Riding Her Rancher Boss Read online

  “You aren’t leaving?” he asked. Because he knew in that moment he wanted her to stay.

  “I need some photos tonight. I bet the ranch looks mesmerizing beneath the stars.”

  He tried not to let the image of her naked beneath the night sky, spread out on a blanket with her thighs crossed languorously get to him. “It does.”

  She slid off the couch to approach him, happiness alight in her face. “That look…I know what you’re thinking about. I find it sexy.”

  Hearing that word come from her lips made his cock stiffen. She was nothing like Heidi, a reminder that sobered him.

  “Glad you think so. I’ll show you your accommodations.”

  He guided her to the small bedroom that had been partially redesigned. Glossy hardwood floors were swathed with a fluffy white rug, the large king bed fashioned with logs of pine and draped in red sheets. The cream walls blended with the polished floors and high roof, a hint of the luxury rustic theme to be reiterated with renovations. The windows opened out to a view of alpine trees and a private deck with a large hot tub.

  “I love it,” she remarked, her blonde hair a curtain of gold against her shoulders. He forced down the urge to give her a personal view of the hot tub together. Naked and wet. And it occurred to him that he wanted her opinion. He wanted to be around her.

  He cleared his throat. “Dinner’s at six. You might want to put layers on, it gets cool quickly with the air coming straight off the mountains out here.”

  Her eyes met his, glimmering enticingly. Hell, if only he could drop this professional façade, deter his work, and take her now.

  “I’ll be there. Thanks!” she said.

  Jared strode out of the room, trying not to let his thoughts linger on her in bed, the sheets rumpled around her slim curves as he delved between her legs, tasting her. A bed they could share within hours. He wouldn’t repeat the mistake of giving in without restraint as he had in the stables. No, he’d take his time and savor making her cum.

  Dinner was a lively meal with most of the conversation discussing Randall’s offer of stable hands, which his father had accepted. He was grateful his father was making decisions for the future of the ranch, a sign he’d deserted his request for Jared to take the reins. The niggling feeling of remorse emerged, but he ignored it. He had no need to feel guilty for leaving behind a commitment he didn’t aspire to.

  “With finances taken care of, we can expedite the renovations to be done within the next two weeks, allowing us to open during peak season before Christmas,” his father confirmed.

  “Sounds like all the work will be difficult during snowfall,” Cassie noted.

  “It will be, but I’m impatient. Mother Nature’s fickle these days. I know Mountainbrook will be better for it, and I want this changeover completed as soon as possible. Jared’s done much to help with his contributions.”

  His father gave him a smile. Thinking of what Cassie had said, he wondered if his father loved him in spite of his flippant actions over the past few years. Jared shoveled more rosemary and garlic buttered potatoes into his mouth, averting his eyes from Cassie. Yet he felt her stare boring into him and it brought forth an insatiable desire. She had to feel this torment of denying each other as much as him. Soon it would end.

  Soon she’ll leave. He couldn’t dwell on that.

  “It’s been great having you with us,” Luke remarked to her. “Certainly livens up dinner conversations.”

  His jaw hardened. Luke meant well, but he couldn’t help take it as a sign of flirtation and the jealousy searing through him left his hands gripping the fork, knuckles turning white. Once he finished his meal, he helped his father clear the table. A schedule they’d both been locked in but tonight, with Cassie here, it felt maudlin.

  “I’m glad to be here,” she said. “And I can’t wait to capture some shots of the ranch tonight.”

  “It’s unforgettable,” Luke agreed.

  Jared caught her gaze and noticed a gleam of excitement. And something else he couldn’t discern. Did her feelings shift between men as easily as Heidi’s did? They were both similar in that regard, openly friendly.

  No matter, as he’d be the one to take her out, just the two of them.

  Cassie came to him. He appreciated the plaid shirt clinging to her body, following the curves of her breasts. She wore black pants and those familiar knee high brown boots. The simplistic outfit didn’t diminish her sensuality.

