Rodeo Rancher

by Lauren Wood

  “I hope that you’re not feeling regretful about any of this. I can be pretty overwhelming, but I don’t want to make you think that this wasn’t special. I don’t usually find myself been ruled by my emotions. It takes a special kind of woman to tie me down literally and figuratively. You look like you have a lot on your mind. I’m not some kind of fling that made you feel alive for the first time, since your marriage.” Brent could feel that she was hiding something, but it was still a mystery. At first, she appeared to be running from something, but now it almost made him believe that she was fighting her feelings over another. He could usually read people, but with her it wasn’t that easy.

  “This is neither the place nor the time to grill me. I thought that we were thinking along the same wavelength and if we’re not, I would really like to know right here and right now.” Shelley was looking for anything that could make her forget about this insanity and do what she was paid to do. She wanted him to say something embarrassing, masochistic or even egocentric to push her away.

  “I’m just worried about you. I would never want to put you into a situation that you would feel uncomfortable. I don’t want you to look at this, as I notch on my belt or a scratch on my bedpost. That couldn’t be further from the truth. From the moment that I saw you sitting there alone and nursing that drink, I became instantly attracted to you and I’m not just saying it was physical. I think that if you talk about what’s on your mind that it will be good for you.” Brent felt like this woman had gotten underneath his skin. That itch that he couldn’t scratch was now finding somebody that could do it. It was never his intention to find anything that resembled love.

  “I really don’t want to get into it right now, but trust me we’ll have to eventually.” “I can’t believe that I’m even contemplating something like this. The chemistry, the way that he speaks to me with respect and the kindness in his eyes has possibly fooled me into thinking that there is more here than just a wonderful time. I don’t want to delude myself, but I believe that he might be that missing piece in my life that I’ve been looking for. If I do this, there is no going back and after we have this moment, we’ll be running for our lives. I would only do this for one reason and one reason only. I might choke on this word, but it could be…love.”

  Chapter 3

  They could barely keep their hands off each other, going down the hallway, giggling like a couple of teenage lovers. They were kissing and he was fumbling with the key to the room, while at the same time trying not to hurt her with the metal case that was affixed to his wrist.

  “I can usually withstand a woman’s advances, but you are something that nobody could resist. You have this raw sexuality that comes out at the most inopportune times. Kelly, I should tell you to leave and this is not the reason why I’m here. I never thought that I would have a woman like you. You’re not like the usual women that I get involved with. It’s usually a matter of convenience and we take our pleasure from each other and then they leave. I like it that way, but you showed me that I could have more than that. I’m not sure that I should thank you for that, or try to push you away.”

  “The only thing that matters is that we are together now. What happens tomorrow is for the future to decide.” “I don’t want to be just a distant memory for Brent. For once, I don’t want to be that hit and run. I want this to last, but am I thinking straight or is my body dictating what I’m about to do. My head and my heart are saying two different things and I’m not sure which one I should listen to. I think for this one time that my heart is going to win out in the end.”

  Brent pushed her into the room, closing the door with his foot. He was soon feeling her hands throwing him up against that same door. He’d never found a woman that was this aggressive and the feeling of her taking control was not something that he usually did. He watched with bated breath, as she undid his shirt and then went after his pants. He could tell that there was no forethought. His pants were around his ankles and then she relieved him of his underwear. He was literally standing there with nothing on, but the shirt on his back.

  She ran her fingernails down over his chest, touching on his nipples and making him jerk in her touch. “I should be able to separate my feelings, but I can’t. This was supposed to be just one of those things, but this has become a whole lot more than I even expected.”

  He shut her up with his mouth latching onto her own. He found that red dress making him reach down deep for that animalistic side that he had been hiding from the rest of the world. He pulled the straps down, exposing her shoulders and her breasts in that order. He lifted her into his arms, her legs scissoring behind him and his face now plastered between her breasts. Her nipples were calling for attention and he was not a man about to let a woman go unfulfilled.

  He wrapped his tongue around each of them; lightly biting on the tips and making her throw her head back. She moaned in his grip. He held her firmly and found that her weight did not deter him from exploring her body from head to toe.

  “I can’t get you out of my head. We’ve only just met and I feel like we’ve been star crossed to meet. Every night I’ve been waiting for a girl like you to come and be in my arms. I understand that that sounds like a line, but I mean every word of it.” He carried her to the bed, laying her down and then very quickly taking off that dress and finding out exactly what she was wearing underneath. He growled underneath his breath, attacking her and using his hands to strip her down. Her panties were already soaking wet. What she had done for him in the elevator had only pushed him into wanting to reciprocate in kind.

  “You’re like my own personal drug, Brent. You make me feel things that scare me and excite me at the same time.” She felt her legs being spread and then the hot breath of his mouth touching her mound and making her want for something more. She always thought that she was destined to die during some job, but for some reason she was now wondering if maybe that future could include him in some way. “I’m not the kind of girl that gets caught up in one night stands. I’m like you and I’m the love him and leave him kind of girl. It’s funny, but those love songs that I’ve heard on the radio now seem to make sense to me.” Shelly arched her back into the air, bowing her body and keeping it in that position with his tongue now entering her for the first time.

