Always On My Mind: A Bad Boy Rancher Love Story (The Dawson Brothers Book 1)

by Ali Parker

"Women drink, Mom. You should know."

  Mom looked horrified and I saw Dad's back straighten stiffly.

  "I have an occasional glass of wine and maybe some rum during the holidays. That is not the same thing as going and sitting by myself at a bar full of strange men. It puts out the wrong message, and it could put her in a compromising situation. I just don't want you to get all caught up with this silly dream of yours and not know when a woman is trying to take advantage of you."

  "Trying to take advantage of me? What exactly could she be trying to take advantage of? My illustrious position as a hand on my daddy's ranch?"

  "You should be proud of your family's legacy," Dad said, his voice rough in the way it always got when he was feeling defensive and trying to withhold his emotions. "Generations have worked hard to make sure that this ranch stays afloat and gives this family everything that it needs."

  "So because other people have wanted something and worked for it, I should automatically not have any dreams of my own or want to pursue them."

  "Having dreams is fine, son, but singing isn't a dream, it's a distraction. People don't just go from singing in their local bar to a bunch of ranch hands and good old boys to being famous."

  "You mean I don't," I said. "I don't have much of an appetite. I'm just going to go to the bar."

  I walked out of the house without waiting for them to respond, and for the second time in three days I headed directly to Kinsey's. I’d just eat there in good company.

  ***

  I drove slowly as my thoughts moved about, each one making me feel more undone than the last. My stomach growled angrily by the time I pulled up to the bar, and I made my way inside and made a bee line for Lucy.

  “Hey. Can I get you to order me a burger? I’m starving.” I rubbed my stomach and gave her a sexy smile.

  She blushed and shook her head. “Yeah, and ain’t nobody falling for your charms today.”

  “No? Damn.” I sat down and sagged against the bar, feeling deflated. I was a grown man, yet a few harsh words from my parents could still knock me down.

  "You don’t look so good. Everything okay?" Lucy settled the hamburger in front of me and grabbed a bottle of ketchup to set beside me. She worked on getting me a beer as I glanced up and answered.

  "I'll be fine. Just one of those days."

  “I understand more than you know.” She set a beer down in front of me and walked across the room to a group of old-timers on the other side of the bar.

  "You come here often?" Sarah’s soft voice caught my attention.

  My stomach clenched with the sultry, purring note that hadn't been there before. I turned around in my stool and was thankful for the bar behind me because if it hadn't been there, it was entirely possible I would have fallen off the edge.

  Sarah had traded her jeans and plaid for a black dress that stopped at mid-thigh, nipped in at her waist, and dipped low enough to show a mouthwatering amount of cleavage. Smoky makeup made her eyes stand out even more, and a slick of dark red lipstick made me want to lean in and bite her full bottom lip. Before I could think more on it, Sam came on the microphone and introduced me.

  I ran my knuckles along her cheek and jogged up to the stage.

  She was settling into place on the barstool I had just vacated, and I took my place in front of the microphone. I saw her gaze up at me and cross her legs, giving me a view of the sexy as hell spike heels buckled at her ankles with narrow straps.

  As I sang, she dipped her finger into my beer and sucked off the suds. I hoped the growl suddenly present in my voice enhanced the song though it didn’t matter if it did. She had a way about her that left my blood suddenly boiling. I needed to do more than talk to the pretty agent about the future.

  She watched me make my way through my set list and seemed so focused on me that she didn't notice Norm walking up behind her.

  I tried to signal her with my eyes, but before she caught on to my gesture, he grabbed the back of her barstool and spun her around to face him. Her hands gripped the sides of the stool to stabilize herself, and I saw her shaking her head.

  Norm leaned close to her and a shot of anger pumped through my chest. I finished the song as quickly as I could, thanked the audience for their smattering of applause, and jumped down from the edge of the stage. Pushing through the crowd, I got to Sarah as quickly as I could.

