“I’ve been thinking about you too.” The words come out thickly. “Why do you think I’m out in this rain?” I hold up my good arm. “I’m risking life and limb to get you out of my head.”
He gives my calf another squeeze, his hand moving north to my knee. “We gotta talk. And then we gotta talk to Colt.”
“Yeah.” I roll my hips, pressing my clit against the seam of my jeans as his hand moves to my thigh. “But first, can I ask how you found me?”
“Had to see you. Went to your place but you weren’t there. So I called Tate.”
My heart flips. “You called my brother?”
“Why’re you so surprised?” Ryder blinks when a raindrop lands in his eye. “I know y’all are close. Figured I had nothing to lose. Other than, well, everything. He said my timing was impeccable and that you were out here on horseback. Now, I gave him a piece of my mind for letting you ride?—”
“You let me ride you.”
His lips twitch, and my chest lights up. “That was supervised. This isn’t.”
“Care to supervise me again?”
His hand is on my hip now. His thumb moves between my legs and presses against my clit. “I wouldn’t mind that.”
I nearly come from the contact alone. “Help me down?”
He nods, and now his hands are on my waist. “Can I tell you why I came before we?—”
“That’s not why you came?” I put my good hand on his shoulder, but that’s completely unnecessary, because all of a sudden, he’s lifting me out of the saddle—God, this man is tall—and he’s scooping me into his arms, damsel-in-distress style.
“Well, I came for that.” He shifts so that he has one arm under my back and the other under my knees. I’m able to slip my good arm underneath his so that it’s hooked around the ball of his shoulder. “I’llcomefor that.”
“From that?”
He chuckles, and I reach down to slip my hand inside the back of his shirt. Marvel at the way his thick muscles bunch and release beneath my fingertips as he begins to walk us toward his truck.
His skin is hot to the touch.
“Will your horse stay put?” Ryder asks.
I glance over his shoulder at my mare, who’s happily munching on some grass. “She’s good. She likes the rain when it’s this warm out.”
“Good.” He groans when I run my fingertips down the furrow of his spine. “I came to tell you about an idea I had. A possible career pivot for you.”
Something hot and fierce slashes through my middle.He really has been thinking about me. Me, the person who’s struggling with her life path. Not just me, the body he likes to touch.
He’s been paying attention.
He’s letting meknowhe’s been paying attention.
He’s showing that he cares, which is Ryder’s way of putting himself out there.
Tears prick my eyes. “Tell me more.”
“I talked about my parents at supper for the first time in…well, a really long-ass time.” He carefully sets me down in front of the hood of his truck, chuckling again when he sees my shocked expression. “Yeah, yeah, that’s exactly how my family looked at me too. Anyway, we were talking about Mom and Dad, and we talked about the speech delay I had as a kid. Animal therapy really helped me with that.”
I blink. “Like when you hang out with animals and it helps with anxiety and stuff?”
“Bingo. Animals apparently made me feel comfortable and safe enough to open up. Kinda likeyoumade me feel safe enough to pick up my guitar again.” Grinning, he puts his hands on my hips again and uses the bulk of his body to crowd me against the hood, my backside meeting with the grill. It’s still warm. “Anyways, I’ve done some research over the past few days, and it seemed like something right up your alley. Animals. Kids. The outdoors. Doing something that requires creativity. Something you could build from the ground up with the help of your family.”
I can only stare at him. My heart has apparently grown wings because it’s soaring through the wide-open space inside my ribcage.
He searches my eyes, then pulls his brows together. “If you don’t like the idea, no biggie. It’d be a massive undertaking?—”
