Aurora's Cowboy Daddy (Rescue Ranch)

by Melinda Barron

  “I love the cool evening air,” he said.

  “I love not hearing the click of a lock when I go to bed at night,” Aurora said.

  Not having to look at him, to see if he judged her for her words made saying things easier.

  “I love playing poker,” he said.

  Aurora giggled. “I play solitaire.”

  “But do you love it?” he asked.

  “No,” she answered. “But it passes the time.”

  “Tell me something you loved from your childhood to pass the time.”

  “Reading,” she said. “I did a lot of it in prison, too. Some of the other inmates made fun of me for being a bookworm.”

  “Tell me something you’ve thought of that might be fun to pass the time.”

  That was a hard question. She thought about it for a while before she said “Swimming. I always thought it would be fun, but my parents didn’t want to pay for the lessons. I would love to learn to swim.”

  “Duly noted,” Holt said. “Tell me something else you’d love to do.”

  “Isn’t it your turn?” Aurora asked.

  “I love to fish,” he said. “That’s why we have the lake here.”

  “Too bad you can’t swim in it,” she said.

  “Oh, but you can. We do it all the time.” There was movement, and she was pretty sure he was leaning toward her now. “But I want you to learn to swim at the pool before you swim in the open.”

  Her heart went pitter-patter at the thought. She lifted her blindfold and sure enough he was leaning toward her, his elbows on the table. “That’s going to cost you,” he said. He didn’t move to hit her, or say anything else. Aurora put her blindfold back into place and he said, “Good girl.”

  How had he known? Aurora lifted the edge of her blindfold to see that Holt’s was still in place.

  “Stop that,” he ordered.

  She let the blindfold drop again, and she couldn’t help but smile. She was rather enjoying this game. If it was a game. It was, wasn’t it? She wanted to ask him but she wasn’t sure she was supposed to ask the questions.

  “What’s your favorite holiday?” he asked.

  “I don’t have one,” she said. Should she add to that? Should she tell him why? The silence drew out between them, and she had a feeling he was waiting for her to elaborate.

  “My parents never celebrated very much,” she said. “My aunt always took me to her house for Christmas, though, so I guess that would be my favorite.”

  “She was like your mother,” he said.

  “Yes.” Her voice broke, and she stayed silent. She didn’t want him to know she was close to tears thinking about her aunt.

  “If you could do one thing that would bring you joy, what would it be?”

  “Past, present, or future?” she asked.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said.

  She was sure what he wanted her to say was she wanted to be his Little and accept him as her Daddy. But she wasn’t near ready to say anything like that to him, so instead she said, “I’d learn how to cook these fabulous brownies.” Before he could tell her he was disappointed in her choice she said, “What would you do?”

  “Suck your fabulous tits and give you your first orgasm.”

  Aurora shivered and she pulled her blindfold from her eyes. She looked straight into his eyes and she blushed. “I could do—that—by you—doing that?”

  “Say the words,” he murmured, his voice sending shivers up her spine. Oh she wanted to say yes, but she was scared out of her mind of him doing exactly as he’d said. Aurora shook her head.

  “Say them,” he said.

  She took her glass of tea and drained it, then said, “Um, you’d give me myfirstorgasm.”

  He chuckled. “Way to run all the words together.”

  “Sorry.”

  “You’ll get better at it.”

  Then he did her other favorite thing—he leaned over and kissed her. She savored the taste of him, the feel of his strong lips against hers. He didn’t use his tongue, just his lips. As she had the night of the storm she felt safe. She didn’t think he would force himself on her, or make her do things she wasn’t ready for. But he would do it at some point. Right now she didn’t care. She just wanted to be kissed.

  She opened her mouth just a little, and Holt took the invitation. His tongue moved inside her, probing gently. She moaned and leaned into him.

  When the kiss broke he gently nibbled on her lower lip. “I thought you weren’t good at sex.”

  “Kissing isn’t sex,” she said.

