by Mary Calmes
The man’s gaze was all heat.
I licked my lips, and his eyes went right there before he lunged forward and grabbed me. His lips met mine in a frenzied kiss as his hands went everywhere else. When he pulled back, I gasped for air, knowing that my mouth would be taken again fast. I opened my eyes a second later when they weren’t.
He was staring at me.
“What are you doing?” I smiled at him, my own hands on his hot skin, having burrowed up under the T-shirt and flannel one he was wearing over it.
The muscles in his jaw corded as he shivered slightly. “I’m lookin’ at you. Christ, I could look at you every day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it.”
His gaze never failed to make my stomach roll over because I could tell, anyone could, that I was cherished.
“You’re so beautiful, Stef,” he sighed, his hand on my cheek, “and your eyes, your gorgeous green eyes, just kill me.”
I stepped back and pulled my T-shirt up over my head. I watched his hot eyes narrow as he gazed at me, and I was keenly aware of his desire. His breathing, the bulge in his jeans, his hands that reached for me—all of him wanted all of me.
I walked backward out of reach, unbuckling my belt, working fast to get out of my jeans and the briefs underneath. When I was naked, I let him reach me, and him being fully clothed and me without anything on brought a throaty moan up from his chest.
He pressed against me, his hand fondling my ass, and when I pushed back, he grabbed a handful and squeezed tight. My reaction was unrestrained, primitive, the throaty moan torn out of me.
“Jesus, Stef,” he murmured before he shoved me down hard onto the bed, and I watched as he frantically went to work on his own clothes.
He yanked off his boots and his flannel shirt, but his jeans were only opened, and the T-shirt was still on when he crawled up on the bed and grabbed my hips. I was rolled over onto my stomach and yanked up onto my hands and knees.
“You have the most beautiful backside I have ever seen in my life,” he told me, his hand sliding down the slope of my back up over my bottom. “It is round and firm and just perfect. Do you know what you do to me? Just seeing the curve of your ass in your jeans makes me hard.”
It was good to know, I thought, as I wiggled it for him.
“Stef,” he groaned his husky tenor sounding like he was in pain.
“Rand, come—oh.”
His mouth, his delicious, hot, wet mouth was on my ass. The bite on my right cheek made me moan, his hands spreading me stopped my breathing, and when his tongue slid over my entrance, I choked out his name.
“There you go,” he said, before he swirled his tongue inside me, deeper and deeper, before I felt him add a finger.
I jolted under him, and I was aware of him moving, lifting his lips from me even as the finger remained. I pushed back, felt him moving, and heard the jostle of the nightstand and the snap of the flip-top cap.
“Oh God, Rand, please.”
A second finger, slicked with lube, joined the first, and the burn felt incredible.
I shoved back, and he made a noise in the back of his throat, scissoring his fingers apart, gently, slowly, but firmly, insistently.
“God, Stef, you’re trying to suck my fingers down into you, and I want it to be my cock. I need it to be my cock.”
“Then fuck me.”
“Jesus, you’re beautiful, the lines of you, your hair and your eyes and your warm skin and your ass… fuck.”
He liked to look at me, loved to touch me, smooth his hands all over me before he had to get closer, had to be joined with me, sink his flesh inside of mine.
I levered back on his fingers, the burn, the pinch, having already been replaced with heart-pounding, blood-tingling anticipation.
“Stef, I can’t—this is as ready as you’re gonna be.”
If he didn’t do something, I was going to scream. “Rand… baby….”
His hands gripped my hips hard, and he thrust inside of me in one powerful forward thrust. I had no idea he could feel so good.
“Rand!”
And since he knew the sound of my voice, he didn’t worry that he’d hurt me. He just eased out, only to plunge back in again, harder, faster, stretching me, filling me, as he held me tight, not letting me move.
I lifted up, taking him in deeper, and the strangled moan came out of him even as he ordered me to grab my dick because he couldn’t. There was no way for him to stroke me off. He didn’t have the concentration. His control was shattered by the adrenaline from earlier, and now he wanted only to be buried to his balls in my ass, hammer into me, and take me hard.
I begged him for it.
“Stef,” he dragged my name up from his chest before he bit down into my shoulder. “Come for me.”
Other men had tried to claim me, and I had laughed at them because I knew, in the end, that they were not stronger than me. And yes, most of them had been stronger physically, but no one could hold against my sneering contempt, my barbed tongue, and my scathing commentary. I was icy and mean and unfeeling, and they had slunk away with their tails between their legs, cowed and broken. I had never been anything but cold and indifferent, never giving my heart.
And then there was Rand.
Rand Holloway had always stood against the onslaught of my vindictive nature and given back everything I had dished out. And once I had found out he loved me, and even more amazing, that I loved him back, all that fierce, proud venom had alchemized into devouring heat. So for him, only for him, when he demanded my surrender, my submission, I gave it because I could deny the man nothing.
His name came from my throat in a gasp of breath as the orgasm crashed through me, all my muscles tightening at once, my climax triggering Rand’s. His body gave out, and he collapsed on top of me, driving me down onto the bed. My laughter could not be stifled.
