by Rye Hart
The scent of her shampoo fills my nose and I know that if I don’t get away from her soon, I’m going to take her right here up against the side of my rusty old pickup. I offer to get her things and step off of the porch before I totally lose my cool. I offer up a silent prayer that Luke was right and that she will spend most of her time up in Billings, because the thought of this woman in my house is making me nuts. Five minutes in and I can already tell that Sydney Baines is going to be trouble.
“So here is the living room and the kitchen. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. If there’s something you want that I don’t have, I’ll make sure to get it for you when I run into town day after tomorrow,” I tell her.
“I’m sure what you have will be fine,” she says, following me around the house.
I nod and continue on down the hallway. “This right here will be your bathroom and this will be your room.” I step back and let her check out the bathroom while I go and deposit her luggage in the guest room. I’m secretly hoping the three bags she’s brought don’t contain too many more outfits like the one she’s wearing. The sight of those sky-high legs is making me sweat.
Sydney joins me in the guest room and makes a noise of approval.
“It’s really nice,” she says. “You have a beautiful home Cole.”
“Thank you,” I reply. I like the way my name sounds on her tongue. “Are you hungry?”
Sydney shakes her head. “No, I stopped at a little diner on the road and had a late lunch. To be honest I’m exhausted. That drive really did me in.”
I nod in understanding. “Okay then, I’ll leave you to it. My room is up at the top of the stairs. If you need anything just holler up to me.”
“Thanks,” she says. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. All I want right now is to get out of these clothes and crawl under the covers.”
I bite my tongue to stop myself from offering to help her with the aforementioned undressing. I shake my head to clear the thought and leave her to unpack and get settled while I excuse myself to jerk off in the shower before I hurt someone.
Chapter Three: Sydney
Cole walks out of the room and I sit on the edge of the bed to take off my shoes. I don’t really need the extra height but I love the way they make my legs look. Today though, I was glad to have a few extra inches when facing off with Cole Parker. There is a coolness about him that both intrigues and frustrates me.
He clearly knows how good looking he is, which is normally a huge turn-off for me. I’ve dated way too many guys in the past who thought they were something special and it never turns out well for me. I sense that there is something different about Cole however.
He might know he’s hot as hell, but he doesn’t seem to be overly arrogant. The comment about women falling for him was meant to put me at ease, I can see that now. The problem is, I don’t think I’ll ever be at ease around him. He makes me tingle in places that haven’t tingled in too long and right now, I don’t need that kind of complication.
I came here to relax and recharge and that’s what I intend to do. I will not think about having sex with Cole Parker. Ok, I will probably not think about having sex with Cole Parker. Yeah, I’m more than likely going to think about having sex with Cole Parker. A lot. Shit.
I sigh and fall backward onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about the past several months. Not only did I lose my dad, my fiancé, and the biggest case of my career so far, I lost a piece of myself. That little boost of confidence I got at the stoplight back in town, was the first one I’ve had in a while.
I’m not a conceited person by nature, though I know I’m not ugly. I’ve got nice tits and an ass you could bounce an apple off of. I’ve always been smart; at the head of my class. I was valedictorian of my high school, graduated Yale at twenty-two and NYU Law three years later. I’d gotten a job at the first firm I’d interviewed with and had steadily climbed the ladder the past two years. Up until a few months ago, I’d been on track to be the youngest associate to make partner at Wallace and Crown.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, pushing myself back up to sit on the edge of the bed. I don’t want to think about any of that right now. Right now, I need a good night’s sleep.
The next morning I walk down the hallway, stopping to look at the pictures on the walls. Some are of Cole on horseback and I can’t help but be jealous of the horse. A few other pictures show two other men who look enough like Cole that they could be his brothers. Dammit, there’s three of them. Though in my eyes Cole is the best looking, the other two are nothing to shake a stick at either. At the end of the hallway, there is a picture of the three men with Dr. Ferrell.
