Backstage Demands Read online

  I shuddered.

  “They’re not going to give you the chores they like doing. Be prepared to scrub toilets, wash underwear, and chop a lot of vegetables.”

  “If that’s what it takes.”

  “You’re stubborn.”

  “I think you like it.”

  We smiled at each other and settled in to eat. The sandwich was plain but stacked tall and I almost didn’t manage the last few bites. Ryker at two full sandwiches and was still waiting for me to finish.

  “I’ll show you the rest of the place,” he said.

  He had a short path through the bush to a second clearing where he had a large garden and a chicken run.

  “Why are the chickens in the garden?” I said.

  “They eat the bugs off the plants and they’re walking fertilizers. I have potatoes, three types of squash, carrots, peas, lettuce, and corn.”

  “That’s not a lot.”

  “No, but most of it is stuff that keeps in a crawlspace for months. I can eat fresh vegetables into the cold season this way. The lettuce grows fast and I can grow it inside in the winter.”

  At the end of the garden was the coup and inside were little nests. Three of the hens were sitting and he shooed them away revealing half a dozen eggs. He loaded them in an ice cream pail and handed it to me. “That’s breakfast tomorrow. I’ll secure everything here if you take that back to the cabin.”

  “Okay.”

  After checking the smokehouse and topping up the wood in the smoker he tossed his shirt over the corral fence and settled in to chopping wood. I settled in to watch the display of lean muscle and was happily staring when he said, “What are you going to tell your boyfriend?”

  “My cellphone is in the glove box of the car. I’m planning on texting him as soon as we get there and telling him it’s over between us. I’m not going back there, I can’t.”

  “Why are you so set on leaving, Emily? You have loving parents and a life.”

  “I told you, I was in a dead end job. At some point my parents would realize that I wasn’t going back to school for some high priced degree so I could get a high paying job and they’d probably kick me out. Joel would only take me in until he found someone white and rich and then out I’d go again. I don’t want to be passed along like a stray dog.”

  “Maybe I should ask you what you asked me. Why here? Why not run to another city? Why not run away to college?”

  “How could things be better in another city? I’d still be black and uneducated. I don’t know what I want to go to school for, if I even want to go back. I’m not creative, I’m not interested in medicine or law or computers, so what is there for me? Maybe more people need to give up and build cabins in the woods and live off the land again.”

  “Most people who don’t want to work won’t want to live off the land either, it’s nothing but work.”

  “But it all feels like good, honest work. I didn’t chop wood for very long but it felt good, okay, once I’d eaten and my hands stopped stinging. But I had done something, something you could see, something you could touch, something that was actually useful. Waiting tables is just make work. All I did was carry dishes around.”

  “So it’s not that you don’t want to work, it’s that you want to do something fulfilling and hadn’t found that something yet.”

  “Exactly! Out here I’ve found that. I don’t care about the cellphone or the social media. I just typed what people expected me to type, I couldn’t really be me. I won’t miss that at all.”

  “You’ll be talking to King before long, just so you know.”

  “Is he a good conversationalist?”

  “He was all I had.”

  “I think I can handle that level of crazy.”

  “Good. Can you start carrying the split wood to the wood pile.”

  “But I’m staring at you.”

  “Stare while you work.”

  “Yes sir.”

  That evening we sat by the fire staring at the stars. “Why out here?” I said. “Why didn’t you runaway to a different city or a different state? Why didn’t you run off to college? Why did you run out here to the middle of nowhere?”

  There was a long pause and I thought I might have to apologize for being nosy but then he said, “This is what I knew. I almost didn’t graduate, I was sure no college would take me and my parents reinforced that idea every day. My parents wouldn’t pay, I had no money of my own, and I wasn’t smart enough for a scholarship. I was stupid, useless, worthless, I’d never do more than flip burgers or swing a hammer on a construction site and that didn’t appeal to me. I knew these woods, I knew the wild, I knew this was the only place I’d ever succeed. So I came here.”

  “But aren’t you here illegally?”

  “Actually the state land is on the other side of the river. This is all land owned by wealthy cattle ranch families who don’t want the city expanding to close to their properties so they keep this natural buffer zone and the state keeps the preserve nice and safe.”

  “So someone knows you’re out here?”

  He nodded. “I have permission to live here. I keep an eye out for trespassers and illegal hunters. I hunt nuisance animals that would disturb the ranchers.”

  “And you watch out for damsels in distress too?”

  “I don’t see many of those,” He kissed me. “And they never want to stay.”

  “Then they’re fools.”

  “Or we are.”

  “Shut up and kiss me.”

  We made out under the stars, our kisses eager and passionate, our hands touching each other’s faces and necks, until the fire burned low and the night got very dark.

  “Come on,” he said, breaking away from the kisses to pull me to my feet. “The coyotes don’t come in this close, usually, but let’s not tempt fate.”

  I nodded, breathless and excited, and followed him into the dark of the cabin. We didn’t need a light to find our way to the bed but Ryker turned the lamp on anyways.

