“Thought that was you.”
The door opened, and Mackenzie stepped out with a beer in hand.
“Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better,” I said, kicking off my boots, only for Sparky to go running off with one. Stalking forward in my socks, I had her in my arms and was sweeping her over to the bench where I sat us down, her on my lap.
“It’s the beer, right?” she asked with a smile. “You’re dying for a beer.”
“Dying for many things…” Were all American girls like this? Able to turn my frown upside down, make all the worries of the day just melt away? My mouth parted, ready to tell Mackenzie just that.
But we were keeping things casual.
My smile faltered, and she noticed, which had me forcing myself to grin, because I could not bear that look of concern on her face.
“Beer…” I plucked the can from her grip and cracked it, taking a long mouthful that helped wash away some of the day’s shit, then set it down beside me. “A very long shower.” I stared up at her. “You could join me, help scrub my back.”
Her nose wrinkled, then she burst out laughing.
“You are a little… fragrant.”
“This is the thanks a man gets after working all day to keep his family safe.” They were my father’s words, but right now I said them in a completely different tone. Light, fun, because it gave me the excuse to turn her around, so she was straddling my lap. “Clearing the fire breaks.”
“My hero,” she said, clasping her hands to her chest with a smile. That was all it took to distract me. I knew where I wanted my hands and they were right where she had hers. “Let me show you how appreciative I am.”
In that moment, all the blood, sweat and tears of the day faded away. Couldn’t think of my damn father, not when her hips started to swivel. No other woman had me as hot for her as Mackenzie and that smile made clear she knew it.
“Mackenzie…” I groaned, my cock hardening so damn fast it almost hurt. “Love…”
“I like the way you say that.” She leaned in, increasing the pressure, forcing explosions of pleasure to burst inside me. “American men don’t say that to women, but you…”
What the hell was she saying? I couldn’t keep track of it as my hands clamped down on her hips, desperate to keep her right where she was.
“I what, Mackenzie?” I asked, taking control. Holding her where she needed to be, I ground up into her. The moment I hit her clit was clear, because her lips fell open and she started to pant at every pass. “I…”
There was one thing about working on the land in a country that had twenty one of the top twenty five most venomous snakes and that was you needed to keep your wits about you. Hearing Sparky’s growls change, the way his body dropped down low, had me straightening up.
Then I saw a long dark shape slither across the ground.
“Stay right where you are,” I said in a low voice.
“Why?” Mackenzie was still being playful, thinking we were just making out. “Are you feeling a little on edge?”
“No, because there’s a snake over there.”
“What?”
Her sharp inhale of breath, the fear in her voice had me holding her tight as my free hand was shoved into my jeans pocket.
“Sparky!” I roared, using the same voice I would out in the paddock when he wasn’t paying attention. “Sparks, back!”
But the stupid dog dropped down lower, stalking the damn snake like it was a sheep or something.
But these reptiles were no dozy stock animals. I caught the glitter of its scales as its head turned, staring my dog down, and I knew how this would end. Snakes had bitten dogs I’d had before Sparks, and it was a terrible way to die. That’s what had me opening up my grandfather’s knife, then I threw it through the air. A flash of silver and thenthunk!I was up on my feet, putting Mackenzie behind me as I stared down at the reptile.
Somehow the blade buried itself in the head of the animal.
Sparky, the bloody idiot, got there before me, grabbing what remained of the snake and shaking it hard, instinctively trying to break its back.
“Snake…!” Mackenzie’s fingers buried themselves in my shoulders as it felt like she tried to claw her way higher. “An actual real snake. Not like a euphemism for the anaconda in your pants.”
