Forget Me Knot (7 page)

“At thirty-eight years old, society would say that you should be married with children, but you’re a single man who owns a ranch with his three brothers and relies on a housekeeper. You can’t tell me that you have no angst in your past from women.”

Drannon was still holding her hand in his, but now he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “You’re right. I was married once. I was nineteen and she was my high school sweetheart. I truly had no idea what forever meant back then, but I cared about her. She moved to Texas with me, but as it turns out she met someone else a couple of years into our relationship and divorced me. It took some time, but I finally realized that I never really loved her the way a husband should. I married her because it was what I thought I was supposed to do, and when she found someone who made her happier, she left.”

“See, it proves my point. Relationships and love just aren’t worth the headache. I have my career and some friends, and that’s enough for me.”

“Is it? The woman I took to bed last night was full of passion and so hot she nearly scorched the sheets with me. How can you tell me that a cold bed at night and the lack of companionship is what you really want? I know it’s not what I want.”

Lacy stared back, unable to break their eye lock. What was he trying to say? They had only spent a few hours together, so it was impossible that he was interested in a serious relationship with her.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I want to build my business, have my freedom, and damn it, I want to learn to ride a horse.”

Drannon frowned then a slow smile spread over his face. “It’s going to snow more in a few hours, but I’ll be damned if you’ll leave this ranch without fulfilling one of those goals. Layer up, sweetheart, it’s gonna be cold out there. You have ten minutes.”

He stood and swiftly pressed a hard kiss on her gaping mouth before she could respond, and headed out of the room. A spark of excitement lit in her chest. He was going to let her ride a horse.

Toto looked much larger with a saddle on his back.

Lacy swallowed hard as she watched Drannon tugging at the straps holding the saddle in place. She really did want to learn how to ride, but now that she was standing here in the moment it seemed like a much bigger challenge.

“Okay, up you go.” Drannon turned and looked at her expectantly, before he laughed loudly. It took her a moment to realize he was laughing at her.

Tightening her jaw and jutting her chin out defiantly, she glared at him. “You aren’t a very good teacher. What am I supposed to do?”

“We haven’t even started the lesson yet. For that, you have to be in the saddle.” He reached his hand out for her and waited until she took it. “You’re going to put your left foot in the stirrup, and then push off the ground with your right leg. Hold the pommel here, and pull yourself up. Once you’re high enough, just throw your right leg over the saddle. Toto is a veteran. We use him to teach all of the kids who come through the ranch.”

“Ha. Ha,” she snapped as she secured her left foot in the stirrup and followed his instructions. Drannon held the reins in one hand, but he still managed to palm her ass as he helped lift her into the saddle. It was awkward at first, made even more so by the fact that she wore yoga pants under her jeans to keep warm, but she felt a burst of exhilaration rush through her as she stared down at the ground from the saddle. “I did it! Oh, my God! I did it!”

Drannon chuckled, and patted her thigh. “Yes you did. Now, I’m going to lead for a few minutes until you get your seat, once you’re comfortable I’ll give you the reins. A horse takes its direction from the rider, so if you’re nervous, he’ll get fidgety, but if you stay calm and in control he will do whatever you ask. Okay?”

Lacy nodded and focused on relaxing as she swayed with the saddle. It was everything she had hoped. The icy cold wind stung her nose and cheeks, but she felt warmer inside than she had in years. The freedom she’d craved while ensconced in her tiny city apartment was finally in her grasp. She loved the gentle sway of the saddle underneath her, and the creak of the leather as Toto fluidly made his way around the fenced ring. He seemed completely indifferent to her presence on his back, but her heart filled with adoration for the massive beast. She reached out with one hand and stroked his mane, the rough hairs scraping across her soft palm. It reminded her of the bristles on Drannon’s jaw, and she shivered as a wave of desire coursed through her.

She didn’t understand why she was so attracted to him. Sure, he was sexy as sin, but he was also a country man—raised in the wilds of North Dakota and determined to spend his life there. She was a city girl with big dreams, and she had absolutely no clue about living on a ranch. Why was she playing with fire?

After several laps around the corral, Drannon passed her the reins and stood back to watch her. She felt more comfortable the longer she sat in the saddle, and she laughed with pure joy.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m riding a horse! I’m really doing it! I have dreamed about doing this since I was a little girl, and I’m finally doing it. Thanks to you.” She gave him a smile and giggled again when two pink spots appeared in his tanned cheeks.

