Wrangled (19 page)

I gasped. How had he known? But, I
understood. It was in the stiff way I held myself when his arm was around me. I
would need to get past that.

“Jason, I’m sorry. Just give me some time,
and I know I’ll grow to love you. It’s just that we don’t know each other well,
yet. It will come, I’m sure.”

“Why did you agree to marry me, Annalee?”
his voice was low and I had to strain to hear him.

“There were a lot of reasons why I should,
and only one or two why I shouldn’t. The Pros came out longer than the Cons,” I
said whimsically.

“That’s good enough for me,” he said.
Taking my hand, he led me to the master bedroom, where candles were already
lit. “May I?” he asked, lifting his hands to my hair, still bound into its
severe bun.

“Yes, Jason, go ahead.”

One by one, his nimble fingers found the
pins and loosed my hair into a cascade that rippled down my back to well below
my waist. He removed the clips that pushed the front forward, and ran his
fingers through it.

“My God,” he said. “Has it ever been cut?”

“No,” I answered.

“It’s magnificent,” he replied. “Are you
sure you want to cut it?”

“Yes, Jason. It marks me as something I’m
not anymore. But, if you like, I’ll have them save it for you. They can put it
in a long braid, and it will stay nice.”

“That would be wonderful,” he murmured, his
face now buried in handfuls of my tresses. I was getting a little worried that
this was all he wanted, when I’d resigned myself to sex and actually started
looking forward to it. But then, he dropped my hair and drew me to him in a
strong embrace. Slowly, as if he wasn’t yet sure how I’d react, he kissed me on
the lips. When I opened mine, he groaned and tightened his arms.

His passion unleashed, he pawed at the
straps of my top, a knit cotton that barely covered my bra straps. I let him
undress me, not trying to help. He pushed the straps down my arms, and then did
the same with the bra straps, until my breasts were half uncovered. I shrugged
the garments down, releasing my breasts, which dropped him to his knees.

“Oh, my God,” he said again. His hands
cupped both breasts, and he buried his face in them. Impatient, I reached
between us to unbutton my capris, pushing them and my panties down along with
the top and bra, which was still fastened, until I had to wriggle my hips to
get the bra over them. That seemed to wake Jason from his feast on the flesh of
my breasts, and he stood back to look at me, naked except for the puddle of
clothing at my ankles.

“You’re even more beautiful than I
imagined,” he breathed. He reached to take a strand of my hair and arranged it
over my shoulder, covering my breast except for the nipple that peeked through
a part in the cascade. Brushing a hand over the swell of my hip, he urged me to
get on the bed, then arranged each limb until I was artfully laid out, half on
my side, with my hair swirling around me.

Only then did Jason begin to remove his own
clothing. His chest rippled as he opened his arms to take off the white
button-down shirt, revealing a thin cotton undershirt with a deep V-neck and
deep-cut straps; the kind that I’d heard the cowboys call wife-beater for some
reason.  He left that on as he unfastened his pants beneath my fascinated gaze.
I wouldn’t have dreamed he’d have a physique like this, dressed as he always
did in a pair of business slacks, white shirt, and tie. His slacks dropped to
reveal narrow hips and a pair of well-shaped legs.

Moisture began to gather between my thighs
as I beheld the bulge beneath his boxer briefs, and I licked my lips in
anticipation. Jason’s eyes glittered before he stripped off the wife-beater to
reveal gym-honed muscles that bulged and rippled across his chest as he moved,
drawing my attention downward to the six-pack below. A trail of coarse hair started
just below his navel, and disappeared into the boxer briefs, drawing my eyes
there and causing me to wish he’d let me see where it led. The thought barely
entered my mind before he slipped a finger on each hand into the waistband of
the briefs and flipped it over his erection, which sprang out enticingly.

“Oh,” I breathed. It had been nearly three
months since I’d been with Cody, and the memories were fading, along with the
love that he’d spurned. The body I saw before me would be my husband, a real
husband this time, with no other wives. I reached for him, finding my hands
around his cock and my senses swimming.

