Chapter Seven
Roark needed to get up and add more wood to the fire but Priscilla was draped on top of him, and Snowy was across his feet. Gently, he managed to scooch away from her without waking her, and crawled out of the sleeping bag. Standing, he stretched then added wood to the fire and watched the embers reaching for the sky. It was cold so he had to keep the fire going. The only sounds in the air were the flames snapping around the logs, bullfrogs croaking, and crickets chirping.
“Roark, get back in here, I’m freezing.”
“So you only want me in there because you’re cold.”
“But you warm me up so well,” she said then laughed and it shot right to his dick.
He walked back to the sleeping bag but froze when Snowy suddenly jumped up and growled, looking in the directions of the woods. Roark slowly squatted down, keeping his eyes on the tree line, picked up his rifle, and stood.
“Roark?”
“Shhh,” he whispered.
He heard the fear in her voice but he didn’t want her to let whatever Snowy had growled at to hear them. He snapped his fingers and Snowy lay down again but didn’t take his eyes from the woods. Roark could see the brush moving so he raised his rifle and aimed it in that direction. Glancing down at Priscilla, he could see the fear on her face. When the cougar emerged from the woods, Roark heard her gasp. The cougar stopped and stared at him for a few seconds then turned and ran back into the woods. Blowing out a breath, Roark lowered the rifle then crawled into the sleeping bag with her, set the rifle alongside, and then pulled her close.
“Oh, dear God,” she whispered against his chest.
“It’s all right. He’s gone.” He could feel her shaking and a sudden need to protect her overwhelmed him, surprising him too.
“But he was right there .”
“Cougars rarely attack unless provoked. Because I stood tall, he didn’t want a confrontation. We’re fine, he won’t be back.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, and if he does, I have the rifle. Snowy will let us know if anything comes around.”
“You said you’d never seen anything while camping.”
“I said I never saw bears. I’ve seen cougars several times but I knew if I told you that, you’d freak.”
“Ya think?” she said with heavy sarcasm.
Roark chuckled. “Come here. Let’s get some sleep.” She snuggled against him. He closed his eyes and fell asleep thinking he would never let anything hurt her, and that he could definitely get used to this.
The next morning, after eating some breakfast, they cleaned up the camp. Roark made sure no embers remained in the fire pit then he saddled the horses, and vaulted into his saddle. He watched as Priscilla slowly mounted her horse and winced when she settled into the saddle.
“Are you all right?”
“No, but I will be once we get back to the ranch.”
“Let’s go then. The sooner we get back, the sooner you can take it easy.” He glanced around then gave a shrill whistle .
Snowy came running from the woods and ran ahead of them. Roark tugged on Bouncer’s reins as Apache made his way through the tall grass. Glancing over his shoulder, Roark noticed Priscilla sitting stiffly in the saddle.
“Relax, darlin’. You’re only going to make it worse.”
“I don’t think it can get any worse.”
He reined his horse to a stop to wait for her. She stopped beside him and looked at him. He saw tears in her eyes.
“We can stop whenever you want,” he told her. “Just tell me when. Okay?”
“I want to get back as soon as I can. I don’t want to stop and get down then have to get back on. I’m never going to be able to feel my ass again.”
Roark laughed then covered it with a cough when her eyes narrowed at him. He shrugged. “Honest, I wish you would have told me. I never would’ve had you come along.”
“It’s okay… the great sex makes up for my sore ass.”
“I’m serious, Priscilla. You’re going to be hurting for a few days. I have some salve you can use when we get back.”
She nodded and he nudged Apache to go. Roark felt bad because he knew she had to be sore and it was bound to be a whole lot worse by the time they got back. They never should have had sex. Roark mentally snorted. The sex had been fantastic and he was hoping she’d sleep with him in his bed once they returned to the ranch…sore ass or not.
Two and a half hours into the ride, he looked back at her and saw tears on her cheeks. He reined Apache to a stop. “Priscilla, do you want to stop? ”
“No, we don’t have much farther, do we?”
“A little less than an hour but if you want to stop…”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to get out of this saddle until we’re back because once I get out of it I am not getting back in it.”
“All right but if you change your mind, let me know.” He waited until she nodded then nudged his horse. Snowy ran around them until they were close to the ranch then he took off running. The horses picked up their paces too, since they knew they were close to the barn and their oats. But Roark turned his horse back toward Priscilla and grabbed the reins from her hands.
“What are you doing?” she asked him.
“Slowing Dazzle… so she won’t run to the barn and hurt you even more.”
“Thank you,” she whispered as she blinked tears away.
Once they rode into the barn, Roark dismounted and walked back to where Priscilla sat on Dazzle and looked up at her.
