by Naomi Niles
“I’m a gourmet chef.”
“No! You’re not!” I was stunned.
“Okay, you’re right, I’m not. But I wish I had one because I like to eat. Can you cook?”
“Well, not bad, but not gourmet.”
“Good. Then cooking is part of your job. We’ll call it ‘brainstorming sessions.’ And for the record, I’m not much on gourmet eating, either. Just plain, country food for me.”
“Got it, but this is starting to sound pretty chummy.”
“It’s only in how you look at things. If I have a maid make my bed, you think I’m going to expect to jump her bones in it?”
“I don’t know, do you?”
He gave an exasperated sigh. “You’ll see. I can be a gentleman. Anyway, you’re in charge of my reputation, remember.”
“I do, just see that you do, as well.”
We were pulling into a long, dirt drive and I saw a house come into view. It was a sprawling ranch made out of stone and logs. Actually, I found it quite attractive. It was surrounded by trees and the only patch of green grass I’d seen in the last two miles.
Blake came around and opened the door for me. I was a little flustered by that; in the city we didn’t have anything but the subway, buses and taxis and door opening wasn’t involved. He grabbed my bags and led me to the door. He gestured toward me to open it.
“It’s locked,” I pointed out.
“Nope,” he countered and reached around me to turn the handle and push it open with his boot.
“You don’t lock your doors when you leave?” I asked, surprised.
“Why should I? If anyone wants something that bad as to drive way out here and come up that drive, knowin’ that a bull rider lives here with a closet full of guns, well, he must need it awfully bad and is welcomed to it. Stuff, I can buy.”
I paused to think how different life was here than in the city. There, we’d never gone to bed with anything fewer than four locks and deadbolts on the door and the idea of easily replacing things was foreign to us. We’d never had much and that made everything a one-time acquisition.
He ushered me into the central area of the house where the open kitchen was situated. Behind that was a living area with vaulted ceilings and a massive fireplace I thought he could probably walk into. At both ends of the house were the bedrooms and baths; his master suite on one end and two guest suites at the opposite. I realized how perfect the layout was for just the sort of situation we’d be in.
“Pick the room you’d like,” he motioned down the hallway. I chose the one at the back of the house because it looked out over the pasture and trees and had access to a long patio that banked the back of the house. Beyond the patio was an in-ground pool, bathhouse, and hot tub. I couldn’t believe my good fortune; it was as if my dreams had come true. A job and a resort all in one.
My room was very large and included a desk with an upholstered chair. I placed my laptop here and plugged it in to charge. “Do you have WiFi?” I called to him down the hall.
“001Cain,” he called back the password and I logged on. I hung up what few clothes I had and plugged in my cell to charge. I was now in business.
I wandered down the hallway and found him in the kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. This didn’t take long because there was very little in it. “Okay,” he said, reaching into a nearby drawer and pulling out a keyring and handing it to me. He reached in again and rummaged until he found what he was looking for: another single key. “That’s the key to the truck in the garage and the other is to the house. You’d better make your first responsibility be to get us some groceries. I know you know where Elmer’s is,” he added and pulled out his wallet. He handed me a debit card. “That’s for groceries, gas, and any other expenses you might have. The PIN code is 1001. While you’re out, get yourself some clothes. I don’t know what you had in that bag, but I’m pretty sure it’s not much and besides, you need a bathing suit now.”
“You’re giving me your debit card and PIN?” I asked, incredulous.
“Why not?”
“Well, you really don’t know me that well,” I began.
“I know you well enough,” he responded, grinning. “Anyway, if you steal from me you’ll be out of a job and I think you probably don’t want to fight Bob for his taxi,” came the jocular teasing and I smiled.
“Okay, what do you like to eat?”
“Don’t care. Just none of that sissy food, at least not for me. You know, meat, potatoes, veggies, fruit, beer, cookies, chips…”
“Hold on, cowboy,” I interrupted him. “Do you think the beer is a good idea?”
“I think that beer is an excellent idea,” he responded. “What do you expect me to drink?”
I looked around. “Well, maybe you could try water, milk, juice?”
“Shit. Milk’s for babies. Unless you’re offering,” he teased, looking at my chest.
“I think you need to stop doing that or you will get less than my best work,” I warned him.
“I’ve read your best work. If that was poison, then sign me up for a slow death.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, sit down and I’ll tell you.”
He looked as though he’d actually given some thought to this so I nodded and took a seat in the living area. He went to the windows overlooking the pool and began talking with his back to me. I got the idea this is where he did his best thinking and wished I had my camera. His profile against the light would make a stunning black and white. No matter what I said, I couldn’t deny that his butt was tight and high and the muscles in the backs of those thighs made my head spin. It was going to be increasingly difficult to keep my mind on work.
“So, here’s what I was thinkin’,” he began. “If my reputation is sort of shot full of holes right now, instead of workin’ so hard to make me rub clean, what if we were to make the competition look worse?”
I shook my head. “You mean a smear campaign?”
“Don’t care if that’s what you call it, but yeah, that’s the general idea.”
“Rather unsporting, don’t you think?”