Jason’s hand tangled in my hair and he
growled his pleasure as he thrust into my hands. “That’s good, Annalee. Touch
it, stroke it.”

He was astraddle me on his knees when he
started giving directions. At first, I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to comply,
being unused to this type of lovemaking. Cody seldom talked when we made love,
only made incoherent noises of pleasure. And Jed, well, I didn’t want to think
about Jed. Jason had raised my head from the pillow and was pressing his
erection to my lips. “Here, Anna, suck it.”

A little shocked but even more hot, I
opened my lips for his strong thrusts, trusting him maybe more than I should
have. Immediately, both of his hands were at the back of my head, holding me
still while he fucked my mouth. His masculine scent was overwhelming, dizzying.
I felt wanton and lustful, feeling the incredible length and breadth of Jason’s
cock invading my mouth like I’d never felt before. Even though I was struggling
not to gag when he thrust deeply, my core was on fire, along with my nipples. I
moaned, wriggling my body under him.

Jason laughed and immediately withdrew from
my mouth. “You want some for yourself, huh? Let’s see what I can do.”

He fell on me then, devouring my breasts
with his lips and teeth, sucking hard and then nipping the nipples. It was
painful, but at the same time exquisite. My breath came in ragged gasps each
time he bit me, and I cried out my pleasure, arching into his face for more.
The Jason I knew from the office, kind, considerate and quiet, was gone,
replaced by a man whose appetites drove him. His assault on my senses left me
no time to think; only my emotions were engaged. Lust as I’d seldom known it,
mixed with a fear of the unknown in the back of my mind, and in the forefront,
the fiery sensations that followed his hands, lips and teeth.

Jason’s rough hand thrust between my legs,
and a growl of pleasure escaped him when he found me wet and ready. He parted
my legs and began to position himself to enter me. “Condom,” I gasped.

Jason went still as granite, then ground
out, “What?”

“We need a condom, Jason. I’m not
protected.” Reason was flooding back into my mind as I panicked at the near-miss.
Once again, stress was messing with my cycle, and I had no idea whether I’d be
safe or not.

“Protected from what?”

Fully alert now, I stared at Jason as if
he’d lost his mind. “From pregnancy, Jason. I don’t want to get pregnant
tonight.”

Anger flooded his face and my fear returned
until he gained control of it. I watched, fascinated as he schooled his face to
confusion and disappointment.

“Why not? We’re going to be married soon,
and I want children. Don’t you want more?”

I really hadn’t given it a thought, but now
I did. Tonight had given me information about Jason’s character and personality
that I hadn’t known before. I wanted to be sure of him, especially his temper,
before I had children with him. For that matter, I wanted to be sure before I
married him.

“Jason, please, I don’t want to think about
it right now,” I said. “Let’s get to know each other better, get our lives
settled together, before we think about children. Don’t you have a condom? I do
want to make love with you.”

“No, I don’t,” he said simply. The look he
gave me was, what? No longer confused, maybe a little disappointed, but most of
all I saw challenge. I’d killed the mood, and it was up to me to bring it back,
if that was what I wanted. I gazed at him for a moment, recalling my Pros and
Cons list. Did I still want to marry him? Adding ‘control issues’ to the Cons
list still didn’t overcome the Pros, so yes, I thought I still wanted that. But
I couldn’t risk pregnancy. I’d have to offer a different release.

“I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to kill
the mood. If you still want to make love, I’ll suck you off, but I can’t risk
pregnancy right now. I’m still too stressed over Al and everything to want to
worry about that. Can you understand?” As I spoke, hesitatingly, I watched his
face for clues to his thoughts. He was impassive at first, but I thought I saw
a spark when I said I’d suck him off.

In a tone I could only describe as chilly,
he answered. “I suppose I understand. You can suck me off if you want to.”

