Rodeo Rancher

by Lauren Wood

  “Where is the boss?”

  “She rode out earlier to meet up with someone. I am not sure who. She left our duties on the list at the counter. Have you tried the gravy?”

  I looked at Jeff’s plate and I could see that it was scraped clean. We had a new cook on the ranch and it appeared that the large man liked her. If he was any indication, the gravy would be good. But I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t want to eat anything. I wanted to talk to Cece.

  Going out to the porch, I called her and waited for the obligatory three rings before I got her voice mail. She always had her phone on her, so it most likely meant that she was just ignoring me. I was confused by her behavior and kicked myself for even going to sleep. I should have waited up a little while longer, catching her before she ran out.

  I was in new territory. Not only had I never wanted someone to be there the next day, I never had a woman completely go away like Cece did. The one woman that I wanted to stay, hadn’t. She couldn’t for long obviously, we worked together for goodness sake’s, but I still had an uneasy stomach about it all.

  Going to the list of duties that she had written down, I saw that I was out as far away from the ranch as possible, fixing fences all day. It needed to be done, there was no doubt about that, but it wasn’t really my job. There were several hands that could do it, but I wasn’t going to argue. There was no one to argue to anyways if I wanted to. She had taken herself out of the equation and I am not sure that I was okay with that. I had to be for the time being, but we were going to have a face to face soon enough.

  ***

  That face to face didn’t happen all day Tuesday. Whoever she went to meet, she stayed gone a long time and it wasn’t what I expected. I expected her to come back to the ranch by night fall, but she still wasn’t back when I got back from mending fences and training horses all day. I was beat and I wanted to see her, but she still wasn’t around. I was starting to get ticked off. Where the hell was she?

  Barb made another appearance and tried to stop me in the hallway. She acted like she knew something that I didn’t. It was becoming clear that she was the one ate up with guilt or she just wanted to start more trouble. I really wasn’t so sure about her anymore.

  “Your little girlfriend isn’t coming back to night. She has other plans that don’t involve you Dante. You have reached too high this time.”

  “Yes Barb, maybe so, but I reached too low when I got with you.”

  She looked hurt and I wished I hadn’t said it because the last thing I needed was a scorned woman that I would have to see all of the time. I didn’t want to offend her, but I already had. There wasn’t much I could do about it but go on.

  “Well you are only good for a lay Dante. You have a great cock and know how to use it, but that is about all you are worth. Cece knows that as well as every other woman that crosses your path. That isn’t ever going to change.”

  I walked away, but her words had triggered something inside of me and I had to wonder if she was right. It wasn’t like I had done much more than pleasure a woman. I had never loved a woman and the first time that I did, she ran off after the most amazing night of lovemaking. That couldn’t be a good sign and I didn’t feel like it was. Barb words played on my mind as I went to sleep. Where was Cece?

  ***

  After a little while of tossing and turning, I got up. I had so much to do and all I was thinking about was Cece. I couldn’t sleep and when I went outside to get some fresh air, I could see her car was out front. That meant she was back and that she hadn’t stayed out all night. There was a bit of relief in that fact, but it did nothing for what else I wondered. Where had she been?

  I should have gone back inside and went back to bed. I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow with several horses having to be transported for competition. That meant that I had to get up early and get through my day, but something was stopping me from going that route. I wanted more than anything else to know that she was home. I had to put my eyes on her and get some answers before I was going to have enough peace of mind to sleep. She owed me that and I wasn’t going to leave until I got it.

  So instead of going back to my room, I went to the ranch house to see if I could talk to Cece. I didn’t even know what time it was, but I didn’t care. I had to get answers and I wasn’t used to all of this on my mind. I was used to being pushed to the side and I wasn’t going to stand for it. Barb’s words had gotten to me and I was questioning everything.

  The ranch house was quiet as I made my way in. The door was unlocked, like it always was and there wasn’t a light on inside. I didn’t need any light. I knew where everything was and I made my way to the bottom of the stairs and looked up them. There was only one light on upstairs and it was coming from underneath Cece’s door. It felt perfect to me and I made my way up the many stairs so that I could figure this all out. My body raged with the idea that I may get more than I wanted to. I needed Cece and if she was willing, I wanted to be deep inside of her soon.

  I knocked lightly and there was some movement as she did something on the other side. If I would have checked, I am sure I would have found that the door was unlocked, but I wanted to give her time to prepare for me.

  “Who is it?”

  “It’s Dante.”

  The sounds stopped and I envisioned her motionless on the other side of the door. “Are you going to let me in?”

  Another hesitation before she said to come in. I tried the knob and I was right. It opened right up and that was that. Now I was going to get the answers that I had to hear. I had to know where she had been and I had to believe that she was still mine.

  Chapter 12

  Dante

  “Hey Dante, what are you doing up here at this time of night?”

  “I waited around for you to come home earlier, but you never showed up. I wanted to talk to you.”

  “About what?”

