Under the Cowboy's Control (7 page)

Selena screamed involuntarily, and seconds later, Clinton pushed into the house from the mudroom.

"What's wrong?" He demanded, just as his eyes focused on the water spilling out, everywhere. "Crap!"

Selena was wet from trying to put the black water hose back in the pipe, and water drenched the front of her shirt, while tears slipped down her cheeks.

Clinton jumped into action and shoved the water control to the off position, and then forced the hose down the pipe. He moved the machine back into place where it had agitated itself away from the wall because it was too full. He reached in, took a couple of pairs of jeans out and threw them in the laundry basket on the floor.

Then he turned the water back on. He stood and watched it for a few seconds to see if it was okay, then turned and faced her.

She stood back, softly crying with her face in her hands.

Selena looked extremely helpless, and Clinton froze in front of her. "Aw, Selena.

It's okay."

Her sobs became louder. He moved forward and awkwardly took her in his arms.

"Shh. Don't cry, Selena. It's just water. It could of happened to anyone." He patted her on the back.

The door clicked open a few feet away from them. "Get your hands off her. Now."

Travis barked the command and Clinton dropped his hands away like she was a piece of hot coal.

"It's not what you think, Boss--" Clinton began.

"I don't want to hear your bullshit. I've warned you before about hanging around here all day. You think I don't know what the sudden attraction is?"

The younger man bristled. "Boss, I--"

Clinton's words stopped when Travis took a threatening step forward.

"Get back to work." The words were a low growl. Travis turned his attention toward the girl trying to dry her eyes. Clinton was already dismissed from his mind. He heard the door shut behind the young cowhand.

He folded his arms over his chest and stood glaring at her. "You won't let me buy you a few lousy articles of clothing, but your life is so hard here, that you cry all over that boy and let him touch you?"

He waited for her to speak, but she only shook her head. His words became more biting. "Maybe you don't like it here? Maybe washing my clothes is too hard for you, and you thought you'd just get a little help?" He reached out a hand to touch her face and she flinched away from him.

The move maddened him.

He grabbed her wrist and hauled her body into his. "You let that kid put his hands all over you, but you flinch from my touch?"

Her heartbeat accelerated and her eyes widened to their fullest. She pushed against him. "
Por favor
, Travis, stop."

She held herself still a few inches away from him and stood taking ragged breaths.

Travis saw the fear in her eyes and loosened his grip a notch. His sanity slowly returned. "What happened, Selena?"

She bit her lip and pointed to the washing machine. "It went g-gush."

"The washing machine? Gush?"

"Y-yes, it gushed water."

Finally, Travis noticed the water he would have seen earlier if it hadn't been for the sheer blind jealousy gripping him. Water was all over the floor and all over Selena.

If he could reach his ass, he'd kick himself.

He'd scared her to death, and threatened an innocent kid. "I guess Clinton just came in here to help you?"

She nodded her head.

He hung his head. "Shit. I'm sorry." He released her completely, his hands slowly moving from the grip he had on her shoulders, down her arms, until he held each hand in his, squeezed, and then stepped away from her. "Why don't you go get dried off, and I'll get a mop and clean up this mess."

Selena nodded and turned away and went to change.

****

A few minutes later, after Travis finished mopping the floor, he stood in the doorway to his bathroom and studied it. It didn't look like the same room. The fresh smell of pine cleaner and bleach assailed his nostrils. The room sparkled, the mirror shiny and streak free. A large stack of fluffy towels sat on the vanity top, ready for his use. But what held his attention were the three shelves above the commode. Before, they had been stuffed with half empty bottles and accumulated crap that he didn't have the time or the inclination to go through. Now, the bottom shelf held his shampoo and shaving things, all neatly organized. But the top two shelves were decorated. An empty glass coke bottle held a fresh bunch of wildflowers, their aroma softly scenting the room, and two of his first place bull riding plaques filled the extra space. He had always meant to put some of his things around the house, but he had never had the time. So they had just sat in the box and rotted.