If I want to? Didn’t he want me to? I
honestly couldn’t tell, but this night was turning so weird that I didn’t want
to risk withdrawing the offer. I’d learned he was volatile, but I thought I
could calm him.

“Lay back,” I said.

As Jason arranged himself against the
pillows and headboard, half-reclining, I surveyed his body. There was no
question he was fit. Carved muscles from his neck to his feet bespoke hours in
a gym. Why hadn’t I noticed that before? Jason crossed his arms behind his head
and splayed his legs, opening himself for my inspection. In contrast to Cody’s
ropy work-honed muscles, Jason’s were smooth, rounded and cut deeply in
between. I stroked my open hand over his chest and abs, enjoying the ripple
under my fingertips while watching his cock spring back to life. Summoning
every memory of my educational DVD, I bent to pleasure him.

Taking him in one hand, lightly, with just
the fingertips, I used the other to stroke lightly over his sac and the insides
of his thighs. My reward was the leap of his cock in my hand, and a tiny drop
of pre-cum appearing at his tip. At the sight of it, my nipples contracted and
I couldn’t help but lean forward, tongue extended, to taste. It was nearly
tasteless, only a faint hint of salt and something indefinable, pure man maybe.
I closed my eyes, savoring the control I now had over him.

Taking a firmer hold on his shaft, I opened
my mouth wider and licked all around the head, nibbling the edge of the corona
with my lips. Though I didn’t look up at him, I knew I was having an effect on
Jason when he moaned under his breath. His gasp of pleasure when I suddenly
engulfed him with my whole mouth told me he was no longer so indifferent to my
ministrations. I swirled my tongue around him, still encased in my mouth and
wrung a louder groan from him. The fingers of my other hand weren’t idle,
either, as I teased his balls with the fingernails, alternating with cupping
them and gently squeezing.

When I began to suck and bob my head up and
down to create some friction for him, I felt him grasp handfuls of my hair on
both sides. His hips started lifting to thrust more deeply, and he held my head
by my hair, wresting control from me as he came closer to climax. With a long
groan, he went rigid, thrusting upward and pulling my head downward at the same
time so that he was buried all the way into my throat when the spasms came.
Gush after gush of thick, salty cum forced their way down my throat faster than
I could swallow, with the result that some squeezed out around his cock and
dribbled onto my lips. My eyes were watering and I was desperately trying to
breathe through my nose when at last he collapsed into the bed, spent.

I started to get up, but he pulled me back
into his arms and wrapped me up tightly. “Where are you going?”

“I need to clean up,” I said. Though none
of the past few minutes’ activity was for my pleasure, my body didn’t know the
difference. I was wet and sticky between my legs, and I wanted to wash my face,
get a drink of water. Somehow I knew we were done, that there would be no
orgasm for me tonight unless I decided to give myself one once I got home.
Curiously, I was indifferent to that. At the moment, I just wanted to clean up
and go home to my own bed.

“Okay, but come back when you’re done,” he
said. Did that mean he wanted to play with me some more, or that he’d be ready
for another round? Either way, I wasn’t particularly interested. I’d learned
what I needed to know. Jason was a selfish lover, and I’d had one of those
already. I needed to think.

Once in awhile, I
’d
think about when it all started to go wrong for me. I couldn’t dwell on it,
‘cause there was no use bein’ a crybaby. I’d lost a lot in the last year.

All of the women on the ranch was in a flap
about Annalee marryin’ that dude she worked for. Some of ‘em was for it, like
Janet and sometimes one or two of the girls. Some, like Miss Charity, was
dead-set agin it, but weddin’ plans was goin’ on anyways. It was gonna happen
in the ranch house, in that big room where they used to hold parties before the
boss took over the ranch. We was all invited, but I couldn’t see showin’ up
myself. I still had feelin’s for Annalee, and I couldn’t hardly stand thinkin’
of her with another man. She was one thing I’d lost; the most important.

