I hadn’t expected that we’d end up in bed, but I’d given her plenty of time to reconsider the decision before going through with it.

  I knocked on her front door, which was more hidden than the kitchen entrance. She answered and smiled, but I could tell from her body language that something was off. She didn’t make me wait long to figure it out.

  She motioned her hand toward the living room furniture. “We need to talk.”

  I sat down on the couch next to her, silently wondering if I should try to kiss her, or even hold her hand. When I reached for hers, she pulled it away. “Rusty, I can’t do this with you. There’s too much goin’ on in my life to be able to start somethin’ with you. What happened in that hotel room was – .”

  “Perfect,” I interrupted. “Don’t say that.” She looked away, causing me to question the connection

  that I could have sworn we had. I reached for her arm, only to be rejected again. “What’s wrong? Is it something I said?”

  “No!” Her alarming expression let me know that we definitely were not on the same page. “I can’t do this, okay?”

  “But you and I...”

  “There is no you and I, Rusty. There can’t be. I’m pregnant with another man’s child, and I can’t even begin to grasp what’s to come. I need to be able to make the right choices, and last night was obviously not the kind of choice an expectin’ mother should have made.”

  “So what?” I was going to fight to prove my point. “You’re just going to deny this attraction, and pretend that last night didn’t happen at all?”

  Isabella got up and walked into the kitchen. When I followed she leaned her hands against the kitchen counter facing the cabinets. I wanted her to look me in the eyes as she let me down, but she refused. “I know what happened between us. That’s why this is so hard for me. We were both so emotional. Things happened because we were in a fragile state. I’m not goin’ to make it out to be somethin’ it never was. Last night two people came together to comfort each other. It wasn’t about attractions, or feelin’s.”

  “You’re wrong. At least, that’s not what it was for me.” I couldn’t deny how hurt it made me feel when she said these kind of things to me. She was forgetting that I was in that room with her. I know what I was feeling was mutual. “You can sit there and act like this was a one-night stand, but we both know that ain’t true.”

  “Please don’t do this.” She turned around and rubbed her eyes. “ Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

  I walked over and put my arms around her waist, waiting to see those eyes looking up at me. This wasn’t just a fight to change her mind, it was also my happiness hanging by a thread. While waiting, I brushed the long blonde hair away from her cheek. Slowly, she raised her head and looked at me with tears falling down. I let my lips come down, almost to where they brushed over hers. “I want to -.”

  Before I could finish the door was flying open and I was being shoved across the kitchen. Noah looked from me to Isabella. “What the fuck? He pointed toward me. “I told you to steer clear of my cousin, didn’t I?”

  I threw my hands up, trying hard to defend myself. “I-.” “He was just leavin’,” Isabella announced. I didn’t know how to react. My job wasn’t more important

  than finishing our conversation, but she’d ended it for me. “You heard her. Get out, before I say somethin’ I might regret.” Noah was my boss, and I had to be respectful since this

  ranch belonged to his family. I turned to Isabella, noticing right away how hurt she

  seemed. Her forehead was creased, and one hand was over her mouth. I nodded to her and walked out of the house. Even when I made it onto the long lane I could hear him yelling at her. As sorrowful as it was, I knew I had to keep walking. She’d pushed me away, and he’d made sure I’d gone.

  For the first time in forever I wanted a drink, so that I could numb myself from feeling anything at all. I’d opened my heart to her, and showed her a part of me that I’d kept hidden. In the end it had only gotten me exactly back where I started.

  Alone.

  There was no use tryin’ to avoid Noah, when I knew his next move was to locate me and let me have it. I took a quick shower, and sat down at my kitchen table waiting for him to arrive. When he entered it was without a friendly knock. He could do it that way because he owned the place. The chair across from me made a loud screech as it was being pulled out to allow him room to sit down. He cleared his throat before beginning. “I want you to be straight with me, Rusty. What’s goin’ on with you and my cousin?”

