HorsingAround (3 page)

After getting Daisy settled into her stall, he gathered the feed tubs. He cleaned them out, filled them,
then
hung one for each horse.

He’d just finished spreading straw in the fourth stall when Paige marched in and glared at him. She now wore jeans with a T-shirt that hugged those luscious curves perfectly. “I expected you to be at the house. For your information, I’m not one of those women who
says
I’ll be ready in a few minutes when I really mean a lot longer.”

What had her so ticked off? “I’m right here, honey. No reason to shout.”

Her face reddened again.
“Honey?”
She balled her hands into tight fists at her sides. “No one calls me
honey
.”

“Can’t say
that
anymore, huh?” He’d heard about city girls like her with their hot tempers and bossy attitudes.
Must be a real firecracker in bed.

“I am ready for that tour now.” She spoke real
slow
, as if he were a moron.

He ignored her tone. “Look outside,
darlin
’. You won’t be able to see anything in the dark.” He hung the pitchfork on a hook on the wall. Then he grabbed a water bucket from a nearby stall and handed it to Paige. No time like now to start breaking her in. “Take this to the hose, rinse it out and refill it.”

She stared at him as if he were an alien. “You expect me to take care of the horses?”

He pushed his hat farther back on his head. “
I’m
taking care of them. You’re only helping me out. That’s all right, isn’t it?”

“I’m a bookkeeper, not a horse keeper.” With that, she dropped the bucket on the floor, splashing water on the rubber mat. She lifted an eyebrow in challenge and crossed her arms over her chest, a hundred-percent spoiled city girl.

She’d succeeded in pissing him off but he managed a chuckle. Keeping his voice barely above a whisper, he said, “That wasn’t very nice. Now you get to do them all.”

Paige’s temper flared white-hot. She stood her ground. No way would she do Jake’s work. She tapped her foot and stared him down, her eyes narrowing to slits.

“One way or another, you’re going to fill those buckets.” He took a step closer, leveling a stern look at her.

She pulled in a breath infused with his scent, powerful and manly. Horses whinnied from the corrals. She shuddered with raw need. The tension between them electrified the air. She clamped down on her rising desire.

I am not turned on by this arrogant country boy.

Yet her nipples ached and her pussy grew moist.

“You’re not allowed to be a prima donna on a working ranch.” He was so close now she could practically hear his heart thundering in tandem with hers.

“I’m not—”

His hands caught her shoulders and he stilled her with a kiss, hungry and deep.
Even better than before.
He sucked on her tongue, swirled his around hers. Those pesky butterflies started flapping their wings inside her. All reason flew out the door. She threaded her fingers through his thick hair, knocked that damn sexy hat right off his head. Liquid desire washed over her, flooded her veins.

Jake slid his hands under her shirt, ran them up and down her back. His touch on her bare skin sent delicious shockwaves through her entire body. A moan caught in her throat. His rough skin rasped over her flesh, igniting her nerve endings with a craving for more. He drew her against him, close enough that his erection pressed into her belly. She lowered her right hand and traced his hard cock through his jeans.

A rough growl rumbled from deep inside him. He broke the kiss and met her stare with a smoky blue gaze. Lifting her shirt over her head, he let out an appreciate whistle at the sight of her lacy bra. “You have some damn fine breasts, ma’am.”

His compliment ratcheted her passion higher. Jake bit her left nipple lightly through the material. The air was still, yet a quiver danced over her skin. He pushed aside the lace covering her other breast and cupped it with a calloused hand. Pleasure swirled around her, shot in every direction. She rolled her head back and swam in bliss.

“Don’t stop.”

Did I say that?

God help her. She meant it. His tongue laved her sensitive skin, bathing her in delicious sensations.

Lightning flashed through the open-air stable windows. Seconds later, the mighty roar of thunder shook the ground beneath them. She felt Jake stiffen seconds before he pulled away. But she still needed so much more from him. She craved the feel of his hands, his lips,
his
cock.

The tight set of his jaw confirmed that they’d have to put this party on hold. “Sorry,
darlin
’. I have to move the horses inside. We have wicked lightning storms here.”

