“You drive me out of my fucking mind,” I growl against her neck, my breath hot on her flushed skin. “Every stupid risk you take. Every time you push back when you should just fucking give in.”
“Maybe I don’t want to just give in.” Her voice comes out breathless, shaky. “What if you have to work for it?”
I pull back to look at her. Her lips are swollen from my mouth, her eyes dark and hazy. Her chest rises and falls rapidly, breasts pressing against my chest with each breath. She looks thoroughly kissed. Thoroughly claimed.
And she’s staring at me like I’m not the monster who kidnapped her. Like I’m worth wanting, and being the man who married her. It makes me want to kiss her again. Makes me want to throw her on the bed and show her exactly how dangerous I am. Makes me want to keep her so completely that she forgets there was ever a life before this.
Instead, I force myself to step back, putting distance between us. She’s not ready for the things I want to do to her. My hands shake with the effort of letting her go.
“Stop being difficult,” I demand. “Stop pushing my buttons. Stop questioning every single thing. Just… fuck, just listen to me. Please.”
She touches her lips, her fingers trembling.
I’m in over my head here, so I need to step outside to put some distance between us so I don’t risk losing control. Right now, I want Saint so badly my body burns with the need, and I can’t be gentle. Can’t be what she needs right now.
Saint
Morning light filtersthrough the cabin windows, painting everything in shades of gold and amber. Calder’s already awake, standing by the stove making coffee. He’s been different since Kade’s visit yesterday. More tense. Watching me like I might bolt again even though we both know I learned that lesson in the snow.
“Get dressed,” he says without turning around. “We have somewhere to be.”
I sit up in bed, pulling the blanket around myself. How long has he been awake? Now that I think about it, he is usually up before me. “Where?”
“You’ll see.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m following him down a path, winding through pine trees and over rocky terrain. The air is crisp, carrying the scent of earth and pine sap. Birds call to each other overhead.
Then I see the horse, and my stomach drops. “Where did that come from?
“I brought Storm up from the main house while you were sleeping. Don’t worry, he’s not staying, but we’re going to take a little ride.”
“No,” I say, stopping dead in my tracks.
Calder keeps walking. “Yes.”
“I don’t ride.”
“You’re going to learn.” He tugs the reins off a hitching post built into the forest’s edge.
“Storm will take care of you, as a beginner, because he takes care of me. I’ll be riding with you.”
“I’m not a beginner. I’m a non-rider.” My voice comes out sharper than intended, edged with the panic rising in my throat. “Last time I rode a horse, I fell. I don’t—I can’t?—”
“You were seventeen,” he interrupts.
“Great, then you understand why I’m not doing this.”
“Not exactly. I understand why you’re scared.” He leads Storm toward me.
The horse follows obediently, hooves thudding softly on the packed earth. “Avoiding something or not doing it doesn’t make it go away.”
“I don’t want it to go away. I have no issues going through the rest of my life without riding a horse.”
“Come on, Saint. I know you think being afraid of something protects you from it, but it doesn’t. To never face your fears simply because they scare you makes you weak.” He stops a few feet away.
Weak?It feels like he’s slapped me. “I’m not weak.”
“Are you sure?” He grins, and I know he’s goading me. “Prove it.” He gestures to the horse. “Come here. Let him smell you.”
