Chapter 3

Ophelia

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I ran my hand through Pepper’s silky mane and patted her neck. The large, black Hanoverian whinnied and leaned into my touch. This breed was popular among equestrian sports, especially in the Olympics. We’d competed together for years and had become as smooth as if we were extensions of each other. It was clear that she loved the sport as much as I did. Of course, I’d been riding her at the last Olympics I competed in, but luckily, when the accident happened, she wasn’t hurt.

When I quit, I debated whether to let her go to another athlete who would continue to compete with her, give her the chance to do what we both loved. But, I was selfish and I couldn’t part with her. So, she was now living a life of leisure at Red Hill Ranch. I tried to get out and exercise with her frequently, even completing the practice courses. Though, with much less speed and difficulty than we used to. I had lost my edge and was much more cautious than I used to be.

“You like it here, girl?” I asked as we trotted along the fence line between my ranch and James’s. “Me too.” I’d drained my savings and sent money to the majority of the creditors, but it had only satisfied them for a couple of weeks. The letters and phone calls had started up again and after a grueling day training, I needed some time with Pepper.

We’d run like crazy for a while, making use of the wide open acreage, enjoying our freedom. Eventually, we’d slowed and were making our way home. After a couple of minutes, I spotted James and blinked my eyes to clear away the sense of Deja vu.

He was kneeling on the ground, repairing some broken fencing. Shirtless. Good grief, he looked edible. His skin was tan everywhere that I could see, stretched tight over hard muscles, and at the moment, they were covered in a sheen of sweat. Dark blue jeans molded to his powerful legs and black, scuffed up cowboy boots were on his feet. His black Stetson was pulled low to keep the sun from his eyes and I almost moaned in frustration because it kept me from seeing the deep blue orbs.

I debated whether to ignore him and keep moving or stop and say hello. Ultimately though, my southern upbringing won out, and I decided not to be rude.

“Hello.” I spoke quietly, half hoping he wouldn’t hear, and I could sneak by without talking to him.

But, his head snapped up and when he spied me, his mouth thinned into a flat line. I still couldn’t see his eyes, but I assumed they were probably filled with annoyance.

“Ophelia.” The sound of my name in his deep, gravelly voice instantly had my panties wet and a fire burning in my belly. His effect on me was humiliating and, not for the first time, I was grateful that lady boners were invisible. Yeah, it’s a thing. However, I am a pale-skinned, Irish, redhead. There wouldn’t be any mistaking the blush that was stealing over my white skin. I just hoped he couldn’t see it in the shadow of his hat.

“Taking another leisurely ride? I have to say, I’m not sure how much longer Andy will be able to carry your sweet little ass. He’s too old to be running that ranch alone.”

He liked my ass? Wait, that was so not the point. “I don’t know where the high horse you fell off of ran, but if you’re as nice to it as you are to me, I wouldn’t expect a ride home.” I opened my mouth to spew some more venom, then decided it wasn’t worth it. He didn’t know anything about me, or how I ran my ranch, and it was pretty clear that I wouldn’t be able to change the opinions he’d formed.

He shook the fence and apparently satisfied, tossed his tool in a box and stood up. I knew I should get a move on, head home. But I was glued to the spot, mesmerized as I watched him dig a handkerchief out of his pocket and wipe down his chest. My eyes followed every movement. When he lifted his hat to swipe at his forehead, his blue eyes captured mine. They slowly slid down my body and back up.

There was no mistaking the heat in them. Holy crap. James wanted me. While this new revelation made my attraction more intense, it also made me a little sad. What a waste of chemistry. I wanted to shake my fist in the face of fate. Not cool.

My face was flushed again, and his lips tipped up into a little smirk. It should have pissed me the fuck off. But . . . it was so damn sexy. Ugh! The jerk.

Pepper stepped closer to him and when he held out a hand, she nuzzled her nose in it. Traitor.

“I could use a walk to cool off anyway. But, if you ever need a . . . ride, baby, you just let me know.” With that, he turned, grabbed his tool box, and left.

I sputtered for a good minute and by the time I came up with a good retort, he was out of hearing distance unless I wanted to shout it. Which I did NOT.

Andy was waiting for me when Pepper and I returned to the stables. He was about to turn seventy-one, but the man was still a stud. Pun intended. He was a silver fox and despite the fact that I didn’t go for that sort of thing, I still appreciated the view.

He was slowing down, though. I would never, ever ask him to leave. Red Hill was as much his home as mine. I’d tried hard to get him to stop working, to simply teach and advise me, but he wouldn’t hear of it. I appreciated his help, but it also added to my growing list of things to worry about. If I lost the ranch, Andy would be homeless too.

