by Ashlee Price
Jerry shushed him. “Don’t draw attention to it. I told you it was just rumors.”
“Have you been down there?”
He looked offended by the question. “You should know me better than that. I have Vee and I couldn’t deal with any more than her.”
Vee was Jerry’s wife and Grahm’s constant cupid, bound and determined to stop his single life. “Yeah she would kill you for sure. I just can’t believe that. I mean I can, but that it’s going on here in Riley and no one is trying to stop it.”
Jerry sighed and moved his cup when the waitress brought out his plate. “I am just trying to tell you what is going on. Thanks Cynthia.” Jerry waited until the waitress was gone. “Really I just thought you would have known something about it.”
“No. I know a girl that just moved in down there for the summer. I don’t think she knows about it.”
“You know one of the girls?” Jerry perked up with a smile. He was just as bad as his wife, meddling and so concerned about Grahm’s love life, or lack thereof.
“Yes, but nothing like that. She stayed the night last night, but we fell asleep watching a movie.”
“Uh huh.”
Grahm sounded disgusted. “That can’t be right. She would have said something if that was going on there. She is there to study ancient farming practices. There is no way she would stay if they were selling out the other girls.”
“Well maybe she is one of them. I am not saying anything bad about your friend. I am just saying it would be hard not to know, right?”
Grahm couldn’t get it all to make sense in his head. There was no way that she would be a part of something like that. He knew that he didn’t know her all that well, but he could at least be certain that she wouldn’t be one of the girls. She was not that type of women. He didn’t know much about her but he knew that much.
“You don’t know Ashley. She wouldn’t do something like that. She can’t know what is going on there.”
“Ashley is it? So are you two dating or something?”
Grahm sighed and shook his head. “It’s nothing like that. I did ask her out for tonight, but I don’t know if she is going to show up or not.”
“Good, I see you are letting go of some of the control.”
“Why is it every time we get together, you end up shrinking me about my love life?”
Jerry shrugged. “I have known you my whole life and I just want you to have what me and Vee do. That’s all.”
Grahm listened half-ass to the rest of the conversation. His mind was dominated with thoughts of Ashley and what was going on over there at Sunshine. He had gotten a bad feeling from Sebastian and not too good of one when he had briefly met Troy. Grahm hated to think of Ashley down there in the thick of things. What was he supposed to do? Just go rush over there and take her away? It was his first instinct.
“You aren’t listening to a word I am saying, are you?”
He wasn’t. “Sorry. You got my mind all messed up thinking about all of that. I knew there was something wrong with that guy. If rumors are getting to you, I wonder why nothing has been done?”
Jerry shrugged. “If everyone is old enough and willing, what is the big deal?”
Grahm didn’t see it that way. He saw it as a couple perverts taking advantage of young women. “It’s just the principle of it.”
Jerry handed the plate to Cynthia and then his friend’s. “Can we get the bill please?”
“Be right back, Jerry.” Cynthia walked off to tally the two men’s tab.
“I think that is going to be your last words one of these days. Not everything is a crusade.”
***
Grahm thought about Ashley and then Jerry’s words all day while he worked. His mind and heart were not into and his horse almost threw him. He could feel the difference in the rider and Grahm’s mood made them both uneasy.
His eyes went to the fence line and he wished that she would pop through the trees and he would know that everything was okay with her. While he would never admit it to his smug friend, Ashley had touched him in such a way and she was dominating his mind far too much. It had been a long time since Grahm had felt anything for a woman. Not since Jess and that was years ago.
Now he couldn’t stop thinking about Ashley and his mind imagined all the things that could go wrong. He knew he had to do something before Ashley was caught in the middle of it.
Chapter 7
Ashley was starting to wake up, but she felt drowsy. Her eyes opened to an unfamiliar place, but she knew she was still in a cob house from the material of the wall. It had not been covered and the straw and wire was still showing through. It meant that she was still in the commune, but she didn’t readily remember what had happened or why she was there.
Turning her head when she heard a noise, Ana was sitting at a small table with a mirror. She was putting makeup on and Ana was wearing very little, scantily clad in a matching bra and panty set. Ashley looked down to find that she was wearing much the same, but only in a different color. She knew she would have remembered that.
“What is going on Ana?”
She looked at her through the mirror and smiled. “I am glad you are finally up. It is almost time to get started.”
Ashley looked down again and then back at her. “Get started with what?”
Ana didn’t answer, but it was not hard to figure out what was going on. “Ana, what is going on?”
“It will all be okay. I know it is alarming at first, but it will be fine. Sebastian and Troy will be back in a minute and they will explain it all. What we do is for the good of the commune.”
It sounded just like it was coming from Sebastian’s mouth. Ashley looked for something to cover herself and found a robe. It was short and silky, but her clothes were nowhere to be found. Instead of waiting around to get another cryptic message from the leader, Ashley moved towards the door. Ana didn’t try to stop her, but told her that she should stay. There were no consequences named if she didn’t, but Ashley had the feeling that she needed to get out of there.
