DOTTY (The Naughty Ones Book 3) Read online

  “No, perv, I mean look. I’m never going to be designer worthy because I hate that stuff. Most days I buy my clothes secondhand because I just like the thought of using something old to make something new. I am not a society girl and I hate those parties. I’m too freaking cheap to make a man like Alex happy.”

  Paul growls at that and I find myself in his lap, his mouth on mine and my hands tangled in his hair.

  This is our first real kiss and it’s a doozy. There’s no desperation, no quick pecks, it’s just Paul lazily making love to my mouth as I stroke and suck on his lips and tongue in a slow, sweet joining of mouths.

  “You’re perfect just the way you are. Don’t ever change,” he growls, biting into my bottom lip only to release it slowly and lick at my teeth.

  “I won’t, I’m just not…I know that we aren’t at all suited and that’s just fine by me since I’m not intending to ever want him. I want peace and a slower pace and a family like the one I adopted when Callie and the girls decided to take me in. I don’t want any of the things I have so far, and that’s fine because it just means I can let go of them easier. My parents? They’ll never get this,” I say, waving at the tranquil beauty around us.

  “Their loss.”

  “Yes. They also won’t ever get why I can’t choose them.” I sigh.

  “Have they ever chosen you first, though?”

  I think about his question, about all the times my parents disappointed me.

  "When I turned seven they forgot it was my birthday. I spent all day waiting for them to surprise me until I realized…”

  “Jesus, that sucks.”

  “Don’t feel too sorry for me, cowboy. I had a great day with Callie and the girls and I even got a giggle in when Indie and Percy used the poison ivy from the girl scouts hall, you know, the samples they use to teach with, and rubbed it all over their sheets. They scratched and yelled about it for days. At one point my mother looked like she was going to scratch her skin off.”

  Good times.

  Paul laughs at that and I relax again, giggling along with him.

  “I need you to tell me that you’ll refuse Alex because no matter what, I can’t be with you if you’re planning to follow orders. It’s wrong and I can’t stand the thought of having you only to see you walk down the aisle to him. I want you, Dot, a lot, but I have to know…”

  “I’m not marrying him, Paul. End of story.”

  That smile comes back then and this time when he kisses me, I know that we’re on. Tonight I will make love to Paul summers and nothing else will matter.

  Chapter Seven

  Everything is Blue

  Paul

  I’m cursing a blue streak as Jules stands back and takes in the cow tangled in a long stretch of wire and inches closer to the bellowing old girl.

  I’d taken Dot home an hour after our talk because we’d both been so content to just sit beside the creek and be at peace that she didn’t want to leave.

  By the time I got home and started planning my seduction it was close to sunset and time for an early dinner. Unfortunately none of that happened for me because I got the call that Jules had found a trapped cow—a calf from the looks of the poor thing—and we had to go and get her untangled.

  Not as easy as it looks I’m afraid, and a lot more dangerous than some would believe. There’s nothing worse than seeing an animal in pain but having to take your time to relieve it because a hoof to the head could kill you.

  “Here. I got her, chief, just come on in and start cutting. Shit, I think we’ll have to call Doc Abers on down when he’s free to take a look at her. She’s bleeding a lot.”

  I see that and it pisses me off because it tells me that someone isn’t doing the job I pay him to do.

  “Who’s on this piece of fence?”

  “Rafferty. I sent him this way last week to check things over and fix what needed fixing. If he’d done it right this old gal wouldn’t be suffering like this right now,” he snarls, putting more weight on the legs when I start cutting and the animal starts thrashing.

  There’s blood everywhere—on me, the animal, and the dry dirt beneath us—and I fucking hate seeing it. I inherited a soft spot for animals from Mom, and I despise seeing them in pain.

  It takes us a good hour to get her free, and another thirty minutes as Abers looks her over where she’s still lying in the dirt and makes his verdict.