“You sound like Mary Poppins. No, I don’t think. I know that almost without exception, every cowboy on the circuit is screwin’ somebody’s wife, taking payoffs to lose, hiding cash from the government, addicted to pain meds or involved in some sleazy side deal for the days when they can’t ride. Yeah, that’s right,” he affirmed at the doubtful expression on my face. “As you so righteously pointed out, we’re athletes and every sport has its darker side. Hell, lots of these bulls come up from Mexico and I’ve seen ‘em come up with an asshole stuffed full of cocaine packets. I mean, who the hell is going to inspect a bull’s ass? You? Me? Not likely. I get as close to that as I’m gonna as it is.”
“So let me get this straight,” I countered. “You want me to take out the entire sport to make you look good by comparison?”
“I know you think a lot of yourself, Silver, but I don’t believe you’re going to take out the entire circuit, including the underworld that keeps it going, just by writing a few, ugly stories. Hell, if anything, you might bring some romance to it. People like that shit. They eat it up.”
He turned to face me and walked toward the chair across from me where he sat down. “Hell, you think people come to see me stick a bull? Hell, no. They come to see me get my head bashed in. They want blood, broken bones, even death if they get real bored or used the old lady’s beer money for the price of admission.”
His gray eyes were like backlit sterling silver, glinting with the heightened emotion of his thoughts. As he spouted the words, he drew in huge, deep breaths and they spread open the deep neckline of his shirt. I could see a muscled chest covered with fine hair. I am ashamed to admit that I sat there, across from him and felt myself gushing. I think if he’d wiggled one finger in my direction I would have stripped on the spot and crawled all over him. This guy was like catnip to women and I thought I was immune—I
was so wrong.
“So how deep do you think it will take to get you off the hook?” I asked him.
“I don’t want you to hurt any one person in particular, so be careful there. Just add some dark romance to the industry and then, by comparison, point out real subtle like that I’m not part of all that. Yeah, I drink a little and maybe you could pull something like bravery before battle shit, I don’t know. That’s why I pay you the big bucks.”
“The big bucks?” I repeated in a mocking tone.
He stopped still and looked at me, lowering his chin at an angle that made my heart drop. “Any time you want to expand your job description, we can discuss as raise.”
“You’re an ass, you know that, Temple?”
I leapt off the chair, snatched the keyring and debit card and heard him chuckle behind me. As my parting shot I stopped and looked over my shoulder. “That’s a pretty gutsy thing to say to someone who is about to walk out of your house with your truck and debit card with PIN.”
There was silence in my wake.
Chapter 8
Blake
I watched her leave and admired her caboose and those legs the entire way. Those legs. I’ve always been a sucker for legs. That was when it hit me what I’d done. I had just moved a woman into my house.
“Sweet Jesus,” I said to myself and got up grab my cell. I called the woman back at the Cattlemen’s, just in case Silver forgot her promise. “The article is pulled and my only comment is this—publish that and I’ll call a few friends you happen to work for,” I said briefly and tapped the phone off.
Satisfied that I’d put out the most immediate fire, I settled onto the sofa and flipped on the television to watch a rodeo being held in Denver. I knew most of the guys and even more of the animals they rode. When the bull riders came on, I could feel the muscles in my gut tighten and even felt a little dizzy. I didn’t like that and flipped the channel to an old John Wayne western.
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I smelled was food cooking. I stretched and got up to go into the kitchen. There was Silver, a little apron around her waist standing with her back to me as she cooked at the stove. I don’t think she heard me come in over the sizzling and from my vantage I could see strips of beef and peppers with onions. My nose confirmed this and my stomach grumbled.
“Need any help?” I asked and moved closer, leaning over her shoulder to snatch a strip of beef out of the skillet and pop it into my mouth. She slapped my hand.
“Get out of there, especially when you haven’t washed your hands. You men are all alike. Go wash and you might consider putting a razor to that face and I’ll meet you at the table in five minutes.”
“Jesus, but you’re bossy. I wish I’d known that before I hired you.”
“Yeah? Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” she snapped and her ass leaned into me as she bent to grab a serving spoon from the drawer. Jesus, this was going to be harder than I realized, in more ways than one.
Five minutes later I walked into the dining area and saw she had two place settings at the big oak table. There were plates and even damned cloth napkins. Where did she get those? I wondered. I sat down and she carried in two plates. Mine was heaped and it smelled damned good. She set hers on the table and went back to the kitchen, reappearing with two goblets of wine and a basket of crusty bread. I could get used to this, I thought to myself.
Just as I expected, the food was great and the company, even better. I was pleased to discover that Silver had a wit that came close to mine and she entertained me with stories of what it was like to live in the city. I did my part and told her some about country living, liberally covered with southern bullshit. She fell for the first few and then just smiled as I kept going.
When plates were empty, she handed me a filled goblet and motioned me toward the living area while she picked up the plates and went in to put them in the dishwasher. She joined me afterwards and we strategized our approach for my reputation.
“Do you have a website, just for yourself?” she asked.
“Nope.”
