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A/N: Strae deserves some major kudos for betaing this story for me!
EPOV
The following week was a mess of moving horses and getting ready for finals. I would be gone a full week, leaving Bella alone to do chores.
My anxiety was not out of any distrust for Bella, as I trusted her completely. She had proven herself a worthy advocate and I knew without a doubt that she would be able to handle a week of my being away. I was more fearful of souring her on all of this, giving her too much at once. I couldn't lose her.
"Bella, are you sure you're going to be okay with all of this?"
I could tell by the expression on her face that she was starting to get annoyed with me. I decided then and there that I wouldn't ask again, and that I really needed to explain myself.
I lightly gripped her arm to encourage her to stop with me and to turn and face me. The annoyance was still obvious on her face and she stubbornly wouldn't meet my eye.
"It's not that I don't trust you, I do. I don't doubt that you can handle this at all, but I'm really worried that this might stress you out, you know? You haven't been here that long and I'm already leaving you to take care of everything."
My voice was pleading. I didn't want her to think that I was skeptical of her abilities. I sighed to myself when she visibly relaxed, losing the disgruntled look.
"It's fine, Edward. I'll be fine. You don't have to worry, okay?"
She smiled brightly and I felt my unease melt away. "I know I don't."
I squeezed her arm in a friendly gesture, fighting off the urge to pull her little body tight against mine. She'd fit perfectly against me, so perfectly...
"Oh, hey, before I forget, we have to get you up on the tractor," I stated offhandedly. I knew from an earlier conversation that she wasn't too big on the idea of driving the tractor.
Her full bottom lip was immediately pulled between her teeth where she worried it, apprehension obvious in her eyes.
"I-I'm not sure that's such a good idea. I drove a tractor once, there's a reason it was only one time."
"Come on, Bella, don't tell me you're too afraid to get back on that tractor," I joked amusedly, bumping her shoulder with my own as she set a slow pace in the direction of my parked John Deere.
She didn't answer and she didn't look amused at all.
"The horses need to be ridden, and you can't ride in a packed arena, Bella. It's really not all that complicated once you have it figured out," I explained calmly. I didn't want her to think that I was forcing her to do it for my own amusement when she was clearly scared.
"What if I break it?" she asked meekly.
I couldn't contain a laugh, though I hadn't tried very hard. "I highly doubt a small human girl could break a five thousand pound machine, Bella."
She shot me a disgruntled glare and I nudged her shoulder with my own again, still chuckling.
"In all seriousness, if you do wreck it, I'll just waive the pay raise I intended to give you to cover the cost of a new tractor."
This time she gave me a dubious look. "Could you be serious, please?"
I widened my eyes innocently. "What? I am being serious."
Her own eyes widened considerably as she considered that. She turned to face me as we came to a stop alongside the tractor in question. "What kind of pay raise were you going to give me? I could never afford a tractor."
Her eyes darted from the machine back to me, nervously.
"Well," I started, leaning against the wheel of the tractor, "seeing as I'm never letting you leave, I guess you'd just have to make the salary you're at for a few years to pay off a new one." I added a kick to the tire to punctuate my words.
She laughed uncomfortably and I immediately regretted my words.
"That was inconsiderate," I chastised myself. "Please, Bella, just don't worry about the tractor. The tractor will be fine, you'll be fine, everything will be fine. How about this, when I return, whether the tractor is broken or not, we'll discuss your raise?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, it's your decision whether you think—"
"The raise isn't the question, Bella. You'll get a raise if you decide to stay. I think I've made it clear that I'm not letting you go without a fight."
"Oh," she breathed, blinking a few times then looking up at me. I'm sure I looked as desperate as I felt. "Well, I'm not going anywhere."
To fight the smile that was threatening to overstretch my face, I said the first thing that came to mind. "But if you bring your boyfriend here and he wrecks my tractor, I'm going to have to reconsider."
Oops, I thought. That was more than just a bit audacious and rude. It wasn't my place to even care whether she had a boyfriend or not, but I didn't let that stop me. I'd been wondering obsessively.
