Ciaron O'Connor 01 - His Gentle Persuasion Read online

  His Gentle Persuasion

  Ciaron O’Connor, Book One

  By

  Alyssa Bailey

  ©2016 by Blushing Books® and Alyssa Bailey

  All rights reserved.

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  Bailey, Alyssa

  His Gentle Persuasion

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-68259-309-7

  Cover Design by ABCD Graphics & Design

  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as Blushing Books' or the Author's advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.

  Table of Contents:

  Chapter One: The Horse Trade

  Chapter Two: The Trust Building

  Chapter Three: The Gentling

  Chapter Four: The Slow Breaking

  Chapter Five: The Stabling

  About Alyssa Bailey

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  Chapter One

  The Horse Trade

  Ciarán O'Connor strode into Elk Ridge's only liquor licensed establishment, Stomping Grounds, and ordered a beer before sitting down next to Rand, one of his summer hired ranch hands. Ciarán and his brother, Liam, were making a successful go of the Circle C Ranch and they were looking at expanding next year. This year, if Ciarán could get Liam to separate from his bride long enough, they were going to work on expanding their operations in the summer business. Summer income financed future investments.

  Liam had declared he was going to marry Jocelyn after some bumpy false starts beginning about a decade ago. Now it seemed things were stalled at the ranch because the family part of his brother's life had ramped up quickly. Even with the changes, Ciarán was looking to the future goals for his part of the management. He wanted to add to his horse stock this spring with a few mustangs and wild horses. He loved to break the horse to saddle and bit without breaking the spirit of the magnificent animals. He prided himself on doing better than anyone else in the area.

  Taking his beer from the server and thanking her with a nod and a smile, he chatted with the guys at the table for a moment. The men were talking about some cute fillies but not the four legged kind and Ciarán, not being dead or an eunuch, took part in this age-old male pastime.

  "So Ciarán, what do you say to letting me try my hand at breaking one of those new mustang mares when you bring them home?"

  "I might. How are you thinking of breaking her?"

  "I thought about water breaking. I've seen it but not tried it."

  "Well, might work if you have the right place that you have prepped beforehand and a well-suited horse that won't spook."

  "Talking about spooking, that young filly over there sure was agitated last week." Rand nodded his head over in the direction of a group of young women in their twenties. Scanning the room, Ciarán's eyes landed on a table in the corner and he looked with interest at its occupants.

  "That one. She is the girl on the left with the long dark, straight hair, with that dark blue top on, Katherine Franklin but most people call her Katie."

  Ciarán saw the woman and wondered if she was old enough to be in a place that served liquor. "Who is she? I've noticed her around some in the last year. She is a dainty little thing. Is she twenty-one? She looks about seventeen."

  Rand laughed. "Yeah, she's twenty-three or four and a nurse. An excellent one I hear, but she is pretty naïve and skittish. She works at the hospital and at Doc's clinic, but she doesn't go out much. She's Brian Franklin's only kid."

  Ciarán continued to watch the group and observed Katie's mannerisms. He wasn't one to cradle snatch, but she wasn't too young at all. For him anyway; he was only twenty-four himself. He did like the looks of her and a challenge sounded like it could be in the making. Ciarán was not a man who jumped in feet first often. He used his head to figure out a strategy and this one piqued his interest. He kept an ear on the conversation at his table and one eye on Katie's table, watching her while he drank his beer.

  "Who tried to date her with unsatisfied results?"

  "Well, me for one," admitted Rand. "I asked her out about three months ago. She seemed willing enough to go, but when I went to the clinic to pick her up, she was a lot quieter than when we were talking in here the week before. I didn't think much about it. Young women should be careful and all but I'm not sure she likes men."

  Rand stopped to take a swig of his beer. "So, I get to walking out the front door of the clinic and open it for her. Darn, if that girl didn't reach for the handle anyway as though she would take it from me. Then she said she had to use her own car and not ride with me. It didn't even look like we were on a date together. Anyway, when I went to open the door of the Mexican place we were going to, she plowed in ahead of me quickly. I didn't even get to walk in with her. You know, like a man wants to do with his date. It was as though she thought I might ask her to pay the favor back in an ungentlemanly way or something. Then, when I got up to pay the bill, she damned near didn't let me pay her half."

  Rand shook his head in disbelief and continued.

  "She had been dating that Jason Taylor for a bit, you know, has that farm out towards Johnston Round. Well, the way he tells it, he was walking with her around the farm as he finished evening chores. When he reached up and put his hand on the back of her neck, you know how a man does to show, um…"

  Ciarán filled in the blank. "Ownership, Rand, there is no nice way of wording it. We do it to show the woman belongs to us. She knows it, he knows it and so does everyone else."

  "Yeah, well, that's what he did and she jerked right out from under him. Then he put his hand to the small of her back, you know like we do with our girl, and she stepped out of it. So when he was done with the chores, he tried to kiss her and, at first, she let him, but then he ran his hand over her cute ass and she freaked out."

