by Julie Piper
But, deep down, Paisley knows that’s not the only reason. Chris may be kind, funny, and supportive, but he’s also incredibly sexy. Tall and muscular, with dark blue eyes and a jaw that could cut ice, all it had taken was a couple of those killer lopsided smiles for young Paisley’s crush to blossom.
Though, back in the day, Paisley wasn’t the only one who thought Chris was to die for. After the divorce, Megan, would get drunk and drape herself across the faux-leather sofa, chain-smoking and sighing, moaning about how she’d “lost such a drool-worthy body.” Whenever she did this, Paisley would fight down the urge to remind her mother that it was her, Megan, who, six months into their marriage, had cheated on Chris with one of his employees. Paisley knew her mother would not see the connection between the latter and the former. To her, the divorce was, and would always be, all Chris’ fault.
Now that Paisley is older, wiser and, most importantly, far away from her mother, she isn’t sure that she’ll be able to control herself around the “drool-worthy” Chris.
Well, you’re just going to have to. The last thing Chris is going to want is some horny twenty-year-old panting after him while he’s trying to get work done.
Paisley rolls over onto her back, one hand running up under her tank top. The tips of her fingers trace a path up and down her ribs, leaving goosebumps in their wake. So maybe she can’t act on her crush, but that can’t keep her from doing a little daydreaming, right?
Her fingertips trace lower, sending shivers through her body. Her flat stomach tenses as her hand keeps going, slipping under her shorts, under the lace of her thong and down over her mound. Paisley sighs, closing her eyes as she strokes herself, imagining Chris’ strong hands in place of her small ones.
With her other hand, she strokes her neck, imagining Chris’ lips on her skin. She groans softly. “More,” she whispers to the imaginary man.
She reaches down, playing with her pert breasts, teasing her nipples. “Harder, Chris,” she moans quietly. She kneads her breasts as she slides a finger into herself. Rolling over, she rides her hand, imagining Chris’ body below hers, his long, hard cock (which she’s never seen but has heard a lot about) filling her, his fingers expertly playing with her clit, his hot mouth on her neck, sucking, biting, fucking her until –
“Oh god, Chris,” Paisley moans into her pillow as she gets herself off. Her body clenches around her fingers, spasming as pleasure rolls through her. She groans softly, panting into her pillow.
Slowly, she rolls over, freeing her hand. Looking up at her ceiling, she breathes deeply, waiting for her heart rate to slow.
“Shit,” she mutters as her post-orgasm glow finally begins to dim. She hasn’t masturbated to Chris in a long time. And is now really the best time to start? But she can’t force herself to feel guilty. Chris’ll never know. Besides, it’s just a little crush. Nothing’s ever going to happen. And I’m okay with that.
CHAPTER 2
Carter Tully squints into the sun as he hears the low rumble of Chris’ Landrover coming down the long dirt driveway. In the setting sun, the dust cloud billowing behind the car is backlit like a scene in an apocalyptic movie. Far behind that, the low spikes of distant mountains loom dark indigo blue above the lush green valley the ranch is nestled in.
Along with the growing rumble of the car, Carter can hear the laughter and noise of the ranch hands as they get ready to head back to town, and below that, the low mooing of sleepy cows, penned up in the barns for the night. Just a typical evening on C&C Ranch.
Well, almost. On a typical night, Chris wouldn’t be bringing home his stepdaughter – ex-stepdaughter at that – to come stay with them for three months. Carter knows all about Chris’ ex, Megan, and her daughter Paisley, and he’s not convinced that the apple has fallen as far from the tree as Chris seems to think it has. If the mother is such a bitch, why wouldn’t the daughter be as well? Chris might have been a good influence on Paisley for what little time he knew her, but Megan’s had her claws in the girl all her life.
But Chris wouldn’t listen to reason. He always did love that kid too much, Carter thinks as the Landrover goes over a hill and momentarily disappears from sight. And while, really, Carter doesn’t have anything against taking in Chris’ favorite stray for a few weeks, having her here all summer – not mention paying her – is a bit too much to him. What the hell kind of help is scrawny first-year vet student going to be on a working cattle ranch? This place isn’t for the faint of heart.