“So, you’re the one Aunt Nora sent out here to us,” a voice from the kitchen catches me of guard and I jump.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” he says, coming into the living room and stopping a few feet from me. “I’m Luke, Cole’s baby brother.” He holds out a large hand much like his sibling’s and I take it.
“Nice to meet you Luke, I’m Sydney,” I say, looking up at the younger man. He’s nearly as tall as Cole and they have a similar build, but Luke’s eyes are grey and his hair isn’t quite as dark. He appears to be a few years younger than me and has an easy way about him that makes me feel at home almost immediately.
“Uh, yes. Yes, I’m the one,” I say. “Your aunt told me this would be a great place to get away for a bit of a vacation.”
“Really?” he asks. “I mean, it is nice and quiet and all, but there’s really not much to do around here.”
“Yeah well, that’s kind of what I need,” I tell him. “There’s too much to do where I’m from and sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming. Peace and quiet sounds pretty damn good right about now.”
Luke regards me curiously and shakes his head. I’m about to ask him what he’s thinking, when Cole comes down the staircase, pinning me to the wall with his eyes. He’s got on jeans and a tight, plain white t-shirt, his hair still damp from the shower. Damn he looks good. Suddenly my tongue feels like sandpaper.
“I could really use a drink of water,” I say and excuse myself.
Luke follows and points out where the glasses are kept. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he lets himself out and I’m left alone with Cole once again.
Chapter Four: Cole
I step out of the shower, feeling a little better after some sleep and releasing a healthy load of juice from my balls. It’s been too long since I’ve had a woman in my bed and the one downstairs has woken up the beast, so to speak.
I hear Luke’s voice drift up from the hall and quickly throw on a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt. For some reason, the thought of him being his usual charming self around Sydney is irritating the shit out of me. I feel the need to get down there fast before he does or says anything to pique her interest. I find myself realizing that I want her eyes on me and me alone.
What the fuck is happening to me right now? I’m a damn thirty-five-year-old man, not a high schooler with his first boner. I should call Aunt Nora right now and curse her a blue streak for sending Sydney here. I’m not running a damn Bed and Breakfast!
But no, I can’t do that; I won’t do that. Aunt Nora has been too good to us. So instead, I’ll suck it up and try my best to keep my dick in my pants for the next few weeks. I take a deep breath, give my cock a stern talking to and head down the steps. The minute I lay eyes on her, my stomach flips. Fuck. I’ve never been this attracted to a woman in all my life. I suddenly feel the need to get out of the house, and fast.
Sydney goes to the kitchen to get a glass of water and Luke lets himself out. There’s an awkward silence so I finally clear my throat and announce that I’m going out to check on the cattle. A look passes quickly across her face and I can’t quite read it. Was it disappointment? Relief?
“Ok, well I’ll probably jump in the shower and get cleaned up a bit. I drove through a lot of dust on the way here, and I feel like I’m covered in it,” she says.
“Yeah, that’s why you don’t see too many fancy sports cars out this way,” I say, sounding way more dickish than I meant to. Keep it up asshole and you won’t have to worry about getting her in your bed, she’ll take herself out of the running.
She’s just standing there staring at me so I feel the need to say something else. “Well, my home is yours for the next few weeks so make yourself comfortable,” I say, trying to sound a little more charitable. “And feel free to make a list of things you might want from the store.”
Before she can say anything else, I turn on my boot heel and practically run out the door. Good Lord, I need a drink.
“I have to admit big brother, I’ve never seen you look so flustered around a girl in my life,” Luke teases when I meet up with him in the barn.
I grunt and start to inventory the feed bags so I can put in an order. As much as I hate to admit it, Luke is right. Sydney has me tied up in knots like no other woman ever has and I’ve known her all of twelve hours.
“Why do you think Aunt Nora sent her here?” Luke was asking.
