by Taylor Berke
Brody yelled in from the den, “Don’t forget that Ben likes cows more than he likes girls! He has never brought any women home yet!”
“Who cares if I have brought home a girl yet? I always have a date on the weekends, unlike you. Since your girlfriend, you haven’t dated anyone, dummy! For someone who loves to talk to everyone, it seems you have nothing important to say.” Ben returned the volley.
“I am too busy with both my hands full, cuz!” Brody boasted proudly.
Florence gave a timely interruption to where the conversation was going. “That will be enough out of you, young man! If we are going to talk about Brody, then let’s be proud of him. Your father was immensely proud of you for how you handled your bronco-riding rodeo career. You kept winning and winning, yet you didn’t let it overtake your love of the ranch. Martin was very proud indeed not only of all your buckles but that you knew who you were and what mattered to you. If you had to choose to continue, we would have supported you no matter what, but that you came back to something you loved even more, well, your father and I …well, you know.”
“He did come home to the ranch ’cause he loves it, but let’s be frank. He went through so many women that he…” A wadded up napkin was hurled at Cole’s head, ending his opinion that Brody had slept with every woman in Wyoming. Billie, along with the rest of the table, was in stiches from all the laughter. Cole was normally quiet and more a listener than an instigator but Billie thought he did pretty well with that one!
“Cole cannot get his head away from learning. Never could. His father and I were always amazed how he could run bales out to the herd and come back able to tell us some new information he had learned on ancient Greece or something! Now, if only he would put that focus on a lady friend!” Florence laughed in the direction of her youngest. Cole just smiled indulgently at his mother, not quite comfortable with being the center of everyone’s attention.
Suddenly Lillian’s gaze shifted to her youngest. Troy looked up with his mouth full of Billie’s cranberry stuffing. “What?” he said.
“My baby boy.” She sniffled back her tears.
“Tiny and a baby. Now the truth comes out. Mom, are you sure he is actually yours?” Troy laughed out.
“Jackson, please behave yourself. You are next in line, buster. I would be careful what you say because there is much I want to share about you, darling boy.” Lillian laughed. “Now where was I? Oh, my baby. If you hadn’t gone to college and learned to be the computer wizard that you are, where would this ranch be? I cannot tell you how amazed we are that you can take care of all the ranch bills and sales on the computer. Do you have any idea how long that used to take your father to do? Or how much he hated it?”
“I did hate it, but I never took that long. I beg to differ. I could handle it all pretty well.” Bill defended himself while giving Lillian a slap on her rump affectionately.
“Dad, we all know you hated it and it took you forever. Period. I don’t mind doing it. I kind of like it,” Troy said proudly.
Florence leaned over and whispered in Lillian’s ear. They both dissolved into giggles and swung their gazes in Jackson’s direction.
“Oh shoot. What? Just get it out of your systems! Ugh, someone get me another beer, please. I need liquid fortification for this! Stop laughing, Billie, or your turn may be next!” Jackson grumbled.
“Ah, but there is no one here to divulge my secrets. No one has known me since birth and can tell you my little ‘isms’ that I have,” Billie countered with.
“I can.” All eyes turned toward a quiet, masculine voice from the doorway. Cole, at six foot four inches, was hardly a slouch in the height or looks department. He loved to tease his brother and cousins but tended to be shy around others. Jackson had figured that he would be the only one to razz Billie, but then he remembered that Cole was the observant one. He wondered what he noticed about Billie.
“You came out here to belong. I suspect you have always been a brilliant woman, kind and considerate. It is why you are such a good doctor, but I wonder what your family was like back there. I think there must have been a void, one that you have just started to fill. You emanate joy and probably surprise yourself daily at how happy you are. Your beautiful home, full of detail and thought, is a reflection of you and your personality. I personally share your love of reading and plan on raiding your library of books on ancient cultures. Jackson is barely literate, so he won’t mind if we have a special relationship based on old architecture.”
