Chapter 8
SAM
“I have a question,” Clio said as we walked side by side across the field to the tractor. Just being near her soothed my wolf, who’d been going nuts since the moment I first saw her.
Mine, he snarled at me.
Yeah, got the memo. Working on it.
“Shoot.” I itched to reach out and hold her hand, but I held the replacement shaft in one and her toolbox in the other. Besides, she didn’t want that.
“What’d you say to Cletus to get him to calm down?”
“That’s a secret between me and Cletus. Man talk and all that.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw she smiled, while her eyes were on the ground, watching her footing in the tall grass.
Out in the field there was always a chance for a random rock or an animal hole tripping you up.
The sun was high, and the air was warm but had a hint of fall.
This would be the last grass harvest of the season once we had the baler on the back of the tractor up and running again.
She stayed quiet until we got to the tractor. She walked to the back of it and squatted down between the back tire and the attached baler.
I stood near her, taking the opportunity to study her.
This was the first time I’d seen her out of her work coveralls.
Today she wore a pair of denim overalls with a white tank beneath.
It showed off her toned arms and her perfect curves.
Wide hips and full, grippable ass. Those tits made my mouth water.
I shifted, so that my jeans were a little more comfortable. I wanted to reach down and adjust myself, but that wouldn’t go over well.
“The tractor starts, right?”
“Yes.”
“You said you hit a stump.”
“Yes.”
I’d seen a bunch of expressions flit across her face. The top one was annoyance, at least with me. I saw happiness when she looked at JT, fear when he’d been up on the rafter, curiosity when she talked to Dave the Dumbass. Now, she was serious.
“With a broken Power Take-Off shaft, your baler here won’t operate, which you already know.” She glanced across the field. “Based on the cut hay waiting, you made it this far.”
“That’s right.”
“Hand me the shaft?” She held her hand out.
Of course, my dirty, young mind leaped to me pulling down my jeans, whipping my dick out, and handing it to her. Coming from any other female’s lips, I’d think it was a come on.
I cleared my throat, wiping away the idea of her smaller hand wrapped around my dick.
“You can set my toolbox here.” She pointed beside her.
I did then settled in to watch.
She flipped open her metal lid and grabbed a screwdriver then set it against the old shaft.
“I’ll tell you what I said to Cletus if you tell me what you’re doing.”
She glanced up. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, the sheen of it almost as dark as Cletus’s.
“A deal?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Okay, I’m using this screwdriver to pull the locking collar off. The PTO shaft is what transfers power from the tractor to the baler. It can break if it gets jammed or you hit something. You probably heard a loud bang followed by some grinding sounds.”
I wasn’t sure how the explanation of the usage and purpose of a tractor part could ever be considered sexy, but I was spellbound by her words.
The sound of them. The assured competency porn.
My wolf was hypnotized, and I was rock hard.
My mate was smart. Whip smart and fast too.
She had the old shaft off and sitting in the grass beside her as she kept right on explaining what she was doing.
I didn’t let on that I knew exactly how to change that part myself. I’d done it a half dozen times over the years.
She was perfect. Absolutely perfect. She was in her element out here. No issues with nature or getting her hands dirty. I imagined her on my land… our land. Fixing things. Helping me with my business, growing it. We’d have a bigger herd of bulls and–
“–and then, I’ll need to inspect the implement gearbox for additional damage.”
I blinked, realizing I’d completely zoned out. Some time had passed because replacing the shaft took time, but I’d never seen anyone work so efficiently.
“That was crazy fast.”
She stood, brushed her hands on her overalls. “I worked on an IndyCar pit crew. Had to be fast.”
“Wow. I knew you were hot shit. That’s incredible.”
“Crank her up and see if she runs.”
I climbed into the tractor’s cabin and got it running. The baler started working, too. I quickly shut off the engine and hopped down.
“There you go. Now, we had a deal.”
I closed the distance between us. I couldn’t wait another second. Not after what she’d just done. I’d never gotten hot and hard for anyone else over fixing a piece of machinery.
But of course, no one else was my mate.
She brought the tips of her fingers to my chest to set a boundary as I invaded her space. “Sam?”
Right. I should stop. Respect her boundaries. But there was no stopping my wolf. Not when I had that cinnamon scent up in my nostrils that was making me lose all reason. I set my hand on her waist.
“Whoa, buddy. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Telling you what I told Cletus.” I inched closer, nudging her back against the huge back tire.
Her lips twitched with amusement. Her eyes were so fucking blue, like the ocean. A spray of freckles curved over her nose.
“Is that so?”
