by Amelia Jade
That was more like it.
Cheryl looked around, but they were alone. “Last night was fun, I told you that. But I shouldn’t have dropped my guard like that. I have enough to worry about with the job. Forgetting to set an alarm and sleeping in because I’m too busy dreaming about you is not going to help,” she growled, before walking off.
Rowe almost missed his next step as her words hit home. She’d been dreaming about him? What kind of dream? Hopefully the good kind. He stepped into her wake, opening up his nose to the air, testing her scent. Yep, definitely the good kind.
Part of him felt bad for being such a distraction. The rest of him was giddy with excitement. His mate had been having sex dreams about him! Now if only he could get her to accept that this wasn’t a bad thing. That it was, in fact, a good thing.
“What is it that’s bothering you then?” he asked, decided that not acknowledging her comments was probably the best way to go right now. She didn’t want to think about it, and so he wouldn’t bring it up. Yet.
Cheryl stopped. They had been walking almost aimlessly across the property, and now they stood next to the building that served to house the laborers. Calling it a barracks seemed a bit military in nature, but it was close enough that it fit.
“Telling you about my personal life just made it all the more real to me, okay?” She bit her lip. “All my life I’ve dealt with the dual expectations from my family to be successful and also to raise a family of my own. Now I’m defying those both, while trying to succeed in a job dominated by men. I hate the double standard of it all,” she snarled, her anger showing through.
“I don’t blame you.” He scratched his head in thought, an unnatural action for him, since his hair was normally styled. Today though it wasn’t, the byproduct of sitting up all night trying to figure out his mate.
The answer to that problem as it turned out was far simpler than any of the scenarios he’d dreamt up, and unfortunately far trickier as well. He wasn’t sure how to take things to the next level without threatening her entire persona. She wasn’t ready for that in her life; she was focused on her career, and he wasn’t willing to take that away from her.
Cheryl spoke up again, startling him with her continued internal narrative. Maybe she did trust him a bit.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to do any of the things my family expects of me. I wanted to be successful. I want to find someone to share my life with. I want to have a family one day. All of those things I’ve wanted, regardless of the pressure that’s been put upon me. The thing is, I want them on my own time. Not anyone else’s. I want to feel successful, not just do what others believe to be successful.”
He was nodding along with her. “Cheryl, you should know that whatever you set yourself to in life, I have every belief that you will be successful at it. Your career. Your relationship or marriage. Being a mother. You are going to kick ass and take names at every stage of your life. That’s just the sort of person you are. I just wanted you to know that.”
She didn’t respond, too busy flushing red at his compliment. It occurred to him that, based on what she’d told him, Cheryl wasn’t used to much in the way of praise from those close to her. When she achieved something it was probably so expected of her that nobody sought to appreciate it the way it should be.
Rowe decided to set out to fix that. She needed to know how remarkable she was, so that in time perhaps she would begin to believe it herself. He was going to have to beat her over the head with compliments to get it through, but he figured that was a small thing to ask of him. His mate was worth it.
“Don’t worry about the vandalism,” he assured her. “I’ll figure it out. That’ll be my pet project. It’s outside of your purview anyway. You don’t own the place.”
“Thank you. I really wasn’t sure what to do about it.”
“Not a problem.” He casually put an arm around her without thinking, pulling her in tight.
Cheryl didn’t push him away, but after his brain clued in to what his body had done he made sure to cut it short. Not here, in the open.
There would come a time for them, and Rowe was going to be ready for it.
First though, he needed to stop some assholes from marking up his friend’s property.
Chapter Twelve
Cheryl
Rowe would be pissed if he caught her.
Maybe not pissed, but certainly irritated that I’m still worrying about it.
She picked her way behind the silo to where the graffiti had been tagged the day before. She wanted to take a picture of it, just in case they needed evidence against someone. It bothered her that she hadn’t thought to do that right away, but her mind had been muddled, turned into mush with Rowe’s presence like it always did.
Reaching her destination, her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “What the?”
The graffiti was gone.
Cheryl walked closer, positive that this was where it had been. She could even see the tracks on the ground from the crowd that had gathered, stomping it flat and leaving plenty of boot marks. Closer to the silo though, she noticed that the prints were mostly washed away. The ground was wet. Someone had cleaned it off.
Rowe. It was the only logical answer, unless he’d told one of the laborers to do it, but she doubted it. He was the type to do a project himself, not hand it off to someone else. He’d really taken it to heart when he’d told her he would get rid of the problem.
Nodding happily to herself, she stepped back around the silo into the sunlight that it had been blocking. Although the day looked warm and inviting, it was growing closer to December, and the days were cold no matter how much sun shined. It was only a matter of “how cold” at this point. Still she wasn’t about to let it go to waste.
With one thing checked off her list, it was time to move on to the next. Sneaking across the open grounds, she headed for the barn that housed the ATV, hoping to make it there before Rowe noticed her.
She hadn’t seen him since the afternoon before, though last night she’d heard him moving around down on the main floor. The temptation to join him had been great, and that night she’d once again dreamt of him, and of what might have happened if she’d gone to visit him.
