Bad Boy Romance: Nick (Romantic Suspense Alpha Male Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Contemporary Short Stories) (Hard Rock Star Series Book 2) (23 page)

Ava was quiet as Noah walked
over to where she stood, still gently stroking the horse.

“What do you say we let Maggie
have a rest?” he asked, stopping just inches away from her.

Ava nodded, wondering what he
had in mind once Maggie was resting.

“Then, tell her,” he told her,
walking over to the gate and opening it up without attaching the rope the horse
had worn when she was brought in.

Ava panicked a little; it was
one thing to guide the horse around an enclosed pen, but it was something else
to be responsible for her out in the open.

“Remember, all you have to do
is know what you want, and you can have it,” Noah's voice was soothing but she
was beginning to think he might also be an expert in double innuendos.

Using the motions Noah had
taught her, she focused her attention on the task at hand and lead Maggie out
of the pen, through the open field and into the stable. Once there, Noah
secured the horse in her stall and then turned to drape the rope over one of
the hooks on the stable wall. Turning to follow his movements, Ava caught sight
of the wall and her eyes grew large, noticing a multitude of strange and
cruel-looking implements there, including a row of whips like the one John had
been holding earlier. Noah recognized her response before she could cover it
and he smiled devilishly.

“They're not meant to harm the
horse. At least, they shouldn't be,” he told her, lifting one of the whips off
of its hook. “See,” he told her, letting the end of the whip dangle, sliding it
slowly up Ava's arm, across her bare shoulders and down the length of her other
arm.

“That doesn't hurt, does it?”
he asked, leaning close to whisper in her ear as he moved in slow circles
around her wrist with the whip's end.

“No,” she admitted, her whole
body tingling with arousal. “But, I don't think that's how it's supposed to be
used.”

“Maybe not. But when something
can feel good, why use it for anything else?” he asked, his eyes meeting Ava's
gaze.

She didn't think what Noah was
saying had anything to do with horses anymore, and that was fine with her. “Two
can play at this game,” she thought, a smile curving up the edges of her full
lips.

With her free hand, she moved
to Noah's wrist, trailing her fingers up his arm slowly, across his broad,
muscular chest and down his arm to the hand holding the whip. “But why use
anything else? Wouldn't you rather touch me...wouldn't you rather feel me
beneath your fingers?”

“Let's find out,” he said
easily, returning the whip to its hook on the wall. He started at her neck this
time, allowing his fingers to slide down over her collarbones. He slowed as he
reached the upper swells of her breasts, hovering there for a moment, and he
watched as Ava's body moved, her chest jutting forward just slightly of its own
volition, trying to spur on his descent. Instead, he traced the outline of her
breasts, gliding down her sides to her hips.

“I think you may be right, but
I'd like to explore more to be sure,” he whispered against her ear before his
hands started sliding upward. This time as he reached her breasts, he didn't
detour, his palms grazing over her nipples, amplifying the arousal coursing
through her and making her throb with desire. Noah leaned forward, his lips
hovering just a hair's breadth from her own, so close her lips began to quiver
in anticipation   

Voices sounded several yards
from the barn, barely audible at first but growing louder as a group of four or
five men approached. Ava closed her eyes fighting against a wave of frustration
as Noah gritted his teeth, his hands leaving her body.

“Noah? You in there?” one of
the voices asked, the group now not more than three or four yards from the
barn. “One of your guys came looking for you. Says there's a problem on one of
your ranches.”

“Damn!” Noah cursed silently.
Not only had they interrupted at the most inopportune time, but they were
hollering out information he didn't want Ava to have. Sure, his gut told him
there was something different about her, but he wasn't banking two weeks of
gold-digging on it.

“Sorry, Ava. But I guarantee
you they're going to come barging in here in about a minute and a half,” he
smiled ruefully all the while his hands itched to touch her again, to explore
all the areas he'd yet to discover.

She nodded, looking around for
another exit. Finding none, she looked up at Noah quizzically.

“I don't suppose there's a
secret door hiding in one of these stalls?” she mused aloud.

