I pulled the door open and looked outside. It was dark. “Are you ready?” There was no rain yet. Rain isn’t what I’m worried about. It was the hail. You never knew when it was going to pop up, but when it did, it ruined cars and farms, two of the most important things out here.
I grabbed her hand, our fingers tangling together, and I pulled her to my side as I quickly headed for our destination.
About half way there I felt the first small drops of rain. Thankfully, just rain.
“Come on.” I pulled her along as we started a sprint to safety. I felt the first couple drops of hail. “Shit.”
“Ouch!” she called over the wind, then I heard her laugh.
Gabby
I laughed breathlessly as I slammed the door behind me and braced myself against it. My hair was all over the place and so was his. My heart skipped a beat as I looked him up and down. Damn. Even after coming in from a hail storm, he was hot.
I mentally shook myself, but I promised I’d remember what my best friend had said. Give it a shot, I reminded myself. I wanted to give it a real shot, too. Shane was hot, and he was nice, and he was fun to hang out with. He deserved a real chance.
“I wasn’t sure you were going to make it, there,” he teased, a wide smirk spreading over his lips.
I laughed again. “I’m more than capable of braving a little bit of rain.”
“Right, I forgot. You’re a country girl, aren’t you?” It wasn’t a question.
“I haven’t been a country girl for a long time,” I admitted. I pushed myself off the wall and made my way toward the couch. “But I grew up as one.”
“So when you came here, where were you coming from?”
“A nice big city. One with a Starbucks on every corner and enough people around that you’d never run into the same person twice.”
“Sounds like a hassle.”
“It was. Traffic sucked.” I laughed. It was true. “I missed the country. I missed not hearing a car every couple of seconds as I tried to sleep.”
“So you came out here?”
“Yup. I saw the job listing and decided to apply.”
I dropped down on the couch and sighed. He walked over and sat down beside me. He didn’t say anything as he grabbed a blanket and pulled it over himself, offering some to me.
I made sure my toes were covered as I looked at Shane. A smile touched my lips.
“Tell me about yourself, Shane.”
“What do you want to know?”
“All the interesting stuff.”
He laughed. “Well, then I wouldn’t be telling you anything.”
I didn’t believe him. I had a feeling he was a lot more interesting than he was willing to admit.
“Let’s see … I grew up with the guys. Ken and I pretty much spent all our time together when we were younger. At least once they moved here.”
“Wait. You’re from here?”
“Yeah.” His eyes caught mine for a fraction of a second. “The brothers moved here when they were teenagers, with their grandparents. We lived next door to each other. Oh, man I remember when Ken first met Sarah. She went to school with us, and he was head over heels right away. And then she moved and he thought he’d never see her again.”
“But she moved back?”
“Yes, after a bad divorce. But that’s off topic. I lived a pretty normal childhood, I think. My mom wasn’t around much, but my dad and I were really tight. He worked in town. Well, at the time it wasn’t really a shop. The town itself wasn’t what it is now. I pretty much grew up working with my dad, and then when the time came, the guys looked at this place and they decided to buy it. I helped them get everything sorted out, and I helped them in any way I could.”
“So, is that all you do? Work?”
“Pretty much. You know what it’s like. Not much time to do anything else.”
He had a point. I nodded. “Do you take days off?”
“Sometimes. I like to go camping, but not, like, glamping. I like to go real camping, out where there aren’t real camp sites. Where it’s quiet and I can get away from everyone. As much as I love the guys I work with, it’s nice to get away from them every now and then.” He gave a soft laugh. “Other times, I go hang out with my sister.”
“Wait, you have a sister?”
I felt shocked. I couldn’t believe it. How could I not know he had a sister? I felt like I’d just been hit by a bus.
“Yes, she’s younger. She’s in Toronto, though. She married some guy she fell in love with during school. It’s a little bit of a hassle to go see her. The flight is long, but it’s worth it. I try to visit at least every one or two months.”
