by Em Petrova
A woman with the same curly brown hair was walking their way. Bellarose envied her subtle style that looked as if she’d tossed on some clothes without a thought to anything but comfort. She probably had.
Behind her was a man, tall and broad as King, with a tan hat pulled low.
The woman came to a standstill as she neared Bellarose. Her mouth opened.
“Rachel, Sierra, Johnny, this is Bellarose.”
“Bella—” Rachel started.
“She doesn’t like to be called Bella. Something about vampires. I don’t understand it.”
Bellarose offered a smile to the trio and Rachel composed herself to come forward, hand out. Bellarose shook it and squeezed. “It’s nice to meet you all,” she said.
“Oh my. It is you.”
She smiled and nodded.
“But how? Oh… You’re on set nearby. And you met King!”
The man grasped his wife’s shoulders and gave Bellarose a nod over of his short wife’s head. “Pleasure.”
“Hello,” Bellarose responded.
Sierra tugged King’s hand. “What’s going on?”
“Nothin’, squirt. I didn’t expect a visit from my favorite niece today.”
She bobbed up and down. “I’m your only niece! And guess what? Today Daddy let me drive the tractor!”
“I hope with him in the seat too.” He glanced up into Johnny’s eyes.
“’Course. Safety first.”
“But Daddy, Mommy drives the tractor alone.”
“Your mother’s been doing it a while and she’s older. You know what I told you, Sierra.” His kind yet firm reprimand had the child’s bouncing coming to a stop. She nodded and then went to put her arms around his middle. He patted her head, and Bellarose took in this entire exchange with a kernel of warmth in her chest.
These were real people, with real lives. They weren’t acting, in the business or anything but genuine.
“We brought some fried chicken for dinner. Thought you’d be eating one of your microwave meals and we’d feed you proper,” Rachel said. “The basket’s in the car. Sierra, why don’t you run ahead and open the trunk for me?”
Given a more grownup task, the girl ran off, her mop of curls going haywire.
King rested his hand on Bellarose’s lower back. “We’d love to share your meal. Wouldn’t we, Bellarose?”
His sister and her husband didn’t miss a thing, taking in King’s touch. She nodded. “I haven’t had fried chicken in a long time.”
“C’mon. My stomach’s growling.” He led her across the yard to the cabin, with his sister and brother-in-law beside them. Rachel looked around. “What’s with the tents?”
“We’re filming here on Blackwater,” Bellarose spoke up.
Her eyes, the same shape as King’s, grew round. “Ohhh. So you met here.”
“Yes. And King’s teaching me about ranching and riding.”
“Oh, is he?” Johnny cocked a playful brow, and King gave him a look. Johnny twisted away to hide his smile.
Sierra had managed to open the trunk of their SUV and was hanging half in, half out, trying to reach the basket. Johnny rushed forward to help her.
“I don’t think Johnny knows who you are,” Rachel said quietly.
Offering a smile, Bellarose answered, “That’s quite all right. I’m just a normal person too.”
King gave her a quizzical look before getting called away to help Sierra haul the extra heavy bread rolls into the house. That left her in the yard alone for a moment with his sister.
Rachel’s gaze slid over her face and down to her top and back up. “You’re more beautiful in person.”
“Thank you.”
“I can see why my brother’s smitten with you.”
“Mommy!”
She turned for the porch and Bellarose was left standing there. She looked down at her blouse to see her buttons were lopsided, done up incorrectly in her haste.
Her cheeks on fire, she slowly mounted the steps. King came back out of the house to take her by the hand. “All right?”
“Yes, just… block me a moment, will you?”
He nodded, brows creased in confusion, but he barricaded the doorway with his big body as she hastily did up her buttons the right way.
A chuckle escaped him. “Guess we’re not as sly as we thought. I didn’t even notice.”
She patted her hot cheeks. “Rachel did. Oh Lord.”
