Rough Cowboy Read online

  “You yelled back? I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”

  “Who’s yelled at who?” Teddy asked, suddenly walking through the door.

  “I’m leaving this party,” Rosalie muttered. “I have a roast in the oven. Good to see you, Megan, and if I was you, I’d come clean with Hammer. Better he hear it from you than figure it out himself.”

  “Maybe you’re right, Rosalie, but it might be better to let sleeping dogs lie. Shoot. I don’t know what to do.”

  “What’s going on?” Teddy pressed as Rosalie left. “What have I missed?”

  “Megan just landed a job with Hammer.”

  “You did?”

  “Uh-huh,” Megan mumbled, taking a long drink of her coffee.

  “But you can’t leave!” Teddy said vehemently. “You belong here. You’re so good with the horses. We need you. Tell her, Dad.”

  “It’s her life, Theodore.”

  “Uncle Doug, there’s an added bonus,” Megan said quickly, glad to change the subject. “The job comes with a place to live.”

  “That’s terrific. Sounds like you’ve landed on your feet.”

  “I know. I’m thrilled, and thank you for letting me stay here.”

  “I was happy to have you, and if it doesn’t work out you can always come back. Who knows, if he realizes that was you who almost got him killed, he just might let you go.”

  “I didn’t almost get him killed,” Megan retorted. “I honestly don’t think it was any big deal. Besides, it was ages ago. He’s probably forgotten all about it.”

  “About what?” Teddy asked. “This is so annoying. What the hell happened?”

  “Megan was riding behind barn three when Brad was working on one of the stallions,” Doug replied. “It spooked the horse. Apparently no one was hurt, and I have to assume that’s why I didn’t hear about it.”

  “Megan, you bad girl,” Teddy said, shaking his finger at her but grinning broadly.

  “Yeah, thanks, Teddy. You can wipe that grin off your face.”

  “I can’t help it. That’s so typically you.”

  “Was. I wouldn’t do that now. Anyway, I’ll be starting at Hammer and Nails tomorrow, and taking my things over there little by little. I should be moved in by the end of the week.”

  “I couldn’t be happier,” Doug declared, “and your secret’s safe with me, though I think Rosalie might be right. You should probably ‘fess up.”

  “Megan, please don’t go,” Teddy pleaded, his smile quickly fading. “We need you around this place.”

  “Teddy, this is a great job. I won’t just be trimming, I’ll be training. I’ll actually be making a difference. It’s my dream job. Can’t you be happy for me?”

  “But you could be making a difference here,” Teddy insisted. “Why do you want to work for a stranger when you could be with us?”

  “Sorry, Teddy, but staying here is almost like staying at home, and training horses who need me is something I really want to do,” she said firmly, finishing her coffee and rising to her feet. “Honestly, I can’t wait to get started. Thank you, Uncle Doug, for everything,” she said gratefully, walking around his desk and kissing him on the cheek. “Tell Aunty Marge for me.”

  “I will, and I’m very pleased. You’ll learn a lot working for him. He’s a savvy horseman and a brilliant farrier.”

  “Bye, Teddy,” she said, sweeping past him. “Don’t look so glum. I’ll only be fifteen minutes away. Besides, you’ll be off yourself before long. Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle. You need the buzz of a big city.”

  “Not really,” Teddy said with a heavy sigh. “I’ll walk you out.”

  “Only if you don’t pester me about staying.”

  “I’ll try not to.”

  “Bye, Uncle Doug.”

  “Bye, hon. Speak to you soon.”

  As they left Doug’s office and started down the hall, she expected Teddy to start babbling about why she should stay, but he was unusually quiet. She assumed he was searching for a new argument, and when they walked outside and across to her car, she prepared herself.

  “Wait,” he said urgently as they reached her Jeep. “I need to tell you something.”

  “Teddy, there’s nothing you can say. Let it go.”

  “This isn’t, uh, you need to hear me out. Please, just for a second. It’s important.”

  “Okay, fine, but you won’t change my mind. You’ve got two minutes, then I’m going.”