“To torture me,” I say, to Luke’s great amusement. He is loving watching me sweat this girl. “I don’t know, she just called and said she had a friend who had had a rough year and needed a break. She thought the fresh air and quiet might help and so she asked if she could send her out. I couldn’t exactly say no to her.”
Luke nods his head. “Yeah, the way she took care of us all those years, we kind of owe her a favor or two. Besides, Sydney won’t be hard to look at for the next few weeks.”
I feel my ears start to get hot and my eyes snap up to my brother’s face. He is smiling that dumb smile of his and I want nothing more than to smack it off of him. I quickly look down, but not before he’s caught me.
Luke whistles low and chuckles. “Wow Cole, this girl’s got you wound up pretty tight already doesn’t she?” he asks.
I say nothing and move over to the feed stations, filling them for the first wave of cattle we’ll call in. I see him grinning and shaking his head from the corner of my eye.
“No worries man, I’ll keep my hands to myself,” he says. “Besides, I’ve seen the way she looks at you. I don’t think I’d be any real competition anyway.”
My head swivels in his direction. “What do you mean, ‘the way she looks at me’?” I ask, a hopeful spark igniting in my belly.
Luke scratches his chin. “Well, it’s kinda like the way you look at her. Like she wants to eat you for dinner.”
I can’t help but be pleased with that remark, but I try to push the feelings down. Though I’ve been with my share of women, I’ve never been one to have a fling. With Sydney being here only a few weeks, that’s all it would be. I can’t afford to start something that has nowhere to go.
Chapter Five: Sydney
After Cole’s swift exit, I stood in the kitchen for a few minutes trying to figure out what had just happened. One minute he’s a total douche and the next he’s offering to buy me groceries. I don’t get it. I shake my head and go back to my room and get ready to take a long, hot shower. My skin feels gritty and my hair is a mess but I was too damn tired last night to care.
I step into the large guest bathroom and marvel at the design. It definitely doesn’t seem like something a gruff rancher would put together. The shower is large enough to fit four people and has jets coming from every direction. I turn the water as hot as I can stand it and step under the spray. I lather my hair and sigh as the suds roll down over my body, following them with my hands.
My nipples spring to life under my fingertips and I give each one a little tweak. It’s been way too damn long since anyone’s hands but my own have been on my body. I stand under the spray and imagine that I’m not alone in the shower.
I press my back up against the cool marble wall and lift a leg to rest my foot on the shampoo niche. I imagine Cole kneeling in front of me and my pussy begins to throb, flooding my belly with warmth. I slide my fingers through the dark curls and insert two of them into my aching center, gathering the thick juices on their tips. I close my eyes and massage my clit with my slippery fingers, while my other hand kneads a breast. Within a few short minutes, I come hard, biting my lip to keep from crying out.
As my orgasm fades, I slump against the wall and sigh. Maybe now that I’ve taken care of myself, I’ll be able to look at Cole without drenching my damn panties.
After my shower, I decide to do a little exploring around the ranch. I throw on a sun dress and a pair of slip-on Sketchers and go to the kitchen. Cole told me to make myself at home, so I grab a bottle of water from the well-stocked fridge and head out the back door. I see a barn about a hundred yards from the back of the house and decide that’s as good a place as any to start.
Growing up in Chicago, I can honestly say I’ve never seen a cow in the flesh. The closest I’ve come to one of the enormous animals is between two halves of a grilled ciabatta bun at my favorite restaurant. Complete with pickles and onions. Now that a bunch of them are looking at me with their big cow eyes, I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to enjoy another burger again.
Up ahead, near the entrance to the barn, I spot Luke wrestling with some large burlap sacks. I pick up my pace a bit and wave to him as I get closer. He smiles and waves back. He is definitely good looking in his own right, and he puts me at ease, but he’s no Cole.
“You look awfully overdressed to feed cattle,” he calls to me as I grow nearer. “I mean, Aunt Nora told you about our arrangement, didn’t she?”
I stop in my tracks and look at him, blinking rapidly. He doesn’t really mean-?
