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  Jordan had been surprised that of all the hands, it had been Mitch that had come on to her. He had seemed the most centered of them. Oh well, guess that went to show! Then again, it wasn’t as if he’d really and truly “forced” himself on her; he’d grabbed her and kissed her. It wasn’t that bad. It could have been much worse… if Nathan hadn’t come to her rescue.

  Nate had reluctantly decided to let Mitch stay on, but had given him the week off with no pay to consider his actions and the repercussions of them. Nate had also given him an ultimatum. The next time there was a problem, the police would be involved, and Mitch wouldn’t have to worry about his job because there would be no job for a man that harassed others at his ranch, Nate had told him.

  Nathan made it a rule that no one be alone with Jordan, period. Well, of course, except for him, seeing as they lived in the same house together and all. Nathan had called a meeting, much to Jordan’s dismay, to discuss new “policies”. The others were imperceptibly aware that something had transpired, not being told exactly what, but all of them had seemed genuinely concerned for Jordan. She had known Nate was angry with her, but she didn’t invite the attention, even though she knew he disagreed. She didn’t care what he thought though, she was back to her old antics of tormenting him with her sultry ways, and he was ever the grumpy boss, as he’d always been. There’d been no more incidents of him coming on to her, but she continued to be as scantily clad as possible, mostly only after the guys were done for the day. She didn’t want a repeat of Mitch’s stunt.

  That Friday, she had a date with Buck, and she was looking forward to rubbing it in Nathan’s face, so that afternoon she made it a point to let him know.

  “So, dinner’s in the oven,” she instructed.

  His eyes bore holes in her, those icy blue spheres rigid with indignation. “You have a date?”

  “Yup! I’m off tomorrow, so I didn’t think you would mind me taking off early as long as dinner was made and it is.” She smiled sweetly.

  He smirked, “Well, go have fun on your date.” He made the word date sound like something disgusting.

  She smiled and turned on her heel, taking off toward the house from the corral where she had informed him. He’d seemed jealous. Good! Her ploy had seemed to work. What Nathan didn’t know, and she wouldn’t bother to enlighten him, was that she and her date were strictly platonic, and it would be dinner as friends and nothing more. Besides, they’d been there and done that— not that it hadn’t been fun— they were just better off as friends. Sex always complicated relationships, from Jordan’s point of view. Jealousy came with sex. Partners became clingy, more was expected, commitment was anticipated. Perhaps that was the reason Jordan had bounced from relationship to relationship. It had always been better for her to shoot straight and let her partners know that sex was strictly that with her. No strings attached. Only, Buck had wanted more.

  Oh well, they were still friends now and that’s how she liked it. He was taking her to a Japanese restaurant for dinner and then to the Rusty Spur as always for drinks. She was really looking forward to it; getting away for a little while and being around someone who wasn’t grumpy, someone who actually enjoyed her company.

  She waited until Nate had gotten back to the house, close to six PM, before calling Buck to let him know to come pick her up. She wanted to make sure Nate saw her when she left and saw who she’d be with…

  She was dressed to the nines in her sexiest black dress. It was a strapless, V-neck dress, short and form-fitted, with a cut up the left thigh. She had worn her thick curly red hair down so that it cascaded down her back, her makeup was thick, and her lips were blood red. She clomped down the stairs in her thin, strappy, black heels as Nate passed the foyer. She stopped, feigning surprise as she saw him pass. He stopped then too, looking her up and down then crossed his arms over his chest, a beer in his hand.

  “Have fun on your date.” Again, the word date was used in abhorrence.

  “You just wish it was you that I was going out with,” she said, walking past him to the porch, seeing his smirk as she did so.

  “Just remember what I said about overnight guests!” he exclaimed, and she shot him a bird as she closed the door.

  “Aren’t you glad we changed our minds, honey?” Corrine Butler smiled at her husband’s unconvincing grimace as they headed over the Alabama border.

  “Sure, I guess,” David grumbled, “but I sure was enjoying the sand and sun…and the fresh seafood.”