“Can you get down?” She shook her head as a tear rolled down her cheek and his heart ached for her. “Come on, baby, I’ll help you.” He put his arms up to her. She put her hands on his shoulders and he pulled her off the horse then he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Go on inside, I’ll take care of the horses.”
“Are you sure? I know the rules.”
“I’ll let you slide on it this time. Go.” He lightly kissed her lips then she turned and slowly—very slowly—walked to the house.
As he led the horses to the stalls, Roy came walking down the aisle of the barn .
“Hey, boss.”
“Could you get one of the guys to cool the horses down? I need to get Priscilla some salve. She’s sore from riding. She told me she could ride but forgot to mention that not for longer than thirty minutes at a time.”
“Damn. Yeah, I’ll get Raul and I’ll help him. Go help her. We got this.”
“Thanks Roy, I appreciate it.”
Roark turned, strode from the barn, and headed into the house. Walking down the hall toward her bedroom, he heard the jets on the hot tub fire up so headed into his bedroom instead. He saw her settling into the hot tub on the patio.
Stepping through the patio doors, he leaned against the post of the porch, folded his arms, and cleared his throat. Her eyes opened and she looked over toward him and her eyes squinted at him. He swore his heart stopped.
“Can you see me at all?” He grinned at how adorably her nose crinkled when she squinted.
“Yes. I’m farsighted. It’s just a habit for me to squint when I’m not wearing my glasses.”
“Is the hot tub helping?”
“I just got in here, but I think so.” She smiled at him. “Care to join me, cowboy?”
Roark grinned, pushed away from the post and tugged his T-shirt off over his head, dropped it to the floor then unsnapped his jeans, and lowered the zipper.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m getting in the hot tub with you.”
“Where are your trunks?”
He stopped what he was doing and stared at her, not believing she asked that. “Trunks? I don’t own trunks. I get in there naked. Aren’t you?”
“No! I have my suit on.”
He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Not for long.”
Priscilla burst out laughing. “Then come on in, cowboy, the water’s fine.”
With a grin, Roark sat on a chair and tugged his boots and socks off then stood and shucked his jeans and boxer briefs off. Then he climbed into the tub and sat beside her. “Come here, sweetheart.” She slid over next to him and he lifted her onto his lap but cringed when she gasped out in pain. “Damn, you’re really hurting, aren’t you?”
She blinked back tears from her eyes and nodded as he gently set her down on the seat beside him again.
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s no reason for you to be sorry, Priscilla. I just wish you had told me that you hadn’t ridden that long. I would have gone alone or taken one of the men with me.”
“I’ll be all right. Can you rub that salve you said you have on me? I’m not sure I can reach all of it.”
“Are you saying you have a big ass?” Roark chuckled.
“No, I am not! Are you?”
“Hell no, you have a great ass. You should get out and take that suit off though. Wrap a towel around you and lay face down on the bed while I’ll get the salve.”
“All right.” She kissed his lips, stood then gingerly climbed out of the hot tub and slowly entered the bedroom.
Roark frowned as he watched her limp slowly into the room then she entered the bathroom. He stood, reached for a towel stepped out and dried off, then picked up his jeans, and entered the bedroom to see her carefully climbing onto the bed. Damn, he really wished she felt better because he’d love to have her again. Shaking his head, he pulled his jeans on then went in search of the salve. After retrieving it from the bathroom, he reentered the bedroom and stood by the bed.
“I’ll try not to hurt you but I have to work it into your muscles.”
“I’m fine. Go for it.”
“Easy for you to say,” he muttered as he opened the lid, scooped some salve out and rubbed his palms together. Taking a deep breath, he lifted the towel, put his hands on the cheeks of her butt, and started rubbing it in. Shit! Bad idea. Having his hands on her made his body react and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Son of a bitch!
“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” she said looking over her shoulder.
“It’s a great idea. I’m enjoying the hell out of this, although my dick is so hard I probably won’t be able to walk straight for a week.”
Priscilla burst out laughing and slapped her hand over her mouth. “What a smooth talker you are, cowboy.”
Roark laughed and shook his head. He knew she was in a lot of pain but was glad she could still make jokes. He loved that about her. Whoa! What was that? He did not love anything about her. He barely knew her. She’d been with him for a mere three days. Wait. He did love having sex with her. It had been so hot and he’d never had better. Hell, if she didn’t hurt so much, he’d have her right now.
“Roark, please stop. This is making me hot. Come here,” she said over her shoulder .
“No, I’m going to grab a cold shower to take care of my dick. You rest.”
“I can be on top––”
“No, you can’t. Just rest. We have a while to be together. You’re going to be here almost a month. I’m done here.” He pulled the towel down to cover her and stood staring down at her. She slowly rolled to her back, smiled up at him, licked her lips, and crooked her finger at him.
