I immediately stepped behind Slade. “See, horses are dangerous.” I whispered the words as if the horse could hear me.
“No, they’re not.” He pulled me gently back to his side. Now you try.”
I did, lifting the hand not holding the brush, and ran it from his neck down his side, just like Slade had. I felt a shiver run through the big horse and I immedicably dropped my hand. My gaze flew to Slade. “Did I hurt him?”
“No, he just likes it when you do that.” He reached out and stroked the horse again.
“Okay, so show me.” And he did. He stepped behind me and put his large hand over mine, guiding my hand over the horse. We groomed the stallion together for several minutes.
“So, why did your friend send you to a dude ranch.”
“When I obviously am not an outdoor kind of girl? Because she hates me.”
He bumped his shoulder against mine. “Come on, Jamie. Spill the tea.”
I laughed at the expression he used. It should have sounded ridiculous coming from a big, hulking cowboy, but somehow it suited him. “She said I needed dirt under my boots and stars over my head.”
“Even though she knows you hate dirt, are allergic to smoke, and everything else that might live on a ranch?”
“Not the cowboys,” I blurted out before I thought about what I was saying.
He stopped. “Say what now?”
I could feel the color rush into my face. “Nothing.”
He took the brush from my hand and laid it down. “You can’t say something like that and then pretend you didn’t.”
“It was nothing.”
“I can tell when you’re lying, Jamie.” He took a step toward me and I instinctively backed away.
“No, you can’t.”
“I can. You don’t look me in the eye.”
My gaze flew to him, my eyes narrowed. “Not true.”
“Then tell me.”
“She said cowboys were dangerous.”
“We are, but that’s not what she said to you.”
“Fine, if you want to know the truth, she said… for my birthday what I really needed was a cowboy.” I threw my hair back, ready to bolt. “I needed a cowboy… rubbing my clit.”
The silence in the barn was absolute. I’d never seen his eyes as dark as they were now, the amber turning the color of scorched earth.
When he didn’t say anything, I knew it was time to run, but not before throwing out a little more snark. “I guess I’ll go find one.”
I didn’t get two steps.
Before I could even draw a breath, he moved. He was a blur of denim and muscle, pinning me between his heavy frame and the barn wall. Whirlwind danced away, snorting at the sudden violence of the movement.
“There will be no other cowboy touching any part of your body but me, Jamie Parker,” Slade growled, his face inches from mine. One of his big hands encircled my throat, the heat of his palm a brand on my skin. “Understand?”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He grabbed both of my wrists, his fingers like iron manacles, and shoved them above my head, pinning them against the wood. My breasts ached, strainingagainst my blouse as I tried to get free. He simply stepped into my space, kicking my feet apart.
He didn’t kiss me yet. He let me feel the weight of him, the hard ridge of his cock pressing against my belly through two layers of denim. Then, his free hand traveled down my side, tracing my curves until he reached the junction of my thighs.
