by Ashlee Price
I realize that I have stopped walking to stare at the horses and I look around to find Curt. He is standing in front of another building behind the house. It has all the same exterior colours as the main house but it is much smaller. It looks like apartments to me; there are two identical doors that have small wooden decks in front of them. The one on the left has a small garden planted and decorations around the outside. I can see the white curtains in the windows and there is a pair of dirty boots on the deck. The one on the right has nothing, the deck is clean, there are no flowers and the windows are bare. Curt is standing at the bottom of the steps to the second door, waiting for me to catch up.
“Sorry,” I say, “they are just so pretty.”
“It’s alright. Mrs. Wesley keeps some pretty nice horses.” I walk passed Curt and step through the door. “This will be your suite. There should be everything you need, bedroom is to the right and the bathroom is attached to that. Kitchen is stocked with food, you’ll have to let Maria know if there is anything specific you like or don’t like.”
“Maria?” I ask.
“She is the maid, she does the cleaning and the cooking and all the grocery shopping for the Wesleys. She’s my wife. She and I live right beside you. You can decorate the place as you like, it’s yours now.”
I am flabbergasted. I definitely did not expect to be getting my own apartment and a stocked kitchen and so much freedom. I guess I was expecting chains and whips and slavery. Looking around at the house and the property, it’s clear to see that that is not the type of people the Wesleys are. Everything feels clean and proper.
“This is not what I expected at all.” I say out loud mainly to myself.
“Working for the Wesleys is a pretty good deal. They will treat you right, even if you aren’t one of them.” Curt says smiling.
That was when I realized that Curt wasn’t a shifter, he was human. I should have noticed right away, but I just assumed he was one of them. He isn’t very tall, probably an inch or two taller than my father, and his arms are toned but not nearly as muscular as any of the shifters I have ever seen. I start to wonder about how he got here and what his story is. Before I can ask anything, he steps back out on to the deck and says we should find Mrs. Wesley.
“I still don’t know what my job will be.” I say to Curt on the way to the main house.
“That’s why we have to go and see Mrs. Wesley; she will assign you your job and give you your schedule. She decides all of that.” He answered.
“What do you do here Curt?” I inquire.
“I am the ranch hand. I do all of the maintenance on the equipment, feed and water the animals, do all of the grounds care, clean out the stalls; stuff like that.”
“That’s a lot of work for one person to be doing.” I say as we climb the steps to the front door of the house.
“I’m tired at night, that’s for sure.” Curt takes off his boots and steps inside the door. I follow suit and remove my shoes before I enter. The inside of the house is just as spectacular as the outside. The walls are all done in deep warm shades of browns and reds and everything is so clean. Maria really does a good job.
Over to the left is the kitchen. The cupboards are all handcrafted wood, the appliances are all stainless steel and the counter top is the most gorgeous granite I have ever seen. There is a woman standing at the stove stirring a pot. I can only assume this is
Maria and when Curt goes over and gives her a kiss, I am convinced.
He introduces her to me and I like her instantly. She has a quiet demeanor and a vibe that makes you feel welcome and safe. She has shirt blonde hair and soft blue eyes. Her face is dusted with freckles and she is wearing a small pair of sparkly diamond studs in her ears. I can just tell that she is so in love with Curt by the way their body language is; always turned towards each other, looking directly in to each other’s eyes. It’s beautiful.
We say goodbye to Maria and head down a long hallway. We reach a door close to the end on the right and Curt knocks lightly. A voice sounds out a greeting and we walk in. The room is huge, three walls are bookcases and they are filled with books. There is a sitting area around a fireplace and a giant desk in the centre of the room. Behind the desk is a small red head woman. She looks up and smiles when she sees me.
“Ah, this must be Abigail. It is so nice to meet you my dear.” She gets up from the desk and walks around to hug me.
I am a little caught off guard; I wasn’t expecting her to be a hugger.
“Come, sit down and we will go over what your job assignment is.”
She sits back down at her desk and I take one of the chairs across from it. Curt stands near the door. She hands me a binder.
“This is your schedule. You will be taking over some of the job responsibilities that Curt has. He is too over worked and it’s not healthy. You will be responsible for mucking out the stalls, feeding the animals and assisting Curt with anything else he may need help with. You will be his assistant. There is everything you need in that book, a list of the rules we have in place, a schedule of your days off, explanations for everything you will need to do and many other helpful things. I suggest you read through it this evening before bed, and if you still have questions I'm sure Curt will be more than happy to answer them for you. The dresser and the closet is full of clothes for you, we asked your parents what sizes we needed. Maria does the laundry once a week. We have meals in the main house on Sunday nights and you are expected to attend. We are very happy you are here with us.” She smiled at me warmly and then went back to the paper work on her desk.
I took that as my cue to leave and stood up. Curt held the door for me and we headed back through the house and out the front door.
“What do I do now?” I ask him once we are outside.
“Take the day to rest. Read the manual, explore the grounds. Tomorrow we start work.” He started walking towards the barn and gave me a wave. I stood in front of the house for a while and then walked slowly back to my apartment.
