Bab 8: Chapter 8
She grabbed the reins of two horses and walked them out the opposite end and into a clearing. Long prairie grass stirred in the wind as the pink sky faded to navy. She tied the brown horse to a post by a fence and held the black one in place.
Nate eyed her, then the animals. "Never ridden one of these."
"This is Midnight. He's a three-year-old stallion and very mild-mannered. Come on over here." When he did as asked, she took his wrist and had him run his hand down the horse's nose. In turn, Midnight nudged Nate's shoulder, and Olivia laughed. "There, he likes you."
She instructed him how to mount, and he climbed onto the saddle. She did the same on hers, looking way more graceful about it, and settled her horse next to his.
"My guy here is Pirate, and he's a two-year-old gelding. Now, you know how to ride a motorcycle, so you're at an advantage." She set one hand on his stomach and the other on his forearm, and he inhaled hard. "Driving a bike requires using your core and arms. You lean into the turns, right? A horse is a bit of the opposite." And down went her hands on his thighs, and he tensed. "Your lower body and gravity will do the work. Use your legs to steer as well as the reins."
Lower body? Yeah, it was paying attention. Heart pounding, oxygen in short supply, he tried everything he could to concentrate on her words. He had a sinking suspicion she could touch him incidentally every hour on the hour for a thousand years, and he'd never get used to it.
A frown marred her forehead. "You seem nervous. Know what? We'll ride together this first time."
Nervous didn't cover it. And it had nothing to do with the horse. He'd spent his entire life unafraid of anything. Balls-to-the-wall and like the hounds of hell were chasing him. Probably because they were. Yet a slender redhead with innocent doe eyes came onto the scene and panic clawed his chest.
Before he could protest or somehow explain his response, she dismounted and walked her horse to the barn. She emerged moments later with a reassuring smile, tucked her foot into his stirrup, and climbed onto his horse.
Her back flush to his front, she grinned over her shoulder. "Better?"
No. Yes. Sweet Christ, strike him now. "Sure," he grated.
With a nod, she took each of his hands and put them on the reins, then placed hers over his so she was caged in his arms. Over her shoulder, with the scent of her shampoo driving him insanely crazy, he stared at her short blunt nails and long, delicate fingers. Except she had slight calluses on her palms that contradicted the fragile appearance.
"Okay, just follow my lead. It's kinda like steering your motorcycle."
This was nothing like his Hog, barring the rev of a different engine and the free-falling sensation of the ride.
She kicked them into a slow trot and rode them across the plains, over a few hills, and to the top of a bluff. He forgot about her closenessmostlyand took in the view instead. Shadows played with moonlight over the horizon, shaping the mountains and surrounding wilderness as dusk descended and stars winked overhead.
Nothing. No noise, no sirens, no gunfire. Just...nothing.
He shook his head, wondering if the strange sense of calm was from her or the setting. Perhaps both. A crisp breeze tinged with pine and snow swept over him, and he filled his lungs. He could see just about all of her land from their vantage point.
Something crackled and then a voice broke the peace. "You there, boss?"
"Shoot." She twisted in the saddle, wrapped an arm around his waist, and leaned over so far, he thought she'd fall. She pulled a walkie-talkie out of a bag attached near the horse's flank and spoke into it. "I'm here, Rico. What's up?"
"Nakos wants to know where you are and Mae wants to know when you'll be back."
She issued a disgusted sound. "I'm up at Blind Ridge and I'll be back within an hour. Tell Nakos to take a chill pill. I have the satellite phone, the two-way, and a revolver." She paused. "Thanks, Rico. Go home."
His laugh reverberated through the speaker. "Ten-four. Be careful."
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered as she put the walkie-talkie back in the bag. She shifted until she sat sideways in the saddle, her hip snug against Nate's crotch, and let out a weary sigh. "This is my favorite place on the whole ranch."
He could see why. "You have a gun?"
She grinned and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Yep. And yes, I can shoot it, too."
