by Ana Lewin
“I don’t think you have the capacity to ruin my life,” Levi commented, glancing over at her. His gaze was heated as he scanned her, t-shirt obscuring her torso while her skintight pants didn’t leave much to the imagination.
“Do you want to test that?” she cocked an eyebrow, crossing her legs. “Because we can do that. Try me.”
“I won’t tell anyone. I wasn’t planning on it even before you threatened me. Something tells me you aren’t a woman who fears a lot of things.”
“Fear slows you down. I don’t do slow.”
He was facing away from her so she could see the way he shifted at her words. Moving from one foot to the other as if to adjust an erection in his pants. “Slow has its benefits,” he grunted, his hands nimbly finishing with Daisy. But he still didn’t turn around, standing there patting her flank instead.
Standing from the bucket, she came up behind Levi. Close enough so that her small breasts pressed against his back. All of this was against her better judgment, of course. Having sex one time only had helped her avoid a lot of problems. Levi was too much of a temptation, though. Especially when her hand snuck around to palm him and she found that she’d been right. He was hard as a rock. “Do you like to go slow, then?” she asked, breathing in the scent of him as her nose pressed against his back. “I prefer hard and fast myself, but I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”
“What happened to one time only?” his voice was husky as she continued half-heartedly rubbing him with her palm.
“Are you telling me that you’re going to be able to resist me for almost three more weeks?” her other hand untucked his shirt and slid up under it. When she raked her nails gently across his abs he groaned. “Because, I mean, if you really think that this is a bad idea I’m sure I could find someone else to work out my sexual frustration with.”
The growl that he let out made her weak in the knees. Before she knew what was happening he’d pulled her from the stall and further into the barn until they reached an empty stall. Dust settled over everything, disturbed when he opened the door, but she didn’t care. Her focus was solely on the ripple of muscles across Levi’s chest as he pushed her up against the wall and pinned her hands by her sides. “If you sleep with anyone else in Pelmsemet you might get someone killed. Fair warning.”
His lips met hers in a wave of heat and released tension. Maeve couldn’t help but melt into it, gently straining to get her hands free but loving the feeling of lost control. That wasn’t something that she usually reveled in. Control was her thing, she was a woman on top. But with Levi she didn’t want to be that all the time. “Jealousy is a good look on you,” she said against his lips when he pulled back, smirking.
“It would be a good look on you, too.”
“I don’t get jealous.”
Even as she said it, an image flashed before her of Levi with another woman and she leaned forward to capture his lips again. Anything to burn the image away. Maybe she did get jealous. That was something to unpack another time when she wasn’t desperate for touch. “Are you going to let my hands go so we can touch each other?”
He released her as if he’d forgotten he even had her pinned. Levi’s hands roamed as much as hers did, stroking her stomach and torso until he came to cup her breast. A strangled groan left him when he found her bra-less under the loose fabric of her t-shirt. “Damn it, woman, do you ever wear a bra?”
“Rarely,” grinning, she raked her nails along his abs as she undid buttons on his shirt. “Why would I need one? I have tiny tits.”
“You have perfect tits,” he countered, pulling her t-shirt off in one movement and discarding it onto the dusty ground. Then he dove in to take one of her nipples into his mouth.
Letting out a groan, it was easy to forget they were in a barn. She pushed and ground against him, her back pressed up against a scratchy, well-worn horse blanket. When there was a sudden thumping she jumped but then laughed. “The horses aren’t used to people having sex in here,” Levi murmured against her skin, his hands finally trailing down to where she wanted them. Beneath the waistband of her tight pants.
“We could go back to the house,” she offered, but as she did it her hand went down to grab the huge, obvious bulge in his pants.
“No fucking way,” he said, but then he pulled back, looking disappointed. “Shit. It’s not like we have a stash of condoms in the barn.”
“Fuck me raw,” the words were out before she could take them back, but she found she didn’t even want to.
It was crazy. Never had she ever let anyone fuck her raw. Not once. The risks were too high for someone like her, who had a new partner every week or every month. And Levi was the same. Who was to say that he was clean? That he would tell the truth about it? “I’m clean. I get tested every two months and I use condoms with everyone. And I’m on birth control.”
He was frozen, had been from the second she offered. Slowly his body relaxed and he leaned down to kiss her neck. “I guess neither of us is going to be fucking anyone else while you’re in town anyway,” he said.
“You better not,” before he had a chance to comment on that possessive comment she pulled him up so their lips were pressed together again.
She was finally able to get the whole damn shirt off of him, pushing it to the side as she grabbed at his arms. The man was built like a tank, dwarfing her with his height and muscles. And it wasn’t just his body that made her feel small, it was him. His essence, the way he touched her. So ready to take control. She’d never admit it, but she knew that he’d let her have control when they’d first had sex. She doubted he would let her have it all the time and for once that excited her.
When her hands went down to pull at his belt Levi gave her a light slap on the wrist. “Impatient woman,” his hands smoothed over her abs and started working on pushing her tight pants down her legs. “Slow down.”