“All I did was saddle him up. You’re the one who has natural talent. You’re a born cowgirl, Lacy.”

“She sure is.” Roman’s voice came from behind her and she twisted around to find that she had an audience watching her from the barn doorway. Embarrassment clawed at her until she realized they were all grinning and giving her the thumbs up or some form of verbal encouragement.

“Looks like she was born in that saddle.” Vin said, spitting something into the snow. “Any chance you want a job cowgirl? We could always use a new hand.”

“I’m not cheap,” she teased back.

“Women never are!” Roman called.

Her laughter was her only answer as she followed Drannon’s directions, and climbed out of the saddle. His hands held her firmly about the hips, and her ass pressed against his chest, then abs, then zipper as he lowered her to the ground. The warmth of his body felt good and she realized she was shivering.

“We’d better get you inside. It’s going to snow again soon.” He tugged her hat down tighter around her ears. “I wouldn’t want you getting sick while you’re on vacation.”

Lacy glanced up and realized that there was a dark grey shelf of clouds moving in from the west. It was rapidly covering up the stark blue sky, and it looked like the weatherman might be right.

“Okay, but I want to help put Toto away first. He deserves that for being a good ride.” She declared.

Drannon laughed and winked, “And do I get a treat for being a good ride?”

With a cocky sway of her hips she spun toward the barn. “Maybe.”

The other guys had gone back to their business or headed for the house by the time Drannon and Lacy had Toto unsaddled and rubbed down. Drannon assured her that the horse was content with his regular feed as a treat, since he hadn’t worked overly hard carrying her around in circles.

“I know he didn’t have to exert himself, but he was my first,” she said, knowing exactly how it sounded. The barn had gone quiet as everyone sought out the warm comforts of home, leaving her and Drannon alone with the animals. She reached out and ran her hand over the back of his canvas coat. Being this close to her dreams made her giddy, and her body was rippling with excitement that needed an outlet.

He caught on quickly to her desire, and he spun her around, capturing her lips for a passionate kiss. His tongue swept into her mouth, and one of his hands held the back of her head in place. When they were both panting, they broke apart and stared at each other. “You sure can kiss, cowboy.”

His lip curled up, and his black eyebrow rose, “Thank you. I’d love to spread you out in the hay and make love to you right now, but you’d better haul that cute ass into the house and get yourself a hot bath. I wouldn’t want any parts of you to freeze off.”

He palmed one of her breasts through her layers, to emphasize his meaning, and she laughed pulling away and heading into the house. Even if it snowed for the rest of her trip, and she wasn’t able to do it again, she knew that she would never ever forget the feeling of sitting in the saddle with the wind whipping over her and Drannon watching her. Just hearing him tell her how well she did left her feeling ten feet tall as she made her way upstairs.

She spent the rest of the morning in the bathtub and then reading her book on the chaise in the study. Someone had lit a fire in the fireplace, and she was warm and cozy. She must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew a pair of warm lips were easing her awake.

Drannon knelt on the floor in front of her, his fingers stroking over her temple and cheekbone as he stared down at her.

“I came inside to warm up and found an angel sleeping in my study.”

She smiled at his compliment before kissing him back. “Your nose is still cold, so you haven’t done a very good job of warming up.”

Lust sparkled in his eyes, and he grabbed her knee, jerking suddenly to spin her body from lying down to seated with her knees on either side of him. “You know the nice thing to do would be to help me warm up. They say body heat is the fastest way to do that. Wanna get naked and test the theory?”

Lacy laughed when he wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “What if someone walks in on us again? Marilyn seems to have terrible timing, and all of your brothers are inside now because of the weather.”

“It’s after noon. she’ll be napping for a couple of hours. My brothers are playing video games, so they won’t bother us. But I could be convinced to move this upstairs if you’re interested.” He took her hand and pressed it to the hard ridge beneath his jeans, and her mouth went dry. She knew it was probably the worst thing she could do, but she wanted him again. While she had the chance, she wanted to feel totally free for the next couple of weeks. If that meant riding a horse—or riding a cowboy—she wanted to experience it all.

Squeezing gently, she leaned forward and ran her tongue over his bottom lip. “Do you think you can handle me, without getting thrown, cowboy? I’ve been told I’m a natural rider.”

