“Pumpkin chocolate,” he said. “They’re in season at Choco-Latte right now. I didn’t know what your favorite candy was, but I wanted to get you something.”
Her heart swelled as she pulled the ribbon from the bag and grabbed a chocolate. “But you don’t like chocolate.”
He shrugged. “I don’t hate it—it’s just around a lot.” To emphasize his point, he reached over and grabbed one from her bag, popping it in his mouth. “Besides, I wasn’t buying it for me. So what is your favorite candy?”
She ate one of the chocolates. “Holy moly! This is delicious.”
He grinned.
“I was going to say mangoes with chili powder, but this might be my favorite now.” She moaned in delight at the taste, and she couldn’t help but notice Hunter’s gaze narrowing in on her lips. Maybe she’d get that kiss she’d been fantasizing about since last Friday.
They headed off again.
“Now where to?”
“I have one more thing I want to show you before we head back.” Hunter slowed his horse so she could catch up.
They meandered for a while, as far as she could tell, falling into a comfortable silence. That was new for her. She almost always felt like she needed to fill every silence—but not with Hunter.
After a few miles, Hunter sat taller in his seat, his gaze arresting on something in the distance. “There they are.”
She followed his gaze. They were coming up on a herd of horses. Beautiful horses, strong-looking ones too. They grazed on a bluff, the grass short and slightly yellow. The lead mare lifted her head and snorted at them. Hunter’s horse snorted back, stomping his right hoof. Her horse ignored her, knowing this wasn’t his land, nor his brood, and he wasn't about to start a fight. The way the horses talked to one another was beautiful.
“What is this?” she asked.
“My herd.” He pointed out to one of them—the Dalmatian one she’d seen him training a couple weeks ago. “Look.”
“The Dalmatian.” She grinned.
“Her sister, actually. They’re my two prized horses,” he said, and she could practically see the pride in him as he spoke. “That's why I bought Tornado. The stallion you saw me riding the other day. He has the gene in him that if he mates with Penny and Perdie, their colts will have the same markings.”
They rode right into the ten or twelve horses, and Hunter dismounted, then helped her down. She wanted to throw her arms around him right then and there, but he was so excited about what he was telling her, she didn’t want to interrupt him either. Luckily, he grabbed her hand before leading her to the Dalmatian mare.
“I want my horses to stand out, to be easily recognized,” he said. “And hopefully one day, there will be a Hunter Westbrook horse at every roping and rodeo across the country.”
She held her breath as she looked up at him. They had their differences, but in this way, he was just like her: a dreamer with large aspirations. “That’s beautiful,” she said.
He faced her. “What is?”
“Your dream. I-I love it.”
His gaze found hers, his excitement from telling her his plans for his business morphing to a completely different emotion—one that sent sparks of electricity through the air between them—locking her in place. She couldn’t have moved even if she’d wanted to, and she most certainly did not want to. His gaze fell to her lips again, and he licked his own.
“Zoey.” He looked her in the eye and moved in closer, one large hand dropping to her hip.
“Yes?”
“I’m going to kiss you now,” he said.
“Please,” she said in a breathy sigh.
He leaned down and lightly touched his lips to hers. A soft kiss, like butterfly wings against her skin, and Zoey worried her heart might beat right out of her chest if he didn’t speed things up. After a moment, he gave her her wish, wrapping his arms fully around her, pulling her flush against him, and deepening the kiss—giving her the pressure she’d been so desperate for.
She wrapped her arms around him, delving her fingers in the silky hair not covered by his hat at the nape of his neck. Oh boy, she was in for it now. Was there anything this man wasn’t good at?
The kiss heated up, and she started to feel weak in the knees—but she couldn’t be bothered by that, not when this man’s kisses were devouring her like they were. If she fainted right here and now, it’d be worth it.
She shoved her hands up into his hair, knocking his hat off his head.
He pulled back with a chuckle and planted a light kiss, like the butterfly kiss that had started it all, on her jaw, and then on her neck. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now.”
Zoey’s knees wobbled, and he grabbed on tight, keeping her upright and smiling brightly. She grinned up at him, lightly trailing her fingers over his lips. “You’re really good at that.”
His eyes sparkled with mirth. “When I kiss a woman, I want her to know I mean it.”
She went up on tiptoe, stopping a hair’s breadth from his lips. “You better show me you mean it again, then.”
“My pleasure,” he said, and he did.