  I considered telling him everything, even about the life I’d given up. “It was nothing. I was simply inviting her to share a meal with me and I crossed a line. I’m sorry, boss. It won’t happen again.”

  Some guys my age would have had a problem dealing with a younger boss. At the end of the day it wasn’t Noah that I had to answer to, well not completely. His father still ran the show. “Listen, I’m not tryin’ to be some hard ass. I get that you think she’s pretty, and you’d like to get to know her more. I’ve seen and heard it all before.”

  I put my hand up in the air. “Noah, I wont go near her, okay? It was a mistake.” The lies were piling up. Every second with Isabella wasn’t a mistake. I only wish I had the strength to tell him how I really felt about his cousin. “I meant nothing by it. I just figured we could enjoy a meal with conversation instead of eating alone. That’s all it was.”

  He raised his brow for a moment like he didn’t believe me. When I didn’t flinch, he finally calmed. “Whatever. If you need company than get a dog.”

  “You really care about your cousin. I can appreciate the way you’re always looking out for her. If I had a cousin I think I’d be the same way.” I was trying to get back on his good side.

  There was no telling how long Noah had been watching us, but from what I gathered it hadn’t been long. If anything he saw us standing face to face, and from the angle of the kitchen door he wouldn’t have been able to tell if we were close enough to kiss or not. Plus I think if he’d had seen that he would have come after me and things would have gone from bad to worse.

  Instead he was being cordial, calm almost.

  “I’ve been raised like that, Rusty. Family is the most important thing in life. I don’t know much about you, or your upbrinin’, but it’s just how ours is.” He stood up and tapped the table with his hands. “You do a lot for me and my dad, and we appreciate it. I’d like to keep you around for a while.”

  He was warning me. I supposed I should have taken heed, but instead I felt offended. Perhaps if he heard my story he’d back off. At any rate I knew I had to keep calm and let him leave in a good mood. I liked living on the ranch, and there was no way I was willing to give up being able to see Isabella everyday. If I had to go back to being a creepy stalker to get her attention that’s what I was going to do.

  Chapter 17

  Isabella

  It was extremely difficult looking into my cousin’s eyes and telling him that there was nothing going on between

  Rusty and I. It was even harder lying to myself about it. In my head I knew that being alone was the right decision, yet my heart ached to feel that attention he’d given me.

  As the weeks passed, I felt even more regret when it came to pushing Rusty away. He consumed my thoughts, and left me in a state of depression knowing that it wouldn’t happen again. Exactly one month after I slept with him, I’d woke up on a beautiful Saturday morning and decided that I wanted to work outside in my little garden. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a bunch of marigolds and some hastes, that were definitely in need of some pruning. Every day my little belly seemed to be getting bigger, but that could have just been my imagination. At any rate, I put on a baggy t-shirt and headed outside into the breezy morning sunshine. I’d been down on my knees for a good thirty minutes when I realized that my back was feeling stiff, so I stood up to stretch, and noticed Shalan and Noah riding horses towards the tree line. In that instant I don’t know what got into me. Before I even thought to wash off my dirt- filled hands, I was walking toward the stables with one thing on my mind. After countless hours of lying awake at night, and even more daydreaming at my job, I knew I had to see him again. I felt like if I just gave myself a couple of minutes to be around him, I’d be able to focus on my life again.

  It would have been better if I’d found him shoveling large piles of manure, or bailing some hay. Instead I walked into to find him pouring a bottle of water down his bare chest. All I could do was stand there and watch, as if it were in slow motion. Even only having been with him for one night it was hard to not picture my hands on his skin, and the way he’d touched me over and over again. I licked my lips, and tried my best to slow down to rapid breathing. It was no use. As I stood there spying on the man who should steer clear of me and my problems, I knew one thing for sure.

  I had to make my presence known.

  After crossing my arms and leaning against the old wooden door, I cleared my throat. Rusty looked up, tossing the bottle in the trash can to the side. “Iz, what are you doing here?”