  I had so many questions and the main one was where the hell was she, to be out and about so damn late. I knew I had to temper my reaction though. I had no other choice. She didn’t belong to me, no matter how much I wanted that to be true. The truth of the matter was that there was nothing that I wanted more than to read her the riot act. She was mine and the sooner she and everyone else knew about it, the better off we would be.

  “About what happened last night. I woke up this morning to an empty bed, no note and you weren’t even here for breakfast. Talk about feeling used and kicked to the curb.”

  She giggled and turned towards me. “I didn’t think that would be an issue, considering how you are.”

  “How am I?”

  Cece just moved her shoulders again. “I don’t know. You like to play the field so I thought I would do both of us a favor and not cling too much. I know what happened between us was just a one-night thing. I had been feeling some sort of way and I knew that you would help me with that. You did and I appreciate it, but let’s not make it like it was anything else.”

  I couldn’t believe what she was saying. She acted like she knew what was going on, but by her comment I knew that it wasn’t true. There was no part of me that didn’t want to be with her. I may have been a certain way in the past, but that was because I didn’t have what I wanted. All of this time I had wanted Cece, for a while now and that had nothing to do with more than the fact that I really liked her, maybe I liked her too much though.

  “I don’t want this to be a one-night thing. I want this to be more. We owe it to ourselves to see where it all ends up, don’t you think?”

  She was thinking that way, but I could tell that my presence was not completely being ignored and there was a part of her that wanted me, as much as I wanted her. It was her damn brain again that needed to stop telling me no. Her body was in line with me, but I had to work on her emotions better.

  “Dante, this shouldn’t have happened. We work together and I don’t want to lose you over this. You are worth too much here at the ranch.”

  “But I am not worth it in the bed
room?”

  She made a face that told me what I already knew. It was the bedroom where I shined. I loved to please a woman and pleasing her had been an extra rare treat. I wanted to do it again, so badly and I could tell by the slight tremble in her voice that she wanted me too as well.

  “I didn’t say that Dante. I think you know what you can do in that respect. Are you here to get your ego stroked?”

  I had to laugh. It wasn’t what I expected from her. I couldn’t really read her that well and she was acting like she liked me being there, but at the same time she was standoffish as well. The mix was hard to discern what it was that I was supposed to do. I knew what I wanted to do, but I still wasn’t sure if we were on the same page or not.

  “I came here to talk.”

  “About what?”

  “Us. The bedroom.”

  She smiled and I saw her put down the papers and file that she was looking through. “So what is there to say Dante? We had a great time last night. Thanks for the relief. I needed it.”

  “So never again?”

  Cece pursed her lips to say something, but then stopped suddenly. “Well, I don’t know. I wouldn’t say never. Though it would be best if we never did it again for the sake of working together.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it will get complicated. You are a hard man not to fall for and I don’t think my heart is ready for another heartbreak right now.”

  “So where were you today?”

  “I had business to attend to.”

  “So you aren’t ignoring me?”

  Again she hem-hawed around and I figured out quickly that she was. I still was trying to figure out why, but my dick had other plans. I was so damn hard for her and I was picking up more and more clues from her that she was just as ready as I was.

  “No Dante, not really. I just, I don’t know. I thought it would be good to have some space between us.”

  “What if I don’t want space?”

  “Well I don’t know what to tell you. I think it is for the best. We work together.”

  “You keep saying that, but you are the boss Cece.”

  I was moving closer to her and she told me that she didn’t really feel like the boss at that particular moment.

  “Well if you aren’t the boss, then who is going to stop me from kissing you and having my way with you again?”

  Her blue eyes widened and she made me smile at her. I had won. I could see it in the way she was holding her body. She wanted me just as much as I wanted her. It was all just too much and I was sick of waiting. I leaned in, inches from her lips and told her that if she wanted me to stop, all she had to do was to tell me.

  I kissed her before anything could come out, but I was given a whimpering sound as my answer. It was enough of an answer for me, enough to get me all hot and bothered. Her lips were just as soft ad giving as they were before, but this time I took my time to make it last. She had sprung her need on me so quickly and decisively yesterday evening that I wasn’t prepared. Now I was fully prepared for her and I had a plan of action.

  I moved her to her bed and laid her down onto the surface softly. Before she had requested it a certain way, from behind, but so badly I wanted to look into her face as I filled her. If I ever had any regrets about any of this, it was going to be that very thing. I wanted to make love to her this time, not just pound her until she screamed my name. I was going to have to do more to keep Cece and she was worth the extra effort.

  Undressing her slowly, it wasn’t hard to get the silky night gown off of her body. She didn’t have anything on underneath it besides a tiny little pair of pink panties. I hadn’t even noticed the nipples that were sure to have been out the whole time. They were dark and pointed up at me. It was such a tempting sight that I got sidetracked for a time and I had bend down and take one of the tips into my mouth.