Cheryl was proud of herself though. Despite all that, she hadn’t caved. Her willpower was back, and she was holding on to it with a ferociously tight grip this time around. No more slips. It was all about professionalism with her, and that’s what she was going to exude, even if on the inside her body was trying to tell her otherwise.
The toughest part were the dreams. Though she was well rested and had woken up on time, none of that had prevented him from once again appearing to her. Like the first night he was completely naked, muscles gleaming in the magical light of dreamland. She’d spent much of her time looking at him, moving from the aroused expression on his face down to his shoulders and chest, admiring the broadness and definition of them.
From there her eyes trailed across his abdomen, paired sets of muscles moving downward until she got to that beautiful V-shape that dipped below the imaginary pantline, like an arrow that led right to his—
“Morning, Cheryl.”
“Hi, Rowe,” she mumbled, trying not to grumble as her brain scrambled to bring the image back for once last glimpse.
It was gone though, and probably wouldn’t be back until she fell asleep later that night, at which point her mind would taunt her with images of what those muscles were pointing toward.
Face it, girl, you’re horny and want to get laid.
Was there really much to face though? Cheryl knew that. She knew that she wanted Rowe, and that for some odd reason he wanted her. Leave it to him to be a chubby chaser. Although unexpected, it was kind of nice to know that she could bring down a stud like him if she chose.
Even as her mind thought it, her body prepared for it. Blood flowed swifter, swelling her breasts until the tips became hard. Eventually it settled between her legs. Cheryl fought back her desires, trying to calm the
growing heat that threatened to envelop her entire body.
How the hell did Rowe have such an effect on her? It was maddening that he could show up as if by magic, and turn her on with little more than a customary greeting. That just wasn’t fair! She shouldn’t be so weak. Cheryl was strong; she had a mind of her own.
A mind that wanted Rowe.
Not for the first time she found herself regretting stopping things two nights prior. If she stayed it was clear what would have happened, and the more she thought about it, the more Cheryl wondered if maybe she was making a mistake.
All the signs seemed to point toward letting things progress with Rowe. Her brain was telling her this in her sleep. During waking moments her body was happy to provide reminders of what it wanted too. The only thing that was holding her back was her heart and some leftover discipline that she’d instilled in herself when she’d first arrived at the ranch.
And even while that flagged, her heart was starting to question what it thought it knew.
“Where are you headed today?” he asked casually.
The way his voice was pitched told her he already had a solid idea. Which was probably exactly why he’d shown up in the damn first place! She just couldn’t get rid of him. And yet she was secretly excited that maybe he would come along with her.
The back and forth of thoughts and emotions was wreaking utter havoc in her mind, turning what should have been a safe zone into a minefield. A “mind” field was a better term. Her brain was full of explosive mistakes. One wrong word, gesture, or action could alter things forever.
Cheryl wasn’t sure she’d ever had to phrase her words so carefully as when she was around Rowe. It was exhausting.
Yet another thing telling me maybe I should give in.
A stubborn refusal to admit that she was wrong tightened its grip on her tongue, however, preventing her from giving him an opening right then and there. No, she wasn’t going to do that. Even if Cheryl gave in, she was going to do it after working hours, and out of the public eye.
Not where half her team could probably see her if they happened to be looking. That was just bad leadership in addition to being inappropriate in general.
“Well?” he prompted.
Shit, she’d been daydreaming.
“I’m going to take the ATV out and go see the progress the team is making on pruning the forest back,” she stated, not giving him the opportunity to give his opinion.
Luckily for her he didn’t care and gave it anyway.
“That sounds interesting. I’ll come with you.”
She rolled her eyes, though she didn’t mean it. Not entirely at least.
“I’ll be fine, Rowe. I don’t need you to be my bodyguard.”
“I’m not. I want to go see as well.”
Sure he did. “You should stay here and do…” She frowned, suddenly realizing that she’d never once questioned what he did for a living. “And do your job. Whatever that is.”
“I don’t work, except to help you.”
“For a rich kid you’ve got a hell of a work ethic,” she noted.
“My parents taught me a lot of that when I was younger. I never had to work for money, but I was expected to master a great many things in my life. Working hard isn’t new to me.”
“Right. Well, you should work hard and stay here.”
Rowe just grinned and blew by her, hopping on to the ATV. “Coming?” he asked, before firing up the engine.
“I really need to stop leaving the key in that,” she muttered.
“Still wouldn’t stop me,” he said.
Cheryl blinked. How the hell had he heard her? Super strong and excellent hearing too? Was he some kind of superhero?
“Yeah yeah. You secretly just want to feel me hold onto you all day,” she grumbled, hopping on and putting on the helmet.
“About as secretly as you enjoy my company and touching my muscles,” he fired back. “And also how I—”
“All right,” she said, cutting him off as he guided the ATV out of the barn and along the trail between fields that led toward the northern edge of the property. “Yes, I enjoy your company. And yes, you made me come really hard. There, I said it. You’re a sex god, I’m sure. But I’m not interested. I have a job to do, Rowe, and I’m going to do that.”
