All Chapters of Rejected by the Cowboy: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter 21Total silence.Nyra remained motionless, ears alert and focused on some point in the woods. Dolores felt her stomach sink. She clutched the phone tightly, but before she could descend into panic—Zacky emerged from among the trees, walking hurriedly, as if he had searched half the farm just to find her. As soon as he saw her, relief washed over his face, mixed with worried irritation.He approached, and Nyra relaxed."Dolores. What are you doing out here alone?"She blinked a few times."Looking for… signal. My phone started working. I…" She pointed toward the lake. "I just sat for a bit."Zacky immediately looked at her foot, which was swollen, and his face hardened."You shouldn't be walking like this. I told you not to strain yourself. Did something happen?"She showed him the phone."It was André… my assistant. He's a bit… dramatic."Zacky frowned."Yeah, I kinda got that when I met him." He then crouched down in front of her, offering his arms. "Come on. I'm not lettin

Chapter 23After dinner, the conversations gradually died down, the lights were turned off, and the mansion fell silent.Zacky led Dolores back to the room with his usual care. He laid her down on the bed slowly, adjusted the pillows, made sure her foot was comfortable.He stood before her for a moment, as if thinking about something. Then he began to undress unhurriedly, without any embarrassment. First the shirt, revealing his broad, defined chest. Then the belt and pants.Dolores swallowed dryly, completely hypnotized. She made no attempt to hide it. Her eyes traced every line of that body; it was too delicious to ignore.Zacky noticed. The corner of his mouth curved."Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, with a provocative tone.She shrugged, feigning nonchalance, but her gaze betrayed everything."I'm not used to... real cowboys."He chuckled softly, approached the bed. He straightened up and extended his hand to her."Come on. Let's take a bath together. It'll help yo

Chapter 25He sat behind her and enveloped her in a hug. Dolores rested her head against his strong chest, feeling his breath mingling with the strands of her hair. Zacky sighed there, too close, and she turned slowly, losing herself in his gray eyes.She completely forgot what she was going to ask.She cupped his face in her hands and touched her lips to his, gently. The taste was perfect. She smiled against his mouth and deepened the kiss, feeling his stubble lightly brush against her skin. It scratched a little… but she didn't pull away. On the contrary. Their tongues met passionately.Zacky responded with the same intensity, his body reacting without him trying to stop it. In a natural movement, he lifted her into his arms and, without breaking the kiss, laid her down beside him in the shade of a large tree. The grass was soft and cool beneath them, and the high wind carried the sounds of the world away.He leaned against her, his lips still urgently seeking hers. There was no rus

Chapter 27André finished the sandwich, looked around, and said:"So? Did he agree to sell the farm or at least a part of it?""I didn't bring it up again.""What do you mean? Come on! You said you'd do anything to convince him. And you did! And you still don't have an answer? I don't believe it."They hadn't noticed someone was listening."Anything?" said Zacky, feeling stabbed. "So it was all an act. Nothing was real." He sighed, sorrowful.Dolores felt her stomach clench. How would she explain to him that it wasn't like that, what she had meant to André? Not in that way."Zacky…" she tried to speak."You better leave. I'm going to work, and when I come back, I don't want to see you here," he said, putting on his hat before walking out.Dolores remained motionless for a few seconds, staring at the empty space where Zacky had exited. The sound of his footsteps growing ever more distant. Her chest tightened, and she had to brace a hand on the countertop to keep her balance.André was

Chapter 29Dolores arrived at the building, parked in her usual spot, and turned off the car. For a few seconds, she sat there, hands on the steering wheel, feeling the silence weigh heavier than the city noise outside. Finally, she took a deep breath, got out, grabbed her suitcase from the trunk, and walked to the elevator.In the elevator, she rested her head against the cold mirror and closed her eyes. She tried not to think. She tried not to see Zacky's face in her memories, nor smell his scent, nor remember the mountain, the wind, the way he looked at her as if the world could end right there. But her mind didn't obey. It never did.The elevator door opened. She walked down the hallway, opened the apartment door, and went inside. She dropped her suitcase by the entrance, lacking the strength to take it to the bedroom.She went straight to the living room's large glass window.The city glittered below. Lit buildings, decorated balconies, trees twinkling in golden, red, and blue hu