  “You taste like fine wine on a summer’s afternoon.” It was all that he had to say, as he continued to delve even deeper. To enhance her pleasure even more, his finger touched her clit and made her dance to a tune of his own making. That sloppy sound of echoed into the air. He saw her reach up to the headboard and grab onto it. Her skin had this sheen of wetness that made her slippery to the touch.

  “I can’t make up my mind if this is fantasy or reality…my god…you should’ve been a woman in a past life.” “I came here to mark my territory, get a feel for who this man is and maybe even complete the mission a little bit earlier than expected. I could’ve easily killed him three or four times over and yet something is preventing me from doing that. It’s these damn feelings that are getting in my way. I’ve never had to worry about them before and I really don’t want to worry about them now. If he continues to make me feel like this, I’m never going to let him go.”

  He had his hands underneath her ass, giving her a long overdue tongue fucking that made her eyes roll into the back of her head. That first scream sounded like it was going to pierce his eardrums. She tried to get away from him, twisting and turning, but he was relentless in his pursuit of giving her that pleasure. She was still in the throes of that moment, when he decided to give her something else to think about.

  “Yes…fuck me… Brent.” His cock had followed that orgasm and the wetness of her greedy little hole all the way to the balls. Her moans of arousal were only making him want to stay with her for, as long as possible. The case was beside her head and he was hovering over her with his cock drilling for oil.

  They were working towards a simultaneous release. This was not the first time that Brent had done som
ething like this and the feel of her body underneath him only confirmed that she was not like all the others. He could usually control his own switch, but for some reason she was the one that was pulling out all the stops. Her pussy was on fire, gripping tightly and pulling at him to give her exactly what she wanted.

  “I’m cumming again…you fucking bastard…you’re too good for me.” The second one was even stronger and longer than the first.

  “I can’t possibly stop this from happening… KELLY.” He was strangling on those words and then she turned him, so that she was the one now holding him down with her hips slamming down onto his cock over and over again. He watched her bounce and then grind in a circle to make his cock hit her in all the right ways. He could feel her fingering the chain around his wrist and it might have not been a good idea to get involved, but he couldn’t help himself.

  “You’ll last, as long as I want you to last, Brent. Don’t even think about cumming without my permission.” She leaned forward and felt his hand on her ass and then pulling apart her cheeks to get at another more taboo target. She was tempted to tell him that it was off limits, but it seemed that nothing was off limits when it was between the two of them “You are one naughty… Boy.” She felt that intrusion and it only made her work her body into a sexual frenzy.

  They had each other by the short hairs and neither one was going to give the other the satisfaction of crying uncle.

  “There’s no escape. I made the mistake of seeing him face to face. I should have known better, but I thought that I was immune to this type of thing. Looking at him lying there, as my sexual prisoner, I know that I could easily just stab him in the heart and leave him for dead. I just don’t want anything to happen to him and that means I’m going to have to go against my one rule. I was going to get personally involved in not only his life, but his well being.”

  They continued this ill conceived union, ending up in the shower with the water washing away their sins. The case was still with him and he knew that he would have to leave her and take this to the proper people. It needed to be in the right hands sooner than later. He should’ve had it over to the senator at 6:00 AM, but this woman had turned him around from his mission.

  Shelley could feel him behind her, licking the nape of her neck and making her want to go for another round. “Brent, I need to tell you something and you really do need to stop that. I’ve already lost my train of thought several times during the evening. I’m not exactly who you think I am. I was sent here to kill you, but I’ve turned over a new leaf. With that being said, your life is in danger and people are going to come to collect the bounty on your head. $20,000,000 is a lot of money and you may not think that you’re worth it, but I believe that the information in that case that you’re carrying is.” She didn’t want to just blurt it out, but it seemed necessary to pull off the band aid quickly. To do it slowly would’ve been wrong. This way, he was now forewarned and maybe that would give him an idea of how serious this could be.

  Brent grabbed her by the arm and turned it with his hand up underneath her chin. “I want you to give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just kill you. You just admitted that you were an assassin sent to kill me and get this information. You didn’t have to do that and I was pretty much oblivious to anything, but the physical pleasures that we could give each other.” He could smell her and the perfume of her natural essence had gotten to him in a profound way.

  “I just finished telling you that I’ve changed my mind. Like you said, I didn’t have to do that. I now have a vested interest in keeping you safe, but believe me when I tell you that others are not going to see it the same way. You count yourself lucky that you have me on your side and it’s not the other way around anymore. I’ve never walked away from a job before and it pains me to do it now.” “I would like to turn the tables, but his technique is above reproach. I could fight him tooth and nail and he would know that he was in a battle for his life. I think that in this instance that I can get a lot more with words than with actions.”

