“Just give it a try,” I tell her. My voice is deep and rumbly, filled with all the unspoken longings.
She has one false start then manages to swing herself up easily. She gives me a triumphant look. “I did it!”
My heart swells with pride. She has no idea how proud I am of her every moment of every day or how much I want to tell her that.
She frowns. “Where’s your horse?”
“Right here,” I swing up behind her.
The moment I’m behind her, all of the tension bleeds from my body. There’s just something so right about being this close to Lauren. She’s warmth and sunshine, the one place I feel at home.
But even as the tension bleeds from me, she sits ramrod straight. “Bronco,” she hisses, glaring at me from over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“Relax, the cameras are watching,” I tell her. And as soon as I say the words, I hate myself a little bit.
She loosens her posture and relaxes into me, but it still doesn’t feel natural. It’s not the same as when she melted into me during our kiss.
If I could go back in time, I don’t know what I’d do differently. I wouldn’t take back that kiss. I can’t wish that moment away. It’s one I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.
I want to have both sides of Lauren, the sweet girl who is my best friend’s little sister and the sultry woman that I have fallen in love with. It breaks my heart
“What now?” She asks. Her head brushes my shoulder and I can’t get over how right it feels. I want a thousand more lifetimes just like this with Lauren in my arms.
“Now we’re going to give her a gentle nudge.” I explain how to do the gesture to get the mare moving.
Princess starts off at a gentle pace, slow and steady. Her previous owner who surrendered her when he could no longer care for her on his farm said she’s always been like this.
“Oh wow,” Lauren says. “I didn’t expect it to be such a smooth ride.”
“With me, it always will be,” I answer.
“Bronco.” She calls my name softly. It’s a warning, it’s a plea. It’s both of them mixed together. I don’t know how to answer when all I want to do so desperately is just kiss her.
We ride together slowly. I’m aware of every breath she takes, every slight movement she makes, every time she leans into the ride. It’s a special kind of torture.
After we’ve gotten some good footage, I think the ride is about to end. I’m braced for her to call it quits, but Lauren flashes me a mischievous grin. I see the playful side of her that I’ve been missing since our kiss.
“Will she gallop?”
“She’ll go as fast as you want.” I nudge Princess, and she speeds up.
“Faster,” Lauren insists until we’re going at a full-blown gallop. We race through the open fields, exploring miles of the farm without so much as a word. There’s only the sound of hooves, Lauren’s soft chuckles, and the thrum of my body around hers.
Finally, I nudge Princess and she slows to a trot. “Let’s go into the woods. I want to show you something.”
We ride together a few minutes in silence and even though we don’t have an audience anymore, she’s still relaxed. Which is more than I can say for my dick. He’s rock hard, and we’re both pretending not to notice.
“Look up ahead into the clearing,” I tell her when we finally get to the right area.
She gasps at the sight of the big pond. The water is rippling from the movement of the wind and fish swimming just underneath the surface. Ducks quack happily as they waddle along the banks, enthusiastically catching up with each other on the day’s latest gossip.
“Oh,” she breathes out the words softly. “It’s so pretty. I want to walk down by it.”
I gesture for the horse to stop and hop off. I help her down, reaching for her hips to steady her when she wobbles. Electricity passes between us, but I drop my hands. Remind myself to behave and stop breaking her heart.
She clears her throat. “This is beautiful, your own personal piece of paradise.”
“It’s the kind of place you go when you need to clear your head.”
