She's Mine (2 page)

Helping Cathy, she loaded up the table, unwrapping everything, and then they started to serve the food and the cool drinks as well.

Cathy made the introductions, letting them know that Raven would be taking over.

“Raven Howard, it has been too long,” Seymor said, coming toward her, and placing his arm around her.

“Hey, Mr. O’Donald. I’m so sorry about your wife.”

“You know to call me Seymor. Julia would have loved to have seen you.” He cupped her cheeks, smiling at her. “I’d heard you’d come back. Any special man?”

“No, none of that.” Her cheeks heated as Seymor didn’t talk quietly. Several of the handlers were staring at her, which she didn’t like. Attention was not something she did well with.

“Well, it’s their loss, and our gain.”

She finished serving up, and she noticed that Cathy was standing on her tiptoes, trying to look out over the field.

“Are you okay?” Raven asked.

“Yeah, I was just hoping to catch sight of Brice. He should be here.”

“There’s plenty of food.”

“Ah, it’s okay. I see the truck. He’s heading this way.”

“Okay.”

Raven smiled and chatted with each of the men as they got the food, and passed along.

“This chili is amazing,” Seymor said.

“Thank Raven. She told me to add some chipotle into the chili, and some really bitter chocolate. I couldn’t believe how amazing it turned out.”

Raven’s cheeks heated again. She hated the extra attention, but she smiled. Most of the time she smiled and got left alone. It was how she’d learned to survive out on her own.

How did she survive seven years away from home?

Even she didn’t know the answer to that.

It had been completely crazy.

The truck pulled into the parking lot where all of the other trucks were, and Raven looked over to see … Drew Reynolds climbing out of the car.

Time had done him even more wonders than the last time she’d seen him. Averting her gaze, she stared down at the food, and saw there wasn’t enough cheese. Leaning into the truck, she grabbed a bag and turned.

“Hey, baby, did you miss me?”

Raven turned to see a man, clearly Brice, kissing Cathy on the cheek.

“Charmer. Brice, I’d like you to meet Raven. Raven, this is Brice.”

“Howard, ah, I remember now. You’re the kid that didn’t go away to college, did you?” Brice asked, taking hold of her hand.

“No. I just went traveling.” Nearly everyone in her year had gone onto college in some form or another. She didn’t want to. Studying hadn’t been something she wanted to do, so she had learned on the road.

“I don’t know if you remember Drew Reynolds.”

She couldn’t
not
look at him, so she pasted a smile on her face, and stared up at the most intense blue eyes she had ever seen. She’d always adored his eyes, reminding her of a blue sky in summer, so clear and bright.

“Hi,” she said.

Raven noticed his hand was held out toward her, so she took it, shaking his hand. She didn’t know how to describe the electricity that traveled up her arm, nor where it had come from.

He didn’t say anything for several seconds, simply stared at her, holding her hand tightly. When she tried to pull her hand away, he wouldn’t let her go.

“It’s great to see you again.”

Again? When had he seen her the first time?

Oh crap, she hoped he’d never seen her watching him with those women. That would be so damn embarrassing. It couldn’t be possible.

“Likewise.”

“Do you two know each other?” Cathy asked.

“I used to live here. I know of him.”

“Yeah, that’s it,” he said.

She smiled even as she tried to fight off embarrassment. There was no mistaking the twinkle in his eye. Drew was aware of her watching.

“What brings you back home?” he asked.

“Homesick. I missed this place.”

“You’re working for Cathy now?”

“Yep, that’s the plan. Not got much else planned, and she was kind enough to let me work for her.”

“Kind enough? Honey, you’ve more than earned your keep with that culinary knowledge you’ve got. I’m so pleased you came to my shop, and my apartment, and not Barbara’s. The little woman who owns the diner out by Bobby’s Bar.” Cathy gripped her shoulder. “Now you’re all mine.”

“Culinary knowledge?” Drew asked.

“Yep, our girl here has been around the world, getting jobs in all kinds of restaurants and stuff.”

“It’s nothing. I had to pay my travel costs, and cooking is something I enjoy doing.” She didn’t like all of this attention. Especially from Drew, who still hadn’t let go of her hand.

“Are you going to let her serve you?” Brice asked.

“Sure.” Drew lifted her hand up, pressing his lips to her knuckles. “It’s good to see you again.”

Oh boy.
Her panties just grew wet. Drew was a bad boy through and through.

It was a shame her virgin body was never going to know the kind of pleasure he could grant.

There was no way a guy liked Drew ever looked at a woman like her.

Chapter Two

“What was that about?” Brice asked.

Drew ate his food, enjoying the spicy depth of flavor in the chili. Little Raven Howard was back, and this time, she wasn’t just a little girl anymore. This time, she was all woman, and his dick swelled at the thought of all the sinful things he could do to her. There were five years between them, and there was no way he was ever going to break the law just to have a taste of the girl who used to watch him. She hadn’t been a woman back then, but she was now. Raven was all woman, and he wanted a taste.

The blush on her cheeks, the way she struggled to hold his gaze, and also the way her hand grew clammy—Drew knew without a doubt that she was thinking of all the times she’d stumbled upon him.

