Authors: Gray Gardner
“Well…”
“And that’s why Caroline warned you to be careful with me? Because I’m the vulnerable girl on the rebound and
you are the aggressive player stalking the weak ones in the herd?”
He actually laughed and nuzzled me as he replied with his lips on my neck, “Something like that. But you’re different. I don’t want to screw around with you. I want to protect you. I want to hang out with you. I feel confused around you, which, I must admit, is a new and strange feeling. I don’t like it when you get into trouble, but the temptation to smack your perky little ass outweighed the thought of you hating me. You don’t hate me…do you?”
“No,” I sighed, a little disappointed in myself. I should have hated him. I should have punched him in the neck and run off to hide. I definitely shouldn’t have let his hands and mouth keep roaming all over me, that was for sure.
“You know,” he gently said, kissing my shoulder. “The benefit of being attracted to someone who has just spanked you is that you can let him spend the rest of the day and night making it up to you. If you’re a good little girl, that is.”
“Well,” I sighed, having a huge argument in my head about whether this was right or wrong. Did I want to get laid for the first time since Dan? Yes. Did I want to do it with someone other than Dan, who’d been my only sexual partner, ever? Yes. Did I want my post break-up cherry to be popped by the smoldering cowboy? Fuck yes. Was it wrong for him to hit me in that humiliating position over his knee? I didn’t know. I was leaning towards yes. Should I forgive him? No. Should I let this flirting game go on and turn into what we both wanted it to? Definitely not.
“I know you’ll be a good little girl from now on,” he said, his voice vibrating in my ear again. “Because you know if you’re not I will take you over my knee and spank you with your pants and panties down around your thighs.”
“
Wha
t
?
” I squealed, as his hands ran along my legs. That didn’t seem fair. Why was a mental picture of myself having an outrageously shameful orgasm popping into my head? Damn it!
“You have goose bumps everywhere again,” he said, licking my neck and running his stubble along my sensitive skin. “I think that turns you on a little.”
“You’re out of your gaw-damned mind!” I answered, trying to stand up. There needed to be space between us.
“Then I’ll make you a bet,” he offered, squeezing me close.
“Whatever, as long as it doesn’t involve you abusing me,” I huffed, sitting very stiffly in his lap. Which was extremely difficult given what his hands and lips were doing.
“No spanking,” he chuckled, patting my ass. “I’ll bet you’re turned on right now, just like me.”
“Yes, no, how will either of us know…Jesus Christ!” I yelped, as he took my hand and pressed it against his very impressive erection in his jeans. “Okay! Okay! You’re aroused!”
He released my hand and I jerked it back. Why, I don’t know. It was a goal of mine in some way to touch it, hold it…do things to it. I just wanted to do it on my own terms. But Christ…now
I
reall
y
wanted to see it. Which I saw as a good thing. Sex with Dan had become kind of like a chore. My mind wandered dangerously around the idea of having hot sex with West.
“Now your turn,” he said leadingly, standing us both up.
I frowned up him, totally confused as he stepped towards me and ran his hand over the waistband of my jeans. Then I got what he was trying to do.
“No!” I huffed, backing up into the white dry wall of the bathroom.
He grinned but didn’t press forward.
“Then how will we know you’re telling the truth when you say you aren’t turned on?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest. Why was he so hot when he stood like that?
“It’s called trust,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest, too, although I didn’t think it had the same effect on him.
“So I don’t do it for you?” he asked, stepping forward and penning me in with a hand on either side of my body pressed against the wall. The posed question didn’t come across as a question at all. He looked like he was certain of the answer.
“N-no. Not with your high-handed
,
hard
-
handed temperament,” I stuttered, lying through my teeth.
“I told you what would happen if you lied to me again,” he sighed, shaking his head down at me.
My mouth fell open at his audacity and I sharply replied, “You’ll never know if I’m lying so I think this little game is over!”
“You know you have certain tells, Sweetheart, don’t you?”
“Tells?” I repeated, knowing that a total stranger could read the emotions on my face like a book, but still arguing anyway.
“When you lie, you stutter,” he said, leaning down and kissing the nape of my neck.
