Chapter 8
Troy
I was in hell.
Firstly, getting up before the sun rose in the morning sucked shit, but somehow this was so much worse. In my dreams, I was right back at Mackenzie’s bedroom door, but instead of a scream, a voice ushered me in. When the door swung open, it didn’t reveal a scared and vulnerable woman, but this.
Her naked, not hiding for a second. Every single curve was on display, luring me forward. I was helpless to resist, reeled in like a hooked fish. My hand went to her jaw, treasuring the softness of her cheek as my thumb rubbed against it before trailing down to her mouth, only to see her lips part.
Yeah, I liked that a lot.
“I’m not sure if I’m dressed appropriately for moving hay, sir.
” Gods, that fucking word coming from her was like a firm hand squeezing my dick.
I didn’t want to tie Mackenzie up, have her assume the position or anything, but there was something about a woman surrendering to you, making you responsible for her pleasure, that just did it for me.
“But maybe we could find something else to do?”
That was all the encouragement dream me needed.
Picking her up, carrying her over to her bed, I dropped her onto the mattress before falling to my knees. Parting those rounded thighs, I glanced up to see if she was OK with this, only to find Mackenzie smiling down at me.
“Something you need?”
“You have no idea how much.”
That came out as a throaty growl that surprised even me.
Conscious me was mostly pissed off or frustrated by the American girl, but in my dreams?
I kissed my way up one plump thigh, wanting to sink into all that softness, but something else drew me forward.
Wet, slick, salty, I groaned at the first taste.
Then her hand went to my head, cradling the back before tightening her hold, making sure I couldn’t get away.
Yes. That. I wanted that so very much.
Moving fast, I slung her legs over my shoulders, opening her wider before going back for more and then—
“Troy…?”
Her voice sounded like it was coming from far away and that wasn’t right. Mackenzie was just here and tasted—
“Troy, I brought you some coffee?”
Didn’t need coffee. Nothing dark and bitter now, just salty and sweet. My tongue moved faster, my face pushing deeper.
“You said you wanted to get going by 5? It’s 5:30AM.”
The words were enough to tear the dreams to pieces, but I grabbed for each one, trying to put the fantasy back together.
My cock was rocking against the bed, the soft cotton a poor substitute, when my eyes flicked open.
Wasn’t in Mackenzie’s room, wasn’t nestled between her thighs.
Instead, I was rutting into my mattress like a horny teenager, my alarm blaring in my ears.
Mornings were always bad for me, but none worse than now.
Blinking, blinking, I could still see the afterimage of the American girl, as if she was burned on my retina, but another knock had me falling out of bed, grabbing a pair of shorts and then fighting the soft material to get them up before jerking the door open.
“What?”
Charlie, my brothers, they knew better than to talk to me until after I’d had a couple of coffees. Mackenzie wasn’t aware of that. Instead, she just stood there, staring wide eyed.
One hand scratched at my chest and she followed the movement, but not for long.
Down my bare chest, it felt like she was counting every hair there, including the treasure trail that disappeared under my shorts.
I shouldn’t want that, want her to take a look.
She could’ve grazed a fingernail along my shaft and I’d be exploding in my pants, because it felt like I could feel her gaze like a slow caress.
My hands hit the top of the doorframe and I may have tensed my muscles to give her something else to look at.
“Oh… Oh…” She thrust the coffee my way, forcing me to grab it lest it slop over the rim. “I’m sorry, I’ll….”
Didn’t even get to finish the sentence before she scurried off.
Today was going to be a great day, I thought with a sigh.
Hadn’t even said good morning and already I’d sexually harassed the staff.
I took a sip of the coffee, then winced.
The thing was half milk. Shutting the door, I put the mug down on the bedside table and then started to get ready.
“I’m sorry.” Mackenzie blurted that out the moment I walked into the living room. “So, so sorry. I shouldn’t have woken you up.”
“Yes, you should’ve.” I grabbed the kettle and made myself a proper coffee, sans milk. “Sleeping through my alarm is something city people can afford to do.” The far off sound of cows mooing had me nodding. “But I… we’ve got cattle to feed.”
