Page 14 of Unexpected Sweetheart
“It’s complicated, Lorelei.”
“Then why don’t you explain it to me?”
“Because I don’t want to and I don’t have to.”
“Then tell me, why do you have to take on extra cattle?”
“Because some people don’t take care of their animals properly and I have the space.”
“That sounds like you’re doing someone a favor, Ryan. There’s no ‘have to’ in there. Try again.”
He cages me against the truck and leans in close. It’s hot and also a little scary. “If you must know, I can’t afford to pay my accounts. So, I’m bartering to keep things running.”
“What happened to the money my father paid?”
Standing back, he laughs and runs a hand over his face before pulling his hat off his head and throwing it into the truck. “What money? Your father paid when he booked, and my father did God only knows what with it. The ranch is a money pit. I’m just doing what I can to keep my head above water until someone more capable can come and take over. Which seems less and less likely with every day that passes.”
“So…what you’re telling me is that you’re broke?” He nods.
“I let go of my apartment in Sacramento this morning. I’m officially stuck here. The ranch has it all now, and my father wins.”
The realization of his struggle hits me hard, and I feel like such a spoiled and naïve child. “But…but you said hepaidyou for me,” I bluster. “That I wasn’t a burden.”
“You’renota burden, heiress,” he says, his face softening as he places his hands on my shoulders. I look into his eyes, bright pools of blue that are filled with a range of emotions. “The ranch is the burden—I’m the burden. Andthat’swhy I don’t want to talk about this. Even if you weren’t leaving in a week, I’m a lead weight, and you, Lorelei, you’re a helium balloon. I’ll only drag you down.”
“What if Iwantyou to drag me down? What if I told you I’d stay if you asked me to?” The questions fall from my lips as he studies me for a long time before releasing me and stepping back.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“I mean, get in the truck, heiress. The animals are waiting.”
Ryan
What if I want you to drag me down?What if I told you I’d stay if you asked me to?I hear her sweet words as I wrap my hand around my cock and roughly jerk myself off, the hot water of the shower aimed directly over my head so the racing water meets the thumping sound of blood in my ears, cutting off all sound and thought. If I think about what I’m doing for a single moment, I’ll feel like the dirty bastard I am, imagining an innocent girl in front of me on her knees while I pleasure myself thinking about the heat of her willing mouth wrapped around my hard length.
“Fuck.” I let out a groan as my release comes in short spurts, hitting the floor then circling the drain before the water takes it away, hiding the evidence of what I’ve done, and what I’ve been doing ever since that night she told me she was a virgin. I thought she just wanted me to break her in and send her back, but now she’s talking like she wantsme.A man who has nothing.What the hell does a girl like her want with a man like me, anyway?
She makes me feel old. She makes me feel young. She annoys me with her naivety. She delights me with the stubborn insistence that she can do everything in a pair of fucking heels. She makes me so damn hard that I can’t see straight and end up doing this to myself, morning, night, and sometimes in between. I’m obsessed with her. And now that she’s pushing for more, I’m not sure I can stop myself from giving it to her.
Getting out of the shower, I dry off and head back into my room to get dressed. I need to make a start on dinner then sit across from her at the dining room table, trying to make conversation that has nothing to do with how badly I want to fuck her.
One week to go.
One week, and she’ll be back in New York where she belongs, far away from here.
Far away from me.
Despite her sweet protests, it’s for the best. Right now, she’s known the struggle of ranch life for ten days. Give it a month, maybe two or three if she enjoys depravity as much as I do, and the novelty will quickly wear off. Then she won’t be able to get out of here fast enough. I don’t want a taste only to starve for the rest of my life when she goes. I’d rather keep this professional and never have her at all. Even if I do see the pain and confusion in her eyes when I continually walk away from her.
One week to go.
At the end of the day, I know it’s for the best. Every time I catch myself watching her, my dick throbs, and I find myself fantasizing about sliding it between her breasts or sinking it inside her, even claiming her ass. I want to come all over her, brand her like cattle so no other man can ever lay claim to what’s mine. And I don’t just want to claim her. I want to own her, keep her, and breed her so she’s bound to me always. And all of those thoughts scare me. I’ve never looked at a woman and wanted anything like that before.
I have tolether go.
“Ryan?” Just as I pull a clean shirt over my head, a gentle knock sounds on my locked bedroom door—a precaution I’ve been taking ever since that first night. I’m not sure I could send her away a second time.
