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A smile formed on my face, but I quickly chewed on my bottom lip to keep from showing it. What a nice surprise.

“I am shocked. But you have a way of surprising me, so I guess I need to get used to it. Now what? Are you going to show me what an expert horseman you are?”

“Something like that. Hand me your camera.”

“Why?”

“Because I asked you to.”

With my eyes barely open, I glared at him and as he held out his hand, cocking his head. I tried not to react, but around him, I wasn’t myself at all.

So I handed him my only prized possession.

“You’ll get it back. Just a few minutes.” When he snapped a quick shot of me, I laughed again.

Why was he allowing me to see this side of him? Was this some new ploy? Instead of acting like a spoiled little boy, he’d act annoyingly polite and goofy.

After hanging the camera’s strap on a hook in the wall, he adjusted Sadie’s reins then sauntered toward me. When he pulled me from the floor, I immediately squealed.

“What are you doing?”

“Taking you for a ride.”

“Oh, no, you’re not.”

“Oh, yes, I am. Put your foot in the stirrup.”

“I will not do that.”

“Yes, you will.” He cracked me on the bottom and I yelped.

“Don’t you dare do that again.”

He answered by smacking me three times in rapid succession. “Put your goddamn foot in the stirrup or I’ll hogtie you in the barn for the night.”

“You wouldnotdo that.”

“Bet me.”

I weighed the odds he was telling me the truth.

And placed my foot in the stirrup.

While I did my best to struggle in his arms, he easily managed to push me over the horse’s back and onto the saddle. The move was awkward and I had no doubt I looked ridiculous.

When I was settled, I realized she was huge. Much bigger than I’d originally thought.

“Oh, I can’t do this. There is no freaking way.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you.” He grabbed my camera, handing it to me and within two seconds, he’d placed his foot into the stirrup, hoisting himself up and over the horse’s back with ease. “You know I won’t let you fall.”

My uncertainty remained, but he issued the words with such conviction, I wanted to believe him.

The truth was I wanted a lot more than that. He’d poured himself into jeans that had been made for the man, accentuating every muscle and the thick bulge between his legs. He’d added a Henley shirt in a deep forest green that added a luminous spark to his eyes. It didn’t hurt that the shirt seemed a size too small for him.

Or maybe he’d just been working out a lot more since moving here. Whatever the case, I’d found it difficult to keep my eyes off him during dinner.

The man was too attractive. Too forceful. Too rugged.