While Carter has no regrets about leaving his city job and becoming Chris’ partner, running a ranch is not as glamorous as people think it is. There’s a lot less galloping around lassoing wild horses and a lot more mucking cow-shit out of stalls.
Chris has been carrying around this image of a perfect girl in his mind for the past two years. I just hope that Paisley doesn’t turn out to be a diva like her mother and disappoint him.
But Chris had been over the moon when he announced Paisley’s impending arrival last night. So, while Carter tried to bring up his concerns diplomatically, he didn’t have the heart to burst Chris’ bubble. So he just smiled along and worried in silence.
His doubts whirling around in his head, Carter heaves the wooden mallet he’s been using to hammer in fence posts over his shoulder and heads for the house. Despite his concerns, he wants Chris to know he’s supporting him. And that means being there to greet Paisley when she arrives.
Carter gets to the house just as the truck pulls up. The passenger door opens and Carter nearly does a double take. Out of the high seat, one long, tanned leg stretches to reach the dusty ground. Even wearing work boots, the leg is lean and sexy. When the rest of Paisley follows, Carter has to swallow hard. Slender and graceful, Paisley is beautiful even in a rumpled t-shirt and shorts. Her head is thrown back in laughter at something Chris said, her thick, dark hair falling in a shining wave behind her shoulders. Her full lips are open in a brilliant smile. Her skin is naturally tanned and her long-lashed green eyes catch the sunlight and sparkle enticingly. She turns back to the car briefly, and grabs a backpack, heaving it off the seat.
Carter takes a deep breath. He’d been expecting a heavily-made up little princess, not the natural beauty of the young woman in front of him.
Aw shit.
“Hi!” Paisley turns her entrancing smile on Carter and sticks out a hand. “You must be Carter. It’s so good to finally meet you.”
Quickly overcoming his momentary shell-shock, Carter takes Paisley’s hand in his and shakes it warmly. Her skin is smooth and soft against his work-roughened hands. As they shake hands, he catches her giving him a quick but appreciative once-over. He smirks. City girls always do love a cowboy.
“Thank you so much for letting me stay here with you guys,” Paisley continues brightly. “You have no idea how much I appreciate it. You won’t regret it, I promise!”
Carter blinks. It’s almost like she can read his thoughts. “The pleasure is all mine,” he smiles. Which, now that he’s looking at her, is very true. “How could I not want to meet someone Chris thinks so highly of?”
Paisley blushes adorably and ducks her head. “Chris has always been my champion,” she murmurs.
Carter could believe it. Who wouldn’t want to champion this beauty?
Chris laughs from the other side of the car and Carter suddenly remembers to let go of Paisley’s hand. “I see I don’t need to introduce you two,” he grins. “This is going to be a great summer. My two favorite people here in this beautiful place with me for the whole summer.”
Paisley shades her eyes with her hand, looking past Carter to the mountains and endless blue sky. “It really is incredible out here, Chris,” she says. “I’ve never seen so much sky. I can’t blame you for not wanting to come back to California.” She shifts her weight, moving her backpack from one shoulder to the other.
“Here, let me take your bag for you,” Carter offers.
Paisley laughs. “What? When
you’ve already got that giant hammer to lug around? Don’t be ridiculous. I can carry my own bag.”
Carter smiles down at her. He can’t help it. He has a crush. She’s certainly nothing like what he expected.
“Come on,” Chris says, coming around to their side of the truck. “I’m starving! Let’s get the grill going! I need a steak.”
“Oh my god, yes, please!” Paisley grins. “I haven’t had steak in so long.”
“No room for prime cuts in the student budget, huh?” Carter teases.
“You got that right,” Paisley replies, pretending to mope. “I’m practically a vegetarian these days! It’s awful.”
“Well, we’re going to have to make up for a lost time then,” says Chris, grinning and slinging an arm over Paisley’s shoulders.
