Chapter 6
Chapter Six
WYATT
It’s been two days.
Two days that I’ve been snowed in with Anna on the ranch.
Two days since the first time I’ve been inside her.
Two days since I’ve fallen hopelessly and completely for this girl.
In the grand scheme of things, it’s been such a short amount of time, but it might as well have been a decade, because there’s no going back now.
Not for me.
The wind finally eased up, the clouds cleared, and the blue sky returned, leaving behind piles of snow almost halfway up the barn walls on the North side. Any other time, and I would have been grumping and complaining about how long it would take for the plows to reach us.
But the last few days alone with Anna, falling into an easy rhythm of taking care of the animals and chores before taking her to bed and taking care of her, have me praying for the plows to take another two weeks before they make their way to us.
Despite the deep freeze outside, Anna’s thawed something inside me. I find myself laughing while we cook together over the old gas stove. And teasing her gently as we work together in the barn, shoveling hay and making sure the horses are tended to.
When was the last time I not only enjoyed such mundane chores, but had fun doing them?
I was pretty sure the answer was…never.
But with Anna by my side, there’s a feeling of lightness all around. I can’t help but feel optimistic about the future. Even if I still don’t know what that future involves, for the first time in a very long time, I feel good about it.
She was a virgin the first time we were together. That was unexpected, and when I realized it, I almost stopped. I would have, too, if she wanted me to. But she didn’t.
Quite the opposite.
It’s been a while since I’d lain with a woman, and even longer since I had any kind of feelings for a woman, but with Anna, it feels different. Better. Special.
From that first night while the storm raged on, I’d almost lost track of how many times we’d been together. It had only been forty-eight hours, and I know I should show some more restraint with her, but I can’t keep my hands off her.
Thankfully, she seems to feel exactly the same way.
“What are you thinking about?”
She catches me watching her from her place at the counter, where she’s mixing up pancake batter. With the spatula in her hand and her bare legs sticking out from the edge of my oversized flannel, she is without a doubt the sexiest woman alive.
My cock thickens in my jeans. I’ve been in a constant state of arousal for the last few days, and this moment is no different.
“I was just thinking about how you need to put that spatula down.”
“Oh, ya? And why is that?” She cocks her hip, bats her eyelashes, and lifts it higher, pancake batter dripping from it. She knows exactly why I want her to put it down. I also know she wants me to tell her.
“Because,” I say, my voice low. “I’m going to bend you over the counter and fuck you.” Her skin flushes red, all the way from her breasts, up her neck. She likes it when I talk dirty to her, and I know with certainty she’s already wet for me.
Slowly, I rise from my seat and begin crossing the tile floor toward her while she watches.
Anna leans back against the counter, the spatula and pancake batter forgotten.
She stretches her arms out to either side of her, which has the delightful effect of raising the hem of the shirt she’s wearing.
I catch a glimpse of her sweet pussy and my cock pulses with need.
My hands are already on the fly of my jeans before I reach her. Her eyes widen the way they always do when my cock springs free.
No matter how many times she sees me, her reaction is always the same.
It’s hot as fuck to see her own desire for me.
“Turn around,” I command. “Stretch out your arms and hold on.”
She does as I ask and presses her beautiful, round peach of an ass back towards me, presenting herself.
Fuck, this woman is perfect.
A rumble of approval slips out of my throat as I stroke one broad palm over her soft, creamy skin.
She squeals in surprise as I grip her hips and pull her backward, clawing for purchase on the counter the way I told her.
“You got a good grip, sweetheart?”
She nods, turning her head back to look over her shoulder at me.
When I reach between her legs, I find her dripping wet, just as I knew I would.
Anna groans as I slide a finger through her slick folds and into her sweet heat.
She drops her head back and lets the pleasure of my touch fill her.
“Yes, Wyatt.” Her voice is little more than a purr.
I already know I can get her off quickly with just a few strokes of my finger, but I want to feel her come apart on my cock this morning.
She protests with a small cry when I pull my fingers free of her, but gasps when I replace my hand with the thick, engorged head of my cock, pressed to her tight entrance.
“Um,” I moan, stroking gentle circles on her ass cheek, while holding her firmly in place with my other hand. “This is exactly the kind of breakfast I’ve been looking forward to.”
Beneath me, she trembles with need. I know how close she already is because my girl is so damn responsive to me. I won’t make her wait any longer.
With a slight press of my hips, I drive my full length into her tight pussy.
Anna cries out, her body tensing as she takes the sudden intrusion, but I don’t give her the chance to settle into the sensation before I pull back and slam into her once more.
She groans and reflexively pushes back into me, in an effort to take me even deeper.
“You like that, sweetheart? You like the way I fill you up? The way I claim every sweet inch of you with my cock?”
“Yes.” Her response is a moan. Her body trembles. “Yes, Wyatt.”
Who am I to deny her what she loves? I drive into her again and again, until we’re both sweaty and shaking and right on the edge of exploding together.
I reach around to find her swollen, pulsing clit, and I’m just about to give it the little pinch that I know will send her over the edge when I hear it.
“Fuck.”
Seconds later, out the kitchen window, I see the truck with the snowplow pull into the yard.
I still, gripping Anna’s hips, unwilling to leave her.
“What is it?” She tries to lift her head to see what’s distracted me, but from her vantage point, she can’t see out the window.
