Bad Boy Rancher’s Baby by GiGi Reine
Chapter Four
Wade
my entire body saturated with pleasure. Every muscle ache, every part of my body, felt weighted with exhaustion in a relaxed, content way. I smiled when I opened my eyes, realizing where I was and who was beneath me.
I rose up and moved to the side to look into her eyes. “Well, that was something. I don’t mind saying, you are the most annoying, irritating, and yet pleasurable woman I have ever met. Tonight, you annoyed me like no other woman I’ve ever met, and yet here we are having the best sex I’ve ever had in my life.”
She sat up. “We should go, I have an early day tomorrow, and I’m sure you do too.”
Just like that, she dismissed the emotions I was sharing, took that side of myself that I hardly ever shared with anyone, and threw it away. Irritated again, I stood up, tossed on my clothes, threw the blanket in my pickup, and drove down the road as fast as I could.
“Slow down.” The woman beside me, who had just stomped all over my feelings without a clue or care was holding the dash with her hands.
“You said you had to go, so there is no sense holding you up.”
My anger was about ready to boil over if I didn’t get her out of the truck as soon as possible. Not only did she ruin the time we’d spent together, but she ruined my sleep for the night, and I would probably be in a bad mood tomorrow dealing with Ms. Richards.
When I arrived back at the bar I stopped abruptly, causing a cloud of dust to rise around my tires. “Well, it’s been interesting. I need you to get out now because I have an early day too.”
I saw murder in her eyes when I looked at her, and pain. I was glad I hurt her as she hurt me. I frowned, leaned over, and threw the door open wide. “Good night, Dee.”
She looked angry and ready to cry, but I was in no mood. Perhaps I was misinterpreting, but she had been rude and unmannerly every moment other than when we were having sex. That might work for some people, the opposites attract thing drawing them together and all, but I couldn’t make a habit of it, or else I would flip out.
Dee said nothing, grabbed her purse, and tossed her shoes on as she got out. Before she even had a chance to fully close the door, I was taking off down the road, uncaring if I left a dust trail for her to cough through. It was very rare that I had a moment like that with a woman, where she satisfied my every need and then tore it to pieces by rushing to get back to her life.
I ended up mad at myself by the time I got home for being so mean to a woman, but she didn’t deserve the kind treatment other women got from me. She was rude, obnoxious, and callous. She had no manners, and whatever man married her would need to teach her a lot. Alcohol was not an excuse for such behavior.
I passed out not long after that, angry and frustrated about my night and the coming morning. When I woke at 2 a.m., it was on the tip of my tongue. I knew Dee, somehow, I knew her, but I couldn’t remember how.
I studied her face in my mind as I tried to go back to sleep, and it wasn’t until I was almost back to sleep that it came to me, but I still didn’t fully remember until the next morning, when the sun was shining high in the sky. “Oh, damn.”
I blinked my eyes open and shoved myself out of bed when I saw that it was 6 a.m. I had hours of preparation to do before the appointment with Ms. Richards. She was the last person I wanted to see or talk to. My body still recalled the good loving from the night before, and the headache from all my anger. My phone was buzzing non-stop with text messages from Harry.
So, what happened last night? I saw you leave with that beauty queen. Did you take her home?
Harry could be annoying at times, asking too many questions about things he shouldn’t. Stop, Harry, I thought.
I ignored the continued influx of texts that asked for more explicit details. Harry, like most other men, had a habit of talking about stuff like that, but I never did. I found it distasteful and offensive to share such personal details about my love life. It would be disrespectful to the woman I was with.
I hurried to get ready for my appointment with Ms. Richards. Normally, that wasn’t my style, but whatever I could do to make a good impression, I would. Perhaps that would buy a bit more time, so I could come up with the money to save my ranch.
I straightened up the house, made sure there was food on hand to help soothe the beast of hunger for us both, and sat back down to wait for her arrival. I felt agitated, but ignored it. I pushed my anger deeper inside, knowing there were things I did not have time or ability to address today.
I was a firm believer that if I started off on the right foot, I had a better chance of being successful by the end, and that could mean keeping my ranch. I gathered up all the paperwork I had and reviewed it. By the time I heard a car pull up, I felt ready to go at this woman with both barrels.
Dee had slipped back into my mind multiple times throughout the morning, but I stuffed that in the background until I was done with the task at hand. She was the kind of woman I would remember, but also the kind I wanted to forget.
The doorbell rang and I felt the muscles in my face twitch. I set my cowboy hat down on the counter and opened the door quickly, pasting on a smile for good measure. “Hello, Ms. Rich—”
“Hi, Mr. Marshall.” She was as stunned as me, and for a moment I forgot to close my mouth. My best memory and my worst nightmare were combined into the woman in front of me. Dee, the woman I’d slept with last night, was Ms. Richards.
I recovered as quickly as I could and tried to push last night's events to the back of my mind. I still couldn’t shake the feeling I knew her, even outside of this.
She frowned. “Well, I don’t know what to say, honestly.” She moved past me when I stepped aside, all business. “I guess we should both set yesterday aside and make the most of this meeting, so neither of us is uncomfortable.