  “Dammit! Goddammit to hell. Just fucking do it and call Rafferty. I want him in my office when I get back,” I yell, stomping towards my horse with a snarl.

  By the time I get home I’m pissed and in no mood for anyone or anything, not even the smiling temptress who meets me at the door with a beer and promises of a great dinner.

  “I’ll be in my office for a while. Got some stuff to do. Go on ahead and eat, Dot.”

  I know she’s confused and a little hurt as I dismiss her and head for the office, but I’d rather this than take my temper out on her.

  “You cost me an animal today and I want to know why,” I snarl as soon as he walks in, hat in hand, cocky little twenty-year-old grin on his face.

  I like him most days, and have never had a problem with him in the year he’s been here, but today was a make or break for me. This land, these animals are a priority, not a fucking hobby, and this asshole doesn’t seem to understand that.

  “Sheesh, boss, it was just a little oversight is all. I went over to check it last week but it wasn’t that bad so I thought I’d fix it on next rotation.”

  “Not that bad! There are at least ten yards of fence down because that cow got tangled and dragged the fencing with her! If it was bad enough to get that far, it was bad enough to require repair. You ignored it and left the job undone, Rafferty.”

  I see his throat bob as he swallows and I almost feel bad for the guy having to face my temper. Hell, I’d shit my pants if someone looked at me as murderously as I must be looking at him.

  “I-I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  “Damn straight it won’t. You’re on fence for the next month, Rafferty, and so help me God if I go looking and find even one section of it down or listing it’ll be your ass. Got me?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “Good, now get the hell out of here and go eat or some shit,” I growl, leaning back only when the door slams shut behind him.

  It’s late and the house is silent. The hall light is on when I step out of the office, and as I take the stairs and open the door to my room I’m calm and feeling a return of my lust for Dot.

  Too bad she’s fast asleep and so close to the edge of the mattress that I just know touching her now could earn me a bitch slap.

  So much for best laid plans, huh?

  My shower is icy but I need it because my balls are so full and sore I feel like a stiff breeze would get me off right now. Toweling off and slipping on some boxers, I creep toward the bed and slide in, ignoring the pounding in my dick that’s screaming for me to wake Dot and try again.

  I’m so hard I can feel every whisper of air that caresses my skin and I almost lose my shit when she rolls over in her sleep and throws a thigh over mine, her softness settling over my shaft.

  “Sweet Lord.”

  The need to take her is urgent and so damn hot I have to grit my teeth against the images I have of throwing her to her back and plunging inside her.

  I’ve thought of nothing but her taste and the feel of her tight sheath all afternoon. She’s like a fever in my blood and I can’t decide whether I want to taste all that heat first or cover my length in her.

  “Hmm. Paul.”

  Her sigh is so dreamy I bite my lips to remind myself that she’s asleep and not inviting me to maul her just yet. Dot is warm as she snuggles closer and presses her sex into my hip. And God help me she smells like lavender and something I’ve come to think may just be her natural scent.

  It’s sweet and clean and makes my mouth water with the need to see if the source is indeed between her thighs like I susp
ect it is.

  Instead I just pull her closer and savor her sweet soft body so close to mine and think about what we’re going to do next. I’ve been only half truthful with Dot thus far, and part of me knows that my tantrum earlier may have been a little more about getting out of tonight than it was at Rafferty, though the man deserves a good kick in the ass.

  No I think that the hours spent freeing the cow were spent thinking too much. I started thinking about how she’s putting all this trust in me, giving herself to me and depending on me to make the outcome worthwhile because the pain she’s going to experience after will be big.

  And here I am, knowing that while I do want her and like her, I am using her in a way. When Alex finds out that I’m screwing his fiancée, untrue as that may well be, it will crush him. Not emotionally or financially, but because he’ll be losing something that he can’t get back.

