by Claire Adams
“Sure,” I said, shrugging. As much as I knew keeping my distance from Cash was best, I was also desperate to spend time with him. After October, I’d probably never see or speak to him again. It wasn’t like we could keep emailing each other the way I did with others I’d met on my travels. Even Eric would likely bore of the pen pal thing eventually. It saddened me to think of leaving Cash behind as part of my Wyoming adventure, but what more could I do?
We took all the dishes to the sink, stacking them on my side. I filled one part of the sink with soapy water and got busy, scrubbing the dishes clean and then handing them over to Cash to rinse, dry, and stack on his side of the double sink.
“This is your last full month in Jackson,” Cash remarked, and I could feel his eyes on me, though I didn’t turn my face from the dish I was cleaning to meet his unwavering gaze.
“Hard to believe,” I said, trying to keep the words light. “The time has really flown by since I got here.” We worked in silence for a few moments before he spoke again.
“You could always stay longer.”
This time, I stopped what I was doing, my hands immersed in soapy water, and looked over at him in surprise. I knew he didn’t dislike me, but I hadn’t expected him to extend an invitation to stay longer than what I’d paid for upfront.
He seemed embarrassed, the color rushing to his cheeks as he watched me. “I mean, if you want to.”
“I figured you’d want your house back to normal as soon as possible,” I said. “I know you’re a private person.”
“Maybe I did want that at first,” he replied, that sexy smile rising back to the surface of his expression, the easy charm winning me over without really even trying. Up close, he smelled like the musky soap he used in the shower before he sat down to dinner. I actually loved the way he smelled after a hard day of work on the farm—like sunshine and sweet, manly sweat—but this was nice, too. Something about him had softened during the week he’d been trapped inside with me.
“And you don’t now?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow as I turned my shoulders slightly to face him.
“I’m getting used to you.”
I laughed, but it was full of nerves. “That almost sounds like a compliment.”
He shrugged and set down the plate and the towel he was using to dry it. “What I can’t figure is what you think about me.”
I blinked instead of responding.
“I haven’t wanted to mention what I was thinking because I didn’t find it appropriate. You’re paying to stay here, and it wasn’t right to take advantage of that.”
My stomach was twisting in anxious, anticipatory knots. Was he trying to say what I thought he was trying to say? I pulled my hands out of the soapy water and wiped them on my jeans, never looking away from him, not wanting to break his momentum. Because if he was about to say what I hoped he was, it was all I’d wanted to hear for weeks.
“But I can’t keep quiet any longer, even though I know I might be ruining the friendship between us. I’ve been attracted to you for weeks now, Hailey. I just want to say it plain.”
My heart soared, and something inside me unlocked at his confession. It was exactly what I needed to hear. He’d found the courage to take the first step. That meant I needed to take the second. Leaving the poor man hanging would be the definition of cruelty.
“I like you too, Cash,” I whispered, smiling up at him, the shock still clinging to me at his words. His face changed at hearing those words. He didn’t smile, but his eyes got even more intense than they already were, that green sizzling hot, like he was burning up again the way he had just a few days ago. “I have since the moment we met. It just didn’t seem like you felt the same way.”
He took hold of one of my wrists, the heat in his eyes spreading to the rest of his face. I was finding it harder to breathe at the sensation of that heat passing from his fingers into me. There was a deeper flame inside of me that was coming to life at the way he was staring at me, his eyes so green and so hungry, like he wanted to eat me alive.
“Let’s leave the dishes for a little later,” he whispered in his deep western drawl.
I widened my eyes questioningly, unable to believe what I’d just heard. Mr. Neat and Tidy, leaving a mess behind?
He pulled me closer, and though I was still surprised by all of this, I tilted my head back to receive his kiss as he leaned down to press his lips against mine. He kissed me deeply, his tongue entering my mouth and arms wrapping around me, just the way I’d been dreaming it would happen for weeks. I melted against him, my legs weakening as the kiss continued, both of us discovering the other’s mouth and tasting as much as we could, tongues probing and fingers squeezing flesh. We broke apart, breathless, staring into each other’s eyes and smiling dreamily. I didn’t want it to end, but he dropped his arms from around me, took my hand, and began to lead me out of the kitchen, leaving the dishes unwashed behind us. Right now, he only had eyes for me. I still felt mildly in shock as we passed through the living room and to the closed door of his bedroom. We went inside, and I waited at the foot of the bed while Cash turned on the bedside lamp, filling the space with low, comforting light.
He turned, his face flushed with color, the look in his eyes sizzling hot, even more so than it had been in the kitchen. He began to unbutton his shirt as I watched, biting my bottom lip in anticipation. I’d seen him with most of his clothes off when he was sick, but it hadn’t been erotic the way it was now, watching him strip down to his boxers, exposing every inch of his tanned body, his muscles sculpted from so much time working on the farm. I couldn’t wait to run my hands over him, followed by my mouth, tasting his salty sweet skin. I was getting wet just thinking of it. I’d spent so much time wanting him, dreaming about him, waking up with the sensation of him on my fingertips only to disappointingly realize that I hadn’t been with him at all.