  I didn’t move from where I was standing. “I needed to see you.”

  “Is something wrong?” He immediately started to walk in my direction. My arms dropped to my sides, but my feet never left where they stood.

  My teeth drug over my bottle lip while contemplating how I should answer. “Maybe.”

  His strong hands grasped both of my arms, holding them while his eyes focused on mine. “What is it?”

  “Just kiss me.”

  His lips were on mine so quickly that I barely had time to take a breath. His mouth, that I’d been so perplexed over before, placed gentle kisses all over my lips and cheeks. Our mouths clashed together again, this time allowing our tongues to dance in a harmonious pattern. I could feel my heart beating rapidly as my clammy hands reached up to touch that bare, sweaty chest for the first time. His skin, so hot and sticky, was just as rock hard as I’d recalled it to be. From the moment my fingertips coursed over his smooth skin, a fire ignited between my legs. The burning desire that I felt for this man was only being heightened, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to stop myself until I had everything I wanted from him.

  After a few moments of reconciliation, Rusty picked me up and carried me into a stall filled with hay. He stood me up and grabbed an old horse blanket to lay out over the pile. I didn’t wait for him to motion for me to lay on it. I already knew what was about to happen, and I didn’t care if we were outside, or in the open so that anyone could walk in us. The only thing running through my mind was being able to be satisfied by this beautiful man.

  Before Rusty laid down beside me, I lifted off my top. He leaned forward to lay me down with such ease that it felt like I’d floated back. Our lips met again, this time honing in on the focus at hand. I let my foot lift up until it stroked over his growing erection. My need to remove his fitting jeans had become very apparent.

  Rusty lifted his body. His boots came off first, while never taking his eyes off of me. While he worked on himself, I removed my bra and fell back down on the thick blanket for comfort.

  I watched his belt buckle unclasp as he proceeded in dropping the denim he had on, to the floor. From that moment I knew there was no turning back. The intent in his eyes let me know we were on the same page, and as he crouched down to be close to me, I knew that he was going to make me regret ever pushing him away.

  Rusty smiled as his lips came down over mine. His slow, passionate kisses filled my body with such anticipation. I longed for his touch, and soon got a lot more than I could have bargained for. He pulled a piece hay out from the large stack beneath us, while leaning up on his elbow. At first he drug it over my lips, causing them to part. The dried plant skated across my chin as it slowly brushed the tip of my ear lobe. The tickling sensations overwhelmed my skin, sending chills all the way down to my toes. My nipples hardened even before the tip of that hay was being circled around them. One at a time he traced those sensitive buds, causing me to moan out little cries of sheer bliss.

  I could feel myself becoming soaked with expectation. Rusty wasn’t just teasing me. He was deliberately memorizing every inch of my skin, while giving me pleasure as he did so. This wasn’t like our first encounter, as neither of us were over emotional. Our drive to be together was fueled by need.

  When that long stem ran across my abdomen my body began to shiver. Rusty, still focused on watching my reactions, leaned down and kissed it tenderly. I touched his hair and smiled, knowing it was meant to comfort me in my obvious condition.

  We didn’t speak to each other, and I was glad of that, considering I had no idea what to say. This was premeditated, and I couldn’t let myself rationalize about what was happening, because I knew I’d overthink it and want to stop.

  The piece of hay stroked over my pussy, causing sporadic jolts of delight. I gasped again, taking in a deep breath and exhaling while trying to keep my body from trembling. Rusty moved down, rubbing his hands over my dirtied knees. He kissed one of them before moving unhurriedly up my thighs.

  I had to sit up on my elbows to be able to watch as he teased my pussy with that same piece of hay, rubbing it over the smooth folds, and then finally lightly brushing it over the crease. This time I couldn’t contain the amount of sexual tension that it was placing on me. I knew I was wet, probably soaked with eagerness, so he continued teasing me on purpose.