He flew out to see his sister every one or two months? Shit. That must get expensive. Then again, I didn’t know how much he was making. Clearly it was enough to drop all that money on a dress for me, though.
“Are you two close?”
“As close as we can be while being totally different at the same time. Do you have any siblings?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Only child. My mom dated a guy for a while that had a son and we were kinda step-siblings for a little while, but it was more the kind of step-siblings that wanted to kill each other. Not the kind who would still hang out after our parents split.” I’d been so happy when my mom broke it off with that man.
It felt good to be getting to really know Shane. I stretched out and touched his leg softly.
“Did you get lonely being an only child?”
“Nope, not really. I didn’t know what I might be missing out on. Plus, I had this one friend who had a bunch of siblings and she hated it, so that didn’t make me want to have any of my own.” I laughed. It never seemed to bother me at all growing up, even though everyone asked if it did.
We fell silent for a while, and I closed my eyes. The rain had gotten bad. I could hear the wind whipping against the sides of Shane’s place. It sounded crazy out there, and I was glad we had made it inside before it started to come down hard.
I opened my eyes to a second of darkness, then it was light again. I looked around as the lights flickered. Then they were gone. Just like that.
Shane laughed and I let out a groan. “Well, I guess we’ll be without power. So much for a movie.”
“Don’t you guys have generators for when the power goes out?”
“We do, but we don’t use them very often when guests aren’t here. Mostly because we’re too lazy to go out in the bad weather and start them. Unless you’d like me to.”
“No,” I said quickly. He laughed and for a split second I was pretty sure it was at me, though I have to admit I didn’t care. Truth be told, I even laughed a little with him.
“Tell me something about you, Gabby,” he finally said.
“Like what?”
“Anything. Surprise me.”
I bit my lip, trying to decide what I would tell him. I could tell him … But did I really want to tell him that? What would he have think if he knew? I want to find out. I grinned a little, suddenly glad it was dark so he couldn’t see me blush. “I’ve only ever had sex once.”
It was out there. I couldn’t take back.
“Really?”
No humor, no mocking. More … interest.
Suddenly my heart was racing. “Really.”
I felt his hand on me. Nowhere that would be risky, though. It was warm under the blanket. I smiled, relaxing. “Tell me something, Gabby. Would you like the change that?”
“Yes,” I said breathlessly.
Shane stood. He held his hand out to me and grinned. "Come on."
"Where are we going?"
"To the bedroom."
My cheeks flushed. I had never had sex in a bed before. It sounded silly, but my first time hadn't been in a bed, it had been in a barn. FYI, it’s not as sexy as you'd think it would be.
I took his hand and let him lead me to the bedroom.
My heart pounded in my chest as we stepped into his room. "Sit. I've got candles in her
e somewhere, I've just got to find them."
"Candles?"
"Well, yeah. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be romantic. I just want you to be able to see a little."
I laughed. At least he was honest with me about it, right? I walked over to the bed. "It wouldn't have hurt to pretend you were trying to be romantic."
I watched as he went through a few of the drawers on his dresser. He dug around for a couple seconds in each one, and after the third drawer, he pulled out a small bag. I assumed it had candles in it.
I was right.
I watched as he laid them out on top of the dresser. He pulled a lighter out of his pocket. My brow furrowed. "Do you smoke?" I hadn't seen him do it before.
"No, I just keep a lighter in case I need it for something else." He walked over to the bed. My heart jumped as I watched him unbuckle his pants and crawl toward me. "Now, time to focus on you. Take your clothes off." He said the last part softly.
My pulse raced as I stood up and took my shirt off first, then my pants with the panties, and finally my bra. I sat back down on the bed and his hand reached out, touching me. He slowly pushed me down onto the bed, and I sucked in a deep breath feeling the warmth of his fingers tickle down my belly. My back arched.
Arousal boiled inside me right away. Arousal was something I was used to. Just because I hadn't had much sex didn't mean I had never done anything else – at least to myself.