Luke takes one look at my face and bursts into a fit of laughter. “Oh man, if you could see your face right now!” he hollers, slapping his thigh with a meaty hand. “I’m totally joking,” he finally sputters, through his giggles.
I put my hands on my hips and kick a clump of dried grass at him. “You are not funny,” I say, though I can’t help my mouth from twitching. He really had me there for a minute.
“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help myself,” Luke says. “We don’t get too many pretty ladies around here. Actually, now that I think of it, we don’t get any.”
Before I can say anything in response, Cole stalks out of the barn and fixes a dark gaze on his younger brother. “Luke, we have a lot of cattle to feed. Quit screwing around,” he barks before stomping back inside.
“Is he always like that?” I ask, watching his perfect ass as he goes.
“You mean a crabby sonofabitch?” Luke says with a smile. “Yeah, kinda. Listen, it’s not personal, he just takes the business very seriously is all. He’s the oldest and so he’s always been the one to take care of all of us. It’s a hard thing for him to give up. Don’t sweat it.”
I nod and let Luke get back to work after asking if it would be alright if I walked around a bit. He tells me where the gardens are and which areas to avoid due to the electrical fencing and then he leaves me to go back to his duties.
I stroll around for a while, looking over the pastures that stretch farther than my eyes can see. I realize how daunting it must be for one man to feel like he has to take care of all of this. Being the one in charge is never easy, but in this open environment where you have little control over predators, weather, and market, it must be even harder. I find myself feeling a little sympathetic toward Cole.
I shake my head and continue to walk on, taking in the perfect order of the ranch. I wander over toward where Luke said the garden was and I stop short. I had been expecting a vegetable garden, but instead what I find is a magazine-worthy flower bed. Several rows of meticulously groomed Marigolds, Phlox, and Columbine stretch out in bright colors, surrounded by strategically placed rose bushes in reds and golds.
I take a deep breath an inhale the scents as I carefully tiptoe through the neat aisles. All of a sudden, a thought pops into my head. Luke said there were no women on this ranch, so that would mean that either he or Cole had planted this garden. See
ing as Cole was the one in charge, I realize this work of art must be his doing. Cole Parker is quickly evolving into quite the complicated character. Though he’s rough around the edges, anyone who keeps a garden this vibrant and beautiful, must have a soft center. I groan inwardly to myself as I realize I’m starting to like this guy.
“You like it?” a deep voice says from behind me.
“Yes, it’s breathtaking,” I say, turning to see Cole watching me from the end of a row.
“Aunt Nora always kept a nice garden when we were growing up and I used to sit and do my homework in the rows when I was a kid.”
“Well if hers looked anything like this, I can see why you’d be drawn to it,” I say.
Cole nods and looks at me a for a long minute. The intensity of his eyes on me forces a bead of sweat to roll down between my breasts and my nerves begin to hum. I shift unconsciously from foot to foot, unable to look away from him until he finally breaks the spell.
“I’m going in to get some lunch, are you hungry?” he asks.
I nod my head vigorously and follow him up to the house, my eyes glued to his ass the whole way.
Chapter Six: Cole
I walk toward the house to grab a bite to eat and I see Sydney standing in the garden. She’s wearing a soft blue sundress, the breeze lifting her dark hair off of her bare shoulders. She is a sight for sore eyes and I feel my gut clench, deciding right then that this woman will be mine sooner or later. To hell with my old-fashioned ways, fling or not, Sydney Baines will be in my bed.
As I approach, I notice that she is admiring my garden and can’t help but feel some pride in that. The ranch is my work, the garden is my therapy. I stop a short way behind her and admire the view. The breeze lifts the hem of her short sundress, giving me a nice peek at those long legs. I imagine my face planted firmly between those supple thighs and my dick strains against my zipper. I take a deep breath and try to think of something gross before I approach her. I can’t just walk up to her with a giant hard on.