He glanced up when he heard a noise behind him. Selena was coming out of her bedroom, clean, dry clothes on and her wet hair brushed behind her ears.

She hesitated as she saw him studying his bathroom.

Travis watched her slowly come closer to him and felt his muscles clench in a rush of violent need. The feelings she evoked in him were primeval. Elemental.

Feelings of jealousy, possession, and an arousal so strong he thought he might snap.

She lingered just out of his reach. She motioned to the bathroom. "You l-like it?"

Travis had to touch her. He physically was unable to stop himself from reaching out and picking up her hand. "Oh yeah, I like it." He pulled her into the bathroom and swiveled her in front of him, her back lightly resting against his front, a position that let them both see the room. He gently wrapped his arms around her.

He held her for a moment and forced his body back into control. He took several deep breaths and let her closeness temper the fires raging inside of him.

"The shelves look good, Selena. Thank you." He lightly rested his chin on her head and softly rocked her in his arms, letting the magic of the room and the feel of her soft little body soothe him. "You're a miracle worker, aren't you?"

Selena stood in his embrace, enchanted at his reaction to the few simple things she had done. His praise washed through her mind, and a feeling of safety settled in her soul. Safety such as she hadn't experienced since the loss of her family. Not since the drug cartel had taken over Mexico.

She closed her eyes and leaned back against him, her hands unconsciously caressing the strong arms that enclosed her. She savored the moment and tried to tell him what she was feeling. "
Gracias
, Travis. Th-thank you. Thank you for everything."

She needed to see his face, and she turned in his arms. She studied his features.

He was so handsome, so big, so comforting to her. His house was becoming her haven, and his men that he was so afraid would offend her, had done nothing but show her the utmost respect.

She reached up, and with her soul in her eyes, placed her palm against his cheek.

"Thank you."

Travis felt a need so profound there was no trying to deny it. His head dipped, and his lips settled on hers. He felt her jerk in his arms and hesitantly kiss him back. He took a chaste kiss, his lips firm against hers. His mouth hovered over hers, and when he didn't lift his head to end the kiss, she made a slight sound of shock in her throat.

He continued to sip from her lips, but made no move to penetrate her or deepen the kiss. His arms tightened around her, and she hung in his embrace. Her innocence had been obvious from the first day, but now the idea tickled his brain that she might be experiencing her first kiss.

It was a tantalizing thought.

He shifted his body slightly, until his back was against the wall. He splayed his legs wide and pulled her more closely to him, until she was leaning into him, clutching his chest. All the while, his lips moved gently across hers. He opened his mouth slightly, so she could taste him.

She gasped.

He moved his hands from her waist to her face and her body sagged against his.

He felt his erection straining against his jeans, and he lifted his lips from hers and sucked in a deep breath. He held her face in his hands and studied her loveliness.

Her eyes slowly opened.

His gaze tangled with hers, and their breathing became ragged. His eyes moved down to her mouth, damp from his lips, and his thumb brushed across her bottom lip. She made a tiny mewling sound.

"Selena, I want to kiss you." His words were deep, rough.

Her lashes lowered over her eyes. Her brain scrambled and she tried to get the English words out. "You j-just did."

His expression became pained, and his thumb took a few more strokes of her lip, his arms refusing to release her, as his brain was screaming at him to do.

His voice became hoarse as he asked the question he needed to know the answer to. "Has a man ever kissed you before, Angel?"

Pink blossomed on her cheeks and her breath caught, but she answered, "No."

Travis knew she was untouched, but now he understood how innocent she was. It was a compelling reason to let her go, but an insidious voice in his brain kept telling him that he deserved to have that first kiss.

After all, some other man would get the gift of her virginity, and an anger so savage took hold of him that he didn't think twice, just reached back down to her and took her mouth with his.