I opened up the door and stepped in to my new home. I noticed off to the right there was a lineup of several pairs of boots. A tall pair and a few short pairs, all cowboy boots, and then there was a pair of rubber boots. I wander through the apartment; the kitchen is small but nice. The cupboards are all white and the appliances match. I open the fridge and see that it truly is stocked, along with all of the cupboards. I make my way in to the living room. There is a brown microfiber sofa and a large flat screen TV. There is a pamphlet with the internet password and a list of all the TV channels and three remotes.
I continue my exploration and walk in to the bedroom. There is a tall double bed with brown bedding on it that looks to be a duvet. There are two doors in the room, both closed. I open the first one and it is the closet. She wasn’t lying when she said it was full. There were more clothes in there than I had at home. I closed the door and opened the second one. It was a small bathroom, all done in blue. I was happy to see that there was a bathtub. I was already planning a long bath on my next day off.
I turned the light off in the bathroom and walked back out in to the bedroom. I sat down on the bed; it was very comfortable. I lay down and rested my head on the pillow. Lifting up the book Mrs. Wesley had given me, I started to read.
The schedule was pretty straightforward. I started working at 8am every day; that’s when the first feeding is. It looked like my job was mainly to work around the horses. Curt would take care of the cattle.
At 8 they got their first feeding, and then they were all turned out in to the paddocks. All of the stalls then needed to be mucked, which was going to be pretty gross. Lunch was at noon and then I would spend the afternoon helping Curt with whatever he needed me to do. Supper was at 5, and right after the horses needed to be brought back in to the barn and fed again. Then I had the rest of the evening to do as I pleased. My day off was Wednesday.
The book said that Mrs. Wesley worked with the horses on Monday and Friday afternoons and all day Wednesd
ay. Makes sense why my day off is Wednesday I guess. It also says that she goes to shows on most weekends. I hope I might be able to go to one.
The book had everything I needed to know, except nowhere did it say anything about Mr. Wesley. I knew he was around though, because I have heard people talk about him. The cattle are his baby, that’s the real money maker at Wesley Ranch. Maybe I would meet him at Sunday night dinner.
The next day was Friday and I was actually kind of excited about starting work. I went to bed early, and set an alarm for an hour before I had to be at the barn so I could get some breakfast. I found some cheerios in the cupboard and some milk in the fridge. The shower in the bathroom worked great, the shower head had so many different settings.
I found some clothes in the closet and dresser. They even bought socks and underwear for me. I chose a pair of jeans, a plain black long sleeve shirt and a grey sweater to go over top. I put on a pair of the bots that were sitting at the front door and headed to the barn.
On my way out I noticed that the lights were all off at Curt and Maria’s place. They must already be gone. I reached the barn and there I found Curt. HE was waiting for me so he could show me what to do. I was introduced to all of the horses and learned how to feed them all. We then put them all out in the paddocks they belonged in. Curt showed me how to muck the stalls. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought. He left then and I continued to work.
After lunch, Curt gave me a tour of the ranch. We walked for a long time along a dirt road. He showed me all of the cattle and all of the fields they switched between; and he showed me what he did with them.
On our way back to the house I heard hoof prints coming up behind us. I looked back and saw someone riding on a beautiful white horse. He got closer to us and I could see him clearer. He was gorgeous. He had messy brown hair, bright blue eyes and a light dusting of freckles across his face. His shoulders were wide, and he looked like he was very tall. He was wearing dark jeans, a pair of cowboy boots and a plaid button up shirt. To top it off, he was wearing a cowboy hat similar to Curt’s.
He slowed down when he passed us and tipped his hat at Curt but did t stop to talk. I watched him ride away in the direction of the house.
“Who is that?” I asked Curt.
“That’s Austin Wesley.” Curt replied.
“Mrs. Wesley’s son?” I wondered out loud.
“Yes ma’am.” Curt answered my query.
My thoughts circled around Austin as we finished our walk back to the house. It was nearly supper time so Curt instructed me to go and wash up and get something to eat. I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich and some tomato soup. When I was finished, I put my boots back on and headed to the barn to start bringing the horses in.
I walked in to the tack room and was startled when there was another person already in there. It was Austin. He was hanging up some tack and didn’t notice me come in. I cleared my throat and said,
“Hi.”
Austin turned around and our eyes met, I froze. A shock ran through my body, leaving my skin tingling. My heart started to race and my breathing got heavier. I couldn’t look away from Austin and he couldn’t seem to look away from me. I watched as his eyes ran all the way down my body and back up again; somewhere deep in my stomach clenched.
Without saying a word, Austin started to get closer to me. I couldn’t move; I couldn’t do anything but watch him. It’s like we were both stuck in some kind of trance. He stopped walking when he was directly in front of me. He lifted his hand and softly ran it down the side of my face. When his skin met mine it was like the shock that first ran through me but even more intensified; it ran through my whole body and settled in my stomach.