He hadn’t lived like a monk. Of course he hadn’t. From the moment he could get his dick up, and a woman to ride him, that was exactly what he’d been doing. Of course, he hadn’t looked Raven’s way. She had been too young. When he noticed her out of the corner of his eye, he’d been uncomfortable at first, but then when her little eighteen-year-old eyes watched him for the last time in the barn just around the back of O’Donald’s office, he’d been determined to have her. Drew couldn’t even remember the woman’s name, but he’d had her bent over a box, and was fucking her so hard that he had to cover her mouth to keep her silent. Raven had been working at the ranch, but he’d rarely seen her as she’d been with Julia at the time. Of course, once he spotted her, and knew she was of age, he’d been planning on asking her out.

Raven had intrigued him, even back then. She had these dark brown eyes, so dark they looked almost black. Thick brown hair, so soft it made him want to run his fingers through it. Staring at her now, he saw she still kept the length, which he liked. It made him want to bend her over, wrap that length around his fist, and fuck her so hard. Damn, her body was fucking hot. No hard edges or bones. It was all woman, all curves, and those tits. He was going to have her naked beneath him, and screaming his name.

Asking her out hadn’t gone to plan at the time. What Drew hadn’t realized was it was Raven’s last day at the ranch. She’d gone home, and he’d decided to leave it ‘til the next day only to discover she was gone.

He’d missed his chance, and over the years he’d thought about her.

Drew had thought about her a lot.

Nothing had prepared him for today.

He noticed a couple of guys go up for seconds, and start talking to her.

“Put the word out, Raven Howard is mine.”

“Seriously, dude? She’s only just got back home, and you’re staking a claim.”

“She’s mine. Make sure every guy knows. They go near her, try to get with her, they’ll end up with broken bones.” Taking another bite of chili, he was satisfied to see that she didn’t encourage their interest.

“Is this the reason you haven’t found a woman?” Brice asked.

“The right woman, son, is the woman that you can’t stop thinking about. She crawls inside you, and all you can think about is being with her, loving her, protecting her. When you find a woman like that, never let her go.”

His father’s words were something he’d lived by. None of the other women he fucked had ever held a candle to this woman. He’d let her get away once, and before she arrived today at the ranch, he’d only been half-living.

Drew realized in that moment, he’d been waiting for her to come back to him. Now she was back, he wasn’t going to let her go.

Seeing as they were the last ones to arrive, they were the last ones to finish.

“Do you want some more chili?” Raven asked.

Brice put down his bowl and grabbed Cathy’s hand, pulling her against him.

Raven’s cheeks went another shade of red.

“No, I’m good. Will you wrap some up for me to take home?”

“Um, I don’t know. Cathy?”

“Yeah, wrap it up. Drew can’t cook for shit, and he always takes the extras home,” Cathy said. A second later her lips were locked on Brice’s, and there was no way they were separating the two.

“It’s been a long time,” Drew said.

“Yeah, seven years.”

“You didn’t come back to the ranch.” He watched as she scooped up the chili, her hand shaking a little bit.

“I did come to, er, say goodbye to you.”

“You did?” he asked.

Was it possible for this woman to blush any deeper?

“You were … busy.”

“Yeah, you did enjoy watching, didn’t you?”

She glanced up, and he got a chance to look into those deep brown eyes. They really were perfect as far as he was concerned.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said.

“Don’t lie, Raven.”

“Yeah, well, from what I heard not much has changed.”

“How long have you been here?”

“A week. I started working for Cathy a few days ago.”

“How come you’re only just popping by the ranch?” he asked. Drew was used to the gossip about him. Usually it was the bitches who rode his cock that had the hardest things to say. He didn’t like the thought of Raven hearing shit like that, though.

Now that she had finally come back, those women weren’t even going to get a look in. Not now, not ever.

“I was handling the shop. I’ve been getting into the swing of things. Cathy was advertising for someone to take over this job so I’ll take over. I like working for her.”

“Good.”

He was about to say something else when Brice cut him short. “We’ve got to head back out if we want to finish this crap today.”

Drew didn’t want to leave.

“Here are your leftovers.”

“You never asked if I was settled down?” he asked.

“From what I heard you still jump from bed to bed. Besides, asking would mean I was interested. I’m not interested.”

Oh, he’d see about that.

“I’ll be seeing you soon, Raven.”

“Bye, Drew.”

He took the chili from her hand and made his way over to the truck. This was not over, not by a long shot, and there was no way he was ever going to let her get away.

“So, Cathy is meeting me at Bobby’s tonight. You want to come?” Brice fired up his truck, and Drew watched Raven until he couldn’t see her anymore.

“Get her to invite Raven.”

“You’re really serious about this shit? You want her that badly?”

“I have some unresolved issues when it comes to Raven.”

“Dude, the women around town already talk shit about you.”

“So?”

“So, Raven, she’s not your usual sort.”

“Do I look like I’m just going to fuck Raven and send her on her way?”

“You’re not?”