  Ciarán lifted his eyebrows and Rand said, "His words, boss, not mine. Anyway, I guess you could figure, they aren't going out anymore."

  Aaron, another part-timer at the ranch, said, "Hey, I am supposed to take her to the rodeo next weekend and I want to have fun. Am I wasting my time?"

  Ciarán chanced a glance over at Katie and she happened to look up at the same time. Ciarán made sure he put on his slow smile and nodded in her direction. Her eyes got big and she watched him for a moment, nodded back and looked away.

  "I guess that depends," Ciarán said with an easy, deliberate timbre, "on what it is you consider a 'good time'."

  "Well, she makes intelligent conversation. It almost seemed as though she was so much smarter than I was, that she was dumbing things down for me," said Rand.

  The other men at the table laughed and kidded Rand about his smarts. Rand, while being a top-notch ranch hand, didn't look to enlighten himself. Not more than trying a new dish at the church on Sunday brunch or new ranching techniques, that was.

  However, Aaron was different. The last woman he dated told him quite publicly that when he was more interested in hearing her voice than his, he could call her.
That call never came. Ciarán had kept his eye on the interactions between the women at Katie's table and he saw that one of the girls' boyfriends had joined them and Katie did look skittish.

  "Tell you what, let's walk over to the pool table and you get me a good introduction to Katie. Then I'll let you try your water breaking technique on one of my new mares coming in."

  "Hey, I can't lose on that, but are you sure you want to waste your time? I mean, if you are looking for a steady woman, there is Libby. She has a head on her shoulders and she is available, I hear."

  "That's interesting information, Rand, but I would like an intro to Katie."

  Standing to walk over to the table, Ciarán knew every other woman seated and he knew he was not a bad male specimen; he should be able to pull off an introduction. Women often sought him out without his initiating anything so he imagined he could hold his own. He felt this might be a good time to add in new blood. He knew he sounded pompous when he said it even to himself. It wasn't that he didn't have a good time with the ladies around Elk Ridge; he did. Because of the ranch and the reputation, it was hard to find a date who did not look at his bottom line or go home and find out what that was.

  Ciarán would like to think he wasn't too hard on the eyes, so he dug deeper into each person he dated to see if they were right to handle all he had going on. Then there were his family dynamics as well. They were Irishmen who sometimes came on too strong and honestly, no one felt like apologizing for the mannerisms. They worked hard, played hard and took care of their own, no matter what. They were not apologetic for that lifestyle.

  "All right, let's make our way over there. It sure will be nice to work with one of your new mustangs. When did you say they would be arriving?"

  "They should be ready near the first of April."

  "Well, I'll be in to sign up again next week. I should be ready by about that time."

  The men stood up to walk over towards the table where Katie was when Aaron decided he would just wander over and confirm the weekend.

  When the three men presented at the table, Ciarán watched Katie initially look down at some mysterious something on the table. When Rand introduced Ciarán, she looked up with what seemed like curiosity. Her cheeks flushed. The other women all started to call out to him in an attempt to get his attention. Katie smiled, but she sat back as the others chatted with him. Aaron, her date for the rodeo Saturday, established when he would pick her up.

  Ciarán watched as Katie's body language screamed discomfort and apparent avoidance. He listened as she quickly said, "I have to go to the hospital just before to finish up something so I can meet you there at ten o'clock all right? Right at the entrance, if that works."

  Aaron didn't have anything to say to that and Ciarán mentally acknowledged that she had a way of taking control of the situation right at the last minute. He saw that as topping from the bottom. His brother Quinlan, who was into some harder core control than Ciarán, had explained the concept. Ciarán thought, oh honey, you are going to be fun. You won't find me an easy person to manipulate because I kind of like that position too much and there is no sharing at the top.

  Yep, he would hear how Aaron fared, as Ciarán was riding in the rodeo this weekend. He would not likely get an opportunity to see her there unless he could get Aaron to come and sit with him afterward. Ciarán thought he should call up Libby and see if he could get her to come. She used to like to spend a little time with him, but he always kept it casual. She was too needy for him to be tangled up with, but for just one afternoon, it would be livable.

  Chapter Two

  The Trust Building

  Katie watched Ciarán settle into the saddle and cinch his hand in tight to make sure that he did not lose his grip until he intended to let go. He settled his body and she knew a rider put his mind in focus before bringing his hand up. The chute would open to the arena where he would try to hold onto his seat on the angry bull for as long as he could. Ciarán raised his arm and went barreling out of the chute. For what seemed like both an eternity and the blink of an eye, his ride started and ended. He went flying through the air only to touch the ground and then scramble with help out of the arena. Eleven seconds was his time and that was something to be proud of anywhere. Of course, only the first eight counted for points and he walked away with a score of seventy-three. Katie clapped with the rest of the spectators. She watched him meander back and walk through the crowd as though looking for someone. While Katie acknowledged he was too macho for her, he did set her heart racing. She put her hand to her cheek to feel the heat that was not due to the early spring sunshine. Her eyes followed him until he sat with a couple in the next section and then turned to watch the competitor waiting in the chute.

