Cowboy Games

by Audrey Randall

  “I haven’t seen you on lately,” Cody murmured as he handed her one of the head consuls with the microphone and headphone.

  Lana gave him a weak smile. She hadn’t wanted to admit it to anyone, but the North American Tournament had taken it out of her. After Mandy LaFarve and Eugene the Disgusting had manipulated the game code, causing a major cheating scandal, Lana had just wanted to lay low. It was hard to admit at times, but what had started out as a dream job had truly turned into work. Although she enjoyed interacting with her friends on the game, playing it at a professional capacity had become tiring. She knew that she was not the strongest player on her team and she always felt nervous that one day they would ask her to leave for a stronger player. What would she do then? She felt she had no marketable skills besides shooting up virtual space ships.

  “Yeah, I’ve just been taking a bit of a break after the tournament,” she heard herself say as she adjusted the headset.

  “That was crazy. I watched the whole thing on Nebula One TV and wow! Mandy and that guy? Crazy! What’s going to happen to them?”

  “I’m not sure. I know that Mandy is out on bail now awaiting trial. I think that Eugene might be too. To be honest, I just wanted to separate myself from all that ugliness.”

  “I get it,” Cody murmured as the game brought them into the Star Point Galaxy Headquarters. “Let’s see who’s here tonight.”

  After playing for an hour, Lana felt herself relax. Playing with Cody, just for fun had brought back some of the old emotions that she used to feel when she had first picked up the joystick.

  “Cody, it’s almost 10:00,” Jesse’s deep timber surprised Lana making her squeak.

  Embarrassed she turned and looked at Jesse leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He certainly filled the frame from top to bottom. He was a tall, muscular man who managed to move with such grace that Lana only hoped to possess one day.

  “Jesse!” Cody angrily spat.

  Lana didn’t want the brothers to fight, but she knew that Jesse had embarrassed Cody. Just one more reminder of his age.

  Lana lifted her arms above her head in a stretch and gave a fake yawn. “Ahhhh! I’m tired too. I should get to bed.”

  Cody yanked off his headphones and turned off the TV. “Fine.”

  “Let me show you to your room,” Jesse straightened up and motioned to the hallway.

  Lana looked back at Cody and felt sorry for him. He was trying so hard to seem older. Leaning over, she gently pecked his cheek. He whirled around to look at her, a giant smile pulling his lips. Cody then stood up and offered her the crook of his arm, “Milady, allow me to show you to your chambers.”

  Lana laughed. He was so goofy in a good way. One day he would make a girl very happy, she just hoped that she hadn’t given him any wrong ideas with her little kiss. As they passed by Jesse, his brooding seemed to be back in full swing. Could he be jealous? Now that would be interesting…

  Chapter Nine

  Jesse

  It was bad enough seeing her cute little ass planted on his brother’s bed, which for once was made, but that kiss! What game was this girl playing? Obviously, she needed to learn that she had his brand on her. She was his and by the time the week was through, the only one she would be kissing was him. Where are these thoughts and emotions coming from?

  Jesse shook his head to try to clear it. For the past few years he had been emotionally numb. When his parents had died forcing him to come back home to take care of the ranch and Cody, he had let his personal desires and goals go. In order to survive the first few horrific years of raising a young, upset boy and managing a giant cattle ranch narrowly operating in the black, Jesse had sealed off his emotions, opting for rational logic and efficiency. Well, the Galactic Queen rolled into town and threw all that out, didn’t she?

  Deciding to clear his head with a quick shower, he ducked into the bathroom. As he undressed, he could hear Cody and Lana outside eating a quick dessert. Thinking about Lana and dessert made his cock feel all the harder. There was no way he could sleep with a hard-on like this.

  As he stepped into the shower, he could hear her magical laugh. His cock raged even harder, releasing a few droplets of pre-cum. Never in his life had a woman made him want so badly.

