insistently calling my name behind me. I’d feign ignorance about that for as long as possible.
“You ain’t coming down, are you?” Even though it was a question, we both knew the answer. I stopped a few rungs from the top, turning to look at my stepbrother over my shoulder. I could feel the night’s breeze slipping beneath the hem of my dress, tickling against the backs of my thighs, and caught his eyes roaming over them.
We had played this game for years, neither one of us ever talking about it. Out in the barn, in the fields where no one could see us, I would tease Jay by lifting my shirt up to wipe away the sweat from my brow and give him a glimpse of my bra. Or I’d make sure to bend over in the mornings, in nothing but my nightgown so that he could see my legs.
I watched as Jay licked his lips, dragging his gaze away from where my dress was flapping, back up to my eyes again. It made that heated ball in the pit of my belly grow even hotter. The way Jay looked at me was better than anything I ever got from the boys in town. Most of them only ever saw me as a tomboy, just another one of them. Jay looked at me like I was a woman.
“No. You want to come sit with me?” I asked, taking the last few rungs up and standing at the edge of the barn’s loft so that I could look down and see my stepbrother. Jay was already climbing by that time, the fabric of his shirt pulled tight against his muscled shoulders. He made it look effortless, the way he moved. Jay had always been strong, but now he had the build to go along with that hidden strength of his.
“Yeah, I’m here, ain’t I?” That grumble was all for show as Jay pulled himself up onto the loft’s floor, stopping just in front of where I was standing. Jay was one of those guys who often had a scowl on his face. He was intimidating, and he liked it that way.
I couldn’t count the number of times he’d stood in the doorway and stared down my dates when they’d brought me home at night, just because he knew he scared them. Jay was at least a head taller than me, and he had a way of looming in my personal space that made it hard to breathe. But in a good way.
“You are.” We sat down, shoulder to shoulder. I kicked off the sandals I’d worn with my dress, crossing my ankles. I could feel hay tickling at my calves, the heady smell of it clinging to the roof of my mouth, along with the spicy, musky heat of Jay’s cologne.
It was one of those smells that always made me think of him, no matter where I ran across it. I had even picked up a guy or two at bars in the city, solely because I’d caught a whiff of that cologne. To me, it defined masculinity and strength, and it turned me on.
“You always come when I need you,” I told him. Jay was always so good to me, and he always made an effort to keep me happy. He always told me that he hated to see me upset. I couldn’t help it, I put my head against his arm, resting my cheek against his tattooed skin where his shirtsleeve had ridden up. I just wanted to be close, to curl up in the warmth he radiated.
Sitting together like this, it was hard to remember what I’d been so upset about in the first place. When we were alone, it was like the rest of the world didn’t even matter. Jay was the type of guy who commanded attention, and I was only too happy to give him every drop of it I had in me, like a flower turned up towards the sun.
“You’re my girl. I always take care of my girl.” His arm settled around my shoulder, the tip of his index finger feeling hot against my skin while he trailed it up and down the length of my arm. The touch circled around the bone of my wrist before making its way back up again.
But when Jay got to my shoulder, he didn’t make that touch circle back down again. Instead, the pad of his finger brushed against my collarbone, tugging at the thin strap of my dress playfully. “You look good.”
I could feel the heat in
“You ain’t coming down, are you?” Even though it was a question, we both knew the answer. I stopped a few rungs from the top, turning to look at my stepbrother over my shoulder. I could feel the night’s breeze slipping beneath the hem of my dress, tickling against the backs of my thighs, and caught his eyes roaming over them.
We had played this game for years, neither one of us ever talking about it. Out in the barn, in the fields where no one could see us, I would tease Jay by lifting my shirt up to wipe away the sweat from my brow and give him a glimpse of my bra. Or I’d make sure to bend over in the mornings, in nothing but my nightgown so that he could see my legs.
I watched as Jay licked his lips, dragging his gaze away from where my dress was flapping, back up to my eyes again. It made that heated ball in the pit of my belly grow even hotter. The way Jay looked at me was better than anything I ever got from the boys in town. Most of them only ever saw me as a tomboy, just another one of them. Jay looked at me like I was a woman.
“No. You want to come sit with me?” I asked, taking the last few rungs up and standing at the edge of the barn’s loft so that I could look down and see my stepbrother. Jay was already climbing by that time, the fabric of his shirt pulled tight against his muscled shoulders. He made it look effortless, the way he moved. Jay had always been strong, but now he had the build to go along with that hidden strength of his.
“Yeah, I’m here, ain’t I?” That grumble was all for show as Jay pulled himself up onto the loft’s floor, stopping just in front of where I was standing. Jay was one of those guys who often had a scowl on his face. He was intimidating, and he liked it that way.
I couldn’t count the number of times he’d stood in the doorway and stared down my dates when they’d brought me home at night, just because he knew he scared them. Jay was at least a head taller than me, and he had a way of looming in my personal space that made it hard to breathe. But in a good way.
“You are.” We sat down, shoulder to shoulder. I kicked off the sandals I’d worn with my dress, crossing my ankles. I could feel hay tickling at my calves, the heady smell of it clinging to the roof of my mouth, along with the spicy, musky heat of Jay’s cologne.
It was one of those smells that always made me think of him, no matter where I ran across it. I had even picked up a guy or two at bars in the city, solely because I’d caught a whiff of that cologne. To me, it defined masculinity and strength, and it turned me on.
“You always come when I need you,” I told him. Jay was always so good to me, and he always made an effort to keep me happy. He always told me that he hated to see me upset. I couldn’t help it, I put my head against his arm, resting my cheek against his tattooed skin where his shirtsleeve had ridden up. I just wanted to be close, to curl up in the warmth he radiated.
Sitting together like this, it was hard to remember what I’d been so upset about in the first place. When we were alone, it was like the rest of the world didn’t even matter. Jay was the type of guy who commanded attention, and I was only too happy to give him every drop of it I had in me, like a flower turned up towards the sun.
“You’re my girl. I always take care of my girl.” His arm settled around my shoulder, the tip of his index finger feeling hot against my skin while he trailed it up and down the length of my arm. The touch circled around the bone of my wrist before making its way back up again.
But when Jay got to my shoulder, he didn’t make that touch circle back down again. Instead, the pad of his finger brushed against my collarbone, tugging at the thin strap of my dress playfully. “You look good.”
I could feel the heat in
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