“Didn’t we determine that I do hard and fast?” she asked, her breath hitching when she felt the warmth of Levi’s breath on her thighs.
He took his time, not giving her an answer. The borrowed riding boots were undone and slipped off, leaving her barefoot in the hay. Her jeans followed and then she was standing there, naked except for a pair of black lace panties. In a barn. Not somewhere she’d ever thought she would be, but right then she could imagine nothing else. Realistically, this should have been a quickie. Fast and furious sex where their clothes didn’t come off more than halfway. Someone could walk in at any time, but neither of them were worried about that.
Levi was going to take his time, just like he claimed that he liked.
By the time he’d slid her panties all the way down her legs she was trembling from anticipation, not sure what he was going to do but knowing she’d love it. And when he forced her legs apart, his tongue sliding along her folds, he proved her right.
It felt like she was melting as he worked her with his tongue, using more skill than anyone else she’d ever slept with. If she’d thought that the back of the truck had been the best sex of her life, this was going to have to take its place. She’d never come so fast before but within minutes she was pushing his head closer and grinding against his magic tongue, yelling as she came. “I hate you,” she mumbled as soon as she’d calmed down enough to speak again.
Smirking at her, Levi stood to his full height and kissed her. She groaned when she could taste herself on him, wishing she didn’t find it so damn hot. Wishing she didn’t find him so damn hot. “I think you hate that I make you lose control.”
“No, I’m pretty sure I hate you,” she countered. “You’re arrogant. I don’t like arrogant.”
“You like your men soft and malleable so you can force them to be whatever you want,” he didn’t wait for her to comment on that, spinning her around so that her hands were braced on the edge of the pen. The fabric of his jeans rubbed against her bare ass as he ground against her. “You must’ve made a mistake when you decided fucking me was a good idea.”
His co
ckiness was rubbing her the wrong way, but the way the tips of his fingers trailed along her skin rubbed her the right way. There was a gentle clanging noise as he finally did something about his damn pants. Then she felt the tip of his leaking cock against her entrance and she forgot all about the fact that she didn’t like him. Her hips shifted back and she whimpered when he moved away instead of letting it slip in. “Tell me that you want me to be in control.”
“I don’t,” she said, wiggling her ass to tempt him into giving her what she wanted.
“But you do. Tell me the truth, Maeve.”
She hated the way he said her name in his husky voice. It made a shiver run down her spine. “I don’t.”
This time he didn’t say anything, slipping one finger inside of her tight channel. Not anywhere near enough to please her, but enough to make her even hornier. Bastard. He continued to tease her, playing with her, working her up then bringing her down. Levi didn’t even ask her to speak again, she knew what she had to do to make it stop. It took precious minutes, but she eventually gave in. “Fuck you, asshole. I want you to be in control. Are you happy?”
When she said it she tried to pretend she didn’t believe it was true. He couldn’t be right. No one had ever hit the nail on the head when it came to what she wanted. Somehow, Levi…
Her brain short-circuited when he slid his cock inside of her, grabbing her hips tightly enough to leave bruises. “I was hoping for a little less arrogance, but that’ll do.”
“You’re the arrog—” her moan cut her off.
Levi didn’t seem all too concerned about going slow anymore, fucking her hard and fast as she held onto the edge of the pen. His grunts echoed through the barn and she couldn’t stop the stream of moans slipping from here. She usually wasn’t this loud. Showing how much she was enjoying everything was a sign of weakness. But that thought didn’t matter today. Not with Levi.
They were racing each other to orgasm and when Levi choked out a, “Fuck, I’m going to come,” she was right there with him.
She yelled his name when she came, startling some of the horses. He twitched as cum filled her to the brim, some sliding down her legs. It made a mess that would remind her of what they’d done the whole walk back up to the house. When they were both panting and sweating from exertion, a voice called out. “You two realize that this is like, essentially a public place, right?”
Levi cursed, rushing to pull his pants back up. “Jesus, Oscar. Did you hang around listening to us?”
Oscar snorted from the front of the barn. “I walked in as she was screaming your name. Figured that was the big finish and I would stick around to let you know you got caught.”
Leaving the stall without a word, Levi started giving his friend shit as Maeve got dressed. Maeve’s clothes were tricky to get back on, the fabric of her pants catching on her damp thighs. She ended up walking out to greet Oscar with a grin on her face and her boots unlaced. Not like it mattered. She was going to take them off back in the house. “I’m sure you won’t be able to live it down when Levi catches you having sex with someone in the barn,” she commented, sitting down on the same bucket that she’d been on before.
She liked Oscar, from as much as she’d gotten to know him over the past two days. He didn’t take any shit from anyone and billed himself as the muscle behind the operation. Behind all that, though, he was the smartest damn person here. From what she’d heard, his marketing expertise had put Honeydew Ranch on the map. He snorted again. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Because you don’t have sex, or because you only have boring sex?”
For a second he stared at her, Levi snickering behind him, and then he burst out laughing. “Believe me, I don’t have boring sex. I just don’t like having the potential to get caught by a coworker,” he gave Levi a pointed look. “Or worse, a client. I’ll keep my completely not boring sex private, thank you very much.”