  Grabbing the soap he poured some on his hand and began rubbing it up and down the length of his needy shaft, slowly flicking the end with his thumb every once and a while. He thought about her perky, silky breasts and how he wanted to titty-fuck them. He imagined her hands pushing her breasts together around his hard cock as he stroked it back and forth between them until his tip peaked out the top, his pre-cum and her saliva lubing the way. When the top of his dick peeked through her cleavage, she would eagerly lick his pre-cum that waited for her. Thinking about that delectable pink tongue of hers lapping his fluid from his cock, made his balls tighten up. Judging by her pink lips, he imagined that her nipples would be a similar shade of rose pink and hard, waiting for his tongue. Keeping one hand working his large dick, he rested his other from hand to forearm on the shower wall and leaned forward, breathing heavily, as he continued to imagine Lana naked underneath him.

  Hearing her throaty laugh again from somewhere inside the house, Jesse closed his eyes and imagined that it was her little laugh before she pulled his cock into her welcoming mouth. Her tongue teasing the bottom vein of his cock as the back of her throat massaged his sensitive tip. The image was so strong, that he could almost hear the little sounds that she would release as he stroked in and out of her hot mouth, as he laced his fingers through her colorful hair. Once and a while she would gag a little on his length and girth, but he would sooth her and pull back only to plunge in again. Stroking his cock faster, he felt his release coming on. Leaning his shoulder against the wall, he used his other hand to reach down and squeeze his balls, imagining that it was her small hands working them. As he shot his load he imagined her swallowing it down, and humming her approval at his salty taste. Spent the aftershocks of his climax ran through his body, he turned off the water, grateful that maybe he could now sleep.

  Grabbing the white towel hanging on the rack, he wrapped it around his waist. “Fuck!” he murmured as he realized that he forgot his pajamas in his bedroom. Normally he slept in the nude, but with a guest in the house, he was trying to do his best to seem more civilized than he was. He didn’t want to scare off the poor girl with his body’s reaction to her. He hoped that he could make his way to his room before seeing Lana. He knew that one glance and his cock would be harder than steel, meaning that he would never sleep.

  Opening the door he was about to take a step out when he heard a feminine “whoa!”

  Looking down he saw just the person he was both hoping to trample and at the same time, avoid. Emotions! Now I know why I turned them off for so long! They are just so fucking frustrating…

  Chapter Ten

  Lana

  Seeing Jesse with his shirt on was enough to make her stumble over her words, but seeing him shirtless sucked all the air from her lungs. For once in her life she was truly speechless.

  The man was warm granite muscle sporting a six pack. He had no hair on his chest, which Lana quickly decided that she liked. It let her see his defined muscles and tattoos better. He looked like one of those perfect, rugged male models on TV that she never thought really existed. Lana longed to reach out and touch him to prove to herself that such male perfection was not a figment of her imagination…

  Jesse cleared his throat drawing her eyes upward to his eyes. Big mistake, Lana! She told herself as she felt her tongue loose the ability to speak. His eyes were molten silver as they ate her up. “See somethin’ ye like, darlin’?” Lana’s traitorous eyes followed his large hand as he purposely ran it down his chest to rest at the place where the towel was folded together, low on his V-cut hips.

  Lana felt a blush creep up her cheeks. Dropping her eyes in embarrassment, she found herself looking down at the tent under his towel
. “I umm…”

  Gently grabbing her upper arms in his strong hands, Jesse, to her astonishment, pulled her forward. Looking her in the eyes, he gave her a little smile that made her stomach flip, “I like my view too.” With that, he leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead.

  Feeling frozen in place, Lana numbly stood there for a minute after he sauntered back down the hall. What in Pac Man’s name just happened?

  “You okay?” Cody’s voice brought Lana out of her trance. Turning her head, she saw him peeking out of his doorway.

  “Yeah, sorry,” she kicked herself for sounding so wimpy.

  “Did Jesse say something to upset you?” His brow furrowed in concern.

  “No. No, just thinking.” Lana was secretly pleased that he had missed seeing the kiss.