“What?” I retorted in a high voice. My eyes rolled up to the ceiling in sensuous delight as his tongue ran along my sensitive skin.
“When you’re turned on, your cheeks get pink right here and right here,” he said, kissing me on the two blazing spots on my cheeks.
I huffed and looked down at my old boots, doing my best to control myself. I knew what I wanted and I knew what I should and shouldn’t do. Looking up I tried to voice my concerns when he suddenly pressed his mouth against mine, stroking my tongue gently but urgently. Damn.
When I reached up to grab a hold of his shirt collar he took the opportunity to run his hand up and down my thighs and then right between my legs. The friction of his hand pressing my jeans and lacy underwear against me was delicious. I moaned into his mouth as his hand roamed upward, then right back down inside my jeans. All he had to do was swipe one finger beneath my underwear. And he did.
“I knew it,” he groaned, holding up his glistening index finger. The look in his eye said that he wanted to bang me against the wall right then and there. I’ll admit, the only other guy who’d ever looked at me that way was Dan in the beginning of our relationship, but I still recognized it.
I sucked in my breath and turned my head away, knowing I was blushing, but not really caring at the moment. Holy shit, had he really just done that? I couldn’t look at him now.
“You may feel a little conflicted in that pretty little head of yours but,” he leaned down and nibbled on my earlobe, “you can’t deny what your body is saying.”
My heart was about to pound out of my chest. I turned my eyes up to his and the passion in his eyes dissolved a little as his face softened.
“You don’t have to look so scared, Sweetheart,” he grinned, reaching around and placing a hand on my back.
I abruptly pushed him away as far as I could, which wasn’t very far, and shuffled backwards into my bedroom. I squeezed my hands in front of me as he slowly stalked into the room.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I softly said, clearing my throat and taking another step back. My eyes stung again but I pushed back the tears. “I’m afraid of the way I feel about you.”
Never say that if you want to keep a gu
y
awa
y
. Lesson learned. He was on me in less than two seconds, cradling my head and my back as he pushed me back onto the bed. He kissed me and his tongue swept through my mouth, his stubble rubbing me as it felt a little like…desperation.
“I won’t do anything you aren’t ready for,” he rasped, removing my hand from his chest and squeezing it in his. “You can trust me when I say that.”
I nodded as he shoved my shirt up and rubbed himself along my thigh, his lips finding my push-up bra in a hurry. His wet, warm mouth was around my nipple and I gasped as he sucked. Then he worked at my other breast and I came really close to climaxing from that alone. I think he could tell because when he reached for my jeans he didn’t just rip them off.
He gently snapped them open, kissing me lightly as his hand smoothed down into the denim, over my lacy underwear, then finally where I really wanted it to be. His fingers slowly circled me and I opened my eyes when he pressed a finger inside. That’s when I caught him looking at me so affectionately. He grinned when our eyes met and kissed me, using his fingers to spread me open and circle my clitoris tenderly.
I arched my back and shoved myself at him, closing my eyes as my head dug into the pillow. For the first time I was brazen, shameless. It felt magical. Dan could have never
,
woul
d
have never achieved even half of the sensations I was feeling with his hand. My breath came in short spurts as everything south of my face tightened as if ready to explode. I wanted to touch him, too, and make him feel like this.
“Not right now, Sweetheart,” he groaned against my lips, taking my wrist and prying my hand off of the front of his jeans.
My protests went unsaid as he pressed a finger against me and I couldn’t help but squeal as I came for longer than I ever had in my life. Yeah, and he did it with one hand. He kept circling me with his fingers and rubbing himself up the inside of my thigh, causing all kinds of friction as he groaned into my mouth like he was coming, too. He finally ceased when he rolled over to his side and turned me so that I was on my side, too, facing him.
“And now I know your orgasm and post-orgasm tells,” he grinned, stroking my arm.
My mouth dropped open but all I could do was hit him square in the chest. He was right, after all. He laughed at my insulted face and leaned forward, kissing me on the forehead.
“Still sweet,” he sighed, taking a deep breath and rolling onto his back, stretching his arms above his head. He didn’t act like he was in any hurry to leave even though I knew he had to be extremely busy. It made me feel good. Important.
