Breaking the Bad Boy

by Vanessa Lennox

  Joss slowed her horse to a canter, and finally to a walk. The mare was blowing pretty hard, and it was very hot. Without conscious thought she found herself at the place she and Brand put up a tire swing. It was a hidden pool at the base of some rocks where they spent a good deal of their time when they were young. She felt very close to him here. The swing was long gone, but the peace of the place still pervaded.

  Joss hobbled her horse after letting her drink and sat on the rocks looking down to the water below. Was she braver when she was younger, or was she just stupid? The jump to the water was much further than she remembered. The surrounding cottonwoods gave off a dappled shade and the breeze through the leaves made a soothing sound. The pool of water was deep and clear. In for a penny, in for a pound, she thought and stripped down and jumped in the water. It was colder than she remembered, too.

  Lying back in the water looking at the dark blue cloudless sky she grew up with, she floated. She ran the events of the past few days in her mind and kept returning to Buck, he was everywhere. She definitely would like to lose herself in Buck’s arms. Why did she have a thing for assholes? She touched her breast as she imagined him lying back in her bed, this time without the towel. Mmm, eventually, she thought.

  His words last night puzzled her. It was odd how he went from earnest hero to misogynistic asshole. This adolescent attraction had to end, he was nothing but trouble. She was spending far too much time fantasizing about the cowboy. She dived under and stayed under for a long time until finally resurfacing just under the rock face.

  Climbing back to the top of the rocks she lay down in the patch of sunshine to dry off. It didn’t take long to dry, but the sun felt good on her skin, and there was something so delicious about being nude out of doors that she just lay there warming on the rocks like a lizard. Finally warm and dry, she started to dress. Panties, bra, jeans, socks and boots, she wondered if she should just ride home like that, save her shirt for when she got closer to the ranch.

  Shaking her head she bent to pick her shirt up off the rock when she caught an unfamiliar scent on the air, it was strong and musky, and fairly unpleasant and she had a bad feeling. She stood. Then she heard a grunt and a sniffing sound, she thought it might be a pig for a fraction of a second, but then suddenly every fiber of her being knew what the sound was and she froze, all the hairs on her body lifted off her in unison.

  She was an idiot to come alone and unarmed into bear country, she probably deserved to be eaten. Her brain couldn’t remember what you were supposed to do when confronted with a bear, but she was pretty sure standing there like a statue wasn’t it.

  “Don’t move, Duchess,” she heard Buck say from far off to her left. She heard a whimpering sound of relief come from her own body. Buck would keep her safe; she wasn’t facing down the bear alone. The sniffing was so close it was blowing her hair away from her neck with the force of each hot exhalation. She felt the heat of the bear’s body and realized he must be standing up directly behind her, and she stopped breathing. “Here, you big, stinky fucker, here boy,” Buck sounded closer.

  Buck was trying to draw it off. No luck, the bear was more interested in Joss. Who could blame the bear? Joss was the proverbial bird in the hand.

  “I’m going to make a ruckus, you tuck into a ball when I do, ready? Don’t answer that, just be ready.” He said, and then he counted to three and screamed like a perfect rendition of Hollywood’s version of an attacking tribe of Apaches. Since the hair was already lifted from her body, her skin tingled at the sound. At Buck’s suggestion she tucked tightly into a ball and fell to the rock, but not before the bear made a grab for her and ended up swatting her back. It was less of an aggressive move than a possessive move; she thought fleetingly, he just didn’t know his own strength, or how tender poor humans were. She hoped he wouldn’t discover that today.

  She felt the force of the swat roll her out from underneath the bear, and thought she would just keep rolling right off the rock into the water but the bear’s leg stopped her. One of his massive feet was pressed against her ass to keep her where she was.

  The other three feet were straddling her. In her fetal crouch she felt her bra separate at the back and hoped her back wasn’t equally flayed open, but of course, it must be, she just couldn’t feel it yet. The bear was once again sniffing at her, no longer standing up, but on all fours, she could feel his legs against hers. He began by placing his snout right up against the back of her neck, sniffing, snorting and blowing like a dog, and moved lower to her back and lower still, nudging her ass roughly with his snout. Her whole body lurched upward, as he lifted her with his snout and she scraped her arms on the rock. He was so strong, he moved her around like a ragdoll.