Of course, losin’ Annalee meant losin’ her kids,
too. I didn’t know how much I thought of those kids until they was gone. I
missed little Tali wrappin’ her chubby arms around my neck and givin’ me a kiss
on the cheek, then rubbin’ her face where my whiskers tickled her. I missed Al
and his questions. I couldn’t smell strawberries without gettin’ a hard-on,
‘cause I missed holdin’ Annalee and smellin’ her hair.

To top it off, my first rodeo season looked
to be my last. After strugglin’ to place in the money all summer, I was gonna
have to admit I just wasn’t good enough. It was me, not Abo. My ropin’ horse
was good, everyone said. He could get outta the gate like greased lightnin’,
and he knew what to do when he was out. But my time sucked. Part of it was my
leg, that was still stiff sometimes, especially if it rained, like it had been
doin’ the last couple of weeks. The rest was I just didn’t have the time to practice
enough to make up for all those years I wasted as a kid.

I’d nearly done lost my Uncle Hank, too, to
the misunderstandin’ about Annalee. We still couldn’t talk about her without
one or both of us gettin’ mad and stompin’ off. But, he stuck by me, I’ll have
to say that. When he saw how miserable I was over Annalee gettin’ married, he
told me there’d be another girl for me down the road. But, the truth was that
if I stayed on the ranch, there wasn’t much chance I’d find me another girl. I
couldn’t go after one of the girls there. Even though they wasn’t real sisters,
it was too much like it for me. Probly for them, too. Anyway, all the ones that
was old enough was livin’ in Rawlins, since Celeste and Annalee needed more
help after Al’s accident and Ciara moved in with ‘em permanent.

That just left Amber and Janey. Janey’d be
eighteen soon, but Amber was still just seventeen, or near it. I didn’t even
know why I was thinkin’ along them lines. They was too much like MY sisters to
even think about it. Lovin’ Annalee had made her sisters mine. Even Celeste,
that was prickly as a cactus.

I wasn’t a quitter, though. I’d committed
to seein’ out the end of the rodeo season, and I intended to do just that, ‘til
the end of the good weather, anyway. Come next month, the nearby rodeos would
all be done for the year. I couldn’t afford to chase ‘em down to Texas and New
Mexico, so I’d be done, too. Best thing for me to do would be sell Abo, but I
didn’t have the heart for it. I loved him like nothin’ and no one else but
Annalee and Hank. So I needed to figure out somethin’ that would get me my own
place and work off the ranch, or somethin’.

Bein’ in charge of the breedin’ operation
for the paints had got me a raise, so I wasn’t exactly poor, but it wasn’t
exactly enough to be on my own with a horse to feed and transport, either.
Seemed to me I needed some advice. Right after this next rodeo weekend, I
planned to talk to Hank and the boss about my prospects.

Friday night, I loaded up Abo and drove on
down to Livermore, Colorado for the next day’s rodeo. It was a little podunk
town, not even as big as Rawlins, and I’d have to place pretty high to even pay
for the gas to get there and back. The last of the monsoon rains was pourin’ as
I drove away from the ranch, hopin’ I’d drive out of the storm ‘cause Abo
didn’t like thunder and lightnin’ and he was shiftin’ in the trailer enough to
make it hard to pull straight. Sure enough, ‘long about Cheyenne, I drove out
from under the cloud cover and stopped for some late supper at a truck stop
outside of town. I planned to get on down to Livermore before I stopped for the
night, though.

I hadn’t been on the highway more’n half an
hour when the storm caught up to us. This time we was gonna just have to ride
it out, because it was travelin’ south, just like we was. I’d be turnin’ off
the highway back to the west any minute, anyway, and Livermore was only fifteen
more miles. That was the plan. But, dark as it was in the rain, I missed a turn
somewhere and wound up comin’ up on the parkin’ lot for the North Poudre
reservoir. I knew that was wrong, so I figured we was just gonna have to camp right
here ‘til the sun come up and I could get my bearin’s.