  Rusty licked his own lips and turned the strand of hay around so that the thicker end was now at the top. He pressed it ever so gently over my clit, moving side to side to get me aroused. I couldn’t stop watching him, so focused on what he was doing to me. His stiff erection was apparent, and I’d never wanted to satisfy a man the way that I was feeling at this very moment.

  He blew onto my sex, while tracing my clit with that stem. My hips jerked and I could feel that tingling burn starting to overwhelm me. I closed my eyes and felt his heated tongue lapping over my deprived bud, as if he were using some kind of centrifugal force to guide him. I screamed out while waves of ecstasy besieged me, causing me to become dizzy and lightheaded. Never before had I experienced such a heightened orgasm.

  Rusty laughed with his mouth still lingering over my swollen bud. He used his chin whiskers to tickle me there, prolonging the frenzy that he’d bestowed. I clenched a chunk of his hair with my fist and pulled, expressing the physical attributes to losing control. The euphoric moment finally slowed, giving me a few moments to gather my breath, and open my eyes wide.

  He still dawdled there, right over my pussy, with no regard for how sensitive that area had become. In lieu of what had occurred, I pulled that handful of hair up, until his body was even with mine. His stiff erection pressed against my thigh as our lips met. The immediate connection was undeniable. Rusty moved his tongue with precision, as I matched his movements. I felt his hand tracing over the smooth skin of my pussy, gliding one finger inside the folds to feel just how ready he’d made me. He pulled away from my lips and stared at me for a second before grabbing another strand of hay from behind my head. With one quick movement he’d ducked back down, focused on playing again. Before I could think of anything to say I felt something different. I looked toward his hand and noticed that this stem didn’t just have one strand at the top. It had four. He spun it between his finger, causing a windmill effect. While doing it, he let those buds at the top smack over my clit. Every second they hit that same spot. My body flailed as I lost control again, so quickly that I was almost embarrassed to admit. Finally, when it got to be too much to bear, I pulled his arm away, begging him to stop. “Please. I can’t take it anymore.”

  His smile let me know that he’s succeeded in what he’d sought out to do. It was no surprise that he’d be content with leaving me wanting so much more than I was willing to admit. He wanted me to know what I’d been missing, and I was well aware of everything that he had to offer, even before this encounter.

  Rusty took his entire palm and cupped my pussy, He held onto it while moving his arm slightly up and down. My sensitive area began to throb, and it felt like it was on fire. It ached to be touched again, and I couldn’t stop myself from taking hold of that same arm and moving it harder. His finger slipped in between my wet folds, penetrating me as I controlled it. The faster I moved that arm, the more pleasure it gave me. I was fully aware that this was me pleasing myself, but Rusty didn’t seem to mind. He watched my face as I bit down hard on my bottom lip and cried out again.

  My eyes became focused on his as he pulled that finger out of me, sucking it in between his lips. I gasped, feeling so turned on by his actions. “Do you like the way I taste?” The words seemed to purr.

  “Mhmm. I need more though.” He took one hand and grabbed the skin where my hip meets my ass. In an instant he was positioning himself overtop of me. I could feel his cock pressing my entrance, without being guided there. “Is this what you came for?” Sweat was running down the side of his head, dripping on my neck. I flinched each time it hit me, even while trying to remain focused on what was about to happen.

  I refused to answer him out loud. Instead a simple nod let him know the truth. I may have not anticipated this happening when I woke up this morning, but I certainly knew exactly what I wanted.

  He entered me with ease, sliding inside gracefully, while bringing his lips down against mine. The sheer fulfillment I got from him being inside of me was unexplainable. The foreplay was amazing in itself, but this was utter delight. In no time at all I was overtaken with reoccurring waves again. I dug my nails into his back and clung to his skin while feeling yet another release.

  Rusty kissed me once softly, before pulling out of me and flipping me around. His pent up predicament left him without another ounce of patience. He needed to explode and I was going to help it happen.