“Ass,” he grumbled, unable to move, not wanting to move, content to ride out the aftershocks buried to the hilt inside me.
“Say it now,” I demanded.
His lips were on my ear. “I love you so fucking much, Stef. You belong to me.”
And even though I knew it, hearing it meant a lot. Who knew I would be just as addicted to the man’s words as his actions?
RAND and I had come downstairs after we cleaned up enough to be presentable, and his cousin Brent was dumbfounded. It was me looking debauched with swollen lips and hooded eyes and Rand sated and sweet, yawning with a smile that curled his mouth, that did it.
“I had no idea he could even look like that,” Brent told me, tipping his head at Rand as he listened to something Emily was saying.
“Like what?”
“Not mean.”
But even when Rand and I had been enemies, I had never thought he was mean. I had always seen the man clearly, even when I was confused about everything else.
When the phone in the hall rang, I got up from the table where we were having dessert, the four of us plus Rand’s Uncle Tyler, and excused myself to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Hello, may I speak to Rand Holloway please?”
“I’m sorry, he’s busy right now. Can I take a message for him?”
“Oh yes, please, would you let him know that Katie Beal from the Truscott Rodeo called and that I called to confirm the participation of the Red Diamond at the rodeo on Friday.”
I had no idea what she was talking about. “Rodeo?”
“Yes. And I know we normally don’t call, everyone just shows up, but this is the fifth year, and, as Mr. Holloway knows, every five years the entire community of ranches that owns grazing land in King has to be represented, or by the stipulation put into the original deed, the party that does not attend forfeits their land ownership and their portion reverts to the other parties.”
I instantly understood exactly what was going on. “The grazing lands, you’re saying that if Rand doesn’t show up this weekend to take part in a rodeo, then his grazing lands are forfeit, and what,
redistributed?”
“Yes, it’s parceled out equally, unless there is another owner in the same family.”
It was all becoming clear. “So because Rand’s uncle owns land in King as well, the rights that Rand has would revert to his uncle.”
“To…,” she was reading, “Rayland Holloway, yes, that’s correct.”
Everything fell into place, and I really had to give it to Glenn. Not only had he turned in an amazing performance, but he was probably on his way from our ranch to the rodeo even as I stood there speaking to the nice lady on the phone.
“And we received a tip from that same Mr. Rayland Holloway that the Red Diamond would not be participating this year due to a family emergency at another ranch, but I wasn’t sure if Mr. Holloway, Mr. Rand Holloway that is, understood that this was the fifth year. He didn’t attend last year, and I understand that his participation was missed, but it didn’t affect his land rights.”
So now I knew that Rand’s cousin Glenn and his father had been scheming to make sure that Rand did not show up. I wondered if Zach knew what was going on, and if he did, I hoped he could live with himself for cheating Rand out of his birthright and for preying on his sense of honor. Because I knew that even if Rand were to find out what was going on, that he would not change his plans. He would give up the grazing rights, relinquish his claim to the land, because he had given Zach his solemn word that he was coming to help him. For Rand Holloway, his word was his bond.
“Actually, Katie, my name is Stefan Joss, and I’m the co-owner of the Red Diamond, and I will be there representing our ranch.”
“Oh.” She sounded excited. “That’s wonderful news—Joss is it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I told her. “Can you tell me what day I have to check in?”
“Well it’s you and your men, Mr. Joss, and it’s Friday morning at nine. I mean it’s just a small local rodeo, but the community counts on the revenue from the tourists.”
“Of course.”
“You’ll need to give us all the names of everyone who will be participating on behalf of the Red Diamond in the individual events, and when you get here, there will be a camp site for your men and a small stable and a corral for your horses.”
What in the world had I gotten myself into just because I didn’t want Glenn Holloway to win? It seemed suddenly very stupid. I needed help.
“Shall I email you all the information?”
“That would be great,” I said, trying not to sound like I wanted to throw up.
“Would you like it sent to the email for Rand Holloway that we have on file?”
“No, let me give you a new one.”
We talked awhile longer, and she told me about the different events, about the trailers we would be staying in, about the dances, the bachelor auction, and the awards ceremony. I got overwhelmed just listening to her.
“I can’t wait to meet you. Everyone says that having the Red Diamond attend is one of the high points. You have the only ranch that isn’t located in our county, Mr. Joss.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Rayland and his son Glenn will be so surprised.”
“Oh, I have no doubt.”
Chapter 4
THE academy owed me an award. The only time I wasn’t acting in the following twenty-four hours was when I was in bed with Rand. There, with him, I was stripped naked both literally and emotionally, and all I could do was come apart under him. But from the time I got back to the table, before we hit the sheets, and then afterward, I was on stage. When I kissed Rand goodbye Thursday morning, waving from the porch at him and Brent and Emily—they had signed up to be guests at Zach’s ranch—telling them all to be safe, smiling like an idiot until I couldn’t see the car anymore, I felt like there should have been applause. It had been a truly amazing performance.
A half an hour after Rand left, Mac Chapman, Rand’s foreman and the one guy on the ranch who had never warmed to me, stepped onto the porch.
“What?” he asked irritably.