I lay on my stomach and looked up at him. Honestly, I really wanted him to make the next move because I had no idea how things went. The last time I’d had a first date was freshman year. And was this a date? No, it was more like…dry humping? Oh God, was that really it?
He kissed my lips gently before reluctantly standing up and adjusting himself a few times. An erection in those jeans had to be pretty uncomfortable.
“My place tonight for dinner.”
I must have looked confused because he grinned and raised an eyebrow, saying, “Unless you want to sit on opposite sides of the table at the Dining Cabin?”
I shook my head, biting my lip as I peered up at him. No, I definitely didn’t like that place.
“Don’t look so scared. I won’t ea
t
yo
u
for dinner.” He leaned down and whispered against my ear, “Unless you want me to.”
I blushed as he laughed and stood up, folding his arms across his chest as he looked down at me. Hot. “My place at seven.”
I opened my mouth to object and explain that he should at least ask me, but he was grinning so handsomely and then he was just…gone. I slowly stood up, cheeks pink as I buttoned up my jeans, and then looked back down at the rumpled comforter. Okay.
First orgasm since Dan. Check. Orgasm instigated by smoldering cowboy. Check. Dinner date with said cowboy. Check with prejudice: was it going to be a date or would he just want sex?
I couldn’t be certain.
Suddenly I felt a presence behind me and didn’t have to wait long before the screeching, “What the fuck
?”
“No, Blake, I don’t think you know what you’re doing at all!”
“Caroline…” a deep voice came from the living room.
“Rowdy, please!” my best friend said, banishing him to the deck outside with one pointed finger.
I rubbed my eyes as she circled me, trying to discover the exact places on my body West had already violated. She’d put it together from the looks of my bed and disheveled hair, but I wasn’t sure she’d known at what point we’d stopped. Our tryst had been pretty PG.
“You aren’t going to his place for dinner,” she calmly said, hands on her hips.
“He’s not what you think…”
“Oh?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at me. She always had a way of cutting me down to size. “And what do I think, Blake? What do you think? Do you even know anything about him?”
Well, she had me there. “I figured that was what the dinner was for,” I sighed, looking out of the window at Rowdy as he talked on his phone.
Her shoulders fell as she shook her head and looked at me sympathetically. I hated that look. I could handle it from most people…but not her.
“You obviously don’t know who he is, so I’m going to tell you. I’m not doing this to be mean, okay? I care about you and you’ve come so far…I just want to see you happy…”
“Who is he?” I demanded suddenly, feeling very tense as I immediately wondered if everyone knew this information except me.
“He’s Weston Hamilton,” she smirked, holding up her iPad. An image of West flashed across the screen, along with a long article. “The Playboy Billionaire.”
The wha
t
wha
t
?
I immediately grabbed the iPad and skimmed the article, catching words and phrases like ‘handsome bachelor’ and ‘models’ and even ‘pussy magnet’. I gave Caroline a very confused look. This didn’t seem like the same person. He was caring and…aloof. He’d never once indicated that he had a lot of money. He hardly spoke to or looked at anyone. And he told me he didn’t date…but weren’t we having a date?
“If he’s really what this article says he is, then why is he pursuing me?” I quietly asked, clutching the iPad. There had to be easier girls than me hanging around the ranch. There had to be easier girls than me everywhere on the planet.
“You know why,” Caroline whispered, pressing her lips together like she was sorry.
I did. I was heartbroken…healing. And vulnerable. Was he really preying on that? I suddenly needed answers right away.
“What time is it?” I snapped, already out of the front door. My blood felt like it was boiling.
“Blake…”
“Don’t!” I shouted, turning and pointing my finger at her now. “There are things I need to know. Let me go.”
Nodding, she folded her arms over her stomach as I turned and marched out into the setting sun. Where had the day gone? No, where was his stupid house? Was it that huge place that I’d thought housed the staff? Of course it was. I stood on the hilltop overlooking the winding river and the enormous stone house called Hamilton Cottage. Right, cottage.
I burst right through the huge double doors and into the large entertaining room where I’d slept. Turning my head, I listened for sounds of life. Water sluiced through the pipes. Shower.
