Betting the Farm (11 page)

“Fritz?” She hazarded a quick glance back at him when he
didn’t answer.

“I think about all sorts of things.” He ran his hands down
the outside of her thighs. When he got to the hem of her dress, he eased it
back up, exposing her shapely legs. “Work, the weather, changing the oil in my
truck, stuff like that.”

Kai shifted on his lap, arching her back a bit, so her ass
pressed tighter against his groin. “That all?” Her voice went low and raspy,
giving away that she was turned-on as much as he was.

Smooth, warm skin greeted his fingertips when he slid his
hands beneath the cotton of her dress. Ever so slowly, he trailed them up, up,
up, until he reached the outside curve of her hip. “No. Sometimes I think about
what I’m going to have for lunch.”

She made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat at his
teasing. “We’re almost at the end of the row.”

He worked the pedals, putting the tractor in neutral so it
wouldn’t continue to roll, letting it idle beneath them. Facing away from the
road and near the back of the property, privacy wasn’t much of an issue.
Maneuverability might be limited in the space available. They’d just have to
improvise.

Fritz untied the bow at the back of her neck. The bodice of
her dress loosened before she caught it in a sudden bout of shyness. “No one can
see us,” he told her.

“Are you sure? The cab is all glass and it’s not tinted very
dark. What if Sage or Eli were to drive up?”

He grabbed her wrists, dragging her hands away from her
breasts. His hands quickly took their place. “Then we’ll have to be extra
careful, won’t we?”

Tender luscious flesh filled his palms. He squeezed and
rolled her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. Kai’s head tipped back
onto his shoulder, turning toward him for a kiss. He covered her mouth with
his, teasing her with just the tip of his tongue, biting that juicy bottom lip
before exploring her further, deeper.

One of the things that thrilled him about Kai—she didn’t
need a whole lot of convincing to try something new or different, and once she
went in, it was all the way. One touch from him and she gave in to his demands.
It didn’t take long before she was burning hotter than the sun in the middle of
July.

The more he stroked her breasts, the more restless she
became, until she was rubbing her ass against his cock, whimpering into his
mouth. Inside his jeans, he was hard as the axle on the tractor and
uncomfortable. And if she kept squirming around, he’d come too fast.

He let go of her breasts and grabbed her hips, shifting her
forward on his thighs.

“Lift your dress up.”

She bunched it around her waist impatiently. Fritz was
reaching for his pocketknife to help with the quick removal of her underwear
when he noticed she wasn’t wearing any. He popped her on the ass, making her
yelp and her head turn sharply so she could glare back at him.

“What was that for?”

“For sittin’ here on my lap all this time without panties
on. I could’ve been doing all sorts of dirty stuff to you while you were
preoccupied with driving the tractor.”

“Like a small piece of silk would ever stop you.”

He rubbed that cheek he’d made pink. “True.”

“Wanna know something else?” At his raised eyebrow, she
said, “I have a condom in my pocket.”

“That’s my naughty girl.” Fritz kissed her quickly. “Let’s
have it before I come in my jeans like a horny fourteen-year-old.”

Fishing it out of her pocket, she slapped it in his
outstretched hand, then watched him unzip, shove his jeans and briefs down to
sheath his dick.

“How are we going to do this?”

“A little modified reverse cowgirl. Do something with your
dress.”

While she worked at tucking her skirt out of the way, he
eased the seat back as far as it would go. “Drape those long legs over mine,
honey. Now lift up on your toes.”

Fritz grabbed her hip with one hand and his cock in the
other, guiding her onto him. When the tip nudged the entrance of her pussy, she
sank down, engulfing him in tight, wet heat. Kai moaned, one of her hands
clutching the inside of his thigh.

“Fuck, don’t move yet,” he ordered, digging his fingers into
the soft flesh of her hip to hold her still. Afraid he was hurting her, he
loosened his grip.

Reclining in the seat, he tipped her back against his chest.
His mouth found the side of her neck, tasting her skin, brushing the stubble on
his jaw back and forth to sensitize it even more. She shuddered, whispering, “
Please
,
Fritz.”

Damn, but he’d never tire of hearing her say those words.

“Touch yourself,” he said. “Make yourself come around my
cock.”

He couldn’t see what she was doing because of the position
and all the fabric in his way, but he could feel it, feel her clench and
release around him. Hear the faint wet sounds of her fingers rubbing her clit.
Occasionally they’d drift down to graze his balls or the base of his shaft. As
close as he already was just from sliding inside her and visualizing what she
was doing between her thighs, he didn’t want to move yet for fear he’d go off
in two seconds flat.