I had called his cell phone, and he had ridden in from where he had been supervising some fence mending, to speak to me.
“I need help,” I said from where I was sitting on the rail.
He sneered at me, and I was suddenly just done. I could hire some men when I got there. Fuck it.
“Forget it.” I shook my head, starting for the door. “Sorry to bother you.”
He caught my arm, fingers tight around my bicep as he stopped me. “What is it?”
“Nothing, lemme go.”
“Just tell me.”
“You’re a dick.”
“That ain’t news.” He squinted at me. “Now what is it?”
“Rand’s gonna lose the grazing rights in King if we don’t show up at a rodeo.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
I eased free of his grip and explained what was going on. He followed me into the house, and I passed him everything Katie Beal had sent me the previous evening, all the paperwork I had printed out.
“Does Rand know?” Mac asked me, his eyes flicking to mine.
“No.”
He nodded. “Good. It would only eat at his gut all weekend.”
“But I can go,” I told him. “I own half of the Red.”
“You do?”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Yeah, asshole, I do, so maybe you should think about not being a total douche to me all the time.”
The squint was back, and for the first time ever, I laughed at him.
I was stunned a second later when I got a very slight curl of his lip. I had no idea that Mac Chapman could smile. I had never seen him do it before. The man had never warmed up to me. I had initially thought it was because I was gay, but it turned out that he thought I was going to leave Rand. He thought I would get bored with life on the ranch and that his boss, who was now happy and content and smiling, would go back to how he was before I took up residence in his home. No one wanted Rand breathing fire, impossible to please, and micromanaging them. They liked him how he was now. Mac, more than anyone, liked his boss as far away from him on a daily basis as possible. He liked that I wanted to help, and for the first time since I’d met the man, he talked to me like I wasn’t absolutely stupid. It was a nice change.
“There are seven events at the rodeo. I’m sending six men with you and eight horses, two extra just in case you need them. You should take that fool dog of yours, too, as well as that mare Rand gave you since she’s the only horse you know how to ride. I expect my stock returned in the same condition they left in. You hear me?”
“Yessir.” I nodded, turning to leave.
“We’re all gonna have hell to pay when he finds out about this, Stef.”
“I know.” I nodded. “Give me a better plan.”
He just looked at my face.
“See?”
Two hours later—why we were leaving so early I had no idea—I was driving a huge pickup truck with double wheels off the ranch with Everett sitting beside me in the cab, and Dusty stretched out behind me with Bella laying on the seat next to him. Pierce, Tom, Chase, and Chris were in the pickup behind me.
“You look stupid.”
I turned my head to look at Everett. “Pardon me?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone who looked less like he should be wearing a cowboy hat and boots than you.”
The worn brown cowboy hat I had on my head had been a gift from Rand as had the boots that were on my feet. While I wasn’t entirely comfortable, fitting in was key. I did not want anyone to second-guess my right to be there.
“So what was your plan for this thing if Mac hadn’t talked us all into it?”
“I dunno,” I sighed. “I was thinking of calling Mitch Powell and seeing who he could maybe pay to go with me, and then I would have to pay him back.”
My hat was pulled off fast, I got a quick slap across the top of my head, and then the hat was shoved back down hard. It took only seconds, but it stung like mad.
“Shit, Dusty,” I groused at him, lifting my right hand to rub where it hurt.
The motion sent my hat down over my aviator sunglasses and my eyes. But Everett was there to slap my hand away and knock the hat back.
“Try an’ keep your eyes on the damn road, all right?”
“I would if people weren’t hit––”
“You never go off the ranch for help,” Dusty scolded me. “Never.”
“Never,” Everett echoed him. “We take care of our own.”
“But I’m not one of you guys,” I told them. “You all respect and care for Rand, not me.”
“You don’t give yourself no credit,” Dusty assured me. “Without you knowing about finances and such, Rand would not be making all the money he is.”
“That’s not true,” I assured them. “Rand is a very smart business––”
“And if Rand didn’t wanna make a home for you, then he wouldn’t be fixin’ to make all the changes in Hillman.”
That part was probably true.
“Before you was here,” Dusty chimed in, “Rand Holloway was a prick.”
I wasn’t touching that one with a ten foot pole.
“Well said,” Everett cackled.
“But since you been on the ranch, I can stand to talk to him for more than five minutes.”
Everett was laughing.
I smiled, seating the hat on my head as Dusty yelled at Bella to quit moving. We all laughed as she muscled him out of the way, all seventy pounds of dog taking up position so she, instead of Dusty, was behind me. She put her head on the back of my seat to the left, and I felt her warm breath whuffling on my cheek before her tongue got my ear.
“Bell,” I griped, wiping it off, reaching back to scratch under her chin.
“She’s worried I’m gonna hit ya ag’in.” Dusty chuckled. “I ain’t never seen a dog more protective. It’s sweet.”
As she nuzzled the side of my neck, I had to agree.
We stopped for lunch and then again for dinner, and after we fed and watered the horses, took them out, walked them a bit, and then got them back in the trailers, we were back on our way. We reached Truscott just after midnight, and I was thrilled to see the area awash with lights. I left Chase in charge, and took Dusty and Everett with me to register.