Riding Rough (Rough Rider #2)

by Aria Cole

  Living on my own would be tight, but I was accustomed to making do on a budget. I just had to hope I would be awarded a few grants or scholarships for housing. I could afford the classes for the coming semester at least, but I couldn't pay for the housing on top of that.

  And I needed to get out of this town.

  I needed to get away from all these memories.

  The gorgeous, impossibly sculpted, stubbled, and rugged memories.

  “Thanks,” I finally muttered, allowing my eyes to wash across Nash’s face for the first time.

  Oh God, was that my heart beating so loudly?

  It sounded like a John Deere vibrating in my ears.

  “I can get this carried up for you. Dinner’s at five, so you've got some time to settle in before—”

  “I’m not hungry. I had a big lunch,” I lied.

  Colt shook his head at my side. “She’s lying. If you don’t force her to eat, she’ll peck like a bird.”

  My cheeks flamed as my teeth gnashed together. “I thought you had somewhere to be tonight?”

  Colt chuckled, taking off ahead of us toward the house.

  “Still treating you like a dick, I see,” Nash said at my shoulder.

  Shit, when had he moved closer?

  This was too much. His body so close to mine felt like a ticking time bomb waiting to detonate.

  “He says he means well, but I personally think it’s a control thing.”

  “Can’t blame him. A man should take care of his only sister. I’d do the same thing.”

  I chanced a glance out of the corner of my eye, catching his gaze hovering at my neckline, then dipping lower.

  My stomach dropped, my feet screaming at me to run before I made a fool of myself somehow. I’d never known quite how to act around men, especially this one, when it felt like he stole all the oxygen from my lungs with one look.

  “Maybe you’re on a power trip too, then,” I finally replied, stomping in the dirt after Colt and toward the house.

  I was a prisoner here; there was nothing willing about it.

  If Colt and Nash thought I needed a babysitter, that I couldn't be left to my own devices, I’d sure as hell prove them wrong—and have fun while doing it.

  No way could they keep this woman down.

  “Eden!” Nash called after me, amusement lacing his voice.

  I stuttered to a halt, turning to find him hot on my heels, an intoxicating half grin darting across his face.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You have no idea what kind of power play I’m into. Keep that in mind.” That cocky grin deepened, and my thighs grew slick with drop-dead desire.

  Oh, shit.

  What the hell was I in for this summer?

  TWO

  NASH

  I WALKED IN on Eden the next morning, ass in the air, bent over in my kitchen in the shortest pair of shorts I’d ever seen a woman wear.

  And boy had she grown into a woman.

  I’d never forget the last time I’d seen her, at her high school graduation party. Colt and I had shown up drunk and stupid, looking to crash the festivities, when really, I’d just been there to see her. Watching her giggle and smile with her friends had done me in then, and Christ, I didn’t think it was possible, but she was even more beautiful now.

  My memory hadn’t done her dark eyes justice, the way that sarcastic smile seemed to play perpetually across her lips roped me in, and the way those curves had developed—the luscious curves of her round ass, the heavy tits hugged by a thin cotton tank—sent me to my knees. She was a fucking vision and the only woman I’d seen since that night nearly two years ago. It wasn't long after that that Colt joined the military, I’d taken over working the ranch full time, and Eden? I didn’t know what had happened to Eden. I’d asked Colt once how she was, but he’d just given me a funny look and asked why I wanted to know.

  And then tragedy had struck Colt and Eden Sutherland. Their mom was diagnosed with some rare cancer, and within months, she was gone. Their dad picked up and left town a few weeks after the funeral, shacking up with some woman up north, according to Colt. The memories here were too much for him to bear, so he’d up and left his kids, and they’d only spoken to him a few times since.

  That’s why Little Miss Short Shorts was bent over in my kitchen right now.

  I grunted, shifting my aching cock behind my jeans before walking into the kitchen and grabbing the bowl of salad Ms. Jenkins had left in the fridge. “Lasagna’s probably done.”

  She whipped around, standing up straight and nailing me with those haunting eyes. “I was just going to get a snack and head back upstairs.” I wanted to kiss her in that moment. I wanted to take those lips in between my teeth and leave her painting and bruised with a look of lust in her eyes that only I could satiate.

  “Like hell you are.” I dropped the bowl on the table and pulled out a chair, gesturing for her to take a seat.

  She narrowed her eyes then approached slowly. “You know, you can’t boss me around. I’ll help out, keep the house clean, make sure I don’t leave a mess, but I’m not taking orders from a wannabe cowboy.”

  That fire burning inside her was such a turn-on. Just the thought of that sassy mouth wrapped around my aching cock made a shiver cut through me.

  I gritted my teeth together, patience running thin. The urge to bend her over my knee and spank her was overwhelming “Y’know, maybe your brother is a dick to you because you need someone to keep you in line.”

  Her eyes flared, fists clenching at her sides. Hell, she looked cute when she was angry. I’d forgotten that about her. No wonder I’d teased her so much all those years ago.

