by Johnson, Cat
Her perky little breasts rose and fell as she sighed deeply. He yanked his gaze up and focused on keeping them trained on the golden rings of her eyes.
She bit her lip in an action so sexy he nearly said fuck it. “That’s what I figured. Oh well, at least I have you now.”
“Sure.” She had no idea how much they’d be seeing each other. Pretty much for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He decided to try and get some more information out of her before his big reveal. Once she found out he’d been withholding that he lived on the ranch she kept talking about she’d probably be pretty darn mad. “So tell me, what do you do for fun at home in Connecticut?”
She shrugged. “Hang with my friends. Shop. Go to the beach in the summer. Go out dancing at night.”
“We have a jukebox.” He got the expected reaction from her as she rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, I noticed, thanks.”
“What I don’t understand is, if you have so many fun things to do at home, why are you here in Walden?”
“Believe me. It’s not by choice.” She took another sip of her drink.
He tipped the shaker over her glass, refilling it to the brim with the remaining drink he’d over-poured on purpose. “Sounds like an interesting story. I’d love to hear it.”
She hesitated for a second and he feared she wouldn’t tell him. “It’s just so ridiculous. I was at a graduation party. Okay, maybe the music was a little loud, and sure we were drinking, but I’m of legal age. That’s no reason to call the police on us. Right?”
He nodded in hopes she’d tell more. “Agreed. It was a party. Of course there was music and drinking.”
She slapped her hand on the bar. “Exactly what I said, then the stupid cop gets all mad and says I’m resisting arrest. It was humiliating. He could have at least turned his back and let me put something on. Pervert just wanted to see me naked. He should have been arrested. Not me and my three friends.”
Naked? Arrested? Jeremy wondered what exactly she was doing with three friends naked and did his best to control his expression. “So your parents sent you here as punishment?”
“Ha! No, my parents are on a yacht somewhere off the coast of Italy. This was all my grandmother’s idea.”
Things were becoming clearer, not just his grandmother’s involvement, but Ansley’s actions as well. She was a spoiled rich girl acting out to get attention from parents who ignored her and that explained the promiscuous behavior.
If only he had as good an excuse for his own behavior with her. He took in her physical perfection and figured no man could have resisted her offering herself up to them the way she had. It wasn’t the best reason, but at least it was a reason.
“So, Jeremy, do you have a hot tub?” Her eyelids dropped seductively. Her voice dripped with suggestion.
So you and I can get naked in it? The unspoken portion of that sentence had him getting hard behind the zipper of his jeans. Too bad his dick didn’t listen to the warnings his head was broadcasting.
This girl was not only trouble, she was troubled. Coming on to strange men. Looking for sex to fill an emotional hole. Downing what might as well be straight vodka like it was water. Taking her clothes off in public. All the signs were there and though he really hated to say it, his grandmother might have done the right thing having her come to the ranch. It could be the only thing to save Ansley from herself. If only he could save her from himself—and his brother.
“Sorry. No hot tub. There’s a nice big metal tub we use to water the stock though. That can get pretty warm in the sun.”
Jeremy decided it was time to spill the beans. He’d seen Ryan’s truck drive past the window so it was only a matter of time before it would all come out in the open anyway. If he told her the truth now, he figured she’d be good and mad by the time his brother parked and came inside. That might be fun.
She looked confused at his tub comment so he elaborated. “That ranch you’ve been sentenced to stay at by your grandmother, it doesn’t happen to be Kane Ranch, does it?”
Nodding, she seemed surprised he’d been able to guess. “Yes. Do you know it?”
“Yeah, I know it. I live there. I’m Jeremy Kane. My grandmother’s Ramona Kane. She owns it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me right away? You let me go on talking and pretended you didn’t know of any ranch.” Her eyes opened wide. She looked even hotter all riled up.
“Like you said, ain’t nothing else fun to do around here.” Knowing he was pushing her buttons, Jeremy shrugged just as Ryan came through the door. “Hey, Ryan. Meet our new house guest, Ansley Craig. Grams invited her to stay at the ranch for the summer.”
The expression on Ryan’s face when he got the full vision of the vodka drinking, pissed off hottie topped it all off.
Jeremy laughed. It was going to be an interesting few months, but right now he needed a minute alone with Ryan before sending the two off together alone.
“It’s a good distance to the ranch. You might want to use the bathroom here before Ryan drives you.” It wasn’t that far really, but she didn’t know that.
The blonde shot Jeremy a less than happy glare then slipped her tight little ass off the bar stool and marched her heels in the direction of the bathroom. She’d taken her purse with her. He truly hoped she put her underwear back on.
Ryan watched until she was gone. “What the hell? Grams told me to see you here because you had something for me to pick up. She didn’t say anything about her.”
“Long story short, her grandmother went to college with Grams. She sent her here to learn a lesson because Ansley got herself arrested with three of her friends in Connecticut for being drunk, disorderly and naked.” Jeremy had to ignore the expression on Ryan’s face and keep going with the explanation. He didn’t have much time before she returned. “Anyway, you have to drive her back home to the ranch, but I’m warning you, hands off this one. I mean it, Ry. She’s looking for trouble and she’s the granddaughter of Grams’s friend.”