  “Don’t let my brother bother you. He’s really grumpy, but underneath he’s a good guy. He’s under a lot of stress and I’m not much of a help,” Cody offered her an apologetic smile.

  Lana gave him a sad smile back, “You’re lucky to have each other.”

  Cody came forward and cupped her cheek with his hand. Lana felt her eyes go huge as warning alarms sounded in her brain. Danger! Danger! Placing her hand over his, she started to try to move it away. Cody then leaned down and gently kissed her other cheek. Lana felt herself freeze for the second time in five minutes. Cody pulled back and stroked her cheek with his thumb. He then whispered, “I hope to be lucky to have you too, my queen.” With that, he pulled back and walked back to his room. “Sleep well.”

  After he closed the door, Lana stood in the hallway conflicted. Should I leave? NO! I want a piece of Jesse! But, I don’t want to get between the brothers. On the other hand, think of the girls who would enjoy the ranch! If you leave, you would be denying them the chance to experience the great outdoors! Yes, that’s what I’ll tell myself for now…

  With that, Lana went through her bedtime routine, hoping that she would sleep a little tonight.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jesse

  Hardly able to sleep, Jesse rose early. In the middle of the night, he realized that they had never solidified the plans for the next day for Lana. He wanted to punish Cody for being so irresponsible, but he found that he didn’t have it in him. Cody would be off at school, which meant that he would need to find a way to clear up some time in his busy schedule to show the poor lady around. She had traveled so far to meet with them, the least they could do was to do what Cody had promised her. After all, the poor woman had already had to brave Cody’s disaster of a room and eat a burnt frozen pizza for dinner. But more than that, he wanted to explore the pull she had on him. He couldn’t explain it, but his body told him that she was his in every way. It made him feel like such a Neanderthal, but all he really wanted to do was throw her over his shoulder and take her somewhere where no other man, including his brother, would have access to her. A part of him longed to give her his babies so that she could never leave him. Shaking his head at the direction of his wild thoughts, he found a piece of paper and a pen.

  Scribbling a note to her, he left it under the guest room doorway, hoping that she could decipher his chicken scratch. He then headed to the kitchen to prepare for what he had in store for her.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lana

  Lana slowly woke up enjoying the silence, only to then realize that she wasn’t at home. Sitting up in her bed it took her a moment to figure out where she was. Berkeley was usually pretty noisy in the morning, so the quiet punctuated only by the sounds of birds, was a nice change. However, as she sat there, remembering where she was, she also remembered how she blatantly stared at Jesse’s chest and his other assets.

  Covering her eyes with her hand, she fell back down to the pillow behind her, “Argh! I can’t face him today…” then she remembered Cody’s kiss. “I can’t face either of them today.”

  Giving herself a small pep talk, Lana forced herself out of bed. The guest room was nicely appointed. It was clear that someone had taken a lot of care to make the room comfortable. The bed was a cozy queen, with a homemade white and blue quilt. The walls were painted a soft rose, something she would not have pictured Jesse or Cody choosing, and the trim, a delicate white. A mirror lined one side of the room, not only illuminating the good-sized room with more light, but also acted as the closet door. A tall, white dresser with little horse statues on top stood at the opposite side. There was a beautiful painting of horses running across a green field on the far wall and a horseshoe proudly hung for luck over the door. Without a doubt, it was the cleanest room in the now bachelor-pad house.

  Placing her feet on the cold hardwood floor, Lana hurried to grab her Yoda socks in her suitcase. As she moved across the room, she saw that a small white piece of paper had been slid under the doorway. Picking it up, she stared at it for a moment, trying to decipher what had been written. The handwriting was atrocious, but bold. She knew who it was from immediately, due to the woodsy smell attached to the paper.

  Galactic Queen,

  Be ready for lunch around noon. I’ll come back for you.

  - J

  Lana wanted to kick herself for giving in to her desire to hold the paper close to her chest and sniff it. Great Mario and Luigi, I’m pathetic! Standing up, she crossed over to her luggage and looked through her clothes. Frack! What should I wear?