“Sorry. Only one way out of
here, but it'll be fine,” he assured her, having no doubt that every ranch hand
knew of his no-fraternizing-with-the-vacationers policy.

Nearly one and a half minutes
later on the dot, the big stable door opened as four men of various ages walked
in. They came to an abrupt halt, most of them eyeing her appreciatively while
the eldest of the group turned a quizzical eye toward Noah. It was obvious that
none of them had been expecting to find anyone inside with Noah, but he was
already leading her toward the now-open exit. He stopped when he reached the
group, casually telling Ava how to get back to the cabins before turning his
attention to the group, talking quietly as she continued on outside.

Ava padded back to the cabin,
tiptoeing up the steps of the front porch. The last thing she wanted was to
have to explain herself to Christie. She entered the cabin, opting for a night
on the living room sofa rather than disturbing her friend in the shared
bedroom. Every inch of her body was revved up, still sensitive even to the
brush of the sofa's canvas-like fabric. The rub, so different from the feel of
the fingers that had grazed over her skin just moments before, reminded her of
the whip Noah had wielded. God, that was naughty. She'd never been much of a
whips and chains kind of gal, but the way he had teased her with it—that was
unlike anything she'd ever experienced before.

Breathing deep, she tried to
cool down, knowing she wasn't getting a moment's sleep in her current state.
She contemplated taking matters into her own hands, letting her fingers graze
along her thighs, but it wasn't her own hands she wanted to feel touching her
body, and so it only served to intensify her frustration. She debated sneaking
back out to the barn to pick up where they had left off, but she figured she'd
just come off as the desperate, sex-starved city girl. Besides, the guy
probably had a whole flock of women at his beck and call; Ava had just been
within convenient proximity at the time. By now, he was probably long gone,
crawling into bed with one of his eager followers.

“Arghhh!” she fumed, shifting
to try to find a more comfortable position on the sofa.

It wasn't that Ava was a
glutton for sex; she had resignedly accepted that her studies didn't provide
her with a whole lot of time for a romantic life outside of the occasional
weekend fling. It was the damn, sexy cowboy that was throwing her hormones out
of whack. Burying her head beneath one of the sofa's throw cushions, she
squeezed her eyes shut, forcing pictures of the latest runway designs to fill
her mind and drown out the images of the too-hot wrangler. Finally, sometime
before the sun began to lighten the sky, Ava's body succumbed to sleep. In
slumber, though, she lost command over her thoughts as wild and wanton
fantasies filled her dreams, making the night about as restful as a marathon.

She awoke before Christie the
next morning; she'd forgotten that her friend could sleep eight hours through
an earthquake and still squeeze in a nap during the aftershocks.

“That girl sure loves her
sleep,” Ava mused silently as she rubbed her shoulders trying to ease the
tension that had built over night from her heated dreams and the makeshift bed.

She tiptoed to the bathroom,
not wanting to risk even the slightest chance of facing Christie just yet, she
started the shower and hopped in, letting the cold water cascade down her body
and cool her overheated flesh. Wrapped in a towel ten minutes later and hoping
her luck would hold, she grabbed her suitcase from the bedroom quietly,
bringing it out to the living room. Pulling out one of her favorite dresses,
she slipped it on the near-replica of the iconic Marilyn Monroe dress. It was a
white, halter-style with a tight-fitting bodice that plunged low, revealing
ample cleavage. The ruffled skirt fell to her knees and made her feel like a
movie star every time it blew in the wind. Sure, it wasn't the most practical
choice for a day on the ranch, but it was just Ava's style, whether she was
sketching her newest idea or walking around training pens with the sexy as hell
Noah.

She'd just finished brushing
out her long locks when Christie sauntered out into the living room. She had to
hand it to her friend; she hadn't seen her wearing a smile before noon since
Michael Duncan waved at her in the gym at a senior year pep rally in high
school. She really did love it here on the ranch. 

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Ava
chirped, trying to join in on Christie's good mood.

“Morning Marilyn,” Christie
teased, looking over Ava's outfit. “I didn't think you'd be up already. I
figured you'd be sleeping through every minute you could,” she smiled.

