by Lea Kinkade
“Are you having a good time tonight, Abby?” His voice caused her to shiver. Her pussy was melting and her nipples were hardening.
“Yes. Did you have a good time with your brothers?” asked Abby stiltedly. She wasn’t comfortable dancing with Dillon, even to the upbeat songs. She was definitely not comfortable dancing to a slow song with him where he pulled her in tightly and just swayed to the music. With one dance, Dillon got past her defenses. She tried unsuccessfully to move away from his hard, hot body again. As the song changed into a faster number, he allowed her to pull away from her so they could move into a slow two-step.
“Do you realize this is the first time we’ve danced together since you moved to the Ranch? Why do you suppose that is?”
“You…You’re my boss. It’s not really appropriate for us to be dancing together, especially to the slow songs.”
“Who says, Abby? Besides, technically I’m not your boss again until Monday.” He lowered his head so that he could talk into her ear causing a shiver to run up and down the length of her spine. He chuckled as if he knew the effect he was having on her.
“Well, I guess, I say. I’m not comfortable dancing with my boss.”
“Good thing we can ease into that over the weekend, because I plan on dancing with you a lot in the future,” he said with an enigmatic smile. He moved smoothly into a fast-moving two-step as the music changed yet again.
“Shit. What are you talking about, Dillon?” She had goose bumps on her arms from when he talked into her ear like that. Shit. He’d never talked to her like that. What was he doing? If she didn’t know any better, she would say he was putting the moves on her. But that couldn’t be. He hadn’t shown a lick of interest in her for two years. What had suddenly changed his mind? He seemed very intent this evening and she didn’t want to think about what he was so intent about.
“I’ve waited two years for you, Abby. Two damn long years. I’m not waiting anymore. I’m coming after you, baby.” There went those goose bumps again as she faltered a bit in the dance from the words and the intense way he was talking to her. She had to get away from him fast before she did something she’d regret like fall on her back in the middle of the dance floor and beg him to take her right there.
“I think I’m done.” When she saw the triumphant smile begin to light up his face, she added, “Dancing that is. I need to cool off and get a drink.” Abby tried to pull away from him as she walked off the floor and back to an empty chair at the table, but he maintained possession of her hand as they went, talking to a couple of people in passing before they made it back to the table.
“Sure, baby. I think I could stand to cool off, too. Looks like we’re just in time to put our drink order in.”
“I think you should cool off, too. Shit!” Abby muttered her favorite swear word to herself as he escorted her back to the table and proceeded to sit in an empty chair right next to her.
“What was that, baby?” he asked with a smile.
“Nothing. Just wondering what was going on with you. Why you’re acting so weird.”
“I’m not acting weird, Abby. I’m just acting different than I used to around you. Better get used to it. Did you get moved into your new apartment all right?” he asked as he leaned into her so that his lips were next to her ear. The loud music prevented them from being able to speak quietly and privately. The moist heat of his breath on her neck caused a shiver to skitter down her spine.
“Yes,” she replied with a nod of her head. “All moved in.” She’d learned to hold her own with this man on the job, but her voice still trembled and stumbled when they talked outside of work. Not that they did that very much. Dillon was very careful to keep his distance since that disastrous night she jumped into his arms after they birthed the colt with the Ranch’s prize mare, Razzle Dazzle, pulling the colt out of the mare and saving both horses’ lives. At least, he had been until tonight.
“Good. I need to talk to you a bit more privately, Abby. Let’s go to your apartment where it’s more quiet.” He spoke in her ear again causing another shiver to run down her spine and lodge into the base.
His words sounded to her like an order and she instinctively bristled. “Can’t this wait until Monday, Dillon? I’m not on the clock now.”
“No, Abby, this isn’t about work. This is something personal. I need to talk to you alone. Let’s go to your apartment so we can discuss this privately,” he reiterated as he stood up and held his hand out to her to help her up, obviously expecting her to go along with whatever he wanted. She was in deep shit.