  She flashed a smile. “Can we head out now?”

  “No problem. I’ve got the Jeep all ready.”

  She gaped at him. “That would’ve been helpful to use instead of forcing me to ride with you.”

  “We were waiting on repairs.”

  Being with Cassie was temporary and he couldn’t have second thoughts. Still, what Randall had said made him wonder. He couldn’t tar Cassie with the same brush as Heidi. She was different in many ways, yet the intensity of their attraction seared through him, reminding him of what could go wrong. How a loved one could stab him in the back and leave a wound that still hadn’t healed over time.

  It’d been the right thing to resist having her in the stables. At least, he’d wanted to feel that way. He should earn a medal for being so masochistic in an attempt at nobility but now it felt like he’d been wrong. He was delaying the inevitable. She’d conveyed that she wanted him right then yet he kept her at bay out of misguided dignity.

  He’d set it all straight tonight.

  “Let me get my camera,” she said.

  Jared watched her saunter down the hallway. Hell, he couldn’t believe he felt this strongly about her and he was eager to have her in his arms again, her lips parting beneath his as he thrust into her wet heat, making her cry out. Fuck.

  Luke came to his side. “She’s a real nice girl but you don’t need to eye me like I’ll steal her.”

  Jared shook his head, disappointed with himself. Should’ve known his men could read him well. “I don’t mean to.”

  “I get it. It’s because of Heidi, but Cassie ain’t like her.”

  How he wished he could accept that. “People are unpredictable.”

  “I pegged what Heidi was like the day you hired her. She looked at us the same way she looked at you. I guessed her feelings for you weren’t genuine, but you had your intention of marrying her. You were crazy for her, I respected that. Didn’t want to intrude.”

  Jared knew Luke was the man with the most insight into relationships out of all of them. Thinking of how immersed he’d been, neglecting them for Heidi, the hindsight illuminated his mistake. He cursed. “Would’ve helped to know what I was getting into.”

  “Would you have believed me if I’d said anything? But right now, you have something good going. I see how happy Cassie makes you. She’s like a breath of fresh air around here. You have that second chance many of us will never find.”

  Luke’s eyes bored into him, his words conveying the loss of Jean. Hell, Jared knew what he’d gone through was nothing compared to losing the love of your life yet it didn’t weaken that sense of loss and regret. Why did all the cowboys insist that with Cassie it could be something deeper? They’d never done that with his previous flings, but Heidi had been the last one to work alongside him. As Randall had said, he’d made it personal. Cassie had so far tackled everything he’d thrown at her, and it was impressive. She could handle herself and had overcome a long held fear. I need to do the same.

  Cassie returned, ending any intentions of a response. Luke simply gave a telling smile and Jared managed a nod of acknowledgement, aware of what had to be done.

  He led her past the stables. Sunset cast a brazen orange glow across the sky as if it burned with a simmering passion equal to the fire raging within him. He could barely restrain himself from turning around and touching her, pulling her against him.

  “You seem distant,” she remarked.

  He finally faced her. “Because I can’t wait to kiss you again. I screwed up wanting to have you in t
he stables, of all places, but I have something much nicer in mind.”

  “Hmm. You’re a passionate man beneath this whole stoic image.”

  “You think it’s an image?”

  She shrugged, blue eyes glinting. “Isn’t it?”

  “I take my work seriously.”

  “No one’s a workaholic without reason. I think you’re hiding from something.”

  He flinched involuntarily. “I didn’t invite you here to analyze me.”

  She leaned closer, her flirtatious smile widening. “Oh. Looks like I struck a nerve.”

  “You do a damn lot more to me than that.”

  He pulled her into a heated kiss, his lips claiming hers with an intensity that made her moan against him. Her feisty exterior melted beneath his touch and hearing her submission made him rock hard, his jeans growing tight. Stopping wasn’t an option. He needed to feel the supple softness of her skin, the slick heat of her wet pussy and breathing her in, tasting her, never seemed like enough.