Ryan dragged in a long breath and let it out slowly. “That’s a shame.”
“Tell me about it.” Jeremy couldn’t agree more.
“Damn.” Ryan shook his head. “All right. I’ll move the salt lick I just bought off the passenger seat and take her back with me. When are you getting home?”
Jeremy nearly laughed while picturing the expression on her face when confronted with not only a pickup truck filled with sacks of feed but also a giant block of salt in the seat where she was supposed to sit her adorable, cultured ass.
“Believe me, I’ll be home as soon as I possibly can.” He wouldn’t willingly miss a moment of Miss Connecticut’s first day on the ranch for anything in the world. And Jeremy had to be there to keep Ansley from throwing herself at Ryan, and keep his brother from gladly catching her on his dick when she did.
CHAPTER 8
Ryan slowed and steered the truck onto the access road for the ranch.
The trip had been pretty much silent, which wasn’t a surprise judging by how unhappy his passenger had looked when he’d met her at Hank’s. “Here we are.”
She finally turned from staring out the passenger window. “What do you mean, here we are?”
“We just pulled onto the ranch.”
A frown creased her pretty brow. “I don’t see anything.”
“Well, not yet you won’t. It’s two thousand acres. We have to drive a bit before you see the buildings.”
“Two thousand?”
“Yeah.”
Did she actually look impressed? If she had, her interest disappeared just as quickly as it had come and the puss returned… Until the lake came into view and she sat forward in her seat, gaze glued to the sight.
“Wait! Stop.”
He slammed on the brakes. “What? What’s wrong?”
She’d cried out like he’d run over an animal or something, but he was pretty sure he would have noticed if he’d done that.
The minute the truck stopped she flung open the p
assenger door and hopped out. Cursing under his breath, he put the truck in park, turned off the ignition and followed her, only to see her making a beeline directly for the water and dropping her clothes along the way as she went.
She’d already pulled off her shirt and had just reached back and released the closure on her bra when he called out, “What are you doing?”
“Cooling off.” Glancing over her shoulder she answered him before the bra hit the grass. She kicked off her shoes and pushed her skirt down her incredibly long legs.
His brother had been right. This girl was looking for trouble and right now he suspected she was also looking for a reaction from him. Her tiny lace panties followed and then, stripped totally bare ass naked, she turned and stood before him as if challenging him to stop her.
To his credit, he didn’t give her what she wanted. All he did was cross his arms and lean against the truck. “All right. If you’re going in for a swim, then go on. I’ll wait.”
“Don’t you want to come in with me?” Her suggestive smile, not to mention her smoking hot and very nude body, could easily have lured a hundred guys into the water after her, but Ryan stood his ground. A certain portion of his anatomy was standing now as well.
He let his eyes wander long enough to take note she was bare of hair as well as clothing. Not even one tiny bit of hair had been left as proof she was a natural blonde. Smooth pussy was Ryan’s downfall. He’d never been able to resist it. He better learn how and fast.
Of course, like any good flirt, she noticed both his attention and his hard-on. She let her gaze very pointedly drop to his crotch. “Come on. You know you want to.”
He suspected she wasn’t talking just about swimming. This girl needed to be taken down a notch and he was just the man to do it. He liked a confident woman, but this one was just plain cocky.
“Nah. Thanks. I’m good.”
“Fine.” She shrugged like it didn’t matter, but before she spun away he saw the small frown knit her brow.
Ansley dove into the water. Once she was submerged, Ryan released the breath he’d been holding. As she swam across the pond and pretended to ignore him, he pulled out his cell phone. His brother answered on the first ring.
“Jeremy. She’s frigging naked and swimming in our pond.”
His brother’s frustrated huff of breath was clearly audible through the phone. “Damn it, Ryan. Can’t you even get her home without something happening?”
Why did he always get blamed for everything? “What was I supposed to do? She jumped out of the truck and started flinging her clothes off. Just be glad I didn’t join her in there the way she wanted me to.”
“Just make sure you don’t.” The warning was clear in Jeremy’s tone of voice. “It’s partially my fault I guess. I gave her that second drink. I should have known too much liquor in that girl would make her even more crazy.”
Crazy. Usually that was a trait Ryan liked to see a little of in a woman, but not when he was in charge of them.
Unfortunately for him, she didn’t stay under long enough. Before he knew it, she was standing up again, and so was that uncooperative part of him. “I gotta go. She’s getting out.”
“Bring her right to the house.” Jeremy enunciated every word as if Ryan were in kindergarten.
“I’ll do my best. See ya later.” Ryan flipped his phone shut and shoved it in his pocket before Jeremy could lecture him any more.
Every man’s fantasy had emerged from the water and was walking toward him, every inch of her dripping wet. Resisting Ansley naked was one thing, but seeing her drenched and naked was quite another. She was a literal wet dream as she paraded directly at him, bending occasionally to retrieve the clothes she’d scattered on the grass. She didn’t put them on though, just held them in her hand. He really wished she’d put them on.
“Aren’t you going to get dressed?” He needed her to be covered up, because he was starting to throb just from looking at her. It didn’t matter if she was off limits. He was a man, after all.