“Well, you will, now. It’s your office on the Internet and we’ll build your fan club and list schedules of your appearances, etc. It will also give me a platform to talk about the challenges of the business. I will need plenty of pictures.”
“What kind of pictures?”
“Oh, you know. Beefcake pictures for the ladies, riding pictures for the guys. We’ll do some public appearances like having you volunteer with underprivileged kids and ribbon-cutting, that sort of thing. We’ll raise your image.”
“Jesus, Silver, is all that really necessary?”
“Just think of all those bottles of whiskey, the nights in jail, and the women you almost got pregnant and you’ll soon see that by comparison, you’ve got a lot of reputation raising to do. I’m going to bed now. You sit there and think of ideas that will appeal to Texans. I really never expected to live here when I was in college, so I’m not too prepared for it. As for me, I bought a suit while I was in town and a midnight swim sounds awfully good right now. Night.”
“Night, Silver.”
She left and it was like someone stole the air out of the room. I slid open the door and went out to the patio, took a chair in the shadows and lit a cigarette. It wasn’t too long before I saw Silver slip out her door and head toward the pool. The underwater light was on a timer and was waiting for her. As I watched, her silhouette moved with the grace of a yearling: all legs and anticipation. She touched the water with her toe and squealed a tiny bit. Jesus but she’s gorgeous, I thought. Her legs rose high in her bikini and her breasts were full and overflowed the top. She stood at the edge for just a moment, and then with one, clean movement, dove in and knifed the water, barely leaving a ripple.
I watched as her nymph-like figure swam at the bottom, undulating and arching as she let her muscles work themselves out. The turquoise of the pool provided the perfect background for her silver hair that flowed behind her like lightning bolts, reflecting the underwater light. I held my breath until she surfaced, treading water only momentarily before she leveled out into long, graceful strokes through the glittering water. She swam a half dozen laps and then climbed out and dove from the diving board, pulling a perfect swan.
My cigarette had burned down as I watched and the ashes singed my finger. I dropped it and cursed, which she heard. Silver froze like a deer and looked toward me. She knew I was watching and I suspected she knew it from the moment she came out of the house. Not much got past her. To save face, she stroked to the ladder, climbed out and picked up her towel from a pool chair. She stood stock still, looking at me, and then with the art of a strip tease dancer, slowly bent from the waist to dry her long legs, spreading them slightly to get to all the spots I was dying to kiss.
The towel went north and down into the valley between her breasts, her hands sliding it down to dry her nipples I could see were cool and budded fully. I was so hard I thought I would lose it right then and there. I couldn’t stand it a moment more.
I got up and in two movements, slid off my jeans, boots and shirt. I began to walk toward her, slowly, to see what she would do. She didn’t flinch, but stood there watching me. I came up to her, standing there in full, throbbing glory and wanted to throw her down on the pool chair and take her then and there. I wouldn’t, though. Silver was special; she deserved to be treated like a queen and not a bar room whore. Her chin lifted with nobility and she stared me down. This was a woman I wanted; she had guts and dignity. She would stand up to anything or anyone. For this night, at least, she was standing up to me. She knew what I wanted and dared me to take it, knowing that if I did, it would make her like all the others. She was taunting me and she could visibly see the result of her efforts. I was completely erect and pointed straight at her. To tease me even further, she widened her stance, just enough that the point of seduction was arguable. I was beginning to lose it.
“This enough cheesecake for you, Silver?” I
asked her in a quiet tone and while she watched, I took the two steps between where I stood and the blue cold water that would be my undoing.
As I surfaced, I looked and she was gone. There was no evidence she’d ever been there. I looked toward her rooms and the windows were dark, the sliding door fastened. I didn’t need to check to know that it was locked.
She said I had bought a share of the devil with my past behavior and that I should spend time thinking how I could make amends. She anticipated this would happen; that she-devil of a temptress. I believe in that moment of regret I may have paid for a month’s worth of transgressions.
Now the only question that remained was whether my life, from that point on would continue to be hell, or whether the she-devil would, at some point, mark my card clean and become mine.
Chapter 9
Meli
I laid in my new room that night but the last thing on my mind was the fact that I was now housed in the nicest place I had ever lived. All I could think about was the naked cowboy I’d left at the pool.
I knew I was treading in dangerous water. He wasn’t just the best-looking guy I’d ever been around; he was vulnerable and I knew the buttons to push. That gave me power; to hurt or help him, however I saw fit.
He was, however, also my boss and I needed this job more than at any time in my life. I didn’t want to end up like my sister, Jill, lying on my back and letting guys ride me in return for drugs or a bit of money now and then. There had to be better options, at least for me. I knew I had to move out of her apartment. If I’d stayed, I knew that I would gradually think of her way of life as normal, and then I’d be lost. I wanted to make something of myself. That’s why I got my degree. I hoped that I could eventually afford a place of my own and then maybe I could get Jill in and cleaned up. It was a pipe dream; I knew that. But I’d always been a determined, ambitious survivor, and I wasn’t about to throw that all away for a pair of gray eyes that made me want to strip right there in view. I had to play it cool and distant; I had to remain professional.