  She was trying to brush Norm off calmly, but he wasn't seeming to get the hint. I stepped up beside her and squared my chest.

  "How're you doing tonight, Norm?" I asked.

  Sarah turn slightly so that her body was directed more toward me.

  "I'm all right," Norm grunted his reply.

  "That's good."

  We stood in stiff silence for a few seconds and Norm stepped back, his eyes flickering between me and Sarah before walking away. Sarah exhaled and rested her head against my arm.

  "Well, I have to give it to him, he's persistent," she said.

  I turned the barstool so that she faced me and helped her down. Sam had turned on some music and I drew her into my arms, swaying slowly.

  "Did you like what you heard tonight?" I asked.

  She nodded. "Very much."

  "Do you want to stick around here awhile longer?"

  She glanced around and let out a long breath. "Not really."

  "Good. Can I show you my favorite place in the whole world?"

  “I’d like that a lot.” Sarah's eyes shimmered, which sent my mind into a million places, none of them suitable for the conversation ahead.

  Chapter 6

  Sarah

  I screamed and grabbed on to the handle above the truck door, gripping it for dear life and thanking the good Lord that I had worn clean panties. They weren't much, but they were clean. The truck lurched in the other direction and I screamed again, squeezing my eyes closed. Beside me, David laughed and a few seconds later the truck slowed and swung to a stop.

  My eyes opened and I looked at him, my laugh joining his.

  "I thought you were bringing me to your favorite place," I said, trying to catch my breath.

  "I am. That was just the fun of the journey."

  I shook my head at him and settled back into the seat. "Where are we going?"

  "We're here."

  I looked out the window and saw nothing but darkness on the other side of the glass. "Where exactly is 'here'?"

  "Come on."

  He opened his door and I followed suit, climbing as gracefully as I could out of the elevated truck considering my dress and the high heels that had seemed like such a good idea when I put them on before heading over to the bar that night. I saw him hop up on the hood of the truck and I looked at him with disbelief.

  "So you just swung me around through a field and now you want me to figure out how to climb up on top of your truck."

  "Just on the hood."

  "Yes, because that is so much better." I planted my foot on the bumper and launched myself up onto the hood. Scrambling against the slickness of the paint, I crawled until I reached the windshield and flipped around to sit beside David. "Nailed it."

  David snickered as he settled back on the windshield, folding his arms under his head. He sighed and I mimicked his position.

  As soon as I settled, I knew why this was his favorite place.

  The sky stretched over us bigger and darker than I had ever seen it. We had driven out even further from the bar and were in the middle of a field with no lights around us to dull the glow from the stars above us. They appeared so bright, clear, and close. It was like I could reach up and scoop them right off the velvety black backdrop.

  "Wow," I said.

  He made an affirmative sound beside me. "I like to come out here and think. It's peaceful, and so dark even if somebody thought they knew where I was, they wouldn't be able to find me."

  I laughed and slid a little closer to him.

  "And what do you think about?"

  "Everything. Mostly singing. It's really all I've ever wa
nted to do."

  "You have an amazing voice."

  "Nothing like my granddaddy's. He started singing to me when I was just a baby, and I just kind of picked it up. Some of the songs that I sing at Kinsey's were his. He died a few years back and now it's like singing is all I have left of him."

  "I'm sorry," I said softly, feeling a tug at my heart.

  He shook his head. "It's all right. I just wish the rest of my family saw it the same way he did. All they ever talk about is the ranch and how I owe it to the generations that came before me to stay around and help them run it until they die and then take over. As the eldest son, I'm the one that has the most responsibility. It's what's kept me living in that house all this time. It’s why I've never done anything but that."

  "What do you think your grandfather would tell you if he was still alive?"

  "Granddaddy would tell me to scoop you up over my shoulder and get to Tennessee as fast as I could. He loved this ranch, but if he had had a chance to sing, he would have gotten out of here in a second." He paused and took a breath. "How about you? What do you think about when you have a few quiet moments to yourself?"

