Front and center were five crisp, new books by Jake Tappen.
She felt herself smiling as she lifted one of them. She opened it, flipping to the “About the author” page at the back of the book, where a ridiculously handsome photo of Jake smiled back at her. He had on a button-down shirt, jeans, and leather boots, leaning against a fence with rolling green hills behind him.
Her throat went dry. Damn, she had it bad for this man. Tonight, she was going to take him to bed with her…figuratively, anyway, and she was absolutely not going to acknowledge that doing so wasn’t really putting much space between them after all. She grinned as she tucked the book under her arm, headed for the stairs.
* * *
Jake had woken alone almostevery morning of his twenty-eight years. He’d never thought much about it, except during those first few months after Alana’s accident when he’d still wished so fervently for her recovery so she could take her rightful place in his bed. Today, though, he woke filled with the memory of yesterday morning.
Megan in his bed. Her warm, soft body pressed against his. The way it had felt to hold and kiss her in these sleepy first moments of the day. Now that he knew what it was like to wake with a woman in his bed, the starkness of her absence left him cold.
He’d spent too many mornings alone. Too many days alone. Too many long, dark nights alone. He didn’t want to be alone anymore, although he wasn’t sure he was ready for the alternative yet, either. Because the thought of having Megan in his bed every morning, as much as it pleased him on a physical level, felt overwhelmingly new and strange. It was best that they were keeping things casual, taking it slow.
So, he got up and got ready for his day, went through his morning routine at the barn. He’d only been at Rosemont Castle for two weeks, but already this routine felt comfortable and familiar. He worked with Duchess, pleased with her progress. Mr. Nichols had mentioned a friend of his who had a horse that needed some training. Unlike Duchess, this horse was older, had been ridden for years but had some bad habits his owner would like corrected.
That was trickier than what Jake was doing with Duchess, but it was exactly the kind of challenge he looked forward to, not to mention the kind of business he needed. He couldn’t afford to screw this up, which meant his work with Duchess was more crucial than ever.
As lunchtime approached, he moved Bug and Dusty from the pasture where they’d been enjoying some grass to the riding ring, now that he’d finished working with Duchess. They were able to graze for a few hours a day now without upsetting their systems.
Both horses had calmed considerably since arriving at the castle. In his experience, animals were intuitive that way. They easily saw who to trust and who wasn’t worthy of it. He led one horse in each hand, turning his head to see Megan walking down the lane with two dogs at her side. She raised a hand to wave, and everything inside him seemed to warm at the sight of her.
Bug looked over at Megan and then shuffled to the side, knocking into Jake, the whites of her eyes gleaming as she tossed her head in alarm.
“Whoa, girl.” He took a step back, keeping slack on her lead so she wouldn’t feel trapped and panic further. What had startled her? “Easy now.”
Bug danced sideways, her haunches slamming into Dusty, who yanked the line in Jake’s right hand. He moved with them, keeping his voice low and soothing while he tried to figure out what was spooking Bug. He hadn’t heard or seen anything likely to startle her. The only other person anywhere in sight was Megan.
Meganandher foster dogs. Bug’s wounds had been caused when she was attacked by feral dogs.
“Megan, can you take those dogs into the farmhouse for a few minutes?” he said calmly.
She nodded, her eyes wide, posture tense. But thank goodness she’d had the sense not to express her own fear in a way that might have further frightened Bug. She led the dogs toward the farmhouse, taking them in through the front door. Almost immediately, Bug began to relax. She pranced uneasily, snorting as she looked around for any further sign of a threat.
“Easy, girl. The dogs are gone.” He kept talking to her until she’d calmed before leading her and Dusty the rest of the way to the arena. Once they were happily munching hay in the sunshine, he headed to the farmhouse. He found Megan in the living room, still holding her dogs on leash, her expression a mixture of guilt and worry.
“Everything okay?” she asked when she saw him.
“Fine.”
“I’m so sorry. I should have asked before I brought the dogs down to the barn.”
“I would have told you to bring them,” he said as he closed the distance between them, pulling her in for a gentle kiss. “Dogs and farms go hand-in-hand. Bug may have some issues from that dog attack before she got here.”
“I never even thought of that. I just thought the dogs might like to meet the horses.” She stiffened in his arms. “Poor Bug.”
“It’s all right. We’ll work her through it. And Twister loves dogs if you want to introduce them.” He glanced at the dogs sniffing around their feet. One had shaggy black fur, while the other was a light tan color, like a lab.
“Okay,” she murmured against his lips. “In a minute, maybe.”
“Missed you this morning.” He sank his hands into the back pockets of her jeans, securing her closer against him, breathing in her scent as he kissed her.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He pinched her ass. “How do you feel about staying here tonight?”
“That depends,” she said, giving him a coy look. “How do you feel about dogs?”
He looked at the two standing beside them. “I like dogs.”