“I can’t wait,” she replies, leaning against her stepfather’s broad chest.
Carter walks next to the pair, watching Paisley out of the corner of his eye. If she were any other girl, he’d have jumped at the chance to get it on with her. But as it stands, she’s Chris’ daughter – more or less. Stepdaughter or not, you can’t go after your best friend’s kid. So, as sexy as she is, Paisley would be off limits this summer.
Carter sighs. What a waste.
***
The next morning, Carter is up with the sun. Standing in the big bay windows of the dining room, he sips black coffee and looks out at the dew-covered pastures that stretch out all the way to the mountains. He rubs his stomach absent-mindedly and smiles to himself.
Last night turned out to be a lot of fun. Chris was right. Paisley isn’t anything like her mother.
A floorboard creaks behind him and Carter turns, surprised. Chris doesn’t usually get up for another hour.
“Sorry,” Paisley half-whispers. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just…I wanted to know if you want more coffee?” she asks, holding up the pot. In her other hand, she’s carrying her own large, steaming mug.
“Please,” Carter smiles, holding out his half-empty cup.
Paisley fills it and joins him at the windows. “God, the view here is just breath-taking,” she sighs, sipping her coffee. Carter glances down out of the corner of his eye and sees that she takes her black too. By happy accident, he also gets a glimpse of the smooth golden curve of her breasts nestled in the low V of her button-down flannel shirt.
“It is,” he murmurs in agreement, though whether he means what he’s looking at or what she’s looking at, he isn’t sure. Suddenly remembering who he’s talking to, he clears his throat and whips his eyes back up to the mountains. “Is that why you are up so early? To see the sunrise?”
Paisley giggles. “No. I mean, happy bonus, but I’m here to work.”
“Did Chris tell you that you had to be up and out with me?”
“No, but I heard you talking yesterday and decided I would. I want to make this worth your while! I mean…” she hesitates, “As long as I won’t be in your way this early.”
Carter raises an eyebrow. “Well, now, I dunno. How good are you with mallets?”
Paisley catches his eye and gives him a shy but flirty half smile. “I dunno,” she replies, her smile growing. “But I’ve got a lot of pent up anger to get out if that helps.”
Carter chuckles. “That’ll about do it,” he replies. But in his head, he’s cringing. He promised himself he wouldn’t make a move on Paisley, but it’s going be a lot harder to keep that promise if she keeps looking up at him through her long eyelashes like that.
They finish their coffee and Carter takes Paisley on a quick tour of the main buildings before they load up one of the pick-up trucks and head out to mend fences.
“I did a bunch yesterday,” Carter explains as they drive down a bumpy dirt road to the far side of the ranch. “But I’ve been putting these ones off. They’re way out of the way and, well, I’m lazy.”
“Oh yeah,” Paisley nods. “Says the guy who gets up with the sun to fix fences. Sure. Real lazy.”
Carter chuckles at her sarcasm. “Okay, okay. You make a fair point. But if I didn’t do them, they’d never get done.”
“Don’t you have ranch hands?”
“Yeah, sure. But if you’re not watching them, they don’t do jack shit. If I sent them out to fix these fences, they’d do a half-ass job and we’d lose have the herd next time we put them out to pasture in the far field!”
“Damn,” says Paisley. “So, no pressure for me or anything.”
Carter laughs again. “Don’t worry. I’ll show you how to do it right.”
“And check all my posts once I’m done?” Paisley asks knowingly.
“Yeah, probably,” Carter admits with a half-smile. “The guys always get so huffy when I check their work.”
Paisley shrugs. “I’m a student,” she says. “I’m used to it. Besides, I’d rather have someone find my mistakes before they cause bigger problems.”
Carter watches her from across the pickup’s cab. Yeah, he thinks, Chris really was right about her.
But Paisley’s work, it turns out, won’t be needing checking. She doesn’t hold back as she swings the wooden mallet, driving her first fence post deep into the hard grassland.
