Tying You Down Read online

  Tate took her hand and squeezed it. “You’ve been through hell with this, haven’t you.”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “There’s a stigmatism to anorexia and it’s not something that’s easy to talk about.”

  “Never think you have to be anything but yourself with me.” Tate spoke quietly. “If you’re struggling, you tell me. I’ll support you however you need it.”

  She smiled. “Thank you.”

  “You must have it under control,” he said. “You look healthy.”

  She shrugged. “I have to work at it and I have to talk to myself in a more positive way about food and not constantly feel like I need to count calories.”

  He studied her as she continued. “You’d think I wouldn’t have to battle the thoughts and actions that would lead me back to a place where I shouldn’t ever go again. I still have to work to keep myself from saying the mantra I’d tell myself all of the time to help myself not eat.”

  He leaned forward, put his hand on her shoulder, and pulled himself toward her so that he could put his forehead against hers. “Just remember that I’m here for you for whatever reason. I mean it. Tell me if you need to talk. Tell me if you need anything at all. I want to be the person you talk with.”

  “Thank you.” She swallowed. She’d never had a man who was so sincere in wanting to help her with anything at all, much less something as difficult and personal as this.

  He gave her a kiss, his lips soft and caring against hers. “Do you need to talk some more?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “Thank you for listening.” She offered him a smile. “What’s next?”

  He returned her smile. “Ready to do a little more riding?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  They packed up the blanket and what was left over from lunch, and Tate put it all into the saddlebags.

  Silver swished her tail but otherwise remained still as Tate helped Jo mount the mare. Tate mounted his own horse and then they were headed up the trail again.

  About a half a mile further down the trail, they came to an overlook. They dismounted then leaned up against huge boulders and took in the gorgeous view of tree covered slopes and rocky mountain faces. It was steep and a little disorienting to Jo at first.

  “I see something.” Tate stepped back and headed for Ranger. Tate drew a case containing a spotting scope from the same saddlebag the blanket was in. When he took the scope out of the bag, he leaned up against the boulder, bracing himself on the rock as he pointed the scope in the direction he thought he’d seen something.

  “There she is.” He handed Jo the scope and kept it pointed in the direction he’d been looking. “Over there, across that slope is a bear. See where those rocks are that look like a face is carved into them?”

  Jo looked through the scope and sighted the rocks. For a long moment she didn’t see anything moving. Tingles ran up and down her spine as she saw something move in the brush. Something big and black. As she stared, the bear stood up on its hind legs and sniffed the air, as if it knew it was being watched and wanted to know from which direction.

  “The bear is beautiful.” Jo felt breathless with excitement as she spotted two smaller brown shapes. “She has cubs.” She lowered the scope and turned to Tate. “They’re adorable.”

  He took the scope as she offered it to him and looked through it at the three bears.

  After the bears had disappeared back into the forest, they continued leaning up against the rocks, looking for other forest creatures. They spotted a lone antelope and some deer as well as other, smaller animals.

  “Ready to get back to the truck?” Tate asked. “We still have time to do a little target practice with the bows and arrows I brought.”

  “I’ve never used a bow before.” Jo pushed away from the rocks, turned around and froze. “Uh, Tate?”

  “Yeah?” He turned around and went still, too. “Don’t move,” he said as a skunk waddled across the trail.

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” she said under her breath.

  The skunk took its time, but finally disappeared into some brush beside the trail.

  Jo let out a sigh of relief. “Think it’s gone?”

  “I think we’re safe as long as we don’t go near the bushes.” Tate took a step toward the horses. “The skunk probably feels safe where it’s at now.”

  “At least it’s up the trail rather than in the direction we’re going.” Jo relaxed her tense muscles. “Last thing I think either of us wants is to get sprayed by a skunk.”

  Tate nodded. “Or the horses.”

  Jo smiled. “You’re right. These mountains are alive with wildlife. It is really amazing.”

  It was a good three miles back to where they’d left the truck. After the horses were settled, Tate put down the tailgate of his truck and she saw that he had two bales of yellow hay. He climbed into the truck, grabbed a bale by the baling wire, and tossed it onto the ground. He then tossed out the other bale.

  He stacked the pair a good distance away from the truck and horses then got out two bows and a quiver of arrows and set them on the tailgate before going to the bales and tacking a target onto them.

  “I brought a smaller bow for you to use.” He handed her a simple bow made of glossy brown wood. “Mine’s harder to pull back and handle, and it has more power.”

  She held the unfamiliar weapon he’d handed her and felt its weight.

  Before he let her shoot at the target, he demonstrated how to use a bow with his own. He hit the target with his red-feathered arrows in a close grouping at and around the bulls eye.

  “Show off.” She gave him a teasing look when he finished.

  He grinned. “I’ve been doing this since my dad taught me as a kid.”

  After he set his own bow aside and retrieved the arrows from the bale, he helped her nock an arrow with the smaller bow and sight the target. She found it hard to pull back the bowstring the first time around.

