For Love's Sake Only (7 page)

Now that Nathan was relocating to Santa Estrella, Charlotte’s excuse for not going home was becoming weaker and weaker, as was her desire to return. Somewhere along the line, she had lost her taste for the hustle and bustle of city life and was fast becoming a convert to ranch life. She loved it there almost as much as she was beginning to love Ty.

“If he fires you, I’ll hire you.”

“You couldn’t afford me, cowboy.”

Ty waggled his brows teasingly. “I’m sure we could work out a payment plan.” Spurs & Mistletoe: For Love’s Sake Only

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Giggling, Charlotte bet they could. Ty was a very, very naughty boy, and fast becoming the best mistake she’d ever made. “How much longer are you planning to hold me hostage, cowboy?”

Snorting, Ty eyed Charlotte over his coffee cup. “I loosened the cuffs this morning, didn’t I?”

“Shut up.” Zinging the remaining piece of toast at him, Charlotte bopped Ty in the head. Blushing she glanced quickly over his shoulder to see if Ida had heard anything, but if she did, the housekeeper was keeping it to herself.

“You liked it, you know you did.”

She had, but she would never admit it to him. Ty was too cocky by far. “I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

“Liar.”

“Pest,” Charlotte replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

“I can think of better things for you to do with your tongue.” His gaze was on her mouth, his stare intense and sensual.

“I bet you could.” A simple look, a single phrase, and she was becoming aroused.

“Don’t make me separate you two,” Ida threatened, as she gathered up her purse from the mudroom. “I’m off to the store. Do you need anything that isn’t on the list?” Ty looked at Charlotte and mouthed, condoms and lube, causing her to break out in another fit of laughter. They were fast running out of both, much to her embarrassment and amusement, just one more reason why Charlotte was finding it harder and harder to go home.

Sure there were reasons to go home, like her family, friends, and job, but there were even more tempting reasons here. Reasons that ensured she was smiling nonstop and coming up with every reason under the sun to stay a day or two longer.

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“I should be back in about two hours.” Stopping by Charlotte’s chair, Ida asked with a smile, “Will you be here when I get back?”

“No.” Charlotte really needed to get going.

But before the word had left her mouth, Ty interjected with, “Yes.” Laughing, Ida shook her head. “That’s what I thought. I’ll be back.” Charlotte waited until Ida left, before she reached out across the table and took Ty’s callused hand in hers. “I’m going to have to leave one day, Ty.”

“It doesn’t have to be today,” he replied stubbornly, refusing as always, to listen to reason.

Ty had made it clear, over the last few days, that if it were up to him, he would have all of her things shipped to his house, and her upstairs, chained to the bed. Okay, the “chained to the bed” part didn’t sound so bad, but Charlotte did have a life to get back to, no matter how unappealing it was becoming. “You say that everyday.”

“And I mean it everyday.”

“I’m leaving today, Ty,” Charlotte said firmly.

“No.”

“This isn’t up for debate.”

Sitting back in his chair he regarded her stonily. “Don’t you like it here?”

“You know I love it here, but I have plants to water, food to throw out, people to see.”

“And then you’ll be back?” It might have been a question, but it came off like a demand, causing steel to shoot straight up her spine.

“Eventually.”

“Next weekend,” he ordered calmly.

“Oh, is that when eventually is? I always wondered about that.” If he was going to be stubborn about this, then she was going to be stubborn right back. Charlotte had every Spurs & Mistletoe: For Love’s Sake Only

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intention of coming back next weekend, she just wasn’t going to let Ty think he could boss her into it. Her hardheaded cowboy had a lot to learn when it came to women.

Charlotte stood, pushing her chair back, and took her plate and cup to the sink. With a few feet of distance between them, Charlotte turned back around to face him, with her resolve firmly in place, but instead of facing an angry Ty, she faced an amused one.

“You’re cute, you know?” he said, as he stood up with his dishes and walked over to where she was.

Narrowing her eyes, Charlotte waited for the punch line, and when none came, she become even more suspicious. Ty didn’t add a comment, didn’t try to manhandle her, he simply went to the sink and rinsed out his coffee cup. Something was up. “Is that it?” Shooting her an amused look, Ty walked back to the breakfast table and picked up his hat. “What do you mean?”