  Cassie broke the kiss, her tongue touching her lips as if she still felt him. “If we keep getting carried away, I won’t get any work done. I’m missing some good shots.”

  He ran his hands down the span of her curves, every part of him screaming to lose himself with her, to strip her naked. “You can handle a little distraction.”

  She laughed. “Look who’s talking.”

  He opened the door for her and went round to his side to slide into the driver’s seat. He revved the engine and floored the gas, eager to get some privacy. And if she kept looking at him that way, he’d have to stop and take her onto his lap, bury his damn hard cock deep within her.

  He cleared his throat. “I know where to get the best view of the mountains. It’s a twenty-minute drive, so I grabbed refreshments.”

  He nodded towards the back of the Jeep, the seats lined with a large picnic basket and a bottle of champagne. A gesture of romanticism he hoped would show her how important she was.

  Cassie’s face lit up. “Who’d you let in on this?”

  His throat tightened. “I ordered them in. Warren loaded up the Jeep.”

  Warren hadn’t been as oblivious to what was going on as he’d thought and after a brief talk earlier today, he’d suggested a picnic. Warren had wooed plenty of women, so Jared was glad to glean some ideas from him. He was rusty on the romance front.

  Cassie trailed delicate fingers across the monogrammed blanket. “I recognize them. They’re from the Champagne and Diamonds catering company. Sharon’s using a subsidiary of them for her wedding.”

  Sharon Mills. The name was familiar, yet he resigned it to hearing of her accused crimes in the news.

  “I spare no expense with you.”

  Her smile was different; he couldn’t read it. “Thank you. No one’s done something like this for me before.”

  She didn’t protest. Actually, she’d shown him nothing but acceptance during their time together, despite his remoteness. “You deserve it.”

  They drove in silence laced with tension. By the time they arrived at the slope overlooking the mountain range, he could think straight. He parked up before the majestic view. The vast mountain peaks were dusted with a light blanket of accumulating snow, and the sky was illuminated with a fiery glow before it’d descend into glittering darkness.

  “It’s beautiful,” she breathed. “Really, I don’t know how to describe it. I’m not usually rendered speechless.”

  “We have an hour until nightfall.”

  She shifted against the seat to face him. “And what do you plan on doing until then?”

  “I have a few ideas in mind.”

  “Mainly one.”

  He grinned. “Can’t deny that.”

  Cassie glanced away from him and leaned forward to point in the distance. It took an immense amount of resolve not to linger on the view of her protruding breasts. “You can see the lights from the ranch from here. Hard to believe this is all your land.”

  There she was hinting it could be his. She was considerably obdurate but he found it alluring. “It has its moments.”

  “I’d love to hear the history of it.”

  Not wanting to deny her, he gestured to the basket. “Over some food and drink.”

  “Sounds great.”

  Jared left the Jeep and set the plush blanket below a towering alpine tree, and Cassie delved into the picnic basket to arrange the food out around them. The cool night air barely registered amongst the heat simmering between them. And his anticipation of sex with her.

  “This looks delicious,” she remarked at the glittering bottle of champagne and the individually wrapped boxes of food. She unwrapped them, gasping at the sight. Mini wagyu burgers finished with local hot pepper sauce. Wild salmon slices on crackers with dollops of cream cheese. She slipped some salmon into her mouth, murmuring in approval, and he took a moment of satisfaction at her reaction. It was gratifying to make her happy.

  Jared readied himself to acknowledge the past he’d avoided thinking of. “The story is Mountainbrook was built a hundred and sixty years ago, initially one of the multiple ski resorts in town. My great grandfather maintained a successful run of the business until he died suddenly from heart failure. It passed to my grandfather who converted it to a private ranch with the intentions of raising a large family. Sadly, he lost his wife to cancer, which ended that. My father took over when he came of age and out of respect for him, kept it private.”

  A chill overcame him to divulge the past of a family that wasn’t his own and the fate of Mountainbrook that would inevitably fall to him. Cassie leaned over, resting a hand against his arm. Her touch alleviated his pain, as it always did.