  I had taken one of my hands out from behind my head and laid it beside us, brushing small bits of mud from the hood rhythmically as I tried to think through my own life. He placed his hand over mine and brushed his fingers along my skin, his touch sending a shiver of pleasure through me.

  "I never really have quiet moments. I don't have anything like this back home."

  "So you never have any time to yourself to just think?"

  "Sometimes I take bubble baths." As soon as the words came out of my mouth I knew they were far more suggestive than I had intended them to be. His hand touched mine more insistently and I returned the touch, turning my hand over so that he could stroke his fingers across my palm.

  "What do you think about in the bathtub?"

  "My career mostly. I thought I was about to get my big break and it completely fell apart. I sort of made a fool out of myself. Then I decided to branch out on my own and that went even worse, so I started with a different company, which is sort of how I ended up here. It’s a long story."

  I left out that one of the main reasons my second attempt went so badly is that I was seriously contemplating sleeping with my former boss while on a trip to land a new client, only to find out that that new client not only had absolutely no talent but was sleeping with the guy already.

  "I'm glad you did."

  Our hands intertwined and I squeezed his gently. "So am I."

  David rolled over onto his side so that he was facing me, and I reciprocated. We weren't touching, but we were close enough that I could feel the heat coming off of him and his breath ripping down between my breasts. He cupped his hand around my face and looked into my eyes.

  "You look incredible tonight," he whispered.

  "Not adorable?"

  He shook his head as he licked his lips. His warm brown eyes traveled along my face, down to the swell of my cleavage, and then further down my body as he slid closer to me, leaving our hands pinned tightly between us.

  "No," he breathed, his face coming closer to mine. "Definitely not adorable." He drew even closer and nuzzled my nose with his. "Sexy," he whispered. "So sexy I could barely keep my mind off you while I was singing."

  "Really?" I asked breathlessly.

  He nodded. "I am having a hard time keeping my hands off of you now."

  I lifted my eyes to his. "So don't.”

  David pressed his lips to mine as his hand disentangled with mine and instead rested on my thigh. I parted my lips beneath his to welcome his tongue into my mouth, sighing as I finally tasted him. His hand slipped under the hem of my skirt, and he tensed as he discovered the top of my thigh highs and the garter belt that held them in place.

  "Oh, God," he groaned, pulling his mouth away from mine and looking down so he could see the lingerie he revealed by pushing my skirt up to my hip.

  "Do you like it?" I asked softly.

  He kissed me again, biting into my bottom lip.

  "Take off your dress," he growled.

  I wasn’t horribly promiscuous, but this was an opportunity I wasn’t going to pass up. He’d been central to my naughtiest fantasies since hearing him sing his first word. If he wanted me – he was getting me.

  I rolled back onto my back and sat up, lifting my hips enough to pull my skirt out from under me. His hand went to my back and he worked on lowering the zipper on my dress. It went all the way to the bottom, so when he finished I was able to peel the black fabric away from my body. He took it out of my hands and leaned around to toss it through the driver's window into the cab of the truck.

  My hair tumbled around my shoulders and pooled on the windshield as I lay back. David took a breath as he looked at me, taking all of me in. I had never felt so beautiful. His fingers moved quickly down the buttons on the front of his shirt and he let it slide off his broad shoulders, tossing it into the truck with my dress. My breath caught in my throat as I saw the moonlight shining down on his sculpted body.

  I reached up and flattened my hand in the middle of his chest, running it down his hard abs and pausing at the front of his belt. The heel of my hand brushed against his fly and I could feel the swell of his hardening erection straining against the denim, which left me needing so much more than I should expect from the handsome stranger. He shifted and the thud of his boots resounded as they hit the ground from him kicking them off.

  "Don't you dare take yours off," he said tugging at my heel, and I shook my head, agreeing wholeheartedly. He took time to grab a condom from the front of his jeans before tossing them into the truck too.