  “It’s a very intimate form of getting to know someone,” he said. “Mouths are very sensuous. Think about what it’s going to be like when your mouth is on me—” He stopped speaking and kissed her once more. When his mouth was free he said, “down there.”

  Aurora gasped. She hated that part of sex, mostly because Ben forced her to do it. Something told her Holt would not. He would be gentle about it, and they both would savor the act.

  “You’ll have to teach me how to do it properly,” she said.

  “I will enjoy having you as a pupil.” He kissed her once more. Then he gently stroked his fingers against her cheek. “Tonight’s dessert needs to be you soaring while you watch the stars. Climb up on this table and let me show you what my mouth can do.”

  He licked his lips and Aurora felt as if she might melt. She put the lid back on the box, then, to her surprise, she sat at the end of the table, her legs spread. Holt came in between her legs and gently stroked her thighs. He kissed her once more, then he put his hand on the end of her blouse and tugged it up. Aurora lifted her arms and let him pull it over her head.

  Aurora shivered, not from the cold but from the sheer—sheer? Terror? Joy? Excitement? She wasn’t sure what she was feeling. She just knew her body shook as Holt put his hands on her sides and let his thumbs caress her skin right under her breasts. She wanted to pull away, to tell him she couldn’t do it.

  As if he knew what she was feeling he leaned over and kissed her again, and again. The kisses calmed her down, made her feel as if yes, she could do it. He kissed the tip of her nose, then moved his lips down to where her neck and shoulder joined. She gasped when his lips touched her breast, even though she still wore a bra.

  “We need to get rid of this barrier,” he whispered.

  Without saying a word, Aurora reached behind herself and started to undo her bra.

  And that’s when Holt’s phone rang.

  Chapter 7

  She was going to have an orgasm. She was going to have an orgasm. An orgasm. Aurora put her hands on her stomach and tried to calm the nerves that ran through her at the thought. It was either her upcoming sexual adventure, or the two brownies she’d eaten last night that made her feel as if she might vomit.

  Of course Holt had planned on giving her one last night, on the picnic table. But it had been a call from Hawk that had stopped them from making out like high schoolers. A cattle truck had overturned on the highway, and he was calling out all available people to help round up the cattle, which were running around the city.

  The Coleman men had saddled up and, from the text she’d received that morning, they’d worked all night to help round up the herd. She wondered how Holt felt this morning. His text had said they were all feeling like it was bedtime, and might take naps. But he would be at her house at seven, and he would bring dinner.

  She’d asked if he wanted her to cook, and he’d replied, “I thought you told me you couldn’t cook.”

  “I’ll give it a shot,” she said.

  He’d sent a smiley face emoji and told her she could try sometime later. “You’ll have more than enough new things to center on tonight.”

  She understood his reluctance to taste her cooking, but that meant she had nothing to do all afternoon. All the cabins were empty. She needed to ask Holt if that was normal, or if they could possibly expect someone to take up residence soon. She didn’t like the thought of a woman being abused an
d having to run, but she didn’t like the idea of sitting around and not earning her keep either.

  Cleaning. That would be the best thing for her to do. She went to the first cabin, intending to make it spotless, but found that it already was. She wondered if Mercy had come in and done it after the client had left. A quick check of the other cabins showed them all to be clean as a whistle.

  Aurora checked her watch. It was just after noon. She wasn’t hungry, but it would be after seven before they ate. She fixed a quick sandwich and ate it, and then finished off the brownie that was in the box. Hawk had packed other goodies, but they didn’t whet her appetite.

  “I’ll make some,” she said. Either that or she’d go to the bakery and buy some. But that would only take a few minutes. She wanted to cook. But she didn’t have a recipe. It took her a little bit before she realized all the things she could do with her new smart phone. She called up the web and did a search. Many different recipes popped up and she selected one, wrote down the ingredients she’d need, and got ready to go to town.

  Once she’d taken the UTV to the main house she saw that it seemed practically empty. She wondered if the men were sleeping after their all-nighter. She took keys to one of the ranch trucks and drove into town, finding the grocery store easily enough.

