Shalane

When he saw Shalane wasn't disturbed by what he had told her, he took a deep breath and added, "They'd sit in a bar and get sloppy drunk. He'd watch her get plastered and then she'd flirt with the other men in the bar. He beat up a couple of guys who showed her some attention. They weren't really bad fights, more like drunken brawls. One night on the way home, she rolled her car over a couple of times, broke her neck. She died a few weeks later. Billy was passed out in the back seat. He walked away without a scratch."

Nodding her head, Shalane asked, "So, that's why he's looking for a redhead?"

"That's about it. Prissy was always jealous of Casey, now she's jealous of a ghost. I suspect that's what instigated last night. She caught Billy on the rebound after Casey died and won't let go of him. I'm guessing she intended to show Billy she was a lot better than a redhead."

"Good Lord and I fell into her trap?"

"That's about how I see it. I won't say anything to her, but I need to call and get her to pack your bag and keep Billy until Jose can get by there. Excuse me," he finished and walked back around his desk to make the other telephone call.

***

"Did Prissy pack everything?" Angus asked when Shalane appeared in his office door shortly after Jose and Maria returned from town. She was wearing sneakers, jeans, and a simple shirt with buttons down the front. He was opening several flat brown envelopes, stacking the contents beside his computer monitor.

"I think so, or at least enough that I don't feel naked anymore."

Angus cocked his head to one side and admitted, "I sort of liked it." Shalane gave him an offended look, but it was in jest because she couldn't hold it very long.

"Did you get Billy into his bed?"

Angus didn't actually laugh, because it was not his nature to do so. Instead, he nodded, but did not say anything. Nor would he mention that he had instructed one of the other men to tie Billy onto his bed if he tried to get up before he could be reasoned with, not such an unusual occurrence after one of Billy's weekends in town.

Watching her for a moment, he asked, "Have you ever been on a horse?"

"Well, if you don't count the ones on a merry-go-round, then no."

"Do you trust me?"

"No," Shalane answered quickly then chuckled when Angus tilted his chair back and held his hand over his heart as if he was wounded.

Angus returned to sitting upright and asked, "If I promise you I can bring you home in about the same condition as you were when you left, reasonable wear excepted, would you like to go for a ride?"

"You mean on a horse, right?"

"Yes, Shalane, ride a horse."

"Will I be able to walk upright afterward?"

"Yes, my dear. Quit stalling."

"Okay, Angus. I'll try."

Abandoning the work on his desk, Angus stood, "Let's find a horse for you to ride."

Riding a horse wasn't as difficult as Shalane expected. Angus had selected a horse that was very forgiving of novice mistakes. They didn't ride very far, and Angus didn't expect her to go very fast. She had used a mounting block to get on the horse, but it still felt strange being so high off the ground. When they returned to the barn, Angus cautioned her to sit still until he could help her down and then held her until she could stand on her own.

Angus was laughing as she tried to walk to a bench to sit down. "Do you need me to carry you?"

She turned to swing at him, intending a playful slap on his shoulder. She still wasn't very steady on her feet and Angus had to lunge to catch her as both of them tumbled down to the dirt floor of the barn. Her hand missed his shoulder, but sent his hat flying off, landing several feet away.

Shalane was half on top of Angus as she struggled for a moment to sit up "Damn, woman," Angus complained after he got his breath back. "I was just teasing you."

She stopped struggling and took a deep breath then lowered her head to kiss him. Angus put his hands on her cheeks and held her head still for a very long kiss. Then he was rolling her over in the dirt, holding her arms out to the side, grinding his lips against hers, her knees between his thighs as his erection grew.

He released one of her arms to slide his hand under her back and rolled over, bringing her on top of him never losing contact with her mouth as his lungs burned for fresh air.

Shalane broke the kiss and rested her head against him as both of them gasped for air.

"Don't move, honey, please don't move," Angus begged.

Before he could take his next breath, Shalane was on her feet, running toward the house.

Angus sat up, shaking his head, "What the ...?" It was a question he did not complete, but he was going to get an answer. He picked up his hat and used it to slap some of the dirt off his clothes as he walked toward the house.

