Kayla & the Rancher Page 7

  nasty-looking leather strap...she couldn’t imagine that being used on her bare skin.

  And yet, isn’t this what she wanted?

  Grasping the material in her hands, she slowly lifted her petticoat to reveal delicate ankles, gently curved calves, slender thighs, and then finally her bare and very vulnerable bottom. Her face flaming, she held her breath and waited for the first lash.

  Behind her, Cord stared in amazement. He hadn’t expected Abigail to be

  naked beneath her skirts, and bent over the hay bale like she was, he was not only treated to the full length of her shapely legs and perfectly heart-shaped ass, but al of her womanly charms as well, and it was all he could do not to unbutton his pants and plunge himself deep inside her. He didn’t think he’d ever seen a woman more beautiful.

  Or known one that was more infuriating, he thought. His wayward fiancé

  seemed to think that she could get away with anything with just her pretty smile. She needed to be taught a lesson. She needed to know that he meant

  what he said. If he didn’t teach her that lesson, now, then there would

  certainly be more problems later on. His hand tightening on the folded piece of leather, he lifted it and slapped it sharply against one creamy white cheek.

  He certainly didn’t spank as hard as he could, but she let out a gasp anyway.

  The strap left a soft pink stain of color, which was quickly followed by another on the opposite cheek when he brought the strap down on that one as well.

  Gripping the edge of the hay bale, Kayla let out a soft cry of surprise, and danced lightly from foot to foot. Cord wasn’t hitting her all that hard, but the leather strap still stung intensely. And she loved the feel of it against her flesh as he brought it down again and again on her bare bottom!

  With each stinging lash, she felt herself getting wetter, and in between her soft cries of protest, she couldn’t seem to stop from letting out the occasional moan of pleasure. Cord didn’t concentrate on one particular area of her

  bottom, either, which only seemed to drive her more wild. Instead, he would move from cheek to cheek, so that she never quite knew where the strap

  would fall. Sometimes, he would slap the backs of her thighs or administer a few spanks to the tender spot just below her cheeks, both of which would

  make cry out with a startled “oh!” of surprise.

  Behind her, Cord couldn’t help but admire his handiwork. Abigail’s skin

  reddened quickly, and even though he had kept the strapping light, her

  cheeks were criss-crossed with color where the leather had struck her

  delicate skin. Even more surprising than finding Abigail bare-bottomed,

  however, was discovering how aroused she was getting from her spanking.

  From where he stood, he could see the wetness as it glistened on her pussy and ran down the inside of her thighs. Her mound was literally swollen and throbbing with excitement. Still holding onto the strap, he stepped closer to where she was bent over the hay bale.

  Kayla tensed visibly, anticipating the next lash, but instead, she felt Cord’s hand on her upturned bottom. Did he intend to spank her with his hand now?

  she wondered. She held her breath, waiting, and then sighed with pleasure as he began to gently caress her sore bottom. The cool touch of his hand felt amazing on her scorched skin, and she parted her legs with a moan, silently begging Cord to touch her most intimate place. She didn’t care that she was bent over a hay bale in the middle of the barn, didn’t care if someone walked in and saw them. She needed Cord to touch her or she would surely go mad!

  As if he could read her mind, Cord’s fingertips brushed the damp curls

  between her legs ever so lightly. Kayla gasped, waiting breathlessly for him to continue, and then let out a startled cry as he gave her bottom a hard smack instead.

  “Get back to the house,” Cord growled in her ear, pulling both her petticoat and skirt down to cover her bottom. He had to cover her up before he lost

  what little bit of control was left to him. He hoped that Abigail wouldn’t see the outline of his hardness when she turned around, or notice the fact that he could barely stand up straight. Gently taking her arm, he helped her to stand upright. “And no more poker, here or in town,” he added as smoothed her

  skirt over her hips, his hands lingering a little bit longer than was necessary.

  He swore that he could almost feel the heat coming through her clothing. “Is that specific enough for you, Abigail?”

  Not trusting herself to speak, Kayla could only nod. She was so aroused that she had to fight to keep from throwing herself at him. If he pulled her into one of the stalls right now, she wouldn’t even think of resisting.

  “Good,” was al he said, and she almost smiled as she realized that he was just as excited as she was.

  She watched as he replaced the leather strap on its hook. “Will you be in

  soon?” she asked.

  He glanced at her. “After I see to my horse.”

  Kayla nodded, and turned to go, only to shyly glance over her shoulder at him before leaving the barn. She stood outside the door for a few minutes,

  watching the horses as they grazed in the nearby paddock. Well, she had

  certainly proved her theory true, she thought with a little smile. Getting spanked definitely aroused her. And Cord, too, she was happy to say.