I pulled the rig around and went back to
settle Abo down, pullin’ out the cot where I slept in the trailer with him when
we was out overnight. Then I give him some grain and water, and settled down
for the night, glad for the grub I’d had in Cheyenne. It was gonna be a while
before I got breakfast in the mornin’.

Next mornin’, we drove on back to where I
made the wrong turn. I could see on the map where I’d turned right instead of
left, so it was only another six or seven miles on into Livermore. We’d be
there in plenty of time to get a good spot, though there was gonna be a good
crowd.

The annual rodeo was the high spot of the
year for most of them little towns. Farmers and ranchers from miles around
would come and bring their families for barbecue and entertainment, and the
little boys would compete in Mutton Bustin’ events. I guess maybe sometimes
girls competed, too; it was hard to say when they was all trussed up in paddin’
and a helmet. Their daddies would help ‘em onto the back of a sheep where
they’d hang on for dear life while the sheep tried to run out from under ‘em.
If they could stay on for six seconds, they’d get a score. This was the kind of
stuff that I’d missed as a kid, since I didn’t have a real family until Uncle
Hank took me in at sixteen. Once they was older than six, kids graduated to
junior rodeo events and on to the real thing by the time they was sixteen or
seventeen, sometimes.

I pulled up at the rodeo arena less than
half an hour after gettin’ up at North Poudre, saw to Abo and went lookin’ for
the food tents. I was tuckin’ into a breakfast burrito fresh off the grill when
a man I’d met on the circuit give me a holler.

“Hey, Jim, how’s it goin’?” I answered.

“Cody, my ropin’ horse come up lame. I
might hafta withdraw,” he told me.

“Tough break, dude.”

“Yeah. But hey, I’ve got a proposition for
you,” he continued.

“What’s that?”

“You pretty sure you can place first or
second today? I figure that’s what it’ll take to pay for your trip,” he said,
givin’ me a stare that said ‘you ain’t got a prayer’. That kinda ruffled my
feathers, but he was right, and I couldn’t afford to get on my high horse with
him. Rodeo’s almost like high school. There’s gangs of friends and if you don’t
belong to one, you cain’t expect no help when you need it.

“Naw, Jim. I’m just about to come out and
admit I ain’t cut out for this. What’s your proposition?”

“How about lettin’ me ride Abo? I’ll split
my winnin’s with you. It’s the points I’m after, anyway.”

I thought fast. Jim was a top contender, so
I had no doubt that there’d be winnin’s to split, but I never paid much
attention to his rein technique.

“Abo’s neck-reined, Jim. Are you used to
that?” If he was a direct-rein rider, it wouldn’t work anyway. The horse and
rider had to be one unit for ropin’ events, and Jim wouldn’t have time to learn
how to signal Abo.

“I’ve trained both ways,” Jim answered.
“Let me take him for a trial run, and I’ll know if we can work together.”

I was willin’, since it would mean takin’
home some money for a change if they could do it. But first, I’d have to judge
whether Jim had the touch or not. There wasn’t nothin’ to do but get Abo out of
the trailer and let him try. In a paddock off to the side of the arena, Jim put
Abo through his paces. At first it looked like Abo was gonna live up to his
name, but then Jim got the better of him and they was soon wheelin’ and
gallopin’ with the best of ‘em.

Jim rode up to me and said, “What’s his
whole name, Cody?”

“It’s White’s BB King, but his barn name is
Abogado,” I said.

“He’s a good horse, once he stops arguin’
with you. Is that why you call him Lawyer?”

“Yep. What d’you think? Will you be able to
make good time with him?” I had to know quick, so I could withdraw from the
event and get my money back.

“I think we’ll do fine. Say, if you ain’t
cut out for this like you said, would you wanta sell him?”

“Naw, he’s mine. But you just give me an
idea. So, you wanta ride him today?”

“Yeah, I would. No reason we both cain’t.”

“Naw, I’m gonna withdraw. Can I leave him
with you while I take care of it?”