  When she loosed the arrow, it went wide of the target but hit the side of the bale. “Well, at least I hit the hay and not a tree,” she said as she looked at him.

  “You did great,” he said as she nocked another arrow. He stood close to her, helping her position herself in the correct stance and sight the target.

  Again the arrow hit wide of the target, but this time on the opposite side of the bale.

  She kept at it until her arm was sore and she was at least hitting the paper target around the outside ring.

  “It’s getting late.” He started toward the truck and set both bows and the quiver of arrows on the tailgate, near a small coil of rope. “Unfortunately, I need to get back to the ranch to take care of chores.”

  “And I need to get cleaned up and go to Jo-Jo’s.” She gave him a light kiss. “I had a great time today.”

  “So did I.” He smiled. “One of those days that I wish could go on.”

  She slipped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. “Maybe we can stretch it out…just a little bit longer.”

  Chapter 18

  Tate held Jo’s gaze, feeling an ache in his groin. “I think I can hold out a little longer before I have to head back to the ranch,” he said, his voice suddenly tight with need.

  “Jo-Jo’s can wait, too.” She pressed close and he groaned as she rubbed her belly against his cock that had gone rigid at the thought of being with her.

  He cupped the back of her head and brought his mouth down hard on hers. She kissed him with a kind of wildness that made him think of a wildcat in his arms.

  She clung to him as he unzipped her windbreaker and moved his hands inside to feel the heat of her body. He unbuttoned her shirt, wanting to tear it apart and let the buttons fly instead of messing with them. But he reined in his primal thoughts long enough to get her blouse open.

  He jerked her bra beneath her breasts and she caught her breath. He moved his mouth from hers and saw that her nipples had tightened until they were large, hard nubs. No doubt from desire an
d the chill air, too. He lowered his head and sucked her nipple. She moaned and clung to him as she tipped her head back.

  Another moan rose up within her as he caught her other nipple in his mouth. She dug her fingernails into his shoulders, the sensation adding fuel to the intensity of desire raging through him.

  She moved her hands down to his belt buckle and unfastened it before going after the button and zipper of his jeans.

  He sucked in his breath as she reached inside and pulled out his cock. Her hands were cool but he felt hot beneath her touch. She slipped out of his arms and got down on her knees on the pine needles and leaves on the forest floor.

  She gripped his erection and then her mouth was sliding over his cock. He groaned and slid his hands into her hair as she went down on him. He watched the way his cock moved in and out of her mouth. Just seeing her sucking him made the sensations stirring in his groin even more intense.

  There was something about being out in the forest that made it even more erotic. The pungent forest scents and the cool air brushing the parts of his body that was bare. Even the chance that they could get caught added to the experience.

  She looked up at him and met his gaze, watching him as he watched her. Her blouse and windbreaker were open and he could see her perfect breasts bouncing as she moved her mouth up and down. She made a humming sound that vibrated along his cock and thought he was going to climax before he could stop himself.

  His blood felt like it was boiling and his breathing was ragged as he forced her to stop. He had to take a deep breath. He brought her to her feet and took her by the hand, and picked up the rope off the back of the truck.

  She looked at the rope with interest as he led her to a soft patch of grass that was on the opposite side of the horse trailer and couldn’t be seen from the road.

  He unbuttoned her jeans and she clung to his biceps as she kicked off her boots. She seemed almost frantic as she stripped off her jeans and panties, leaving only her socks. She shrugged out of her blouse and windbreaker and her skin pebbled from the chill but she didn’t seem to care.

  His cock grew even harder as he took her down to the grass. He grasped the rope then her wrists, and bound her hands in front of her.

  “What are you doing?” Her voice was throaty as she spoke.

  “I’m tying you down.” He stretched her arms above her head and tied the ends of the rope to a slender tree. Her breasts jutted up as she squirmed and pulled against the ropes. He drew back and looked at her. “I’d love to keep you this way, tie you up in my home so that you can’t get away from me.”

  She bit her lower lip and squirmed.

  From his pocket he pulled out his wallet and took out a condom packet before tossing his wallet onto the truck’s tailgate. He tugged down his jeans to his knees and then rolled the condom down his cock. And then he was between her thighs and he sank into her core that enveloped him in her slick heat.

  She gasped then sighed as he slid all the way inside her. He started riding her, her wrists tied over her head. Her eyes were closed and she looked like she was lost in the feel of his cock moving in and out of her.

  “Look at me.” The words came out like a command. “I want to see your eyes.”

  She raised her lashes and he felt a larger ache in his groin as her green eyes met his. Her lips were parted and her face and skin flushed as he fucked her.

  He looked down at where their bodies joined. She looked down, too and they both watched him riding her. He reached down and palmed her breasts that were large handfuls, even in his big hands.

  She moved her hips in a steady rhythm, a look of pure pleasure in her gaze.

  He felt his orgasm rising and rising in him, the feeling in his groin growing more and more intense until he was clenching his teeth, forcing himself to hold back. He didn’t know if he’d be able to keep from coming much longer.

