Secret Obsession (2 page)

He neared the bathroom, and a muffled hint of music played. Swinging the door open, he wasn't prepared for what he would see. The door that adjoined to Raven's room was open. Through it he could see her dancing in front of the full-length mirror in the guest room.

She was dressed in the skimpiest excuse for sleepwear that he had ever seen. He couldn't look away from her body as it stretched and gyrated to the song booming from her radio. Her movements were wild, but matched the beat with precision. She had to be some sort of dancer or choreographer.  She rolled her shoulders, and then her hips as her feet kicked out to the music. Then she did a sensual move that left him short of breath, and began a sexy ballet style dance. Her hair was a halo of damp spirals that swayed with her every move, adding to the hypnotic allure of her routine.

So, this is what she looked like. Tall, with long limbs that were bronzed by the sun. She was more than blessed in the hips with an ass that seemed about ready to pop out of her little shorts. A flat stomach and long torso led up to a firm pair of breasts that jiggled and swayed with her exertion. Finn didn't even realize he was staring until she stopped suddenly. He glanced up and met the reflection of her gaze in the mirror. She was staring back at him in shock.

He jerked back, straightening his posture. What the hell had come over him?

"Uh, sorry you left your door open. We share this bathroom, so try to remember to keep your door closed," he said without a breath.

Raven's face still held an expression of surprised confusion, like she wanted to say something, but the words never came. She turned away from the mirror to face him while he rambled his apology, and seemed to be giving him the same once-over that he had given her body.

"Well, I'm Finn. And you must be Raven. Nice to meet you."

By then, Raven had snapped out of her stupor and slowly made her way to the door on her side of the bathroom.

"Nice to meet you, Finn," she said with a nod before slowly closing the door in his face.

Finn, like a fool, nodded at the closed door as he took another sip of his beer and moved further into the bathroom to start his shower. When he passed the mirror, he was reminded that he too, was barely dressed. That could be the reason for her closing the door in his face, he thought, until he looked down and noticed the bulge of his erection against the zipper of his jeans.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath, hoping that she hadn't seen it too. He didn't need his stepsister thinking he was a crazed pervert, but that's exactly how he felt when he finally stood under the hot stream of water and his dick was still hard as stone.

What an introduction.

PART TWO

Blurred Lines

Staying
out of Finn's way wasn't as easy as Raven expected because being locked up in her room was boring. But mostly because she was so intrigued by him. Maybe intrigued was a bit tame, more like aroused to insanity. She couldn't get the images of his shirtless torso and firm abs off the repeat cycle in her mind. If she had ever met a sexier man she couldn't remember. In fact, she couldn't think of another man that had made her burn with lust the way Finn had. Just by looking at him.

It was safest that she limit how often she saw him. Being around him for too long would be a detriment to her self-control. The few times that she had seen him had been at dinner when he'd come in from working on the ranch, still sporting his cowboy hat and boots. He was like a wet dream come to life. Raven almost laughed out loud at herself when she saw him in full cowboy gear for the first time. She had to stifle the urge to do the long wolf whistle horny characters did in the cartoons. She'd barely kept her tongue from rolling out of her mouth, and panting.

Since the night they met, Finn hadn't attempted to talk to her. Only polite
good mornings
at breakfast and
good evenings
at dinner. What else was there for him to say? Not much, but she found herself wishing they had something that needed discussing as an excuse to hear his deep husky voice again.

All of these inappropriate thoughts drove Raven to spend most of her time in hiding. Breakfast, dinner and a few rounds of television with her dad where the only reasons she ventured out of her sky-blue sanctuary. Plus, she assumed Finn had a girlfriend. Any guy who looked like he did had to have a gaggle of women after him. Besides that, he hardly ever looked at her. This lead Raven to another assumption that she probably wasn't his type. She needed to get her hormones under control.

Sometime during her second week of self-inflicted confinement, Raven decided to get out and explore. Dusty Springs was a small town but there had to be something to do. She planned to make the two-hour drive out to Austin at some point. In the meantime she figured she would see what her local digs had to offer. After driving and getting lost on an endless loop of dirt roads, she hit Main Street and took it into the heart of town.

It was as small as she expected. A 'one of everything' kind of town as her dad would call it. They'd lived in a few during her parent's time in the military so she was used to the setup. Everything major would be on the main street, which was the literal name in Dusty, and everyone would know everyone. Which meant she would stick out like an extra thumb.

Raven ignored the curious stares cast her way upon her entrance to the Dusty Lady Bar and Saloon.  She was used to being the new girl in town. Dressed like the city spit her out, with a natural swagger that attracted attention.  She approached the bar and smiled at the bartender as if she had done so a dozen times before.

"I'll have a glass of whatever you have on tap," she said before he had a chance to ask.

Randy, as he introduced himself, nodded at her with a warm smile before turning to get her drink. Raven took in his attire as he filled a frosty glass and skimmed the foam from the top. He screamed cowboy, from the ten-gallon hat down to the roper style boots with spurs on the side. Raven had lived in small towns before, but none quite as
country
as this. The Wild West theme was very dominant.