  Corrine knew he had wanted a few more days at the beach, but she was ready to be home with her kids and granddaughter.

  “It’s not like Natalie’s delivering tomorrow, you know?” David once again complained.

  “I know, I know, but I just have a feeling that baby will be peeking her head out any day now… Yeah, yeah, lecture me on the old wives tales and women’s intuition. I know!” She sighed as his expression changed. “I really have that feeling…”

  “Actually, I was simply wondering why everyone keeps calling the baby ‘her’. What happens when it comes out and it’s a ‘him’?”

  “It won’t! It’s a girl! She’s carrying too high for it to be a boy.”

  “Oh, and that must be deductive reasoning, huh?”

  “David, I’ll have you know I have been around long enough to know how these things work and I guarantee you that baby is a girl.”

  “Ok, if you say so…” He laughed and patted her thigh as he drove them west.

  “Son of a bitch,” Nathan muttered as he watched Buck’s truck leave his driveway. He was in a pissy mood and had been all week with no help from Jordan or Mitch. What had Mitch been thinking? And why in Hell didn’t Nate fire him for what he’d done? God, how he’d wanted to bash his face in when he’d seen Mitch’s hands, and lips, on Jordan. An anger had torn deep into his primal side and not just because Nathan had always hated men who forced themselves on women. He had no tolerance for that; no meant no, it didn’t matter how the woman dressed or what she said or how drunk she was.

  Mitch was earnest for the time being, but Nate wasn’t sure he could ever trust him again. Jordan had been upset with Nate for what he’d said after the incident and for good reason. He had no right to make her feel like it had been her fault. He’d known she wasn’t to blame, and he’d been wrong to make her feel bad for her taste in scandalous clothing, despite how the male population at Starlight Valley responded to it, especially since she was the victim here. No woman deserved unwanted attention, no matter what she wore.

  Nate hadn’t been all too easy on Jordan this week either, he knew. He’d continued his aggressive retaliation of everything and anything he could, even knowing she’d done nothing to deserve it. She’d hurt his pride, that was the reason he’d continued his sarcastic attacks on her. She’d rejected him that night in the kitchen, and he wasn’t taking it lightly. Nate was tired of pretending that his desire for her was in control and that he could fight it because the truth was, he did wish it were him that was taking her out on a date tonight. He wanted her badly, and he was sick and tired of trying his best to ignore that fact. He wasn’t so sure that she didn’t want him in return… Every now and then when his eyes would fall on her, he’d see her blush or look away. Perhaps, she wasn’t completely oblivious to him. Perhaps, she secretly desired him… Ah, who was he kidding! She hated him. He was a fucking tyrant, and he proved that to her every chance he got. She didn’t want him, why the hell would she? He had given her every reason not to!

  Nate got drunk that night; drunk because he was pissed at himself and pissed because Jordan was out on a date— a date with a man she’d slept with before— and if Nate wasn’t lying to himself, a man he feared she might sleep with again. The thought nauseated him and angered him all the more.

  So, when Jordan finally stepped out of Buck’s truck later that evening, Nate was good and sloshed and itching for a fight…

  Chapter 7

  “Thanks Buck,” Jordan said as she kissed Buck’s cheek.
“I had a great time tonight.” Buck had pulled into driveway and cut his lights.

  “I did too,” he responded, taking her hand in his. “You sure I can’t talk you into coming back to the house with me.” His eyes sparkled.

  Jordan laughed. “You are such a handsome devil, Buck Jenkins, and super charming to boot. You’ve already broken my heart once; I don’t know that I could handle it a second time.”

  He smirked, “I do believe it was you that broke my heart, honey pot.” He kissed the back of her hand lightly.

  “That may be, so perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be.” She reached up then and lightly pecked his soft lips. Staying close she whispered, “I’m not the right woman for you, Buck. You deserve better, and you damn well know it.”

  He frowned. “Better? I don’t know about that.”

  “Maybe more committed would be a better word. You know me. I’m not all hearts and flowers like those other girls.”

  He nodded. “But you’re one hell of a good time, Jor.”