“Yeah, that would be a good idea.” I closed the door, cleared my throat, and ignored her perfume that reminded me of last night. I followed Dee Richards to the kitchen table where she sat down and spread out her paperwork. I sat down with her, reluctantly.
“So, Mr. Marshall, I think—”
“You can call me Wade. I’d like to think I can call you Dee.”
She smiled, but I read the hesitation in her eyes as she let out her breath and studied the papers in front of her. “Sure, call me Dee. Anyway, here are the documents you need to sign. We are prepared to give you some time, as this is a working ranch, and we don’t expect you to be out of here in two weeks. If you’ll just sign here.”
She held the pen out in front of me, and I forced myself to take it, but I didn’t immediately sign. I studied the papers and read through them carefully, buying myself time, partially so I could recover from the shock, but also so I could come up with a plan to get out of signing.
I set the pen down with the papers and looked at the woman next to me. My beard felt itchy with the discomfort I was feeling, so I rubbed it and thought. “I have to say this before we continue. I feel like I know you, I even felt it last night. I know that sounds strange, but do you believe in that?”
She eyed me, thinking about what I was asking. She frowned for a moment before she sat back, almost laughing as a light bulb had gone off. I waited for her to comment.
“You aren’t going to sign these papers today, are you?”
“No, I’m afraid not. You can’t force me. I will get an attorney, do what I must. I need a few more weeks to come up with the money. I will think of something. I know last night and feeling like I know you mean nothing, but isn’t there any way you can stall things, buy me a bit more time? I hate begging for it, it’s not my style, but I won’t let go of this ranch. It means too much to me.”
Frustrated, I slammed my fist on the table and stepped away. With my back to her, I studied the landscape out the kitchen window. “Damn it, I am not signing those papers. The bank can do what they must, but I will have the time I need to come up with that money, even if I have to sell my soul to Lucifer himself.”
I stood there, struggling to find a way to get through to this woman I felt like I knew, but didn’t at the same time. That both infuriated and intrigued me. I thought about it more, and came up with an underhanded plan. “You know, I bet your boss wouldn’t like it too much if he found out you compromised our deal by sleeping with me last night. Numerous people, including my best friend Harry, can prove that we left the bar together after a game of pool. What would your boss think, or the upper management over at the bank, if I told them? I could use social media to turn you into a laughing stock. You’d lose your job, they’d look incompetent, and it would be bad for business. At least here in Texas, it would be. Maybe your city folks do this all the time, but out here, no one will want to do business with your company again.”
I smiled into the vast stretches of land before me in the window. Proud of myself for showing some teeth, and a little smug, I turned around and saw murder in her eyes.
“You wouldn’t dare do that! You can’t blackmail me like that. I won’t let you!”
I moved swiftly to stand in front of her as she stood up to face me, looking ready to wave her delicate fist at me. I smiled. “While I admire your spirit, I wouldn’t recommend swinging at me. I got a camera on my phone and, as much as I hate to say it, social media wouldn’t appreciate such behavior from a finance professional. You might want to think twice about what you do next.”
I held my phone at a distance, waiting and taunting her. Prepared to do what I must to gain myself some time to plan and locate some resources, I held my ground.
She surprised me by stepping forward and standing toe to toe with me. Her chin lifted a notch, as if she were about to kiss me. All of a sudden, her eyes widened in renewed surprise. “Oh, my goodness! I don’t believe it! It just hit me! There is no way!”
Her laughter annoyed me more than her anger. I watched as she moved away, covering her mouth with her hands to stifle her laughter, unable to stop herself from cracking up for a bit. Her amusement with the situation infuriated me more than anything else she’d done so far, which was saying a lot, considering I had a lot to lose to this woman.
“What in God's creation is so funny, Ms. Richards?” I kept my tone controlled because I was recording our interaction. If I ever needed to use the video, the last thing I wanted to portray was my own anger.
Dee Richards continued to laugh as she filed the paperwork together, as if we were done with the deal and she could leave. She sat back down then and looked at me, no longer laughing, a look of amusement mixed with disbelief was still on her face.
“Oh my goodness, Wade, you have no idea! Set that phone down and take a breather for a moment. Do you remember when you said you felt like you knew me?”
“I do.” Agitated, I tossed my phone down on the table and sat, giving the paperwork still sitting there a hard shove to the side of the table. “Get to the point, because I don’t find this amusing and I don’t personally like you right now, Dee Richards.”
“Wade! You don’t remember me, do you? Deanna Richards Clarkson, your younger sister Malorie’s best friend!”
I thought for a moment, and images ran through my mind of all the girls Malorie was friends with way back when. It hit me like a brick to the side of the head, and I felt embarrassed all at once. “Little Dee-Dee!”
My muscles tensed as I looked at her, like I was suddenly seeing her for the first time. “No shit! It’s you! Well, I’ll be damned, this is my lucky day then!” I started laughing then, realizing I had an advantage.