  After watching from the chutes a few moments as his main competition rode his assigned bull, Ciarán walked over to sit with his brother and new wife, Jocelyn.

  "Good time, man," congratulated Liam, shaking his brother's hand as he did.

  Ciarán smiled his pleasure. "It wasn't too bad for someone who had only ridden a bull this last year gearing up for the contest."

  "Where is Libby? I thought you were going to ask her to come. She is really into you, Ciarán," teased Jocelyn.

  "Libby wasn't available to come with me today. Honestly, I'm not that disappointed because she can quickly become tiring. She gets into all types of gossip fests and you know me, I want to walk off in a few minutes and my palm gets itchy if it's mean gossip."

  Ciarán glanced around the stands. He spied Aaron sitting with a group of friends. "Going to go and talk to that young lady sitting next to Aaron."

  Liam looked over to see whom it was his brother was talking about and spied Katie.

  "Do you know her?"

  "Not as well as I would like to and I mean to change that, if she'll let me. Check with you later." Ciarán waved to his family as he walked over towards the group, climbing over legs and bodies to settle into a seat next to Katie.

  Once he had said his round of hellos and received his congratulations for doing so well, he looked over at Katie, who sat silent and still next to him.

  "And how have you liked the rodeo so far, beag leanaí?"

  Ciarán spoke quietly while not paying too much direct attention; just as one would when trying to calm an unbroken horse. Katie responded as any other skittish mare might, cautiously but intently, raising her eyebrow at the unfamiliar words he used. She wondered why he would even talk to her. No one else seemed to want to waste their time, not even her date.

  "I have been to many rodeos, Mr. O'Connor. I like them all in some way or another."

  "Please call me Ciarán. I enjoy a good rodeo too, but I have been to some that were not worth the time spent to sit through them, let alone the time to put it together. I have always liked this one, but I could be partial."

  "Because you ride in it," Katie supplied.

  "That and because I support it by breeding some of the horses they use."

  "I see. That must be interesting work. Mr. O'C—Ciarán, where is your girlfriend? I heard you always had a girl to keep you company."

  Katie heard the tremor in her voice, but she didn't actually have fear, just anxiety.

  "Did you now? Well, usually I do, but Libby could not come today so I didn't ask anyone else. I'm glad actually because all I could think of on that bull was that I was on the ugliest beast I have ever laid eyes on and I was not going to let that brute best me. Libby would have complained if she had seen me on a bull. She prefers the broncs. And she prefers my attention to be on her." Katie wondered if Libby was his girlfriend but decided probably not a steady one if he would have asked someone else.

  Katie laughed a bit. "So, you usually ride broncs?"

  Ciarán nodded.

  "Why ride bulls? I mean, if you raise horses, why not stick with them?"

  "For just that reason. I choose the bull to ride because I wanted a different challenge. This way, I get a little adventure with my ride." Ciarán winked at
Katie causing her to blush.

  "Aaron was saying you have a ranch. Was that Percy's old place?"

  "Yep, Liam, my brother, helped and partnered with him during the last five years he was alive and Percy left his part as co-owner to Liam when he died for lack of family. I breed, break, train and stable horses. I also train search and rescue dogs. Occasionally, I even lead trail rides and give riding lessons. Plus, whatever else needs to be done, I do."

  "Sounds like a lot of work for one person."

  "Oh, too much for one person, this is why we hire full-time permanent ranch hands and summer workers. My brother does a whole other side of the business so we each keep our part of the property running and profitable." He waited a moment before continuing. "I hear you are a nurse."

  "Yes, and I love my work. I am at the hospital and the clinic a lot. I help with the Saturday clinic that Doc has once a month. I especially like the children."

  "It takes a particular person to do well with children, especially when they are sick. They are like my horses, some skittish, some need gentling, some need a firm hand and some just need to be let free to roam a bit."

  Katie laughed. "I never thought about it that way; you might be right."

  Aaron leaned over and said, "Hey, you are hogging my date."

  Katie blushed and chanced a look in Ciarán's direction before he nodded his head in acknowledgment of the statement.

  "Sorry; when I have a lovely and fascinating lady sitting next to me, it tends to create the desire to speak to her."

  Ciarán's voice had hardened. Katie almost giggled when she heard him chastising Aaron, who was not holding up his end of the 'date' scenario incredibly well. Ciarán looked over at Katie with a warm smile that lit up his hazel eyes to a sparkle with some hint of mischievousness. He tipped his hat to her. While under the cover of the hat brim, he winked at her before saying his goodbyes. He invited her to come see the ranch anytime she had a mind to, smiled again and went back to sit with his brother and new sister.