He laughed again. “They don’t care one way or another. C’mon. I can smell that chicken and my stomach’s turning inside out.”
Chapter Eight
King sat back and watched Bellarose lay out the pieces on the gameboard, spelling a word. Sierra was cozied up next to her, and Bellarose would give her pointers on what letters formed what words. So far, Sierra was winning with the most points.
“Oh good one,” Rachel said to Bellarose.
The house smelled pleasantly of fried chicken and King’s stomach was satisfied even if his needs weren’t. He might have gotten off—and what a hell of an experience it was too—but he wasn’t finished with the redheaded beauty seated across the table from him.
She looked up at him and smiled. He returned it but the sensation of joy spread throughout his entire body. From the corner of his eye, he caught Rachel watching the exchange.
“So tell us about the show,” she said to Bellarose.
“Well, it’s obviously a western. A sort of soap opera for primetime cable with thirteen episodes.”
“Is it true that Chaz Kitts is your leading man?”
Johnny cocked his head at his wife. “Oooh, Chaz Kitts!”
“Oh you.” She threw a paper napkin at him, and some cookie crumbs scattered across the gameboard.
“Yes, it’s true. I don’t spend a lot of time with Chaz off-set though.” Her gaze found King’s again, those amber eyes burning with something… more. Something he couldn’t identify but had his pulse racing again. In the barn, she’d blown his mind by dropping to her knees and taking him in her mouth. And again when she’d come apart in his arms. This burning look she gave him now seemed all tied up with those acts of pleasure yet on a deeper level.
“He’s shorter than he looks on TV,” King put in, making his play and spelling the word ARCH.
Rachel gasped, leaning in. “Is he really?”
King gave her an innocent look.
“You don’t even know, do you? How could you when you don’t watch TV?”
He huffed a laugh and sat back, curling his fingers around the beer at his elbow.
Rachel pushed away from the table. “King, can I speak with you alone for a minute?”
He stared at her. She widened her eyes in the way their momma used to.
“All right.” He shoved back too and flicked one of Sierra’s curls. “Don’t let Bellarose cheat now, you hear?”
She nodded enthusiastically. He followed his sister into the kitchen. She grabbed him by the hand and towed him into the small pantry. Surrounded by a few boxes of stale cereal and some canned foods that were most likely expired, she rounded on him.
“King! When did this happen?”
“Nothing happened. I’m just showing her how things work on a ranch and how to deal with the horses.”
She folded her arms. “And how to button her blouse wrong.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said in a deadpan way. “Now we should get back out there before Sierra cheats her little butt off.”
Rachel waved at him. “This is crazy. I mean, she’s beautiful. She’s famous. What’s she doing with you?”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You know what I mean! What kind of relationship is this?”
“No kind. We’re just sleeping together.” With that bomb of knowledge dropped, her jaw fell and King swung out of the pantry. He went into the dining room and took up his seat, looking over the gameboard to find a new word placed there.
“Everything all right?” Johnny drawled, givi
ng him a look that said he knew his wife and was highly amused by King’s discomfort.
“Just fine. Rachel wanted to ask me about my canned goods, isn’t that right, Rachel?” he asked as she entered the room.
He stole a glance at Bellarose, but his sister’s words had dampened his spirits quite a bit. Looking at the sultry, stunning redhead, it hit him hard—what was she doing with him?
He couldn’t exactly ask her straight up. Part of him didn’t want to scare her off and part of him didn’t want to know. For now, he just wanted to enjoy her to the fullest, because very soon, he knew, he’d wake up from this dream and it’d all be over.
Several more plays were made in the game, and Bellarose threw a tile at him. He jerked out of his musings and met her stare.
The longing in her deep amber eyes had his shortcomings fading and his gut tightening as warmth bathed him.
“Rachel, I think it’s time to get on home. Got chores to do.” Johnny’s voice broke into the electrical connection between King and Bellarose.