Lillian, Florence, and the rest of the table looked back to Billie for some sort of affirmation or denial. Quickly recovering from her shock at how astute he was, she just starting to softly clap and smile. Cole returned that smile and sauntered over to the table to give her a light kiss on the top of her head.
“I am very literate, you overgrown ape. If I didn’t know how shy you were, I would swear you were scheming to steal my girl. However, since you cannot take the time away from your precious reading, I know you won’t be able to overcome my charming, sparkling personality!”
Billie gave Jackson a light squeeze on his thigh and leaned into him slightly to give him an unspoken moment of reassurance. Everyone laughed at the exchange, but Billie could feel Jackson’s slight jealousy that his cousin had her pegged in two seconds. She leaned up and turned his face with her hand. His soft-green eyes met hers as he lowered his head to meet her lips. Billie kept her hand cupping his cheek as she gently kissed him with all the love she felt for him. She heard him groan and slant his head to deepen the kiss with gentle swipes of the tip of his tongue. Suddenly the room seemed very quiet. The two of them separated slightly to the sounds of raucous laughter as their private moment was interrupted. Sheepishly they looked at each other as he cuddled Billie into his embrace.
“See, this is why I am proud of Jackson! He can fix anything, talk anyone out of anything, and was also an amazing bull rider. However, it is this miracle, this change where his heart is full of love again that makes us so happy,” Lillian said while hugging her husband a bit too tightly.
“The boy always had love, Lill, he just chose wrong,” Bill said with some humorous authority. “Now he has the way of it!” he said with a wink and smile at Billie, who was blushing at the compliment.
“Now that we have run through all the Powell boys, let’s get to the good stuff,” yelled Brody from the other room.
“Yeah, let’s talk about Hunter!” Troy volunteered with far too much enthusiasm.
“What? Why?” was all of Hunter’s reply.
“It’s your turn, bud! You hardly speak unless it’s to all those dogs you save. You grunt, growl, and basically act like a crabby woman all the time!” Troy was treading on thin ice.
“Hey!” the women of the room yelled at Troy. Florence took it a step further and slapped her nephew in the back of his head.
“Ouch! Aunt Florence, it’s true!”
“It is not.” Again, Billie definitely could not see Hunter ever discussing his feelings or thoughts extensively with anyone, ever! Yet, he was one of the kindest, gentlest men she had ever met. He did love to take strays dogs in on his ranch. He obviously loved his best friends, Troy and Cole, as well as the rest of the Powell clan, but it was his surly demeanor that Billie appreciated most. It was a total smoke screen for his affections to be kept private. Billie just wanted to hug Hunter as he, too, didn’t have blood family in the room.
She did the next best thing. “Hunter is a warm, wonderful, man who has no need to use flowery language or make long speeches. Women all know immediately what an amazing man he is just by his presence and smile. Besides, I have yet to see him crabby. He is wonderful!”
If it were possible for Hunter’s huge, muscular chest to get any larger, it would have with how he puffed it out at Billie’s compliments.
“Someone take a picture! Quick!” Cole yelled out. “I think he is going to smile!”
As if on cue, he did. Billie thought he was just charming. She could tell from th
e tightening of Jackson’s embrace that he was again slightly jealous at her attentions to his friend. The effect was ruined, however, with Hunter stealing the show.
“Um, Lillian. Would you care to regale us with how much you love Jackson’s behind? I mean, it does have that birthmark on the upper left cheek and…”
Hunter never got to finish as everyone started laughing at Jackson choking on his beer.
Chapter Sixteen
Mabel was discharged from the hospital two days after the holiday and apparently not a moment too soon. Billie heard from Julia directly that poor Nat had his hands full trying to keep his stubborn mamma in bed and from pulling out her IV lines. Billie let her go home with the promise that she would come into the office once a week until Billie was satisfied. Things were pretty uneventful for the next few weeks with the routine of work, hot monkey sex with Jackson, and taking care of the house and office work becoming set into place.
