by Nikki Winter
Jesus. “Um,” she swallowed and tried to keep her gaze on his and not his pecs—which were incredible. “The house?” Aiyanna finally squeaked.
Julian’s smile widened. “As you wish.” He called out for a ranch hand to take the horse he’d been riding back to the stables then asked her to move back from the fence a few feet. She did so and he placed one hand on the fence so he could jump it.
He enveloped her smaller hand in his and linked their fingers before taking the other one and tugging on the brim on her cap. “You look adorable in this.” Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, Julian then turned and started for the house, pulling her along.
It was official. She was going to do something stupid.
Julian found Aiyanna in his kitchen studying the room as closely as she’d studied the others. He’d left her for twenty minutes or so to shower. Somehow, the sweat combined with dirt from work left him feeling less than presentable in her presence. Sweat combined with her, on the other hand, would have been more than welcome.
“So, what do you think?” he asked as he pulled on a t-shirt.
Aiyanna sighed and shrugged. “This place is beautiful. What more could you want done to it?”
She was right—his home was beautiful but he didn’t have enough space. There was one floor, three bedrooms, and two baths along with the kitchen, dining room and living room. Julian walked over to his refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of juice. He held it up and waited for Aiyanna’s nod before he grabbed her a cup and filled it with ice. Placing both on the island in front of her, he sat opposite.
“This would be perfect if I planned on remaining alone for the rest of my life. I need more space.” His fingers tapped the counter. He told her exactly what he wanted to have done.
Aiyanna sat back, rolling her cup between her palms. “Wow. I take it you don’t plan to be a bachelor for very long, huh?”
He chose his words very carefully because if he told her what he was feeling he knew for a fact that she would run. Instead, Julian simply shook his head. “Bachelorhood is for my brother.”
Her eyebrows winged. “You have a brother?”
“Yes. Older by two years. What about you? Any siblings?”
She nodded. “A twin.”
His eyes widened and she smirked. “Whatever perverted fantasies you have, kill them. He’s my fraternal twin.”
Julian deflated and she laughed. “Stop pouting. Even if he were a she, I’d sooner kill you than go down that road.”
He frowned harder. “I don’t pout.”
Aiyanna folded her arms across her chest as her head cocked to the side. The calculating look she gave him made him squirm. “This brother of yours, is he a bull rider too?”
“Yes,” Julian answered slowly.
“Is he as big as you are?”
He shrugged. “An inch or two taller.”
“Does he look like you?”
He suddenly felt like he was being set up but answered anyway. “Yes.”
“Then any imaginary fantasies I have about him—”
Julian scowled and sat straighter, leaning across the island towards her before he interrupted. “Will get him killed on sight and fed to my dogs.”
Aiyanna simply shook her head and smirked. “Hypocrisy.”
“Havan and I are two separate entities, Hermosa. Different thoughts and different logic. Make no mistakes; I wasn’t excited at the prospect of your twin being female. It fascinated me that there could be someone close to you in terms of looks and attitude, period. You could be cloned and it still wouldn’t be as good as the original.” Satisfied that she had no response for that, he stood and held out a hand. “Now it’s time for me to show you the grounds.” She took it and he linked their fingers again, enjoying the feel of her soft skin as he walked them through the kitchen and out the back door.
Aiyanna had much to learn about him, starting with the fact that he wanted no one but her and he always worked to get what he wanted.
Chapter Five
He had to stop staring at her mouth and he had to stop now. Julian was fighting everything in his being that was screaming for him to get Aiyanna to admit that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. A month—it had been a month since her first visit to the ranch and in that time period, he’d managed to coax her into having breakfast with him every other day along with lunch and when she wasn’t too tired from working, they had dinner.
Construction had recently started on his house and it had taken some doing but he’d finally got her to do the designs her way. After a few fights that typically ended in him apologizing, she agreed but it was on one condition. Aiyanna wanted Julian to teach her how to ride a horse.
It was one request that he was more than happy to oblige. Now, if he could just stop staring at her lips and fantasizing about what they tasted like, he’d get somewhere with his lesson but it was a hard thing to do. In all the time that they’d spent together, he never did more than hold her hand or kiss her cheek; fearing that if he pushed for more she’d reduce what they had to the physical attraction they shared.
“Julian?” Aiyanna’s voice was soft and curious as she stared down at him from her position on his horse, Shadow. The huge, black Arabian had been with him since he bought the ranch and had quickly become Julian’s favorite. Because of Shadow’s size and build, he carried Julian with ease. He was also the calmest out of the stable and gentle; making him perfect for Aiyanna’s first lesson.
He snapped out of his daydream and cleared his throat. “Uh...yeah...what was I saying again?”
Those wide, beautiful, brown eyes stared down at him as she smiled and his cock thumped against the zipper of his jeans. The things this woman did to him. “You were showing me how to control the reins.”
“Oh...ah...yes. Okay, put your hands here and here.” He showed her how to hold the reins. “Now, the most important part you want to remember is to always move with the horse and not against it. Otherwise, you will wake up tomorrow way sorer than you should be. Understand?”
She nodded once.