  Just like I lost what little trust I had left in people after my grandfather and his wife spent my childhood making it miserable. I see now that Sarah was a liar, that she never loved me and was only with me to keep me in line like they wanted, but I did love her, and for the pain Alex and Sarah caused I’m going to get my revenge.

  Dot just happens to be an easy tool for me to use against him.

  I drift off to sleep with those questions swirling in my mind, at peace as Dot snuggles closer and drools all over my arm that’s pillowing her head.

  My balls may be freaking sapphire blue right now and I feel like my dick is about to kill me from loss of blood to the brain, but here and now I just push it all away and sleep for the first time in weeks since I saw Dot and knew about Alex.

  This is all gonna work out, Paulie boy, I assure myself, burying my face in her hair. It has to because after today’s conversation and knowing that she’s as perfect for this life as I could ever have dreamed, I want it all with a fire that’s burning me alive from the inside out.

  ***

  Dot

  Waking up beside a man wearing nothing but tight boxer shorts and an erection that’s nestled in my butt is so weird. Awesome but weird, I muse as I stretch long and silently, pushing closer before memories of last night bombard me.

  Asshole.

  What the heck was up with him last night? And you know what? How dare he make me sit and wait with my first supper cooling on the table only to brush me off so easily the minute he got home.

  I was so hurt and angry I just shoved everything into containers and came upstairs to bed. The temptation that hit me when I glared at his bed and thought about sleeping elsewhere was great, but even greater was the need to sleep beside him and not wake up alone.

  Pitiful human.

  The sun isn’t even up yet and here I am, awake and bushy tailed, ready to start the morning with a bang. Instead of luxuriating in the morning wood fest that’s up my crack I slowly slide out from beneath the arm around my waist and slip into the bathroom for a quick shower and dress.

  This is a vacation so I feel okay with my old cutoffs, white tee, and ratty Converse as I head downstairs and start throwing breakfast together.

  Jules told me yesterday while Paul was on the phone to oversee some last-minute thing at the office that the men usually just scarf some canned beans and toast for breakfast before heading out, so I offered to cook everyone some grub.

  I love this and like even more that I have so many mouths to feed. Being used to big quantities means that by the time an hour has passed and the first men come waltzing in, I’ve made fresh biscuits, bacon, sausage, eggs and pan-fried potatoes.

  I even threw together a quick pancake batter and have a pile of the little devils sitting on the table, oozing butter and maple syrup.

  “Whoooeee, Miss Dotty, this sure does look fine. Godang it, I haven’t eaten a good meal in months since Tory brought one of his girlfriends to the bunkhouse and she cooked for us.”

  I’m not sure about all their names as yet so I just smile and grab a plate to keep for Paul as the men start chowing down. The satisfaction I feel as they keep humming and throwing compliments at me has me blushing and feeling so great, it’s like a letdown when Mr. Grumpy Face stomps in and seems to bring rain clouds with him.

  “What the hell are you assholes doing in my house eating my food?”

  I cringe, thinking they’ll all just jump up and run like I want to, but I should know by now that men don’t react that way. They all just shrug and keep stuffing their faces while Jules flips Paul the bird and grabs the last of the bacon.

  Thank God I grabbed some for me and Paul or I’m sure they’d all be dead the way his eyes blaze when he sees all the food gone.

  “Here, grumpy ass, I saved you a plate,” I huff, slamming the plate down where he’s sitting glaring at the men.

  That gets him all bright and chipper and I even accept his dazzling smile when I hand him coffee and sit down to eat my own breakfast.

  “God, this is fucking phenomenal.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I say around a mouthful of potatoes.

  Even I moan when the taste bursts onto my tongue and the buttery goodness oozes down my throat. I cook like a pro, I ain’t going to dispute that or act all humble. That’s not me. I may be timid and prefer the shadows, but I have many talents and this is my favorite one. Feeding ingrates who love to eat.

  Paul finally finishes as they’re talking about the work to be done and I look up to see him grinning at me.