“Sure thing. Catch you later.”

That idea bumped up agin the sides of my
brain all day, while I watched Jim ride my horse to first place finishes in
both tie-down ropin’ and steer-wrestlin’. Lucky I’d been trainin’ him to know
the difference. Jim handed over five hundred in cash when he brung Abo back to
the trailer at the end of the day.

“Sure wish you’d let me buy him. You know,
it ain’t his fault you ain’t placin’, Cody. He’s trained real good.” Jim’s
friendly smile took the sting outta the words, ‘specially since I’d come to the
same conclusion myself.

“I know. But I cain’t give him up, we’ve
got an understandin’.” I smiled a little as I remembered the boss askin’ me
about that a few years back. Then I said to Jim, “But I’ve got an idea, and
maybe you’d be interested. I’m in charge of the paint breedin’ operation at the
Rockin’ W ranch outside of Rawlins. I’m gonna talk to the boss about lettin’ me
train some of ‘em for ropin’ horses. That outta make ‘em bring more cash when
they get sold. Give me a call in a coupla weeks, and I’ll let you know if we’ll
have a trained paint like Abo for sale before next spring.”

“Hey, I will!”

I give him the phone number and he promised
to call two weeks from tomorrow. That give me a little time to think on how I
was gonna talk the boss into this plan. And what I should ask for in my pay for
it.

Drivin’ back to the ranch, alls I could
think about was would the boss go for my idea? And would he let me keep the
difference between what the horses would go for untrained and what I could sell
a trained one for? Would it be enough to support Annalee and the kids? And
could I stop her marryin’ that guy? I didn’t know the answers to any of that,
but maybe Uncle Hank could help me with some of it. I couldn’t wait to get back
to the ranch and talk to him.

~~~

When I got back, it was late and I
’d missed dinner, but I sweet-talked Janet into makin’ me a sandwich
or somethin’ while I took care of Abo. When I got back to the kitchen, Uncle
Hank was there, just as I’d hoped. Sometimes it come in handy to have my uncle
courtin’ the cook. Janet had made me a big ol’ sandwich with home-baked bread
and roast beef, some home-fried potato chips she’d whipped up, and a big glass
of cold milk. It was perfect.

“Uncle Hank, I’m glad you’re here,” I said,
between bites. “I need to run somethin’ by you.”

“Shoot, then,” he told me, sittin’ down at
the table to pay attention, and wavin’ Janet over to sit with us. I didn’t
particularly want to spread my idea all around, but if Hank knew, Janet was
gonna know within hours anyway, so I didn’t mind.

“The boss was right,” I told them. “I ain’t
gonna be good enough at rodeoin’ to make a livin’. I’ve accepted that now. But
one thing I am good at, and that’s trainin’ ropin’ horses.” I paused to see if
Hank had anything to say about that, but he just watched me and waited for me
to go on.

“So, I’m thinkin’, maybe the boss would let
me train some of his, and maybe they’d bring more money at the sale because of
it. We could even make a big name for ‘em, have people comin’ to us to ask for
‘em, instead of waiting to take ‘em to auction. Do you think he’d let me share
in the extra profits?”

Asked a direct question, Uncle Hank didn’t
have any choice but to answer and let me know what he was thinkin’ so far.
“Might,” was all he said though. So I kept on goin’.

“Do you think maybe half of the extra would
be enough more that I could take a wife and support a family?” Hank’s face
darkened, but then he kinda smiled. I hadn’t said Annalee, maybe he thought I’d
give up on her.

“Might could,” he answered.

“Well, would you help me talk to the boss
about it? If he said yes, I’d quit the rodeo right now and get started, before
the weather stops us.”

“I guess I could do that.”

Next mornin’ I was out in the barn checkin’
over the brood mares when Uncle Hank called me to go on in the house with him
so we could talk it over with the boss. We found Mr. Russ in his office, but as
soon as we come in, he come around the desk and sat down with us in the
conversation area.