‘I love it,’ I say, propping it up on my desk next to my laptop.
He stares at me for a moment and nods once. ‘I love that you love it.’
‘I love …’
I don’t get to finish because we crash into each other once more – our bodies now more familiar to each other, but no less thrilling. As River dips me into a playful Hollywood kiss, I feel all the tension of a day hunched at the desk leaving my shoulders.
‘They should prescribe this for stress,’ I murmur, whipping off my dress as River lifts me onto the kitchen table and buries his face into my neck. ‘It’s like magic.’
‘You’re magic,’ he declares, teeth scraping my earlobe as I take off his shirt. ‘Your shoulder,’ he drops a kiss onto it, ‘is magic.’ He whispers kisses down my stomach, my whole body tightening in response. ‘Your belly button is magic.’
I reach into his jeans, taking his hard thickness into my hand. The desperate noise that comes from him in response makes me feel more powerful than I ever have. Check me out! The me of two weeks ago would never have known this was a feeling that was actually available to me. This utter …glee.
It’s going to be hard to give up.
‘Turn around,’ River commands. ‘Lean over the table. There’s a very specific viewpoint I’ve been thinking about since the day I got here.’
‘Oh River,’ I say in a faux swoon. ‘Are you saying you think my ass is magic too?’
River laughs loudly as he pulls down my underwear before standing back for a moment.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Mental picture. Actually, it’s more an album of mental pictures. A curation, if you will. For my own personal exhibition entitled: “One in a Million Ass: A Retrospective”.’
Now it’s my turn to laugh.
His hands grab firmly onto my waist and then there’s no more laughing, no more talking. There’s only the romance author and the cowboy making hay. Lots and lots of hay.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
‘You did this for me?’ River laughs as we reach Hyde Park Stables. ‘You woke with the dawn to do this for me?’
I nod, yawning in the early morning air, admiring the park at this hushed time of day. The grass spreads out before us, sun-parched to the golden colour of corn. The sky is dreamlike and pink and still. It’s looks like a Turner painting.
Sothisis why people wake with the dawn.
‘Told the owner I had a cowboy in town and that we wanted to ride together. If you can’t be a riding teacher back in Bedlam, I thought maybe you could at least give me a lesson before you leave.’
‘I can’t believe this is here, right in the middle of the city.’ River scans the surroundings, eyes wide. He beams. ‘I don’t say this often, Owl, but I am very excited right now.’
We push through a creaking wooden gate, where an older woman in beige jodhpurs greets River like he’s a celebrity. She introduces herself as Sharon.
‘A real-life cowboy!’ she remarks breathily. Then, noticing the sequinned ribbon on River’s hat, she looks less sure.
‘Yes, ma’am.’ River tips his hat. ‘Been ranching since I was fifteen years old.’
‘So this isn’t your …first rodeothen? Haha.’
‘Nope. There’s no slack in my rope.’
‘What?’
‘No slack in my rope?’
‘Okay then!’ Sharon smiles brightly, deciding, correctly, that it’s much too early for more small talk. ‘I’ll go and get Black Fire and Frosty Tops ready and then we’ll do the new rider assessment and safety briefing. I know you don’t need an escort, River, being an expert and all, but I will have to accompany you both for insurance purposes. I will stay a little behind, though. Give you some privacy on your romantic ride.’
Romantic ride?