Although put off by his presumptive tone, Abby was also curious. She nodded her head and put her hand in his. When skin met skin, it was like a jolt of electricity crawled up her arm, slammed through her body, and went straight to her clit. What could he possibly want to talk to her about that wasn’t work related? Did she want to talk to him about anything that wasn’t work related? She didn’t really know.
She’d had the hots for Dillon since the interview for the clinical internship at the Ranch more than two years ago. He had never done anything to indicate he felt the same way. In fact, he seemed to go out of his way to make sure her infatuation with him was short lived. Too bad it hadn’t worked. Oh, she did her best to hide it, but she wasn’t sure she’d done a good enough job.
Dillon helped her up, and Abby said her good-byes to the table. Jessie, Jordan, Samantha, and Taylor had already left. Taylor was pregnant and usually cut her Friday night out short in favor of more sleep. The married women usually shared a few dances with their husbands after the pool games were over and then the couples left for home.
It was so much easier for pregnant women to spend time at the club since the town had passed the nonsmoking ordinance forbidding people from smoking in public places. Chaps & Spurs strictly enforced the new rule, and it didn’t seem to hurt their business at all.
The rest of the women at the table gave Abby and Dillon a curious look but waved good-bye and promised to see her soon. Dillon took her hand in his and led her out of the club. Abby tried to take her hand back, but Dillon only held on tighter.
“What’s this all about, Dillon?” she asked a little breathlessly as he handed her up into the cab of his truck.
“Wait until we get to your place,” he commanded.
“We’re not on the job now, Dillon. Don’t give me orders,” she said peevishly.
She had put up with his dominant personality and the tendency he had to frame everything he said in the form of a command for the past two years. She wasn’t his student anymore, and they weren’t working. She didn’t have to put up with his shit right now, and she wasn’t going to.
Dillon looked startled for a moment then softly uttered one small word that made all the difference to Abby.
“Please.” It still wasn’t a question. It was a statement, but it worked nonetheless. She got into the truck without further comment.
They made the short trip in silence, the radio filling the void with eighties rock music. Abby was surprised at Dillon’s choice of music. She hadn’t realized that he listened to anything besides country. It took only minutes to reach the alley behind Bach Florists where the stairway led up to her apartment over the flower shop. When Samantha had originally shown her the apartment, Abby had been glad to see the security light that lit up the entire entrance area and the two locks on the door. A girl couldn’t be too careful these days.
Abby opened the door and entered the apartment, which was lit by the lamp on the end table in the family room. Going directly into the kitchen, Abby said, “I can’t imagine what you wanted to talk about that couldn’t wait until Monday, Dillon. Do you want a cup of coffee? I have decaf.”
“That would be fine, baby. Thanks.”
“No problem,” she said, ignoring the endearment as she had all night. “So what did you want to talk about?”
“I wanted to talk about us.”
“Th–There is no ‘us’, Dillon,” Abby stuttered.
“Dillon, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” She was getting a little nervous. Had he guessed how she felt about him? Was he here to lay down the law and warn her away from him?
“Baby, let’s stop beating around the bush, okay? Now that you’re not my student anymore, there is nothing standing in the way of us pursuing a more personal relationship with each other.”
“Shit, Dillon,” she began exasperatedly, “what are you talking about? We’ve never even discussed having a date, let alone getting involved in a ‘personal’ relationship.”
“Abby, I am attracted to you. I have been since we met at the interview for the clinical internship. You have to know that. You’re attracted to me, too. I know you are. We couldn’t act on those feelings while you were a student. Now we can.” He attempted to take her in his arms, but Abby sidestepped him and tried to gather her scattered thoughts.
Dillon was attracted to her? He had been all this time? Despite his statement to the contrary, Abby thought he had done an excellent job hiding his feelings. Except for those few times she’d caught him staring at her so heatedly, he hadn’t shown any emotion to her except a guarded friendliness. He’d certainly hid his feelings well if what he was saying now was true.