  Her face still flushed from her encounter with Cord, Kayla hurried up to the house. So preoccupied was she with her thoughts that she didn’t see Dalton Jeffries standing on the porch until she was halfway up the front steps.

  “Mr. Jeffries,” she said, her voice still a little breathless with excitement.

  “Miss Murray,” he said, tipping his hat to her. “I came to see Cord. Is he around?”

  She smoothed her hair back from her face. “He’s down at the barn. He’ll be in shortly.”

  He took in her rosy cheeks and bright green eyes with a grin. “That’s where I was headed when I saw you coming back to the house.”

  Kayla’s color deepened as she abruptly realized what Dalton Jeffries would have walked in on had he gone to the barn looking for Cord.

  “May I come in and wait for him then?” Dalton asked when she said nothing.

  She knew that Cord had warned her to stay away from Dalton Jeffries, but

  she couldn’t refuse without looking rude. “Of course,” she said, pushing open the door.

  Inside, Dalton Jeffries let his gaze wander over the living room, taking in the curtains she’d made and the throw rugs she’d bought at the general store.

  “I’ve always said that this place needed a woman’s touch,” he remarked.

  She supposed that was his way of complimenting her. “Can I offer you

  something?”

  He looked her up and down slowly, his dark gaze lingering for a moment on

  her breasts before he gave her an oily smile. “No, thank you.”

  Kayla took an unconscious step back, suddenly very uneasy about being in

  the house alone with him. Where was Cord? she wondered.

  “You look well,” Dalton Jeffries said abruptly. “Life on a ranch must agree with you. It certainly can’t be living with Cord Holderness that has you looking so fetching.”

  Before she could comment, Cord’s deep voice came from behind her. “What

  the hell are you doing here?”

  Chapter Four

  Kayla breathed an audible sigh of relief at the sound of Cord’s voice. She half-turned to see him striding through the foyer and into the living room to where she stood. As he’d done outside the saloon that day when she’d first met Dalton Jeffries, Cord stepped in front of her, putting himself between her and the other man.

  “I’ll ask you again, Jeffries,” Cord said. “What the hell are you doing in my house?”

  “I came to discuss some business with you, and your beautiful fiancé was

  kind enough to en
tertain me while I waited,” Dalton said smoothly. “Nothing wrong with that, is there?”

  Kayla saw Cord’s jaw clench, felt him stiffen beside her, and she unknowingly held her breath, her gaze going from one man to the other.

  “You and I have no business to discuss,” Cord told the other man bluntly.

  Dalton’s mouth tightened. “Why don’t you hear me out before you decide?”

  Cord was silent a moment before answering. “Say what you have to say, and

  then get the hell out.”

  “I’m here to make you an offer on the ranch,” Dalton said without pre-emption.

  Kayla looked at the blond man in surprise. Cord would never sell this place, she thought, not when he clearly loved it so much.

  Cord’s brows drew together, and his voice was hard when he spoke. “I

  already told you that I’m not interested in selling.”

  Dalton thought a moment, and then nodded. “Not even if I give you double

  what this place is worth? Because that’s my offer, providing you agree to

  convince the rest of the ranchers in the area to sell to me as well.”

  Cord folded his arms and eyed the other man coldly. “Why the hell would I do that?”

  Dalton leveled his gaze at Cord. “Because it would make it easier for

  everyone involved if you did. The other ranchers respect you, Holderness. If you sell, then they’ll be more likely to so the same.”

  “Get out,” Cord ordered.

  But the other man made no move to do so. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather reconsider?” he asked instead. “It’s a lot of money. At least think about it.”

  Cord ground his jaw. “Get out, before I throw you out.”

  Dalton Jeffries gave Cord a long, hard look, and Kayla almost thought that Cord real y would have to use force to make him leave, but then the other

  man nodded. “You real y should have reconsidered, you know.”

  With that, Dalton Jeffries put on his hat and dipped his head at Kayla before heading for the front door. As he walked past where they stood, she

  instinctively took a step closer to Cord.

  As soon as the other man had left, Cord turned to her. “He didn’t touch you, did he?” he asked, gently putting his hands on her shoulders.

  Kayla shook her head, her brow furrowing. “No, of course not,” she said,

  hastening to reassure him. “You really don’t like him, do you?”

  Cord’s jaw tightened. “Well, the feeling is mutual, I can assure you.”

  “So I noticed,” she said. “He seems really eager to buy your ranch, though.

  Why?”

  “Because this part of the Wyoming Territory is prime cattle grazing land, and Dalton already owns a couple hundred thousand acres to the north of us,” he told her. “Ranchers for hundreds of miles bring their cattle up here to graze for a few seasons before driving them down to Kansas City. Al of the

  ranchers out here, me included, make good money letting these cattle graze on our lands. The more land you own, the more money you make, and

  Jeffries is always looking to make more money. That’s what he lives for. But one thing that is especially irritating to Jeffries is that my property lays dead center along the cattle trail that runs from Kansas City to his property. That means I get a little bit of the money that he thinks should go to him.”