The previous evening, Shalane had danced well, but stiffly, holding herself away from him. When they got to the ranch, she seemed to keep herself to the opposite side of the room from him. Even as she was explaining about Prissy's plans for a sex-filled night, satisfying Billy's lust for a redhead, Shalane had been distant, as if she was talking about people she had never met. The only time she had relaxed was when she was so exhausted from the late hours and watching the storm that she could barely stay on her feet.

Throughout the day, when Angus approached, she retreated. If he got too near, she would stand and walk around the room. Shalane did it carefully, trying to make it look natural, but Angus knew something was wrong. He knew the way he awakened her was a surprise, but when he insisted, she moved against his hand, yet she escaped to the bathroom as quickly as she could.

Every time he touched her, smiled at her, and the few times he made a personal remark about her, Shalane discounted his compliments with a smirk or a negative comment. She had the highest and thickest wall around her he had ever encountered. He was determined to climb that wall, bust a hole through the fortification, or tear the whole damn thing down. When she was far enough away from him that he could not reach out and grab her, she smiled, not the smile of a friend but with a look of hunger, the same hunger he felt when he looked at her.

Earlier in the morning when he had walked out of his bathroom, she had looked at him, knowing he was standing before her naked. She also knew he could see how naked she was under his shirt. She displayed herself to him without being embarrassed or turning away. She had looked at him with interest. It was as if she had forgotten what she had escaped the prior evening. When she remembered, she began her escape maneuvers.

Angus hurried his long strides from the barn to the back door of the house, not bothering to catch the door to prevent it from slamming behind him. Maria was just removing her apron as she prepared to leave for the evening and her day off.

"For you and the lady to eat, I make the chicken in the oven." She tapped the cover of a dish on top of a burner. "The fruit for dessert I leave in the refrigerator. I see you on Tuesday."

"Thank you, Maria," Angus told his housekeeper as he continued through the house and up the stairs to the second floor. He took several steps down the hall and stopped before the door to the guest room as the back door of the house slammed behind Maria. In ten seconds, Maria would be half way down the sidewalk, on the way to her small house on the other side of the garage.

Rather than speak, Angus merely stood and looked through the door of the guest bedroom. A door Shalane had not closed. Instead, she sat in a chair in the far corner of the room looking at him. Angus took two steps forward and braced his palms against the facing around the door. He did not move as Shalane stood and walked toward him. Still he did not move when she stopped with less than a foot between her body and his.

"Don't touch, okay?" she whispered. She leaned forward just a little, rose to her toes, and touched her lips to his. When Angus started to lower his arms, Shalane lowered herself, moved back, and pleaded, "Angus, please."

He slapped his hands back on the door facing. The noise resounded and shook the wall of her room. He leaned toward her, lowering his head, "Kiss me again, Shalane."

Her eyes moved from his eyes to his hands, one by one, and then back to his eyes. She moved forward, lifted her chin, and kissed him again. Angus closed his eyes and groaned. He could not stop himself. It was a deep hunger he had not known in a very long time.

Her lips were soft. They parted slightly as he felt the barest hint of her breath against his skin. The kiss was like magic. Angus did not want it to end. He wanted to lower his arms and hold Shalane, to walk backward into his room across the hall and close the door. He remembered the feel of her skin that morning and he knew the smell of her hair. He recalled putting his fingers into his mouth when he turned on the shower. He wanted another taste of this woman.

When she lifted her head, she did not move away from him. Her breathing was fast, the fabric of her shirt covered breasts, barely touching him with each breath she took.

"Shalane, please, can I touch you now?"

She looked up at him and shook her head. She moved back a little and reached to pull apart the top snap holding the front of his shirt closed. She looked up and saw him watching her hands as she continued to pull apart the snaps down the front of his shirt, tugging to pull it from his jeans until she was holding the sides of his shirt open. Shalane watched his face as her hands came to rest against the heat of his chest, his clothing held away from him while her hands were inside his shirt.

Angus could no longer watch. He closed his eyes and dropped his chin as her hands began to move, threading through the hair at the top of his chest, and come to rest on his flat male nipples. Her wrists turned and cupped his pectoral muscles. He felt the tickling sensation of one finger trailing down the center of his chest, going slowly until it reached the barrier of clothing around his waist. His stomach muscles jerked as they reacted to her light touch.

