by Jess Bryant
He gave up pretending to listen when she bent over the fridge and his shirt slid up her thighs, giving him a nice view of the smooth pink lace covering her other smooth pink parts. Bluebell was damn pretty all over. She had long legs, smooth curves and perky breasts and she wasn’t shy about getting naked like some women. He liked that about her.
He liked that she was just crazy enough to tell him she wanted to use him and then ask him to screw her in the back room of a hardware store too. He liked that she was honest about what she did and didn’t want. He liked that she’d sought him out in the hardware store because he hadn’t for one second bought her line about checking on an order for the Montgomery Oaks ranch. He liked that she’d come to him too because odds were if she hadn’t he’d have been the one to hunt her down sooner or later.
He liked a lot of things about Bluebell. He liked that she didn’t sugarcoat her difficult relationship with her father. He liked that she stayed by the old man’s side despite it. He liked that she could still laugh even in the face of a tough situation like that, even if she’d been laughing at his expense. Shockingly he even liked that she talked all the time, never letting silence go on too long whether he was paying attention or not.
Like now, when she was prancing around his kitchen, boiling water and talking her pretty little head off in nothing but his t-shirt. Her long, slim legs went on forever. He liked those legs, liked them wrapped around his waist a whole lot.
“Zach?”
“Huh?” He lifted his eyes back to her face.
“You weren’t listening to a thing I said were you?”
He liked the way her bottom lip poked out when she pretended to pout at him, “No. I was distracted.”
“Funny.” She rolled her eyes, “I asked you a question.”
He’d been completely serious but he tilted his head, “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I asked if you call all the women you sleep with baby-doll.”
His head snapped to attention then. When had they gone from talking about Stephen Jones to the dangerous topic of women he’d slept with? That seemed like a flying leap even if he hadn’t been paying attention.
“Why do you ask?”
“Just curious if it’s easier than keeping names straight.” She smiled sweetly and he knew he’d been played.
She hadn’t asked him anything of the sort. She’d noticed he wasn’t paying attention and goaded him. She was so damn cute thinking she could get the upper hand so he rose to his feet.
“No baby. I only call you that because you look like a full-size Barbie, all pretty and blonde and fresh-faced.” He shrugged.
“Maybe that’s because I’m so much younger than you, cradle-robber.”
“Maybe.” He laughed as he stalked closer, “My turn to ask a question.”
“Shoot.”
“Do you always beg for your orgasm when you get close?”
She smirked, “I don’t know, nobody’s ever mentioned it but you.”
He slipped an arm around her waist and drew her up against him, “Maybe nobody else had what it takes to make you beg for it.”
“Maybe.” Her breathe hitched and he had to taste her lips.
She sighed into his mouth and melted against him. He liked it when she did that. Her breasts flattened against his chest and her arms wrapped around his neck. She tiptoed up to meet him and he grabbed her ass, lifting her so she could wrap those legs he liked so much around him.
“I was cooking you dinner.” She broke the heady kiss after a couple of seconds, “Aren’t you hungry?”
“Yes, but not for spaghetti.” He flipped the knob on the stove and carried her over to the table; setting her on the edge he lowered himself into his chair in front of her.
“Zach.” Her lips parted on his name at the same time he pushed aside the lace panties and put his mouth on her.
She’d begged him, pleaded for him not to stop as the orgasm ripped through her. It was the sweetest sound to hear her come apart, to taste her on his lips and tongue. She was so damn sweet and pretty he’d had to take her again right there on his kitchen table.
He’d watched her eyes close and her mouth fall open in a gasp as he’d entered her. She was hot and tight and wet and he’d felt every pulse of her orgasm as he held her close and drove into her. He doubted he’d ever have a meal there and not think about the beautiful woman in his bed now.
“I should get going.” He felt her lips on his chest.
“You can stay if you want.”
He’d never offered to let anybody stay the night with him. He rarely even brought women to his house. She’d been here twice now. He’d had her in his shower, his kitchen, his bed. He could think of a few more places he’d like to have her as well.
“Stay and I’ll cook breakfast for you in the morning since I interrupted dinner.”
She giggled, “I thought you said you couldn’t cook?”
“I make a pretty good pop-tart.”
She laughed, “As tempting as that sounds, I should get back to the ranch before somebody notices the R8 parked in your front yard.”
“I hate to break it to you baby-doll but your car is less than discreet, one of my brothers has probably already seen it. It’s bound to be news all over Fate by now. I imagine everybody’s talking about how you got mixed up with that bad news West boy.”
“You think they’re talking about me and Devin?” She gaped in mock horror and he rolled her to her back, pinning her beneath him.
“Very funny.”
“I thought so.” She smirked up at him and then cupped his cheek gently, “Like I said, it’s a very tempting offer but I should get back to the ranch.”
“Can’t handle the gossip?”
“I’m twenty-eight years old Zach. I don’t care if the whole town knows we’re sleeping together. I stopped caring what they think about me a long time ago.” She frowned, “But for some God unknown reason I still care what my Daddy thinks so I can’t stay the night.”