“Tell me what you really think about when you’re in here
alone,” she murmured, her head dropping back on his shoulder. Those beautiful
eyes slid closed, teeth clamping down hard on her bottom lip.

“I think about you.” He cupped her breasts in his hands,
circling her pinched nipples with his thumbs. “How you looked tied up in my
bed. The way it felt to slide my cock across your tongue and feel you close
those tasty lips around me. I could never get enough of your mouth, Kai. Your
pussy.” Her soft whimper told him the dirty talk was working. It turned him on
more than he ever thought it would. And she liked it too.

She was getting close, her fingers working between her legs,
and
Christ
it was so damn sexy. Her hips circled, just enough to cause
friction where they were joined together, grinding herself down onto him. Fritz
shoved one hand under her ass to help her move, giving in to his body’s urges.
Sweat trickled down the back of his neck. He clenched his jaw, working to hold
back his orgasm until she came. “Does that turn you on, hearing me say how much
I think about fucking you?”

“God, yes.”

“Then come for me, honey.”

Fritz wound her ponytail around his hand, tugging until she
groaned. When he bit her neck, she shuddered. Her pussy tightened around his
dick and he came with her, thrusting his hips, driving into her as deep as he
could go as they rode it out together.

Breathing hard, she slumped forward, bracing herself across
the steering wheel. Fritz ran his hands down her bare back as he regained his
wits. They’d generated enough combined body heat to fog the windows. He
adjusted the air to make it cooler before patting her thigh so he could get rid
of the condom.

Easing out from under her, he exited the cab and walked to
the edge of the field, where he dug a hole with the toe of his boot to bury the
rubber in the dirt before righting his clothing. Then he grinned to himself at
the notion of literally planting his seed.

Kai was retying her dress behind her neck when he climbed
back inside the cab. She let him sit down and sprawled across his lap, nuzzling
her face against his throat.

“I’ve fantasized about sex with you in a lot of places, but
never once did a tractor ever spring to mind. Not until I saw this one.”

“We’ll have to talk about the places we haven’t covered yet.
Better yet, make me a list and we’ll scratch them off one by one.”

Laughing, she kissed him on the jaw.

He wished she could stay in here with him for the rest of
the day, keep him company. Unfortunately, if she did, he’d get very little
actual work done, and he didn’t have the time for that luxury. He set the big
machine in motion again, making the turn that would take them back toward her
car.

While they rode, he punched in the number of the tractor
dealership on his phone. When he hit Send, the sound of it ringing came over
the radio’s speakers inside the cab via the tractor’s built-in Bluetooth.

“Now you’re just showing off,” Kai said drily.

Fritz kissed her, then placed one finger over her mouth when
his sales representative and good friend, Tucker Lindley, answered.

“What’s going on, Carter?” Tucker drawled.

“Not much. Giving the seat on the 8360 a workout.”

Kai buried her face in his shoulder to muffle a giggle.

“So what do you think? Smooth ride, ain’t she?”

“You could say that.” The other “she” pinched his side hard
enough to make him flinch.

“Ready for me to draw up the papers?”

Kai drew back, her gaze roaming over his face as the smile
faded from her mouth. He wasn’t doing this to impress her. Besides, that wasn’t
the kind of person Kai was. She’d remained unaffected by her family’s wealth,
with the exception of maybe her snazzy Camaro. Fritz had little room to talk on
that front, since he’d spent a disgusting amount of money on his truck.

Buying a brand-new tractor had been a long time coming and
much-anticipated event for him and his brothers. They already owned several,
but they’d bought them used or were relics passed down through generations. He
was sick to death of having to constantly replace parts and tinker with the
unreliable things. Not that they would be retired anytime soon. Every single
one of them was still needed and put to good use.

She was just here to witness the proud moment when he
finally got to say, “Yeah, draw ’em up, Tuck. We start cutting silage on
Monday, so I’ll be tied up for the next few weeks. Can we work something out
for Sunday?”

“Hell yeah!” Tucker said. His enthusiasm might be attributed
more to the number of zeroes there’d be on his commission check than the actual
sale, though he’d certainly earned both, what with all the hem hawing around
Fritz had done over the past year. “Just call and tell me a time and place to
meet you. I’ll be there with bells on.”

“Will do.” Fritz disconnected the call as they reached the
end of the row. He brought the tractor to a gradual stop, engaging the parking
brake.

“Congratulations,” Kai said, her face solemn. Maybe she
sensed the turmoil churning inside his gut.

“I’m a bit nauseous over the amount of money I just spent.”

