Cowboys & Horses

Chapter 14

His sudden assault on my senses stunned me for a few seconds. As his delicious kiss sent my head into a spin, the only stability I could find was to lean against his broad chest, clutching at his shirt. With his soft lips pressed to mine with such breath-taking passion, I allowed myself to be thoroughly swept away in the moment.

That was it for me. Right there, under the twinkling stars in the middle of the desert, being kissed by a damn fine cowboy was the highlight of my life.

I parted my lips, desperate for him to explore. When his tongue met mine, a slight whimper escaped me. The slow, gentle stroke nearly melted me into a pool of simmering heat. He caressed me into serene bliss, hot tingles spreading throughout my body as my mind became encased by a fuzzy fog. I was utterly useless, and completely lost to him.

Losing all sense of time, I had no idea how long we canoodled for before he broke our kiss. He pulled away barely millimetres, just enough to whisper his next words.

"You have no idea how much I've wanted to do that since I met you."

I had kept my eyes closed until then, enjoying the moment between us, but those whispered words were enough for me to spring them open.

"But you were such an ass to me..."

He stared at me, his captivating chocolate eyes picking apart the very insides of my soul. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm...complicated."

I moved my head back, the intensity of it all overwhelming me. "You're not kidding."

He still had a hold of my cheeks, and began stroking tender patterns over my heated skin. "I like you, Sophie. A lot. I have since the second I saw you walking towards me with that cheeky grin of yours."

"So why were you so horrible to me?"

"I gave you my horse to ride. That wasn't being horrible, really, was it?"

"Cody?"

He nodded. "He was my sisters. She rescued him as a foal, trained him herself, and absolutely wiped the floor clean at competitions. He hasn't been the same since she died—he loved Kelsa as much as I did." He sighed and gave a wistful smile. "But that day I met you, something inside me changed, and I knew it would change him too. He's shown no one affection since she died, not even me. Heck, the poor chap despises me. Our relationship is more one of convenience—he needs a rider, and I need a damn good cow horse."

I smiled. My mind was whirling in a thousand different directions. "Why didn't you just...be normal around me? Telling me not to make your job difficult, calling me a city girl...it was almost like you wanted to make me hate you."

"I did. I wanted you to hate me so I couldn't do this." He motioned between us, a pained expression glazing over his face. "Losing Kelsa was so painful...to then create a bond with a woman, in a partner sense, it scared me. Hell, it still does. I couldn't handle going through that pain again."

I nodded, disappointment flooding me at his frank admission. "I understand."

He took his hands from my cheeks and grasped one of my hands. "Then you told me what happened to you, what made you come here, and it made me really angry. I couldn't stand the thought of what that guy did to you. It was then I knew I had to stop it. You've had so much grief from men already, you didn't need any more from me. If it meant me putting myself out there, then so be it. I knew if I let you get back on that plane home without at least kissing you, I'd regret it for years."

I was lost for words. My head was in a spin, my body longing for his touch, and my heart torn.

"I just..." I took my hand from his, and took a step back. "This all seems too good to be true. I mean how cliché is this right now? Am I just another English girl for your hit list? To forever be marked as one of 'Lancaster's Ladies' or something?"

He burst out laughing, leaving me staring at him in disbelief. After a second or two, I couldn't help but laugh with him.

I covered my face with my hands, embarrassment taking hold of me. "I don't know where that came from. Sorry."

He peeled my hands from my face and brushed a kiss over the back of one. "As amusing as that was, no, Sophie. I am being honest and genuine."

To say I felt numb was rather an understatement. What was I supposed to do with all of this...emotional revelation? I left him wondering for a minute or so as I allowed myself the time to properly digest all of this.

"So, what happens now?" I asked.

"Anything you want. We can just pretend it never happened if that's easier for you, or we can just enjoy the time we'll have together."

I pursed my lips, fighting a raging internal battle. "The time we'll have together? So, basically you want three weeks of fun before I go home?"

He sighed. "No, not at all. What did you expect me to say? Pretend it never happened, or we can go get married?"

I giggled. "No. I just...what if we go down this road and I decide I want to go back to Ben? Or what if we go down this road and I decide I don't want Ben? Where does that leave us? With either situation?"

He smiled and placed his hands on my shoulders. "We can figure that out when we get there."

I smiled. My heart dissolved into a liquid pool at his feet. I wanted his touch, his kiss—now. Right now. My head screamed at me to stop—I was here to sort myself out with regards to my home life, not make things more complicated.

Sighing, I threw all caution to the wind. I was here to enjoy myself, to revel in the things I wanted for a change. After everything I'd been through so far, why couldn't I indulge myself in a little fantasy?

I tightened my hand around his, and whispered, "Kiss me."

As if it was some sort of reflex action, he dropped my hands and wrapped his arms around me. Curled inside his warm embrace, I clutched at his shirt to give me some sense of reality. His velvet lips glued to mine with such tender passion, I became lost in the waves of shivers and tingles drifting through my body.

In that moment, I was lost to him like a ship at the mercy of the ocean. I didn't care about tomorrow or next week—all I wanted was this.