She swallowed back the disappointment and nodded. He handed over her T-shirt.

A fling with Jake isn’t wise.

Perhaps the interruption was all for the best. Nature’s way of telling her to stop before she did something she’d regret. Only she didn’t regret a moment of it. In fact, she couldn’t wait until she had him alone again.

For once in my life, I’m going to do what I want and not what my mother, my boss or my ex-husband wants.

And she wanted Jake.
Badly.

He retrieved his hat from the floor and stuck it atop his head.

“Can I help?” she asked.

What? Did I really say that?

He lifted an eyebrow and leveled a wary stare at her. “Sure. Open that first stall.” He pointed to the half door behind her.

She did as he instructed, then watched him lead each animal inside from the corrals. His clothes grew wetter and wetter with each trip, but he didn’t seem to mind. By the time he walked the fourth horse into its stall, he was drenched, but no less enticing. His soaked shirt exposed the rippling muscles of his shoulders, back and chest.

She drew an appreciative breath and squirmed against the liquid heat building between her thighs. Imagining Jake’s hands slipping between her legs, her breath caught. Centering a hand on her chest, she glanced outside. The storm wasn’t letting up at all. Lightning sizzled all around them. The house was way too far to make a run for it across a flat open field.

She heard something shuffle behind her. Spinning around, she found Jake spreading a thick layer of straw on the floor in the empty stall. He’d taken off his shirt and she had to tamp down her sheer awe at his bare torso. Uncovered, his form looked even more enticing.

The man exuded so much sensual heat it was a miracle he hadn’t singed her a few minutes ago. His chest was hairless except for a light sprinkling between his
pecs
. And he had a better six-pack than any man she’d seen at her gym in New York. His smooth skin bore a golden tan. The thought of those powerful arms around her made her heart jump.

“What now?” She couldn’t tear her gaze from his incredible body. Even his walk turned her on.
More a swagger, really.

He picked up a pile of blankets from the area where he stored the saddles and carried them across the stable to the last stall. “Come on.”

She hesitated at his tone, but the command touched something primal inside her, something dark and incredibly irresistible.

“Come here, woman.” Lower, his voice more forceful this time.

The man had the power to turn her into a puddle of estrogen. She followed him into the stall. He’d set up a sort of bed on the floor.
“Looks lumpy.”
She slanted him a grin.

“Once we’re done with it, it’ll be a whole lot lumpier.” He unfastened his belt.

Desire rumbled through her. She closed the distance between them. “Let me.” Heart racing, she reached for the buckle, yanked the leather back and forced it through the metal.

He pulled off his boots, threw them aside.

Paige sank to her knees, unbuttoned his jeans. She slid down the zipper slowly, tantalizing him. The wet denim stuck to his muscular legs as she peeled the pants away.
A commando man.
She liked that. His erection sprang toward her, granite-hard and flushed with blood. Veins stood out along the shaft. She swallowed at his impressive size and closed her fist around the base.

Jake hissed out a breath.

His cock, still damp from the rain, felt so hot she wouldn’t have been surprised to see steam rise off it. The head was perfectly symmetrical and a silvery drop of semen glistened at the tip. She squeezed her fist tighter and licked the seed from his slit, salty and hot. His hips pushed toward her and she allowed more of his length inside her mouth. Swirling her tongue around the shaft, she tasted his male scent and her own desire heightened. She cupped his balls and took his cock, so heavy with need, into her mouth, only a little at first.

He let out a pleasured moan and pushed closer. She pulled him deeper, taking his length all the way inside until it touched the very back of her throat. Hot, wet desire flowed to her sex with every stroke. She rasped her teeth over his shaft, eliciting a pleasured gasp from his lips.

“Paige. Where have you been all my life, honey?”

She smiled at that, looked up at him as she ran her tongue along the underside. She sucked his ball sac into her mouth and lapped at the tight skin. The bliss evident on his face sent a shiver of excitement dancing up her spine. His cock throbbed and pulsed. She closed her lips over it as she circled the base with her fingers. He thrust into her mouth slowly at first, but with more and more need. His moans grew louder, more insistent. She used her fingernails to lightly scrape his balls and he rewarded her with a gasp.