I ran upstairs, poking my head into seven very impressive bedrooms before discovering the running water in the master. Huge windows, dark wood four-poster bed, big armoire, gray carpet, and gray comforter…yeah, this room looked like him. I knocked on the large antique white door to the bathroom, and then I just burst in with terrible timing, naturally. He was just coming out of the shower.
We both jumped. I’m sure my presence in his large, gray marble bathroom was startling to him. For me…the sight of him naked, wet and naked, wet and naked and hard. Jesus! I yelped and slapped my hand over my eyes, turning and trying to catch my breath as I felt my cheeks flush.
“Blake?” his deep voice asked with a little humor. “You’re a trifle early, though I can’t say I’m disappointed.”
“Uh-um,” I replied, my voice really high for some reason. My hand was still over my eyes as I slowly turned around. Through the cracks in my fingers I saw that he was still naked, still dripping wet, still fully aroused. “Could, could you like…get a towel…”
“You came int
o
m
y
bathroom. Deal with it,” he smirked, folding his arms across his moist, bare chest.
I rustled up some resolve and removed my hand from my eyes, though I kept them trained on the cream recessed ceiling and crown molding.
“You seem like you’re still upset…”
“Over the minor incident where you abused me? Yes, West, I’m still upset about that but this is a whole new level,” I huffed, placing my hands on my hips, then at my sides, then on my hips again as I scanned his ceiling.
Don’t look at his penis, for Pete’s sake!
“If you don’t stop being so cute, things are going to get pretty heated in here so just get to the point,” he huskily said, taking a couple of breaths.
Since I refused to drink in his beautiful body there really was no point in delaying any further. “I saw an article i
n
Vanity Fai
r
and…is it…I mean, are you really a playboy billionaire?” I softly asked, now turning my head to his marble floor. My dirty boots looked ridiculous against his expensive tiles.
I heard him exhale, then mutter under his breath, then I think he sat down on an ottoman I’d spotted in the middle of the bathroom. My eyes were still on the tile. Was he unhappy with that assessment? I certainly hoped, but the hopes weren’t very high.
“I…I’m not
a
billionair
e
…”
My head immediately jerked up and I found him sitting naked on the cream colored ottoman, leaning over with his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees.
“But you’re a playboy?” I shrieked, holding out my arms. Good God, Caroline was right. I wasn’t ready. Dating was just too hard. Guys in general were just too hard. And West had played me with his loner gentleman façade.
“That’s what you’re focusing on?” he half laughed, giving me an incredulous look as he raised his head and turned to stare at me.
“Uh, yeah cowboy, that’s the important part!” I yelled, hands on my hips as I frowned at him. What could be more important than the fact that he fucked around with numerous women?
He actually laughed, yeah
…
laughe
d
at me. This, of course, just made me angrier and I couldn’t stop myself as I picked up a bottle of the closest aftershave and hurled it at his head. He ducked and dove out of the way as the clear glass bottle shattered on the wall by the large tub, leaving only broken glass, a silver lid, and a strong musky smell.
“Jesus, Blake!” he growled, looking back and forth between me and the tub. At least his erection was gone now. He held up his hands as I tried to step towards him. “Just…stay right there. And please, please tell me why that article upset you so much so I can clear a few things up…”
“Clear things up?” I chortled, shaking my head. “Are you or are you not just screwing around here, like you obviously do on record, with so many women?”
“Blake…”
“Is this… is this what you do? Every ten days a new crop of girls come right to you, don’t they? And you just pick them off, one by one. So why me, huh
,
Weston?
I’m not easy, I’m a shit ton of work, and according to you I’m too delicate for any kind of physical exertion. So. Why. Me?”
“Blake,” he began, hanging his head and rubbing his eyes.
Oh God. Here it comes. The speech about how naïve I am, how this was never supposed to be serious, how I was an imbecile.
“Just…just stop,” I interrupted, warm tears welling up in my eyes. This time I held my hand up to him as he tried to step towards me. “I don’t know why you are the way you are and I don’t really care but…please, just don’t make me a part of it…I can’t take it…I just can’t seem to get over Daniel.”