  “I don’t know how to tell you this. I, uh, I saw him in New York.”

  “Who? Brad?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So?”

  “Please keep this a secret.”

  “Done.”

  “I was at a BDSM club. I saw him there. Flogging a girl. She was in the stocks.”

  Chapter Four

  Teddy’s words swirled around her head.

  I was at a BDSM club. I saw him there. Flogging a girl. She was in the stocks.

  “Megan! Did you hear what I said?” Teddy demanded.

  “That couldn’t have been him. There’s no way. Why would he be in New York? This makes no sense!”

  “It was him, I swear.”

  “And what were you doing at a BDSM club anyway, pray tell?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “I met a girl. She was into it and insisted we go there. I thought, what the hell? Something different.”

  “What’s the name of this place?”

  “Paddles.”

  Megan burst out laughing.

  “Paddles? Seriously? That’s hilarious.”

  “Megan, you’re missing the point,” Teddy retorted tersely. “Brad Hillman was there. I watched him and he was hard core. The girl was shackled to this weird bench nailed into the wall with a hump that made her ass stick out. Anyway, when he took her down, he put her in the stocks and flogged her, then led her into some private room. God only knows what he did to her.”

  “Did he have her at gunpoint?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Was she screaming, let me go, let me go?”

  “Megan...”

  “Sounds consensual to me, and what about you and—what was her name?”

  “Uh... Bambi.”

  “Bambi? Her name was Bambi?”

  “It’s her nickname. No big deal.”

  “This just gets better and better. So what about you and Bambi—sorry—I can’t say that name with a straight face,” she said with a giggle. “What did you get up to?”

  “I didn’t pick up a fucking flogger!” he replied in a hushed whisper. Dropping his gaze to the ground, he ran his fingers through his hair, took a breath, then raised his eyes and looked at her intently. “Please, Megan, just think about this some more. Do you really want to work for a guy who goes to clubs like that?”

  “Teddy, need I point out you went to a club like that? But none of this makes any difference. What he does in his private life is none of my business. I’m not dating him, I’m working at his ranch, and quite honestly, what you just told me makes him more interesting. It makes you more interesting too.”

  “It does?”

  “Sure. I didn’t know you had it in you. Bambi sounds like someone you should spend more time with. Maybe you should go back to New York.”

  “It’s too crazy there.”

  “I have to go, but thanks for looking out for me, and I mean that,” she said, softening her voice. “I may be leaving Furlong Farms, but I’m not going far. Hammer and Nails is only ten minutes past the town.”

  “Yeah. I know.”

  “You take it easy, Teddy. I’ll see you later.”

  Pecking him on the cheek, and thinking he looked like a sad puppy, she climbed into her Jeep and drove out of the motor court, but as she neared her cabin his soulful expression evaporated. Far from putting her off the rugged cowboy, Teddy’s salacious information made Brad more intriguing. She also realized it meant he’d make good on this threat.

  “If he was flogging some hapless woma
n at that club, he’ll have no compunction about spanking me,” she muttered, rolling to a stop under the carport.

  Climbing from her Jeep and walking inside, she stared at the many boxes she’d yet to unpack from her move to Furlong Farms. Deciding to get them to the loft at Brad’s ranch right away, she loaded several in the Jeep, then ambled into the small kitchen to make a sandwich. Buttering the bread, she thought back to the moment three years before when she and Brad had crossed swords in the area behind barn three. At the time his hair was long. He’d pulled it behind his head in a hair tie, and he’d been wearing protective glasses and a baseball cap. The Brad she’d spent the morning with looked nothing like him—except for his amazing physique.

  A mischievous smile crossed her face.

  Pulling her phone from her pocket, she placed a call.

  “Hello?”

  At the sound of his voice, she pictured him in an S&M dungeon wearing black jeans and a leather vest hanging open over his washboard torso.

  “Hello?” he repeated.

  “Hi, Brad. It’s Megan. Sorry, I was distracted for a minute.”