“I got a few things to wrap up myself,” he said, rising. “But thanks for stopping by with supper and entertainment.”
“But we haven’t finished the game,” Sierra pouted.
“Next time, sweetie,” Rachel said.
“When are you gonna come help with my pony, Uncle King?” Sierra demanded.
“Soon. You treatin’ her real good?”
She gave him an of-course-I-am look, which made them all laugh.
“C’mon now, Sierra. To the car.” Johnny herded his wife carrying the basket and his young daughter toward the door and outside. Bellarose and King got up to say their goodbyes and a minute later, they stood in the doorway, alone.
She spun on him, and he whipped her off her feet. Tossing her head back on a laugh, she looped her arms around his neck as he carried her to his bedroom.
“I intend to finish what we started,” he growled against her delectable throat.
A shiver broke over her. “You better.”
Need had him as hard as granite when they reached his bedroom. He lay her on the bed and followed her down, covering her body with his and staring into her eyes.
“I think we drove them out with that long look when you came back into the room,” she said a little breathlessly. “What was that?”
He shrugged. “Beats me, but it seems to happen whenever I look at you.” Their gazes clung for long heartbeats. Then slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers. A gasp tore from her lips and she wrapped her thighs around him, dragging her into the V of her legs.
They shared a moan, and he rocked his hips, pressing his rigid cock into her pussy.
“Get those condoms ready, handsome man.”
He flashed a grin and leaned away to strip off his clothes. She watched every button being freed and when he stood nude in front of her, she released a breathy sigh.
“Take off your clothes, Bellarose. Because if I do it, they’re gonna be in shreds and you’ll be wearing my shirt back to the set.”
“Don’t lie and pretend you don’t want that.” She went for her buttons.
* * * * *
Bellarose’s body was on fire. Her release so near, she was hanging to the edge and one swipe of King’s tongue on her pussy would send her tumbling. He was taking his good old time with her, and she was loving that but she was on the cusp of being frustrated.
“Please,” she cried out when he slid his tongue down her pussy lip instead of through her folds. More juices ran out of her as her pussy squeezed with want.
“How long can you hold out?” he whispered against her inner thigh.
She thumped his shoulder with a fist. “Let me up and I’ll see how long you can!”
His chuckle rumbled against her skin, and he used his long fingers to part her. Warm breath washed over her wet folds.
Then the flat of his tongue met her soaking pussy.
Desire burned out of control as he pulled at her clit with his lips and then licked her with just enough pressure to see the end in sight. Her orgasm hung on the horizon, a bright spot in the sky she was quickly barreling toward with each exquisite flip of this man’s tongue.
He thrust his tongue deep inside her, and his upper lip brushed over her sensitive nubbin. She seemed to hover in midair for a long, breathless second—and then she was bucking into his mouth as a huge release hit.
“King!”
He held her immobile while drawing on her clit with soft pulls, extending her release until she felt she’d pass out.
She collapsed to the bed with a final mewl and closed her eyes. Boneless, melted into a puddle.
“God, you’re beautiful.” He began to crawl up her body, kissing belly, ribs, breasts. When he reached her mouth, she opened her eyes and met his stare. The electricity was there big time, and it had brought a thousand sparks with it.
Staring down at her, his features held such tenderness and affection… or could that be more than affection?
With a fingertip, he brushed her hair out of her eye. “Beautiful.”
Funny how she’d been told this over and over again for the past twelve years she’d worked in show business but all those compliments seemed empty except for King’s.
He made her feel beautiful. Just man and woman, wrapped in each other’s arms.
He slid on a condom, and with his cock head teasing at her opening, she parted her thighs in invitation, still enjoying the after-pulses of her insanely huge orgasm.
“Take me,” she whispered, leaning up to kiss his hard lips.
He continued to gaze down at her, eyes shining. “Nothing could hold me back.” In one long glide, he entered her body. Stretched her. Filled her.