Shane's finger tickled my thigh softly. I moaned, closing my eyes. I forced my eyes open and looked at him.
"I don't want you to tease me, Shane."
A soft laugh passed through his lips, but it wasn't a mean one. He lowered himself to my body and kissed me. "You're no fun," he whispered.
He pulled away and undid his jeans. I watched as he slid them down and his hard cock sprang forward. I felt my lips go dry and my mouth get wet. I tried to clear my mind and will myself into getting a grip, but it was no use.
He reached beside him. I hadn't even noticed he'd brought a condom over.
My fingers slipped between my legs as he tore into the wrapper. Our eyes locked as my fingers touched myself. Yup, I was wet.
He carefully slid the condom on and I spread my legs as he settled down between them. Our eyes stayed locked on each other’s as his head pressed against my folds.
"You're sure about this? You don't want to back out? You don’t need any more warming up?"
"I'm already wet as fuck."
He grabbed my hip with his hand. "And backing out?"
"Not now."
I gasped, my hips arching as I felt him thrust into me. My fingers dug into the blankets. He pulled away and slammed into me again. I moaned, louder and louder with each stroke. My eyes rolled back. It was so much already.
"Harder, please," I begged.
Shane complied, thrusting into me faster and harder. His warm hands against my skin and the way he moved in and out of me left me screaming. His hard cock filled me and I moaned, "I'm so close!” Just as I said it, stars burst behind my eyelids and I let out a scream. Waves of pleasure crashed through my body. Wave, after wave, after wave.
Shane thrust into me faster. Harder.
I cried out in pleasure, another wave and another consuming me. Finally, I forced my eyes open as Shane let out a loud gasp. His body was stiff as he slammed into my. My fingers reached between my legs and rubbed what little part of his shaft wasn’t inside me.
He groaned, thrusting into me once more. His eyes opened as he pulled out and fell down onto the bed beside me, gasping for breath.
I laughed softly. “Sorry I was so quick.”
Honestly, I wasn’t really sorry. It was more of an ice breaker than anything else. I just wanted to say something to start the conversation; I wanted to know what he was going to say to me.
“Sorry? I’ll take it as a compliment. Did you know you really move around when you cum? I swear I could feel every move you made. It was hot.”
He rolled away from me, removed the condom, and tossed it into the garbage. I grinned as he rolled back over to me and pulled me into his arms.
“Don’t think for a second I’m going to let you go out in that weather to go back to your own room.”
His fingers tangled with mine. I closed my eyes, and it wasn’t long before I fell asleep.
~~~~
I woke the next morning as he tried to get out of the bed. I grinned, rolling over to face him. “You know, if you’d wanted to run away you should have just asked me to leave,” I teased.
Shane smiled. “I was hoping to wake up before you so I could get the coffee ready.”
I laughed as I shifted a few stray strands of hair out of my face. “Wow, you really are amazing,” I said as I watched his perfect ass make its way to the coffee maker. He touched the power button. I rolled over, not wanting to get up. Instead, I just watched him. I laid there in bed trying to find the motivation to get out. It didn’t come.
“So, I guess it’s up bright and early and twice as much work as normal?”
“No. I figured we’d take the day off.”
I raised an eyebrow. Wouldn’t we have to make up for everything we missed yesterday? At the same time, I wasn’t quite going to question it. I mean, I was tired. It had been hard work and I hadn’t been used to it. I just need a couple more days. I’ll toughen up, I promised myself.
I glanced over at my phone as it rang. Grabbing it, I accepted the call and lifted it to my ear. “Hello?”
“Hi!” My grandma’s voice on the other end of the phone sounded tense. “Are you okay? Heard there was a storm near where you’re working.”
“I’m fine, thanks Grandma,” I said, breathing out a deep breath. I heard her sigh happily.
