He rested his chin on my shoulder and my heart felt like it might explode with the warmth and euphoria it was filled with. I liked us being the way wewere. Happy and easy.
“You got a full day?” Wilder dropped a kiss to my neck.
“Maverick and Isabelle. What about you?” I passed him a piece of buttered toast over my shoulder.
Instead of taking it, he just took a bite. It looked like we were sharing. As we both chewed, Wilder’s hand on my stomach moved under my t-shirt. Palm flat and warm, his thumb rubbing gently against my pebbled skin.
“Got to decide on the new bull. Got a video call with the guy in about an hour and then this afternoon I’m going with Nash to see one in Montrose.”
Turning in his arms, I rose up on my tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips. I wasn’t tiny, but I loved that he still made me feel delicate and safe. I’d never been a wallflower, but that didn’t mean I didn’t like feeling feminine in a man’s arms.
“Which do you think is your favorite?”
“The one in Montrose and not just because it’s not thousands of miles away. You ever pulled a trailer for six hours with a huge fucking bull getting antsy inside.” I shook my head and took another bite of toast. “Gunner and I did when we got Gideon, every time we stopped for gas, or a bathroom break we were scared to death that he was going to kick his way out.”
“Gideon is a sweetheart. As if he would.”
“He would in those days. He’s a lot older and wiser and a lot less horny now.”
“Think you’ll ever be less horny?” I smirked, hoping that would be a no.
He contemplated for a second and then shook his head. “Nope. Not going to happen, not when you’re around.”
The kiss was perfect. Soft, gentle, and beguiling, like a siren song for me to follow him back to bed.
“Damn you taste good,” he murmured. “Too good.”
I smiled shyly, embracing the warmth and the joy of him being there. The peace. The excitement.
“I really need to go,” he groaned, resting his forehead against mine while he toyed with a strand of my hair. “I don’t want to but…”
“I know, we have work to do.” I patted his chest. “Time to go, Mr. Miller.”
As I pulled away, Wilder grabbed my hand, linking our fingers. “Just one more kiss, Brownie, just to see me through the day.”
I was riding Maverick around the training ring, checking his gait when Poppy appeared at the fence. She was standing on the bottom rail, trying to get a better view. Always eager to learn and soak up as much knowledge as she could.
Leading the horse to her I was concerned by the frown on her face. Stopping in front of her I leaned forward to scratch Maverick between the ears.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Men. They piss me off.”
“Which man in particular?” I asked, giggling at the look of consternation on her face.
“Just all of them. I was in the stables, and I heard a couple of them talking about me. Apparently, I’m pretty but have a big ass.”
“What? Who the hell was it?” Swinging my leg over Maverick’s back, I got down and moved to the fence. “Tell me who it was, and I’ll make them apologize.”
“It was only one really, the other one just laughed.” She shrugged.
“But who said it, Poppy?”
She picked at the paint on the fence, running her thumbnail backward and forward, her eyes occasionally slicing to mine.
“Poppy.”
“It was Glenn.”
