Authors: Delilah Hunt
Beau lifted a shoulder. “No reason. Just asking, you know. Then
of course there’s the little fact that I saw the two of you by Snake Trail River. You’re a decent guy, so I was apt to believe you weren’t harassing the
girl. I didn’t think you’d harass her. If you weren’t doing that and she didn’t
have a phone to her ears calling for help, what was going on?”
The question stung.
“Are you asking as a friend or my
foreman?”
“Both. I’d hate to see you waste your time on her.’”
Was Beau saying that because he disliked Noelle, or he didn’t
think he had a fighting chance with her? “
I don’t see how that has anything
to do with you or my work here.
”
“Not your work.” Beau stared at him then snorted, “C’mon Cole.
You wouldn’t exactly be her type, now would you?”
It was all too clear.
“She turned you down so, why would she
talk to me, right?”
The foreman’s face turned crimson. “That’s not what I meant and
you fucking well know it.”
What he knew was that deep inside it was always the same
bullshit. When he’d first applied for the job he had to work harder,
demonstrate that he knew how to rope and drag a steer and everything else his
duties entailed, while the other men were being hired without having to prove
anything except their identity. Even now he still felt like everyday he had to
prove himself, despite the legwork and hours he put in. In the end, it didn’t
matter how well he did the work. He couldn’t speak and that left some dumbasses
thinking he was lacking in the intelligence area or that he had nothing to say.
Now it turned out, someone he admired, his friend and boss, thought he didn’t
stand a chance with Noelle or any woman deemed desirable by other men. He
should be relegated to the Sandy’s of this world, women who spread their legs
for anyone with a prick.
“I’ll see you at work tomorrow, boss.”
Beau shook his head. “Easy there, Cole. I didn’t mean to start
shit with you.” The foreman looked around for a moment and said in a contrite
tone. “Don’t take anything I said to you personal. You know how it is around
here. It’s easy to get desperate for a woman when it’s a commodity. I just
think you’re out of your league on this. You think Williams is gonna approve of
his daughter getting involved with a saddle tramp? Take my advice and let it
go, cowboy. Go have a beer and bang the shit out of Sandy. If you don’t some
other man will.”
Cole glanced over at the woman walking across the field, wearing
a short dress that was far too tight for her round frame. He looked away, completely
turned off. There was no way he’d be able to get it hard for her or any of the
other cowboy chasing women. He wanted Noelle. Plain and simple. She didn’t want
him, but that little bit of knowledge wasn’t doing anything to temper his
desire for her.
Gazing up, he saw a light coming from one of the rooms in the
neighboring house. Was Noelle staring out the window again, trying to get a
glimpse of him? His lips curled.
Bitch.
No other female had made it as clear as her that he wasn’t worth
shit. Angered, his vision sought out the redhead sidling up next to him. “Your
friend over there wanted to take me in the tack room,” Sandy told him, failing
at any hint of coyness.
Cole stiffened. She smiled at him and rubbed her breasts against
his arm and giggled. “I figured you’d want first dibs since it was so good last
time. Maybe this time I can see if we can get a sound out of you.” Her lipstick
smeared lips widened into a smile as if she had said something clever and cute.
Cole peeled her arm from his. If there had been a slim chance in
hell he could have gotten it up for her, her mention of the silence he tried so
hard to maintain during intercourse killed all possibility.
“Oh my God, you
sounded like an animal dying.”
Five years after losing his virginity and he
could still hear the disgust in the girl’s voice.
Get the fuck out of my way,
Cole thought.
As if he needed another reminder tonight of everything that was
wrong with him. Glancing up at the window again, he saw that the light was
still on. Cole dragged his gaze from the house. His foreman was correct. He
hated to admit that it was over with Noelle before he ever had a chance. Hated
to admit it hurt. He looked back at Sandy. Maybe if he drank a few cans of
beer, he’d be able to fuck her. Prove to himself his manhood wasn’t destroyed
because of a tease who had no interest in him. Would she even care if she saw
him with another woman? He hoped so and a part of him hoped it would cause her
pain.
Like hell.