I turned and wiped my eyes as I hurried through the door into the huge bedroom. I’d just rounded the dark leather chaise lounge by the bay window when I felt two hands grab my upper arms and jerk me to a stop. Then I felt his hard body against my back and his voice was suddenly in my ear.
“First of all, I told you to stop being so adorable and I meant it. You’re doing things to me that I might not be able to stop and…we really need to talk.”
“Let go,” I muttered through my teeth, trying to break free but finding my efforts futile. I stopped to save my energy in case I’d have to run.
“Second,” he continued, his breath blowing into my ear from behind and above me, “I want to say that I used to have a reputation as a player…sort of. By no means, however, would anyone ever call me that these days, do you understand me? I’m all work now, Blake, no play. You just have to trust me on that.”
“You can say whatever you want,” I cried, unable to stop the tears. “I’ll be gone in less than a week.”
“Stop!” he growled, pulling me tighter against him, squeezing so that it almost hurt. “That article was marginally right, okay? I used to play around with girls in college and grad school. I didn’t care much back then…about anything. Then I had to grow up really fast. I was suddenly in a partnership with my brother and running a stock brokering firm worth billions…”
“What…”
“My dad died,” he said in a forced even tone, like it hurt him to mention his dad. “Suddenly. Drake and I immediately had to take over or risk losing everything. We’d both just graduated from Stanford…
. we were kids. He took over the company in New York and I manage all of our private holdings, like this ranch. We…we might manage billions, but at best we’re only worth a few million.”
“Oh, is that all?” I muttered, reaching up and wiping my fingers under my eyes. I did feel a little better. He turned me around and yeah, he was still naked,
and then hugged me. His bare chest was like heaven in my face with just a little bit of hair, tanned skin, hard pecs…I inhaled deeply.
“And last, darling…I don’t know why you keep feeling like you can’t get over that asshole who dumped you…”
“Well, thanks…”
“I’m being serious,” he snapped, shaking me as he leaned over and looked into my eyes. His were so icy blue as the sun set through the window behind me and lit them up. “He’s no good for you. Thank God he had the sense to let you go!”
I stepped away from him and tucked some loose hair behind my ear. Why was he saying all of that? I still couldn’t get past the notion that he just wanted one thing from me. My eyes flicked down his body.
“Can w
e
pleas
e
continue this conversation when you’re…not naked?” I asked, looking around the room and trying to compose myself.
I heard him exhale in what sounded like relief, then he turned and walked back to his bathroom.
“Wait for me downstairs and help yourself to some wine,” he called, disappearing just as I looked up and caught a glimpse of his mouth-watering ass. Ugh, why was he playing with me? He was way too hot. His voice echoed from the bathroom, “And don’t even think about leaving.”
I practically ran down the hallway and the stairs, and then shot to the kitchen on the other side of the house. Leaving was an option, but…he had me intrigued. What was the worst that could happen? Well, I knew the answer to that, but I was willing to stay anyway.
I found the white wine in the sub-zero fridge right away and quickly poured and finished one glass. I was just pouring the second when he entered the kitchen in blue jeans and a faded red t-shirt that ha
d
S-Bi
z
written on the front…no socks or shoes.
“Pour one for me, too,” he said, leaning his head into the fridge and pulling out some grapes. I quickly complied and left the glass on the counter, backing away and leaning against the table in the middle of the room to get some distance between us.
“Who’s S and what’s his Biz?” I asked, breaking the minute-long silent standoff we were having as we sipped our wine and stared at each other in the dimly lit kitchen.
He glanced down at his shirt and grinned as he looked back at me. “Inside joke. It’s from Stanford Business School.”
“Of course it is,” I nodded, finishing my wine in one big gulp. Hot, rich, and smart? What the fuck was he doing wasting his time with me? I tried to mask my feelings with sarcasm. “And I assume you went there, poor boy?”
Sighing and reaching for the bottle behind him, he stared at me as he walked forward and refilled my wine glass.
“I’ve never claimed to be anything but interested in you,” he said, filling his own glass. He set the bottle down on the long table behind me, brushing up against me as he peered down with those blue eyes.
“You kind of have a funny way of showing it,” I smiled, looking into my glass.
“Are you repulsed by me?” he softly asked.