Part 1 (1/2)
SWEET WATER VET:.
TAKING RACHAEL.
Dawn Forrest.
Sweet Water Vet: Taking Rachael.
Fit, feisty and funny Rachael Harrison has conflicting dark fantasies, ranging from being ”taken” to being in control.
Unsatisfied with her romantic life in England, she returns to the place of her youth, Meadow Ridge County, Texas, where unconventional relations.h.i.+ps are the norm.
When Rachael meets Joshua Ryden, the serious and dominant owner of Sweet Water Ranch, the level of mutual attraction is intense. However, Rachael believes that Joshua wants to share her with his brother and backs off. The situation is resolved by Joshua's sister, Janet, a s.e.xual y inexperienced col ege student, who finally acts upon her long standing love for the very experienced Deputy Sherriff, Mitch Mathews. They embark upon a pa.s.sionate and humorous romance.
After Joshua helps protect Rachael's veterinarian career and professional reputation from a source of unfounded slander, their relations.h.i.+p strengthens. They become even more s.e.xual y voracious and creative as Rachael demonstrates to Joshua that he can also give up control occasionally--with explosively pa.s.sionate results.
Note: This book contains a.n.a.l s.e.x.
Genre: Contemporary, Western/Cowboys.
Length: 52,748 words.
Letter from Dawn Forrest.
Regarding E-book Piracy.
Dear Readers, if you downloaded and paid for this book, thank you very much and I wish you an enjoyable read. If you didn't pay for this story, please consider my following words, as I would like you to understand the consequences of your actions.
I write primarily for enjoyment but I also need to be fairly compensated for the time and effort it took to write this story. If you do not pay for the pleasure of reading this novel then that is not happening and I am working for nothing.
I suspect you've convinced yourself that you are not making a difference but the truth is that you are. How can writers be expected to continue to produce stories that people want to read if we aren't getting paid for it? In exchange for just a few dollars, readers get hours of enjoyment; it's a fair transaction.
Digital books are often lower in price than hard copies, but writers get a better percentage of that price, so digital piracy has a bigger impact on us personally. I doubt that you would steal from a bookshop, so please don't steal directly from me and my publisher.
Please consider my words and have the decency to download this book again from a legitimate site likeWith deep grat.i.tude, Dawn Forrest.
DEDICATION.
To Richard, for being my rock and a hard place.
To Des, for coffee and camaraderie in Cape Town.
Chapter 1.
Rachael was enjoying the journey immensely. She had been prepared for a cramped, uncomfortable and noisy flight from London to Houston but instead was experiencing the pleasures of business cla.s.s. She had been unexpectedly upgraded from the overbooked economy section, and it had taken all her self-control not to do a little victory foot stamp at the check-in desk. This time, it had certainly paid off to dress smartly.
Trying not to appear like Elly May Clampett of The Beverly Hillbillies, she thoroughly explored the seat position options, accepted the offered champagne, and watched three of the latest movies. She was sorely tempted to try the complimentary face fresheners and moisturizer, but she didn't like using anything other than hypoallergenic unperfumed products and a little natural vanilla oil on her sensitive skin. When she was too tired to keep her eyes open, she reclined the seat into the flat sleeping position and curled up with a pillow and blanket for a snooze. When they arrived in Houston, she felt relatively refreshed although the time difference of six hours was sure to catch up with her.
In Houston, she caught a much smaller plane for the one-hour flight to Ridge Water, in Meadow Ridge County. It was packed with
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students, and a party atmosphere prevailed due to their success on the football field. She enjoyed chatting to some of the players who kept asking her to repeat words so that they could listen to her crisp English accent. In turn, she loved hearing that s.e.xy Texan drawl, redolent of warm lazy evenings and jasmine-scented twilights on her grandmother's veranda.
When the plane finally landed and she disembarked, she felt the warm air wrap around her like a snug blanket. It was April, and it felt distinctly weird to step out of a cool, air-conditioned plane into warm air instead of the other way around. She detected a faint smell of soil, dust and gra.s.s, of home. With a glad heart and a spring in her step, she headed for the terminal building.
Rachael couldn't repress a wide smile when she saw the first of her bags appear on the small carousel. It had a distinctive black-and-white Friesian cow design that she thought was quite fitting for a vet.
”Excuse me, sorry, excuse me, that's my bag,” she said in clipped, precise tones as she pushed her way through the crowd to the conveyor belt.
In one smooth move, she confidently grabbed the heavy suitcase and, with only a little difficulty, swung it onto her trolley, grateful that she regularly lifted weights. One bag down, two to go.
While keeping an eye on the carousel, she scanned the room of Meadow Ridge County's small local airport, looking for her cousin, Colin, who had planned to meet her. She was excited to be back in this unusual and contradictory place. The population appeared conservative, yet a surprising number chose to have unconventional relations.h.i.+ps. Colin was a good example. He was a professional, ethical person who happened to be in a menage relations.h.i.+p with his best friend Mark and their wife Susan. They didn't publicize their life choices but got on with the day-to-day business of living in an accepting, nonjudgmental environment. Local amateur historians theorized that, in the old days, when women were few and times were 10 Dawn Forrest hard, it had made sense to share. It improved the odds of survival.
Whatever the original reasons were, the practice hadn't died out.
Rachael had grown up in one of the more conventional households on the outskirts of the town of Ridge Water with her mom, dad, and older twin brothers, Cameron and Liam. When she was twelve years old, her father had inherited a farm in Oxfords.h.i.+re, England, and the family had decided to relocate. Rachael and her brothers had stayed in England to complete their education, but they all had very fond memories of the Texan town and had often spoken casually about returning.
Rachael had always had an affinity for animals, so when she heard that Colin had decided to study veterinary science it gave her the idea to do the same. After graduating from university, she'd worked in several practices in England, specializing in livestock. She enjoyed her work- absolutely loved it. Apart from her family, it was the most important thing in her life, and that was the problem. She had hoped that, by now, at the age of twenty-eight, she would have found someone special who meant more to her than her career. She wanted marriage, kids, and the whole nine yards but couldn't see it happening if she stayed put. Her social life had become a little stodgy, so she had decided to be proactive and initiate a complete change of scene.
Where better than Meadow Ridge County, Texas, and the big, sunny open s.p.a.ces of her childhood?
Rachael had e-mailed Colin, hinting at her possible return, and he had suggested that she come home and stay with his family, at least until she decided what she wanted to do. He had even offered her a position as an a.s.sistant in his veterinary practice until she became licensed by the American Medical Veterinary a.s.sociation, a relatively straightforward conversion procedure given her existing qualifications and experience. She'd sent off the application forms some weeks ago and hoped that it wouldn't be too long before she was licensed to practice independently.
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While she searched for Colin, Rachael found herself continually tracking back to the tall, broad man standing head and shoulders above most of the people in the room. Even from a distance of about twenty yards, she sensed his presence. It was clear that he was having an effect on other people in the vicinity because, although s.p.a.ce was at a premium, people seemed to unconsciously give him room. She didn't think that he was cla.s.sically handsome and definitely was not a pretty boy. To her, he looked strong, hard, very masculine, and darkly attractive. Unfortunately, he was scowling and appeared irritated, which added to the overall effect of a brooding, dominant male. His eyes roamed the area clearly looking for someone and-as if drawn by Rachael's inspection-locked on hers. For a few long seconds, she couldn't look away and felt a tingle down her spine. When she finally broke eye contact and turned her head toward the conveyor belt, she could still feel the scrutiny of that gaze.