“Good.” He moved to the side of her and a few steps back. Reaching up, he placed a hand at the small of her back, clicked his tongue twice and Shadow started off in a slow walk. “For every one of his movements, your hips should match it; roll along with it.” He kept his hand on her lower body and felt it follow fluidly with the horse’s movements. Damned if that didn’t make his problem worse. For a brief second, Julian imagined her hips rolling along his in the same fashion and lost his footing, almost falling.
Aiyanna looked down at him again, one brow quirked. “Julian, are you okay? You seem really out of it.”
Her innocence was so damn cute. Especially now when she didn’t realize that all she had to do was breathe and he wanted her. Any other woman would’ve overdone every move they made, trying to find the natural sensuality that Aiyanna had in spades.
Wearing something as simple as another ball cap—this one logoed with the Giants and turned backwards—a t-shirt, and a pair of jeans, she had him panting after her but didn’t even know it. It wasn’t just her body that made Julian want her though. Aiyanna’s mind worked in the most amazing of ways. She analyzed every thought that ran through her head before she let it leave her lips.
He could tell from the small line that formed between her brows when she was in deep thought about something. Her logic and outlook on the simplest of things never failed to leave him in awe.
Case and point, last week when he’d taken her out to one of her favorite Italian restaurants, the waitress had spent as much time as possible hanging her cleavage in his face.
It was all for naught considering Aiyanna had been wearing a gorgeous, yellow halter sundress that caused her breasts to sit up like beautiful brown offerings just for him and he hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off of them from the time that he’d picked her up.
Disgusted with the lack of attention she was getting, the waitress had sat his menu down in front of him a
nd stomped off. Julian was too busy wondering how he could get Aiyanna’s top to “accidentally” come down to care.
“You could’ve at least pretended to be looking down her shirt, Julian. I think you hurt the girl’s feelings.” She hadn’t even looked up from her menu when she spoke, a small smile dancing around her lush lips.
He would’ve been amazed if he hadn’t still been staring down Aiyanna’s dress contemplating on exactly how hard he had to suck her nipples to make her come. Later that night as he was lying in bed, his cock tenting the sheets and craving the scent of lilacs and orchids clinging to the supple skin of his Hermosa, was when he realized how different she really was.
When he’d pointed out the fact that any other woman would’ve been annoyed, she simply smirked and said, “I may not always be hyper-aware of what you’ve deemed my innate sexiness, but Julian if you lean across that table any further it’s going to cave under the massive weight.”
The words made him smile then as they did now. Aiyanna called his name again, concern etched into her features.
Julian finally answered her. “Sorry, Hermosa. It seems I’m lost inside my own head today.”
“Understatement, dude,” she drawled.
He finally stopped Shadow and reached up to grasp Aiyanna’s waist. Taking her by surprise, he lifted her from the saddle and gently brought her booted feet to the ground, smiling at her shocked look.
Silly woman, she obviously held the illusion that he couldn’t handle her abundant curves. She was so wrong. He backed her into Shadow’s side, towering over her.
“Would you like to know what has me so distracted?” Julian questioned, leaning in to run his nose long her throat. Her smell teased his primal urges and he couldn’t help but to press a kiss to her collarbone.
“Uh...I’m kind of scared to ask.” She sounded breathless and he heard the moan she tried to hold off when he trailed his mouth up her neck and nipped a spot under her chin.
“And why is that?” Julian rasped as he leaned back to look into her eyes.
“Because, it might be the same thing that’s been driving me crazy for the past few weeks.” Then her gaze focused solely on his mouth and he couldn’t take it anymore. Every ounce of control that he’d recently held snapped.
He gently gripped her forearms and pulled her into his chest. Aiyanna’s nostrils flared. Her eyes searching his for the confirmation that he was about to catapult them into what they both desperately wanted.
Their first kiss.
Aiyanna had been waiting on this for what felt like years. She’d held off from taking any sudden steps with Julian; too afraid that once they crossed the line of sharing their bodies that she would inevitably share her heart and she wasn’t ready for that yet.
But every time he touched her—even in the simplest of caresses—Aiyanna wanted to give him everything. That’s what made this all so scary. Four weeks and Julian had her feeling like something was wrong in her day if she didn’t talk to him.
And when she got near him, that stormy gaze watching her every move, she felt exposed; naked from one simple look. He stripped away every inhibition she had with just one glance and was slowly disassembling the wall that she’d built around her heart, brick by brick.
Sometimes she caught the childlike side of Julian through his need to please, to be accepted. There was a hesitation anytime he did something sweet for her. His head would bow and he’d get this sheepish look on his face as if he thought she wouldn’t accept whatever gesture he’d made. His thoughtfulness and the gentle way he handled her were the things that made him the most attractive.
Julian’s heart was big. Aiyanna knew it simply from the way he took care of her. Every moment in his presence was a moment to feel appreciated and he made damn sure of that.
So when his mouth swooped down on hers, his tongue pushing between her lips, Aiyanna didn’t hesitate to return the kiss. A growl rumbled up from his chest as his hands went from her arms to her shoulders then trailed down her back before settling on both halves of her ass.
