The sensuous mouth broke into a grin and a laugh rumbled up from somewhere deep inside him. "Mitchell Brand. Mitch. Good old Henry didn't tell me that A. Kelley was a woman. And a gorgeous one at that."Autumn made a face. "Good old Henry and I never met in person and I'm sure he didn't care what I looked like.""Tell me." If she could have seen his eyes clearly she was sure they would have been looking her up and down. "Is it true you bought this place on eBay?"She sighed. "Yes. What gave me away, the idiot sign on my forehead?"Mitch Brand chuckled. "No, darlin', not at all. It's just that...""It's just that no one in his or her right mind would buy this place, right?" Autumn swallowed back the bitter taste in her mouth. "But I'm here, for better or worse. And it sure looks like 'worse' is the operative word.""Well, then. Welcome to..."His grin widened..."what's left of Sweetgrass Ranch.""Thank you. I think." She looked around. "Where are the others? I don't see anyone els
Her first sight of the inside of the house almost made her want to cry again. Then she remembered the pact, squared her shoulders and dug in. Mitch had been very blunt about what it would take to put the ranch on its feet again but he'd also helped her draw up a budget she could afford. And he'd been right about sniffing out bargains for her. She listened to him on the phone with one supplier and was sure he came from a long line of con artists. While he'd gone about ordering new fencing, checking cattle sales, ordering building supplies and looking to see what men he could rehire, Autumn had attacked the house from top to bottom.When she finished she realized it was only dirt and grime that had made the place look so dilapidated. Once she had everything cleaned and polished, she could appreciate the wood floor, the furniture gleaming with age and furniture polish, the windows everywhere that gave her magnificent views of the ranch. Two of the men Mitch hired scraped and painted the
Mitch had barely headed back to his own house before she raced to the little den, opened up her laptop and went directly to her Instant Messenger list. No time now for the blog or even email.Please, please, please let someone be online. Ohmigod, you'd think I was a fainting virgin.Still, the realization that tonight would probably be The Night had her shaking with nerves. There was a big difference between talking and doing. She checked the list, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Rachel was logged in. What a stroke of luck. Good, solid practical Rachel. She'd tell it like it is.Flexing her fingers, she typed frantically.Autumn: Help! Help! Help!Rachel: Okay, what do you need? Autumn: The gorgeous hunk I blogged about has asked me out to dinner. Tell me quick what to do.Rachel: Shower and bathe every crevice in your body and douse yourself with that jasmine scent you love. He'll love it when he peels you out of your clothes. Wear one of your tank tops so he can get a
They were mostly silent on the drive home. Mitch found a country music station and turned it on low volume."You need to learn Texas-style music," he told her, letting the deep baritone of a familiar voice fill the silence in the truck cab.By the time they reached the ranch, between the beer, the dancing and the music, Autumn was feeling as mellow as she ever had in her life. She dug into her purse for the keys to the house but Mitch shook his head."Uh-uh. I've got a better place for you to spend the night."Butterflies did the two step in her stomach and her palms were suddenly damp. She knew what he had in mind. The same thing she did. Could she actually go through with it?When he helped her out of the truck, it seemed the most natural thing in the world for her to take his hand and let him lead her around the barn to his house. On the porch he looked hard at her, eyes boring into hers."We both know what's going to happen, Autumn. We've been building toward this since you g
He lifted her up and carried her into another room. Autumn had her eyes closed, her head against his shoulder, unaware of where she was until she felt Mitch dip and use one arm to move something. Then she was lying on crisp cotton and she opened her eyes to find herself in his bedroom. A click and the bedside lamp came on, throwing soft light and shadows.Mitch stood beside the bed, looking down at her, a hunger in his eyes she'd never seen before from any man she'd been with. All her insecurities came charging back and she had to resist the urge to cover herself."Please turn off the light, okay?" She tried to smile. "I like the dark."He sighed even as his gaze continued to travel over her. "Autumn. Darlin'. You have a very sexy body. I want to see every bit of it. You have nothing to hide, trust me. I have no reason to lie to you."She tried to pull her thoughts together and not make herself sound like an idiot. "I know all the women you've been with are much younger than me. My
At first Autumn thought the pounding she heard was in her head but forcing her eyes open she realized someone was at the door.The door? What door? Where the hell was she?She looked around at strange surroundings, bewildered. Lifting the covers, she realized she was completely naked. And sore in strange places.Then it all fell into place in her brain with a loud thunk!She was in Mitchell Brand's little house. Thirty-two year old Mitchell Brand. Her very own boy toy. She hoped. Exactly what she and her blog ladies had talked about. Jesus! She'd actually gone and done it and the sex had been beyond anything she could have imagined. And if she remembered the bits and pieces of what he'd said, he planned for them to do this again.But now someone was knocking on the door in a manner that said whoever it was, wasn't going away.Mitch rolled off the bed and yanked on his jeans. "I'll take care of it," he said in a low voice. "Don't worry about a thing."He disappeared into the livi
"I didn't get to return the favor," Autumn finally managed to say."There'll be plenty of time for that. Don't worry." He shifted her so she faced him, taking one of her hands and wrapping the fingers around his thick cock. "I'll have trouble bending over today but I'll let you make it up to me tonight." He brushed his mouth against hers. "Okay?"She nodded, then cleared her throat, looking at him with the water spraying around them, a sudden attack of nerves gripping her. She hadn't realized when she set out to do this how important his opinion of her would be. Why should she even care? But she did. Unexpectedly."Mitch, I don't usually... That is... Oh, hell. Never mind."Here I go again. Idiot of the year.She pulled herself from his arms, opened the shower door and managed to step outside. She was drying herself with one of the big towels on the counter when Mitch stepped out next to her."Look at me, Autumn," he commanded. "Right now."Reluctantly she lifted her eyes to his
They ate in silence for a moment.Autumn stared into her coffee cup. "But if I hire him, even for a short while, that's going to signal to him that I agree to being...shared.""In a manner of speaking. Yes. But it's your choice, darlin'. All the way. No one's feelings will be hurt if you say no."When she and her friends had started out on their odyssey, she'd thought it would be courageous enough just to get a younger man in her bed. Now she was on the verge of jumping into a ménage. How wild was that?"Can I wait until I meet him to give you an answer?" She hoped she didn't sound as timid as she felt.Mitch laughed, a warm sound. "I wouldn't expect anything else. Anyway, Randy wants to meet you. I can send him packing if you want." A slow grin spread over his face. "And by the way, he and I are the same age."Two of them? Would that make her a double cougar? She swallowed the hysterical urge to laugh."You mean he's still here? Waiting?" She lifted her eyes and stared at him.