“A certified letter came today,” he informed me as I dismounted, his tone low and reproachful.

Shit. I’d been doing my best to keep the true depth of our financial troubles from him. I led Pepper to her stall and began to take care of her, attempting to be casual. “Really?”

“It was from the bank, Lia. The bank that holds the mortgage on the ranch. With a big red stamp that said LAST NOTICE.”

I froze. Double shit with an extra shot.

“You want to tell me what that’s about?”

“Not really,” I half joked with a little laugh.

“I knew things were getting bad at the end, but did Nick truly leave it such a mess?” I peeked at him over my shoulder and watched him pace, running frustrated hands through his hair.

I swallowed hard as tears welled up in my eyes and pressed my forehead into Pepper’s side. My fingers ran down her velvety coat and the feel of it soothed me a little. “I’m going to figure it out, Andy. I’ll fix it.”

He pulled me away from Pepper and into his arms, hugging me tight and reminding me how safe and comforted I always felt in Grandpa’s embrace. “I know you want to, Lia. I do too. Sometimes our only option is to let the thing we love go. It’s not your mess to figure out, and you shouldn’t feel an ounce of shame if you decide to sell.”

My head popped up, smacking him on the chin. “Sorry,” I apologized, stepping away. “How did you...?”

He stuck his thumbs in the pocket of his jeans and rocked back on the heels of his boots. “Nick was getting them the last few months and I recognized the envelopes the few times they came when I’ve picked up the mail.”

My shoulders stooped, defeat and sadness crashing down. “I don’t know what to do yet,” I whispered. My lip quivered and I bit it, desperately trying to stem the flow of tears threatening to spill down my cheeks. “But I will. I’m not going to let either of us lose our home.”

‘Sweetheart”—the tears finally fell at his use of my grandpa’s nickname for me—“Don’t worry about me for another second. I’ve got my kids and if I decide to stick around, James has offered me a job a few times.”

“James? Why would he try and steal you from Grandpa?” I snipped, anger quickly replacing my melancholy. That snake.

Andy chuckled, “He wasn’t trying to steal me, Lia. When it became obvious that Nick wouldn’t make it, he wanted me to know I wouldn’t have to go far from my home.”

“Oh.” I wanted to say more. Something I’d been holding back, hoping it would go away. Instead, it had festered and grown, to the point where my emotional state couldn’t hold it in any longer. “So, everybody knew but me?” Even my parents had known Grandpa was sick and hadn’t told me. I wrapped my arms around my middle and pivoted to face the wall. “Had I—did I do something? I mean, was he disappointed in me?” I’d been so busy getting ready for the Olympics, I hadn’t been back to see him for months. Then, after the accident, I’d spent a year in physical therapy. I’d talked to Grandpa frequently and he’d never given me that impression, but . . . then I found out he’d been sick and never told me.

Instead, I found out right before he died. My mom called me the night of my first competition back after the accident. The night I backed out of my first competition after the accident. The night I knew I’d never compete again.

I grabbed my stuff and hopped a plane but by the time I reached Red Hill, he was already gone.

Andy grabbed my arms and forced me to turn and look at him. “Absolutely not, Lia. He was so proud of you. Couldn’t talk about anything else.”

I broke out of his hold and backed up, anger fighting it’s way to the surface and bursting out. “Why didn’t you tell me, Andy?” I shouted, hot tears making tracks down my cheeks. “Why did everyone keep it from me? I never got to say goodbye. Because NO ONE told me the person I loved the most in the world was sick and dying!”

The air around us was thick, the barn silent except for the sound of my sobs. My back hit the wall and I slid down to the floor. I missed him so much. I felt so incredibly alone and lost.

I felt Andy’s presence as he stooped down beside me. “Because he asked us not to, sweetheart.”

My world went spinning out of control, making me dizzy, until it finally crashed all around me. “He didn’t want me there?” My voice was small, indicative of how I was feeling.

“Lia, you know better than that,” he scolded gently. “Your grandpa loved you more than anyone or anything on this earth, except your grandma. You were so close to your dream, sweetheart. And, he couldn’t bear the thought of you giving it up for him.”

“Except, now I don’t have either.” My tone was flat and devoid of emotion. I had let it all out and I was exhausted, confused, and so very lonely. “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He stood and helped me to my feet before kissing my forehead and then gently urging me in the direction of the door.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.”

***

When my phone rang, I glanced at the clock and saw that it was only a little after nine PM. Still, I considered ignoring it. Lifting it off of the nightstand I saw that it was Helena. Crap. She would keep calling until I answered.

“I’m asleep,” I growled at her once I swiped my finger across the screen.

“Bullshit. Now, get your ass out of bed and open up your computer.”