Noelle had buckets of ice water tapped straight
from the Rockies coursing through her veins. There were just some things a
gorgeous face couldn’t make up for and he had a sickening feeling that dwelling
on her was a lost cause.
Bullshit
, his mind screamed. He’d seen the glint in her
eyes when she admitted her feelings. The way she’d carefully wrapped the
bandanna around his hand. He still couldn’t believe she had done it. So, was
that the reason his feet were taking him toward the river this late in the
evening, hoping she would be there with thoughts of him?
“Hey Cole, you ain’t sticking around for the pussy?” Mike yelled,
taking a break from the woman’s breasts.
Cole waved a hand, brushing off the question before striding in
the direction of the thick stretch of overgrown trees. A swim would help and then
he’d turn in for the night.
****
She knew what was going on at the ranch, had driven by and seen
the cars parked along the roadside. Noelle wasn’t surprised that there were
women chasing down the cowboys. In a way she envied them. Those women might only
be in it for the sex, but at least they were brave enough to go after what they
wanted. They were stronger than her and didn’t have to worry about what anyone
would think of them. Like if Cole or anyone in Copper Mesa knew the reason her
family moved to the town was to save her father’s business and the Williams’
family reputation before her behavior and heroin use cost them everything they
held dear.
Is Cole with one of them right now?
Anger tore through her as she made her way to the river. Were
those powerful muscles on his back bunching and rippling as he pounded into
some strange woman? Were his hands holding on to soft feminine flesh not
belonging to her? Maybe he would even place his lips on this mystery woman’s.
Stop it, Noelle. What that cowboy does is none of your
business.
And yet it was. Sighing, Noelle glanced up at the night’s sky.
Overhead a silver moon hung low, illuminating the dark, its sole companion a
single star. She laughed to herself. Even the moon wasn’t alone…and neither was
she, it seemed.
Someone was in the river. The person was neck deep in the water.
She could see the wet hair that fell to the sides of his face. His hands moved
in a fluid motion. In the dim of night she could see the way his muscles flexed
from the simple motion of pushing the strands from his face. He was amazing.
Her pussy tightened. Noelle drew her legs together to relieve the ache. Cole
was here and not lying between the thighs of a cowboy chaser. Her heart leapt
and rejoiced. Thank God.
He hadn’t noticed her, however. With bated breath she stood by
the riverbank, anticipating the moment he would turn and regard her presence.
A shift of the head and her wish came true. Whatever tranquility
Cole was experiencing left him the moment he saw her. The same hands that had
pushed away the strands of damp locks with such grace became rough and
impatient as he swam toward the shore, stopping with the water above his waist.
Oh God. She looked over at a log and saw his clothes laying
there, a pair of dark blue boxers beside his jeans.
Modesty entreated her to turn and head in the opposite direction.
Modesty was not her best friend. Noelle strutted over to the log and stood
beside his discarded clothes. Heaven only knew why she insisted on pushing the
man time and again.
Midnight shaded eyes connected with hers. Crooking his fingers,
Cole beckoned her to him. Everything felt like a dream. A delirious vision of
Cole stepping out the river, his naked body dripping with water played before
her eyes.
“Look away, look away,” she chanted quietly.
Impossible.
She wanted so badly to see him and her pussy
was moist and aching so much from his proximity. Her clit felt swollen.
She glided in front of him, her gaze traveling from his feet to
sculpted thighs. Noelle paused and swiped her tongue across her lips. Nerves
and excitement tightened its reins on her.
Look higher
.
She couldn’t, could she? She did. His cock jutted out, long and
thick, semi hard. She lifted her gaze and saw him watching her, a dark fire
blazing in his eyes. Unable to resist, Noelle looked down again, biting her
lips to stifle a cry. His cock was completely hard now and swollen, sticking
out from a patch of brown hair. The bulbous tip broader than imaginable, was
tinged with the most beautiful shade of red she’d ever seen. Beneath the trunk-like
shaft, she could see his balls, heavy and drawn up with his arousal.
“Cole…”
His eyes closed for a second then opened as he widened his legs.