  “What’s up?”

  “When I moved here I didn’t bother unpacking much because I planned on finding my own place. I have quite a few boxes, and I wondered if I could bring a few over this afternoon.”

  “Sure, but I think you should bring as many as you can. I don’t like the idea of you carryin’ them up the stairs, and today’s the only day I’ll be here to help. I’ll be out workin’ all week.”

  “I’d love some help. Thanks, Brad. I’ll pack as much as I can into the back of my Jeep. I’ll probably leave here in about an hour.”

  “I’m not leavin’, so whenever you get here is fine, but I’ll start lookin’ out for you around then. By the way, you can park at the back of the barn across from the paddocks. That will be close to the stairs.”

  “Sounds perfect. Thanks.”

  “See you soon, Megan.”

  “Yes, you will.”

  Ending the call, she sat for a minute wondering about the wisdom of her plan.

  “Screw it. I can always change my mind,” she muttered, rising to her feet and heading back to the kitchen, “but if it feels right, maybe I’ll get lucky and find out what it’s like to be spanked by a handsome cowboy.”

  * * *

  After finishing her sandwich and lugging boxes out to the Jeep, she discovered the spacious cargo area held more than she’d thought. By the time she’d finished, she only had four boxes left. Taking a few minutes to catch her breath and finish the bottle of sparkling water she’d opened, she fixed her hair, freshened her makeup, and climbed into her Jeep.

  Rolling out of Furlong Farms, she glanced at her watch and discovered it had been ninety minutes since she’d talked to Brad. She was thrilled she’d achieved so much in such a short amount of time. The drive was an easy one, and as she turned into the ranch she could see her new boss fixing a broken fence at the end of the driveway. He looked up as she moved slowly forward, but didn’t smile. Rolling to a stop next to him, she lowered the passenger window.

  “When you said you’d be about an hour, and I said you could come any time,” he began, leaning his elbows on the open window and frowning, “I wasn’t expectin’ you to show up three hours later.”

  “It’s not. I spoke to you about ninety minutes ago.”

  “You called me around eleven-thirty.”

  “I know, and it’s one o’clock now,” she retorted, looking at her watch. “Oh, no! It said one o’clock when I left the cabin fifteen minutes ago. Shit. The battery must have died.”

  “If that little hand quits movin’, that means your watch has stopped!”

  “Well, duh!” she exclaimed, rolling her eyes. “I do know that! I just didn’t see it. Sorry, I’m not yelling at you, I’m mad at myself. Brad, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay this time, I didn’t have to be anywhere, but I was gettin’ worried. I was gonna call you when I finished mendin’ the fence here.”

  “I can’t believe it,” she mumbled. “I feel like such an idiot. Time. Me and blasted time.”

  “I’m finished here. Drive me up to the barn.”

  “Yes, of course. Jump in.”

  Her ebullient mood had changed to deep embarrassment. As he opened the door and sat down, she decided to postpone her plan to tell him about their encounter three years before. Being spanked for the first time and by him would have to wait. She wanted it to be playful, and the way she was feeling it wouldn’t be fun at all.

  “Where’s Catch?” she asked as she started forward.

  “Sleepin’. He takes an afternoon nap every day at two-thirty. You can set your watch by him.”

  “That’s adorable. He has so much personality.”

  “Yeah, he does, and you haven’t seen the half of it.”

  “Where do I go?”

  “Stay to the left of the barn.”

  “Ah, yes, I see it now.”

  “Follow the lane around and you can park at the back entrance. It’s a good thing you’re doin’ this now. Like I said, this is the only day I have any time.”

  “I know I’ll be bringing the horses in at five o’clock and feeding, but is it okay if I come by earlier to unpack and get organized?”

  “I’d recommend it. Once you start workin’ you’ll be busy. Park here.”

  Coming to a stop, she was about to step out of the Jeep when he suddenly grabbed her wrist. “Hold on a sec. You may be turnin’ this Jeep around and headin’ home in a few minutes.”