"Do you have a lot of opportunities to fire a gun?" What the hell did she need to target? Dust motes?
"It's for protection. Black bear, that kind of thing." She looked at him and laughed. "Don't worry. They don't bother people much."
"I was actually picturing you shooting a bear." He rubbed his neck, wondering why the image of her packing was so hot. "Is Nakos always that protective?"
"Sadly, yes. He's been like that since we were kids." Her contemplative gaze scanned the area. "More so since you arrived. You should know he did a background check on you."
Okay, the two of them had a very long history. Noted. And a background check wouldn't turn up anything. Nate's juvie record was sealed. "He's got it for you bad."
She closed her eyes. "I know." Flicking a strand of hair off her face, she looked at him. "Speaking of protective, what was with the pissing contest yesterday?"
"Gut response." Color him crazy, but his intuition to look after her had suddenly become more than a promise. All he could do was think mine whenever she was within fifty yards. He couldn't seem to get his baser instincts to realize she'd never be his, though. And shouldn't be, either. Two days, and he wanted her with a fierceness he'd never known. Lust he could deal with, but this didn't lean solely that way. "I'm not sexist and I don't think women incapable, but common sense shuts off in certain situations."
"It has to stem from somewhere."
Smart little cookie, this one. "There was a girl I knew growing up. We went through the system together, wound up at a lot of the same places." He could still see the bruises mottling Darla's body and wanted to rail. She'd been the closest he had to a sibling and, years later, when he'd encountered her again as one of the Disciples' whores, he'd been just as powerless as he'd been as a child to help her. "She was mousy and I tried my best to keep an eye on her."
Except Darla had wound up dead, anyway. In an alley with a needle in her arm.
"The system? You were a foster kid?"
Son of a bitch. What exactly was the glitch, the direct correlation between Olivia and his sudden lack of filter? "If I say yes, are you going to toss the pity card?"
"No." She swallowed and stared ahead. "If not for Aunt Mae, Justin and I would've wound up the same way. All of this," she waved her hand and shrugged, "would be gone. In the hands of some stranger." She tilted her head, brow wrinkled. "It would've broken my heart. Four generations of Cattenachs have worked this land."
The farthest he could trace his family tree was a crack addict mother who'd delivered him in an ER and split. But he understood. And so did Olivia, apparently. If he didn't watch himself, he'd let her in too far and never climb back out.
"I think that's why the rift with Nakos upsets me so much." Her gaze met his again, soft and yielding. "For the first time in our adult lives, I brought up the possibility of something more between us. If I don't have an heir, the legacy dies with me. He's a good guy, but I think he was insulted." She offered a hopelessly sad smile. "We'd have beautiful babies."
But she didn't love the guy. That much was apparent. Nate was the last person to be giving advice, yet the thought of her losing the adorable part of her personality in order to settle made his gut ache. Because that's what would happen. Mediocrity would douse her light.
Her hand settled on his bicep. The contact sent a current from the exact location, through his whole nervous system, and back again. Created unimaginable heat. Had him grasping for purchase. He tensed, wanting more, but unable and unwilling to take it.
Her pretty eyes widened and she slapped a hand over her mouth as if horrified. "Oh God. You did that in the barn today while shearing, and again on the horse. I thought you were nervous, but..." She fisted her hands under her chin. "You hate being touched, don't you? I'm so sorry. And here I was..."
She went to dismount, but he wrapped an arm around her waist to stop her, frustrated and confused. "What are you doing?"
"Getting down. I'll walk us back so you don't have to ride with me."
The hell she would. It had to be two miles to the main house.
Shit. And how to explain his body's response to her? She had the impression she'd done something wrong when he was the asshole. "I'm fine like this."
She chewed her lower lip. "Reach behind you and grab the back of the saddle. Hold on tight, though. I'm going to ride faster than when we came up to get you back quicker."
"Olivia"
"I'm really sorry." She faced front and grabbed the reins. "Hold on."
Hadiah
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