by A. D. Ryan
“I am,” he growled against my throat, squeezing my chest to remind me.
“N—no,” I stammered. “Touch. Me.” The fog that filled my head didn’t allow for more clarification than that; I only hoped he’d get it.
“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath as he removed his hand from my breast, moving it down my body and slipping it up under my shirt. I gasped as he shoved my bra out of the way and palmed my bare breast. “Madi … we should …”
I moaned, grinding my hips into his. “If you say stop …”
I could feel he was about to protest, so I pressed my lips to his, sweeping my tongue over his bottom lip until he opened up and skimmed it with his own. Lost in the moment, all I could think of was how every inch of my body felt like a live wire, crackling and sparking and so dangerously close to exploding. The sounds of our climbing ecstasy was almost symphonic—four legs trembling, three hands exploring (because one was still holding my ass, remember), two tongues tangling and an orgasm building fast—it was like our own dirty, little Christmas carol.
“No, I think I saw her head outside to get some fresh air.” Willow’s voice rang out behind the door to the locker room. Jensen and I stopped moving against each other, our mouths parting and chests heaving as we listened.
“I was just outside, Willow, and I didn’t see her anywhere.” Dad.
“Fuck,” Jensen and I said simultaneously, still trying to catch our breath.
“You have a lot of land. I swear, I just saw her.”
Jensen removed his hand from my chest and helped me to the ground as I repositioned my bra and shirt. Even though I was terrified that my father was just behind the door beside us, the smile that was on my face was so wide it was painful. Once my shirt was in place, I looked up at Jensen as he adjusted himself and felt bad for getting him so worked up. As a woman, I knew what it was like to be left sexually frustrated. It sucked, but it was manageable, and we could hide it easy enough. I couldn’t imagine what he had to go through.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Raising his eyes to mine, I was left breathless when I took in the flushed skin of his cheeks and his red, swollen lips. I wanted to kiss them again. Dad’s voice put the kibosh on that desire, though.
“Willow, you’re in my way.”
Jensen looked at me, panic in his eyes. “You stay,” he told me, giving me a quick peck on the lips before bolting for the arena. “I’ll meet up with you in a few.”
I nodded, my mind still kind of hazy, and I watched Jensen run swiftly through the arena before escaping out the far door. While I realized it wasn’t the time, I was curious as to how he ran in his current condition. I shook the thought from my mind, instantly propelled back into what was going on in the locker room. Running my fingers through my hair, I reached for the doorknob.
“Oh!” I cried, feigning shock—yeah, I should have gotten an Oscar for that little performance. “What are you guys doing out here?”
Dad dropped his eyes to Willow. “Outside, huh?” he said, cocking an eyebrow at her; he was really pulling out all the dad-looks lately.
Willow shrugged before smiling over her shoulder at me skipping out of the locker room. Eavesdropping little troll. Regardless, I’d have to thank her for offering a distraction. With my heart thundering, I looked up at my dad and smiled. He didn’t return it.
“Where were you?” he asked.
“Um, the gallery?” I said, pointing with my thumb over my shoulder to the still-open door.
“Doing?”
Jensen. “Watching Jillian’s lesson—well, I was going to, but it was over by the time I got there. I was going to try and talk to her about seeing if I could help out by taking on some of her lessons for her.” I hoped that by bringing up my desire to teach, he’d forget about his interrogation, therefore keeping me from having to lie—poorly.
“Oh.” Yup, I marked a point down on my mental chalkboard for me. “I think I just saw her head out for the day. She might still be here if you wanted to catch up with her. Come find me when you’re done, though?”
Damn. I then erased that point I’d just chalked up for myself. “Of course,” I told him, forcing a smile as I tried to keep my guilt for sneaking around under wraps. At least I still had a bit before I had to face him—as long as I could find Jillian.
I had just exited the barn from the door near the locker room and headed out to see Jillian about to climb into her car. “Hey, Jill! You got a minute?”
She smiled. “Of course. What’s up?”
