Chapter 8
JULES
“ K eep the boots on.” He flashed her a devilish grin as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down onto the bed.
A giggle escaped Jules as she laid on her back and watched him roll up into a kneeling position above her.
His hair was messy from the way she had dragged her hands through it, and paired with the full, classic, mustache, he looked downright roguish.
The tanned planes of his chiseled chest rose and fell with powerful, steady breaths.
He had a presence, not so much commanding as a laid-back confidence.
And as her eyes continued to move down his strong frame, she admired the generous package between his legs.
It seemed he had plenty to feel confident about based on that sight.
Gently, he reached out and brushed aside her own wild strands of hair that had fallen over her face and neck.
“You are so fucking gorgeous,” he rasped, dragging his fingers down her throat.
She caught his wrist in her hand and yanked, pulling him down atop her.
His naked, hard length pressed against her own bare skin, sending a fresh wave of desire through her.
“Fucking ruin me, Sundance,” she moaned as his free hand grasped her hip and slid her further up on the bed. Dropping his mouth to her inner thigh, he pressed teasing kisses along the stretch of skin leading to her center.
Finally. Finally , she was getting what she wanted. And it felt better than she hoped. She threw her hands above her head, pressing her palms against the headboard as she writhed under his skilled mouth.
“Oh my god,” she purred, riding his face greedily. He was sending her into pure bliss, hitting just the right spot as if they’d done this a hundred times before. As if he already knew her body.
“Are you going to come for me this way, you wild thing?”
“Yes,” her voice rose an octave as his mustache worked against her skin, his mouth licking her up, savoring. “ Yes , fuck.”
She threw her head back, a strangled cry escaping her as an alarm began to sound.
Her eyes flew open, registering the alarm.
Except, she wasn’t in a hotel room in Texas any longer.
She was in the apartment she was borrowing from Maddie.
And the alarm was coming from her phone on the nightstand.
It was time for her first day of work with the near stranger she was just having a sex dream about.
Sweat caused the sheets to cling to her and she kicked them off in frustration.
The last thing she needed was a fresh reminder of their night together.
She had already struggled to act indifferent to his presence at the ranch yesterday.
After sticking her tongue down his throat upon arrival, of course.
It was as if there was a pull between them, something as natural as gravity causing her attention to drift his way inherently.
And each time Jules had snuck a glance, Riley was already watching her. It was dizzying to have his undivided attention, completely thought paralyzing.
She needed a cold shower and a heaping dose of reality. She was sure Maddie could provide the reality for her, if she was willing to tell her friend the truth. There was one rule her friend’s mother had tried to impart on them from an early age: Don’t chase cowboys .
“Especially don’t chase cowboys with swoon-worthy mustaches, heart stopping looks, and rodeo won buckles,” she added aloud, swinging her legs off the bed and heading towards that cold shower.
She heard him approaching a moment before Riley came to rest on the fence at her side.
Keeping her arms folded on the rounded wood rail, she shifted her eyes over to him.
He wore a denim shirt today, a shade darker than his jeans, and the taupe-colored cowboy hat she was quickly growing accustomed to looking for.
There was a shadow of a new mustache coming in, even more so than yesterday it seemed.
He must have just shaved it for the bet recently.
But the feel of that mustache still lingered, imprinted on her skin.
Or maybe it was just her dirty dream clinging to the edge of her thoughts as he tipped the brim of his hat in greeting, a warm smile on his face.
“ Juliette .” He said her name as if it tasted sweet on his lips.
She had told him what Jules was short for that night in Texas. She had told him about plenty of little things in that hole-in-the-wall bar, things that now made it feel like she was already seen by the wrangler she should have met just yesterday.
And while she preferred that people didn’t use her full name, she had to admit, he made it sound good.
Anything in that velvety timbre would sound good, she suspected, recalling her dream and the way he asked if she would come for him.
Frustrated by her inability to control herself, she desperately shoved the memory to the side once again, her face flushing.
“You’re late,” she grumbled, desperate to unravel the tension in the air between them. “You said to meet you here fifteen minutes ago.”
“Not a morning person?” He laughed in response.
“And I’ve been here for far longer than fifteen minutes.
But I didn’t know you were so eager to see me.
I woulda happily asked you to come earlier.
” A playful twinkle sparkled in his eyes as he turned to face her fully.
She mirrored the movement, keeping one elbow on the fence and lifting her hand to tuck it under her jaw.
The instant she turned; his gaze dropped to her chest.
“I understand that you’ve seen my tits?—”
“I’ve more than seen them.” He grinned, clearly enjoying her annoyance.
“But could you be less obvious about staring at them?”
“I wasn’t staring at your tits, Jules. I was reading your shirt,” he offered with an amused tone. “I like it.”
She quickly glanced down, having forgotten what tee she had thrown on this morning. It was a vintage pin-up cowgirl straddling a bucking bronco with the words— buck around and find out —scrawled out in rope-like cursive across the top. It was one of her favorite shirts, actually.
“Well… thank you.”
“What do you think of our herd?” he asked, tilting his chin towards the horses before them.
“They’re beautiful, I’m really excited to get to work with all of them. Anything I should know right out the gate?”
He nodded, dragging his hand up the back of his neck.