  There were a lot of customers there for a Saturday afternoon. Aurora figured most people would be out at the lake, enjoying the sunshine. She filled her basket with the ingredients, and several snack items that probably should have stayed on the shelves, before she headed to the checkout.

  She waited her turn, and when she was second in line panic hit her. She pulled her wallet from her purse to find only a few dollars inside. Most of the money she had left from her aunt was in her savings account, and she hadn’t made a transfer lately.

  Aurora was ready to turn around and put all her stuff back when someone grabbed her elbow. She turned, ready to slap whoever had touched her, but stopped when she saw Hawk’s smiling face.

  “Whatcha doing?” he asked.

  “I was going to make brownies.” She picked up the dark cocoa tin. “I ate all the ones you sent down.”

  His smile lit up his face.

  “But I have no money,” she whispered. “I have to come back after I go to the bank.” She’d seen a branch of the national bank she used when they’d driven through town, so she knew one was there. She wasn’t sure it would be open on a Saturday afternoon.

  “Next?” the cashier asked. She frowned at Aurora, but turned a bright smile on Hawk.

  “Constable,” she said.

  “Mags, this is Aurora,” he said. “She’s our new cook, so anything she buys goes on the ranch account.”

  Aurora was about to correct him, but she clamped her mouth closed when she saw Hawk wink at the woman. Was ‘cook’ code for den mother? Did this woman know what went on at the ranch? Something told Aurora that she did.

  “Welcome to Bookman Springs, Aurora,” Mags said. “If you’ll empty your basket I’ll ring you up.” They completed the transaction in record time and when Aurora signed the charge slip she realized this never would happen in a larger town.

  Hawk helped her load the sacks in the truck.

  “I’ll pay you back for the snacks,” she said.

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Hawk said. “Your food is included in your pay. But what are you making?”

  “Those dark chocolate brownies,” she said. She looked away as she said, “I ate all the ones you sent down, remember?”

  Hawk laughed, and she thought that he did that a lot. “Four blocks over is Barker’s Bakery. Meet me there.” Without waiting for an answer he got in his truck, which had a huge star on the side and a light bar on top. He pulled out of the parking lot and Aurora hurried to follow him.

  They pulled into a parking lot of a pastel colored building with a white awning over the door. Hawk came to open her door, then held the door of the bakery open for her and they went inside. The woman behind the counter looked up as they entered. She smiled at Aurora, but turned a brighter smile on Hawk.

  “Jessica, this is Aurora.”

  Was it her imagination, or did the woman’s smile dim?

  “She wants to bake some of those dark chocolate brownies for Holt.” He leaned toward her and pseudo-whispered, “They’re courting.”

  And there was that bright smile again. “How wonderful! Holt needs a woman in his life. I’ll give you my recipe.”

  “Thanks,” Aurora said. “I’m a—bad baker. Just in case can I buy some of yours?”

  “Sure,” Jessica said.

  “She’s our new den mother, so anything she buys goes on the Ranch tab,” Hawk said.

  “Oh, okay,” Jessica said. Aurora could see the sympathy in the woman’s eyes. She knew. She knew Aurora was a murderer. Aurora looked away, then started to tug on the end of her shirt. It was a nervous habit that she needed to break. “Welcome to Bookman Springs, Aurora. Anything I can do for you just let me know.”

  “Thank you,” Aurora mumbled.

  Jessica put a box on the counter and Aurora grabbed it. “I need to get back to the ranch.” Just as she said that her phone rang. She reached in her purse and finally found it, holding it in one hand and the box in the other.

  “Where are you?” Holt asked.

  “Barker’s Bakery,” she said.

  “Eat all the brownies?” he asked with a laugh.

  She knew she should tell him the whole story that she wanted to try and bake her own, but she’d bought backups. But it would be difficult to let Jessica and Hawk listen to her stumble through the words. “Yes,” she said.