  The bear moved his head back up to her back, and to her absolute horror the next thing she felt was his warm tongue. It slid up her back, licking her wound, tasting her blood, and scaring her to death. She made a sound, a low animal moan that stopped the bear in mid lick, and galvanized Buck.

  Several things happened at once. That was when the pain began, and that was when she nearly abandoned hope, and that was when she heard the gunshots. She lost track of time, she must have lost consciousness. The next thing she knew Buck was cradling her head in his big hands and she opened her eyes to see his fairly alarmed face.

  “Can you walk?” He asked, and she nodded even though she wasn’t entirely sure she could. “Let’s get you out of here.” They made it to his horse, and he set her down for a moment while he quickly pulled off his saddle and undid the leather straps to the martingale, all the while keeping a wary eye out for the bear. Joss sat hunched over hugging her knees trembling with the shock of events. Before she knew it she was somehow up on the horse and Buck was in front of her.

  He cinched the leather straps around her waist and his to keep her from slipping off, and he held her arms in front of him. She had no shirt and her bra had fallen away, but this was no time to be modest. She had no idea where her hat was, and she didn’t care.

  “Keep your arms around me, Duchess, I got you, I won’t let you go,” he said and they moved. Buck must have un-hobbled her horse because when Joss looked back for the bear she saw the Appaloosa following. Buck began to canter and she tried to pull her arm back to support her breasts which were starting to hurt as much as her back. “Just hang on, Duchess, don’t pull away.”

  “I can’t, you’re killing me,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “I could hold them for you, Duchess, but I think you just need to press yourself against me,” he was teasing her, and all she wanted to do was pass out and let him deal with everything. He turned and looked at her face. This time he looked apologetic. “I’m sorry; you’ve lost a lot of blood. Trust me.”

  “I do,” she managed to say.

  “Good. Scoot up really close and press yourself against me. That’ll keep you from being uncomfortable. Put your arms around me and hold tight. I won’t let you fall, Duchess, I promise. We’ll be home in half an hour, tops,” he said soothingly, it was forty five minutes if they weren’t caught by the bear, but she didn’t have the will to argue with him. That frightened him a little, she should be fighting back. “So you’ve been marked and tasted by a grizzly bear, Duchess, he must have recognized your inner bear spirit.”

  “A grizzly? Did you kill him?” Her voice sounded ragged, her mouth was dry and she was impossibly weak, but it seemed very important.

  “No, I only had a hand gun, it would have only pissed him off,” he said. “I pissed him off enough just by taking you away from him.” How on earth did he do that?

  “Good, I’m glad you didn’t kill him. I didn’t even see him, everything happened behind me. I didn’t even see him,” and she passed out again.

  Buck felt her go from rigid to boneless behind him but he could feel her strong pulse in the wrist he held in his hand. He hoped she was feeling no pain. His gelding had a nice smooth lope, and her head wasn’t bouncing around too badly, and her breasts were pinio
ned against his back, keeping them from hurting her, but they were killing him. He needed to stop that line of thought. He had considered sitting her in front of him, but he dismissed that thought almost immediately. Maybe when she was better they could indulge in that little fantasy. He shook his head. He had to stop the direction his thoughts were taking him, he’d never been so preoccupied with a woman before.

  He should be thinking about the bear. He turned to have a quick look around him. No bear.

  It was a good thing she hadn’t seen the grizzly, she would have had a heart attack, damn, he almost had a heart attack. He nearly lost it when the bear laid her back open, and then when he straddled her and licked her he wanted to kill him with his bare hands. He knew how good her skin tasted, and he was afraid the bear wouldn’t have been able to stop. He was barely able to stop. He pulled out his satellite phone and dialed 911.