“I was so worried.” I shook my head at my grandmother. She worried too much. I caught Shane’s eye. He stared at me, watching me carefully. “So, how have you been? You haven’t called. I even checked my computer to see if you sent a letter.”
I closed my eyes. I was past explaining to her that email wasn’t a letter. My other grandma was almost more tech-savvy than I was, but not this one. “I’ve been busy. Work is keeping me going.” It was the truth. I wasn’t ready to tell her I was having sleepovers with a guy, though. “It’s hard work. I’m on the ranch doing a lot of the care.”
“I hate the idea of you being worked to the bone.”
“It’s fine; it’s nothing I haven’t already done. I just need to get used to it again.”
“And everyone is being nice to you?”
“Yes, everyone is being very nice to me.” I made sure to make eye contact with Shane as I said it. He grinned. I returned it. “How are you doing, Grandma?”
“Same old, same old for me. The cats are still making life hard.” She paused. Then after a couple seconds she spoke again, “Are you seeing anyone yet?”
“What?”
“Well, you’re getting older, Gabby. It’s a valid question. You know when your mother was your age she – ”
“I know,” I said, cutting her off. I felt the disappointment overcome me. Whenever I talked to her she wanted to know if I was dating. I knew my grandmother came from another generation, but I couldn’t understand why it was so important to her that I get married and settle down.
“If you don’t settle down soon …”
“I know,” I told her. I’d heard it a dozen times this year from her. “Don’t worry so much about it. When someone comes around –”
“Are you even looking for someone?” My grandmother snapped. “How can you expect to find someone if you’re not even trying?”
I stared at Shane. He crossed over to the bed and reached out, touching my leg softly. He gave me a smile. I work with that someone.
The thought shocked me.
I hadn’t really meant to think that. I mean, why would I? Shane was great, yes, but he wasn’t someone I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Let’s be honest about it. I knew it and he did, too. We weren’t going to play
games here.
“I …” I had no clue what I was supposed to say to my grandmother. I felt so many emotions well up inside me. “I have to go. Work starts soon. I’ll talk to you later.”
Without another word, I hung up. I stared down at the cell phone for a couple of seconds then forced myself to pull my shit together and throw the blankets off me.
“You okay?” Shane asked as I walked over to the coffee maker.
“Yup,” I said, hoping he would get the hint I didn’t want to talk.
“It doesn’t seem like it.”
I sighed, rolling my eyes. “Well, everything is fine.”
I heard him stand up as I poured my cup of coffee. What’s he doing? I wondered. I didn’t move. I didn’t turn to face him. Instead, I just stood there, waiting.
I felt his arms wrap around me. My heart raced. Now what? I didn’t know what I was supposed to do or say. I stood there, the mug of coffee almost shaking in my hand. I inhaled and willed myself to stay calm. It’s not a big deal, I thought.
He pulled me closer to him, his lips softly touching my cheek. “If you want to talk, let me know. I’m going to go shower. You’re welcome to join me.”
He let go of me and walked away. My mind raced as I thought about what he had just said. Do I want to talk to him about it? No. I knew that much. The idea of talking to someone was nice, but it wasn’t what I really wanted.
A shower sounds nice.
I took a sip of my coffee, set it down on the small counter top, and followed Shane into the bathroom. The air was already steamy and the water was already running.
“I think I’ll take you up on that shower offer.”
“I was hoping you would.”
I stripped quickly and stepped under the water with Shane. The last time I’d been in here I hadn’t had company.
~~~~
The storm passed. I stepped out into the sunny morning light and took a deep breath. The air still smelt like the rain. I closed my eyes. I could feel my heart racing. I couldn’t stop thinking about what my grandmother had said. I knew I shouldn’t, I’d been hearing it for years, but I couldn’t help it. I didn’t mean to let it get to me. The first few times, it hadn’t bothered me, but after years of it … well, it was starting to get old.
The Billionaire's Fake Marriage: A Single Dad Next Door Romance Page 43