  “You too, Bucko. Be safe going home, ok? Thanks again.”

  “You too! Don’t take too much shit from ol’ grumpy ass, alright?”

  “Don’t you worry about me. I got this.” She winked and got out of the truck.

  She was walking up the front porch steps as the truck peeled out when she froze.

  Nate was sitting in one of the rocking chairs, a menacing look on his face, his feet propped on the rail with a cigarette in one hand, glass of liquor in the other. She hadn’t noticed him when they’d pulled into the driveway.

  “Did you have fun on your…date?” Again with the word date. Seriously? she thought as she came to a stop at the top of the stairs.

  “I did, as a matter of fact.”

  “Oh, I’ll just bet you did,” he jeered, crushing the cigarette into an ashtray. He stood, downing the contents of his glass. “I’ll bet Buck had a good time as well?”

  “Yes,” she answered sarcastically. He sat his glass down on the table next to one of the rocking chairs.

  “Good to know!” Nate came forward then until he standing before her, close enough to touch her. “You look great tonight. I meant to tell you that before you left.” He took a strand of her hair, twirling it around his index finger then looked into her eyes. “I bet Buck liked the way you looked tonight… I’ll bet he liked your dress and your hair.” She didn’t like the way this was going. He was drunk. She smelled the alcohol on his breath, and he was getting a bit too close for comfort. “I bet he liked your perfume,” Nate said, leaning in and placing his nose at her throat, inhaling her scent. She tingled.

  “Nate,” she warned, irritated by his boldness.

  “I bet he liked the softness of your skin.” Nathan’s voice dropped then. It was wistful and soft and pleasant to her ears. “The taste of your lips.” His nose was moving to the angle of her chin, and she shivered. “The feel of your body on his?”

  “Nathan… Enough,” she implored.

  “Did you fuck him?” Nate’s voice was calm but angry as his dark eyes bore into her.

  She looked at him incredulously. “I don’t have to tell you a damn thing! You’re my boss!”

  “And I’ve already saved your goddamned tattered virtue once this week,” he retorted.

  “Fuck you, Nathan,” she ground out.

  “No fuck you, Jordan.” His eyes were alight with something she couldn’t quite place; a line between anger and desire, a passion for confrontation.

  “You wish you could fuck me!” she sneered and turned toward the door.

  “You’re damned straight I do,” he growled before he pulled her around and straight into him, backing them into the front door. Jordan’s back hit hard against the wood, and her breath whooshed out of her chest as his mouth came down hard against hers. His arms wrapped around her and his hands moved; one to the back of her head, the other to her waist, both pulling her as tight against him as she could go. Her legs immediately of their own volition wrapped around his hips. Her head reeled as his hard mouth began to soften, and her own defiant lips eagerly opened to him in response.

  Oh, my God. What am I doing? was her only thought as Nathan’s tongue plunged into her suddenly compliant mouth. Jordan shockingly heard herself moan lustfully in response as his hands flew up her dress and grabbed her bare bottom, pulling her hips into his rock-hard erection. Her head flew back in wanton pleasure, and Nate’s hot mouth moved to her neck, nibbling and sucking at the sensitive skin there. His beard was rough against her soft skin, but it was so incredibly sensual. She felt a thrill run through her… one she hadn’t anticipated or expected. She felt her nipples harden to aching peaks, and she knew in that instant she was going to let him take her any way he wanted her. The thought was frightening at first and unbelievable! How could it be true? Ardently, her hands came up and went around his neck as his mouth came back to hers.

  One hand came to her breast then, cupping and squeezing her there. Nate was the one moaning this time. At the animalistic sound, Jordan’s middle began to tingle, and a quickening seized her as she realized just how much she wanted him. She was becoming so completely aroused by his zealous hands on her flesh, his beautiful mouth making love to hers. Her hands moved then, and she began unbuttoning his shirt. His lips continued to love hers, his tongue fierce and eager as it plunged into her mouth and stroked.