  Her body arched to my touch and I relished in the sound of her pleasure. It was a pity that I didn’t spend as much time with her before, teasing her body. I was going to rectify that now. I wanted to make sure that I had a taste of every inch of her before I even started this time.

  It didn’t take long for her to protest my plans. “Please Dante! I just need you inside of me, so badly. I don’t want to wait anymore!”

  Her voice was high pitched and I could tell that she was getting close. It happened so quickly with her and I was just enjoying it far too much to silence her. There was no way that I was going to stop my quest, until she was beyond the point of all recognition.

  “Why are you so impatient Cece?”

  I chuckled at the look that she gave me. She was not happy with my antics and I rubbed her slower, to make it get to her more. I don’t know why, but watching her squirm was a great sight to see and if my own need wasn’t so strong, I would have prolonged it even more, but I just couldn’t. I needed her that badly and the more I thought about it and the wetter she became, the more I was apt to give into her pleas. They really did sound so damn sweet to my ears.

  Moving over her, I realized that I didn’t have anything off. I had been so worried about winding her up that I had to sit back and remove my shirt and pants, shoes, as well as boxers. By the time I got to her, she was struggling with need and pulling me to her. I wanted to feel her skin on mine and it was perfect when we finally touched and I settled over her body.

  Her legs were up and they spread wider for my body to settle down in between. I just felt so perfect there, like I was meant to be there and she was made for me. The more I thought about it, the more I was sure she had been made specifically for me. As I slid inside of her ever so slowly, I knew that I was right. How could I be wrong? She felt too good and I knew that I was going to lose myself if I didn’t hurry up and get inside of her. It was all I could think about and all I wanted to think about.

  My eyes closed as I pushed in the rest of the way. I felt her bottom and pushed against it, trying to get every inch in before she put her hand up to slow me down. I didn’t want to slow down though. I needed more and as I pulled out, I slid in faster and faster, starting a rhythm that left me dizzy and her coming right out of the gate.

  “You feel so damn good Cece. I want to stay inside of you forever.”

  She didn’t answer me and by the look of things, she wasn’t able to. Her face was screwed up in pleasure, her eyes squeezed so tightly shut. All I wanted to do was get her to look at me and when I told her to, our eyes met and I was better off not seeing the need in them. I couldn’t stop looking at her as she whimpered and whined, struggling underneath me as another wave of bliss passed over her.

  I had to close my own eyes to not see such a sight. While I regretted not seeing it the first time, the truth was that I was more than a little close to my own edge. I had waited so long, years it felt like to be where I was, I literally never wanted to leave. The textured inside of her sheath was too good to ignore and I finally felt my own wave of pleasure washing over me and there was really nothing that I could do about it, or that I wanted to do about it. Filling her with my seed, I pushed as deep as I could, hoping to enter into her very soul. I wanted to imprint on her, so that she would be mine forever. I wasn’t going to let her get away again.

  I rolled over to her side and pulled her in, feeling her heart beating as I pressed a hand to her chest.

  “This is perfect Cece. You have to feel it too.”

  “I know that being with you feels so good Dante, but…”

  I waited for her to answer and she just slid on top of my chest and listened to my heartbeat, playing with the dark hairs on me. “Never mind Dante. It was perfect. No buts.”

  “Then tell me you are mine Cece. I don’t want to share you with anyone else. I don’t want to think about you with anyone else. I just want us to be together. So what if we work together? It just means that we were good friends first. I know that I am not used to this kind of thing, dating and all, but I am not that big of a tool, I can figure it out.”

  Cece smiled and move
d up to kiss me. “You aren’t a tool.”

  She didn’t sound so sure, but I could see the happiness in her eyes. For once, all of the bullshit was pushed to the side and it was finally getting real. Never thought I would want it this way, but everything changed when I first got inside of Cece. After that, everything had changed for me.

  Chapter 13

  Cecelia

  This time when I woke up, Dante was still next to me and he was holding onto me tight. There was no way for me to slip away because we were in my room. I couldn’t just grab my clothes and run off this time, but my eyes were still looking around for somewhere to go. I didn’t want to be here, not like this and it was the morning after that threw me off so much. It was because of those moments that I would fall. The more I got to know Dante, the harder I fell and the morning after was a red flag for me.

  So I got out of bed as quickly as I could, being as quiet as I could so that I wouldn’t disturb the man that was next to me. The hardest part was seeing his hard chest naked in the bed, knowing what was underneath the sheets and walking away. I had to of course, there was no doubt about that, but it was hard nonetheless.

  Grabbing some clothes to put on, I moved into the bathroom to take a shower. I could already hear people downstairs having breakfast and I felt my face get a little red with the idea that they were going to be able to see Dante coming down the stairs. I was loud last night, really loud and it was going to be just as embarrassing as when I was caught leaving the hand house yesterday morning. It was part of the reason that I was so inclined to take off early yesterday. But there was no reason to leave today, so I had a feeling that I was going to have to stick it out.