My talk with Jillian lasted all of five minutes. While it was great that she was willing to share her workload with me, I was hoping to stall a little longer before I had to face my father. “Thanks, Jill. I appreciate it.” I told her when she said she’d talk to April and her parents for me.
“Of course. I should head home, though. Tyler will wonder where I am.”
My eyebrows rose curiously. “Tyler?”
“Yeah, a guy I’ve been seeing for a couple weeks. We were going to go to dinner and a movie tonight.” While I felt relieved at hearing that Jill was in a relationship, I also felt like a total asshole. I had completely overreacted to what I thought was going on between her and Jensen. Shocker.
“Okay, well you go. Have fun tonight, and I’ll see you sometime next week. I’ll call if I have any questions about Monday’s lessons,” I assured her before she closed her car door and backed out of her spot.
I remained outside, watching until the dust behind her car settled and she was no longer in sight. I was stalling; facing my father about what I assumed he knew was something I wasn’t looking forward to. I had just turned to head back inside when I heard something.
“Pssst.” I looked toward the side of the barn and laughed when Jensen’s head poked around the corner.
After looking around me, I headed in his direction, and as soon as I rounded the corner of the building, he crushed his lips to mine. “Mmmf, Jensen?” I mumbled against his mouth. It wasn’t that I didn’t want him to kiss me, but we had already almost gotten caught.
“Sorry,” he said, smirking crookedly. “What did he say?”
I shook my head, looking up at him. “I don’t know. I told him I needed to talk to Jillian before she left. He wants me to go find him.”
“He’s going to kill me.”
“I’m an adult, Jensen.” I paused, hoping I was able to harness my insane anxiety over my father finding out what was happening between us. At this point, I wasn’t sure what would be worse: him thinking I was in another romance with an employee, or finding out I was having a casual fling with the new ranch hand. “Look, I should go see what he wants. I’ll talk to you later?”
“Sure,” he agreed, nodding nervously. “It’d probably be best if we talked at home, though?”
“It’s like you read my mind,” I told him. He took one last look around before leaning in to kiss my forehead and taking off down the length of the building while I went in the opposite direction to find my father.
Even at twenty-five, I was terrified of disappointing him by repeating my mistakes.
Chapter 14. Close Call
“Okay, Dad,” I said as we walked out of his office in the barn together.
“You’re sure you two can handle things next weekend? If you’re still not … um, comfortable with him, just tell me and I’ll cancel my fishing trip.” Dad hadn’t wanted to talk to me about what he had to have suspected was going on between Jensen and me. No, he just wanted to remind me that next weekend he and Tom would be going fishing, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief upon hearing it.
“It’s just, with you still being injured, I don’t want to leave you short-handed. Jeff wanted to spend the weekend with his buddies, and Jillian actually has that weekend off to go to Vegas. She doesn’t have any lessons, so it would be just the two of you.”
I had to fight to keep the devious smirk off my face. An entire weekend alone with Jensen now that I’m feeling better? Oh, the possib
ilities.
“Madison?”
I shook my head, clearly having zoned out. “No, it’s fine. We’re getting along great. You should go. It’s been forever since you guys have fished. Have fun. I can handle him … it. I can handle it. The ranch! I can handle the ranch.” Holy shit, if I didn’t calm the hell down I was going to definitely reveal my secret, and then Dad would never go away for the weekend. Ever.
Dad didn’t say anything. He just cocked an eyebrow—making me nervous as hell—and mumbled an “Mmm hmm. I bet.” Maybe he wouldn’t be upset at finding out. I mean, he knew Jensen’s family. Not to mention he let Jensen move in right away, especially knowing his past. That could only mean he already knew Jensen was a good guy.
“Okay, well I should head back out. You sticking around the grounds?” Dad asked as I followed him back down the barn aisle, completely ignoring my spaz-attack.
“Um,” I said contemplatively. “I might go see how Willow and Hails are doing, but then I might go home and rest for a bit. I’m pretty wiped. Mostly from the painkillers, I think.”