“Nope. She’s different from those other women because she is mine. Those other bitches were just a pussy to use. She’s back now, and I’m not going to stand by while another man takes what belongs to me. It’s not going to happen.” She’d gone away, and he didn’t realize how much he was missing until she returned, but he wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

“Those other women are going to tear her apart,” Brice said.

“Let them. They won’t like what will happen when they hurt what’s mine.”

“Fuck, are you even listening to yourself? She’s been here five minutes.”

“I’ve known her a lot longer than that. This has been a long time in coming. Now she’s back. It hasn’t just been five minutes. It has been a hell of a lot longer.”

“You’re going to scare the shit out of her,” Brice said.

“Ask Cathy.”

They parked up by one of the outer fences that needed mending. Climbing from the truck, he left the chili inside the cool box where they kept their drinks. Brice was on his cell phone, talking.

To many of the women in town they had treated him like nothing more than a dumb cock to be used. The few times he’d spoken to Raven, she’d never tried to make him feel small or dumb. She simply talked.

There wasn’t a chance in hell that he was going to let her get away.

She belonged to him, and now it was up to him to show it.

****

“I cannot believe I let you talk me into this.” Raven pinched the dress out from her waist, and pushed it down a little more. The pink summer dress with the thin straps came to her knees and covered up a great deal, but it also highlighted how big her hips and breasts were. She liked to cover up.

One of the guys she used to work for once told her that if only she stopped covering up, she’d see how beautiful she was.

Yeah right.

She was more than happy to cover up the fact she loved food.

Cathy grabbed her hands. “Okay, stop. This is just about having some fun.”

“We’re at Bobby’s on a Friday night. How did you talk me into this? I should be at home—”

“Bored out of your mind reading one of those old-fashioned books about a knight saving his damsel?”

“Hey, they’re good books.”

“If you expect to find your knight, you have to put yourself out there.”

“What exactly is going on between you and Brice? Are you a couple?”

“We’re friends who screw around, have some fun. We see other people as well. It’s not serious, and neither of us is looking for serious. It works for us.”

“Okay.”

During her travels she’d met people in open relationships, couples that were free to find intimacy elsewhere, providing they didn’t hide it.

For Raven, that was never something she wanted out of her life.

Entering the bar, Raven saw it was already full, and Cathy took her hand, heading straight for the bar.

She recognized Bobby, and he came wandering over.

“Well, well, well, little Raven Howard finally graces my bar with her presence,” Bobby said.

“I haven’t been back long. Besides, before I left you’d have kicked my ass out,” she said.

“Damn right. I don’t have underage drinkers here. It gets rowdy enough with my old eyes. I’ve seen some deranged shit in my time.”

She couldn’t help laughing.

“We’ll take two beers,” Cathy said.

“You meeting Brice here?” Bobby asked.

“Yep.”

“Are you two ever going to be a couple?”

“Probably not. We’re more of friends all the way,” Cathy said.

“She’s going to corrupt you.” Bobby pointed at Raven, giving her a warning.

She chuckled. “I’m sure I can handle it.”

She’d never been corrupted, not in her life. It would be nice to actually know what corrupted felt like. She was so lame.

Taking the bottle, she went to pay, but Bobby held his hand up. “It’s a pleasure to see your face around her, Raven. Tonight, drinks for you are on the house, and Cathy here.”

“Aw, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. My wife went to the bakery the other day, and got me a slice of that chocolate fudge cake you made. If I was younger, I’d marry you right now. Damn fine cake. Some man is going to be lucky whoever claims you.”

“He sure is.”

Raven tensed up as she became aware of the presence behind her. Drew spoke over her head, placing a hand on her hip.

“I forgot to mention, Drew’s coming with him,” Cathy said.

Before Raven could say anything, Cathy was gone along with Brice.

“Beer please, Bobby,” Drew said.

“Coming right up.”

A second later, a beer was handed to Drew, and his thick, muscular arm appeared right in front of her. The ink that she’d spotted earlier today was highlighted against his tanned skin. The tribal ink looked mightily fierce, and she found herself licking her lips.

When she couldn’t stay in the same position, she turned around, and noticed Drew’s hand never left her body. She moved, and his hand glided across her stomach and rested on her hip.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said.

“You’re here.”

“Yep.”

“Did you know I was going to be here?”

“Yep.”

She took a sip of her beer, not knowing what to do. Glancing around the bar, she noticed that some people were looking their way. Biting her lip, she stared down at the neck of her bottle.

“Do you want to make me uncomfortable?”

“Not at all. I wanted that chance to talk to you when neither of us has work waiting, and neither of us are at risk of being interrupted.”

“We’re in a bar, and quite frankly we’re getting a lot of attention.” When she went to step away, he stepped in front of her.

Her heart was racing, and much to her shame, her pussy was dripping wet. The dress she wore made her feel exposed.

His fingers started to stroke her hip, and damn it, his touch made her even more aroused.

“I don’t give a fuck about the attention. They can stare, providing they stay back, and don’t touch.”

“This is silly. Cathy invited me—”

“Who do you think asked for Cathy to invite you?” he asked.