Austin lifted his other hand and placed it on my other cheek. He pulled me in slowly and placed his lips against mine. His lips were soft and warm and the kiss was slow and sweet. I had no idea what had come over me, this wasn’t something I would ever do normally.
Austin picked up the pace of the kiss; it got a little harder and a little faster. I was desperate to taste him so I licked at his lips. He immediately parted his lips and our tongues intertwined. He tasted amazing. He moved his hands from my face to my hips, and started to push me back wards until we were up against the desk that was sitting in the tack room. He grabbed me by my thighs and placed me in a sitting position on the desk. He spread my legs and settled himself between them.
His hands started to wander, playing at the hem of my shirt until he slipped one hand under and up my belly. He found the edge of my bra and slipped his hand under that too. He took my whole breast in his hand and squeezed a little. Then he focused just on the nipple. Pinching and rolling it around. I moaned in to his mouth’ I had never felt anything like this before. I lifted my hands from the desk and started to touch him. As soon as my hands met the skin on his stomach, he moaned and pushed himself closer to me. I ran both of my hands up his shirt and felt the hard ridges of what must be a fabulous six pack.
I wanted to see it. I started to unbutton his shirt. He broke the kiss and watched me. I did it slowly, teasing him. Finally it was undone and I pushed it over his shoulders and down his arms. I was right about his six pack, it is fabulous. Hard muscles rippled beneath his skin as he moves.
Austin pulled my shirt over my head and then pushed me back so that I was lying on the desk. He went to the button of my jeans and started to undo them. He pulled them and my panties down my legs and threw them on the floor with my boots. I felt very naked and very vulnerable but I couldn’t stop.
He came closer again and spread my legs apart, he took one hand and started to massage. He pushed two of his fingers inside me, and massaged with his thumb. The clenching in my stomach got even worse. It wasn’t long until the buildup started. He kept massaging and I went higher and higher until I was pushed over the peak; I orgasmed hard, my body shaking on the desk. Austin moved so fast I barely saw him, his jeans were undone and he over top of me before the waves of pleasure had ended.
He grabbed my hips and pulled me closer to the edge of the desk and then he pushed himself inside of me. It was like he couldn’t wait another second to be in me. He pushed all the way in until I was completely full. He wasn’t starting off slow and sweet like he had with the kiss, he started pounding himself in to me. I didn’t mind one bit. Every time he pulled out and slammed back in I gasped and moaned. We were both breathing hard and beads of sweat were starting to form on our bodies.
I lifted myself off of the table and wrapped my arms around his neck, locking my lips with his. He reached around behind me and grabbed my ass. He continued to slam in to me; I could feel his abdomen tightening up against mine. He orgasmed hard, pumping himself in to me. The sounds he made pushed me over the top and I climaxed again; tightening around his erection inside of me. He started to slow down, until there was no movement at all. We sat like that, in each other’s arms for a while as our breathing slowed and out heart beats went back to normal.
He pulled away from me and looked down in to my eyes. He smiled sheepishly and said, “Hi.” We both laughed.
“What just happened?” I asked when the laugher had subsided.
“I marked you.” He said, looking a little guilty.
“Okay,” I was a little worried, “and what does that mean?”
Austin and I spent the next couple of hours bringing the horses in and feeding them together. While he worked he explained to me what marking was.
Werewolves have a different way of finding a mate, when they see them they know right away that they belong together. When this happens to a male, they get over run by the basic need to mark their new mate. The pair end up in a trance like state and she is marked when he enters her. I was definitely marked.
Austin explained that werewolves normally only have one mate in their lives, and that it has been unheard of for one to be with a human. Normally I think I would be freaked out about all of this, but I feel very safe around Austin, like I've known him forever. There is a deep trust
between us that I can’t seem to explain. It must be the werewolf stuff.
When the chores are all done, Austin walks me back to my apartment and comes in to give me a goodnight kiss.
“No one can know about this yet Abigail.” He says to me as his lips linger very close to mine. I get chills when he says my name, I can’t really pay attention to what he is saying. He backs up a little and looks me in the eye. “Did you hear me? No one can know right now okay? We have to be sneaky if we want to be with each other. I’ll find the right time to tell my father, just not yet. It could be dangerous if anyone finds out; I don’t know how they will take it. Like I said, this has never happened before.”
I could tell he was worried. “It’s okay Austin; I’m not going to be telling anyone. We’ll meet up when no one is around. It’ll be okay.” I tried to sooth him the best I could.
Austin leaned back in and gave me one last long kiss before he left. I went to sleep that night with a smile on my face. Maybe being sold to the cowboy werewolves wasn’t such a bad thing.
For the next couple of weeks Austin and I snuck around, meeting up to talk in the tack room, or he would visit my apartment when it was dark and everyone was asleep. On my days off I would go home and see my parents and wish I was with Austin the whole time I was away. I finally met Mr. Wesley; he was a tall man with the same eyes and hair as Austin. He was very quiet and wasn’t quite as friendly as Mrs. Wesley. Austin told me that his father didn’t approve of the humans, his mother was the reason they were here. He liked Curt and Maria, but they had been here for years and earned his trust.