  “I don’t know why I should even believe you. I’m guessing that your real name is not Kelly. You tricked me and that’s not something that can easily be done with a man with my experience. I’m usually aware of my surroundings and of the people that I spend time with. I’m not one to easily trust and I can’t decide if I should turn you over to the authorities or let you help me.” Brent pulled her from the shower and into the bedroom. He pushed her down onto the mattress and then grabbed for the gun that he had hidden underneath the bed. He didn’t think that he would have an occasion to use it, but he was always well prepared for any eventuality.

  “I can prove to you that I’m on your side. The contract states that you have to be dead and the information taken from you, before 10:00 AM. I’m not sure why they didn’t make it 6:00 AM, but apparently they thought that you were going to wait to bring the information to the light of day.” She heard a noise and looked towards the balcony to see a man completely covered in black clothing repelling down. He landed and pulled out a gun, only to have a rude awakening.

  The door was open and Shelley used that to her advantage. She threw the knife that she had ready to kill Brent, but instead she did it to the one person that didn’t see it coming. The gun didn’t go off and the man known, as the carpenter dropped down with his throat spewing blood all over the floor. He was gasping and trying to pull out that knife, but it was too little too late.

  Chapter 4

  “I don’t know about you, but I think that should prove to you that I’m on your side. I don’t think that’s going to be the end of it and this was an open contract. I was given the heads up, but it became public knowledge to the community about an hour ago. If it’s all the same to you, I would like to get out of here, before anything else happens.” She didn’t give him a chance to think about it, grabbing his arm and forcing him towards the door.

  This time, there was a young woman on the other side and she appeared to be vacuuming. They were on their way down the hall, when Brent had an inkling that something was wrong. It finally dawned on him that a woman like her wouldn’t be wearing 4 inch high heels. Girls in that profession would be in something more comfortable like flats. He pushed Shelley up against the wall went down on one knee and fired one shot. The woman had turned and had a very small gun concealed underneath her dress. The shot that he fired had made contact with her hand.

  The gun in her hand had now spiraled down the hallway, as she scrambled after it showing no regard for the bleeding hand. She did not scream or show any kind of reaction and that itself made Brent a little worried. Only a true professional would be able to withstand that kind of pain and not scream bloody murder.

  “That was pretty good shooting, but maybe next time you should take the kill shot.” Shelley opened up the door to the stairwell and motioned for him to join her. She heard the elevator and looked at who was coming out through the door and it was not a sight that she wanted to see. He was only known as the cleaner, a bald white man with a pair of black gloves and wearing a suit that made him look like the undertaker.

  “They’re not pulling punches. How are we going to get out of this building, let alone to the senator’s office a few miles away? Any time that I’ve done this in the past, I’ve never had much of a problem. That only makes me believe that what’s in this case is dangerous. I’ve never been tempted to look into one of these things before, but I think that there might be a first time for everything.” He laid it down on the stairs, while she was keeping look out and making sure that they weren’t going to be rudely interrupted. They had barely enough time to dress quickly.

  “I’m not sure that this is a good idea, Brent. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t know what exactly you’re carrying, but I think that we can find a better place to do it. We are sitting ducks in this hotel and we need to get some distance between us and this place.” “He seemed determined and I guess I would be the same way, if I were in his shoes. I wish that I could tell
him that we will survive this, but with everything that I know about these people it’s going to be a damn miracle, if we even get out of the building alive.”

  “You make a valid point, but I’m not going anywhere, until I find out what your real name is.”

  Shelley grabbed his hand and pulled him down the stairs away from forces that were beyond their control. “My name is Shelley and I try to keep my alternate personalities similar to that of my real one. I should be getting paid right about now, but I imagine that the $10,000,000 that they’ve already given me has been taken away from my account. It was on a hold, until early this morning and now that time has elapsed. I would say that I want you to be worth the sacrifice, but I think I already know that you are.” “I never thought that this day would come. I always thought that this would happen to somebody else and not me. I’d watched movies that would end exactly like this and I would shake my head in disbelief. I guess I have a lot to learn and hopefully Brent and I can learn it together.”

  They moved down the stairs jumping two steps at a time and sometimes three when they were feeling more adventurous. Brent looked towards Shelley and couldn’t believe that she was the one that they had sent to take him out. If it wasn’t for matters of the heart, he would most likely be dead and wouldn’t have even seen it coming. He wanted more time to get to know her and to see if her love for him was strong enough to keep her from going back to bad habits. The one thing that he wouldn’t condone is her killing for money. The past was the past, but what happened from this moment on concerned him, almost as much as it concerned her.

  Brent had his gun in hand and he was using it to lead the way. He felt hot lead streaking through the air. He barely ducked out of the way by pure instinct. He had done what most men would do in that situation. He had grabbed Shelley and pulled her out of the way of certain harm.