Bella blushed and ducked her head, then mumbled, "I don't have a boyfriend."
I cackled victoriously inside, but quickly realized that it very well might not have been her choice to be lacking a boyfriend. Her job took up a lot of free time, and a personal life was a bit difficult when you spend your days in a barn. I would know.
"Uh, that's probably my fault, huh?"
I couldn't muster up the proper guilt over that, though. I was mostly just happy that she wasn't dating anyone.
Her eyes were wide with questions as they raised to mine.
I mentally slapped myself in the forehead, I was being overtly presumptuous today. I hurriedly rushed on, "Since I don't really give you much time for yourself. This is a full time job, I know that. Certainly if I gave you more time off you would be dating. A girl as pretty as you are has plenty of prospects."
Oops, I thought again. That one hadn't really slipped though. Maybe she'd be interested in me...
Considering my lack of professionalism, I decided the just get on the tractor already, preferably before I told her something more inappropriate that how pretty she was.
I swore I heard her mumble, "None at all," when I was climbing up the tractor, but I brushed it off.
I took the seat, scooting as far over as I could before patting it and gesturing for her to join me. "Come on, Bella."
She was still blushing as she reached up to grab hold before stepping her way up the tractor. She hesitantly sat down next to me and I scolded myself for wanting to laugh at how uncomfortable she looked. It was my fault for being an asshole, laughing would really only make things worse.
Trying to ignore how good she smelled, how soft and warm she felt pressed up against my side, and just how close she was, I explained the entire concept of driving the tractor to her, pointing out controls and giving her directions of how everything worked.
It was hard—yes, it really was—trying to get back to a more professional state of mind when I could feel and smell her. I was pretty sure wanting to lick the skin on the side of her neck wasn't professional at all.
"Alright, here comes the difficult part."
Her eyes darted nervously to mine. Her fear was still amusing to me and I felt myself grin in response, which was completely inappropriate considering what I was going to suggest next.
I needed to show her how everything worked, but I could reach with her sitting next to me, in my way.
"I can't reach the pedals with you there."
She looked mildly relieved, standing directly after I finished speaking. "I'll just watch from the ground then."
"Unfortunately, I can't let you do that," I said, my voice deeper than I'd expected it to be. Her eyes widened as I wrapped my arms around her waist. "You won't be able to see from down there."
I gave a small tug and she fell right into my lap. I tried not to moan as her soft butt shifted around on my lap. There was no way in hell she couldn't feel that, she was probably quite concerned with what exactly was jabbing her in the ass.
I turned the key on the tractor, sending it rumbling to life. I heard her inhale sharply as everything was intensified—and made harder—by the vibrating machine beneath us.
I cleared my throat and began to speak close to her ear so she could hear me over the loud motor. I instructed her on the exact process to be taken with each pedal and lever. She nodded but never spoke. I could see she was chewing her bottom lip while I instructed her, which only made my current situation harder—and it was already so hard.
"Okay, hold on," I warned, sending the tractor forward.
She gave a small squeak as we lurched forward and jostled, fearfully clinging to my thighs with her hands.
Oh, shit.
I fought to keep my voice working normally as I continued to instruct her. She just kept bouncing. And bouncing. And bouncing. I don't ever remember the tractor riding this roughly... Then again, it wasn't me who was bouncing around. Not that I was complaining either way.
When had I turned into such a teenager? My status quo was at raging horny male and that was definitely unusual for me. Couldn't I control myself at all? I thought I could, but with her, it seemed all control went straight out the window. She probably thought I was some kind of pig.
After I was moderately sure that I had shown her everything, I stopped the tractor and turned it off.
She didn't even give it enough time to fully die before she was standing again. Once again, I was grabbing her. "Sorry, Bella. You don't get off that easy." Although, I certainly might.
I spread my legs and used my hold on her hips to pull her back down. I settled her between my thighs on the seat in hopes that she would be able to reach the pedals.
I'll be amazed if she doesn't quit after this, I'm being such a pervert.
"Okay, start from the beginning," I directed.