Making it out, she was disoriented, but once she figured out she was in the back, Ashley made her way towards the one place she felt she would be safe. She didn’t go back for her bag or clothes or anything, Ashley was just following her gut to get out of there.
With no shoes on, the terrain was not very forgiving, especially in the tall thicket of trees that went between the properties. She had looked over her shoulder the whole way, but once she climbed over the fence separating the two properties, Ashley breathed a sigh of relief. Looking around, she made her way through the pasture land towards Grahm.
Knocking on the door, she heard him coming. It was then that she realized what she was wearing and felt her face getting hot. He had invited her for a date, but he was not expecting to see her in such a state.
“Ashley?!?”
Grahm’s eyes took in her attire and he didn’t know what else to say. After getting over the shock that she was barely dressed, he recognized that she was not okay. There were pine needles in her hair that was disarrayed and a strange look in her eyes. “Are you okay? Come in.”
She thanked him and moved inside. Ashley was shivering, but she doubted it was from the cold. She had a feeling she had gotten herself out of a situation that could have gotten dicey quick.
“I’m fine, but you wouldn’t happen to have anything that I could put on?”
Grahm looked down at her again and nodded. He moved towards his own room and closet, thankful for the moment to compose himself. With the way she was dressed, it became more likely that she did know about what was going on and the rumors were true.
“Just a shirt would be fine.”
He turned around to her in the doorway. She blocked most of her body behind the wall and he could tell she was embarrassed. The two things didn’t match up in his mind. She was too innocent seeming to be a part of such a nefarious plot. He was suddenly sure that she hadn’t known. Maybe that was why she was here, s
he had just found out.
Grabbing one of his shirts, he handed it to her and pointed her towards the bathroom. After a minute he brought her some of his sleep shorts to put on when he got some wherewithal to him. Pouring himself a drink, he downed it before she came back out. Even with her now swimming in his clothing, he couldn’t unsee her as she had arrived. He wanted to ask her question, find out what happened, but she didn’t look like she wanted to talk.
Instead she sat down and used his glass to pour herself a drink. After drinking it down in much the same quick succession as him, her face squinted up. “Oh that is horrible.”
He couldn’t help but grin. Not many people could drink it like that. “Yes, are you even old enough to drink?”
She shrugged. “Today I am.”
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
She shook her head that she didn’t. “I don’t want to go out either. Do you think we could just stay here and watch a movie or something?”
Ashley didn’t want to be alone and Grahm was the only person there that she knew. She didn’t want to deal with any of it. She just wanted to be somewhere safe and away from the people from the commune. Ashley knew that Grahm was a safe bet.
“Of course Ashley, whatever you need. There is no pizza though.”
***
The night ended in much the same way that there last sleepover had. Ashley didn’t want to talk and Grahm didn’t ask. Instead the talked about his ranch and horses. She seemed bent on making sure that she didn’t have to think about what had happened. It was easier to focus on something else. Grahm ached to know what happened, but beyond having a few more shots, Ashley was soon asleep against him. It was becoming a pattern that was hard to deal with. The second time around, Grahm found it harder and harder to ignore the soft, supple body that lay against him. She moved a little in her sleep and each movement drove him a little crazy.
Untangling himself, she didn’t wake up and he was given time to make her some breakfast. Grahm called his farm hand and had him pick up the slack so he could stay with her. He felt protective of her and when she finally waked up, he wanted some answers.
Chapter 8
“Good morning.”
“Hey. Man my head hurts.”
“That’s what happens when you knock back whiskey like that Ashley. Are you hungry?”
She wasn’t, her head spun and her stomach was queasy but she got up and went towards the kitchen anyways. “Not really, but it smells good. They gave me something in my tea yesterday and I still feel a little sluggish from it.”
“What do you mean?”
He was getting angry and she had already had the emotion. “Sebastian, you were right. He is bad. He gave me some tea and then I woke up barely dressed with one of the girls talking a little nuts. I think they were actually trying to sell me or something. Can you believe that?”
Grahm could, but he wasn’t going to let her know that he knew. There was a sense of guilt that he didn’t go get her when he had about it from Jerry was very real. He felt like he should have done more. “I am just glad you are out of there Ashley. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you.”
She nodded and then grimaced. Her mind couldn’t stop thinking about what could have happened or how stupid she had been not to look into the commune more. It had been one of her spur of the minute decisions to get away for a little while, that she hadn’t thought it all through. She hated to think what could have happened.
There was also the very real need to make sure that no one else was drugged. When she thought back, she could remember the dull look in Ana’s eyes. She was not the only one that was being drugged and Ashley knew that she had to do something about it. When she said that to Grahm, he had a very quick solution, but she shook her head. I wouldn’t have been right.
“You can’t just go over there with a gun Grahm. I swear men would kill each other off if women weren’t around. We need to call the cops and just get the guys arrested.”
“You’re right, but I don’t think anyone would miss them.”