  “I want to see you tonight,” he said. “I didn’t get to see you last night.”

  “There’s not much to see.”

  “There’s all of you to see, and I think you’re beautiful so don’t start putting yourself down or fishing for compliments. You’re beautiful and I want to make love to you tonight, and I want to see you while I do.”

  There was no arguing with that so I nodded but I suddenly felt shy. The heat-of-the-moment passion we’d had outside had already faded and the light made me nervous. He reached out and touched my cheek.

  “My beautiful Emily, I love the darkness of your skin and how my hand looks against it. I love your hair, your eyes; let go of the past, Emily, you’re safe here. I’ll be kind to you.”

  I nodded again and he pulled me close and kissed me tenderly, his hand gentle on the side and back of my neck. His kiss was warm but rough – he hadn’t shaved since I arrived and his beard rubbed my chin.

  “Let me see you,” he whispered, “And I will show you all of me.”

  I couldn’t pass up an offer like that. I’d seen him without his shirt earlier when he was chopping wood, and later I would remember that he’d already seen me naked when he pulled me from the river and stripped me so I’d dry, but at that moment I wanted to see him completely naked, here in the low soft light of the lantern, so I pulled my clothes off. I got tangled in the pant legs and had to sit on the bed to get them over my feet without falling on my ass on the hardwood floor.

  He stood before me, completely naked and unashamed. He was lean muscle everywhere, smooth from shoulder to hip, and very, very hard. I leaned back on the bed, giving him a full view of my body, knowing that what I saw in the mirror and what he saw before him had to be very different if the look of desire in his eyes was any indication.

  Joel had never looked at me like that before.

  He came towards me slowly and crawled into the bed, trapping me between him and the bed. He bent low over me and kissed me deeply.

  �
��I want you, Emily.”

  “I’m all yours.”

  We twisted and stretched out on the bed and his hands caressed me, moving confidently over my body. He paused at every sweet spot just long enough to make my heart race and I tipped my head back, my eyes closed.

  He spread my legs, his hand going between my legs. He dipped his fingers inside of me and I groaned sharply.

  “You’re so wet.”

  “I want you too.”

  “I’m all yours.” He moved his hand and slipped inside me. I gasped but before he could move there was a sharp snap from outside the cabin. We both froze.

  “What was that?” I whispered.

  “Probably a tree branch in the wind but I should check that there isn’t a coyote trying to get into the chickens.” He pulled out of me and I whimpered. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay. But hurry, please.”

  He tugged on his jeans, doing them up over this erection, and then grabbed the lantern.

  “You’re taking the light?” I squeaked.

  “And the gun. Just stay there, you’ll be safe. I’ll be right back.”

  The door closed, leaving me in darkness. I sat as still as I could on that narrow bed, my heart thundering in my chest. Finally he came back, the light stinging my eyes for a moment.

  “All clear,” he said, setting the lantern down again. “God, I’m shaking.”

  “Me too. Come here and hold me.”

  He kicked off his jeans and crawled into bed with me, his skin cool from the night air. He shivered as I brushed my fingers against him.

  “Cold?”

  “No, sensitive. Keep doing it.”

  I brushed my fingers over his chest and he shivered again. I ran my hand down his body and pouted.

  “Not my fault,” he said, apologizing. “Maybe you could help it along?”

  I nodded and wrapped my hand around him. It didn’t take much massaging and tugging for him to grow hard in my hand. He stretched out on the bed and let me play with him while he groaned. His whole body relaxed, except his cock.

  I straddled him and lowered my body onto his cock and he groaned again. There wasn’t much room on the narrow bed but there was room for this. I rode him with long slow movements and his hands wandered over my body.

  The lantern cast deep shadows over us but his skin glowed softy where the light hit and his eyes stared into mine. Adrenaline from the scare was still pumping through both of us and very quickly our hearts were racing. I could feel mine in my chest and his under my palm. They were like racehorses, thundering like hooves on the track, pushing us to a frenzy of desire.

  I rode him harder and faster and still our eyes remained locked. My eyes opened wide and I started to scream out wordless sounds of pleasure as I neared my climax.

  “Ryker! Ryker! Oh god yes!” and then the words were gone again and all I could do was scream to the night and the wild and the river as Ryker thrust his hips up hard to meet me and send me crashing into orgasm.

  The waves of pleasure hadn’t even faded before he too climaxed, coming inside me with a hard grunt that was a whisper compared to my screams.

  I collapsed on his chest. “The light,” I said.

  “Shit. My legs don’t work. Leave it.”

  “Sure,” I said. “I can leave it.” I turned my face away from the light and dozed off.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Get out of bed lazy-bones.”

  His voice was gruff but playful. I grunted and took a swing at him but it was a feeble swing and with my face buried in the covers I missed completely.

  “The meat’s done, it’s time to hike out of here. If we leave now and push hard we can be back at your car just after nightfall and we can be in town by morning.”

  “It’s barely light out, isn’t it?”

