I walked out of the front door of the hotel and turned the
corner to the diner. As I opened the door, I was surprised to find the place
busier than I’d expected at this time a night in small town Wyoming. My stomach
made a noise I was sure the whole place heard and I quickly made my way to a
booth in the corner.
I sat down and grabbed a menu. I was so hungry that
everything on the menu sounded good. I finally decided on an omelet and toast
before the waitress even made her way over to me.
“All set to order?” she smiled at me, her black hair back in
a high ponytail.
“Yes, I’ll take a ham and cheese omelet, wheat toast, and
some milk please.” My mouth was watering at the thought of eating real food.
Living off of fast food gets really old really quick.
She finished writing down my order and tucked her pencil back
behind her ear. “Sounds good. I’ll get that in right away and bring you some
water, hun.”
She turned and I smiled. I’d been called ‘hun’ twice in one
night. Where was I? People back home
weren't this friendly. Maybe I could get used to this.
I glanced around the restaurant, checking out the other
patrons. There was a group of older men sitting at the counter, their clothes
dirty, looking like they’d just come from work. A few booths away from me sat a
young couple sitting on the same side. I rolled my eyes when they kissed, but a
part of me felt a twinge of jealousy.
There were a few others scattered about but my breath caught
in my throat when I noticed him. He was at a table
nearby and I have no idea how I didn't notice him earlier. He was busy reading
the paper and drinking his coffee, but I could see his chocolate brown eyes,
lashes so long most women would kill for them. He was wearing cowboy boots and
a baseball hat, so I couldn't see what color his hair was for sure. He was
wearing jeans and I briefly wondered if they were Wrangler jeans and if they
fit him like they did the guys in the commercials. A tight white t-shirt showed
off his muscular arms and clung to his chest in all the right
places.
He glanced up and nodded at me with a wink and a smile and I
turned away quickly, feeling my face on fire at being caught staring. The
waitress came over with my food just then, having seen the whole
thing.
“He’s hot, isn't he?” she teased as she set my food in front
of me. I laughed and nodded. “His name is Clint. He comes in here all the time.
He owns a big ranch nearby where he lives with his mom, sister, and brother.
He’s one of the youngest ranch owners in Wyoming.”
I turned and stole another glance back at him. He’d folded
up his paper and was getting ready to get up. As he stood up, my eyes moved
down his body. Yep, he wore the jeans just like in the commercial. I swallowed
hard and felt a stirring deep in my womb when he looked over at me again. It
was like his eyes were looking into my soul. Sexy as he was, it was a little
bit unnerving.
The waitress leaned down and whispered, “He’s single
too.”
“I’m not - I didn't,” I stammered, totally embarrassed
again. Was I that obvious?
“Just thought you’d want to know the way you two are
checking each other out,” she winked and turned around to head back to the
kitchen. Wait – he was checking me out too? I didn't see that.
I shook my head. I just left an asshole; I didn't need another
man right away. It didn't matter that he was sex on a stick; I wasn't
interested.
I
couldn't help but watch him as I ate. He seemed to know almost everyone in the
diner and stopped to talk to everyone on his way out. He shook hands with the
guys sitting at the counter, laughing with them before turning my way. Shit, he
was going to come right past me. I wanted to slide under the table so bad right
now. I cursed myself that I didn't bring a book or something to read so I could
look totally busy when he walked by.
“Hey there,” he greeted me, his voice deep and smooth, like
whiskey going down your throat. He tipped his hat at me and I thought I was going
to swoon. I’d never met a real cowboy before. Growing up in Buffalo, NY, there
was nothing but punk ass men who thought they were all that.
“Hi,” I said, setting down my fork and taking a drink of my
milk.
“New around here?” he asked. I swore his eyes darkened when
he noticed the bruise on my cheek and I suddenly wished I’d taken the time to
hide it better with make up; I’d just swiped on some foundation, not even
bothering with concealer.
“Just passing through,” I replied. Should I offer him a
seat? But I didn't know him. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could
hear it.
He nodded. “Where ya
headed?”
I shrugged. “Not
sure. My plan was to just drive until I found a good place to stay.” Why was I
being so open with him? I rarely shared with people I knew and here I was
telling a total stranger my travel plans.