“We have company.” Reluctantly, I pull out of her sweet heat, leaving us both wanting. My cock is slick with her juices and my own seeping release as I tuck it back into my jeans.
Anna moans her disproval and stands, seeing what I’m seeing. Travis jumping down from the truck and jogging toward the front door.
“Oh.” Her mouth falls open, and she looks back at me.
I hate the confusion on her face. As she tries to work out what the ranch hands’ arrival means for us.
I reach for her, but she’s already moving from the room. “I should get dressed.”
“Anna, I—”
She stops in the doorway and looks at me, her eyes questioning. This is where I should tell her what the last few days have meant to me.
What she means to me.
Instead, all I say is, “Yes. Get dressed. I’ll meet Travis.”
ANNA
Itake my time getting dressed. Partly because it’s an effort to ignore the throbbing between my legs at what we just left unfinished, and partly because I have no idea what I’m going to say to Wyatt or his ranch hand, Travis, when I finally emerge from the bedroom.
I’ve just spent the last few days being incredibly unprofessional.
Sleeping with a client? If my uncle ever finds out, I know exactly what he’ll say.
He’ll tell me that life in the mountains is rough, and I need to be tough.
I need to be above reproach if I’m going to gain the respect of the ranchers out here.
I can’t just fall into bed with any rancher who happens to make my heartbeat fast.
The groan slips from me. I drop my head into my hands as the full weight of what I’ve done hits me.
I don’t think Wyatt would say anything to my uncle. Especially since Uncle Bill doesn’t think highly of the Thorne family. But what about Travis? Will he say something? Will he even notice?
On the surface, everything is innocent enough. I came to check on Oatmeal and help with her foal. I got trapped by the snowstorm. There’s nothing wrong with that.
But will Travis be able to see it on my face that there’s so much more to the story than what’s on the surface? Will he be able to see the flush on my cheeks? The way I carry myself now that I’ve been in Wyatt’s bed for the last few nights…and days?
Do I look different? Do I look like a changed woman?
How can I not? I am a changed woman.
Wyatt and being with him here on this ranch have changed me in more ways than I can count.
I blow out a sigh and take one last look at myself in the mirror. I’m dressed again in my own sweater and jeans. Having spent most of the last few days simply wearing one of Wyatt’s oversized flannels.
I have no choice but to go out there and face the men. I no longer know what I hope to happen. Will Wyatt pull me in for a kiss before I drive away? Will there be a promise of finishing what we started in the kitchen at a later date? Is this thing with us more than just a snowed-in fling?
More than anything, I know in my heart that’s exactly what I want. I don’t want this thing with Wyatt to be over. Not even close.
But at the same time, if Uncle Bill hears about it and refuses to sell me the practice, my time in Rock Creek will be over anyway.
It’s a lose-lose situation.
But I can’t put it off any longer.
I take a deep breath, paste a friendly, yet detached smile on my face and go to face the consequences of my actions. Whatever they might be.
I find the men outside standing next to the plow.
“Good morning.” I hope my greeting sounds cheerful and natural. “I see you came to save us,” I say to Travis, studiously ignoring Wyatt’s gaze on me. “Thank you!”
The ranch hand lifts his cowboy hat and bends into a deep, exaggerated bow. “It’s my pleasure, little lady. I made it up here as soon as I could. After all, I can imagine what kind of toll being stranded up here alone with this grump would take on a young lady. Especially one as lovely as you.”
I can’t help the blush that flashes over my features.
I try to laugh it off and reach for the big hood of my parka, lifting it up over my head to cover my face as best as I can.
“Oh, it wasn’t so bad,” I say. “And it gave me a chance to keep an eye on Oatmeal. You should see her beautiful foal. She did so great.”
We quickly shift the conversation to the horse and her new baby as I fill Travis in on all the details. Next to us, Wyatt is suspiciously quiet. I still can’t look at him, but I can feel his gaze hot on me as he watches me.
My body instinctively wants to reach for him and have him pull me close against his hard chest, but I hold myself firmly at a distance.
I must stay as professional as possible now. I can’t give Travis any indication that there was anything going on between the two of us. We were simply two people snowed in for a few days. It’s sure to be a semi-regular occurrence working up in the mountains. And I am nothing if not professional.
“Okay,” I say after a moment. “I should get going back to my office and check in with my uncle. Hopefully I haven’t missed anything too major while I’ve been gone.”
Finally, I turn to Wyatt. His face is a blank mask. Completely unreadable.
“Oatmeal did great,” I say. “She and the foal look perfect. Of course, call me if anything changes. But otherwise, you can book your next appointment with the office whenever you need to.”
Is it my imagination, or did I see a flicker of something in his eyes just then? I wait a beat for him to say something. Or tell me he’ll give me a call later, but Wyatt has gone right back to the grumpy, cowboy he’d been. As if the last few days hadn’t happened. As if we hadn’t happened.
“Drive safe, Doc,” he says finally.
“Thanks for being such a big help with Oatmeal,” Travis adds when Wyatt doesn’t say anything more. “We’ll give you a call if we need anything else.”
I give Travis my brightest smile and turn away from Wyatt, avoiding his cold, unfeeling gaze, afraid that if I look at him again, I might just break in two.
Because all I can see when I look at him is indifference, and I feel it with a lump in my chest. The last few days were nothing to him. Just a way to pass the time. A warm body to curl up with through the cold nights.
Somehow, I make it down the drive, onto the main, freshly plowed road, before the tears spill down my cheeks.