“Ain’t happenin’, sweetheart. I’ll be right back and we’ll relax the rest of the night.” He turned from her to head for the bathroom.
“I’ll be waiting.”
Stopping in his tracks, he turned to look at her. “You’re going to be waiting a long time if you’re thinking we’re going to have sex. Not tonight.” He entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
****
Damn him! She punched the mattress with her fists. She wanted him and he was telling her no . He was telling her! Since when did a man turn down sex? Since your ass is hurting and you need to rest… that’s when.
Huffing out a breath, she knew he was right. It would only cause her more pain but it had been so hot between them and that scared her. She knew she’d never have that with any other man. The chemistry between them sizzled and that didn’t happen with just anyone. Slowly sitting up, she stood then headed for her bedroom to put her lounge pants and T-shirt on after which, she’d find them something to eat. Maybe if she moved around a little more, it would ease the pain.
After dressing and doing her best not to cry every time she moved, Priscilla made her way back across the hall and entered Roark’s bedroom. He came out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist and she mentally groaned. Damn, he had such a great body. Those hard pecs and that six-pack stomach had her salivating. She raised her eyes and looked at that gorgeous face. He stood there with his eyebrow raised.
“Stop looking at me like that,” he said.
“I can’t help it.” She started toward him but stopped when he held a hand up.
“Stay right there. I told you, it’s not happening until you’re better. Now, I’m going to get dressed and we’ll find some food then watch some TV. That’s it.” He folded his arms across his broad chest and she watched as a drop of water fell from the end of his hair and rolled down his chest, slid under his arm, across his hard belly, and disappeared under the towel. She wanted to follow it with her tongue.
Suddenly, Priscilla couldn’t stop herself as she walked forward and whipped the towel from him then dropped to her knees in front of him. She wrapped her hand around his dick and that fast it started to rise. She leaned forward and took it in her mouth. When he groaned, she smiled but sucked hard on him. His fists clenched in her hair.
“Priscilla,” he groaned out.
“Shut up. We may not be able to have sex right now but there is no reason why I can’t do something for you.” She put her mouth back over him and sucked while she pumped her hand. He widened his stance, but didn’t say more. When she cupped his balls in her hand, he jerked then a low growl tore from his throat .
“You’re killing me,” he rasped out.
Smiling, she continued to suck on him and pump her hand along his hard, long length until he became harder and his entire body stiffened when he groaned, clenched his fists tighter in her hair, and came. She ran her tongue along his dick and moved up his stomach then stood to take his lips in a kiss. He pulled her against him and deepened the kiss.
“God, that was fantastic. Thank you,” he said through deep breaths.
“You’re very welcome. You’ve done it for me. Payback was in order.”
“Well, if that’s payback, I think I’ll be doing more of that for you,” he said against her lips making her smile.
“I have no problem with that, cowboy. Get dressed. I’m hungry.”
Roark grinned at her. “Me too. Go ahead to the living room. Once I’m dressed, I’ll be out to fix us something. Sit in one of the recliners. It’ll be more comfortable for your sore ass.”
Priscilla laughed. “All right. Hurry.” She quickly kissed him then left the room.
****
Roark sat on the bed and wondered how it had come to this in just three days. How had she wiggled her way under his skin so fast and in such a short time? That first kiss about nearly brought him to his knees and now the thought of her leaving was like a knife to his chest. He’d never felt so much so fast for any woman.
They had both agreed it was sex only and neither would ask for more, but he suddenly wanted more. There was no way he’d ask for it though. He’d agreed that it would be sex and nothing more. Damn it. There was no way he could be falling for her.
How do you fall in love with someone in three days? Although, Jaxon had always said he fell for Bethany the minute he saw her, and Reid said the same about Lucy even though she had belonged to his best friend. Love at first sight only happened in movies and romance novels, right? He shook his head. It seemed the Callahan men fell fast, hard, and deep.
Pushing to his feet, he pulled on a pair of sweatpants, T-shirt, and socks then headed for the kitchen. He stopped in the living room to see she’d settle into a recliner. “Anything particular you’re interest in eating?”
“I’m fine with anything you want. Do you need my help?”
“No, ma’am. Sit and relax. I’ll make a few sandwiches. Mayo or mustard?”
“Mayo, please.” She made to get up but he raised his hand halting her.
“Sit still. Damn, you are a hardheaded woman. I can make them. Cola fine?” She nodded. “Good. Be right back.”