Her gulp was audible as she reached for the key, with a small turn the tractor rumbled to life. At least this position wasn't quite ascompromising as the last. She repeated all of my earlier actions with near perfection. I rarely had to remind her of anything, which didn't surprise me—she was the perfect student. After harrowing the indoor arena under my direction, she parked it back in its usual spot.
"See, not so bad?" I asked hesitantly.
She released a quiet laugh then jumped up, hastily trying to climb down from the tractor. To my horror—though not to my surprise, this was Bella after all—she mostly fell off the last step and landed on her widespread palms and knees.
I literally jumped over the side of the tractor, landing lithely on my feet next to her. She rolled over onto her back and stared up at me angrily. "Show off," she muttered.
I wasn't amused. I pulled her to me and cradled her in my arms. "Bella, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Sorry."
"Don't apologize," I chided hastily. "It's my fault, I should have helped you."
My mother would be so ashamed to call me her son if she knew how I was behaving. It was frankly sick how ungentlemanly I had been in the last hour.
"Let's get you cleaned up," I urged, gently trying to help her to her feet.
She tried to shrug away from me, but I wouldn't let her. "Edward, I'm fine. It's not your fault I can't land on my feet. Ooh…"
She was on her feet now, glancing down at her knees where her torn jeans were soaking through with blood. A jagged rock was embedded into her right knee and causing quite the gruesome image with blood seeping around it.
Her head jerked back and she buried her face into my shoulder unexpectedly, breathing through her open mouth. I unthinkingly didn't warn her before I decided to swiftly pick her up. She gasped and clung tightly to me but surprisingly didn't complain as I carried her to my house. She kept her head turned into my shoulder, breathing deeply into my shirt all the while. In the kitchen, I sat her on the counter then hurriedly went to find my first aid kit.
She was still seated on the counter when I returned, her head bent at an awkward angle, her mouth open slightly as she breathed through it.
She didn't acknowledge my presence at all.
I grabbed a few paper towels and soaked them through with cold water. Gingerly, I started to roll up her jeans, careful to avoid her knee. She still hissed and tensed as I uncovered it.
"I'm sorry," I apologized with a grimace.
I cautiously went to work to clean the scraped knee, then eyed the jagged rock that was still jabbed into her skin.
"Does it hurt real bad?" I asked cautiously.
"No, just get it out."
I glanced up to her face. She was still aiming her head up and away from me, and though I couldn't really see her eyes clearly, they looked free of tears. Hmm...
I hesitantly gripped the rock with tentative fingers, only to have it fall loose with the lightest touch.
"Oh," I chuckled.
It had looked embedded in her skin, when really it was just sticking to the gory mess of dirt and blood on her scraped knee. I wrinkled my nose at the blood and dirt mix covering her knee.
"I can do that," she said timidly as I started to wipe it away.
I looked up to see her staring down at me. I shook my head lightly and continued to clean off the blood that shouldn't have been there. If I hadn't been such a negligent pig and minded my manners, she wouldn't have been in such a rush to get away from me.
"You're supposed to be packing."
"I'm in not hurry, Bella," I said softly. Plus, I really needed to redeem myself for that damage I'd caused.
She delicately placed her small hand on mine. "Edward, you really don't have to."
"I know, Bella, but I'm going to anyway."
Her lip jutted out in a pout and I stared a moment to long as it tempted me. I'd never seen lips that ever looked so kissable before. I moved my eyes back down to her knee, but was only tempted to kiss that too. I wanted to kiss her knee better, then I wanted to kiss that little sliver of thigh showing above the hem of her jeans.
I managed to stay outwardly proper, cleaning both her knees, then her hands. I inspected her knees again as I finished up and frowned at the scars littering the skin.
"Bella, you really need to be more careful," I urged as meaningfully as possible.
Her face went red as she grimaced and pushed off of the counter. I didn't step back as much as I should have and she ended up trapped between myself and the counter. Regretful of my poor choice of words again, I cupped her face in my hands.
"Please?" I asked.