“No argument from you?”

“Do you want me to argue with you?”

Yes. No. Hell. Charlotte was more confused than when she started this conversation.

“So you’re okay with me going home today?”

“I’m not okay with it, Charlotte, but short of locking you in my bedroom, I can’t stop you. I don’t want you to think of the ranch as a prison. More like a haven.” Walking to him, Charlotte laid her head against his chest, loving the sound of his strong heartbeat against her ear. “You’re making it very hard to leave.” A low chuckle rose from beneath her ear. “I hope so.” Ty held her to him for a second, and Charlotte, a person who wasn’t used to leaning on another human being, let her heart open for him. She was finally beginning to understand the concept of love at first sight, even if she was too blind to recognize it at first.

Brushing his hand against her hair, Ty broke the comfortable silence. “I have to go check on my baby.”

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Startled, Charlotte pulled abruptly away from his chest. “Your what?”

“Chiana, my mare. We had to separate her from the other horses.”

“Is she okay?” Now that Charlotte knew she didn’t have any baby’s momma’s drama to worry about, she was filled with concern. She knew how much the Dollar meant to Ty, and anything that was important to him was fast becoming very important to her.

“Yeah, she ...” Pausing, Ty stepped back. “Do you want to come meet her?” There was no law that said Charlotte needed to leave right now. “Of course.” With a lazy smile, Ty took her hand in his and headed outside. Charlotte would never get over the vast amounts of open space Ty called home. Even though there were stables, barns, and pastures everywhere, it still seemed as if Ty’s property went on for days.

Bypassing the large stable, they headed to a small red building resembling a mini barn, with the Dollar Bill monarch logo on the door, prompting a question Charlotte had been meaning to ask. “So where does the Dollar Ranch get its name?” Pushing back the door, Ty led her down a small hallway to a single stall next to a tack room filled with hay. “My great-grandfather started this ranch with four quarter horses --

three mares and a stallion.”

“So?” Charlotte questioned, not getting the correlation.

Unlatching the gate, Ty entered the stall with the russet mare. Looking over his shoulder at her with a devilish sparkle in his blue eyes, he answered her question. “What do four quarters equal?”

“A dollar ... oh, duh.” Charlotte laughed. “The Dollar Ranch. I like it.”

“I’m sure my grandfather would be pleased.” Bending down, he picked up the horse’s leg and checked it over. “Whoa, baby. I’m just here to check you out.” Leaning on the wooden gate, Charlotte watched Ty lovingly caress the mare. There was so much tenderness in his touch, and gentleness about him, that it was sometimes hard to see her passionate, dominating lover as the same man before her. “What happened?” Spurs & Mistletoe: For Love’s Sake Only

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“A combination of things,” Ty said standing back up. “A hired hand not paying attention, a mare in heat, but not in the mood, and a randy stallion who wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Kinda like his owner, huh?” Charlotte teased. Reaching slowly across the gate as Ty had shown her, Charlotte allowed the horse to get accustomed to her scent before delicately stroking her muzzle. “What’s wrong, honey? Not in the mood for some loving?”

“Horses generally don’t mate in the winter,” Ty said, coming out of the stall.

“Why not?”

“Because they’re pregnant for about eleven months. So for racing and showing it’s best to have the mare foal early, say January or February. Hence we normally breed them between February and March.”

Ty slid up behind Charlotte, trapping her between his body and the gate. Her pulse began to race as it normally did when Ty was near, but the feel of him, heavy and aroused, was causing her heart to work overtime. “So did someone forget to tell the stallion?” Nuzzling her neck, Ty teased her senses causing her nipples to harden beneath her blouse. “Like his owner, Slate doesn’t always care what’s right or wrong. He only knows what he wants, and he’ll do anything to get it.”

“Sounds just like you,” Charlotte murmured, burrowing into Ty’s warmth. It seemed as if a lifetime had passed since they’d last made love instead of mere hours, and Charlotte was aching to have him inside of her again. “Temptation will get you every time.” She was driving him wild. And it wasn’t as if she was actually doing anything. Just knowing she was within his reach, ready and willing, was all it took to keep Ty hard all week long. They’d made love more times than he could count, and each time was better than the time before. She was sweet, insatiable, and the keeper of his heart, but she was also hell-bent on going home.