  She frowned, a thought suddenly occurring to her. “What did he mean when

  he said that you should have reconsidered selling? Was that some type of

  threat?”

  Cord gazed down at her and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “Jeffries likes to talk tough, and he’s a man who has to be taken seriously, as some of the ranchers around here have already learned. So I want you to be careful. If you want to go into town, have one of the hands take you. And if you go out riding by yourself, don’t go beyond sight of the ranch house.”

  Though normally headstrong, Kayla kept Cord’s warning in mind when she

  decided to go riding the following day. She’d asked Cord if he wanted to go with her, thinking that perhaps they could have another picnic lunch, but he’d told her that he had work to do, much to her dismay. He did, however, give her the most delicious kiss before he’d gone out on the ranch that morning.

  She was thinking so much about that kiss that she didn’t realize how far she’d ridden from the barn. She was thinking about turning around when she

  spotted two men by one of the fences that ran along the northern part of the property. At first, she began to wave at them, assuming they were a couple of the hands out fixing the fences, but as she got closer, she realized that she didn’t recognize either of the men.

  Even though she knew that the smart thing to do would be to ride back to the barn and tell Cord or his foreman what she’d seen, her innate curiosity

  wouldn’t al ow it. Besides, she didn’t even know what these men were doing.

  Deciding that she had to see for herself, she rode closer. She was still a couple hundred feet away when she realized that the men weren’t fixing the fences at all, but were cutting them instead!

  “Hey, what are you doing?” she yelled, the words out of her mouth before she even realized what she was saying.

  Startled by the sound of her voice, the men spun around. They stared at her in disbelief for a moment, as if wondering where she’d come from, and then one of the men pulled out a pistol and pointed it at her. There was a puff of smoke and a bang followed immediately by a whizzing sound.

  Kayla’s eyes widened, and for a moment she simply stared at the man. He

  was shooting at her! Then, as if suddenly regaining her senses, she gripped her horse’s reins tightly and jerked the animal around. Kicking her heels hard, she urged her horse into a gallop, racing back the way she’d come. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that both men had mounted their own horses and

  had started to pursue her.

  Leaning low over her horse, she snapped at the reins and dug her heels into the animal’s flanks. Behind her, the men had started to shoot, and she cried out as gunshots echoed all around her. She tensed her back, fearing that she would feel a bullet strike her at any moment.

  Dismounting, Cord led his horse over to the trough of water beside the barn.

  As the big bay drank, Cord’s eyes strayed to the house and he wondered if

  Abigail had come back from her ride yet. Most afternoons, she liked to sit on the front porch and sketch while she waited for him to come in, but she wasn’t there. Which didn’t mean that she hadn’t come back yet. Despite the fact that it would earn her another spanking, he wouldn’t put it past her to be in the barn playing cards with the ranch hands again. Or perhaps she’d do it

  because it would earn her another spanking, he thought, remembering how

  aroused she’d gotten by the strapping he’d given her the day before.

  His mouth quirked. Though he’d never put a woman over his knee before he’d spanked his mail-order bride that first night she’d been at the ranch, he

  doubted that all women enjoyed it the same way that she did. Abigail Murray was definitely full of surprises, that was for sure.

  Just then, one of the hands came out of the barn, and Cord asked him if

  Abigail had come back from her ride yet.

  The other man shook his head.

  “When did she leave?” Cord asked.

  The man thought a moment. “About an hour ago, at least. She was heading

  north when I saw her head out.”

  Cord frowned. She should have been back by now, he thought. Dammit! He

  had told her not to ride out of sight of the ranch house. Suddenly a noise intruded on his thoughts. It sounded like light thunder rolling in the distance, he thought. But it wasn’t thunder. Cord recognized it as gunfire, and it was coming from the north. He swore under his breath.

  “Get some men and follow me,”
he told the man, swinging up on his horse

  and kicking the animal into a gallop. The northernmost part of the ranch

  joined Dalton Jeffries’ property, and after the other man’s visit yesterday, he wouldn’t put it past Jeffries to be trying something.

  Urging his horse faster, he rode in the direction that Abigail had gone.

  Shots continued to ring out as Kayla galloped across the floor of the valley.

  Fear gripped her in its clutches and she could hardly breathe from it. She swore that if she got out of this, she wouldn’t stick her nose where it didn’t belong ever again. If she didn’t get shot first, she thought. She looked over her shoulder quickly, and her heart plummeted as she realized that the men were gaining on her. If they got any closer, there was no way they would keep missing her. She urged her horse on even faster, but the animal didn’t have much left to give.

  Then, up ahead, she saw another rider racing toward her. She tensed for a