  “But, uh, why would I do that?” she asked, a shard of panic slicing through her heart.

  “You might change your mind about workin’ for me.”

  “Change my mind? What would make me do that?”

  “You and I—we’ve got some unfinished business.” His eyes had narrowed, his frown had deepened, and he’d spoken in a low, stern voice.

  “We do?” she managed, though her heart was thumping so hard she could scarcely breathe.

  “When I met you this mornin’ you looked familiar, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why. I’ve been thinkin’ on it all afternoon, and I remembered you said you spent your summers at Furlong Farms. Then it hit me. A couple of years ago, a rude, thoughtless, arrogant young woman galloped behind barn three. That area is off limits. It’s quiet there, and it’s supposed to be kept that way so vets and farriers can work undisturbed. I was shoein’ a difficult stallion, and when that girl stampeded past he completely flipped out. If Andy hadn’t been standin’ where he was and knew exactly what to do, things would’ve ended badly. Megan, that irresponsible and obnoxious female was you.”

  As he’d delivered his short speech, her stomach had churned, and a cold clamminess had rippled through her body. She wanted to respond, to say how sorry she was, but try as she might she couldn’t get her voice to work.

  “Are you gonna deny it?”

  She shook her head.

  “At least that’s something,” he muttered. “Do you recall what I said to you?”

  Though she remembered every word and every second of the dramatic scene, she shook her head again.

  “I’m not sure I believe that, but I’ll refresh your memory. I told you if I ever caught you, I’d spank your ass so hard you wouldn’t be able to sit in a saddle for a week. Does that ring a bell?”

  Sighing heavily, she slowly nodded her head.

  “What did you yell back at me?”

  “I, uh...”

  “Did you apologize and ask if everyone was okay?”

  “No.”

  “Then tell me what you did say? And Megan, I won’t ask again!”

  “Good luck with that,” she whispered. “You’ll never catch me, and even if you did, I sure as hell wouldn’t let you spank me.”

  “That’s right. So you do remember.”

  “It was just a—a—freaky thing,” she squeaked. “I’m truly sorry. Honestly, and after you left I did ask Pedro if
everyone was okay.”

  “He’s another one who could’ve been hurt. You’re lucky he didn’t tell Doug. As the foreman he should have.”

  “He likes me, but, uh, why didn’t you report it?”

  “Not my place, but back to the point. I made it very clear what I’d do if our paths crossed again, and here we are.”

  Though she’d planned to tell him herself, and was prepared that he might make good on this threat, she was mortified by the conversation. It wasn’t evolving the way she’d imagined, and she was suddenly terrified by the thought of what might happen.

  “I’m sorry, I swear,” she bleated. “Please believe me.”

  “I think you’re just sorry I’m finally nailin’ your ass. How do I know you won’t do something equally foolhardy while you’re workin’ for me?”

  “I won’t.”

  “How can I be sure?”

  “Are you saying I don’t have the job?” she asked woefully. “I’ll understand if you want me to leave.”

  “I’ll repeat the question. How can I be sure?”

  “Uh, I don’t know.”

  “There are no guarantees, but there is a deterrent—isn’t there, Megan?”

  She knew the answer he was waiting for, but thousands of butterflies were fluttering wildly in her stomach, and in spite of her earlier fantasy she couldn’t bring herself to say the words.

  “I’ll say it for you. My hand burnin’ your bare backside. If you want the job here, that’s gotta happen. There’s no way around it.”

  Chapter Five

  Megan had never been so humiliated, mortified, or scared in her life. Neither had she been so turned on, and her soaked pussy wasn’t the only evidence of the profound effect the brawny cowboy and his wicked suggestion was having on her. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and press her breasts against his chest. She longed to be held in his powerful arms and wrapped up tightly—so tightly she couldn’t even wriggle—and she ached to feel his lips crush hers in a never-ending, time-stopping kiss. But she could show none of her feelings, nor could she move or find her voice. She’d buried her head in her hands, and they’d become frozen against her face.

  “I think I’m gonna take these.”