She shook her head again. While it may have sounded like an impassioned decision, it wasn’t. Ashley had a feeling he would do just what he said to end the problem. A flash of when she had first met him and the gun he had pointed at her. “No. That’s not the way Grahm. Can you take me down to the police station in town? We should let them take care of it.”
Ashley started to get up and he nodded towards her clothes. “Why don’t I get you something in town before we go? You stay here and have breakfast while I get you a few things. I don’t think they are going to have those hippy dresses at the shop.”
Ashley shrugged. She wasn’t feeling very much love and peace at the moment. “Whatever you can find will be perfect.”
***
Grahm liked the new look and the curves that were revealed with the jeans that he bought her. She looked different, more like she belonged there and he liked that. He wanted her to stay. Ashley was resting in one of his spare bedrooms. They had just gotten back from the police station and she was tired. It had been over an hour that it took to make her statement, but the tiredness that she felt was more because of the relief that she finally felt. Grahm wished that it had been his body she had fallen asleep against. He had gotten too used to her so quickly.
He went to work thinking about her, wondering if she was going to stay. She would have no reason to. Ashley would go back home soon, out of his life and he would never see her again. The very idea made him depressed. Grahm wanted her to stay.
Heading back to the house, it smelled good when he opened the front door. She was making dinner and it didn’t even matter what it was. “Hey. Thought I would make you something since you were kind enough to let me stay here last night.”
“You are welcome to stay as long as you want Ashley.”
She looked down and smiled. “I will be out of your hair this evening. I was looking in the phone book and there is supposed to be a small hotel in town. Thank you for being there Grahm. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t helped me. I am glad we met.”
He didn’t want her to go, but didn’t know how to make her stay. “You should stay here tonight. I have the extra room. I am always looking to hire farm hands if you weren’t ready to leave yet.”
“No I couldn’t impose.”
“It would be no imposition, really. I like having you around and I can teach you about horses.”
She bit her lip, unsure. Ashley wasn’t ready to go home, but she wasn’t sure she could stay there. It was the pull between the desire to stay in California or admit defeat and go home. The idea of working with horses was hit or miss for her. She was still afraid of them, but maybe she could get over her fear and learn something. If she was honest with herself, she liked the idea of staying there with him. There was something about Grahm that made her feel safe, but also a little breathless when the dark look went in his eyes.
“I don’t know how much help I would be with the horses. They are big and kind of scary.”
“They are really quite gentle. Stay awhile and I will have you riding like a real cowgirl.”
She laughed a little and put out the spoon from the sauce for him to try it. Watching his lips wrap around the spoon made her look down with a red face. Her mind had gone to all the naughty things she would like him to do with his mouth. “It’s good.”
Ashley nodded, her eyes moving away from temptation. “So are you avoiding the subject or need time to think about it?”
“Let me think about it over dinner. I am just not sure why you would want to hire me. I have no experience on a ranch or with animals.”
Grahm was going to say something, but stopped himself. He knew he had to go slow with her. She had just had a really bad week and he knew that she needed time. But he didn’t want to wait.
Moving towards her, he closed up the few feet that was between them and moved her head towards him with a grip on her chin. His l
ips moved to hers and Ashley’s body sagged into him. She had not been expecting it, even though she had hoped he would kiss her. It was better than she had hoped for. His lips were softer and Grahm’s hard body pinned her against the stove. She could feel the heat behind her from the burner, but her arms wrapped around his neck, lips parting to allow his tongue into her mouth.
With a soft moan, Grahm took her open mouth as a submission and the grip on her waist was increased. Ashley felt the hard lump growing between them and pulled away breathlessly. Grahm wanted more, she could see it in his eyes, but he moved back to give her some space. “Sorry, I have wanted to do that since our ride together last week.”
Her hand went to her lips and she stared back up at him. “No need to apologize. Are you ready for the dinner?” He nodded, both knowing that she was changing the subject.
Chapter 9
Ashley agreed to stay and work on the ranch with Grahm. They hadn’t kissed again, but she was really hoping that he did soon. They worked closely together a lot and the more she was around him, the more she wanted him to touch her like he had before. The look was there several times, but he never went through with it. All he had to do was ask, command it and she would do anything he asked of her.
“So do you want to go for a ride after you brush the last one? I have already fed all of them for the night.”
Ashley agreed. They had started riding every evening after they were through and it had quickly become one of her favorite times. She was comfortable enough to take her own horse now, just weeks after coming to the ranch, but she still wanted to ride behind him. There was something in the way he felt next to her and it was the only time of the day that he would touch her. Grahm avoided her when they got too close, but there was no way that he could avoid her when they were on the back of the horse.
He caught the devilish look in her eyes and worried that she was bound and determined to drive him crazy. He knew as well as she did that she could ride on her own, but she kept insisting they ride together. All the good he tried to keep her off his mind, he couldn’t deny that she was pushing for more. He wondered if enough time had passed since the unpleasantness at the commune.