“But you were…” God, she was cute when she blushed like that. Made me want to pull her ponytail and see what other reactions I could get out of her. “And I…”
“You showed me yours, so I showed you mine,” I said as I headed towards the door. She trotted alongside me to keep up. “So now we’re even.”
But if that was the case, why was the atmosphere in the ute thick enough to cut with a knife? Sparky sat in the middle, panting madly as he eyed the two of us, as if trying to work out what the hell was going on. Me and him both, I thought as I started the truck up the hill towards the shed.
“Did you need me to…? Oh.”
I walked over and started hauling bales of hay, then throwing them onto the tray. Sparky was barking, weaving between my feet until I started cursing at him, then Mackenzie appeared, grabbing the twine holding a bale bound tight and then went to hoist it up onto the back of the ute.
“Oh no, you don’t.”
Plucking the bale from her grip, I carried it over to the truck and tossed it on top of the pile.
“You know I’m perfectly capable.” Putting her hands on her hips was not playing fair.
Forcing myself to not think about her curves was a full-time job.
My lips twitched, but instead of smiling I nodded, then went back for another bale.
“What did you bring me out here for if you’re not going to let me haul hay? ”
That had me pausing because the real reason wasn’t one I wanted to admit. Charlie, my brothers, they were claiming Mackenzie’s time and some part of me had to horn in and grab a chunk of it for myself.
“Someone has to drive.” I pointed her way. “That’s you. I’ll do the heavy work.”
As I carried more hay over to the car, she stuck her head through the driver’s side window and looked at the gear shifter.
“Yeah, I don’t drive stick.” With a grin, she stepped back. “Guess I’ll be doing the hay.”
Thinking she had me beat, she walked around to the back of the ute, ready to load more hay, only to find the job was done.
“Alright,” I said. “But can you promise to stay in the tray? We have public liability insurance, but I’ve been trying to avoid paying extra for reckless Americans.”
“Reckless? I’m not reckless.”
“Wally says otherwise,” I replied with a wink, then walked over to her door, pulling it open. Sparky jumped in first, then Mackenzie followed.
“We’re feeding cows not bulls this morning, right?” she said. “How dangerous can that be?”
“We’re about to find out.”
That was said more to me than her as I walked over to the driver’s seat.
“Wow…”
By the time we were driving up and over the hill to the east paddock, the sun was starting to rise and I knew exactly why Mackenzie was leaning out the window to stare.
Being a grumpy prick wasn’t the only reason why I did the morning feed run on my own.
Looking down at the valley below, every fence post, every gum tree cast in red gold by the first rays of sunlight was a helluva way to start the day.
Apparently she thought the same thing.
“Is that…?” Quivering like Sparky did right before I unleashed him on a flock of sheep, she strained to take a closer look and I quickly saw why.
“Emus?” I snorted, then took a sip of my coffee. “Yeah, they’re common as muck round here. See them mostly early in the morning or late in the evening.”
“But they… Did they just jump over that fence?” She glanced at the closest one. “That’s like five feet high!”
I mentally did the calculations, converting that into metric.
“Probably could clear a six foot one without too much effort,” I replied. “They’re tough buggers. The Australian government fought a war against them.”
“What?”
When she turned around, the morning just got better.
That same golden light caressed her face just as gently as I had in my dreams. It had her eyes glittering, making her smile dazzling.
I’d seen emus in the paddocks all my life and usually just thought of them as bloody pests, but I swear to God, I’d get Charlie to foster our own mob and get them their own paddock if that’s what it took to keep Mackenzie happy.
Which was a problem.
My face felt stiff from smiling, so I let the muscles relax. The sounds of the cows protesting their lack of food filtered through.
“About twenty thousand of them descended on some Western Australian farmland and decimated everything they could see. The government sent the army in to sort them out.”
“No way!”
“But enough history,” I said, pressing down on the accelerator, sending us bumping up the dirt road to the paddock. “We need to get these beasts their breakfast.”
“So I’ll drive slowly,” I explained when we arrived, the herd already starting to mass around the truck. “You stay on the pack and parcel out the hay. We—”
“Need to create a long line so every cow gets a chance to feed,” she said. “I know. Your government gave me a six month visa for a reason. I’ve fed cattle before.”
