Chapter Four
Jillian
I might have just made an awful, awesome mistake.
Spending a week looking forward to seeing Jacob, to getting him to myself for an entire day has about driven me mad. I spent hours going over his bio, over the Iron H Ranch pamphlet, anything that could prepare me for my time being a cowgirl. None of it prepared me for him, however.
Jacob takes a pretty photo, no doubt. In person he is...much, much more. More is all I think as I follow him to the bunk I will stay in tonight. More muscles, more beautiful, more everything I figured a cowboy might be. He is filthy from working, sweaty even, and it is the hottest thing I have ever seen.
“Sorry about that back there, honey,” he talks without slowing down, without looking back at me. “I can be a bit accident prone. Thought I had grown out of that before I saw you standing there.”
Flushing because his reaction to me was comical, I give his hand a squeeze. It is rough against mine, his thick fingers laced tight over my own. He stops, turning back to look down at me. Gosh, he’s big, towering over me in his boots, his big cowboy hat framing his handsome face in shadow.
“It was cute. Never had a man throw me to the ground the moment we met.”
“Oh, hell, I ruined your pretty dress,” he grumbles, turning to dust at the dirt I didn’t even notice. His hands brush over my bare shoulders, my breasts, down my hips. I am shaking by the time he seems to realize what he is doing. “I-I, that was wrong of me to...I just wanted to...honey, I did not mean it.”
Grinning up at him, I nod. There is not one shred of him that seems so cunning or direct. He is not trying to take advantage of me. Jacob just wants to take care of something. I am not sure how I know that within minutes of meeting him, but I do. For one day, I am what he wants to take care of.
“Jacob, sweetheart calm down,” I encourage, reaching for his other hand. “No need for nerves or apologies for being you. I came to have a good time here at the ranch. Take me on a horse ride, show me some trails, talk about life here on a ranch, that will be a good time. Can you do that?”
Tugging me closer, he nods, tipping his hat to show me his eyes. “Yeah, honey, I can do that. Even if I stumble on the trails, fall off the horse, or get things wrong about ranch life, I can do that for you. Come on, let’s get you settled.”
Nodding, I follow him to the cute bunk with a horseshoe number on the front. Wynn told me they added several new bunkhouses after last year, just to accommodate visitors from the auctions. Inside is a simple antique brass bed with a lovely handmade quilt. Striding towards it, he sets my bag beside it, still holding my hand.
Turning back to me, he gives me that dimpled smile that got this whole thing started. I was drawn to his photo, but the draw to him here, now, in the flesh is unreal. If I thought he was a turn on before, smelling his sunshine and grass smell, seeing the way his eyes spark when they look at me, feeling the warmth of his rough palm in mine, it is a whole other thing now.
Yeah, this was an awful mistake—who cares? Some of the best things in life begin as mistakes.
“What would you want to do first, Jillian?”
Jacob has the slightest accent, not southern exactly, but it fits with his big hat, his dusty cowboy boots, and dirty, tattered jeans. It sounds lovely saying my name. I cannot tell him what I want to do first because it is not proper. I came here to play cowgirl for a day—not to ride cowgirl.
Well, that might be a lie—I did think plenty about riding him.
“Can we ride horses? I rode a few times at my grandfather’s farm. It has been a long time.”
“We can do whatever you want to, honey. Let me go get some horses saddled for us, honey.”
Winking at me, he starts to stride out. I follow. Jacob turns back, our bodies crashing again. At this point, I think one of us is doing this on purpose. His hands grasp my ass, and he holds me against him, pretending to steady me. I was steady on my feet before he touched me so boldly.
“Take me with you,” I whisper, the air thick between us as I press my hands to his chest. Beneath my touch, his heart is pounding. “I want to see you work, cowboy. That is what I paid for, yes?”
His throat bobs as he swallows. Nods once. Gives my ass a little squeeze that sends a zip of pleasure right to my clit. He does not move to let me go. I never move to get out of the embrace. We just stand there for a minute, gazes locked, both of us breathing fast, the air sweet as his scent mixes with mine.
“Hellfire you’re pretty. Pretty is not even fair. Not even close enough. I have never seen someone so perfect in my life, Jillian.”