The day moved into night and soon it was time for bed. He just hoped he could lie beside her all night and not take her hard and fast. Amazingly, later, when he lay behind her, with his arm around her waist, he realized he was just content to hold her. Her head was on his arm and her hand covered his. He could definitely get used to this and that thought scared the ever-loving shit out of him.
When Saturday arrived, he entered the house to see her in the kitchen making a cup of coffee. He strode to her, cupped her face in his hands, and kissed her. “About time you got up.”
“It’s only seven.”
“I’ve been up for hours already. How are you feeling today?”
“Much better.” She wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Still want to go to the dance tonight?”
“Yes, but I’d love to go buy a dress. Can I borrow your truck?”
“My truck? You want to borrow my truck. Never ask a man if you can borrow his truck.”
Priscilla laughed. “Okay. Will you take me shopping then?”
Roark furrowed his brow. “Let me get you the keys to my truck.” When she burst out laughing, he grinned then handed her the keys. “I’ll put the address in the GPS for you. There are a lot of shops in Clifton, so I’m sending you there.”
“Is it far?”
“No, it’s on the other side of Spring City, which sits between Clifton and Hartland. Take your time. I have some things to do in the barn.”
“Can I get some pictures of you when I come back?”
“Sure. I have to drive the tractor to the west pasture and cut hay. You can go with me, if you’re up to it.”
“Great. Wait until I get back to do that, okay?”
“No problem, darlin’. I have plenty enough to do until then. Have a good time. Oh, if you can… go to the Clifton Diner and bring me back a hamburger. Tell Connie it’s for me and she’ll know how to fix it. You might want to get one for yourself. Best burgers in the world. ”
“In the world?” she said with skepticism.
“You’ll see. Gotta go. See you when you get back. Be careful on the roads. Watch out for animals.” He kissed her forehead then walked out the back door.
****
Priscilla ran to the door and looked out to see him striding across the dirt area, kicking up puffs of dust as he did. That sexy cowboy swagger made her want to call him back inside and ride him on the kitchen floor. Lord, she was in so much trouble. Roark Callahan was the sexiest man she’d ever known and once she left this place, left him, how could anyone ever replace him? Was it possible to fall for someone that fast? Stepping back, she told herself she didn’t even like cowboys. Shaking her head, that thinking was certainly gone for Roark had changed her mind on that.
After rinsing her cup out and placing it in the sink, she headed for her bedroom to dress before heading to town. She chose a pair of jeans with a green T-shirt that she knew enhanced her eyes. Slipping her feet into a pair of flip-flops, she picked up her purse, left her bedroom, entered the kitchen, picked up the keys to his truck, and then walked outside. She climbed into the big black beast that Roark drove and although not surprised, had to move the seat up to reach the pedals. After looking at the address Roark had entered into the GPS, she put her glasses on, shifted the big machine into Drive, and left the ranch to head for Clifton.
****
“You let her drive your truck?” Roy asked from alongside him.
“Yeah, how else would she get there?” Roark asked in retort .
“You taking her perhaps.”
“Oh, hell no. You’ve been shopping with a woman, would you want to go?”
“Not in this lifetime.” Roy gave him a nod and both men headed into the barn to get some work done.
It was already hot and Roark knew it was just going to get worse as the day went on, especially working in the barn. They both picked up rakes and started working on the stalls. Once they were finished, they would put fresh hay in the stalls but in the meantime, they worked filling each wheelbarrow with muck. Each one was then dumped into a bin and the stuff used later for fertilizer.
As he worked, Roark thought about Priscilla and hoped she found her way all right, and found something she liked. He shook his head. Women took forever to find what they liked. It was one reason he didn’t want to take her shopping. He hated sitting around waiting for a woman to make up her damn mind. Trying on dress after dress and coming out of the dressing room to ask if he liked it. If he said yes, she wouldn’t just buy it then, and there. Oh, no! She had to try more on until she found one she liked. It didn’t matter what he said, so why bother going and wasting a day? He had too much to do on the ranch to sit and smile, and nod when he knew she expected him to. Priscilla might not be like that but he’d been shopping with enough women to know how they were and he swore he’d get out of it any way he could. And God forbid if she wanted to buy shoes. Nope. Not doing that either.
He thought back to whenever Heidi had dragged him along on shopping trips, it took up an entire day and since they’d been in a long distance relationship and only saw each other once or twice a month, there were much better ways to spend a day. Like in bed. But sex with her couldn’t begin to compare to sex with Priscilla. Could he do another long distance relationship though? He didn’t like the idea of that but he also didn’t like the idea of never seeing Priscilla again. It was all too good just to walk away from and never experience again. Damn it all to hell. What was he going to do? He decided since he had a few weeks yet to be with her, he’d make every minute count and maybe, just maybe, they’d be able to work something out for down the road.