"What is this about?" Angus asked. He wasn't sure, but he had felt she wasn't telling him everything about what Prissy had planned.

"I lied to you last night," Shalane spoke softly. "That is, if an omission can be called a lie. I did not want to believe why Prissy wanted me to stay with her."

Shalane took a deep breath and rested her cheek against his bare skin, much as he had held her the previous night, as if she was feeling protected by him. "Last year, one of the girls in Prissy's office hinted that she had spent a night with Prissy. She was asking me where I had my hair done and what color the hairdresser used. She's a bottle redhead. She needed to be out of her apartment for a couple of nights and Prissy offered her the use of her guest room. Billy was there."

"And ... ," Angus encouraged when Shalane grew silent.

"I asked if she enjoyed staying with Prissy. She said she didn't know Billy would be there. He wanted to comb all of her hair and lick her because she never shaves, not even her underarms. He was disappointed her body hair wasn't ... wasn't also red."

Angus knew there was more, but he was almost reluctant to hear it. He stood still, his arms beginning to tire from the force he was using to hold onto the facing around the doorway. The need to touch her was growing as she pressed against him, but he tried to relax.

"They tied her up and Billy shaved her whole body, everything except her head. He kept calling her, 'Red.' He was drunk, and not very careful. Then he had sex with her while Prissy photographed the whole thing."

"Shit." Angus exclaimed.

"When Prissy wanted her turn with the girl, Billy wasn't going to let her have his 'Red.' They had a pretty bad argument, which they eventually took downstairs. Prissy finally came upstairs, untied the girl, and told her to get dressed and leave. Billy was sleeping on the couch, drunk and passed out. Prissy told her to keep her mouth shut because she still had all the photos. I haven't seen or spoken to her since. One of the other women said she moved out of town."

"You knew that when you agreed to stay with Prissy?"

"Yes," Shalane breathed her answer, rather than speak the word. "I just thought I was going to the dance, a community activity. It wasn't until I was dressing that she said it was also Billy's birthday and I was her present to him."

"Shalane," Angus lowered his arms resting his hands on her hips, allowing her to become accustomed to the feel of his hands on her. "That has nothing to do with you and me."

"I know. I didn't want ... I do not want a lie between us."

As if he was getting his wish from a moment ago, he wrapped his arms around her and took several steps backward. Shalane followed as she had followed his steps during their dances the previous evening. Going into his bedroom, he kicked the door closed behind them. When they stopped moving, their eyes met as a look passed between them, something intense and powerful, not the innocent looks they had shared during the day.

His chest was rising and falling, pressing against her, making her feel the power he held in firm control. Yet he was showing her, with the look in his eyes, the mounting desire he had. Shalane did nothing to shield her similar desire, nor the need she had tried to escape for most of the day.

Unlike their dances of the previous evening, where he had held her hand with a gentle grasp or lightly rested his palm against her back, he let Shalane feel his touch, his lust, and passion.

He had a size that could hurt her, yet he did nothing to indicate he would do so. Instead, he used no force or strength to touch her. As gently as he could he lifted his hand to brush the backs of his fingers across Shalane's cheek, moving her hair away from her face, his fingers shaking as he did so.

The height and size of his frame made her feel small, an unusual feeling for her; she was of equal or greater stature than most people she encountered. The need Shalane felt for this man was a physical torment between her legs, a wetness, an ache, a want she had never experienced.

Shalane closed her eyes as she felt herself yielding to him, not merely to experience the touch of a man but to be loved by this man. Looking up at him again, she met his eyes, touched his face as he had done to hers, and rose slowly toward him.

He looked like he was going to say something, but Shalane's hand on his cheek moved to the back of his head, pulling him forward until their mouths touched. As the kiss deepened, his hand moved up her back until he was holding the back of her head, his fingers threaded through her hair, her red curls and waves hanging down his arm to the crook of his elbow.

Shalane broke the kiss and stepped away from him. His arms tried to hold her but she moved back far enough to slide her hands under his shirt. Her palms moved up to his shoulders then went over the top of them and down his back as his shirt peeled away and fell to the floor behind him.