  She had always been proud that she had been known for her eccentric fashion sense among the gaming community, but on a ranch? What did a digital girl wear in the country? Settling on her blue Gamers Know How to Push Buttons tee-shirt sporting various gaming consuls, she threw on a pair of jeans with different color paint splatters on them and pulled her multi-colored hair in a ponytail. Looking at herself in the mirror, she laughed at how out of place she looked in the traditional Americana country guest room.

  Picking up her phone, she groaned as she saw that she still had no bars and that it was already 9:00. She was a bit embarrassed that she had slept so late. Growing up she had always been required to wake up at 6:00 every morning, no matter the day. It was a habit that she had kept even after leaving the girl’s home.

  Opening the door, she was acutely aware that she had no idea as to what the guy’s schedules were. “Hello? Is anyone home?” She called out as she slowly ventured down the hall towards the kitchen.

  Silence. No one was home at all. Lana was dying to take a peek at the ranch land. She had never been to a ranch and hadn’t been able to see much in the twilight last night as she drove in. Opening the door she stepped onto the gracious porch. Gently swaying with the wind at the corner of the porch, was an old two person bench swing. Lana smiled as she decided that it was the perfect spot to enjoy her hot chocolate. Running back inside, she grabbed her hot chocolate packets that she never left home without from her bag, and then went to the kitchen to make it.

  Once her steaming hot chocolate was in hand, she went back out to the porch and sighed as she sat down on the swing. It reminded her of Pollyanna and Anne of Green Gables all at once. She used to love it when Sister Mary Roberta would read those stories to them at night. She would often lie on her bed imagining a scene much like this one as the sister’s hypnotic-like voice lulled her to sleep. She had dreamed of feeling at home swinging on a porch like this, gazing out onto a wild land that seemed so exotic to a little girl who had never stepped a foot outside San Francisco.

  As she sat with one foot curled under her body, while the other foot remained planted on the ground to slightly sway the swing, she loved feeling the cool wind blow through her hair. Trees surrounded the house and the tall, already snow-capped Rocky Mountains hugged the little picturesque valley. “It looks like a postcard,” she murmured to herself as she took a sip of her hot chocolate.

  Lana turned a bit and saw that a large well-kept, red barn stood proudly behind the house, with a long stable and horse arena close-by. Lana shook her head. It was interesting that the other buildings looked to be so well maintained, while the house was
falling down around the men’s ears. If this was her home, it would be gleaming with pride.

  She knew what she wanted to do in that moment to thank the men for their hospitality. She guessed that she might be overstepping her welcome, but she could tell that they needed the help.

  Moving back into the house, she grabbed her phone and blasted some good ol’ Weird Al Yankovich. It was going to take all his albums to get this house clean.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jesse

  Jesse felt guilty as he tethered Samson outside the house. He should have made sure that he had at least given her the WIFI password so she could get some work done. Instead, he had been an ass and left her to fend for herself in that pigsty of a house. He just hoped that his lunch plans would soften her up to him a bit.

  As he entered the house through the kitchen door, he couldn’t help notice that the room was sparkling clean. Even the yellow curtains looked more cheery instead of dull. His mouth dropped open. He hadn’t seen the room looking so nice in years. Not since… don’t go there, buddy!

  Running a hand along the gleaming maple kitchen table, Jesse moved out into the main living area to see that whatever tornado had struck the kitchen had also hit there. The clothes strewn about were gone, everything was dusted, and the dishes had been taken care of. Hell, even the beat-up wood floor looked to have been polished and to have gained a second life. Marveling at the space, Jesse didn’t know what to say. In one sense, he was appreciative of Lana’s hard work, but on the other hand, he was embarrassed and a bit angry to have a stranger, no matter how sexy, touch his stuff. She only meant to be nice… he reminded himself as he made his way down the hall toward the sound of water running in the bathroom.