Billie sat at her desk munching on her avocado salad, thinking of how deliciously erotic Jackson was. He had ridden Lachlan over last night and crawled into bed with her while she was sleeping. Her schedule had been so exhausting for the past several weeks, even though she had tried to stay up waiting for him, she must have fallen asleep. She was awakened by the feel of his soft kisses on the back of her neck as a very naked, warm, and hard body slid into bed and pressed against her back. That wasn’t all that was hard.
Billie rubbed her posterior against the hard ridge of his huge cock, which was nestled between her cheeks. Jackson continued his gentle seduction by placing his lip at the base of her throat and sucking in her soft skin. The sensations sent bolts of pleasure straight to her pussy while his hands melted her into a hot, liquid woman. He rolled her slightly to shift his mouth to suckle on her nipple while still grinding his cock into her ass. Jackson moved to glide his steely erection through her thighs, enabling him to slide against her soaked pussy lips. They both groaned in pleasure as his cock easily slipped back and forth through her engorged pussy to graze her clit erotically. His hands circled her slim waist, almost reverently stroking her soft skin, while he gently pulled her flush against his body.
Billie thought she was going to go up in flames as he used her copious cream to lubricate her rear rosette. Small pulses of pleasure set off a firestorm of spasms in her pussy as he suddenly plunged his cock deep into her pussy only to pull out and kiss her shoulder. Without a word, he soundlessly rolled her to her belly and placed a soft pillow under her hips. Billie obediently followed his soundless directions as she felt him lean up on his knees and pull her hips back toward him. His cock felt even thicker than normal as it gently pushed against that dark, private hole. A small frisson of fear ran up her spine as he began to lightly thrust against her, slowly starting to breach her outer ring of tight muscle. He placed light kisses over her neck and shoulders, crooning loving words softly to comfort her all while continuing with his quest. Billie felt the stinging pain increase until, with his light thrusts, he suddenly slid deeply into her ass. He tightened his grip on her hips and leaned fully over her back, almost definitely in an unspoken display of dominance and possession of her.
The pain stopped and was soon replaced with sensations she had never felt before. She then felt and heard him groan as he slid his hard cock fully into her. Jackson stilled his movements at that moment to allow both him and Billie to savor the feeling of him being deep inside of her. Billie felt so full, tight, and taken in such a deliciously primitive way. He filled her as she had never been filled before, and she could barely breathe as the pleasure was indescribable. She heard Jackson let out his breath as though he was holding it, and he kissed her between her shoulders, running his tongue down her spine. It felt like he wanted to see himself planted so far within her, savor the pleasure, and taste her all at the same time.
He momentarily shuddered and then started to pull back. She felt him stroke slowly back into her again and again, his rhythm igniting nerve endings that she had no idea she even possessed to scream out electric pleasure. His thrusts began to become more aggressive as the sound of their mutual panting was mixed with the slapping of his flesh against hers. She erupted with pleasure from an orgasm so electrifying it went screaming through her body when he reached under her to stroke her clit. Soundlessly, her mouth hung open as her pleasure burned to her toes and fingers, an erotic sensation that she had never known existed until that moment. She felt him thrust deep one last time as he trembled and roared out his own incredible, trembling climax. She felt branded from the inside out as she felt his hot cum fill her as he had never before. He then cradled her body possessively into his with his cock still hard inside her ass while his hands lightly stroked her shuddering body as they both tried to catch their breath.
“Jackson.” She sighed blissfully. Billie had never felt so possessed, taken, or loved in her life.
His only answer was a whispered word into her ear. “Mine.”
Billie had liked it. It had been almost like love, almost like adoration as he had hugged her to him so tightly she could barely breathe. He had rolled them to their sides, still connected in that very intimate way and that was how they had slept. It was peaceful, loving, and had felt oh so right.
* * * *
“I will give you good money if you tell me what has you smiling so naughtily, Dr. Rothman,” Billie heard Julia ask with a saucy look and a snicker.