He said he knew she was attracted to him. Evidently, she hadn’t kept her feelings as well hidden as he had. While she’d been lusting after him, which he had obviously noticed despite her attempts to hide it from him, he had apparently been biding his time, waiting for the timing to be better for them to get together. She didn’t know how she felt about that. Part of her wanted to know that he had been as hot for her as she had been for him. The fact that he seemed to have easily put aside the attraction he’d had for her, for two years, miffed her in a way she couldn’t explain.
Of course, he was right. They wouldn’t have been able to act on their attraction to each other while she’d been a student. There were rules against that sort of thing. However, the fact that, come Monday, he would be her boss made Abby wonder how the situation was any different from her perspective. Even if she wanted to pursue something with Dillon, which she was not sure of yet, he was still in a position of authority over her employment-wise. If they got romantically involved and it didn’t work out, she would be in an untenable position.
Turning to him, she decided to be completely truthful with him. “Dillon, I’m going to be brutally honest with you here. Yes, I am attracted to you. I have been for quite some time. But”—she raised a hand to stop his advance as he smiled a cocky grin and moved toward her again—“I don’t see how our situation is any different than it has been for the past two years. You’re still in a position of authority over me. If things don’t work out, what’s to stop you from just getting rid of me? I would be risking everything to be with you. You wouldn’t be risking anything. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am. I can’t risk everything I’ve been working for because I have the hots for you. I won’t.”
“So, you admit you have the hots for me,” said Dillon with a grin. “That’s a start.”
“Shit! You’re not listening, Dillon. I’m not putting my professional life on the line just so you can scratch an itch.”
Chapter 2
Dillon was getting a little irritated with Abby as she kept trying to talk herself out of getting involved with him. He lost his temper when she said he just wanted to “scratch an itch,” as she put it. “What the hell are you talking about, Abby?” he asked loudly as he followed her around the table she had put between them while she made her little speech. “Who said I just wanted to fuck you?”
“Inside voice, Mr. Bossy,” she responded in a steely voice. “Shouting is not going to get you anywhere with me but the doghouse.”
Dillon could see that she was becoming agitated, but so was he. Dammit, this was not going the way he had planned. Trying to rein in his temper, he took a deep breath.
“I wasn’t shouting. You’ve heard me when I’m shouting.” Taking a deep breath and starting out in a softer voice, he said, “Baby, I don’t just want to fuck you. Sure, I’m not going to lie, I want to do that, too. You’re a beautiful woman, after all. I want a relationship with you. Us going out to dinner and dancing, going to the movies, making out, and well, yeah, fucking like bunnies, too.”
“Shit. You want a relationship with me? How is that going to work? You play with me until you get tired of me then dump my ass? Then, oh yeah, you fire me so you don’t have to be uncomfortable and see me every day. Yeah, that works really well for you. What do I get out of it? Great sex is not going to pay my bills when you get tired of me,” she said crossly.
“Baby…” He started in a frustrated tone but almost got sidetracked by her ‘great sex’ comment. “I am not going to get tired of you. I can promise you that. My cock gets hard as a steel pole the minute you walk into the same room. I smell your scent and I’m a goner. Peaches. I’ve always loved the scent of peaches. It’s been pure hell not being able to touch you like I’ve wanted to these past two years, but I couldn’t, and you know why. It’s not like we’re strangers to each other, Abby. If you think about it, we’ve learned a lot about each already,” he ended with a smile. “And by the way, the sex will be off the charts, not just great.”
He went to her again, and this time she let him take her in his arms. As he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her as close to him as possible, he knew she could feel his arousal against her abdomen. He was as hard as a rock. She did that to him.