“Nonsense. I've come to find a
thing or two here that makes getting out of bed worthwhile.”

“Oh? And does that thing happen
to be the hot guy who was checking you out yesterday?” Christie asked with a
grin.

“What would make you say that?
Couldn't I just be happy to be here with you?” Ava feigned exasperation.

“Sure, you could. But if he had
been checking me out, I'd be a hell of a lot happier getting his attention than
yours,” she smiled in jest.

“Ha!” Ava dismissed the
subject. “How about you get dressed so we can go get some breakfast?”

Five minutes later, the two
headed out the cabin's front door, Ava stealing a surreptitious glance around
in search of a certain cowboy. Seeing no sign of him, she turned her attention
back toward the house, watching as Will opened the door, already anticipating
their arrival.

“Good morning ladies. Sleep
well?” he asked them cheerfully.

Ava just nodded, smiling as
Christie filled him in on her opinion that the country air served to provide a
better night's sleep.

“Funny,” Ava thought. “I guess
the two of us weren't breathing the same air last night,” she mused silently,
remembering all the time she spent tossing and turning.

Once seated, the same woman
wheeled in a cart laden with breakfast foods, everything from biscuits and
fruit to bacon and fried eggs, and arranged them on the table. The small group
conversed amicably while they ate, but not five minutes before the meal was
through, Noah walked in through the far entrance, a devilish smile briefly
crossing his features as he met Ava's gaze.

“Morning, Noah,” Will greeted
him easily. “You know, I was hoping to show Christie the new extension we've
been working on behind the stable. Why don't you give Ava an inside tour of the
property?” Will suggested casually, though she could easily spy the twinkle in
the matchmaker's eye.

Noah nodded, but there was
something less than pleased in his disposition; not angry or disappointed, but
rather like he felt uncomfortable with the arrangement somehow. Ava tried to
think of an excuse quickly to let him off the hook, but Will was already
getting to his feet and Noah was there, offering his hand.

“Ready for a behind-the-scenes
look at running a ranch?” he queried with a boyish grin, mock enthusiasm in his
tone.

“As long as 'behind-the-scenes'
doesn't mean mucking out stalls or chasing chickens,” she remarked in good
humor.

Noah smiled, waving to Will and
Christie as he lead Ava out of the house, down the front steps and toward the
training pen he'd had Maggie in last night. It wasn't that he didn't relish the
idea of a few hours with Ava—he could think of a thing or two, or a dozen, he'd
love to do with her—but he really did have work to do and that meant there
wasn't opportunity for anything but conversation with her right now, and the
chance to run into at least a dozen other workers who could give his secret
away.

“So, Noah...if you have things
you have to do, you don't have to keep me in tow all morning,” Ava interjected
into his silent worry.

Good. He was off the hook. He
could send her on her way to go catch up with Will and her friend right then.

“It's about time you see what
ranch life is all about, don't you think?” “What the hell was that?” he
wondered silently. So much for off the hook. She'd given him an easy out and
he'd been poised to take it, so why the hell didn't he? Because she was
enthusiastic, feisty and brave...and God how he wanted to touch her...to loosen
the knot of fabric securing her dress behind her neck and watch it fall away
from her breasts...to slide his hand up her thigh, pulling the skirt's fabric
up as he went, revealing inch after inch of her soft flesh...

“So, you've really never spent
any time in the country?” he inquired, trying to steer his thoughts elsewhere.

“Nope. I went from an apartment
in Dayton, Ohio to an apartment in Providence, Rhode Island, and nowhere else
in between. That's it,” she replied simply.

“Not much for travel, are you?”

“Actually, I love it. I'd spend
half my life in an airplane if I could. It was just never in the cards, that's
all. When I'm finished with school, it'll be different. At least, that's the
plan,” she smiled easily. “What about you? Ever spend any time in the city?”

“Some. My parents retired in
Florida, and my brother's in New York. I get down to see them when I can.”

“I guess Will keeps you pretty
busy?”

“I guess you could say that,”
Noah replied, but that same discomfort she'd sensed back at the house crept
into his tone once again.