“This is…complicated,” she says.
“Understatement,” I manage.
If I put my hands on her now, it won’t be for training. I know that. Kael knows that. Hell, Cotton and Brodie would probably know it from across the pasture.
“You know,” she adds faintly, “if Henry had hidden a camera in here, he’d probably be furious—”
The thought is enough to make my skin crawl.
“Tink,” I warn. “Don’t put him in this.”
“I’m not,” she says quickly. “I’m just—coping. Badly.”
“Cope quieter,” I say.
Silence buzzes between us.
I can see it in her eyes—the temptation. One lean, one tilt of her head, and her mouth would be on mine. It would be too easy. There’s already sweat on her skin and adrenaline in her blood. My body is more than ready to take all of that and turn it into something that’s both uglier and sweeter.
Kael would break my fingers.
Brodie would break my neck.
I’d deserve both.
“Bran,” she says again, very softly. “If you don’t move in three seconds, I’m going to do something we’re probably both going to regret later.”
That’s what snaps me out of it.
I exhale, harsh, and drop my hands to her hips—not possessive, not greedy, just a firm, neutral grip.
Even that feels like too much.
“Up,” I say.
She shivers under my fingers like the word hit somewhere intimate, then scrambles off me, backing up until her spine hits the opposite stall.
I push myself upright slower, giving my dick time to remember there are bigger threats in this barn than my self-control.
She drags a hand through her hair, breathing fast. “Sorry,” she blurts.
“For what?” I ask.
“For gravity,” she says. “And hormones. And…being me. Which seems to be giving you a stroke.”
Despite everything, a short laugh punches out of me.
“Tink,” I say.
“If you say ‘you’re just a job’ right now, I swear to god—”
“I’m not going to say that,” I cut in.
She goes very still. Her eyes search my face, like she’s trying to figure out what Iamgoing to say.
“I’m not allowed to touch you like that,” I say, choosing the hardest version of the truth. “Not while he’s out there. Not while you’re under my protection. Not while I’m the only thing between you and him.”
Her throat works as she swallows.