Selena's brain shut down completely when she felt him part her lips and plunge his tongue into her mouth. Shock and ecstasy reverberated through her body as she hung in his arms. She lifted her hands and wrapped them around his wrists to anchor herself, so she wouldn't fall. Her brain was inundated with feelings, mainly a wave of shock at the intimacy of his actions. His mouth was totally open on hers, his tongue taking deep strokes of her mouth, his lungs breathing into her mouth.

His body surrounded hers, his hands leaving her face and encircling her completely.

She felt one of his hands move down her back to her bottom, and her mind splintered into a million fragments as a shaft of sexual desire hit her body for the first time in her life. She ruthlessly pulled her brain from the shock and tried to focus on the kiss she was receiving.

When he realized she was with him, the kiss changed. He began coaxing her into a response, his hands becoming gentle and his tongue teasing hers to join him. He lifted his head. "Please, kiss me back. Kiss me back, baby." His mouth came back down to hers.

Selena responded to the need in his voice and slowly gave him her tongue. He groaned in her mouth and his hands sank into the firmness of her butt. He began to knead her flesh. Her tongue joined his in a slow, sensual swirling, their mouths open wide on each other.

Travis felt her go to his head like liquid fire. His brain shut down, and his body shifted into automatic pilot. One hand left her butt, and unerringly searched for one of the small, soft swells that tempted him. He pushed her shirt up, and his hand came around and pushed her bra out of the way and found the delicate mound of her breast.

When Selena registered his hand on her naked breast, she jerked her mouth away from his, and pulled her body from his in shock. The movement dislodged his hand from his prize. He slid his hand back to her butt. She pushed against his chest, her breathing ragged with her agitation.

Slowly, his heart rate steadied, and his breathing slowed. He registered the shock on her face, and he hissed a single expletive. She jerked and pushed against him harder.

He slowly released her and stepped away from her. Why the hell had he done that? He had no control with her. None. He needed to find it, fast.

"My fault. It won't happen again." He brushed past her and out the door.

****

The following day, Selena moved quietly around the kitchen, cleaning up after lunch. Travis sat at the table, his eyes silently following her every move. She was nervous in his radius, and kept glancing back at him every few minutes to see if he still watched her.

He did.

Travis sat at the table in a semi-state of arousal. The same way he had been since the first time he saw her, a week ago. Today, the tension was electric between them. She looked at him every few minutes, awareness and curiosity in her eyes. It was the damn curiosity that was going to break him.

He wanted to be the one to teach her. To show her what it would be like between them. His erection strained against his jeans as he thought about the moment that he would push into her.

He had never had a virgin before. He had never wanted one. But it was different with her. The tantalizing image of the sexual education he could give her threatened to push him over the edge. The way she had gasped when he pushed his tongue into her mouth brought a parallel vision of what her reaction would be when he pushed his body into hers.

Her body, pliant in his arms, giving him what he needed, became a provoking image that wouldn't let up. He was about to come unglued. He needed to get the hell out of there.

****

Selena glanced up from wiping down the counters when she heard his chair scrape back from the table. She watched him push his hat back on his head and slam out the back door without a word or a look.

She slowly took a few deep breaths that she needed so badly. Did he regret the kiss he had given her the day before? Was he angry she had pushed him away?

The feel of his hand on her breast had shocked her, but she desperately wanted to experience more of his kisses. The feelings he evoked in her were confusing and distressing to the already turbulent situation she found herself in.

She needed to concentrate on doing a good job here, so she could stay long enough to get a good grasp of her speaking skills, and hopefully, to find the grandparents in Texas she had never met.

Two hours later, as she was folding towels in the laundry room, Juan knocked and stepped into the house with Slim, the cook. The men had their hats in their hands and approached her to find out if she was willing to give Slim a few cooking lessons. With Juan acting as translator, she happily agreed, and a few minutes later, followed them out to the large kitchen located behind the bunkhouse.

She had never seen it before and was astounded at its industrial size. It was big enough to feed an army, which feeding seven starving ranch hands equated to.