  “That’s right. Now up you go.” He grabbed my arms and pulled. “Come on, get up. I made coffee.”

  “Fine, for coffee I will get up at this ungodly hour.”

  He laughed. “But not for me?”

  “Love only goes so far, for anything else, there’s coffee.”

  He laughed again and went out. I flopped back onto the bed and pulled the covers over my head.

  “Are you getting dressed?” he shouted.

  “You sound like my mother on a school day!” I called back but I threw the covers aside and got out of bed.

  Going back. That wasn’t something I’d planned on. I should have because he was right. I couldn’t just leave my car there, and I couldn’t leave my parents wondering where I was, and I really should officially break up with Joel. But they’d all try to talk me into staying in the city in my dead end life and I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to waitress; I didn’t want to live with Joel. I didn’t want to live with my parents for the rest of my life.

  Maybe with Ryker beside me I’ll be able to stand up to all of them, I thought, tugging on my clothes. It will be nice to have more than two sets of clothes though.

  I came out of the cabin stretching and smelled coffee, and bacon. “Isn’t bacon expensive?” I said.

  “The tanner has pigs,” he replied. “You need to eat lots because we’ll be burning a lot of calories today. I ate already.”

  “How early were you up?”

  “Early.”

  “Didn’t I tire you out last night?”

  He chuckled. “Yes.”

  “Oh good, I thought I was going to have to try harder. How are we going to work this?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We’re going to drive home, to my home, and tell everyone what’s going on, and then pick up some extra clothes and things, and then what? It’s several hours by car from the city to where I parked my car. Are we walking back?”

  “No. We’re driving to one of the ranches so I can borrow a truck. I’ll follow you to your home, we’ll load everything into the truck and then drive back. Then we only have a day, maybe two with the added luggage, to walk back to the cabin.”

  “Oh. Well, I’m glad you’re thinking this through.”

  “Drink some more coffee, you need to jump start that brain.”

  “Gee thanks. What about King?”

  “I’ll give him some extra feed. He can reach the long grass through the fence. He’ll just stay here and wait for us. There will be spoiled eggs when we get back but that’s the only thing we’ll really have to worry about.”

  “This place is fairly self-sufficient, even without you.”

  “I like it that way.”

  “So do I.”

  “Are you done that breakfast?”

  “I’m stuffed.”

  “Your appetite will grow the longer you’re out here.” He offered me a hand and pulled me to my feet. “Grab a pack then and we’ll be off.”

  “Don’t move! Don’t you take another fucking step!”

  We both spun around at the sound of this new and very angry voice. Standing at the corner of the cabin, half hidden by the wood pile, was Joel and in his hands was a gun.

  RYKER’S MOUNTAIN, BOOK 3

  WARNING: This ebook contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This ebook is for sale to adults ONLY

  Please ensure this ebook is stored somewhere that cannot be accessed by underage readers.

  © Copyright 2015 by A.J. Winter - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  Ryker's Mountain:

  DISCOVERY

  Love Triangle Romance

  By: A.J. Winter

  CHAPTER ONE

  JOEL

  Joel got up and showered and dressed like he did every day. On
his way to the kitchen for breakfast he grabbed his phone and texted a sweet ‘good morning’ message to Emily. She’d been acting strange lately, distant, and he was worried their relationship wouldn’t last long enough for him to get her to move into the apartment with him. I just have to step up the romance, he thought. Maybe I’ll take her out for dinner and a movie tonight, or candlelit dinner here at the apartment. I hate cooking but she’ll love the effort.

  He sent a second message asking her what time she was working and if she wanted to get together before or after her shift. He finished his egg whites and protein shake and still there was no answer from Emily.

  The restaurant doesn’t even open until eleven, where is she? Maybe I’ll swing by her place and surprise her.

  He drove up to her house, a nice split level in a good, upper-middle-class neighbourhood, and parked at the curb. He jogged up the driveway and rang the doorbell. There was no answer. He tried the door, it was locked, as was the side door. He peered into the garage but saw no cars. Her car wasn’t on the driveway either.

  He shrugged and went back to the car. Maybe she’s at the hairdresser or running errands, he tried to remember if she had big plans for that crazy hair of hers. He texted her a quick ‘I love you and I miss you’ and drove to the gym.

  After his workout he texted her again and then went for lunch with Buddy. When she hadn’t texted him back by one o’clock he called her. The phone went right to voicemail. He popped open every social media account he could think of but she’d been strangely quiet on all fronts for days.

  “Maybe she’s just taking a day to herself,” Buddy said as they walked back to their cars. “You know, hair, nails, shopping, the whole bit. Girls do that sometimes, you have to give her that time or she’ll say you’re trying to control her.”

  Joel couldn’t say ‘I am trying to control her so he said, “I worry about her.”

  “Don’t. She’ll text you tonight and ask if she can come show you her beautiful huge ass in her new sexy lingerie, or she’ll text an apology for being off grid all day. Either way you’re probably looking getting laid tonight.”