  By the time they got to the ranch the ambulance was coming down the long drive. Joss was conscious, but barely, and the horse could smell her blood and was not happy about it. Buck was holding her arm so tight he was sure he was leaving bruises on her lovely skin. A shout went up and Joss stiffened behind him once again.

  “You’re okay, Duchess, we’re home. Here’s the ambulance, now.” She nodded against his back, silent in her misery. He rode right up to the ambulance doors. The same EMT from the day before hopped out and looked at her back from the ground. Buck undid the strap that held them together and felt her slump against him.

  “Buck.” It was barely a whisper but he heard her and squeezed her wrist reassuringly.

  “I still have you, you’re okay,” he said and she nodded again.

  “Okay, hand her down.” There was a crowd of her father’s men, eager to help and curious to see the injuries, but Buck cringed at the idea of his brave and beautiful Duchess on display for them all. Buck shook his head.

  “No, she’ll want a little privacy, her clothes were shredded. Go back to what you were all doing and give the woman some space.” He said it loud and with authority, and even the EMTs scattered. One came back with a sheet for her.

  “Okay, I got you,” the EMT said as Buck lowered her into his arms. She groaned in pain. “What happened?”

  Buck slid off the horse and was shocked by the amount of blood down the horse’s sides. He helped her into the ambulance and climbed in after her. “The biggest grizzly I’ve ever seen is what happened.” Her eyes fluttered open and she met his gaze. Buck took her hand and squeezed. “Smooth sailing from here, Duchess,” he said with a grin.

  “Thank you,” she whispered and let herself go.

  When she woke up later she was face down in a hospital bed, and someone was tickling her back. The bear! She had several mind numbing seconds of panic, she inhaled sharply and her eyes went wide.

  “It’s okay, Duchess, it’s just the nurse,” Buck soothed her from outside of her field of vision, and once again he took her hand.

  “Oh, you’re awake?” The nurse said. “How do you feel, Joss?” She came around to look at her face.

  “Thirsty, flayed open, and maybe a little drunk,” she said her voice was rough and her mouth was pasty.

  “That would be the morphine. Here, drink this,” she held a cup to Joss’s lips but Buck took it from her and Joss drank it all. “This looks really good, we have a plastic surgeon here now and he happened to be on call when you came in. He is a true artist. It helped that they weren’t ragged cuts, too.” Joss wasn’t really listening, she was thinking about the bear.

  “He licked me,” she said.

  “He did? Why would he do that?” The nurse asked thinking she meant the plastic surgeon.

  “Tasting my blood, it was surreal.”

  Someone speaking Spanish woke her up. Initially she thought it must be Fernando, but she soon realized whoever was speaking was talking to Fernando. It must be Buck.

  “She’s strong, she’ll be fine very soon, but the drugs have knocked her out.” He paused listening and Joss almost went back to sleep. “Her hat, too. Thanks, man. Be careful, Nando, that’s the biggest bear I’ve ever seen, and he’ll be looking for things that smell of her, she’s distinctive.” Distinctive? She wondered if she was misunderstanding the use of the Spanish and drifted off again.

  The next time she woke up she heard Brent’s angry and stressed voice. “She never should have gone anywhere near that pool alone. How the hell did she even know it existed?”

  “She grew up here, Brent; she would know the ranch like the back of her hand if she was a normal self-respecting kid. Hell, I even knew about it. Give her a break; she’s had a rough few days.”

  “And what the hell were you doing there?” Brent asked but Buck just looked at him.

  “She’s awake, by the way,” Buck said and she wondered how he knew. “I’ll leave you.”

  “Joss, are you awake?” Brent asked and she heard the door open and the noise from beyond the room was louder for a few seconds and then got quiet again.

  “Yes,” she still sounded rough, and she was drooling a little. She shifted to wipe her mouth and her back screamed. She decided to stop moving. Brent came around the bed so he could see her, and he sat in the chair that was there. Buck’s chair, she thought irrationally.

  “How does it feel?” He asked taking her hand.

  “I’m fine, Dad,” she said.

  “No, you’re not, you’re white as a sheet, honey,” Brent said.