I crossed the room as he finished stripping to his boxers, pulling my shirt off. I didn’t even get the chance to start on my jeans before he was kissing me again, his passion overtaking me, my mouth filling with his hunger and his deep, musky taste. I burrowed into him as we went at each other, our shared need building, the heat rising inside me and tingling between my legs, where I was so ready for him. We broke apart again, breathing heavily, and I finished getting out of my pants as he sat on the bed to slide his fingers over my hips and legs as I exposed them.
I set my glasses on the night table, and then we climbed under the blankets together, relishing the feeling of our bodies moving against each other, all that naked flesh and heat. He unhooked my bra, pushing it up over my breasts so he could tease my sensitive nipples with the tips of his calloused fingers. I moaned and pushed my lips against his, opening his mouth with my tongue, just wanting to taste as much of him as I could. He was hot and sweet, his body hard as a rock but smooth to the touch on mine. I ran my hands up and down his muscly back as I mauled his mouth, getting my tongue as deep as I could as he worked his boxers off and then started on my panties.
He pulled back, and I moaned at the loss of his lips. “I’ve wanted this for months,” he whispered, touching my face as I reached for his, tracing the hard line of his jaw and cheekbones.
“Me too,” I said, but I didn’t want to talk, I just wanted him on top of me, inside me. I couldn’t believe how much I wanted it. The fire inside me was stoked and building, the tingling starting between my legs that only he could quench with the hard shape of his cock that I could feel pressing against my leg.
He climbed on top of me, pushing my legs open with the shape of his hips. He kissed me again, that heat passing from his lips to mine, his tongue probing deeply into my mouth and hands working over my breasts, squeezing my nipples so I writhed beneath him in agonizing pleasure. The tip of his cock was pressing into the center of my hot, needy sex. I was so wet for him, so ready to swallow him whole. I’d been ready since the day I stepped onto this farm. If he’d come to me that night, I’d have been surprised, but I would have welcomed
him into my bed. I could admit that now. We’d wasted so much time being proper. I didn’t intend to waste the rest of my time here. I wanted to fuck this man every day until I went back home, and then I wanted him every night in my dreams.
I lifted my hips, inviting him to enter me, and he responded with a deep thrust of his own, burying himself into me to the hilt. I cried out against his mouth, and he moaned, the exhalation of breath further stoking that flame, the itch between my legs getting even worse as he started an even, deep motion inside me.
“You’re so big,” I moaned, and tilted my hips even higher, wanting him deeper, just wanting the shape of him to fill me completely. It felt like he was opening me up in a way I’d never been opened before. I wrapped my arms around him, and he brought his lips to my neck, sucking hard as he moved in and out of me, his strokes deep, drawing small moans from me. I ran my hands over his back, loving the feeling of him, the rock hard expanse of his back and the firm curve of his sculpted ass, how the muscles rippled under my hands during his strokes.
“Don’t stop,” I begged him. “Go deeper.” It was difficult to speak, but it got even more so when he began to obey me, lifting onto his elbows and pushing harder, filling me up even more than he already was. I screamed his name behind clenched teeth.
“Is this what you want?” he asked, purring the words in his deep drawl, which only got me more excited. The sensations were coalescing inside me around the shape of his long, hard cock that was impaling me a little more with each stroke. I never wanted this to end. I wanted to be in this bed with him for the rest of my life, the pressure building inside me, a fire burning that only he could quench.
I cried out with the strength of my orgasm, the luscious warmth spreading from between my legs all the way up my body, igniting every nerve, the heat tingling in my cheeks and causing my body to break out in gooseflesh from head to toe.
Cash growled as he pushed inside me as deeply as he could go. I arched my back into him, getting him deeper, our bodies straining, muscles pushing past sweet exhaustion. I loved the sensation of the shiver moving through his body as he came, both of us climaxing so closely together and then relaxing, our muscles going soft as jelly, our bodies melting, mine into the mattress and his into me, our mingled breath and sweat baking the air in the bedroom.
He slid off of me, leaving one arm and leg draped over my body. I closed my eyes, just wanting to let the pleasure move through me, committing every second of our time together to memory, the way I did with most things, not just in case I wanted to write about them, but for myself too. This was one of those times I knew I’d want to remember later when I was alone in my Manhattan apartment, daydreaming about the musky smell of Cash’s sweat as his body moved over mine.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Cash
The Following Day, Late Afternoon
Eric hadn’t been up to the farm since I took ill, so it was good to see him driving up the dirt road in his truck. I’d finished just about all of my chores for the morning and came out of the barn to wave at him as he walked up to the stables.
“I’ve been itching to take the horses out,” he said instead of hello.
“I reckon I’ll join you,” I said. Hailey was still asleep—in my bed, which gave me some pride. I’d gotten back up after we’d been together, leaving her resting in bed while I finished cleaning the kitchen from top to bottom. When I came back, she was wide awake and willing, so we had another long roll in the hay. I couldn’t get enough of her sweet little body. And by the way she came over and over again, she couldn’t get enough of mine either. Just thinking about her was getting me hard again, which meant I needed to stop before Eric took notice.
