Yup. Called it. He’s already hers.
Rowan leaned against the stall door, watching. There was something he loved about the way she moved with horses. It called to his soul and demanded he sit up and take notice.
Not noticing her will never be a problem.
Ever.
The foal stumbled a step, then righted himself, pressing closer to his mother. Enya’s lips quirked. “He’s got attitude already.”
Rowan huffed a laugh. “That’s going to be fun when we put him out in the pasture with the other mommas and babies.”
She shot him a look. “We should take some lawn chairs out in the pasture and just waste a day or two watching them all playing.”
“I think,” he said, pushing off the door, stepping up behind her, “that I’d be sitting all by my lonesome in those chairs, because you’d be playing with the horses.”
She didn’t pull away when he slid his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. Instead, she leaned back into him, her body fitting against his like she was made for him and him alone.
For a second, Rowan let himself pretend this was all there was to his world. No missions. No ghosts. No blood on his hands. Just warmth, and quiet, and this woman in his arms.
This is the life.
I could get used to this so damn easily.
His phone vibrated and beeped with an incoming call. Rowan fished it out and answered it without looking at the screen, “Salieri.”
“Rowe, you planning on hiding in the barn all night,” Gael said, “or you gonna come brief me on what the hell actually happened out there?”
Rowan sighed, his breath ruffling Enya’s hair. She turned in his arms, her hands coming up to his chest. “You gotta go?”
He should go. He knew he should go, but he didn’t want to. Damn it, he wanted to spend more time with her. Wasn’t that a mindfuck, the ultimate warrior who wanted to just forget about war and missions to spend time with a woman in his arms, a new foal in his barn, and peace in his soul.
“Gimme an hour,” he told Gael, “I’ll meet you in the war-room.” He didn’t wait for an answer, pressed end on the call, and tucked the phone back into his pocket. He cupped Enya’s face, his thumbs brushing her cheekbones. “Come with me,” he said.
Her brows lifted. “To the war-room?”
He shook his head. “My office.”
There was a heartbeat of silence, then her lips curved in a slow and teasing smirk. “You just want me alone in a room with a lock on the door.”
“Damn straight.” There was no point in denying what was true. He leaned down, pressed his mouth to hers, and kissed her slow and deep, until she made that little sound in the back of her throat, the one that made his pulse race, his balls ache, and his cock stand to attention. “Yeah,” he murmured against her lips. “I do.”
She took his hand and let him lead her out of the stall, down the barn aisle, past the curious snorts of the other horses, into the quiet of his office.
Rowan shut the door and locked it.
Enya turned to face him, her back against the wood, her breath coming just a little faster. “You’re gonna get in trouble with your brother for hiding away with me in the dark.”
“Worth it.” He stepped into her, caging her against the door with his arms. “It will definitely be worth it.”
She laughed, but it was shaky. Her hands came up to grip his wrists. “Rowan?—”
He cut her off with his mouth, kissing her hard and deep, until she melted against him. She tasted like sugar and coffee, like the diner’s peach pie. Damn it, she was starting to taste like home. His hands slid down, gripped her hips, and pulled her flush against him. She gasped, her nails digging in, and he swallowed the sound, his body reacting like she was the only thing that had ever made sense.
“Fuck,” he groaned against her lips, his forehead dropping to hers. “I was not supposed to be taking advantage of you.”
“Hate to break it to you, cowboy.” Her breath hitched. “It’s not taking advantage of me when I want this just as much as you do.” This time she kissed him, slower, deeper, and hotter, scrambling his mind and driving him insane.
His hands slid under the hem of her hoodie, and her skin was warm and smooth under his palms. She arched into his touch, her mouth hot, her body pliant. He could’ve stayed like that forever—getting lost in her, letting the rest of the world just roll on by without them.