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Every time she mentioned going home, Ty found a way to distract her, but this time he could tell she was serious and it was driving him insane. He was only seconds away from tossing her over his shoulder and carting her off to the nearest minister he could find, but Ty knew he needed to be patient and give her time to make the decision for herself. Even if it was killing him.

Slipping his hand around her lithe waist, Ty pulled her body closer to his own. It was getting ridiculously obscene the way his body reacted to hers. Just thinking her name caused his cock to stir. “It’s been too long,” he whispered into her downy brown hair.

Charlotte moaned her agreement, passionately pushing back into him. Nudging her legs wider apart, he pressed his hand against her mons, cupping her sex through her jeans.

“Time to give in to a bit of temptation of our own.”

“Here?” Her question came out as more of a moan, causing his erection to pulsate. He loved the sound of her voice, especially when it held a hint of passion in it as it did now.

“I won’t be satisfied until I’ve fucked you everywhere.” Backing away, Ty led Charlotte around the corner to the hay holding area, next to Chiana’s stall. The area wasn’t a complete room with doors, but it was a bit further back from the door and away from prying eyes.

“Get out of those pants.” Yanking his shirt over his head, Ty reached into his back pocket and pulled out a condom, one of the many he’d taken to carting around the ranch since her arrival.

Looking around at their surroundings, Charlotte shook her head in mirth. “We are not doing this here.”

“Aren’t we?” He was so hard right now, he couldn’t see straight. The woman he adored, in a room with rope, leather, and hay, was wreaking havoc on his libido. The horse wrangler in him wanted to mount her like a stallion takes a mare, strong, demanding, and in complete control.

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“I’m not getting freaky in the hay.” Her voice sounded appalled, yet the passion was still in simmering in her big brown eyes. “I’ll be sneezing and coughing, instead of screaming and coming.”

“Don’t worry.” If a little hay fever was what she was worried about, he could fix that really quick. “You won’t have to.”

Picking his shirt up off of the ground, Ty laid it against the bale, spreading it out like a blanket until the majority of the hay was covered.

“That’s not long enough for me to lie on.”

“Who said anything about laying?” Dropping the condom on his shirt, Ty did what his heart was craving and pulled Charlotte in for a kiss.

His mouth covered hers as he slipped his tongue between her full lips. Swaying into him, Charlotte parted her mouth, flooding his senses with her sweet taste. It was a flavor Ty was fast becoming addicted to.

Pulling reluctantly away, Ty reached between them, making quick work of her pants, unbuckling and pushing them down her lovely brown legs. Quickly followed by her shirt and underclothes, Charlotte was aroused and naked, awaiting his touch. She shivered a bit in the cool air, but Ty was confident he could have them warm in seconds.

“This is crazy,” Charlotte murmured, clinging to his body as he sat her up on his shirt.

“Someone could come in.”

She talked as she unbuttoned his pants, freeing his member into her waiting hands. Her touch was like firm silk, and he couldn’t help but grin at her actions. Ty would never have to wonder if their passion was just one-sided; Charlotte was almost as greedy for him as he was for her.

“I guarantee you no one will interrupt us.” If they did, they’d risk more than his wrath.

Everyone on the Dollar Ranch knew better than to interrupt Ty for any reasons short of a 56 Lena Matthews

colic epidemic when he was with Charlotte. He’d hate to lose a man, but he’d hate for them to see his woman naked even more.

Reaching in his back pocket, Ty pulled out his yellow bandana and began to unfold it, watching Charlotte’s face the entire time. The closer he stepped to her, the deeper she began to breathe. Her arousal filled the air, teasing his mind like mad.

“Give me your hands, Charlotte,” he ordered, sounding a lot calmer than he felt.

Without a moment of hesitation or a word of protest, Charlotte jutted out her hands, surrendering her willpower to his command. It never ceased to amaze him how she gave her trust so completely, yet was still afraid to give her heart the same way.

Quickly binding her hands together, Ty lifted her off the shirt and spun her around, until she was facing the wall, bent over the bale of hay. Her pert brown ass was positioned for the perfect fucking, but he wanted inside her pussy more. Ty needed to remind both of them just who she belonged to.