“Yes. You. Do.”

“No, I don’t. Stop! I don’t care what you do to my brother. I just want you to stop.”

He pulled back and looked at me. “Maybe Sissy wants me.”

I threw my hand up to mouth. “No…” I whispered.

Sissy was my fourteen-year-old sister.

“You keep pissing me off, Courtney. Stop pissing me off. If you even think of telling anyone, I’ll not only hurt your brother, but your parents might end up in a car accident caused by faulty brakes, and your little sister might get her cherry popped a little early.” He began putting on a condom as his eyes locked on to mine.

I felt the tears pouring down my face as I closed my eyes. I totally relaxed my body and tried to just disappear. I needed to be anywhere but where I was.

“That’s it, baby. Let me give you what you’ve been wanting.”

As I felt him up against me, I cried harder, but I held my hand over my mouth to muffle out my cries of pain. With each time he pushed himself in, I grabbed the sheets and tried to hold it all in. He just kept moaning and telling me how good it felt.

I just want to disappear. This isn’t happening.

Nothing had ever hurt me so badly in my life.

“Does it feel good, baby?”

I squeezed my eyes closed tighter and thought of my favorite book. I began saying my favorite quotes over and over in my head as I tried to block out the nightmare that was happening.

Once he was done, he stood up, took off the condom, and smiled at me. He tossed it in the trash and told me to get rid of it first thing in the morning.

“Soak in a hot bath, Courtney. It will feel better next time, I promise. The first time always hurts.”

Next time? Oh God…no. “No! I don’t ever want to do that again, Noah…ever!”

He bent down and grabbed my face as he said very slowly, “Yes. You. Will. If I don’t get it from you, I’ll get it from the next best thing. You remember what I said about what would happen if you told anyone? I mean, anyone, Courtney. This stays our secret.”

I slowly nodded my head.

“Say it. Now.”

“It’s our…it’s our…” I was sobbing as I tried to get it out. “It’s our secret.”

He stood up and smiled at me. “Good girl.”

He turned and walked toward my bedroom door. He unlocked the door and gave me one more look before he stepped out and closed it. I quickly got up and ran into my bathroom. I turned on my shower as hot as I could stand, and I stayed in there for at least an hour, trying to wash his scent away.

I sank to the shower floor. “That was not how my first time was supposed to happen,” I cried out over and over.

Reed and I walked Whitley’s parents and Stacey out to the car.

“Are you sure you have the directions down, Mr. Reynolds?” Reed asked as he held the car door open for Whitley’s mother.

“Yes, son, I’ve got this. Now, be sure to take care of things while they are gone.”

“I will,” Reed and I both said at the same time.

We quickly glanced at each other, and I rolled my eyes as he looked away. I was house-sitting and puppy-sitting for Layton and Whitley while they were on their three-week honeymoon. I had no idea what in the hell the plant pussy was still doing here.

I thought back to last night when Reed had told me he wanted to make love to me. I instantly felt my cheeks turning red. I looked over at him, and he was staring at me. I put my hands up to my cheeks and closed my eyes as I imagined his breath against my neck.

Shit! Stop it, Courtney!

“Court?” Stacey said as she touched my arm.

I jumped and quickly snapped out of my daydream. “Sorry,” I whispered.

“Honey, are you okay? Are you getting sick? You look flush.” She put her hand up to my forehead.

I pushed her hand away and laughed. “I’m fine. I’m just tired.”

I glanced over toward Reed, and he was giving me a concerned look.

“Well, take a nap, okay? You busted your ass yesterday and last night. Just think, at least you don’t have to clean up since Layton hired someone to come in and take care of it,” she said with a smile.

I smiled as Reed walked up and stood next to me. I could practically feel the heat coming from his body.

Shit. Why didn’t I just tell him the truth last night?

“Courtney? Are you even listening to me? My God, you are a million miles away this morning,” Stacey said with a laugh.

I let out a fake laugh. “Sorry. I guess I’m just thinking about Whitley and everything. Have a safe trip back, and don’t stay away for so long, okay? Oh! And think about moving here, bitch.”

When Stacey gave Reed a good-bye kiss on the cheek, my hands balled up into fists before I quickly shook them loose.

“Bye, you all!” Stacey said with a giggle.

I rolled my eyes at her lame attempt to sound country as I shut her door. Reed and I stood there and watched them drive away. Once they were out of sight, Reed and I both turned and faced each other.

“You can leave now,” we said at the same time.

“I’m house-sitting,” we said together again.

“What?” I yelled. “No, you’re not. I’m house-sitting and dog-sitting.”

Reed smiled and shook his head. “Um…I think you are mistaken. I’m house-sitting and…um…um…cow-sitting.” He made a funny face when he realized how goofy that had sounded.

I tried so hard not to laugh, and I had to bite my cheek to keep from smiling.

“Cow-sitting? Really? Really, Reed?” I turned and made my way back up the stairs.

It didn’t take me long to figure out what Layton and Whitley had done. They had arranged this whole thing.

“Well, I’ve got this covered, so you can head on home, Reed.”

I silently prayed that he wouldn’t argue with me for once, and he’d just leave. I needed to be alone for a bit, so I could try to figure out how I was going to kill Mitch while plotting my revenge on that bitch, Karen.

“Uh…sorry, Court, but I took three weeks of vacation, and I really don’t think you can help Mitch take care of shit around the ranch.”

I threw open the door before making my way through the house and into the kitchen. “Please, how hard can it be? I think I’ve got this covered. Really, you can leave the…cow-sitting to me,” I said with a wink.

He gave me a smirk and turned to pour himself a cup of coffee. My cell phone rang, and I pulled it out of my back pocket.