Page 6 of Breaking Her In

Yeah, and that’s a problem. She needs to be afraid of me if this is going to work.

This job is all I have. I’ve worked for her father for five years now. I live a quiet life, I keep to myself, and I can’t afford to make a massive misstep and allow some mouthy rich girl to burn everything I’ve built to the ground.

ButLena?

She’s the kind of misstep that I’d gladly make, even if it took me to hell with a dumb smile on my face.

I can’t help myself. We’re so close now that I lean in and sniff at the base of her neck. The divinity of her scent nearly knocks me on my ass, and I have to fight to recover before I completely lose it.

“Go shower,” I growl. “You stink like the barn.”

Lena lifts her chin and scowls. “Oh, see I thought you were going to give me a compliment. Maybe tell me I was cute.”

“You thought wrong.”

You are cute, Lena. You’re way too fucking cute.

Her eyes study mine, like she can hear exactly what I’m thinking. I can see her coming up with new ways to push me, just like she used to do when she was a kid. A faint smile appears on her lips, and she turns and heads for the stairs, swaying her hips like she knows I’m watching.

Does she know how badly I want her? I wouldn’t put it past her. Lena’s always been sharp, and that’s what scares me the most.

She isn’t just beautiful. She isn’t just the daughter of my employer. She’s smart, stubborn, and a sneaky little brat.

She’s also the kind of girl who does not stop until she gets what she wants.

And if she wantsme, that means I’m completely fucked.

I follow her with my eyes, even as I tell myself not to. Even as it feels like a sin just to watch her ass sway back and forth.

She’s fucking magnetic, and I’m a weak man being pulled closer every minute. I can’t stop thinking about how she’d feel beneath me, how my name would sound being moaned through her lips, how she’d beg for more as I finally gave her what she’s been teasing me for.

Any more flirty comebacks and bratty little quips and I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold out.

I’m going to ruin her, and the worst part? I’m going to like it.

3

LENA

Colt thinkshe can break me. Break me like I’m some horse he’s gonna ride in his next rodeo.

He thinks if he barks his orders loud enough and throws hay bales like some overgrown grizzly bear that I’ll go running back to Daddy with tears in my eyes, promising I’ll never be a “bad girl” again.

Well, Colt is wrong.

I may be a city girl, and I may be spoiled, but I’m not weak. Especially not when I’m backed into a corner. Not when every glare he sends my way sets my skin on fire, and not when I catch him sneaking looks at my ass like he’s fighting for his life.

I haul the barn door open with more muscle than grace, already sweaty and sticky from the morning sun and overpowering heat. The stench hits me right away–ripe and tangy. The unmistakable smell of animal poop.

Gross.

But I don’t gag or squeal or moan like some little girl. I march straight into the stall like I was raised on the ranch. No way in hell I’m giving Colt the satisfaction of seeing me upset.

I grab the gloves hanging from the rusty nail by the door and tug them on. The pitchfork leans against the wall, and I take it and make my way to the stall with the sick cow. She groans low and shifts uneasily in her straw. I lean close and whisper under my breath, “Sorry, girl. We’re both stuck here.”

How in the world does Colt have the nerve to talk down tome?It’s like he still thinks I’m thirteen or something and am still trailing around at his heels with my stupid dad-jokes, trying to get him to smile. But I’m not thirteen anymore. I’m eighteen. I’m a woman. And I understand the way he’s looking at me, even if he’s doing his best to hide it.

I used to hope for a smile, but now I think it’s impossible. He grunts, he growls, he snaps. That chiseled jaw of his clenches hard like he’s trying to crack his teeth every time his eyes land on my breasts or my ass.

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