, to cajole a few more exciting memories from her rancher before she went back to being alone and keeping him in the dark about her problems. Never in a million years could she have guessed Mike would stoop this low, not even after he’d drugged her and tried forcing her signature. She should have known the happiness starting to blossom wouldn’t last.
Sydney drove home in a state of turmoil and indecision. If Uncle Mike was desperate enough to send someone after her, would he go so far as to instruct his henchman to act on his threats? He had sworn he hadn’t planned on physically harming her in any way the night he showed up at her apartment and tried to force her signature, but that was weeks ago, and she didn’t have a clue how much his dire situation might have escalated since she’d been gone. God, she really hated being in the dark about her family, and especially her mother’s youngest sibling.
The closer she got to the turnoff for the ranch, the more she realized the strong impact her short time on the ranch had on her life. She would miss the cowpokes joking with her during lunch, their enthusiasm and appreciation for the simple meals and desserts, their friendly teasing over her fondness for the animals, the way they watched out for her like big brothers. An ache settled in her chest as she thought of Connor’s quick support when she’d first arrived and Caden’s caring, protective embrace after plucking her quaking body off that fucking machine. A slow, simmering anger grew inside her as she drove past the wide-open prairies dotted with fall foliage, the pine-tree covered mountain backdrop blanketed by a cloudless, smog-free blue sky, the landscape so different from the busy, crowded city of St. Louis.
A wave of muscle-tightening resentment joined the escalating fury slowly obliterating her initial terror. How d
are he? Slamming on the brakes, she veered to the side of the road, squeezing the steering column with white knuckles. Weeks earlier, she’d allowed Uncle Mike’s schemes to drive her away from everyone and everything she cared about and now she was going to let him get away with doing it again without even confronting him? Oh, I don’t think so. She might not have a clue where she stood with her boss, how deep her feelings went or how long she could stay without revealing why she’d left her home in first place, but she refused to let him get away with threatening her again without confronting him.
Digging her phone out of her purse, she noticed her hands still shook and admitted the thug’s threats still scared her, but she had to at least try to get her uncle to call him off. Pressing his number, she sucked in a deep breath as he answered, not falling for the relief in his voice as he said, “Sydney, thank God. Where have you been? Everyone is complaining and starting to worry.”
“Gee, Uncle Mike, why don’t you tell them why I took off? How dare you send someone to threaten me. I may be reluctant to hurt Nana and your brothers with the truth about you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t spill the beans if you force my hand this way.”
There was a moment of silence before he replied with rigid insistence, “What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Your hired bully confronted me thirty minutes ago, telling me how sorry I’ll be if I don’t hightail it home.” Sydney shivered, remembering the menace oozing from the man’s voice and portrayed in his beady-eyed gaze.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you listen to me, Sydney. Stay away from him, do you hear me? I never…”
“Forget it, I’m not falling for any of your lies. Call him off or I will return home and go straight to the family with the truth.” She hung up, refusing to listen to his denials, having learned the hard way not to trust anything her uncle said or did. Tossing the phone on the seat, tears filled her eyes as her rage dwindled and worry over what would happen next returned.
By the time she returned to the Dunbar ranch, fixed dinner and then hid in her room instead of joining the others at the table, she still hadn’t decided whether she should stay or play it safe and take off. The plate she’d brought with her sat untouched on the bedside table, the tightness in her stomach too painful to try to eat. So far, she’d stayed clear of Caden and his all-too-knowing eyes this evening and she missed even that small contact. She didn’t know if she cared that much for him or just craved more of his dominant, sexual control before leaving, but whichever one it was, it hurt to think about it.
The house grew silent once she heard Connor leave for his own home and the hands for the bunkhouse. Caden spent most evenings holed up in his office and she assumed that’s where he’d gone off to. Unable to sit still or watch television, she left her too quiet room, grabbed the six-pack from the refrigerator and slipped out into the inky night. Walking around outside after dark would break another one of his rules, but Sydney didn’t care. At this point, she didn’t have all that much to lose.
Chapter 5
“Thanks, Grayson.” Caden hung up the phone and pushed away from his desk, unaccustomed worry settling like a rock in his gut. His friend’s call bothered him as much as Sydney’s absence from the dinner table earlier and galvanized him into leaving his paperwork to confront her. He couldn’t believe how much it bothered him to hear from the sheriff that something, or someone had upset her. For Grayson to take the time to express concern for her distraught appearance in town, she would have had to appear noticeably overwrought. Later, he would need to delve deeper into why the thought of Sydney in distress caused a tightness in his chest he’d never felt before over a woman.
When he found her room empty, a plate of untouched food sitting on the nightstand, and couldn’t locate her anywhere else in the house, anger mingled with worry as he went to scout around outside. Damn it, she knew the rule about wandering around outdoors after dark. It took him almost twenty minutes of fretful searching but he finally found her in one of the barns, propped on a stack of hay bales, halfway through a six-pack of beer.