Billie looked up at Julia and replied, “Not on your life, darling lady, but I will tell you it was a happy thought.”
“I would think that was a given, missy! You looked a million miles away and glad to be there!” Julia laughed. “I just came back here to tell you that I am leaving a bit early today and just locked up the front door.”
“Leaving early? Why and what I am supposed to do without your charm and skills to keep the natives happy?” Billie groused.
“No worries, Dr. Rothman, you will be leaving early, too. Your last two patients canceled as they had to do some serious holiday shopping. Not a very good reason, if you ask me, but there it is. I cleaned up and am going to lock up behind me. You be a good girl and go home and play with your dogs and horses, okay?”
“Um, okay. It’s not like I have a choice here, do I?”
“Nope. Good night, darlin’. I will see you tomorrow.” And with that, Ms. Julia was off.
With that, Billie whipped out her cell to call her best friend. “Hey, Lizzie, got the evening off as the patients felt they had better things to do than see their greenhorn East Coast doctor! I am almost proud that I was trumped by a shopping trip to the mall, if you really want to know.” Billie laughed into her cell. “Would you care for a drink or dinner tonight, I mean if you don’t mind being seen with me?”
“Billie, you are hysterical. Okay, I guess my reputation won’t be too sullied to be seen with the gorgeous town physician who is dating Mr. Sexy Hard Body Jackson and happens to be a really, really amazing person.” Lizzie laughed out. “Give me five minutes, okay?”
“Yes, madame chef, that sounds wonderful. We girls have got to stick together while the men are having poker night. I think they just left to go over to the Taggart’s ranch. I saw Jackson’s truck just leave. By the way, I may or may not promise not to tell Ben what you just said about Jackson! I could be persuaded if you buy the first round,” Billie coaxed.
“You know very well that there is nothing going on with me and that commitment-phobe, overgrown, overdeveloped land mass of a man who cannot date a woman for longer than two or three months and barely talks,” Lizzie grumbled. “I know I come off as a fun-loving woman and all, but you know the truth. I don’t want to be the flavor of the month for Ben. I like him. I really like him, regardless of his baggage and bizarre dating habits. He gets me, I think, but hasn’t made a move to indicate that he either wants a quickie, which I would not give him or that he is actually interested in me. He just always is, well, there. I turn around, and he is either looking at me, helping me, or just near. All without t
alking. It’s weird, no?”
Billie thought for a moment before replying. “No, not really. He is such a sweet, huge, shy guy. I think he goes through women like that because he isn’t sure what he wants. I know for a fact that he has never, ever brought a woman home before, never! No one can deny that he is interested in you. The way he is always trying to be near you is just adorable. Perhaps he is just trying to work up the courage to have a relationship with Ms. Stony Creek. You are the absolute opposite of his personality, but it probably would be a perfect fit, in my mind.”
“Yeah, he is adorable. However, I don’t think he wants me for much other than to see if I am a natural blonde!”
“Lizzie! You are awful! Ben is many things, but he definitely treats women with respect. If he found out your, um, natural state, at least he would just smile and keep it to himself!” Billie laughed. “Okay, see you in five and we can discuss the future Mr. Carmichael further.”
Billie sat at her desk for another moment, savoring the peace and quiet. Odd, but when Julia wasn’t in the office with her, it sure was calmer. However, she had already had a lifetime of sterile, quiet medical offices back east. This was more of what Billie liked. There was more noise, tumult, and love. Yes, it was not quite ready for the cover of professional medical office digest but her office was infinitely more welcoming. She gathered up her things and turned the lights out as she went out the back door and locked it. The light in the back alley was limited and a prickle of unease ran up Billie’s spine. She looked around cautiously for a moment and pulled out her mace, just in case. Slightly encouraged that Lizzie was going to meet her out front in just two minutes, she took a deep breath and began to walk through the dim light toward the main street.