  Except now, teasing her had a different effect. Now I wanted to fuck the sarcastic smile right off her face. Bury my cock past those pretty lips and show her who owned her. I had a feeling Colt wouldn't take kindly to that kind of punishment, though. And hell, did I even give a shit? I could take care of her better than he could. I would take care of her better, make sure she had everything she could ever need. She would be my queen, and I would lay my entire world at her feet. All I would ask was that she admit that she was mine and only mine forever, just as I would be hers.

  “Keep me in line?” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re fucking insane.”

  She whipped around the small kitchen and pounded up the stairs, taking them two at a time. My gut flamed with anger as I stalked after her, my only thought to get her ass in that chair and get some food in her.

  “Eden!” I growled, trying the door of her bedroom, only to find it locked. “Let me the fuck in!”

  “No!” She screamed from behind the thick-paneled wood, and I swear I had a sense of déjà vu to a time not unlike this when we were a lot younger.

  “Eden.” I lowered my voice an octave. She didn’t reply. “I’m gonna need you to get that cute little ass downstairs and in that chair.”

  “Not hungry,” she replied with defiance.

  “Christ.” What in the fuck had I gotten myself into with this? I thought I was just doing a favor for a buddy when Colt had asked if his sister could stay here for the summer, but there was a sudden pounding in my head that I had a feeling was about to take up permanent residence. “Open the goddamn door, Eden.”

  She did the unexpected and unlocked the door, swinging it open and brushing past me.

  “Where are you going?” I called after her.

  “To eat.” She shot me a glare. “Saw there’s a new cafe that opened down the road—”

  “A cafe? The one two miles away? How the hell you gonna get there?”

  “Walk.” She shrugged, smiling at me sweetly from the landing. “Hitchhike. Whatever it takes.”

  My anger flamed as she bounced down the stairs, ponytail bobbing as she went.

  I shoved a hand over my face, suddenly regretting this arrangement, before taking off down the stairs after her. She was halfway across the yard when I finally caught up with her, looping her elbow and hauling her against
me. “Like hell, you’re hitchhiking. I’ll bring you to the goddamn place myself if that’s what you want.”

  She arched one eyebrow at me, something simmering in her dark brown eyes that made me anxious. Upended me. Like she was excavating my soul.

  “I’d prefer to be alone,” she finally said, pulling out of my grip and taking off again. She kicked up clouds of red dust as she pounded across the farmyard, headed for the driveway.

  “I’d prefer you to calm the fuck down and talk to me.” I caught up with her again, spinning her in my arms and clutching her against my chest. “I think I finally understand what your brother meant about you being a pain in the ass.”

  “Pain in the ass?” Her eyes narrowed further, lips pursed as she steamed under my grasp.

  I finally cracked a grin, my eyes cutting across the fine angles of her face, itching to meld our skin. “Always were a pretty little thing when you were mad.”

  Her eyes widened, mouth popping open. “Fuck you, Nash Campbell. I’m not the little girl whose pigtails you used to pull. I have a life, and just because you and my brother are forcing me to live here—”

  I couldn't help laughing at her. Everything about this display was so endearing. “Still got fire, don’t ya, Eden? Always wondered if you kept that kinda flame.” I traced the pad of my thumb across her cheek. “You’re not a little girl anymore, no denying that no matter how hard I try.” Her eyes stayed unwavering on mine, silence stretching between us. “Like to get to know you again. You’ll be living under my roof, so I don’t think a conversation is too much to ask.”

  She swayed on her feet, the gorgeous swell of her tits brushing against my hard chest. Just that soft brush against me had my cock throbbing behind my worn denim jeans. The zipper bit into my shaft, begging to be buried balls deep in the most gorgeous creature I’d ever seen.

  “Been a long time, Tiger.” I brushed the pad of my thumb across her full bottom lip. A shiver raced through her, nipples pebbling under that thin little tank top she wore. “You don’t want to know what you do to me.” Her big, round eyes hung low on mine, something pulling deep down in my gut, telling me to kiss this woman. Press my lips to her skin and drown deep inside her.

  Her little fingers dug into the skin at my forearms, her lips parting on soft breaths before I did the only goddamn thing I’d been thinking about doing and placed my lips on hers. I slid my tongue across the seam, lust barreling through my body when she opened her lips farther and our tongues pushed together. All bets were off then. My thinly veiled control vanished as my hands dug into her hair, pushing her against the wooden fence at her back and hiking up her thighs around my hips. She whimpered softly, nipping at my bottom lip as her chest heaved with breathy pants.

  “You stayed away too fucking long, Eden.” I dug my cock into the hot cleft of her pussy, enjoying the way she moaned, eyes shuddering closed with pleasure. “Fuck, don’t do that.”

  “What?” Her eyes shot open, hands at my face with fingertips whispering across my jawline. Jesus, her soft little hands on my skin felt too good, urged my arousal on, made me desperate to have her underneath me, sucking on every inch of her skin until she came in a wave around me.

  “I’m trying to behave—”

  “Well, I’ve got a secret for you, Nash.” My name on her lips sent fire through my veins. Jesus, if she whimpered my name in that sexy little voice again, I might come in my jeans like a fucking teenager. “I don’t like men who behave.”

