The Reluctant Virgin [Ride 'em Hard 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (3 page)

Cindy shrugged. “It was a long time ago. I’m sorry for your loss.” She took a breath, effectively shutting down her budding emotions. “You’ll have to show me which fields need the most water. I’ll need to see your well and any rivers or streams cutting across your land.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He pointed to the barn. This woman was all business. If he wanted to make an impression, he’d have to work extra hard. “Adam, saddle up the chestnut mare for Ms. Taylor, will you?” Then he turned to her. “You can ride, no?” he asked with a challenge in his tone. Two could play her game. He’d never met a perfect human being yet, and he doubted Cindy Taylor was the first.

“I can outride any cowboy. Just worry about keeping up.”

He couldn’t help but smile. This spitfire was his type of woman. He’d love to bring her down a peg or two, hear her beg for his cock. She may be in charge in her cowgirl boots, but once the clothes came off, Josh liked to be in control. He’d have a slight thing like her submitting the first night alone with him. In fact, with each passing minute it became his obsession.

“Get any kinky ideas out of your head, brother,” said Adam as they watched her wander to the rear of the house. “She’s off-limits.”

“Who says?”

“You heard her. The next company is booked solid. We need her, so keep your dick in your pants.”

He gave Adam a playful shove. “Just get the damned horses.”

Cindy Taylor.
Why did the name sound so familiar? She knew his father—what was he missing? It would come to him eventually.

He joined the blonde in the clearing out back. The land was breathtaking, reaching all the way to the horizon—acre after acre of golden wheat, the wind passing along it like an ocean wave. He loved this land. It was more than earth and seed. It was his family’s legacy. With their mother and father passed on, it was up to them, up to him, to keep the memories alive.

“It’ll be a big project if you decide to go through with it.”

“I don’t have much choice,” he said. “This is the third consecutive season with record high temperatures. I know too many ranchers that lost their farms due to the drought last year. I never want that man to be me.”

She nodded thoughtfully, looking out into the great beyond. “That’s what I’m here for.”

Adam came with his stallion and the mare, both saddled and bridled. “You sure you’re okay to ride?” Josh asked.

“This isn’t my first rodeo.” She grabbed the reins, but rather than hoist herself up into the saddle, she walked around to the opposite side of the horse first. Then she lifted her foot into the stirrup and mounted the mare.

Josh placed one boot into a stirrup then signaled for his horse to move before settling in his saddle. He wanted Cindy to see just how capable he was as a rider. She’d be so impressed with him by the end of the visit she’d be begging him to fuck her. At least that was his plan.

“Bring me to the river first. I need to see the source water,” she said. Josh’s stallion was restless, likely sensing his array of emotions around the new girl. If the horse didn’t smarten up soon, it would make a fool of Josh.

The land they had to travel was vast. He brought the horses up to a full gallop, curious to see if Cindy could keep up. She could. When he’d glance back on occasion, he noticed her hair band had slipped out. Her long waves of blonde hair floated freely behind her. She was fucking gorgeous, and all he could concentrate on was bedding her. He supposed that was what he got for denying himself so long. The past couple years offered little free time since he had the full responsibility of the ranch left in his lap.

They finally slowed down before nearing the river. The horses snorted and stomped, following the direction of the water. “So, are you married? Did your husband have dealings with my father?”

“No, I’m not married.”
Excellent.

“Did you sell the Richmond brothers their system?”

“No.”

Why on earth did he feel he’d met her before, then? And if she wasn’t married, why so icy?

She slipped down from the horse and led it to the water’s edge. “How far does it reach?”

“It curves before hitting our northernmost fields. Is that going to be a problem?”

“We’ll just need more pipe.” She wouldn’t look him in the eyes, too entranced with whatever calculations she was mentally tallying. “It’s the slope that will be the biggest issue.”

“But it can be done?”

Now she looked at him. Cindy stared at him as if he’d grown a second head. “Of course it can be done. Anything can be accomplished if a person sets their mind to it.”

“Wise words to live by,” he said as he sat on the grassy bank. “Join me for a few minutes.”

She shook her head. “I’ve seen what I needed to see. Twilight will be here before we know it, and I have a long trip home.”

“Then stay,” he said. Their ranch had five bedrooms, only two being used by him and Adam. There was no sense of the girl driving for hours in the pitch black. He imagined she’d need to do more concrete calculations anyway.

“Stay?”

“We have plenty of room. Promise we’ll be perfect gentlemen.” He may want her, but he’d never force himself on a woman. He may not have listened to a lot of what his daddy said, but he did teach him how to respect the fairer sex.

She scoffed. “I don’t make a habit of spending the night at client’s homes. Thank you for the offer though.”

Josh leaned back on his elbows, savoring the last rays of sunshine. He took a deep, cleansing breath. The blonde visitor was nice to look at but obviously not interested in him. His father had wanted him to find a wife the last few years of his life, as if he knew he wasn’t going to be around much longer. It made sense—without a woman there would be no future generations, no love, and no house to call a home. He’d be a workhorse and nothing more.

But he was terrified of love. It was a fickle bitch that came and went as it pleased. His father had remained loyal to their mother even after death, often crying out in the fields when he thought his sons had gone into town. Cancer had taken his wife, Josh’s mother, but more than that. It stole his father’s zest for life, the spark in his step. So the idea of giving himself to a woman—body, mind, and soul—was a terrifying prospect. What if she died? What if he somehow lost her and couldn’t pull himself together again like his father?

“I didn’t ask you to make it a habit, Ms. Taylor. It’s just awful late, and I’m sure you need to do more than view my stream to fully prepare my price quote.”

“I can come back in the morning. Driving doesn’t bother me.”