If it was possible, her face got redder and her eyes darted back to the left. I kissed her forehead quickly before letting go of her face. It had seemed innocent enough, just a friendly gesture, but as soon as my lips touched her soft, fragrant skin all I wanted to do was keep kissing her, everywhere. Every last inch of her face, those luscious lips, her throat, and shoulders. And lower...
She broke my errant reverie when she stammered, "Th-thank you. I need to get back to work now." The words rushed and slurred together and she all but ran from the house.
I sighed as she disappeared around the corner. I asked her to be careful and she took off recklessly. She had been right before, though, I really did need to pack.
BPOV
Another week came and went, and I was still miraculously employed. I don't know why, with every day that came and went I expected him to come up to me and tell me that I'd finally screwed up enough to be fired. He was always complimenting me and was nothing but nice.
With his impending trip to finals fast approaching, horses were being moved. An ultimate burst of training had taken place just before a few horses were sent home for a short break in training, while he was away at the show.
It had felt like the only thing I had time for in the past week was eating, sleeping, and riding. But that was more than okay with me, even if my muscles would argue that fact. Having no free time simply meant I wasn't able to dwell on the fact that I was incredibly attracted to my boss. Not only due to his physicality, which was honestly rivaling Brad Pitt—and winning—but also his mind. He was as smart as he was good looking, as charming as he was smart, and as kind as he was charming. I honestly hadn't found a fault in him yet.
"Bella, are you sure you're going to be okay with all of this?"
Okay, maybe he was a little overbearing. I couldn't really fault him for that, though.
I'd already painstakingly reassured him repeatedly that I could handle this. I didn't blame him for not trusting me, but it was a bit disheartening to have him asking me constantly if I was sure.
I would do anything for this job, taking care of everything by myself for a week was hardly that much of an inconvenience. I would more than enjoy it.
I worked, yet again, to reassure him and this time he seemed to believe me as he changed the subject. I almost wished he would ask me if I was sure again, just so he might forget about the fact that he hadn't taught me to drive the tractor yet.
The minute the word 'tractor' left is lips, I felt myself starting to panic. I'd completely forgot that I would have to drive it when he was away. I didn't want to drive the tractor, at all, and it definitely wasn't a good idea after the one time before I'd tried, and failed, to drive one. I told him so.
But he insisted. And he'd promised me a raise, told me he wasn't letting me go, and called me pretty along the way. Every ounce of fight I had in me disappeared and I followed him up onto that tractor.
Smashed against his side in a seat that was meant for one, I anxiously listened to his instructions. He seemed perfectly at ease with our proximity, nonchalantly pointing out the 'choke' and 'throttle'. Why did every word he used sound dirty and suggestive?
When he announced that the difficult part was coming, I'd thought I brilliantly had the perfect fix to avoid driving, but he'd indifferently pulled me right into his lap. I think I may have liked his plan better.
I held my teeth clenched so not to make any totally humiliating sounds. I wiggled in his lap, trying to dissuade myself from believing that what I could feel beneath me was really what I thought it was. I heard him inhale sharply as I moved against him and wondered if that meant it was what I thought. I knew I was pure red, and I tried to calm myself by taking deep breaths through my nose.
Then he brought the engine to life and everything just got that much worse. The vibrations were sinful. Had I not been seated in the lap of my extremely good-looking boss, the vibrations wouldn't have bothered me. But there I was, pressed against his body with that damn tractor rumbling away beneath us, effectively turning me on further, if that was even possible.
Edward made an odd coughing sound before he started instructing me again, only this time it was a hundred times worse. He spoke directly into my ear—so he wouldn't have to shout over the engine, I assumed—his hot breath tickling my skin, and I did everything I could to keep from shuddering, nodding occasionally to let him know I was paying attention.
I watched closely as he put the tractor in gear and started us forward. My body went rigid and instead of moving with the machine, I sort of just rigidly lurched around. Nearly toppling over, I made an embarrassingly high-pitched sounded and clutched at his legs to keep from falling. He didn't seem to mind when I continued to hold on and bounce on his lap.
The moment he re-parked the tractor, I was off of his lap, thinking the torture was finally over, but his long fingers easily gripped my hips.