“Sounds good. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Of course.” After Dad left the barn, I headed for the opposite exit to go watch Willow riding in the outdoor arena. It was always kind of funny to see Willow’s slight frame on my mare, but she handled her well. As Willow and Halley made their laps around the arena, I felt my jealousy growing. I would have given anything to be riding.
“Hey,” Jensen’s voice said from behind me. Excited at hearing his voice, I turned to him as he made his way over from the new barn, pieces of straw scattered in his dark hair and peppered all over his white T-shirt. Seeing him covered in straw gave me deliciously dirty thoughts of rolling in it with him as we made love—something that, after this afternoon, wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibilities. “I know I said we should wait until dinner to talk, but I don’t think I can wait that long. What did he say?”
“Oh, he was just reminding me about his fishing trip next weekend. It’s going to be just you and me here.” I felt myself blush, certain he could see with perfect clarity the dirty thoughts my brain had been cooking up for when we were alone.
“So, I don’t have to say my final good-byes to my family?” he joked.
“Mmm, not yet.” I laughed. “I still think he knows, but I don’t think he’s upset about it. If he is upset about anything, maybe it’s just that neither of us has come clean about—whatever this is,” I confessed, indicating between the two of us with my hand.
“Whatever this is?” he inquired, raising his eyebrows and taking a slow, predatory step toward me.
I shrugged, pretending that the look in his eyes didn’t set my entire body on fire with excitement. “Well yeah. We haven’t exactly labeled it yet, right? I mean, are we together? Scratching each others’ itches? Having fun? Completely casual?”
Jensen smirked as I continued to ramble on and on. “Is ‘all of the above’ one of my options? Can’t we have fun, casually scratching each others’ itches … together?”
“I’m being serious!” I told him, reaching out to playfully swat him. “I’m quite content to let things play out naturally without getting too serious. But eventually, Dad is going to question it, and we should be prepared with an answer. To hear that we’re casually dry humping in the viewing gallery isn’t an image he’s going to want of his little girl. I’m just sayin’.”
Jensen’s smiling mouth dropped open. “Did you just say dry hump?”
Not realizing I said it before it was already out there, I was embarrassed. However, I didn’t want Jensen to use that against me, so I nodded. “Does that offend you?”
“Not at all. It’s just hearing you say that—among other things you’ve said today—well, let’s just say you shouldn’t be surprised if we find ourselves in a very similar situation at some other point today.” His words caused my cheeks to fill with color, and he smiled lazily. “I love when you do that?”
“What?” I snorted. Sexy, right? “Get embarrassed?”
He shook his head and took another step toward me and shrugged. “Sure. I’ve seen it a couple other times, though. It’s not only when you’re embarrassed, you know,” he told me with a suggestive eyebrow waggle.
Now I was embarrassed. My entire face had to be flaming red as he alluded to the other times we were together that caused my skin to blush. Fan-freaking-tastic. Suddenly, another wave of fatigue washed over me, causing my knees to buckle and me to fall right into his arms.
“You okay?” he asked as he helped steady me.
Back on my feet for the moment, I ran my fingers through my hair. “Um, yeah. I’m just tired. I should go back to the house and lie down.”
“I think the heat might be getting to you. Come on, I’ll walk back with you.” Jensen started turning me toward the house when I stopped him, placing my hand on his chest. His warm, hard chest.
“No, it’s okay. You work. I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not going to let you walk alone, only to discover three hours from now that you’ve passed out on the way home from heat stroke,” he told me, moving us forward and forcing my feet to move or be dragged behind us. As soon as we were out of sight of the barn, Jensen swept me up into his arms and carried me the rest of the way. I didn’t protest—I could have, I just didn’t. I enjoyed being in his arms.
Leaning my face into his neck, I inhaled deeply, taking in his intoxicating blend of aromas and deciding that, at some point, I was definitely going to go and roll in his bed with my (his) shirt on. Creepy or not, I was like a junkie looking to score her next hit.