She tipped her head back to look him in the eyes and continue her argument. Taking advantage of their positions, he swooped in for a kiss. His mouth closed tightly over hers as he angled in to take her mouth with his. As his lips stroked hers, his tongue demanded entry, sweeping into her mouth and tangling with hers as he continued his plunder.
Her hands found their way up his arms and around the back of his neck. Her fingers trailed over his shoulder-length hair then grasped him at the nape of his neck as she hesitantly began to return his kiss. Her nipples were pebbled against her shirt and he could feel them through his shirt as well.
Dillon’s hands roamed over her body as he continued the mind-blowing assault on her mouth. One hand slid down to cup her ass while the other wound its way into her long hair, holding her head still as he continued to ravage her mouth. Finally, when he could hear her gasping for breath, he kissed his way across her cheek and down to her delectable throat. His mouth found the juncture of her neck and shoulder and he nuzzled her with his lips until she shivered against him.
“Does that feel like I’m going to lose interest in you, baby?” he asked as his pulled in a deep breath. He hoped she was as turned on as he was. His dick was hard enough to pound nails, and he couldn’t wait to sink balls deep into her hot little pussy.
His words seemed to bring her back to reality with a bang. Wrenching away from him, she scrambled away from him and put the length of the table between them. “That’s just sex, Dillon. Sex doesn’t make a relationship. Just because you can make me want you doesn’t mean I should toss my concerns aside and hop into bed with you. My concerns about my future are valid. Put yourself in my position and tell me I’m wrong,” she challenged him.
Frustrated when she broke away from his sensual assault, Dillon realized they needed to get this issue out of the way before she would even consider letting him become her lover. “Did you even read the employment contract you signed?”
Looking confused, she nodded her head. She obviously had no idea about the clause he had Xander put in the contract. “I read it. So what?”
“Do you remember who has sole authority to terminate your employment prior to the contract being up?” Dillon asked quietly.
“Shit, Dillon. What does this have to do with anything?”
“Just answer the question, baby.”
“Yeah, Xander does. So what? You and I both know he would side with you if it came down to it,” she said scathingly.
“The contract specified Alexander Chisholm, Sr. That wasn’t referring to Xander. That was referring to my father. He’s still ‘Senior’ since he’s still alive. My father is the fairest person I know, and he would never let you be fired because a relationship between us went wrong,” Dillon explained.
“What if we broke up and I stayed, but you made it impossible for us to work together? What if things were so strained between us that I or your father decided it would be better if I left?” she asked.
“You have the right to have Xander supervise you in the event that our working relationship becomes untenable. If things got that bad between us, you could break the contract and you would still be paid for the entire contract period in one lump sum,” he responded impatiently.
“Abby, this isn’t a whim on my part. I’ve already thought all of this out and made sure that you were protected in the unlikely event that things didn’t work out for us. But, baby, things are going to work out just fine. You’re perfect for me,” he decreed. Dillon realized that he had been ordering Abby around like he did when they worked together. He didn’t mean anything by it, it was just the way he was. He was a dominant male and had a tendency to order people around. He knew, however, that he needed to work harder on curbing this tendency. From his talks with her during this past year, he knew she had a hot button for overbearing men like her father. Dillon didn’t consider himself overbearing. He was decisive.
Abby would get used to his ways once they’d been together for a while and would see the difference between him and her father. Dillon would never try to browbeat Abby into anything and he would certainly never strike her, even in anger.
* * * *
“But are you perfect for me?” she asked a little peevishly. She wasn’t about to admit that she wanted Dillon Chisholm so much that she wanted to jump his bones right now, dominant personality be damned. He would use it against her to get his way. She was bothered by the way he tried to control everything around him. Her dad had been like that, and Abby didn’t want to get romantically involved with a man like her father. She needed to be an equal partner with the man she loved, not a doll who couldn’t make her own decisions. Shit! Did she really just think that? Love? That was impossible. She did not love this Neanderthal. She was in lust with the man. She didn’t know him well enough to love him.