“It’s not being frivolously spent, though.”

“No, and we’ve earned it. Both the money it took to buy it
and the right to own something as nice as this.”

Her hand cupped his cheek. “You deserve a whole fleet of
brand-new tractors.”

Jesus, she made his head spin with emotion. Desire,
happiness, calm, worry. And yes, there was love in there too. He suspected it
had never gone away, even after she did. He couldn’t deny it, but he also
wasn’t ready to open himself up and admit it out loud to anyone else,
especially her. Not yet. Not until he was certain it wouldn’t backfire on him.
Instead he sealed his mouth over hers, channeling his feelings into the kiss.

Kai’s tenderness, her warmth and generosity, were like
nothing he’d ever experienced before. If he kept this up, he was never going to
turn her loose. He hoped this time he wouldn’t have to.

With one last quick smooch, he set her away from him,
helping her climb down to the ground.

“How long you plan on working?” she asked as he followed her
to her car.

Fritz surveyed the expansive field, doing the mental math.
“Dusk maybe. Why?”

“Because I thought I’d go shopping for the other things I
need for the apartment, incidentals, stuff like that, then cook you dinner. How
does that sound?”

“Like a plan. I’ll run home and shower real quick when I
finish.”

She nodded and opened her car door to climb in. “See you
then.”

He was headed back to the tractor when he heard her call out
to him. She’d backed out onto the road and rolled down her window.

“Forget something?”

“Yeah. I think your tractor’s sexy!” Grinning, she sped
away.

Damn her hide. Now he’d have that fucking song stuck in his
head the rest of the day.

Kai was not enjoying her new job
at all
. In fact, she
was downright miserable.

She tossed her pencil aside and dropped her forehead to the
top of her desk with a loud
thunk
. All of her suspicions about working
for her father had been wrong, wrong, wrong. Instead of handling her with daddy
gloves, he was throwing everything at her but the kitchen sink.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of hard work or she couldn’t
handle the load. It was his expectations that had her rattled.

It had become clear in just the two short weeks she’d been
working for him that she was being groomed to take over the reins of Donnelly
Motors one day. Her dad kept tossing out the words “when this becomes
yours
”
and “
you
should develop a rapport with them” and “
we’ve
got a
meeting in Atlanta next month.”

Problem was it had never been her dream to take over the
business. Not one day. Not ever. She was proud of what her father had built for
himself and the family name as a whole, and yes, she’d benefited from it,
something she was grateful for. But running a company that built giant diesel
engines for the rest of her life? Never had that scenario ever figured into her
wildest dreams about her future.

Her intentions were to come in here, get her feet wet and
tuck the valuable work experience under her belt. Try to help the company
implement new marketing strategies, expand on advertising to perhaps reach a
wider customer base outside of the Southeastern states, before moving on to
something that genuinely interested her. Not slip her feet into her father’s
shoes and walk in them the same as she’d done when she was three.

The thought of all this being hers and Josh’s made her
stomach churn and her head pound. Josh could have all of it. Kai didn’t want
it. She meant her father no disrespect but this wasn’t for her. How would he
react to the news, since he seemed so happy she was there?

Tonight, she was having a glass or two of wine, maybe even
the whole dang bottle. It would sure be nice if she had a big tub to soak in
too, but that was out because all she had was that dinky shower. Unless she
borrowed Fritz’s tub…

Kai reached for the phone then drew her hand back,
remembering how busy he was. He was running a combine, not the fancy new
tractor with its built-in Bluetooth. He couldn’t afford a distraction, not even
for a second. It was too dangerous on machines that big, given that combines
were known to catch fire on occasion. Not to mention petty and thoughtless of
her to call about needing a soak when he’d been working so hard for two weeks
straight with no breaks.

Since they’d started cutting corn, he’d been like a zombie.
Poor thing worked eighteen-hour days without a break for even a meal hardly. If
anyone ever had the gall to say something negative about farmers in Kai’s
presence, she was going to punch them square in the nose.

He’d been staying with her, if you could call it that,
because of the proximity to the barn. Mostly he staggered in around nine in the
evening, dead on his feet, showered, swallowed something to eat and fell in
bed, only to have his alarm go off at four-thirty the next morning, long before
the roosters were even stirring.

Fritz was too tired to carry on a rational conversation, let
alone make love. Oh, he’d woken her up a few times during the nights or early,
early mornings. The sex had seemed like part of her dreams, still good, but
quiet and quick. He’d get dressed to leave and she’d fall back asleep for a few
more hours.