  Her words hung heavy in the air for a microsecond before my hands were on her body again, sliding up the cotton of her tank top and connecting with silky soft skin. “Good, Tiger, because I was only being nice.” I dragged my teeth down the shell of her ear, my palm wrapping around her neck and squeezing softly. “I want to own this sweet body, Eden. Every last inch of you is begging for my teeth.” I nipped at her lips. “The way you shudder when I touch you here…” I dipped the pad of my thumb under her waistband and traced across her skin. “Do I make you wet, Tiger?”

  “Oh my God, Nash,” she begged. “Everything about you…”

  My cock thickened, pounding painfully, her soft little body writhing against mine. The only thing in my head was that I had to haul her upstairs to my room right fucking now and get lost inside her. Hell, after that, I’d move her into my bedroom because I wanted her curled up next to me every single night. If I were being honest, I’d wanted every single night with her since the night I’d seen her at her graduation party, looking so grown-up and pretty. I’d never stood a chance against Eden.

  I sucked across the hollow of her neck, my lips following an invisible line to paradise as my palms pressed farther up her waist, relishing her creamy, supple, untouched skin, whispering at the cup of her bra. Just the way she whimpered and arched told me no one else had ever touched her like I was right now. Her thighs tightened around mine, head tucked into my neck as she rode the ridge of my hard cock, pressing that beautiful little button between her legs that I couldn’t wait to get my mouth on.

  “I’m gonna make you come so hard you’ll lose your mind, Eden.” I sucked at her ear as my palm covered the heavy swell of her tit, kneading and pinching at the sweet little nipple as my mouth watered.

  “Let’s make that happen, please, Nash.” Christ, just the way she said please like that made me crazy.

  My phone chose that moment to rattle off in my back pocket. I ignored it, too caught up in Eden to even give a shit about anything else. Hell, I’d been waiting to be right here, feeling her pressed against me and on the verge of losing it.

  “Your phone,” she mumbled between kisses.

  “Fuck it.” It went on ringing, and my hands went on exploring. I slipped the edge of her bra cup down, dusting my fingers across her hard nipple and nearly creaming my pants when a ragged sigh fell from her lips. “Got no idea what you do to me.”

  “Then tell me,” she urged, still grinding against me.

  “Mmm…” I bit her lip. “Thought about you all day yesterday, walked around with my cock so hard I coulda pounded posts.” Her eyes widened, cheeks pinking up a pretty shade of crimson. “I jerked off in the shower last night thinking about that pretty white dress you wore on graduation day, the way it swished around your thighs. Christ, I couldn't stop thinking about what you were wearing under that little dress.”

  Her lips connected with mine, kissing and trailing down my chin and across my jaw. “What if I said nothing?” She hummed. “I wanted you to touch me that night, Nash. I wore that dress for you.”

  My cock burned, my phone rattled on, and the most gorgeous girl I’d ever laid eyes on was in my arms right now. “Jesus, Eden.”

  “Answer your phone, Nash.” A sassy grin spread her lips.

  “I can’t even think straight right now.”

  “I know.” Her grin grew wider.

  “You’re a damn minx.” I breathed in her scent. The phone finally stopped ringing in my pocket. I slipped a hand between us, finger rubbing at the bud of her clit beneath her denim shorts. “Your pussy is so wet it’s begging me for a taste.”

  She clamped down on her bottom lip, hips stilling as her thighs spasmed around my waist. Her nails gripped at my shoulders, eyes shuddering closed as soft moans purred past her lips. “Oh my…oh my God.”

  “Holy shit, Tiger,” I whispered, hand sliding between my cock and her damp thighs. “Watching you come is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

  My phone chose that moment to start rattling again.

  “Get your phone, cowboy. Someone really wants to talk to you.”

  I groaned then set her on her feet, one hand still around her waist and pinning her between me and the fence. No way in hell was this girl getting away, ever.

  “’Ello?”

  “Nash! How’s my sister doin’, man?”

  Colt.

  Fuck me.

  CONTINUE READING…

  Acknowledgments

  I have to thank my ever so loving and patient hus
band. You truly are my HEA, babe! Thank you to Aria's Assassins for keeping my fire burning…I am forever grateful for your love and cheerleading! I can't thank the ArdentProse team enough. You ladies make my life so much easier and I love you for it!

  To my ladies... the ladies that love to get lost in books about true and last lasting love... THANK YOU!!! Writing books you love is what keeps me going. You are my rock stars!

  NEED EVEN MORE STEAM?

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  White

  Scarlet

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  Taking Tessa

  The Long Ball

  Banger

  Cheeky Christmas

  Under Construction

  Under Her Hood

  Valentine For Hire

  Sweet Valentine

  The Modern Fairy Tale Collection

  Under Pressure

  Perfect Chemistry

  Stepbrother Anonymous

  Yes, Prime Minister

  Stepbrother Anonymous

  Under Her Hood

  Under Fire

  Under Pressure

  Under Her Skin

  Rough Rider