At the mention of her father and the flash of pain in her big blue eyes he reluctantly rolled off of her. She couldn’t stay the night. She was right. He knew that, he was just foggy from so much sex.
He watched her stand and search for her clothes. Her soft skin was covered by the pink lace panties. Her hair glinted in the moonlight through the window as she pulled the yellow sundress over her head and flipped it up over her shoulder. She glanced at him one last time as she hesitated by the doorway.
“Thank you for today Zach.”
“Anytime.”
He watched her walk away and heard his front door shut a minute later. He sat up in his bed and looked around once she was gone. He should get up and finish the cabinetry. He had things to do since he’d spent the entire afternoon with Bluebell.
If she hadn’t walked through the front door of the hardware store he’d have spent the afternoon working. He would have finished sanding and cutting and gluing the cabinets. He’d have them installed and he’d be ready to start laying tile.
But he hadn’t done a one of those things and he hadn’t wanted to. The minute he got a look at her in that little yellow sundress he hadn’t wanted to do anything but get her naked as quickly as possible. He’d spent the rest of his day doing just that over and over again.
He pulled his tired body from the bed and grabbed a fresh pair of boxers. He was just stepping into his mesh shorts when he heard a knock on his door. A smile unwittingly rose up his face and he stubbed his toe on the foot of the bed racing across the room.
His smile died when he pulled the front door open. He frowned. He should have known he wasn’t that lucky.
“Was that Bluebell Carter’s flashy little sports car I passed on my way up the drive?” Devin raised a curious eyebrow.
“I don’t know. Was it?” He stepped out of the way as his younger brother came inside and shut the door behind him.
“I didn’t know you two were acquainted.”
“She’s a friend.” He turned h
is back on his brother and padded to the kitchen.
That was true. He considered Blue a friend, a friend that he liked to see naked but a friend nonetheless. He’d had close friends he liked a whole lot less than he liked her. She was a friend, with benefits.
Devin glanced at the stove and his mouth fell open in shock, “Did you cook her dinner?”
Damn. He’d forgotten that he left the big pot on the stove earlier. It was still full of water. Sitting on the counter beside it was the can of tomato sauce and a box of spaghetti that Bluebell had pulled from his cabinets with the intention of cooking. They’d never gotten back around to food after he had her instead.
“No.” He picked up the pot and dumped it in the sink.
“Never known you to cook for your friends.”
“I wasn’t cooking for her.”
“Sure looks like it.” Devin taunted.
He scowled, “If you must know she was going to make dinner, that’s all.”
“Wow, I wish I had friends that offered to cook me dinner.”
“Funny.” He ignored his brother’s teasing and put the food back in the cabinets.
“You two dating?”
“No.”
Devin knew he didn’t date. It was a stupid question. He didn’t do relationships, neither did his brothers. It was just a fact of life for them. They all had their reasons but they weren’t a bunch of sissies that sat around and talked about it.
“So you wouldn’t mind if Riley asked her out then?”
“What?” He turned back to face Devin too fast.
“Riley was just saying the other day that if she’s sticking around town he was thinking of asking her out.”
“She isn’t sticking around town.”
“She’s been around over a month.” Devin shrugged.
“She’s just staying with her father because he’s dying. The moment he’s gone, she will be too.”
“You know that for a fact?”
“Yeah.”
“You two talk about it?” Devin raised an eyebrow again.
Zach fidgeted under the scrutiny. He wasn’t used to the strange feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. It was the same feeling he got whenever Bluebell mentioned her father or the Montgomery Oaks Ranch. He knew what Devin was getting at and he didn’t like it.
“No.” He glared at his younger brother, “We haven’t been doing a lot of talking.”
“I figured as much.”
“Fuck off Devin.” He growled, “What are you doing here at ten o’clock at night anyway?”
Devin simply smiled, “Didn’t have anything going on so I thought I’d stop by and see if you needed any help with the house. If I’d known you had company I wouldn’t have swung by.”
“I don’t have company now.” He shrugged, “So yeah, if you want to help I could use it.”
“Just tell me what to do.”
Zach spent the next two hours building and installing the new cabinetry in the master bathroom with his younger brother. Devin was a good handyman and it was nice to spend some time together. They had a beer and caught up.
Devin told him about Riley getting in a fight with Maddie’s boyfriend at her birthday party. Zach told him about the lunch date their mother had with Frankie. They both agreed they were the only sane ones in the family.
Neither of them brought up the ranch or the land and for that Zach was thankful. He didn’t want to know about the Montgomery ranch. What he already did know wasn’t sitting right with him. The fact that he knew more about Bluebell’s fathers plans for the ranch that was her home than she did ate at his gut but it wasn’t his place to tell her. The old man needed to do it, and soon.
Chapter Thirteen
Zach checked the oil in the Impala. He’d already checked the tire pressure and gas gauge. He hadn’t spent enough time on the old car recently.
He liked cars, in particular his father’s old 1967 Chevy but he wasn’t a mechanic. It was a hobby, one that had taken a backseat to remodeling the house in the past few months. The fact that he was in the barn making sure it ran now confused and frustrated him all at the same time.