It all sunk in at once, and I had questions. “Wait a minute, your name is Richards now, not Clarkson. You're damn married, aren’t you?” I grabbed her hand, but found no wedding ring.
“You took it off, didn’t you!” Angry again, I started pacing the kitchen.
“No, I’m not married. For crying out loud, Wade, sit down before I call Malorie and have her come over here.”
“We don’t speak anymore. It’s a pity because I miss my little sister. Tell me, what’s the deal with your name then? And how the hell did you end up in Chicago? And why were you acting so wild last night?”
Uncaring of my choice of words, confident I had this whole deal under control, I sat back down and studied her good and hard, right down to that angry look on her face.
“What?” I asked after she continued to look displeased, but remained silent.
“I shortened my last name to just the first one. You know my mother hyphenated her last name when she married my dad. It was easier to do business in Chicago. I moved there for a time for work, up until recently, when I lost my job and Uncle Tim asked me to come home and help him at the bank. As for how I acted last night, you didn’t seem to mind it when you were enjoying looking at me, or making love to me! Besides, how I choose to conduct myself is none of your business, Wade Marshall!”
I couldn’t help myself. She was so hopping mad she started pacing the kitchen much as I had earlier. But, I just couldn’t ignore her enticing legs as they strutted around in her high heels.
“Well, I have to tell you, you turned out to be one fine-looking woman, Dee Richards Clarkson. Hot damn, I don’t think I’ve ever had better in bed, and I don’t mind saying so. Makes a man want to have another sample.” I reached for her hand to pull her towards me, a devilish smile playing on my lips.
“Take your hands off me, Wade Marshall! I will not have you disrespecting me!” When Dee pulled her hand away, I let her go and turned to watch her move around the room in a frustrated manner. She stopped at the same window I had been looking out of.
Dee stayed there, arms folded in front of her chest as she faced away from me, before turning and looking at the modest, but neat-as-a-pin kitchen. “So, how in the hell did you come to be in this situation, Wade?”
“That is a long story I am not prepared to tell you right now. I need you to buy me more time!” Feeling in my element, confident I had this in the bag, at least for another week, if not longer, I got up and moved to stand in front of her, taking in the electricity between us.
I would use our connection to my advantage if I must. I ran my hand along her arm. “Listen, maybe you and I could work something out if you buy me some more time to get the money.”
She looked at me, seriousness in her eyes. “I can’t do that, Wade, even if I wanted to. Uncle Tim wants me to get this done, and I need this job.” I could see she was softening up, so I continued to caress her arm, then ran my hand up to her neck and head, and pulled her to me for a kiss.
Dee surprised me with a shove. “Don’t do that, Wade. I am not going down that road with you again! We might know each other, but you are not going to use last night as a way to get what you want or need.”
She moved back to the table and sat, angry again. “I went through all the paperwork, and you knew this was coming. Why don’t you have the money? Why didn’t you do anything about this sooner? I need you to talk to me, or I can’t help.”
Frustrated, my fingers slipped into my hair and I picked up my phone to start recording again. “Deanna Richards, an employee at Twin Lakes Bank, is trying to take my ranch away from me. Last night, she slept with me and now she wants to—”
Before I had a chance to react, she snatched the phone away from me. “I don’t think so.” She stepped back and grabbed the papers from the table, prepared to step out the door.
She smiled, as if mocking me. “Now, you’re not getting this back. I hope you like life without a phone. I'll come back with Uncle Tim in a few days to get this done, even if it means losing my job. You’re not going to make a fool out of me, Wade.”
This time, I was faster. I beat her to the door and held it closed. “You’re not leaving with my phone, Dee.”
I felt that same heat between us as I had last night, and we were both aroused. It was intense and intoxicating. I wanted to bed her again right then and there, but I had more important things to deal with, like getting my phone and keeping the ranch.
Dee laughed. “You’re not going to win over me, Wade Marshall. Maybe I’ll tell your sister about all this too.” She made a run for it and headed through the house in search of another door to the outside.
I beat her again, knowing the short cut to the back door, but this time I pinned her with my body against the door and felt a rush of desire from her body pressed against mine. “This is getting pretty predictable. As I said, princess, you're not getting out of this house until I have my phone back. If I have to take you right here against this door, I will.”
Challenge given, I saw a change in her eyes, and before I could respond she was kissing me, hard and deep. I used one hand to grab her leg, and lifted it to wrap around my body, while my other hand snaked around her waist.
Dee’s passionate cries echoed through my body, and I forgot about getting the phone. Her arms tugged at me and I pressed myself harder against her, so she could feel how hard I was.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared for her next move, because then Dee gave me a hard shove and kneed me in the groin, I doubled over in pain. “Damn it, Dee.”
“Sorry, Wade. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I think we’ve had our fun.” She darted around me and ran, but I caught her hand and the phone dropped.
I saw the moment she debated diving for it, but I grabbed it first, despite the pain coursing through my manhood. Once it was in my hand, I fell to the floor with a groan and curled in a ball. When I heard the door click closed, I knew she’d left.