Her insides squeezed around him, holding him where she wanted him. These past days with King had opened her eyes to a brand new life. Growing up as a child star and then with her entire adult life moving from set to set, spending countless hours memorizing lines and attending parties, she hadn’t had a lot of adult time that most people did.
But nights like this, just playing boardgames with nice people she enjoyed, had her feeling more settled and at peace than all the hot stone massages and trips to Italy in the world.
And the hard work she put in alongside King… Well, that had given her a new kind of perspective—about the kind of man she wanted in her life. She’d known for a long time that men like Chaz did nothing for her. And others she’d dated hadn’t been all wrong but they hadn’t been right either.
When he nuzzled his way to her lips, she twisted into the kiss. Locking her hand on his nape to bring him close as they shared an intense moment. Lost in him, she let herself go, only feeling each stroke of his cock. Tasting him. Getting sucked in fast. But with King, she wasn’t afraid.
A group of butterflies in her stomach dipped and rose high into the air.
“Oh God, Bellarose.” He lifted her off the bed, fucking her faster, deeper. His mouth moved over hers like he was claiming her. And she would let him. All he had to do was say the words.
She barely had time to be shocked by her thoughts because he tensed, and his primal growl of pleasure set her off. She came with him, contracting wildly around his pulsating cock as he plunged in and out. Stealing her mind.
And maybe her heart.
* * * * *
Bellarose eyed the tractor. How hard could it be?
She approached the steel machine. A key was in the ignition, and there were several levers that she assumed were gears and brakes.
Yesterday when she’d overheard Johnny mentioning he’d come help with the mowing that King wasn’t getting to, the idea had taken hold that Bellarose could help. Rachel and his mother had done it. Even little Sierra had driven a tractor with the help of her father.
She could do this—she wanted to help King.
Placing a boot on a solid spot, she hitched herself into the seat. Man, it was high. She could do this, though. She looked out over the land. It was mostly flat here, the grasses high and defin
itely in need of cutting, if she judged against other parts of the ranch she’d seen.
Taking a fortifying breath, she twisted the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. Then she remembered her grandfather and how one of his old vehicles he ran around the vineyard would need the gas pedal pumped. But not too much, he’d told her, or she’d flood the system.
Okay, here goes.
She pumped the gas twice and then twisted the key. The engine rolled over. She tried again and it caught, sputtering for a moment before she applied the gas again. It began to vibrate beneath her, and she dragged in another deep breath. She was all set up to mow, with the cutter-thingies already attached. She could do this.
She messed with a lever, putting it into the slot with a small, worn number one. The tractor lurched forward. She was rolling.
She found what she believed to be the brake just to test it, and sure enough, she came to a stop. The engine threatened to stall out and she had to give it more gas, so she was definitely rolling now.
Twisting in her seat, she saw that a patch of grass had been mowed behind her. Letting loose a victorious whoop, she faced forward again and began to drive the tractor for the very first time.
She hoped King would appreciate her efforts. If she was honest with herself, she wanted his praise… to be told that she would make a good rancher’s wife.
And not only on TV.
Her heart gave a squeeze, something she’d been feeling since leaving his bed in the wee hours of the night. It hadn’t been only sex but true lovemaking—slow, thorough, exquisite. He was the best lover she could ask for, the best she’d ever had. And the way he looked at her as if he had something to say had her heart pattering fast and hard.
She heard it in her ears now as she guided the tractor in what she believed to be a straight line. But when she looked behind herself, though, she saw it was more of a wavy one. She giggled and tried to straighten up.
When she got to the end of the field, she turned the wheel. But she was too wide to turn tightly and ended up the width of the tractor away.
Ohhh. Realization dawned about why the fields appeared to be striped. It all made more sense now.
As she trundled along for minutes that turned into hours, she let her mind wander over the beauty of the land and a sort of spirituality settled over her. She’d never felt so at peace, so at one with anything until she’d come to Washington.