He watched her pace the area like a nervous doe. Her looks and actions didn’t match. On the outside, she was a stunning specimen of a woman. But she acted like a schoolgirl uncomfortable around men, completely innocent. It was an alluring combination.

“You’re obviously not from around these parts, Ms. Taylor. You wouldn’t want to be out after dark on these back roads.” He may have sounded a bit more foreboding than necessary, but he wanted her to stay. There was a mysterious air to Cindy that he wanted to unravel. He patted the ground beside him again.

This time she obliged him. She lowered down awkwardly, as if she’d sprained something recently.

“You all right?” he asked.

She jerked her head toward him, a scowl marring her pretty features. “Of course I’m all right,” she snapped. He raised his hands in surrender and kept his mouth shut. Once she was settled in beside him on the bank, he kept looking straight ahead. This was Josh’s favorite time of day—everything quiet and peaceful, even the birds paying homage to the streaks of color beginning to paint the horizon. He’d often come out here alone, just to think. Since his father died, he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and there were days he was tempted to give up.

“The forest breaks up our view back home…not like here.” Her tone had changed, her hackles apparently put on standby.

“It’s something else. One of God’s great miracles. Have you ever seen a prairie fire?” He referred to the rare red sunsets when the sky would blaze in a spectacular display.

“When I was younger.”

So she was a farm girl. The only Taylors he’d known had up and moved out of town about seven years ago when a drought drove them off their land. Their property still sat abandoned after being repossessed by the bank.

As the sky darkened and the array of colors deepened—red, orange, pink—he shifted to his side. The tinted light gave Cindy’s hair a luminescent quality. She looked like an angel with her blonde hair hugging her like a shawl. “You can stay in one of the spare rooms. Adam already has stew slow-cooking on the stove.” It was final. He wouldn’t let her start the long drive home now. His daddy taught him better manners. He just hoped he could remain a gentleman.

Cindy felt torn. She was thrilled that Josh and his brother didn’t recognize her. Seven years had passed since she’d left town for the last time, and she hadn’t known the Granger family too well. Josh’s father had been a good man, offering her parents assistance when they lost everything. Hearing he had passed away clenched her heart in a tight grip, the icy tendrils of loss reaching deep. It reminded her how delicate life was, and how lost she’d be once her own parents weren’t around anymore.

Seeing Josh Granger again had affected her stronger than she’d expected. She’d had a crush on him like just about every other girl in town. Now he was a man. His face had a more appealing, mature quality. His muscles were developed and thick. Josh didn’t even slip on a T-shirt when she’d pulled up, and he was a distraction. She tried to avert her eyes, but it was difficult when his skin was bronzed and toned to perfection. He had a large tattoo over his left pec, but she dare not stare long enough to study it.

“You’re not one of those vegetarians, are you?”

“No. Why?”

“You don’t seem too excited about Adam’s stew.”

She chuckled, feeling surprisingly at ease next to Josh. The odd cricket chirped, and soon the night would be transformed by the loud drone of the insects. They were her lullaby at night. She’d leave her window open an inch and allow nature’s music to carry her off to sleep. Even though she’d been forced to leave her home town to start fresh, she could never live in a city. Cindy was a country girl at heart and always would be.

“I was just thinking about things.”

“This place seems to do that to people. I like to escape here when life gets too overwhelming.”

Part of her was tempted to tell Josh who she really was. They were both adults now, so it shouldn’t matter. But, then again, she was enjoying meeting him as a new woman, no old baggage to make her feel insecure.

“I’m sorry about your dad. It must have been hard on the two of you.”

“It was. It’s only been recently that I started thinking to the future again. Since he died, I was just kind of existing…you know?”

“Sure. I can’t even imagine what you must have gone through.” Cindy’s parents had supported and defended her all her years growing up. It wasn’t their fault kids were so cruel, not thinking about anything but the suffering they could inflict on others. When her parents went bankrupt, part of her rejoiced when they were forced to move south and settle on a much smaller property. That happiness fueled a whirlwind of guilt since she’d essentially thrived off her parents’ suffering. She’d been making it up to them every since.

“Life goes on, or so they say.” He rose to his feet, his leather boots creaking when he stood up straight. Josh reached out a hand to help her up, and she took it. His grip was warm, strong, and calloused. A man’s hand. She could appreciate a cowboy not afraid of hard work and sacrifice. He reminded her of Chance back home, and she suddenly missed the dirty-blond farmhand. She’d promised him a dinner date tomorrow, but here she was lusting after Josh Granger. “Come on, darlin’. We best get inside before the sun sets. You won’t see your hand in front of your face if we don’t turn back now.”

She knew that fact well. Cindy had wandered off too many times to count when she was a kid, needing to get rescued by her father when she couldn’t see her way back. With few friends, she had a vivid imagination. Now that she was an adult, that imagination had taken a turn to the naughty side. All she could think about was being dominated by the cowboy, allowing him to rid her of her virginity.

“Good thing I’m not afraid of the dark,” she said. It was important for Cindy to be strong, fearless. She’d followed the victim route and wanted no part of it again.

He chuckled, shadows highlighting the muscled planes of his chest as they walked back to the ranch on horseback. The gentle plodding soothed her, the snorting of the mare occasionally breaking the evening hush. “What
are
you afraid of, Ms. Taylor?”

“A woman never tells. It’s not smart to leave your weaknesses on your sleeve.”

“Who taught you that? Your momma?”

“Something I learned myself.” Cindy had cried herself to sleep too many times to count. She’d blamed God, her parents, and every doctor from here to Ontario. But life was what it was. All she could do was harden herself, leave the past buried, and keep going forward.

By the time they arrived at the rear barn, the sun had set, the spotlights providing much needed illumination. Josh stopped his horse and dismounted, gathering the reins as he led the animal ahead.