  “Okay, it hurts a little,” she said. “But only if I move.” Brent huffed a little.

  “What happened?”

  “I went to the swimming hole, it was so hot, and Brand and I used to play there in the summers. I feel him there more than any other place on the ranch. I was getting dressed when I felt him right behind me, the bear, not Brand. I guess I smelled him first, he smelled pretty rank. I didn’t know it was a bear at first, he blew on my neck like a lover, and I could feel his heat.” She thought of Buck standing behind her in the kitchen that day. “I half expected him to pull me into his embrace.” She shook her head slightly and made a face.

  “You went alone, Joss?” Brent asked.

  “Yes. I know it was stupid, but I was going to go swimming, I didn’t need anyone watching. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”

  “Good, I don’t know how much more I can take, honey.”

  “And then Buck was there trying to draw the bear away. When Buck shouted I fell into a ball to protect myself, but the movement must have startled the bear and he swatted at me. I don’t think he meant to cut me, he was just grabbing at me. This is the weirdest part, Dad, he stood over me, I could see his shadow, and then he licked my back. That’s when Buck scared him off and somehow got me back to the ranch.”

  “What was Buck doing there?” Brent asked, trying for casual.

  “I don’t know, maybe he was going to have a swim, too. We hadn’t arranged a clandestine meeting if that’s what you’re asking,” she said.

  “You two seem pretty close,” he said.

  “We can’t stand each other, quit worrying,” she said.

  “He hasn’t left your side since you got here, Joss, I think you might be wrong about that,” Brent said.

  “Okay, I might be wrong about that. He was hurt during the round up, I helped him. He might feel, I don’t know, like he owes me maybe. I’m so messed up on this drug; I don’t know what I’m saying. He’s a better man than he would have you believe. Please Brent, I’m 28, give it a rest with Buck, it’s getting tiresome,” she sighed. “How long have I been here?”

  “Probably eight hours,” he said looking at his watch.

  “So long,” she said amazed. Buck had stayed with her the whole time? “They need to stop the drugs, I want my head clear.”

  “You’re still in a lot of pain, honey; don’t you think you should let them do what’s best?” Brent asked.

  “Not if it conflicts with what I think is best,” she said and he laughed.

  “You were always hard headed
, Joss. Belle says you have been claimed or recognized by your spirit animal. She’s wondering why she hadn’t realized all along it was a bear. It’s powerful juju, Joss.”

  “Huh, I think Buck said something like that on the ride back, but I was pretty out of it at the time. I think I’m just lucky not to be lunch,” Brent laughed again.

  “I’m so glad you weren’t lunch. Go back to sleep, honey. They’ll let you go in the morning,” he kissed her forehead and shuffled from the room. Joss slept immediately.

  When she woke again she still felt fuzzy. “Buck,” she whispered.

  “I’m here, Duchess,” he said just as quietly. She was too relieved; she shouldn’t have been so relieved. He brought a cup of water for her and she sipped it thankfully.

  “Thanks, your kids are adorable,” she said. “They look very happy, you must be a good dad.”

  “My kids?” He asked.

  “Mmm,” she said.

  “I don’t have any kids, Duchess. At least, none that I know of,” he grinned at her.

  “Oh. Why are you still here? You must have something better to do.”

  “No way, I’m sitting around with my feet up watching a pretty little thing sleep while the rest of them do all my work. I’m good.”

  “You are good. You are better than you would have me believe. Will you tell them to turn off the pain killers?”

  “Are you sure?” He touched her wrist lightly and she felt it deep inside her and she made a humming sound of pleasure that might have embarrassed her had it not been for the morphine.

  “Yes, I can’t focus,” she said. He squatted down next to her head so she could see him. “I’ll say something stupid if I’m on it much longer.”

  “Something stupid like what?” He urged.

  “Like how much I want… um, Snickers,” she mumbled.

  “Snickers? Not me?” She looked him in the eye. When she thought he should be smirking, he looked terribly serious.

  “Yes, that too,” she whispered, unable to keep it to herself. She closed her eyes. “Your kids.” I want to have your kids.