"Should I be asking you for ID? You look a little young, sugar," Randy said as he was sliding her beer across the varnished wood counter. Raven laughed.

"I get that a lot, but I'm totally legal."

To prove it, she dug out her driver’s license and handed it to him.

"Raven," he read. "Pretty name for a pretty lady."

"Are you flirting with me Randy?" Her voice was laced with amusement since he was surely old enough to be her granddad. Randy let out a rustic chuckle.

"Goodness, no," he said with a wink. "Just trying to give you a friendly welcome."

"I hope you're not giving this lady a hard time, Randy."

The smooth voice floated over her shoulder.  Raven looked up to find Finn and another young cowboy settling into the seats next to her. She took a long gulp of her drink hoping to cool the sudden heat flash spreading through her body. A deep breath that was meant to calm her failed when she inhaled his crisp leather and spice scent filled her senses.

"Now, Finn," Randy feigned shock. "You know Beth would have my hide. I was giving Miss Raven a friendly town welcome, is all."

"And I thank you. It's good to know that chivalry still lives," Raven said as a covert dig at Finn. She hadn't forgotten their awkward first meeting and his subsequent ignorance of her since. Even though
she
had vowed to stay away from him, she couldn't deny her attraction to him anymore than she could deny her femininity.

Finn flashed her a look, his mouth smiled but one eyebrow cocked in confusion at her comment.

"I assure you that chivalry is alive and well here in the South." His accent wasn't quite as thick as old Randy's, but his husky drawl was country to the core. She found it charming.

"I haven't seen it," she mumbled. The thought came out leaving Raven to wonder what had gotten into her.

"Then I'm thinking you need to get out more," Finn's friend added to the exchange.

"Pardon my manners," Finn said teasingly. "Raven, this is Buck."

"Nice to meet you." Buck extended his hand with a big smile. He seemed very nice, and very interested. Raven wished that his boyish grin and dark green eyes had sparked something in her, but while she checked Buck out, she was keenly aware of Finn's soulful brown eyes studying her every move. She accepted Buck's hand for a quick shake, unable to ignore the fact that she had to lean across Finn's solid arm to do so.

She forced a smile and tried to appear comfortable as she signaled Randy for another round. She'd only meant to have one and a look around, but liquid reinforcement was a must if she was going to be in Finn's presence.

"We'll
have another round, and put them all on my tab," Finn instructed Randy.  He hadn't missed the snarky comment about chivalry, which was a direct result of his bad behavior towards her. As a new member to his family and a guest in his house, he should have at least offered to show her around town. Seeing her walk into the bar alone made him feel like a real jerk. To make things up to her, he kept the drinks coming and found a way to make her laugh by giving her quick and dirty profiles of the various people she picked out of the crowd.

She seemed like a nice girl, even funny, but he couldn't be around her without gaining an instant erection. It was embarrassing and frustrating.

Before he had a chance to decide what to do about her unexpected arrival, Buck had noticed her and was planning his attempt at seducing the hottie at the bar. Finn's immediate reaction was to knock him off his stool. Why should he be jealous that Buck was attracted to Raven? Because he was too, and he was more concerned with protecting her from his womanizing buddy than he was with protecting her from himself.

"I really shouldn't have anymore," Raven said. "I'm already on my third and I would hate for the first round of gossip about me to be tagged with a DUI."

Finn laughed.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you get home safe. Buck is my designated driver, and we’ll make sure to get your car back to you in the mornin’.”

After a skeptical look from Raven he added,  “He only drinks sprite."

Raven noted the liquid in Buck's glass was clear and bubbly. "Well then. Cheers to Buck."

"Cheers to the beautiful new lady in town," Buck said with a toothy grin.

Finn ignored the way his friend fawned over Raven. As he raised his glass, a loud whooping and cheering came from the back of the bar. Sandy, the town party girl, was giving the mechanical bull one hell of a ride. She was notorious for jumping on after she got good and tipsy, and also held the bar's current record for longest ride.

"Whoa," Raven commented.

"Yeah," Finn agreed. "Sandy is something on that bull." He was glad that Buck had something else to focus on.

"She's ok," Raven said.

"Just ok?"

"I've seen better."

"Really, City Slicker? Tell me about it." Finn was doubtful, but interested in what she had to say.

"I may be a City Slicker, but I know how to work my hips."

Finn couldn't hide the fact that he was imagining how well she could work her hips. Images of Raven dancing and shaking her curvy hips were a constant backdrop for his recent wet dreams. His eyes darkened with lust.

Raven returned the sentiment. There was a moment of unspoken understanding that passed between them before she spoke.

"What about you? Can you handle the bull?"

Finn managed to tear his gaze away from Raven long enough to glance back at Sandy whooping it up with one hand in the air. He was also a damn good bull rider and had won enough bets to prove it. Getting on the bull was not a problem for him.