I leaned in, breathed in her sweet scent. “Yeah.”
“So, what did you tell him?” Was it me, or did her voice lower to a husky purr?
Reaching out, I stroked her hair with a finger. Silky as fuck.
“I told him that having a hot head isn’t the way to get a lady to ride you,” I murmured, my nose sliding along the length of her neck.
“Oh, my God.” She let out a soft, low chuckle that went straight to my dick. “What else?”
I took a deep breath, and… yeah, she was aroused. My wolf wanted to howl with satisfaction that we could please our mate.
Mine. Claim her.
I couldn’t miss the way her nipples pebbled through her white tank.
“That when she’s got her legs spread, and her pussy’s pressed right up against you, then and only then will you know if she likes it wild. Whether she wants a hard ride or for you to go slow and sensual.”
Okay, I didn’t say any of those things to Cletus. I just said the words to a song my momma used to sing to me when I was a kid. Worked every time.
Her eyes slid shut, those dark lashes splayed like fringe on her cheeks.
I slid my lips along her jaw then over her mouth.
“Do you like it wild, Sparks? Want to be taken for a ride? A hard one?”
She drew in a breath and held it, then blew it out with a harsh laugh. Her eyes popped open. “Not happening, Tarzan.”
Damn. So close. I knew she wanted it. She just wasn’t letting herself have me.
I stepped back enough to give her a little room, and so I didn’t get kneed in the balls. With her, there might have been the chance.
“No?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“No, you don’t want Dave the Dentist to fuck you good and hard until you’ve forgotten your own name? Or no you won’t get something like that out of a guy who deals with gingivitis every day?”
A smile twitched around her gorgeous lips. “I’m not discussing this with you.”
“What’s the appeal of Dave over me? The income bracket? The perceived stability? I’m just curious.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not going out with him for his retirement plan.”
“No?”
“No. I have needs and–” She stopped mid-sentence and shook her head, as if she realized she’d said too much.
I grinned.
She had said too much. If I had to compete with income and stability, it might have been difficult. But satisfying her needs? I wasn’t going to lose any competition that way.
I wanted her to take me seriously enough to be her mate. Or the human equivalent–her boyfriend–no, husband, so we’d be an official family. And I’d adopt JT. But if the pathway there was making her scream my name, I was down for it.
Her shoulders rolled back, and she tipped her chin up. “It’s a first date. I’m not sure if–”
“Tell you what, Sparks.” I cut her off, not wanting to hear her lies. I knew. My wolf knew. She even knew that she was aroused and wanted me as much as I wanted her. But this woman was stubborn.
I didn’t like it. My wolf hated it, but she was going to have to go out with Dave the Dumbass. She had to learn for herself that the guy wasn’t going to give her what she needed. It was impossible because what she needed was me and my dick.
“Let’s make another deal,” I tossed out. “If your date doesn’t do it for you, I will. I guarantee satisfaction. All the orgasms you crave. Any way you want them.”
“Uh huh. Ernie said you were a player. I guess you have got plenty of experience with that when you were in the rodeo circuit.”
My wolf was ridiculously pleased that she’d been talking to Ernie about me, even if the old man had done me dirty.
I shrugged. “I’ve had some fun. But I’m ready to settle down now.”
“Sure you are. Sorry, but no deal.”
She turned and grabbed her toolbox and the broken shaft. That, she shoved right into my chest and headed back across the field.
“Why not? You said I’m only a player.” I hugged the dirty part to my chest. “That means I have moves. I’m the best person to get those orgasms with. No strings, unlike Dave the Dork has with his mother if him being dropped off by her was any indication.”
She groaned in frustration as she started to walk faster. “She had to drop him off to pick up the car. Why are you so insistent?”
“Because I want you as much as you want me,” I admitted. That wasn’t the truth because I wanted her so fucking bad I couldn’t see straight. “You want to get laid? I’m the guy.”
She turned around again and kept right on walking. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
I remained where I was in the middle of the field.
Then she called back, not slowing, “Will you, for the love of all things holy and the safety of women’s panties everywhere, put on a damn shirt?”
A laugh stormed out of my throat. Uh huh. Confirmation. She wanted me. “If it’s your panties we’re talking about, I’m good,” I called back.
She shook her head without turning back for another look.
“Pretty sure they’re already soaked.”
“Oh my God!” Now she turned back. There were spots of color on her cheeks I’d been trying to earn since she got here. “You are pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”
I shrugged. “Maybe you’d better test the goods to find out.”
She shook her head once more as if in exasperation and started walking again. A normal human wouldn’t have heard her mutter under her breath, “Maybe I should.”