“What are you doing out here, alone in the dark?” he barked, relief at finding her unharmed washing through him. Only one small overhead light offered any illumination and the meager glow left most of her in shadows. But he could see well enough to notice the slight stiffening of her body, her sudden, indrawn breath another clear sign whatever happened in town was still affecting her.
“I was talking to the dogs, but they have this bad habit of not talking back. What’re you doing out here?” She hiccupped, the watery response tugging at his conscience
Snapping his fingers, he ordered the collies out. “Looking for you, wondering why you’ve broken yet another rule.” Striding forward, he snatched the beer from her hand before it reached her mouth. “You’ve had enough. Tell me what’s upset you. Did someone harass you in town?” The instant panic crossing her face drew a surge of protectiveness Caden couldn’t deny and a strong urge to strike back at whoever was responsible for that look. Reaching down, he clasped her upper arms and pulled her against him with a ‘need to know’ demand. “Tell me.”
“No… I mean, it’s nothing,” she stammered with an evasiveness unlike her.
Caden had seen her teasing grin, her frown of irritation and her green eyes glow with pleasure, but he’d never seen her afraid, or heard her lie, and neither sat well with him. Instead of shaking her, like he was tempted to do, a better plan came to mind. Grabbing her wrists, he backed her toward a low rafter, snatched a coil of rope off the wall and made short work of tying her wrists together.
Sydney tried to pull away from him as he lifted her hands above her head and looped the end of the rope around the beam. “What are you doing?” she squealed, yanking on her arms, her pale face reddening either from the slight exertion or the flare of excitement reflected in her eyes. Both were better than the fear.
“Making sure you don’t fall when I do this.” He slid his hands under her shirt, shoved her bra up and scraped his thumbnails over her already hard nipples. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
She shook her head, her wild, red hair flying around her shoulders even as she arched her back and pushed her breasts into his hands. “I promise; it was nothing. Just a little… misunderstanding. Oh God.”
Small white teeth sank into her lower lip when he tugged on her nipples and then drew the tips out, elongating them with a tight pinch. “I can keep this up all night, darlin’.”
A flare of resentment tightened her face. “I’m not on the clock now, Boss. You can’t order me to talk.”
“No, you’re right about that.” Releasing her nipples, he kept his eyes on hers as he slid his hands down to the waist of her jeans. “But I can punish you for disobeying my rule of coming out here alone after dark. Same safeword applies here, by the way.” Caden yanked her jeans down along with her panties, the narrow strip of red pubic hair drawing his gaze straight to the enticing view of delicate, plump bare folds already damp with arousal. He wasn’t sure how far he would take this, he only knew he couldn’t stand to see her hurting or hear her evasive replies to his inquiries.
“Caden, please.” A hint of desperation laced her whispered plea and he fought against caving to both it and the way her hips shifted toward him in silent supplication.
“Are you going to tell me what I want to know?” He lifted his hands to release his belt. Her eyes widened as he pulled the soft leather through the loops, but if he wasn’t mistaken, and he rarely was, the sudden increase in her breathing had nothing to do with fear.
“I told you, it’s nothing. I’m over it already.” Since she averted her eyes with that statement, he doubted the truth of it.
With a quick twist, Caden spun her toward the wall and didn’t pause before snapping the belt across her quivering buttocks. “Like I said, I’ve got all night.”
Sydney’s head buzzed, and not just from the beers she’d downed on an empty stoma
ch. Caden hadn’t struck her hard. Instead, the stroke of leather over her butt induced tiny pinpricks of pain that disappeared fast, too fast, and left her aching for more. Right now, she’d take any diversion from the decision she needed to make, more than willing to accept anything he would give her at this point.
“Nothing, huh?”
She heard the swoosh first, felt the burning sting second. This time he’d struck a little harder and the heated pain zipped straight down between her legs, increasing the moisture already seeping from her pussy. Shaking her head, she gave him a non-verbal answer and held her breath as he delivered the next blow a little lower.
“Fuck, but you’re stubborn,” he groused.
Any other time, before she’d gone into town, she would’ve relished the frustration in his voice. But all she yearned for now was to forget the threat of a stranger, her uncle’s lies and the lonely weeks ahead of her if she left, preferring to bask in the heated throbbing spreading across her butt and filling her sheath. “Fuck me, Caden,” she begged, keeping her eyes pinned to the wall so she couldn’t see his rejection. She’d never needed anyone more, or the sweet oblivion of pleasure with such desperate longing.
He answered her plea by delivering three quick slices across her quivering buttocks, leaving behind a more painful burn and deeper throbbing. She both heard and saw the belt drop at her feet before those dark, rough hands gripped her hips. Her breath caught as he slid one hand between her legs, cupping her soaking flesh as he squeezed one, warm pulsating cheek with the other. An unprepared for, deep three-fingered thrust into her pussy brought her up on her toes with a gasp, the invasion accompanied by the startling probe at the entrance to her back hole.
Taken off guard, she stuttered without looking around, “What… I’m not sure about…”
“Are you saying red?” A small prod with his wide, calloused thumb breached her sphincter and sent a riot of new sensations spreading up that untried orifice.