She paused to catch her breath as they went over a hill rather quickly, giving her stomach a little drop. “If you truly do like me and respect me, you’ll understand what that means to me, and you’ll respect that.”
Oh damn, that was a good line. She filed that one away for future use.
Rowe pulled the ATV to a halt. They were now out in the middle of the fields. There was nobody around. Cheryl suddenly got nervous that maybe she’d crossed a line and pissed him off. Licking lips that had gone dry she fidgeted, wondering what was going on.
He stood up and deftly flipped himself around until he was seated facing her.
“May I?” he asked, putting his hands on her helmet.
Unsure of what else to say, Cheryl just nodded.
Rowe removed the helmet and brushed back her long reddish-blonde hair, tucking the wavy strands behind her ears out of the way. It was a gentle, romantic move.
“I want you to look me in my eyes,” he said, his voice strange, hypnotic in its intensity.
Cheryl did, noting the flecks of black mixed in with the soft green of his eyes, reminding her of a certain precious stone that was popular a century or so earlier.
“I respect you.”
The words thundered into her, not because he was speaking loudly, but with the power behind them.
“I believe you,” she whispered, scared of the sound of her own voice next to his.
Rowe sat up straight, and the power about him faded back down to its more normal levels, which were still incredibly high.
“I never meant to disrespect you,” he continued. “That wasn’t my goal. I just feel a pull toward you, Cheryl. Something that gets harder to deny with every passing hour.”
Her organs tied themselves into knots as she fought a war within herself. A war that she knew she was slowly but surely losing.
“Rowe…”
“I know, I know. You have a job to do. I just wish I could convince you that I won’t interfere with it. That you don’t have anything to worry about by giving in. That it’s safe to let me in.”
“How can I know that?”
She was caving, her questions exploring a possibility that just a handful of minutes ago she’d been positive she wasn’t going to let happen.
“Let me show you.”
Cheryl tried to keep her mouth shut. To stop herself from giving him the opening they both could see. Yet as strong as her mind was, it wasn’t enough. The call of her heart would win every time, and it was just now awakening to what it really wanted.
“How?” she asked, lips parted, breathing slightly hard.
“Like this.”
He tugged her head toward him and kissed her. Cheryl melted. Her tongue flicked across his as he parted her mouth, soft and warm as they fell into each other on the back of an ATV in the middle of a farmer’s field.
She wanted nothing more than to cave and let him have his way. Right there, in the middle of the field despite the freezing temperatures. If he tried Cheryl wasn’t sure she could resist. His touch had that strong of a pull on her. It both scared and excited her, until she couldn’t choose one or the other.
But Rowe stopped. This time it was he who broke the kiss. Showing her that he could keep himself in check, that he could respect her when needed, and that he wouldn’t be a interference with her work. It stunned her to realize how much he was saying with that one little action.
“Now do you still want to go ahead on your own?”
She giggled. “I don’t know. You’re my bodyguard and chauffeur and who knows what else now I guess.”
“I’d be your bed partner too if you would stop pretending you didn’t want it.”
Cheryl s
truggled to find the words to reply to his bluntness. He watched her for a few moments, then with a look that made her want to kiss him and hit him in equal parts, he stood up and turned back around, handing her the helmet. She pulled it on quickly, hiding her face as he turned the ATV back on.
How the hell was she supposed to respond to something like that?
Chapter Thirteen
Cheryl
They bounced along the trails at a speed that forced her to hold on tight, something neither of them had an issue with.
Rowe was right, of course. If she wanted to, things between the two of them could take an entirely different track.
She had to shout to be heard once words finally came to her. “You’re not giving up, are you?”
Rowe shook his head. “No, I’m pretty set on making you mine,” he shouted, his words torn at by the wind, even though their heads were practically pressed together.
“That’s a little possessive, don’t you think? Making me yours?”
He laughed, his back bouncing up and down. “Maybe. Tell me that you don’t like the sound of it though, and then we’ll talk.”
“Sometimes I hate you,” she muttered, sitting back into the seat as she realized he was right. “It’s not like I’ve told you I feel like that.”
“Maybe not.” He slowed so they could talk more easily. “You haven’t told me to leave yet though, which makes it fairly clear that you’re just as interested.” He licked his lips. “Plus you kissed me back. That was a bit of a giveaway.”
Cheryl wanted to be angry, but she could do nothing but laugh. He had a point there.
“Then there are your efforts to push me away, which have been lackluster at best.”
She looked down, watching the ground go by for a few seconds. “You think you can read me fairly well, do you?”
“Sure. That’s not the hard part.”
“What? What the hell is the hard part?” Every time she thought she was starting to figure things out, Rowe went out and left her more confused. “Me being able to read you?” She didn’t think she was that bad at it.
“That’s not hard; you just aren’t allowing yourself to. No, the hard thing for you is reading yourself. You’re trying to convince yourself of one thing, when you want another. Yet for some reason you won’t allow yourself to have it. I don’t know why, and I’m not entirely sure you do either. You claim it’s because of the job, but I think we both know that’s no longer true.”