“Hmm…Well, this is a good place to stay and if you need
work, I can always use help on my ranch,” he grinned at me and my stomach did a
flip-flop.
He put his hand out to shake mine. “I’m Clint. I own Hidden
Lane Ranch just up the way.”
“Rachel,” I responded, taking his hand in mine. It was
different than his hand - rough, like he knew how to actually do real work. He
griped my hand tight and shook it. For a second I thought about what his hands
would feel like on my soft skin and desire pooled between my thighs. Sweet baby
Jesus, what was I thinking?
“Nice to meet you.” He released my hand. “I gotta get back
to the ranch, but if you’re interested, talk to the ladies here. They’ll point
you in the right direction.” He tipped his hat to me again. “Have a good night,
Rachel.”
“Goodnight,” I managed to mutter. God the way he said my
name made me tremble. What would it sound like if he whispered it in my ear
while in the throes of passion?
I watched him leave the diner shamelessly checking out his
ass in those jeans. I kept my eyes on him until I couldn't see him in the dark
night before turning back to my omelet that was now cold. I was finished with
it anyway and paid before heading back to my room. I didn't think I could keep
my eyes open much longer.
I stripped off my clothes and climbed into bed naked. As I’m
about to drift off to sleep, I thought about Clint’s job offer. Maybe he was
right; maybe this was a good place to stay. Then I could be around his sexiness
all day. I sighed and rolled over to my side, clutching a pillow against me. I
just left a man, would it really be smart to have another in my life so
soon?
The
last thing I saw before I drifted off was Clint’s smile. I might have to check
out his ranch in the morning.
Excerpt #2 -
Clint
The way Rachel moved out on the dance floor had me wondering
if she’d had some sort of formal dance training. She definitely had rhythm and
the way she moved her body had me thinking about how she probably moved in bed.
I was trying not to be so obvious in checking her out, but she’d caught me
staring at her more than once.
As we were dancing and jumping around on the dance floor,
one of the girls Wyatt had brought home the night before came up behind him.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and pretty much stayed attached to him.
The rest of us looked at each other smirking; Wyatt looked like he wanted to be
anywhere but there. It served him right for messing with girls that
way.
The music changed to a slow song and Jackson grabbed Eliza
and wrapped his arms around her. What was up with that? They’d known each other
forever, but as far as I knew, they were just friends. Eliza was always talking
about having some rich billionaire whisk her away to the big city. She was just
teasing; she had plans to stay and help run the family ranch with the rest of
us. Still, she’d never mentioned anything about seeing Jackson. Maybe they were
only being friendly, but the way he was holding her had me thinking there might
be something more there.
Rachel and I stood there looking at each other. Should I ask
her to dance?
“Want to dance?” she
asked with a small smile. I was usually so confident and known for going after
what I wanted.
“Sure,” I smiled at
her and reached for her. I put my hands on her hips and tried not to shiver as
she wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her body into mine. Her tiny
frame fit so perfectly against mine. I turned my head and could smell a hint of
her floral shampoo. I wanted to take the ponytail out of her blond hair and run
my fingers through it.
Her fingers teased the hair at the nape of my neck and my
cock stirred between my legs. With her hands on my body and her breasts pressed
against my chest, it wouldn't be long before my body would betray how much I
wanted her.
My hands were on her hips but I moved them down her backside
just slightly. God I wanted to reach down and squeeze her perfect round ass. I
leaned down and buried my head in her neck, my lips touching her skin. She
tensed briefly and I wondered if I’d gone too far, but she soon relaxed again
in my arms.
My
hips brushed against hers and there was no way she could miss feeling my
erection this time but she didn't move away; instead she seemed to press her
body harder into mine. Good Lord this woman was going to be the death of
me.
Meet the Author
Scarlett lives in the Midwest with her sexy
husband, two girls, and three furbabies. She dabbled in writing right
after college but it wasn't until she took up blogging eight years ago that she
started writing seriously. After writing a few boring service pieces
for some online publications, she went back to her true passion, fiction.
When she’s not busy writing steamy stories, she can be found with her
nose in a book, camping, or geocaching with her family. She loves
Diet Coke, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and 80’s hair
bands.