“Flirting was not something they said you cowboys would do,” I tease.
“Not sure I am any good at that sort of thing. Never tried to flirt with a woman before. How am I doing, honey?”
Flushing as his hands give my ass another squeeze, rocking me against his big, hard body I laugh. Oh, oh my, yes, he is hard. Thick and hard. Swallowing, I rub my hands at his chest. Gosh, he is much more than I expected. More than I imagined him to be in my weeklong fantasies.
“From what I know of flirting, I say you’re doing just fine cowboy.”
Jacob beams a smile at me, his dimple popping as his eyes light up. We stand there in the little bunkhouse, hands all over one another, eyes eating each other up, our bodies talking for us. I have never felt this level of hunger, of desire, before in my life. I thought it was just because I’ve been so alone since the divorce. Being here with him now, I know otherwise.
From the start, there was something calling me to Jacob.
“How about I get you on a horse? Can’t wait to see you ride, honey.”
Biting back a moan, I nod. I rub against him greedily, laughing when his hands dig into my backside as he lets out a little growl. Liking his sound and his rough hands on me, I do it again, biting my lip to hide another moan. He is so warm, so hard, so big and strong. I am safe with him.
“Came here to be a cowgirl. If anyone could help me with that, it would be you, cowboy.”
We break apart for him to lead me out of the bunkhouse, but he won’t let go of my hand. On the way to the barn, I note how perfect his butt looks in his dusty jeans, how he walks just a little bow-legged as he leads the way. Have I become a horny little girl turned on by the quintessential bad boy?
Before I got married, I never made time for men. I never considered settling down. While my parents were good to me and my brothers, they were not good to one another. I always assumed they stayed together for us—something my husband and I agreed not to do for our daughter.
Thinking of my failed marriage, of my little girl spending the next week with her father, I hesitate for a moment. Was this a rash decision, coming here? Was I lonesome, impetuous, and a bit drunk? Coming to Iron H Ranch might truly be a mistake—this attraction to Jacob could be misplaced.
“Come on, honey, let’s get you on a horse, yeah?”
Peering up at him as the sunshine creates a halo behind him, I nod. Yes, I am ready. Ready to allow myself some fun. Some grace to flirt with a man, to let him flirt back. To feel pretty or even intriguing again. Since my marriage, the dream life I tried to build, fell apart, I have felt neither. It is no one’s fault but my own because I accepted the failure as mine alone.
“Back there you said...you claimed you never flirted with a woman.”
“No, honey, I don’t think I ever have. Does that surprise you?”
Following him into the barn, I consider the question. Tall, dark, handsome and sweet as sin, he should have a trail of broken hearts in his path. Yet, as he smiles at me, waiting for the answer, I see the warmth, the honesty, in his eyes that first stopped my heart when I saw his photo.
“It does and it doesn’t. Handsome young man, a cowboy no less, not having much practice is curious.”
Once again, I crash into his huge body. Jacob turns, staring down at me. His handsome face is flushed, his big chest heaving as he breathes. His eyes darken as they lock on me. Oh. Oh, that’s...that’s a little sexier than it ought to be. His rough hand brushes over my cheek, heat unfurling inside of me.
“Handsome. Did you just call me...” he flushes again, dipping his head.
“Yes, I did. You cannot be serious. Jacob you and half the other hands on this ranch belong on a steamy cowboy calendar.”
Jacob laughs, his whole face changing as he does. Gosh, that’s a weapon of mass destruction if I ever saw one. That beautiful smile with that laugh. It destroys me, that is for sure. I am not sure I am safe with this man—I might make a hell of a lot more mistakes with him if he keeps smiling that way.
“We ought to tell Cody that. He would whore us out for that for sure.”
Those words stop me cold. Because he is not wrong. Cody, the boss who started these auctions, has essentially sold his men to the highest bidder. Last year, several of those sales led to romance, even though that is not implied. All they promise is a night on the ranch with a rugged ranch hand. Clearly, they know there may be more expectations from the buyers.
“Can I get a moment to myself, Jacob?”
Jacob’s light eyes darken before he nods. “Of course, Jillian. Take anytime you need. I will be waiting outside.”
With him gone, I ask myself the same question I’ve repeated for days—what the hell was I thinking coming here?