His groan of appreciation was swallowed in a fierce kiss, before he shot to his feet and locked the study door in a lightning fast move that made her laugh.

“Anxious much?” she teased.

“Absolutely.” He reached for her shirt and helped her strip it off. Once she was naked, she took over and attacked his zipper. He helped by removing his shirt, and she giggled when she heard buttons go flying again. At this rate, he wouldn’t have any shirts left with buttons.

The moment she got her fist around his hard cock, she felt her stomach tighten and her mouth began to water. She wanted to taste him. Last night had been about her, but now she wanted control. Her tongue slid over the crown and she heard him moan.

“Shit, sweetheart, if you do that I’m going to embarrass myself.”

“Shhh...” She blew air over the tip of his cock, “I want to. You can make it up to me.”

Her mouth widened to take him as deeply as she could and he gasped.

“Holy shit! Your mouth is on fire! That’s so fucking nice, baby.”

Lacy hadn’t given many blow jobs, but she was determined to give him the best experience she could. Being careful of her teeth, she pushed him further into her throat. She gagged and choked just slightly, and she realized that her gagging made his dick grow even harder in her fist, so she repeated the process, never pushing herself too far, but giving him the sensation of her throat closing around the head of his cock. Within a few moments, she felt a burning ache in her jaws and she released him, disappointed with herself.

Drannon didn’t seem disappointed at all. He dropped to his knees in front of her on the couch, and shoved her thighs apart, exposing her dripping slit to his view. She had to brace herself on the edge of the cushion as he spread her pussy lips and began licking her in earnest. His tongue flickered over her clit making her twitch and moan, and he pushed one long finger into her and fucked her with it.

She rocked her hips towards him, begging for more, and trying to get him to stop all at once. She wanted to be full of him before she came.

“Drannon, please, fuck me!”

He hesitated and then pressed a kiss to the curly red hair of her mound before he stood again. This time, he was a little less stable as he toed off his boots and pushed his jeans the rest of the way off. When he was gloriously naked, he sank back to his knees and lined his cock up with her pussy. The thick head teased her clit and she whimpered.

“What do you say?” he whispered.

“Damn it Drannon,” she cursed, trying to arch her body and force him inside of her.

“That’s not the magic word. Say please, Lacy.”

“Please Lacy!” she begged.

“Nuh uh.” He dipped the tip of his dick into her moist opening and then pulled it away.

“Oh please Drannon. I need you.”

“That’s a good girl.” He surged forward, filling her to capacity and making her cry out her need. “Tell me what you want Lacy. Do you want me to fuck you? Fill you? Make you come?”

“Yes! Yes, please! Holy hell!”

Her orgasm hit her hard and fast, and she cried out his name as she jerked against him, absorbing his weight. The delicious way they seemed to work together made each orgasm that much sweeter, and she nearly cried with the strength of emotion running through her.

“Now that we’ve worked some of that tension off, why don’t we head upstairs to continue this,” he murmured against her nipple.

“Oh,
now
you want to go upstairs?” she laughed.

“Yes, but I’ll never come in this room again without remembering how it felt to have you begging me to fuck you.” The emotions in her chest were reflected back to her in his eyes, and it stole her breath. Should she tell him?

Instantly, she tossed the idea aside and went back into her standard escape mode. “We’re going to have to get dressed again.”

“Nah, the boys are caught up in
Masters of Mercenary Mayhem
or something. I think we can get up the stairs without incident if we’re quiet.” He held his hand out to help her off the couch, but when she stood her knees buckled, and she fell against his chest.

His laughter joined hers as he led her out of the room and up the stairs, leaving their clothing behind. She was surprised when they turned towards her room instead of his bedroom, but she wasn’t complaining. As long as they found a bed she didn’t care whose it was.

He paused in the doorway and winked at her. “Climb on the bed sweetheart, I need to grab something.”

She didn’t have a chance to complain as he was gone in a flash leaving her naked in her bedroom doorway. With a grunt of frustration she did as he asked, settling herself on top of the pretty lilac bedspread with a couple of pillows at her back.

When he stepped back into the bedroom the first thing she noticed was the coil of rope in his hand, the second was that he locked the door behind him.

“What in the world?”

“I have to make sure I don’t get thrown. You’re looking at the best bull rider this side of Fargo. I have several belt buckles to prove it, but rope is necessary when breaking in a new ride.”