Water and sweat slid down his chiseled chest in rivulets. He grasped her head and moaned. A drop of semen escaped. Paige savored its heady flavor.
He
pistoned
his hips in an ancient rhythm.
She tightened her grip. His release drew closer. She felt it in the quiver of his skin, heard it in the rumble inside his chest.

He quickened the pace of his strokes, his lusty sighs filling the air. When his orgasm came, it was powerful, spurting a strong gush of his salty seed into the back of her throat.

“Paige.” Her name broke from his lips like a prayer, soft and sensual.

She released him, but his taste remained on her lips.

He leaned against the wooden wall, braced himself as he teetered. “That was…amazing.”

Grinning, she sat back on her knees, listened for the rain, which had slowed to a rhythmic trickle. “Glad you liked it.” She looked away, let him clean himself up. “Should we head back to the house?”

Jake pulled on his jeans and his boots.
“Definitely.
Never know when the clouds will break loose again.” He reached to her and gave her rear end a slap. “Besides, I have plans for you that would be way more comfortable in a real bed.”

She knew they needed to talk business, but it would have to wait. She only planned to spend a few short days here and she hoped to make the most of them, even if that meant saving the negotiating for the last possible moment.

Chapter Three

Jake shut off the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Stepping into the hall, he listened. The creak of the porch swing out back cut through the silence. He descended the stairs. Stopping at the French doors, he caught a glimpse of Paige on the wooden seat. She sat curled up like a kitten.

Desire quickened his blood. He stood motionless, watching. She’d finally let her hair down and it cascaded in soft waves over her shoulders. God, she was pretty, especially with moonlight stroking her delicate features.

Everything in him yearned to make love to her, yet reality kept tapping his shoulder. Sooner or later they’d have to talk business. Would she insist on dismantling the whole operation when she learned the Circle O was losing money? She’d said she worked as a bookkeeper, probably someone who looked at the world in stark black and white. He hoped she found room for the shades in between.

They’d deal with that problem tomorrow. Tonight he aimed to give back to the lady. He’d make sure he pampered her with at least as much pleasure as she’d given him earlier. And considering she’d treated him to the best head he’d ever gotten, he planned to spend the entire night devoted to her satisfaction.

Padding into the kitchen, he made a mental list of the things he needed. He found a bottle of Chablis, a corkscrew and a couple glasses. Gathering his supplies, he stepped out to the screened porch. Paige stirred, adjusting herself on the swing. She looked too angelic to disturb. He could hardly believe this was the same buttoned-up businesswoman who’d arrived only a few hours earlier.

He kissed the top of her head, pulled in a breath laced with her sweetness.

Her eyelids fluttered open. She gave him a smile that warmed him from the inside out. “Hey.”

He set his burden on the wicker coffee table. “Feel like a drink?”

She sat up and yawned. “Sure. What is it?” Leaning toward the table, she squinted at the bottle.

He reached for the corkscrew, positioned it atop the bottle and started working the cork.
“Chablis.
From a local winery near Orlando.
For a low end wine, it’s not half bad.”

She quirked an eyebrow.
“You don’t strike me as a wine connoisseur
or
am I missing something?”

“What, you think I’m just a dumb cowboy?” Grinning, he poured her a glass, handed it to her before fixing his. “Or is it that I’m a Southerner? I’m sure I can hardly match wits with a sophisticated city girl like
yourself
.” He gave her a wink.

“That’s not what I meant.” But he saw the doubt in her eyes, even in the dim light. He sipped his wine. Setting the glass down, he offered her his hand. “Come outside for a second.”

She climbed off the swing and let him lead her through the screen door to the pool deck. “What are we doing out here?”

“Look up.” He lifted his gaze to the sky and felt that same humility he did every time he viewed nature’s light show. “The afternoon storms pull all the dust out of the atmosphere and the stars shine brighter and sharper. See?”