  “Come for me, honey,” he murmured. “Come with me.”

  Her eyes widened and she cried out as if his words were what she needed to climb over the top. Her cries echoed in the forest.

  He shouted out his own orgasm. The feeling of her core clamping down on his cock was enough to send his senses flying in every direction.

  His cock pulsed inside her and he felt heat rush through every part of his body. She went limp beneath him and he hugged her as he brought her back down to earth.

  Chapter 19

  David paced his small apartment and gripped his mobile phone tightly as he listened to his lawyer, Larry Hopfield.

  “You’d better figure this out,” Larry was saying. “The problem is, unless some of these investors get paid back, they’re going after you.”

  David ground his teeth. His face was flushed. Hot. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “We’ve been through this before.” Larry spoke in a firm, hard voice. “I think you know what you did. You essentially sold securities without a license. You paid some of their investment to investors in another project. It’s not going to take much for them to figure that out. They’re going to go after you, so you’d better communicate with them and return their money.”

  “I’ve got another deal going.” David fought down panic through his anger as he thought about Charlee and the fact she’d come into her inheritance in five months. He’d done this before. He’d be able to do it again. “Talk to them. I need six months and I’ll get every penny to them.”

  “You can’t do that,” Larry said. “You need to pay them back now.”

  “I don’t have half a million in my back pocket.” David nearly shouted the words. “I need time.”

  “I am just telling you, figure it out, David.” Larry’s voice was even harder and he sounded like he wanted to wash his hands of everything. “I don’t think you have long.”

  Larry disconnected the call.

  “Shit!” David almost flung his phone across the apartment. Instead, he picked up a wooden lamp from the end table that his laptop was sitting on, and smashed the lamp down on the carpet. The bulb shattered and the wood cracked, the sound loud. He swung the lamp, over and over again until the wood was nothing but splinters. He jerked the cord out of the socket and flung what was left of the lamp against the far wall where it crashed and dented the wall, then dropped onto the carpet.

  His breathing was hard from the power of his exertion. How the hell was he going to come up with that kind of money when Charlee hadn’t come into her inheritance yet? It took time to work a mark and he needed just a little longer.

  What the fuck was he going to do?

  He pushed his hand through his hair as he started pacing again. Pacing, pacing, pacing, his mind whirling through possibilities.

  In the meantime he needed to find another means of income. He owed money, and he owed money big. Just the thought of it made sweat break out on the back of his neck.

  What about Jo?

  Yes, Jo.

  Why hadn’t he thought of her before? From what he had learned, she had that kind of money. If he could get her to invest in one of his schemes then he’d be able to pay back the other debts.

  And then, before Jo knew what had happened, he’d be gone with her money and Charlee’s, too.

  Chapter 20

  The Friday morning following the horseback ride, Jo’s mobile phone rang and she paused mid-step to grab it off of the breakfast bar. On the screen was a number she didn’t recognize.

  She pushed the “on” button and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

  “Jo?” a male voice said. “This is David Smith.”

  Surprised, Jo said, “David. What can I do for you?”

  “I’d like to meet with you for coffee. Are you free in about an hour? Around ten?”

  Her brow furrowed as she leaned against the kitchen counter. “What’s up?”

  “I’d just like to talk with you,” he said. “Can you make it to the coffee shop around the corner from Jo-Jo’s?”

  She pushed hair away from her face. “I suppose so.�
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  “Good. I’ll see you at ten.” He disconnected the call.

  Frowning, Jo held the phone away from her ear and looked at it. What could David want with her?

  She hadn’t thought to ask if Charlee would be there. She dialed Charlee’s number but there was no answer, so she left a message to call. Likely her sister was at work and had her phone on vibrate—she didn’t like it to ring when she was with a client. That or Charlee was just busy with something and hadn’t heard her phone.

  Jo set the phone on the breakfast bar again and padded in her bare feet across the tiled floor from the kitchen to the bedroom to change out of her jammies and into some jeans.

  * * * * *

  Jo had chosen blue jeans and brown leather knee boots along with an aqua-green cowl-neck sweater. She’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail and hadn’t bothered with makeup.

  The strong smell of coffee greeted her as she walked into the coffee shop a couple of minutes before ten. As she stepped through the doorway, she saw David sitting at a corner table. He raised his hand in greeting, but remained in his chair. She thought about how Tate would have stood until she was seated, not that she expected chivalry from a man. She slid into the chair opposite him.

  It was easy to see why Charlee liked him so much as far as appearances went. He was a good-looking man with brown hair, blue eyes, and a friendly grin. Like he had the first time she’d met him, he exuded a charisma that could easily take anyone in.

  “What would you like to drink?” he asked, gesturing to the menu with his coffee cup.

  “I think I’ll have a chai tea.” She got to her feet to order and wasn’t surprised that David remained seated. Even though he’d been the one to invite her out for coffee, he wasn’t offering to pay for her drink. Not that she minded paying for her own beverage, it just showed more of his personality.