Jensen shifted my weight slightly in his arms to free his right hand and open the front door so he could carry me through.
My limbs became heavy and my eyelids started to droop as Jensen kicked the door shut behind him. “Do you want me to put you on the couch or in your bed?” he whispered into the top of my head.
The feeling returned to my arms as my mind breeched consciousness for a split second. “Mmm,” I mumbled, pressing my head closer into him and inhaling once more. “Can I …” I yawned. “Can I sleep in your bed?”
“Sure,” he said softly as he turned down the hall and took me to his room, being sure to tuck his comforter tightly around me. “Do you need your heating pad? How are your ribs?”
“Mmm. Yes please. They’re sore,” I told him, my eyes opening slightly as my exhaustion forced my words to slur together.
I was nearly asleep when Jensen returned and slid the heating pad beneath me before plugging it in and setting it to low. “There you go. Sleep. I’ll let Willow know where you are so she doesn’t worry.”
I snuggled deeper into the comforter, breathing Jensen in all around me, and sighed in contentment. As I took one last deep breath, I felt all consciousness slip away until everything was dark and peaceful. Smells so good … From somewhere far away, I heard a faint chuckle before warmth caressed my forehead.
“You’re kind of crazy, but I love it.”
“Ha! Yeah, that sounds about right!” I heard Jensen exclaim as my eyes fluttered open. It took me a moment to recognize my surroundings. With no one privy to my awakening, I smiled and pulled Jensen’s blanket up around my head, holding it around me for just a little bit longer.
“Oh, you’d have laughed your ass off, Jensen!” Willow told him, grabbing my attention by the balls and forcing me to leave the warmth of Jensen’s bed. Whenever Willow spoke to anyone and the words “you’d have laughed your ass off” were involved, you could almost guarantee she was spinning tall tales—or telling frightening truths—about me.
I flew down the hall, ignoring the blistering pain in my side and screeching to a halt when I reached the kitchen to see Willow perched on the island as Jensen stood at the stove stirring something in a saucepan.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Willow chimed, turning her face to mine.
“What are you guys talking about?” I asked in a panic, trying to catch my breath.
<
br /> Jensen and Willow exchanged a look, secretive smirks on both of their faces. “I was telling Jensen about our senior year in high school.”
No good could come out of any story regarding my senior year. My face scrunched, showing my displeasure with their choice of topic. Anything Willow had to say about me in high school would only cement what he was already suspecting about me: that I was a super-duper klutz. Yes, I had fallen off my horse, tripped several times, stubbed my toe and countless other things since he had arrived, but as far as he knew that wasn’t the norm for me. Well, he didn’t until Willow opened those pouty pink lips of hers. Whore. And I meant that with love.
“You can’t believe a word she says, Jensen. Women can’t be trusted. Trust me,” I joked, trying to avoid knowing what they were talking about while saving face.
Willow smirked, her perfectly shaped eyebrows arching sinisterly. “So, you’re telling me that during gym class …”
Oh shit. Not this story. Please tell me she didn’t tell Jensen. Please tell me she didn’t tell—
“… when we were learning the Macarena that you didn’t get all mixed up before bumping into Alan Tripp and take your entire row out like dominoes?”
Oh, she is so dead.
As soon as she finished talking, I felt my face heat and saw Jensen snickering over whatever he was stirring on the stove. Visions of me grabbing one of my brass pots off the rack that hung above the island and chasing Willow around the house ran rampant in my mind.
“Sleep with one eye open, shrimp.” I stepped over to Jensen, who was still trying to keep his laughter controlled, and poked him in the side. “It’s not that funny. I broke Alan’s nose.” He didn’t seem to find that quite as tragic as I did and broke out into hysterics while Willow fell to her side on the island and slapped her palm against the counter as she remembered.
“That’s right! How did I forget that part?” Willow exclaimed.
“Oh, come on, you guys!” I cried out, feeling my own laughter on the brink of escaping. “Please, stop!”