“I thought I’d dry off a bit first.” She stopped so close he could see every individual drop of water dripping from her hair and rolling down her high, tight breasts.
She took another step closer. Just the tip of her nipples pressed against him until he could feel the water from those glorious peaks soaking through his shirt to his skin. Reaching past him she dropped the bundle of clothes in the back of the truck, then put both hands on his chest.
Even without her shoes she was tall enough to reach his mouth by just tilting her head. Her lips hovered just inches from his as her hand traveled down to his belt buckle and stayed there.
He’d been in a similar position with a woman before and very recently too. Ryan remembered well how that had worked out with hooker Jackie and her passed out roommate at the trailer park.
Very aware of her hand resting too near to his cock for any polite girl, Ryan felt her stray another inch closer, brushing the tip of him through the denim, ratcheting his need another notch higher.
Ryan let out a long, slow breath. “What are you up to, girl?”
“Nothing.” She was so close to him, he felt her breath tickle his lips as she spoke.
Naked in broad daylight and pressed up against a man she’d just met was definitely something.
“This doesn’t feel like nothing to me. What are you fixin' to do here, darlin’?” Ryan could smell the alcohol on her breath. Just another reminder that she’d downed enough vodka at the bar to be making poor choices.
“I’m just looking to have a little fun.” Her lids hung low over her golden brown eyes.
Fun was usually fine with him. Ryan liked fun, but Jeremy was right. This girl was looking for trouble. He was so hard he could feel his pulse beating in his cock, but that he could deal with later on his own. Her, however, he had to deal with now. He let his hands run up her sides, starting at her slim hips, all the way up to her ribcage where she was so narrow his thumbs could have easily brushed her nipples even as his fingers spanned her back.
“You do realize we’re on a private road with no one else around. I could bend you over that seat and do whatever I wanted to you and no one would know.” One day this girl would play her game with the wrong man and then she’d be in real trouble. How could she not realize that?
“I’m hoping you will.” The pink tip of her tongue poked out as she licked her lips. Eyes never leaving his, she moved to the passenger seat and leaned over it. Now it was her perfectly shaped ass that poked out at him. She ran her hand across one ass cheek suggestively, then let one finger stray toward the tight hole hidden there.
What the hell was she up to? Whatever she was playing at was a dangerous game. If she’d been sent here by her grandmother against her will, maybe her scheme was to provoke Ryan into touching her and then cry rape so she could go home. Extreme yes, but so was what she was doing in front of him right now. The granddaughters of old college friends didn’t normally act like this the day they arrived for a visit as far as he knew, even spoiled rich ones from Connecticut.
He took one step closer and her eyes narrowed. She was clearly looking at him as if she’d won. She placed both hands on the seat in front of her, as if bracing for him to plunge into her. Man, if he wasn’t as wary as he was tempted he’d be balls deep in that tight little ass by now.
“I’m just a simple country boy and all but there’s something you need to know about me.” He stepped up close behind her. Resting one hand on each of her hips, Ryan felt the goose bumps rise on her skin from his touch. Her reaction only served to ramp up his desire for her, but he managed to stick to his resolve.
“And what’s that?” She batted her eyelashes at him.
“I don’t play games.” With that Ryan lifted her up and plopped her still damp and naked ass unceremoniously into the passenger seat. He slammed the door shut, gathered her clothes and tossed them in the open window. “Get dressed. We’re late and Grams will wonder where we are.”
As she sputtered, he walked around to the driver’s side. Noticing she was still naked, he cocked one brow. “Will you be meeting my grandmother naked? The choice is yours.”
The look she shot him might have leveled a lesser man but only made Ryan smile. They had all summer. Having this little hellcat around would sure make things more interesting. Glancing down to catch the last glimpse of glorious breast before she slipped her bra on, he knew he sure as hell would enjoy every moment of it. Once he figured out her plan, and her, then maybe he’d indulge in all her charms. Just picturing that would give him hours of enjoyment.
Starting the ignition, Ryan began the journey to the house. He drove slowly to give her time to finish dressing and him time to keep watching her dress.
She finger combed her hair then pulled it into a tight ponytail and it was less obvious that it was wet. That would go a long way in preventing his grandmother from wondering how she’d managed to sneak in a swim when he was supposed to take her directly home. Any questions could lead to Ansley revealing all the rest with whatever embellishments this little hellion could think up to suit her plan.
Ryan decided to lighten the mood. He didn’t want to present a sour-faced house guest to his grandmother and he really couldn’t explain what all had—and hadn’t—happened between town and the house. “Did Jeremy tell you anything about my grandmother?”
Still mostly looking out the open side window, Ansley shook her head.
“He didn’t? Not even about how she was arrested for accosting a male stripper last week?” Ryan grinned and waited for her reaction.
He wasn’t disappointed. Her head whipped around and she finally looked at him, eyes open wide until she controlled herself again, as if she remembered she was supposed to be mad.
“Hm.” She muttered the single word then turned back to her perusal of the passing scenery as the truck bounced along the rough road.
Oh, yeah. She was a challenge all right.
CHAPTER 9