But the more time they spent together, even if it was
precious little, the more Kai knew she was in love with him again. Had she ever
truly fallen out of love with him? Was it possible for your heart to have a
memory, despite what your other body parts were doing? She didn’t know. All she
did know was that she enjoyed taking care of him, loved having him stay over
and be there if she awoke in the middle of the night, disoriented by the her
new surroundings, or just there to touch or kiss whenever the urge struck.

Even though Fritz hadn’t been able to do much
courtin’
because of the demands of farming, Kai found she wasn’t the least bit upset
about playing second fiddle to a tractor right now. Not that she had a right to
feel that way in the first place, but it reiterated how much he meant to her
and how at home she felt in his arms. Perhaps it was an emotional affirmation
that being with him was where she belonged.

Someone knocked on her office door.

“Come in,” she said tiredly.

The door swung open then Josh propped himself against the
frame. She was surprised he’d bothered to knock. “Time to go home, sis.”

“It is?” Kai glanced at the clock on her computer and felt a
profound sense of relief wash over her. “Goodness, I’m glad this week is over.”

“Big plans for the weekend?”

She began organizing the papers scattered across her desk.
“No. Fritz is busy with silage, so I’m on my own for a while yet. Maybe I’ll
call Grace and see if she wants to go out for a drink or a movie. You?”

“Got a hot date tonight with Taryn Trotter.”

“Mom will be so pleased,” Kai said drily. Taryn’s father was
a prominent heart surgeon. “Maybe you dating Taryn will take the heat off me.”

“Oh, trust me, she’s already started and I nipped it in the
bud real quick.”

“So she’s pissed at you too?” Kai wanted the company.

“A little, but she still won’t even talk about
you
,
so I think you’ve got me beat for being the grand prize recipient of
Elizabeth’s wrath.” Josh bowed. “I graciously concede the loss.”

Kai frowned. “Gee, thanks. I kind of hoped she’d be cooled
off by now. It’s been over two weeks.”

“You know Mom—she likes getting her way. I wouldn’t sweat it
much. Eventually she’ll thaw out.”

“But it’ll be me who has to make the first move.”

Josh grinned. “Always.”

It was infuriating. Kai had done nothing wrong. Why should
she be the one to have to tuck her tail between her legs and offer up an olive
branch or an apology when one wasn’t warranted?

“Have a good weekend.” Josh left her sitting at her desk,
scowling at nothing and in need of that soak even worse.

* * * * *

An hour and a half later she was up to her armpits in hot
water, mixed with a generous sprinkling of Epsom salts she’d found underneath
Fritz’s bathroom cabinet. Her hair was piled in a messy knot on top of her
head. She swore she wasn’t going to bother him, but he’d been the one to send
her a text, saying he wouldn’t be as late tonight. Seeing the opening, Kai
nabbed the opportunity to ask if she could use his tub. His response was to
“keep the bathwater warm”. That would not be a problem.

She blotted the water from her hands and picked up the
magazine she’d placed on the toilet lid. She’d also lit a few scented candles,
cheesy and clichéd as it may be—she didn’t give a damn if it helped her
relax—and poured herself a glass of wine from the bottle she’d stopped at the
liquor store and bought. Tipping her head back on a rolled-up towel, she sighed
contentedly and began to read.

Halfway through the magazine, she came across an article on
sorghum syrup—about how making it was a lost art and how some of the finer
restaurants in the South, and even a few up North, had taken to using it in
recipes. There seemed to be very few quality producers of the dark, sweet syrup
left anymore. And it was loaded with healthy nutrients to boot.

Talk about your coincidences.

According to Ruby, there was a quality producer right there
in Serenity. The more Kai read, the more intrigued she became. An idea started
to take shape. Once it formed, it grew and grew, until she wished she had a pen
and a piece of paper in the bathroom with her so she could jot down notes.

She needed to take hot soaks more often.

The sound of Fritz’s truck pulling up outside made her smile
and her heart thump with anticipation. She tossed the magazine aside for now.
The water was getting cool so she drained a bit of it out before turning on the
tap to refill the tub.

Kai listened as he came through the back door, opened and
closed the refrigerator, twisted the top off a bottle—most likely a beer—before
she heard the sound of his boots hitting the floor in quick succession. By the
time he reached the bathroom, the only article of clothing he wore was his
jeans and they were unzipped, the gaping V showing a glimpse of navy boxer
briefs.

He casually propped himself in the doorframe and drank his
fill of both her and the cold beer. The way his eyes made a lazy pass over her
body caused her skin to grow hotter than the bathwater. Awareness danced along
her nerve endings.

