From restraint.
Hazel reaches for the clasp on the halter at the same time I do. Our fingers tangle. This time, neither of us pretends it's an accident.
Her eyes meet mine.
Dark. Wanting. Uncertain.
My hand shifts, fingers threading through hers for half a second.
Her breath catches.
"You're both killing me."
Chace's voice cuts across the pen, loud and unapologetic.
We jerk apart like we've been caught doing something worse than just standing too close.
I turn toward the fence.
Chace is leaning against the rail with Addie and Shae, all three of them watching us like this is entertainment. Addie looks uncomfortable. Shae's expression is carefully neutral.
Chace just grins.
"What?" I snap.
He spreads his hands. "I'm just saying. The sexual tension is so thick out here I can barely breathe. You're making the horse nervous."
Addie elbows him. "Chace—"
"It's true!" He gestures between me and Hazel. "Look at them. They look like they're about to either kill each other or—"
"Chace," Addie warns.
He ignores her, still grinning at us. "Jesus Christ, will you two just fuck already and put us all out of our misery?"
The words land like a bomb.
Silence drops hard and immediate.
Addie closes her eyes. "Oh my god."
Shae just watches, expression unreadable.
Heat crawls up the back of my neck. Not embarrassment. Something sharper. Angrier.
I can feel Hazel standing frozen beside me. Can feel the weight of her stare even though I won't look at her.
The colt shifts nervously between us, picking up on the tension.
"Are you done?" I ask Chace, voice flat.
His grin doesn't falter. "I mean, clearly you're not, which is kind of the whole problem—"
"Chace," Addie hisses. "Shut up."
He raises his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I'm just calling it like I see it."
I hand the lead rope to Hazel without a word. Without looking at her.