  “Jared…”

  He cleared his throat, aware this was a susceptibility he’d shown no one. “I’m a Weston, but at times it felt like I didn’t belong. Not truly. I guess all orphans question their lives, compare their foster families to their own, looking for the acceptance and love that was denied from birth.”

  She interlaced her fingers with his. “It must’ve been so difficult for you. It hurts to hear you went through that. But you’ve been happy here, right?”

  He nodded, meeting her concerned eyes. She’d illuminated what he needed to accept. “Yeah. It’s more than most get.”

  “Why don’t you support the ranch changeover?”

  “I preferred Mountainbrook to stay as it was, hoping my father wasn’t making a mistake out of a misguided change of heart. I was selfish.”

  “It’s because you care for Mountainbrook deeply. You may not show much on the surface, but it’s all there beneath it. It’s a shame you’ll leave it all behind.”

  She knew just what to say to ease the turmoil within him, yet provoke emotions he wouldn’t reflect on. “It’ll be in good hands.”

  With the Weston family by blood, where it belonged. Jared had the name but it wasn’t enough. He’d gotten that impression often enough during his childhood to believe it. His jaw clenched from the memory, but he eased it by focusing on Cassie. She leaned into him and he stretched back, allowing her to slip neatly into his arms. He drew in a breath from the collision of her body on his.

  She cradled amounts of food, offering them to him. He took a bite of a burger, his lips sliding over her skin and they ate together for several moments, his thoughts drifting from the past to her.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking of?” she enquired.

  He hesitated. “My future in New York. And you.”

  Yet he couldn’t elaborate on his need to get close even while the sane part of him warned it was a mistake. That he’d end up hurting both of them. And he didn’t want to lose Cassie.

  She slid a finger between her lips to lick off cream cheese. The motion threatened to get him hard, evoking an image of her taking his cock into her mouth. She met his gaze. “I can’t imagine you dressed up in a suit. It seems like a complete opposite of who you are.”

  At times, he felt like two separate men. The ruthless
businessman with ambition and wealth, and the man devoted to the ranch and the illusion of family. Two pieces of himself that divided his certainty, unwilling to combine. Cassie wouldn’t care for the other side of him yet it was a part he related to deeply as it was the image of success and hard work. Being a rancher had always been a diversion, a compromise for a greater vision.

  “Much like a photographer turned cowgirl,” he deflected.

  “Oh, I’ve actually grown to enjoy this. There’s something peaceful about having all this land to yourself, the untouched natural beauty. I try to capture it with my photos, but I can never get the depth of it all.”

  “Is photography something you always wanted to do?”

  She nodded. “Since I was little. My father bought me a Viewfinder which instantly sparked my interest. Eventually I upgraded to a disposable and rarely went far without a camera. I’m always inspired by what I see and photos are a way to capture moments forever. Of course, it wasn’t easy getting to this point. A lot of people told me this was a hobby, not a career.”

  “And yet you persevered.”

  “My mom instilled in me to never give up on something that makes you feel alive. She owns a florist store, the Passionflower, in town and went through many hardships to sustain it. It burned down a few years ago from arson. That was when I decided to drop my inhibitions and pursue photography professionally.”

  Now that he thought of it, he was certain that was the store he’d purchased the flowers for Heidi from. He’d gone in and met the woman who had to be Cassie’s mother. Her service had been attentive and warm, much like Cassie herself. “I think I understand where that dedication comes from. Who you are.”

  “You really think you know all of me that easily?” she teased.

  Her words cut through him. No, he had no idea what she was capable of. He turned his gaze to the darkening sky and pressed a kiss to her forehead, unable to stop himself.

  “Falling off yesterday was another blow to my confidence,” she admitted. “I’ve been trying for years to get attention for my photography and not seeing my dream come to fruition made me doubt. Badly. Like I’m deluding myself that it’ll be more than what it is.”