“Right, well…” She undid the tailgate and was about to scramble up, when I was there. Hands on her waist, I picked her up and placed her in the tray and tried really hard not to feel the warmth of her body on my skin after I let go. “What the hell is that?”
Mackenzie had pulled out a little pocket knife from her pocket, opening the blade up.
“A pocket knife,” she said, looking me up and down. “Don’t they have things like that Down Under?”
“You call that a knife?” This was cheesy, but right then the spirit of Paul Hogan was channelling through me. “This is a knife.”
I drew out my grandfather’s old hunting knife and flicked open the blade before handing it to her handle first.
“Did you…?” She snorted and then put her own knife away and grabbed mine. “Well, alright, Crocodile Dundee. Let’s get this show on the road.” With a nod to the mob of cows who were now clustered around us, ready for their breakfast. “The cattle are hungry.”
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. You, sharp objects, and a moving vehicle.”
“Done this before, remember?” she said, pulling out the blade and slicing through the twine, but when she closed it again and then put it into her pocket, my breath escaped in a whoosh.
“Then you’ll need these.” I shoved a pair of gloves her way that would be way too big, but they’d protect her hands. “Did you check them for spiders?” I asked as she went to put them on.
The gloves went sailing over my head and landed on the grass, some of the cows going to investigate.
Mackenzie stood there, barely suppressing a shudder as she flicked her hands out.
With a chuckle, I retrieved them from one of the cows who was about to give the leather a good chew.
Making a show of slapping them against the side of the truck, I checked the insides, then handed them back.
That earned me a dark look as she thrust her hands into the gloves, then started tossing out chunks of hay to the very excited cattle.
“Just be aware, things are gonna get a bit bumpy,” I said.
“You worried I can’t handle a rough ride, cowboy?” she asked as she went back for more hay. “Trust me, I can take whatever you dish out.”
Get in the damn car and drive, I thought furiously, but instead I just stood there and stared.
Probably because I was seeing a whole other scenario right now.
The feed dispensed with and the thick blanket I kept in the back of my car spread out across the tray.
The prickle of the wool against my bare back as I worked out exactly how rough a ride she could handle.
Walking away took all the effort I could muster, and when I got behind the wheel, I let a shuddering breath out.
I had it bad.
Mackenzie was cute, curvy, and just the way I liked a woman: full of attitude, but as I gripped the steering wheel, I remembered my mother’s expression when she found out Dad wasn’t going to stick around to care for her when she battled cancer.
Drysdale men were no good to any woman and that dire fact had me pressing my foot down on the accelerator.
So why did I watch her closely in the rear-vision mirror?
To make sure she didn’t cut a damn finger off as she sliced open bale after bale of hay?
To ensure she stayed on her feet and didn’t pitch over the side of the ute?
Or was it because the most perfectly formed arse I’d ever seen filled the mirror and I was hypnotised by its motion as she bent over to grab handful after handful of feed.
“Don’t say a thing,” I growled at Sparky as he stared over at me.
Of course, he didn’t. At least one creature on this damn farm listened to me and that was my dog.
“You did good,” I said when we got back to the shed. “Because I’m not sure what we would’ve done if you cut your finger off.”
“Told you so,” she said smugly, her hands going to her hips.
Part of me wanted to rearrange my day, have Mackenzie in the ute beside me until dinner time, but as if sensing my inappropriate thoughts, my phone started ringing.
“Troy,” I said and her eyebrow cocked up at my curt greeting.
“G’day, Troy,” a familiar voice said. “Got that truckload of hay for you…”
Farm work was hard, long and never ending, and the delivery driver’s news reinforced that. I didn’t have time to show pretty American girls around the farm, just to see her smile, so I ended the call and turned to Mackenzie.
“Gotta go,” I informed her. “Me and the boys will be moving hay all day.” She straightened up at that. “Go and see Charlie. She might have something for you to do.”
Keeping the farm running, making sure my family was provided for, that had been my focus since I was just out of high school, and with droughts and unpredictable market prices, that was truer now than it was then. I marched over to the shed, ready to meet the truck as it backed its load in.
So why did it take everything I had not to look back over my shoulder at Mackenzie?
Get your head out of your arse, I told myself, and back on what’s important.
Trouble is, my head might be right, but my heart? It was beginning to think Mackenzie might be very important.