She stood still and watched his face as he slowly opened one button at the top of her shirt and then moved down to the next one. Although he could have torn her clothes from her and she would not have stopped him, he did not. Nor did he rush through what he was doing. As he opened each button, he leaned forward to touch Shalane with his lips and the tip of his tongue, leaving behind a wet spot that grew cool with the exposure of her skin to the air. When he had unbuttoned her shirt, he removed it and dropped it behind him where it fell on top of his. With a skill he did not know he had, he unhooked her bra and brought the shoulder straps down her arms until he could remove her final upper garment and drop it behind him too.

Angus did not immediately touch her, as Shalane had done him. He looked at her, the sprinkling of freckles across her upper chest and shoulders, the whiteness of her breasts, the dark tan color of the areola around the darker tan of her nipples. He used a finger tip to trace along a few of the blue blood vessels under the surface of her breasts, watching as chills pebbled her skin. He finally cupped his hands under and lifted the weight of her soft breasts before he leaned forward and placed a kiss on the upper slope of each one.

"I did not get to look at you this morning," Angus said, his voice full of emotion. "All day long, I've imagined what you would look like."

Removing her shoes and socks, and then her jeans, was almost anti-climactic for him. After all, he had looked at her long legs and bare feet all morning as Shalane moved around his house in his shirt. He removed her panties too. Had she not stood before him in his pink dress shirt with the front of the shirt opened, allowing him to see her, while she rolled up the sleeves? It may not have been an intentional display, but she did not immediately turn to cover herself. Perhaps Shalane had wanted him to know she was a true redhead, as she could see he was, although he was darker, with dense hair across his chest and arms, down his thighs and his lower legs.

After holding his shoulder while lifting each leg for him to remove her clothes, Shalane's feet were back on the floor. He was a little surprised when she leaned forward to unbuckle his belt and tug his zipper down. She was growing bolder with her touch. He placed his hands on her wrists, and when she didn't stop he put his hands on her shoulders to hold her still so he could go to the boot jack beside his dresser and remove his boots. He pulled his jeans and boxer shorts off and turned to walk back to her. His erection was turgid, stiffening, but had not yet begun to rise to its full height. His desire to stroke himself was almost impossible to resist, as was the need to cup his scrotum to feel the tightness.

He walked to the side of the bed, his side, and pulled the duvet down, holding it up for Shalane to get into bed. As he had done the previous night, he lay down beside her, pulled her closer to him, and lifted the cover up to their shoulders.

"Shalane, I'm not promiscuous, nor am I foolhardy. I want you as much as I've ever desired a woman. I told you this morning that I don't bring women to the ranch. This is my home, not a place for casual sex or meaningless encounters. I realize you have commitments, but I'd like more than one night with you." He laughed at himself, "At least more than tonight."

Other than his description of Billy's tumultuous relationship with his sister, his request was more words, spoken at one time, than she had heard him say since she had met him.

"You have three nights, Angus," Shalane announced quietly as if she were giving him a deadline. She settled her head on his shoulder. "I need to be in my office Wednesday afternoon."

Shalane felt his shoulder beneath her head relax, only then realizing how stiffly he had been holding himself. When he reached across to gather her closer to him, she moved into his arms willingly, almost shaking from her need to feel him holding her. His head tilted down to kiss her and she turned her face up to him.

The kiss began slowly, an exploration of each other, the feel of her mouth being taken between his lips, the taste of him, and the shudder he felt when he touched his tongue to hers. Shalane felt the warmth of him surround her and knew he felt it too as he pushed the duvet down when he rose on his elbow to deepen the kiss. His lips left hers, traveled along her jaw, and moved to her ear until he sucked her earlobe, and then he returned to her lips.

Angus moved his leg between hers, pulling his knee up until his thigh was tight against her. Her hips were moving slowly spreading her wetness on his leg. A low whimper escaped Shalane when his hand went down to push against her hip, holding her tight against him. His hand moved up her back, pressing her against his solid chest, mashing her breasts as he held her. His mouth was pressing against hers, a hard, bruising kiss, just as intensely as her mouth sought against his.