He was looking at her with anticipation… dear God, even a look of desperation.
“This isn’t right,” she whispered. Noelle moved a step closer to
him, stopping short before touching him. His cock was so big, almost too big.
She loved it. Loved the way the tip glistened with his fluids. Absolutely divine.
Moist heat pooled in her panties as blood rushed into her clitoris.
What she wouldn’t give to feel his penis moving inside her, to
lay beneath him and let him know that deep down she didn’t care about their
differences. How sweet would it be, to let Cole take from her what she had denied
herself for too many years— what shame and self- preservation kept her from
experiencing once more.
His wide chest rose. Noelle watched the anger flicker across his
features before his hand went to his meaty cock. He
did
want her to look
at him. He looked up at her, eyes questioning and thick brows drawn together.
Cole wanted to know if he pleased her. Fireflies danced in her
stomach, heating her lower belly. He cared… Flattening her palm against his
barrel chest, she told him, “You please me, Cole. More than I ever thought
possible.”
Under the moonlight, she could see his nostrils flared. Holding
her hand, he guided it lower to the dark line of hair leading to his groin.
Noelle shook her head but made no effort to extricate her hands. His fingers
left hers to slide along her thighs. A large hand closed over her sex, cupping
it and stroking through the soft jeans. Eyes wide she writhed against the
pleasure and thought about pushing him away.
Cole lowered his lids dangerously and shook his head. “
Don’t”
At once his fingers found her zipper, peeled it down then placed
his hand over her pussy, rubbing his thumb along her slit through the sheer
lace fabric of her panties.
Noelle moaned, unsure if his name fell from her lips like a
prayer.
Ever so slowly, he pushed a callused finger inside her sex.
Noelle squirmed against the invasion, and rolled her hips for more. His
forehead knotted in concentration as he withdrew and stared down at himself,
his large cock held within his large fist.
Noelle panicked. Was he going to try and fuck her? Her cunt
tightened and her mind spun. However, he made no move to climb between her
legs.
Thumbing her chin, he held her gaze, his dark eyes searing into
hers. Noelle followed his lead as he looked downward at his fingers then back
at her and finally his vision landed on his engorged cock. Her lids lowered in
understanding. He was comparing the two.
She caressed his hand. “I know you’re big.” Placing her other
hand to his chest, she added softly, “It’s so beautiful, Cole. I like it.”
His featured softened and the harsh lines in his face smoothed.
Cole covered a hand over hers, cradling her to his chest. He stared at her
again and the same knot appeared in his forehead. Whatever it was he had to
say, she didn’t want him to move his hands from her body to sign. By the looks
of it, neither did he.
He drew her closer and circled an arm around her back. His thumb
brushed along her pussy, petting her slickened folds with the possessive touch
of a lover. Noelle parted her lips on a breathy sigh and leaned into him. Eyes
closed, she allowed him liberties she was probably going to regret in an hour’s
time.
All too soon, she opened her eyes, biting her lips to keep the
whimper at bay as Cole slowly withdrew his fingers from between her legs. He
was giving her that worried look again, except this time he pointed at her
pussy then his shaft.
Ohhh.
Noelle blinked. He was
worried
about being too big for
her. She stared at him in silence. Warmth spread through her. His concern
stroked something deep and sacred within her.
“You…you wouldn’t hurt me.” She paused realizing her answer might
lead him to believe she was acquiescing to sex tonight, or any other time with
him.
Say something Noelle,
anything to make him go away
. She
couldn’t afford to fall for Cole. Her heart would not be able to handle
disappointing another person she cared about.
She opened her mouth, preparing for the fallout from whatever she
would say to him. She couldn’t. Cole was gazing at her with those penetrating
black eyes, searing into her soul. She wanted Cole, but was too weak to go
after him. Too afraid of what her family would say and terrified of how he
would look at her if he knew of her past.
Noelle placed her hand on his flat stomach, tracing circles over
the rippling muscles. She trailed her fingers lower and caressed the back of
her fingers along his remarkable length. She didn’t have to look up to know he
watching her. Every nerve, cell in her body tingled.