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That’s what made it all the more valuable to me. Because it was mine, and I was beholden to no one.
But that didn’t mean I resented anyone who had help to get where they were going.
“I just want you to know what you’d be getting into with Richard,” Oscar continued.
A sour feeling began to spread through my gut. I didn’t like what I was hearing, but wasn’t this why I’d called Oscar? Didn’t I want to know what kind of man Richard was? Just because I didn’t like the answer didn’t mean it wasn’t true.
“I’m not getting into anything with Richard,” I told him. I’d already made that decision earlier in the afternoon. And then again this evening. And again a few minutes ago.
Unfortunately, the decision kept failing to stick.
Oscar blew out a breath that made it clear he didn’t believe me. “Even if he somehow makes it through the month, he’s not going to stick around, Boone. I’m glad he’s working hard for you, but I’m not wrong about him bolting. He agreed to this to prove something, but as soon as he feels like he’s done it, he’ll take the first plane back to penthouses and twenty-five-dollar cocktails, I promise you.”
I thought back to the ridiculous designer gear Richard had been decked out in this morning and to the mountain of skin care products littering the shelves in his small bunk room. Oscar was right. This guy didn’t belong on a cattle ranch in nowhere Wyoming any more than I belonged in a Manhattan nightclub.
“Maybe I don’t care if he sticks around,” I said. “Maybe I just want a quick fuck with a city boy with smooth skin and soft hands.”
Oscar barked out a laugh. “Well, that’s a different story.”
“Good night, Oscar,” I said, a smile in my voice.
“Oh, honey, it’s always a good night when I’m involved.”
I hung up to the sound of him laughing. The sound was replaced with the quiet of the ranch at night. The ground settling, the cows shifting, the wind teasing through the brush. This place felt a million miles away from whatever bustling city Oscar was staying in.
And a million miles away from whatever city Richard would run back to once he’d proven whatever it was he needed to prove.
I kicked the toe of my boot against the ground and glanced over my shoulder toward the bunkhouse where Richard slept. Maybe I was just lonely and Jed was right. I needed a night in Casper. I was hard up for sex.
That was all this was.
8
RICHARD
I woke up the next day with the traces of the most delicious dream still tugging at the edge of my thoughts. It began with Boone running his fingers through my hair, telling me I’d done good. Then he’d started to peel my clothes off. Flicking open the buttons of my shirt one by one, pushing it over my shoulders to bare my chest. Sliding the zipper down on my jeans…
I felt myself growing hard as the remnants of the dream tumbled through my head. God, what I wouldn’t give to feel the touch of that man’s hands along my skin, the callused ridges of his palms tracing down my back, those strong fingers grabbing my ass.
I groaned and rolled to my side.
That was a mistake.
Every muscle in my body screamed in protest, effectively killing my hard-on. Which was just as well since the thought of the arm strength it would take to jack myself off made me whimper.
How in the world was I going to make it through the day? I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to make it out of bed and down the hall to the bathroom.
“Kill me now,” I muttered to myself.
Something shifted at the bottom of the bed, and then a warm, furry body crawled up next to me, shoving her cold, wet nose into the palm of my hand. I glanced down to find Birdie staring at me adoringly, her tail thumping the moment my eyes met hers. I gave her a scratch behind the ears, ignoring the pain even that slight movement caused my sore muscles.
“Will you please send my regards to the boss man and tell him I won’t be in today?” I asked her hopefully.
She rolled to her back, exposing her belly for more rubs. I sighed. “I take that as a no, then.”
Her tail thumped harder in response. Outside in the hallway, I could hear the other hands getting ready to start their day, and I groaned. I was going to have to join them. Which meant I was going to have to move.
I didn’t want to. Then I noticed a bottle of pain reliever sitting on the bedside table next to a tall glass of water. I had no recollection of putting either there the night before. In fact, I had no recollection of even going to bed.