“Some came to us feral; Hayes Ranch has a way of collecting those that need it. And not just the animals.” She watched appreciation flash across his face before he continued.
“So, there are a few horses that might need help warming up to you. What do you say, feel like a little bribery? Work on building a relationship together?”
“With them,” she corrected. “Building a relationship with them.”
“Of course,” he chuckled, pushing off the fence and starting towards the stables. “What did you think I meant?”
She closed the distance between them quickly, rolling her eyes at the question. In truth, she was so very tense today, that she was certain to snap at any second. His closeness was making it impossible to think clearly.
“Come on, there’s some watermelon inside we can give them. They’ll love you in no time.” Riley motioned for her to follow him into the feed room, a row of uncut watermelon lined up on the counter.
They worked quickly slicing up the fresh fruit into wedges. And it was easier to be around him when she had a task to distract herself with, which would be the case the majority of the time. This would be fine, she reasoned.
Then Riley reached around her to grab a feed bucket.
And she was suddenly enveloped in his scent.
He smelled like a sunny day—hints of fresh grass, something woodsy, and a touch of sweetness.
Jules inhaled, a memory of the same scent crashing back as it filled her lungs while she gasped against his neck, trying to quiet her moans of pleasure.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Hmm? Sure.” She blinked the images away and reached for the bucket filled with watermelon. Without waiting for him to question her spacey attitude, she strolled out of the feed room.
When her boots hit the center aisle, she allowed herself a minute to truly take in the details around her. This barn was nothing like what she expected. There was a herringbone tile floor, large wagon wheel chandelier lights, and modern garage doors in lieu of barn doors. It was truly beautiful.
Steps echoed around her, and she turned to find Riley reaching the gate. “Did Brett do all of this?” she asked. “Or is this Laurel’s doing?”
“No, this is all Brett,” he laughed. “He probably spent a little too much time out east while in the Navy, some of the style rubbed off on his western.”
“Have you ever called anywhere other than Sterling Ridge home?” She knew he had traveled significantly on the professional circuit. But she wanted to know more about him, it turned out.
“Just temporary stops. Spent some time in your neck of the woods for competitions, actually. It’s where the season kicked off.”
“Mm, I know. I go to the National Western Stock Show every year, I shoot for it.”
The realization hit them at the same time. Stopping a few paces into the pasture, she turned to Riley with wide eyes. “I must have been there when you competed.”
“Ever pay attention to saddle bronc competitors?”
“If you were there, I have a feeling I watched you closely,” she purred. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t avoid flirting with this man.
He took a step closer, a hungry look in his eyes. “I know the feeling.”
A muzzle in her hair broke the spell between them, causing a surprised laugh to escape her. Turning, she came face to face with a handsome sorrel, his flaxen mane dancing as he gave his head a shake.
“Hi, sweetheart. Who are you?”
“Atlas,” Riley said warmly. “Of course he was the one that came to steal your attention.”
She reached into the bucket and fed the horse a watermelon wedge, laughing again as he ate it greedily. She wiped at the splash of rogue watermelon juice he flung on her cheek and pulled out another wedge. “He does seem like quite the social fella. Is he always like this?”
“I could feed you a line about how he is a shameless flirt when it comes to you, same as his rider. But that wouldn’t be very professional of me.”
“Wait, same as his rider… he’s not ,” she gaped.
“Yes, ma’am, Atlas is mine.”
Three more horses were approaching them now, but even as she fed each one, her focus stayed on Riley who hovered out the corner of her eye.
He seemed to stay close enough to be within arm’s reach without crowding her.
Just close enough that she could feel his presence.
It was sweet the way his attention never left her, and the feeling struck her square in the chest.
“Tell me about these three?” She looked over her shoulder to him.
“Those two are Maverick and Dune,” he pointed to the towering horses with alpha energy wafting off them. They were glorious. “Maverick is Brett’s. Dune used to be as well, but apparently this guy swapped alliances the second Laurel showed up on the scene. He’s one of our feral horses.”
She ran her hand along Dune’s muzzle, admiring his sandy coat. Palominos were always some of her favorites. “He seems so content. Not stifled or broken at all.”
“You’re allowed to be wild here.”
His words caused her to stiffen, hand paused in midair.
There was no way that Riley knew what that could actually mean to her.
Yet he managed to stir something in her anyway.
Something that had been on her heart yet alluding her.
The idea of a home that didn’t make her feel claustrophobic.
What would it feel like to belong at Hayes Ranch?
She cleared her throat and turned to the last horse. It didn’t matter if she belonged, she was a Graham, and had her own operations to return to. “And who is this?” she asked.
“That’s Cinnamon.”
“I know that name,” she smiled, holding out the fruit chunk. “Maddie talks about you, sweet lady.”
They emptied the bucket in no time. It turned out the horses were eager to get to know her with treats involved. All out of watermelon, they moved on to some of the less enjoyable parts of the job. But even those seemed to breeze by, and the day’s end came before she knew it.
After what felt like no time at all, Jules was climbing back into her car to head out, tired and surprisingly content.
And as she waved goodbye to the denim clad wrangler, currently leaning against the door of his truck with a soft smile gracing his face, she worried that he had something to do with the satisfying feeling: contentment.