  Suddenly, Nathan pulled back and looked at her, his burning blue eyes as hungry as his body. He grabbed at the door, turned the knob and pulled them in. All the while, their bodies tight against one another. Nate walked them into the bedroom as Jordan’s hands continuing to undress him and their mouths found one another’s again. She was pulled down onto the bed, his body flattening on tops of hers, as he settled in between her legs. His hands went to her hips, stroking and pulling her into him, and her own hands ripped the last few buttons off his shirt as she pulled it apart to expose his chest. He smiled then, a satisfied look on his face, which only served to arouse her even more. God, he was so sexy when he smiled at her like that.

  Nathan quickly pulled her dress up her torso, tugging her thong panties off and tossing them behind him. Her hands roved over his bare chest, loving the feel of his hard muscles beneath her palms, before coming to the fly of his jeans. She could feel the hard bulge of him, straining for release. She unbuttoned him and unzipped his fly and caught his hard sex in her hands. She stroked his impressive thickness with a tight fist as his head flew back and a guttural sound escaped his lips.

  “Oh baby,” he groaned and snaked his jeans down his hips. Jordan leaned back and Nate’s shaky, impatient hands gripped her thighs, pulling them towards his. He touched her lightly with his fingertips, opening her. She moaned, eager to have him there, as she took his member and guided it slowly into her throbbing center. They both gasped as the velvety tip of him entered her. She moved her hand then and let him stretch her as his body tensed. He shivered. “Jordan, baby, I want you so much.” Once she fully encompassed him, he began to leisurely pump, his breathing uneven, more from elation than exertion.

  Nathan’s hands moved to her breasts and his mouth found hers again. Jordan’s hands, in turn, fell down his back to grab his ass, gripping his firm flesh in her palms as he plunged then withdrew over and over again. Deep and true. He moaned with each lunge. His mouth fell to her neck again, and she gasped in breathy moans as his tongue lapped at the sensitive skin there. His hand moved suddenly to the spot where their bodies were joined, and his fingertips lightly caressed her. She moaned louder and felt the sudden quickening of her body.

  “Oh yeah, baby. Come for me,” he muttered, breathlessly.

  Her own breath came in gasps as the waves of pleasure seized her and she cried out, throwing her head back, her body contracting around him. “Nate, oh Nate!” she screamed.

  His thrusts became faster then, more urgent, and she held on as he brought her to orgasm once more. This time her cries were more frantic as he came with her, tumbling into oblivion. He
deeply groaned his release, his body wracked in intense spasms, his hips hitting hers powerfully then he collapsed on her in fatigue.

  They lay there in sexual bliss, letting their breathing return to normal. Reluctantly, Nate moved off her and laid beside her, facing her, just solemnly staring into her eyes. She ran a hand through his hair as she looked at him. His eyes were open pools of astonishment. She smiled slyly; he returned it. Seconds passed, minutes… they continued to look at one another. Then the implication of what they’d just done hit her- hard- like a rock. She’d just had sex with Nathan Butler. Her boss. Her best friend’s brother. And he’d been drunk— drunk off his ass. And she herself hadn’t been exactly sober.

  Jordan’s carelessness shouldn’t surprise her, but in this instance, it did. She was supposed to be delicate with this whole precarious situation; helping him, saving him. Now, it might be that she’d destroyed all her good intentions. She turned then to pick up her things and retire to her room, angry with herself for not taking this seriously.

  He grabbed her hand, softly. “Don’t go, Jordan. Please? Don’t leave me.” Any response she might have had died on her lips. She simply nodded and turned back toward him, watching him. He sighed. He seemed humbled by her presence but reluctant to open up to her, to openly touch her as he had not just minutes before.

  He pulled the comforter down along with the sheet and crawled under, waiting for her to join him. She was really rather surprised that he wanted her to stay. She had never imagined that he would. She’d expected that once the escapade was over, that it would be simply that— over; a wham, bam, thank you ma’am kinda deal. He’d surprised her when he’d asked her not to “leave him”. How could she say no?

  Jordan crawled in, facing him. They watched one another, waiting for the other to say something first.