  “No wonder your business took off so fast, this is better than anything I’ve ever tasted. Anything that’s food, at least,” he drawls, making me blush when his eyes go down towards my lap with a slow lick to his lips.

  “Awww shit, does that mean this fine little lady is taken?” one of the guys groans and I find myself giggling like a schoolgirl when Paul growls and throws him a threatening glare.

  “Yes, so hands off, and keep your eyeballs off her if you want to keep them, fool.”

  I should be embarrassed and totally deny his claim since he’s been a meanie and jerk since yesterday afternoon, but when those brown eyes swing back to mine and heat, I suddenly do not care one whit about it.

  “We gotta go. Thanks so much for this, Miss Dotty. We sure appreciate you having us over for this fine meal,” Jules says gruffly, rising to get the others going.

  “You’re welcome, Jules. Dinner?”

  When they’re all out, after agreeing despite Paul’s scowl, it’s just us at the table. I suddenly feel all awkward again.

  “You shouldn’t feed those ingrates, they’re like strays. Once they eat here they’ll keep turning up and you’ll be nothing but a freaking cook on call.”

  I ignore that and raise a brow, not quite sure now that we’re alone that I even want to talk to him. Stupid man. I go out of my way to do something nice, he shits all over it, and now he wants to banter?

  “Dotty?”

  “What?”

  I’m already up and clearing the dishes when I feel him come up behind me to place the plates on the counter and crowd into me from behind.

  I can feel his breath on my neck and the hard proof of his arousal digging into my back, and I want to turn and kiss him so badly it hurts when I force myself to stay still and not respond.

  “Are you mad at me, baby?”

  Oh, those soft lips land at my nape and I start tingling all over from the contact, my breasts going heavy and swollen even as my clit starts beating a harsh message of lust between my legs.

  How and why I respond this quickly to this man when I’ve always had to work hard to get aroused by one is not something I care to think about right now.

  All I know is that I’m clenching and needy even as he slides a hand over my belly and presses, the pressure making my sex weep for him.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry about last night.”

  “Fine.”

  “I was pissed at Rafferty and I took it out on you instead of thanking you for cooking me a meal you didn’t have to.”

  I want to push bac
k and grind into him even as the hurt returns.

  “Okay.”

  “Dot. Talk to me, baby.”

  I love those endearments and love even more that he growls them in a voice hard with lust and gravelly with need, but he treated me so cruelly, just like everyone else, and it’s hard to get past.

  “All my life no one has really seen me. My parents, my siblings, even my friends, bless them, because you know, I’m not loud or a fighter and I don’t really make myself the center of attention. That was fine because I got used to it, but I thought you at least wouldn’t do that to me. You completely ignored me last night because of something that was more important, and I don’t need that.”

  His hands still at my words and I want to take them back immediately when I hear how pitiful and needy I sound.

  “I don’t expect you to be all over me or anything, and God knows it’s not like I expect all this emotional stuff from you, but I won’t spend three weeks here being Dot the shadow for you to take out whenever you want me. And I certainly do not appreciate you barking orders at me like that. I am not a dog.”

  That gets me whipped around so fast my head spins, and I’m gazing up at over six feet of angry man beast as I try to rein in the heavy arousal pulsing through my system.

  “I would never want you to feel that way and I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I just didn’t want you to have to spend the entire night with me in a pissed-off mood. Don’t ever call yourself a shadow again, and if I hear you saying that it’s okay for others to overlook you, I’ll definitely not take it well. You hear me?”

  This man is so sexy, even sexier when he’s angry and hard and glaring down at me with all that pent-up emotion. I like that emotion because it means that whatever happens between us in these three weeks, we’ll be more than just buddies or some emotionless fling.

  “Okay. I get it. I’m sorry I got so bent out of shape.”

  “No, not okay. I brought you here to have a good time and relax and here I ruined our first night together because I’m an asshole with a bad temper.” He sighs, running a hand through his dark hair and down his face.