  He crawled over to me and eased himself back down beside me, cupping his hand at my waist and bringing his upper body up to hover over mine. I arched slightly to touch my skin to his and he applied pressure with his hand to push me back down onto the hood.

  "Slow," he whispered, and dipped down, pressing his mouth to touch mine in a sensual kiss.

  His lips moved down to my neck as he created a gradual, torturously slow path to the hollow between my collarbones. The tip of his tongue slid across the tender skin there before he continued his progress down the center of my chest toward my breasts. I groaned softly as my body tightened painfully.

  "Patience," he whispered.

  He kissed along the lace edge of each cup of my bra, biting gently into one breast when he finished. I gasped and he lifted his mouth to blow a stream of air across the damp area.

  I writhed beneath him and he lifted his mouth away until I settled again. Once I was still, David's lips touched to my stomach. He continued to kiss until he reached my navel, and then drew his tongue back up to the underwire of my bra. I could feel the heat building between my thighs as he pushed me toward the brink of ecstasy.

  "Sit up."

  I did as he asked and reached behind me to unhook my strapless bra, letting it fall away from my body. It too, ended up in the truck, and I tilted my head back to enjoy the novel feeling of the cool night air grazing my nipples. Already taut from David's touch, they hardened further, sending a thrill through my center.

  David's hand came up to cradle one breast as he drew my nipple in between his lips. I whimpered, clutching the back of his head as he suckled me, licking and nibbling so tenderly on my sensitive flesh. He brought the same attention to the other breast and I arched into his touch. I had never been treated with such reverence. My body tingled with anticipation of what was to come.

  He gently led me to lie back down on the windshield and rolled onto his knees. After releasing the hooks of my garter belt, he slid it down my hips and off of my legs. He ran his fingertip down the front of my panties and then further, forcing me to part my thighs for him.

  I closed my eyes and undulated my hips as his fingers slid under the edge of the lace and brushed by my wetness. I couldn’t help but revel in the feeling of such an intimate touch. He moved down and tugged my panties to the s
ide as his tongue brushed by my swollen flesh, licking and sucking as he groaned deep in his chest. I loved how he enjoyed himself, as if eating me out were a treat to him and not to me.

  I cried out and let him lift my hips to remove the last bit of fabric that kept my body from him, leaving me in only my black thigh highs and heels. He drew a long lick up through my folds and my hips bucked, giving him the chance to catch them and tilt me forward so he could hold me against his mouth. His tongue dipped inside me and my body gave in to him, readying with a wash of hot, slick fluid. In a show of truly masterful multitasking, he continued his blissful ministrations while also reaching down to unfasten his belt and shed his remaining clothing.

  One more hard suck and it was as if the world blew apart. I cried out and arched my back, riding the orgasm he delivered expertly and wanting another one. Greedy wasn’t a new sensation, but in the moment, it was the one I coveted the most.

  He rose up over me, his forehead pressing against mine so he could look into my eyes. Our breath mingled between us and for a moment everything was so still I could nearly hear our hearts beating. I lifted my mouth to his and we kissed languidly for several long seconds, tasting each other as I explored the musky flavor of my release.

  "Touch me," he whispered.

  I reached down and ran my fingers along his thick, hard length. My fingers found a drop of silky liquid at the tip and I swirled it into the tender head. One of his hands came to mine and led me to grip him tighter, stroking him so I could feel his full length. I bit my bottom lip, whimpering at the feel of his powerful cock in my hand and the surge of desire to have him inside me.

  David lowered his mouth to my ear, sucking on the lobe before whispering to me. "Let me inside you."

  I nodded as he moved back and slid the condom down his thick length. I wanted him bareback, but I knew better.

  I didn't realize I had closed my thighs until he growled low in his chest and slid his hands up my taut flesh, pulling me open. He settled between my legs and nipped at my lips sensually as the hot, swollen head of his erection slid down over my clit. I moaned at the sensation that shot through me, leaving me needy and far more ballsy than I might have been in the past.