It fit his huge hands perfectly. Something he seemed to agree on since he squeezed it and pulled the apex of her thighs closer to the huge bulge in his jeans. Julian’s mouth finally left hers and Aiyanna dragged in a gasp of air as his lips nibbled her earlobe then he whispered, “Do you know how many nights I stayed up stroking myself? Imagining what it would feel like to kiss you here?” His hand slid up her body to stroke his thumb across her bottom lip then trailed it downwards, encircling one hard nipple. “Or here.” His hand went lower and he cupped her pussy through her jeans. Aiyanna’s head dropped back as he said, “Or here.”
Julian’s voice dipped lower with every word spoken; each one now coming out in a deep rasp that sent shivers down her spine. “I don’t even have to be near you. Just the simple thought of you makes me hard.” He placed one of her hands over his heartbeat allowing her to feel how fast it had begun to hammer. Julian slowly dragged it downward until he wrapped her palm around his length.
His forehead pressed to hers and he groaned when she squeezed his cock. Before Aiyanna knew it, his lips crashed down on hers again; the kiss more demanding than it had been minutes ago. Julian’s mouth didn’t just stop there. Within seconds he had her shirt up and her bra pulled down, his tongue twirling around the hard peak of her nipple.
“Ju-Julian...someone might see...” She tried to push at his shoulders but he just latched on harder, making her cry out.
He growled again as one hand found the button and zipper on her jeans before his fingers tunneled inside and stroked the now soaked lips of her pussy. His middle finger flicked her clit and Aiyanna’s back bowed, her mouth dropping open in a silent scream. And when he turned two digits and thrust them into her moist heat, she came instantly; shuddering and panting as she slumped against him.
Julian’s hands shook as he managed to re-button and zip Aiyanna’s jeans. His mind and body were in nothing but turmoil and it was his own damn fault. He should’ve never kissed her, least of all out in the open where one of the ranch hands could’ve seen. Backing away, he bit the inside of his cheek and desperately tried to ignore the throbbing in his cock when his gaze noticed how swollen her lips were and how her brown eyes were glazed over; the rise and fall of her chest matching the panting breaths that were leaving his body.
Jesús. Julian had to get some modicum of self control and do it quickly before he fucked her like the look in her eyes was begging him to. He promised himself he wouldn’t push her and he broke that promise. Looking down, he focused on the tips of his boots as he stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans to stop himself from reaching for her again.
“I’m sorry,” Julian said softly.
Aiyanna was quiet for so long that he looked up at her again. That familiar frown line rested between her brows. “For kissing me or touching me?” she questioned just as softly.
“Both,” he answered then watched her face fall. Julian smacked himself in the forehead. “That did not come out the way it was supposed to, Hermosa.”
She snorted but sounded far from amused. “Yeah...okay.” Her arms folded across her chest and she closed her eyes.
Julian clenched his jaw. She was shutting him out again. “Aiyanna—”
She turned away from him. “Can you take me back now?”
“Aiyanna—”
“Please?”
He yanked his hat off in frustration. Now he’d have to spend the thirty minute walk calling himself every kind of name that he could think of. Slamming the Stetson back on his head, he walked up behind Aiyanna and clicked his tongue once. Shadow came trotting up from where he’d wandered off to and Julian lifted Aiyanna’s tense body, sitting her back on the horse.
She may have been pissed off with him but he damn sure wasn’t about to watch her walk when she didn’t have to. For a second, she looked down at him and her face softened. Julian stared back, hopeful, but Aiyanna looked away again; the muscle in her jaw jumping.
Sighing, Julian gripped the reins and started off, wondering how he was going to fix this one.
Chapter Six
“Wait, wait, wait.” Lalani waved her hands to stem the flow of words leaving Aiyanna’s mouth. “He said he was sorry?”
Aiyanna bit off a mouthful of her burger. She and Lalani had decided to stay in all weekend, stuffing themselves like Luau pigs and watching movies that made them want to find men and beat them.
“Yup.” She nodded and sucked down some beer.
“But...why?”
Aiyanna shrugged. “I don’t have the slightest idea. One minute it’s like he has eight hands at once—which I don’t think I’d be particularly objective to after this one time—and the next, he can’t snatch ’em away fast enough.”
Lalani looked so confused that it almost made Aiyanna smile...almost. “But...why?”
“In the last five seconds from the first time you asked me that question,” Aiyanna leaned into her friend, “I still don’t know.”
“Okay, it was obvious he wanted to fuck you right?”
“Judging from the sudden branch of oak that sprouted from his loins, I would concur.”
Lalani blinked and shook her head. “Can’t you just say he was hard like a normal person?”
“Have you ever known me to be normal? Really?”
“No, not even when we first met and that saddens me because you’re not supposed to flash your crazy to the first person who’ll look.”
“Some days, I question why I never tried to push you off a cliff.”
“Because you need my logic and wisdom.”
Aiyanna started laughing and couldn’t stop until she noticed that Lalani hadn’t joined in. “Oh...you’re serious.”
Her friend took the throw pillow she’d been resting on and bopped Aiyanna on the head with it twice. “That was me trying to knock some since into you.” She did it again. “And that was just for fun.”