  “While you’re out, stop at the drug store and buy some condoms.”

  The box of brownies fell to the floor as she grabbed the phone with both hands, one hand cupping the end. “What?”

  “You heard me, condoms.” There was a short silence. “You put them on a guy’s dick when you have sex.”

  “I know what a condom is!” Aurora looked over to where Jessica and Hawk stood. She had hoped she hadn’t said that loudly, but the looks they gave her told her she had. The baker had a grin on her face. She saw Aurora looking at her and averted her gaze, but not before Aurora could see she was trying as hard as she could not to laugh. Hawk on the other hand was not. His shoulders shook and Aurora turned her back on them.

  “You can’t ask me to do that.”

  “When your Papa Bear tells you to do something, you do it. Understand?”

  What the hell was he talking about? But then his meaning slammed into her. On the sites she’d visited it talked about the Dom embarrassing the submissive by asking them to do something that would take them out of their comfort zone. But she didn’t expect it to be buying condoms. Would a Little buy condoms? Or was this the Dom/sub thing? How was she supposed to know the difference? This was all too new to her.

  “Please don’t make me do this,” she whispered. She moved toward the other side of the bakery, happy there was no one else in here to overhear her. “This is my first time out, remember? You can’t expect me to know how this works.”

  “Papa Bear,” he said.

  “What?”

  “You can’t expect me to know how this works, Papa Bear. Do you understand?”

  Oh she understood. She knew exactly what she was supposed to do. End her sentence with his name. She took another step away from Hawk and Jessica. “Please don’t make me do this, Papa Bear.”

  “You’ll do as I say, baby bear.” He rattled off a brand and size. Her eyes widened at the thought, but she said the words over and over so she didn’t forget them.

  “Holt, I…”

  “Don’t forget, baby bear, and put it on the Ranch account.” The line went dead.

  She took a few minutes to regain her composure, then turned back to them. Hawk had picked up her brownies from the floor. He handed them to her and said, “You better get going. You have things to do.”

  “Wait,” Jessica called before Aurora ste
pped out of the door. “Here’s the recipe. You’ll have to do some adjustments because it’s for a big batch.”

  “Okay.” Aurora grabbed it from her, then she ran for the door. Before she left she said, “Thanks.”

  Once she was in the truck she banged her head on the steering wheel. Condoms. He wanted her to buy condoms. How much worse could this day get?

  There was flour everywhere. She’d tried as hard as she could to cut the recipe, but the three batters she’d tried to make had turned out like paste. It had been a disaster from the start, and she wanted to cry. She hadn’t put anything in the oven. It had all gone in the trash.

  Now, as seven o’clock neared she worked feverishly to clean up her mess. She didn’t want Holt to know about it. But every scoop of flour she cleaned up seemed to produce two more. How was she going to get it all in the trash, get the trash out of the house, and then clean up in—she glanced at the clock—fifteen minutes?

  She was just sweeping some of the flour into the mound so she could lift it into the trashcan when the door opened and Holt came inside.

  “Evening, baby bear,” he said.

  “Holt.” She threw her wet rag into the sink. “I mean Papa Bear.”

  “You’ll get used to it.” He had a pizza box balanced in one hand and held a sack in the other. He put them on the table and crossed to her. When he kissed her on the forehead she couldn’t help but smile. Then he kissed her on the lips and she moaned softly.

  “Been baking?” he asked.

  The humor in his voice was evident, and she pushed away from him. “Don’t laugh.”

  “You’ll have to practice,” he said. He went to the table and sat down. “Bring plates and utensils. Do you have sweet tea made?”

  “The one thing I can make,” she said. She hurried to set the table, then poured them both tea. By the time she sat down he’d dished salad for both of them, with different containers of dressing in the middle of the table. He opened the box to reveal a large supreme pizza.

  “Looks delicious,” she said.

  He took three slices, and she took one.

  “Bookman’s,” he said between bites. “They make the best pizza in town.”