“I think you’re overcompensating,” Levi said. “The number of times you specified that the sex wasn’t boring…”
“I agree,” Maeve said. “And I think you’re missing out. The potential to get caught is half the fun.”
Oscar looked between them, his tattoos peeking out from under the collar of his shirt. If she wasn’t so attracted to Levi, she might be interested in him. Or Finn. Hell, even Grant was drool-worthy. How so many sexy men came to work on the same ranch in the middle of nowhere was beyond her. “You two are perfect for each other. Both equally cocky and annoying. You know most people would be embarrassed to be caught mid-orgasm.”
“Believe me, I’ve been caught in much more compromising positions. This is nothing,” Maeve grimaced when she thought back. Levi looked like he was curious to know what she was talking about, but she didn’t plan on elaborating. Standing up, she brushed off her dusty clothes. “Well, looks like I’ve got to get changed and have a shower now. And tell Olivia that riding horses wasn’t for me. This has been grand. I’ll see you two at dinner.”
She made sure to sway her hips as she left and she could feel Levi’s gaze burning into her until she got too far away for him to see.
Chapter 4
Levi
The yearly fair wasn’t something he usually attended. Too much potential to run into women he’d fucked. Or worse, those women with their new boyfriends. Men didn’t take kindly to finding out you’re that guy that gave their girlfriend the best sex of her life.
This year was different, though. It was the first year for Olivia to experience it and they’d decided to do a group trip with everyone from the ranch. Which meant Maeve was going, so he was going too. The prospect of her being relentlessly hit on irritated him and he knew how the men of Pelmsemet were. What he was doing was saving her. As they walked through the packed streets of downtown in their tight-knit group, he slid an arm across her shoulders. “Put your arm around me again and I’ll flirt with every single man I come across,” Maeve went up on her toes to whisper in his ear, and he removed his arm from around her like it was on fire.
She smirked and he glared, and it felt like every other interaction they’d had since they’d met. The woman irritated him but turned him on and it irritated him that she turned him on. It was hard not to be turned on, though. Maeve wore high heels everywhere she went and the tight black shorts she was wearing hugged her ass. Levi was tempted to drop back and walk behind her so he could watch the globes bounce as she moved. “I was trying to fend off the singles. You’ll wish you’d accepted my protection later on.”
“I doubt that. No Tennessee man can be more of an asshole than New York City men.”
He had to admit, she might have a point. Not that he had a whole lot of experience with NYC specifically, but he’d grown up in Vancouver, Canada. People were meaner when they lived in big cities and had to deal with all that traffic. “Hey Maeve, come look at this,” Olivia called her over and Levi found himself following like he was a lost puppy who couldn’t leave her alone. He told himself it was because there were men in this direction and he wanted to make sure they didn’t bother her.
Olivia had gestured them over to a small table featuring a bunch of computer-looking things that he didn’t understand. Beside the piles of parts stood a small robot, an older man he didn’t recognize manning the booth. “What is this?” he asked.
The grin on Maeve’s face was the most genuine one he’d ever seen on her. Usually it was a smirk or a sly grin to confirm that she’d won, but not this one. It lit up her face, nearly sending him to fall flat on his ass. “It’s kind of obvious,” she laughed, another genuine sound that he wasn’t used to. “Robots. Little computerized machines.”
“I can show you how to make one if you want,” the man offered Maeve, gesturing that she sit down beside him.
She sat down but waved away his help. “Do you mind if I try something? I can pay you for any parts I use of course. I just need a minute…”
Her eyebrows scrunched up together and he moved to the side of the table so othe
r people could look at the display. Levi wasn’t interested in it anymore. He was far more interested in what it was that had actually gotten Maeve excited. Neither of them realized that Olivia and the rest of the group had filtered away. Maeve fiddled with different tiny pieces of metal and accepted the occasional miniature tool that the man offered her. He was surprised by what she was doing but didn’t complain about her using his booth space for it.
They stayed there for who knew how long until he was sweating from standing in the sun. Maeve had a little array of parts attached together in front of her. “What are you making?” he asked, leaning against the chair she was sitting in and finally getting up the nerve to break her concentration.
“It’s done, actually,” she beamed up at him, holding up the pieces of interconnected metal. “It’s simplistic since I didn’t have a huge amount of time, but this is a little robot.”
Reaching out he poked the thing, noting that the connections between the parts were solid. “A robot? And you made it without help? How did you do that?”
She shrugged, giving them both a demonstration as the old man looked on in what he was sure was awe. “I used to do things like this. It’s not a big deal, there was a time when I made stuff like this and bigger stuff every day.”
“You’ve got a lot of talent there, missy,” the old man reached out to touch the little robot. It walked across the table in stunted movements. “Is your career in something related to robotics?”
The grin slipping from her face, Maeve’s expression closed off and she stood abruptly. “No, it’s not. I’m in the accounting field. Sorry for wasting so much of your time.”