We got our favorite horses out—Dusty for me and Lettie for Eric—saddled them and started out on the trail, racing at first before we settled into an even trot at the far edge of my property. I kept my eyes on the terrain, always watchful for snakes and holes that one of the horses could injure themselves in while Eric started in with conversation.
“How’re things going with Hailey?” he asked, trying not to sound too interested, though I could see he was dying to hear any news on that front.
I didn’t even look at him. I could feel the color rising to my cheeks a little, so I dipped my head, letting the wide brim of my cowboy hat do its job. I didn’t want to tell Eric or anyone else about me and Hailey sleeping together—even though it was the only thing I could think about this morning, even during my chores, when my thoughts usually sat pretty dormant, my body doing its work without instruction from my head. What we’d done last night was private and needed to stay between us. I wasn’t the type of man to tell all and sundry about our business in the bedroom, but I didn’t want to act like nothing at all had happened, especially since it felt like I’d stepped out into a different world after all that’d happened last night. Me and Hailey had done some talking after we finished the second time, and we’d agreed to give whatever this was a go and see how things went. She only had a month left in Wyoming, but we could certainly try our level best to make that month count.
“We’re in a relationship now,” I said simply, and didn’t mean to describe what that meant any further. I looked over in time to see the smile spreading across Eric’s face. He actually looked proud of me, which was good to see after the foolishness that had gone on between us over Hailey. I still couldn’t believe we’d come to blows over a woman, even one as gorgeous and intelligent as Hailey. It was good to see he wasn’t holding a grudge. It wasn’t his way, but fighting over a woman wasn’t mine, either.
“That’s great, Cash,” he said. “She seems like a kind, decent woman. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her over the last few months. She’s good for you, I think. She reads, she writes, she seems to like life on the farm.”
“That she does,” I agreed.
“And she can cook.”
I patted my stomach, which was somehow still flat after all the delicious meals I’d put in it at Hailey’s doing. “Better than my dearly loved mama.”
Eric had himself a good chuckle at that. “Listen, I’m sorry about that competitive shit I got into before. I can’t believe we were actually fighting over a girl. That hasn’t happened in years, and we were just kids at the time.” His smile turned sheepish as he dropped his chin, blond hair dropping onto his forehead that he shoved back flat.
I had to smile at that too, as well as accept my blame in it. “We were both in the wrong over what happened. It takes two to fight.”
Eric chuckled again.
“I have to thank you for pushing me into this. I don’t know why I was so resistant to starting something between me and Hailey.”
“Cause you’re stubborn as all hell.”
“That may well be, but you kept up the pressure. I appreciate it.” I thought of Hailey underneath me, naked and tilting her hips so I could get inside of her faster. Shit. Now I wanted her again.
He shrugged as he moved Lettie around a hole in the ground. “That’s what I’m here to do, push you out of your comfort zone.”
“You’ve been doing your job since the day we met, that’s for damned sure.”
We laughed together at that. He really had been a persistent thorn in my side since elementary school, but I’d been a royal pain in his ass for about that long too, so it evened out.
The day was getting warmer as the afternoon wore on to the middle of the day. The evenings and mornings were cooling off considerably as we inched towards late fall. I was looking forward to the cold weather. Lots of folks didn’t care too much for winter, but it was my favorite season of the year and always had been. I loved working hard in the summer and coming in drenched in sweat at the end of the day, but I liked the chill in the air better, and snowfall was my absolute favorite, despite the extra work it created on the farm. I pictured me and Hailey curled up together in front of the fire and had to remind myself that she’d be long gone before the snow came. It wiped the grin clean off my face. But maybe she�
�d come out to visit. She could write out here just as easily as she could in New York City, couldn’t she?
“So now what am I s’pposed to give you a hard time about?” Eric asked. “I’ve been teasing you about finding a girlfriend since you broke up with Tina.”
I smirked at him. He’d been teasing me about women since way before I fell in with my barrel racing ex-girlfriend. “Sounds like you need some more material.”
“I’m sure I can find something. You’re a neat freak who can’t keep his nose out of a book whenever he’s not on a horse. There’s plenty of material in just those two things to keep me busy for the next couple a years.”
“There you go,” I replied. “I knew it wouldn’t be too hard for you to figure something out.”
He chuckled deeply again. As I watched, his face got serious, his dark eyes narrowing a bit. “What are you going to do about Hailey?”
I let my eyebrows pull together a bit, not liking where this was going, considering the dismal thoughts I’d just been having. “What do you mean?”
“Ain’t she planning to leave in a month? Y’all are starting up a romance, but what happens when she leaves in October?”
I’d been thinking of that in between thinking how nice it was to sink into the warm wetness between her supple thighs, one thought just naturally leading to the next so I’d stayed trapped in the same damned circle since last night.
“I’m not sure what her plans are,” I said finally.
“What do you want her to do?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure about that but didn’t want to say so. This was all new to me. I didn’t expect her to rearrange her life just because we’d slept together a few times. Things might look different at the end of the month, but who was to say? I had no intention of dropping everything here at the farm and moving out East, so I couldn’t really expect her to leave her life behind and stay out here.