Sweet Jesus.
Was there anything sexier in the world
than a half-naked man with his pants undone, an irresistible trail of dark hair
down his ripped abdomen leading to delightful places? Not in her estimation.
Kai’s mouth watered and it had nothing to do with being thirsty.

When she looked up at his face, he was grinning, making the
corners of his eyes crinkle attractively. Her cheeks flushed at being caught
gawking. He tipped his head back to drain his beer and she wanted to lick his
throat from collarbone to jaw.

Maybe she’d had too much wine.

“Like what you see?” he asked cockily.

She flicked water his direction. “You’re quite easy on the
eyes, cowboy.”

“And you’re a sight for tired ones. That tub is about to get
crowded,” he announced before setting his empty bottle down beside her glass
and stripping off the rest of his clothes.

Kai pulled her knees to her chest and scooted to one end of
the tub while he climbed in. Water sloshed over the rim and onto the floor when
he lowered his big body. She giggled, tossing the towel she’d been using as a
headrest onto the puddle in an attempt to soak it up. Fritz let out a
long-suffering sigh and closed his eyes, tipping his head back against the
tile.

“No wonder women like baths so much.”

“If you tell me this is your first time sitting in a bathtub
I’ll call you a liar.”

He cracked one eyelid. “It’s been ages, like maybe when I
was three.”

“Probably shared one with Eli or Sage.”

“I wouldn’t admit to that if you held a knife to my balls
and threatened to castrate me.”

“So it’s a yes.”

Grunting, he asked, “Why are you curled in a ball over
there, honey? Come ’ere.”

“There’s about as much room in this tub as there is in my
new shower, now that we’re in here together. If I move, more water’s going to
slosh onto the floor.”

Fritz’s hands shot out and grabbed her, spinning her around
so her back rested against his chest. She laughed. Water did indeed wash over
the rim of the tub, but Kai didn’t protest. They’d mop it up later.

He brushed his hands over her shoulders and down her arms,
letting them come to rest in the crook of her elbows where she was braced
against his thighs. His legs bracketed hers, and both of them had to bend their
knees a little because of the limited space. Still, it was nice, relaxing with
him this way. As long as that was all he planned to do. There was one distinct
body part of his that wasn’t so relaxed, and it was pressing against her lower
back.

“Just an FYI, this tub
isn’t
one of those places I’ve
fantasized about having sex,” she said.

“I’m sure we could make it work somehow, but I’m too tired,
and that’s damn sad to admit.”

“You have one body part that still has pep left in it.”

“I have a sexy, wet, naked woman between my legs. If I
didn’t have a hard-on right now, I’d be worried.”

“Good point.”

“Just pretend like it’s not there.”

Fat chance that was going to happen.

“We keep winding up in wet, cramped places,” she mused
aloud.

“I happen to like wet, cramped places.”

She’d stepped right into that one. “Of course you do.”

While he snickered, she sighed, resting her head on his
shoulder, relishing such a nice romantic moment with her hard-working farm boy.

Was he hers? She wanted to think he was again, but their playing
house could be misleading. His trust was still something she had to earn and
that couldn’t be done through mind-melting orgasms and cozy sleepovers. Kai had
to prove to him that she meant to stay put in Serenity, not abandon him a
second time. Find her joy outside his arms, not just inside them, and carefully
negotiate a deliberate but peaceable distance from her parents. The idea she’d
gotten earlier just may do all those things at once.

He’d grown quiet, and after a few minutes passed, Kai
wondered if he might be dozing. She picked up her wineglass and took a sip, but
before she could set it back down, Fritz took it from her hand and swallowed a
gulp of the shiraz she’d chosen.

Behind her, his entire body shuddered. “Jesus, that’s
nasty.”

Kai smiled, perfectly fine with knowing Fritz would never be
the type of man to drink wine. He was a straight-up man’s man, no frills. Solid
as a rock and steady as the sun. Give him beer or whiskey, pickup trucks,
scuffed boots, well-worn jeans and dirt back roads—country songs come to life.
Thinking about that made her remember the sexy ride in his tractor two weeks
ago, and that in turn made her wonder about how much longer his eighteen-hour
workdays were going to last.

“Are you finished cutting silage?”

“Almost. Tomorrow should wrap us up, then we’ll have about a
week’s break before starting on sorghum, and then seed corn.”

She wanted to talk to him about the article she’d read and
the idea it had sparked. There was also the matter of the fresh corn requested
by Mary Jo for the Centennial Celebration. As exhausted as he was, though, Kai
couldn’t bring herself to bother him with those trivial things. Later, after
he’d eaten and regained his energy, she might broach the subjects.