It was Bluebell. She was driving him a little bit crazy. He knew it. Knew it and hated it but there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
He hadn’t seen her in four days, had barely even heard from her in four days. Not since the day after they got busy in Griff’s and then a few more times at his house. Not since he asked her to stay and she’d said she couldn’t. Not since she told him she got her period and would be out of commission for a few days.
He hadn’t realized she meant he wouldn’t see her at all but he supposed he should have been fine with that. Besides, he had things to do. He wasn’t the type of man to sit around and wait for a woman and he definitely wasn’t the type that was going to go hunting her down just to make sure she was okay.
Obviously she’d only wanted sex. He knew he should be thrilled. She was a beautiful woman that entertained the hell out of him, was good in bed and only wanted to use him for hot sex and then left him alone. She was perfect.
So why was he annoyed?
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he hadn’t been done with her yet. Something about Bluebell Montgomery Carter got under his skin. Something about her made him want to get under her skin too. He wasn’t sure what it was but he didn’t like that she’d been the one to use and discard him. Maybe it was just his ego.
He’d spent the past four days not thinking about her and yet, she was all he could think about. Devin helped him lay the tile in the master bathroom and he wondered if he could show it to her which was just ridiculous because if they couldn’t have sex for a few days he shouldn’t want to see her so badly. He took his frustrations out on demolishing the guest bathroom.
He spent his nights hitting Sully’s and the Roadhouse. He’d had beers with his brothers, shot some pool and checked out the women. But he’d gone home alone every night.
It would have been easy to pick up some new girl. He wasn’t cocky about it he just knew it was the truth. Victoria Sands had practically offered to climb on his lap and ride him in the middle of the bar but as much as he hated to admit it, the offer hadn’t remotely appealed to him.
He was crazy, so crazy that when he heard that familiar singsong voice behind him he thought he was having another dream for a minute. He’d been having a lot of dreams about the crazy sexy blond. He turned, half expecting to see nothing but air. Instead, his lungs stopped working and all of his air rushed out in a whoosh.
“Hey ya cowboy.”
Bluebell was standing just inside the door to the barn. She was wearing those sexy as sin red cowboy boots but instead of a dress this time she had donned a tiny pair of denim cut-offs and a red and white plaid pearl snap with the sleeves rolled up. Her blond hair was tied into double braids on the side of her head and a white cowboy hat sat atop the pretty picture.
He hadn’t seen her in four days. He hadn’t seen her in four days and she turned up in his barn looking like cowgirl Barbie. His mouth went dry. Damn she was pretty and damn if that didn’t annoy him just a little bit more. Not enough to tell her to get lost, but just enough that he didn’t immediately grab her and fulfill the urge to sink deep inside her.
“Hey ya Bluebell.” He leaned against the hood of the car.
“You busy?”
“Nah, just checking out the car.” He shrugged, “How’s your dad?”
She shrugged and her chin dipped an inch. Most people wouldn’t have noticed but he knew her well enough to know it meant she was about to lie to him. He’d already figured out that tell.
“Fine.”
“And how’s he really?” He raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Not good. He’s sleeping more and more. The doctors say that happens near the end.” Her voice cracked on the last word.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Her chin tilted back up, “Thank you for asking, and for wanting an actual an
swer.”
“No problem.” He relaxed into a smile.
“I’ve spent as much time as I can with him the past few days. I never knew when he was going to wake up so I just stayed by his side.” She shrugged again, “But he was pretty grouchy earlier and I couldn’t take it anymore. Thought I should get out of the house, get some fresh air.”
“Plenty of good places to do that out here in the country.”
Her blue eyes flashed with something he thought was doubt and he immediately regretted the snide remark. She was tough. He knew it. He didn’t like the idea of making her doubt herself.
“Oh, um… yeah I just thought I’d stop in and say hi. I could go if you’re busy.” She was already starting to back away and he quickly pushed himself off the hood of the car to grab her arm.
“Uh-uh… don’t you go leaving baby-doll. I already told you I ain’t busy.” He wrapped his other arm around her waist and drew her back against him, “We have a rule about you not running out on me when I have a raging hard-on remember?”
She laughed and the sound punched him in the chest. He liked her laugh, it was light and carefree, a little girly just like her. It made him want to kiss those pretty pink lips, to taste and play and drink her in even when he was still half-annoyed for her disappearing and then showing up looking good enough to eat.
“Is sex all you think about?”
“When you’re around? Yeah.”
She laughed again and he took the opportunity to study her face. She was more than pretty, beautiful really. She had a Cupid’s bow mouth that’d bring a priest to his knees and when she smiled it was just a little bit lopsided and adorable. He wasn’t sure he’d ever liked a smile that much and any lingering annoyance disappeared when she looked up at him with those big blue eyes.
“I have a pretty hard time thinking about anything else when you’re around too.”
“Funny.” He smiled back at her.
“Were you going to take the Impala for a spin?” She stepped out of his arms before he could take advantage and lay a big kiss on her.
“I was, yeah.”
“Mind if I tag along?”