I debated my options, but in the end, I got my ass out of bed. Even living hours away, she was a persistent pain in the butt. Trudging through the house, I found my laptop under a pile of mail on the kitchen table. I grabbed it and took it with me, returning to my bedroom.

After slipping in bed and getting situated up against the headboard, I booted it up. “Okay,” I yawned. “What am I doing?”

“I emailed you a link, go look at it.”

Following her instructions, I pulled up my email and clicked through to the website she’d sent.

Ranchersonly.com?

Oh, good grief.

“A dating site? Seriously, Helena?” I drawled. “I’m not signing up for this.”

“You don’t have to,” she crowed. “I set you up with a profile and paid for three months.”

I sat up straight and screeched, “You what??”

“Relax, Lia. Sheesh. You’ll wake up the cows.”

“I own a horse ranch, Helena!” I yelled. “There are no cows!” That wasn’t the point of why I was shouting, but everything seemed to be coming out that way.

“Lia, calm the fuck down. It’s not like I accepted a date for you, or secretly married you to a goat. Just take a look around, see if you find anyone interesting. You never know.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

She sighed. “Well, it’s there now as an option. One I hope you’ll at least give a chance.”

“Goodnight, Helena,” I grumbled. Honestly, my volume had been more from surprise than anger. It was a sweet gesture, no matter how misguided. I snapped the lid down and set my computer on the other side of the bed. Once my phone was back on the charger and my light turned off, I slid down under the covers and tried to relax.

It was too quiet. Too empty.

I leaned up and punched my pillow in irritation before flopping down on my side. This was ridiculous. Go the fuck to sleep, Ophelia.

***

I couldn’t sleep, so I’d gone out to the barn and taken Pepper out for a ride. The moonlight was brighter than I’d ever seen it and the summer air was almost refreshing after the oppressive heat during the day. We stopped by Locke Creek so Pepper could take a drink. The creek ran through both ranches, but since my land used to be part of Locke Creek Ranch, it was named after them.

As I slid off of Pepper’s back, my nightie bunched around my waist and if anyone had been behind me, they would have gotten mooned by my lily white ass in a red thong. Oops. I had no idea what possessed me to go for a ride in my pajamas. Not one of my finer moments, but I seemed to have lost most my marbles that day anyway. I quickly pulled the silky material down, not that it covered much.

“You’re doing it wrong, Lia.”

James’s voice broke through the stillness of the night and I screamed, jumping back and almost landing on my ass in the creek.

He reached me just in time and yanked me into his—oh my—muscular chest. Shirtless once again. “Don’t you own any shirts?” I groused.

“Don’t you own any pants?” he volleyed right back.

“Touché.” I tried to step away from him, but his arms tightened. “What do you mean I’m doing it wrong? Never mind, I don’t care. Why do you always have to correct—”

“You were pushing the fabric down.”

“What?” The light of the moon lit up his face and when I looked up, I gasped at the heat pouring from his eyes.

“This”—he grabbed the hem of my nightgown and twisted it in his fist—“should be going up.” Before I could register anything else, he’d whipped it up and over my head, then crushed his mouth down on mine.

I moaned when he drew me closer and my naked breasts pillowed against his smooth chest. He was like a radiator and I was suddenly engulfed in flames. My arms traveled up his biceps—wow, those were exceptionally nice—to latch together around his neck. His hands ended up on my ass and he lifted me to the perfect height, aligning our centers, and forcing my legs to circle his waist. The bulge pressing into my center certainly made it very clear that James was big everywhere.

His hips bucked and he groaned while angling his head to deepen the kiss. “I love how you taste,” he rumbled as his lips slid away and down the column of my throat. He continued on to the valley between my breasts, then licked around one nipple before taking it in his mouth.

“Oh!” I cried out. The sensations were all new to me. I’d only ever kissed one guy, well, a boy really. It was quick and experimental in a barn after a competition. It was quick and unimpressive. But kissing James . . . it was in a whole other universe. Having his mouth on other parts of my body was short circuiting my brain.

I barely noticed that we’d moved until I felt the cool grass on my bare skin. He’d lowered us to the ground and he hovered over me, holding his weight in his arms, as he worked his magic on my breasts. “I could suck on these sweet tits all day,” he growled. “But, I’m gonna go out of my mind if I don’t taste your little pussy.”

A heated flush spread over my skin, a mixture of desire and awkwardness at his crude words. Desire being the overwhelming feeling because damn, his dirty mouth was hot.

Kissing even lower, he paused at my stomach to lick around my belly button and I jerked with a squeak. I was incredibly ticklish there. James’s head popped up and he smirked at me mischievously. “Something for me to keep in mind.”