"Sorry, Bella. You don't get off that easy."
I blushed profusely at his words, wondering if he knew that I actually just might 'get off' that easy. Could he tell what he was doing to me? Did he know that I was hopelessly lost every time his breath hit my ear or his hand unintentionally brushed my skin? And he thought I would be the death of him...
He pulled me back towards him again, settling me between his legs. This was probably the only time I was ever going to be there.
He instructed me to repeat everything he had done and I fought with my hazy brain to remember. I could feel every inch of his muscular body against my back. His hand was innocently placed on my thigh, his breath still hitting my neck.
Oh god, I'm going to kill us both.
I attempted to gulp down my nerves, but it didn't work. I restarted the tractor and prayed I could remember everything he had just done. I was pleased that I didn't forget anything major, and he never had to intervene, but he did calmly remind me of a few things and offered helpful advise. He forced me to harrow the entire indoor, instructing me on what pattern to use. Then he let me park it.
I unthinkingly made a run for it the second I cut the engine, jumping off of the lowest step. Naturally, my uneven equilibrium sent me toppling to the ground.
Horrified, I looked back to see if he'd noticed. Of course he had. He jumped over the side of the tractor like some John Deere tractor model, landing right next to me easily without losing his footing.
"Show off," I muttered.
He didn't look amused.
His arms were around me and holding me lightly before I could even blink. "Bella, are you okay?"
I tried to insist that I was fine, but he was, as usual, overbearing.
He helped me to my feet and I grimaced as my knees stung from the movement. I looked down to inspect the damage, not expecting to see as much blood as I did. I was immediately dizzy from the sight and I averted my gaze before I could pass out, opening my mouth to breath to avoid the smell of the blood.
You would think at twenty-one I'd have gotten over the childish aversion to blood, but I hadn't.
I wasn't sure if I'd passed out or not, but I could tell I was moving, though my feet weren't carrying me. I realized then that my face was pressed firmly into Edward's shoulder and that he was carrying me.
I was still disoriented when he sat me down in his kitchen and disappeared in the opposite direction.
Edward was thoughtfully careful as he cleaned me up himself. I felt the tears well in my eyes as I realized that he actually seemed to care for me. That or he pitied me. The latter seemed more likely.
Giving in to the temptation, I finally allowed myself to look down. There was still blood, so I quickly darted my eyes to him to avoid the sight of that. It probably wasn't a good idea, but I let my eyes take him in anyway. I traced the worried lines etched in his forehead with my eyes, his eyebrows were wrinkled with concentration, his emerald eyes sparkled even from this angle. His perfect hair, angular cheek bones and his hard jaw were fit for a Greek God, and those lips. They were pink and inviting, and it took all of my effort not to tightly clasp my fingers into his hair—his flawlessly tousled hair—and crush my lips to his.
"Bella, you really need to be more careful," he voiced pityingly, breaking my reverie.
I felt my face heat with embarrassment as I realized he was talking about my scarred knees. This day couldn't possibly get any worse. He really did pity me. That was probably why he'd promised me the raise, he knew I needed the money. Even his comment about me being pretty was probably nothing but him feeling sorry for me after he found out I didn't have a boyfriend.
Disgruntled, I shoved off of the counter, only to land right in front of him, since he didn't take a step back as I'd expected him to. Instead he reached up to cup my face in his warm hands.
He pleaded in the gentlest, most caring voice I'd ever heard. I'm fairly sure I whimpered in response. Slowly, so slowly, he moved downwards towards me.
Would he? Did he want to? Was it pity?
His lips pressed lightly to my forehead and disappeared without a hint of lingering.
Thoroughly embarrassed about everything, but mostly for thinking he would actually kiss me, I rushed out my thanks and an excuse to get away.
Vigilant of where I was placing my feet, I fled as fast as possible without running the risk of ending up on the ground—again.
I made my way back to the barn and disappeared into the feed room. I hoped he didn't follow as I collapsed on a bale of hay. My breathing was out of control as I raised my hand to touch where his lips had been.
Was pity better than nothing at all?
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