“You weren’t kidding about all that pent-up rage,” Carter comments.
Paisley uses the end of her shirt to wipe sweat from her forehead, giving Carter a glimpse of her smooth, toned stomach. The sun has just inched its way over the mountains and the valley is warming up, but Carter knows the sun has nothing to do with the heat he’s feeling.
“Well, I don’t know how much Chris told you about my family life, but yeah. I’ve got some issues to work out,” Paisley says, seemingly unaware of Carter’s eyes on her skin.
Ripping his gaze away, Carter nods. “Yeah, he told me about your mom.”
Paisley swings the mallet again. “About what she did to him or about what she did to me?”
“Both.” Carter shoves his hands into his jeans’ back pockets. “I have to say, it sounds like a shitty situation to grow up in.”
Paisley shrugs. “It was. But it’s getting better.” She beams up at him, leaning the mallet on the ground and nudging him with her shoulder. “This summer’s already one of my best yet,” she says with a wide smile.
Carter clears his throat. “One of?” he teases. “What’s going to make it the best?”
Paisley’s eyes flick over his body so quickly that he almost believes he imagined it. “Oh,” she laughs gaily, moving away from him. “More hands-on learning,” she grins, heaving the mallet one last time to make sure the post is in as deep as it needs to be.
Carter feels his cock twitch in his Levis. Damn, girl, he thinks. How much I would love to get my hands on you.
He can’t help himself. “Well,” he says. “Let’s start now, then. See if we can clean up your swing a bit. It’s kinda wild.”
“Is it?” she asks, her big green eyes growing wider.
“Yeah.” Carter steps up behind her and wraps his arms around her slight frame, cradling her against his chest as he grabs her hands and grips the mallet with her. He can feel the length of her pressed up against him, the perfect curve of her ass pressing against the already tight crotch of his jeans. He swears he felt her lean into him, pressing closer.
“Now what?” Paisley asks innocently.
“Now we swing,” he murmurs into her ear. He sees her bite her lip. Then, his arms still around her, he guides her swing up over their heads and then down in one smooth curve. “Feel the difference?” he asks.
“Definitely,” she replies, shifting her weight so that her ass is even more firmly pressed against his growing erection. “I see what you mean.”
Carter swallows. This is going to be a difficult summer.
CHAPTER 3
One morning, Chris discovers something that shocks him.
“What do you mean you can’t ride a horse?” he says, gaping at Paisley. “You’ve been here a week!
Why didn’t you say something?”
Paisley shrugs, toying with the hem of her t-shirt. “Well, I didn’t want to make you guys feel like you had to teach me. I know that takes a lot of time. And besides, I figured since most of the work was done in trucks now…” She looks up at Chris, feeling a little silly.
The truth is, Paisley is worried about how stupid she’ll look while learning to ride. After all the work she’s done on the ranch over the past week, she doesn’t want Chris and Carter to think she’s an idiot because she can’t stay on a horse.
“No way. We still use horses all the time. Come on,” Chris grins. “You’ve gotta learn. You’ll love it, Paise. I promise.”
I certainly love that smile, Paisley thinks as she grins back at Chris. His happiness is infectious. “Okay,” she says, trying to sound as certain as he felt. Here goes nothing…
Chris takes her by the arm and leads her down the barn toward the end of the stables. “I’ve got just the horse for you,” he tells her. “She’s a sweet mare. Never thrown anyone. Really lovely.”
“Do the other ones throw people?” Paisley asks hesitantly.
Chris hears her uncertainty and laughs. “Not often. Just some of the younger males before Carter gets them nice and trained. He’s got a magic touch with horses, I swear.”
Paisley can believe that. She remembers the feel of his hand running down her arms as he taught her to swing the mallet. If she were a horse, she’d be putty in his hands. Well, you’re already putty in his hands, she tells herself.
“Here we are,” Chris smiles, leaning over the door of the stall. Out of the corner of her eye, Paisley admires the lines of his muscular arms pushing against his tight t-shirt. “Paisley meet Mabel.”