“I don’t think—James! Oh!” My thoughts were obliterated when he shoved my panties aside and licked right up my center.

Another lick and then his hand twisted where he’d grasped the fabric and tore my panties clean off. Holy cow. I thought that only happened in romance novels.

“So fucking wet.” He nibbled on my lower lips, then licked again and again. Something was building but I couldn’t quite grasp it. He avoided my clit, holding my hips to the ground when I tried to shift his mouth closer to it. “I’m in charge, Ophelia,” he snapped. I’ll get you off when I am damn good and ready.”

He speared his tongue inside me and I cried out, desperate to reach that unattainable something. My skin was crawling with anticipation, my nerves frayed and sensitive to everything.

“Damn, you’re tight. I’m going to make you come on my tongue, baby. Then you’re going to ride my cock like the fucking champion you are until you fall apart in my arms.”

I gasped, so turned on, I felt myself gushing down below. For a second, I was afraid of his reaction, that he would find it gross, but it only seemed to spur him on. He groaned and attacked my sex like it was his first meal after an endless fast.

His hands glided up until they reached my breasts and he palmed one in each hand. “You have spectacular tits, Lia,” he moaned. “Perfect for my hands, firm and ripe. I’m going to fuck them one of these days.”

Suddenly, he simultaneously bit down on my clit and pinched my nipples. I slammed into a wall of lust and screamed as it broke and I shattered along with it. James kept thrusting his tongue inside me and alternating with hard tugs of my clit through his teeth until I finally started to calm.

Rolling to the side, James scrambled to get his jeans off. His cock popped free as he shoved them down and it bounced erratically, smacking him in the stomach. I was right, he was huge. I licked my lips as I studied his erection, imagining what it would be like to take him in my mouth like he’d done to me.

“Keep looking at me like that, and you’re going to find yourself with a mouth full of cum, baby.”

My eyes snapped up and blushed at being caught ogling. Then, the most amazing thing happened. It was like finding a unicorn, illusive and only ever heard about, never seen.

James grinned. Like a full wattage, wide smile stretching across his face. I was struck speechless, completely mesmerized at how it transformed him from insanely sexy to ovary busting perfection.

He gripped my hips and laid down beside me, then lifted and shifted me so I was straddling him. “Nice and easy, baby. I don’t want to hurt you and you’re incredibly tight.” It was sweet that he was thinking of my comfort in that moment and it made me melt. Practically boneless, I couldn’t hold myself up anymore. I descended as slowly as I could with what little strength I had left.

“Fuck!” James’s back bowed, his muscles taut as he tried to keep still. “All the way, baby,” he gritted out through clenched teeth. “Oh, fuck yes.”

When I finally sat flush with his groin, his member buried fully inside me, he groaned and bucked up. Sparks of pleasure raced from my core to every part of my body and I cried out.

“Feels good, doesn’t it, Lia?” He drove up again, his shaft hitting just the right spot to make me see stars. “Your pussy is soaked, do you feel how I slide right in, baby? But your pussy doesn’t want to let me go. Fuck! That’s it, squeeze me, ride me hard.”

He used his hands to guide me up and down, increasing my rhythm until I was practically bouncing on his dick.

“James! I’m going to—oh, yes! Yes! Yes!”

“Just a little more,” he groaned. “Fuck me, Ophelia. Yeah! Oh, fuck!”

Everything in me tightened once more, almost to the point of pain. Except, I knew what was coming this time, though it seemed bigger and more consuming. I closed my eyes as I eagerly anticipated the blissful surrender.

My eyes popped open and I jackknifed up in my bed, looking around wildly. I was panting, my heart racing, and I was drenched in sweat.

It took a minute for me to clear away the fog, separating my dream from reality. Shit! What the hell was I doing having dirty dreams about my asshole neighbor? I wanted to punch my subconscious in the vagina. Not only for fantasizing about James in the first place, but also, waking my ass up before I reached the promised land.

I threw back my covers and stomped over to the bathroom. Grabbing my robe, I slipped it on before splashing my face with some cold water. It only marginally cooled me off. When I stepped back into the bedroom, the sight of my bed was like walking into a wall of grief. It was cold and empty. With the exception of my computer, which sat there mocking me.

Twisting strands of my hair around a finger, I edged my way over to the device, cautious, as though it might jump out and bite me.

It couldn’t hurt to have a look, right? I mean, it’s not like anyone ever has to know. Casually, I picked it up and took it with me to the kitchen. It was just after four in the morning, but I knew I wouldn’t go back to sleep, so I made myself a cup of coffee.

I added cream and sugar, then made my way over to the table and sat down. With a deep breath, I opened it up and typed in Ranchersonly.com.