Page 61 of Back in the Saddle

‘Or maybe I’m just a natural, as you said earlier.’

‘Can’t it be a combination of both?’

‘I suppose it can.’ She took the saddle off Star, and he did the same with Dallas.

As soon as they reached their respective stalls, which were conveniently next to each other, she took the bridle off and picked up a brush from the shelf.

Hunter closed his hand over her wrist. He leaned over her shoulder and said in a low voice, ‘Leave it. Janice will brush them later. She told me off the other day for always doing it myself. Apparently, I don’t have monopoly on these two.’

He felt her body shiver. Caroline put her hand into his and turned round, facing him.

They were mere inches away from each other.

‘And what will we do with all that extra time?’ She ran a finger down from his cheek to his waist.

His whole body tensed at this small yet maddening gesture. ‘I can think of a couple things.’

She smirked, lacing her finger through one of the front belt loops of his jeans. She leaned in, pressing her body against his. ‘Only a couple? That’s disappointing.’

He let out a growl, capturing her lips in a searing kiss. She responded with eagerness that matched his. He was kissing her with all the built-up tension and desire, like he had neverkissed her before. His mind went blank to everything, and it only focused on the feel of her tongue and her lips on his. When they finally pulled apart, they were both breathless.

‘I hope you added many morethingsto your list now.’

In response, he kissed her again. He wanted to do so much more, but this wasn’t the place to do it. He wasn’t one of those guys who thought the first time with someone new should be perfect, because there was no such thing as perfection when it came to sex. But a dirty barn where anyone could walk in on them, including his parents or sister, was definitely very low on the list, even by his standards.

Putting both hands on her waist, he looked her and said, ‘What do you say we get out of here?’

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Caroline

Hunter turned the key in his front door with nerves bundled up in a furry ball in his gut. ‘Here we are. It’s not much, but it’s home; at least for now.’

As he closed the door behind them with a slam, Caroline turned her head and tried to take in the surroundings.

He watched her eagle-eyed, looking for any shadow of disappointment or disapproval. ‘I could live at the ranch. It probably would be more practical, and then I also wouldn’t have to pay the rent. But I really wanted to have a place where I could close the door on all the outside noise and breathe freely.’

She smiled. ‘I like it.’

‘There isn’t anything interesting to see. Here is the kitchen.’ He gestured to the left where the small but functional area with slate-grey units was separated from the living room by a breakfast bar. ‘Here is the living room.’ Another uninterestedgesture towards the area with a tired-looking leather sofa, an armchair and a TV. ‘There’s the bathroom, a cupboard, the office and the bedroom.’ He finally pointed to the white door on the right.

‘I guess we’ll be heading there?’

‘Caroline.’ He looked into her eyes, his expression suddenly serious. ‘Just because we came here doesn’t mean we have to do anything you don’t want to or are not ready to do. I don’t want you to feel in any way pressured.’

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him in response. ‘I know. But I want to.’ She kissed him again. This time it wasn’t a quick peck. It was all the longing, all the imagination and all the hopes she had. And then they weren’t just kissing.

It was all teeth, and tongues, and moans, and groans.

Molten lava filling in the space in her lower abdomen.

His hands slipped underneath her shirt.

She lifted her arms; he pulled the material up, taking it off. A shiver consumed her body as she swallowed, suddenly feeling fully naked.

Hunter’s fingers moved from her back to her chest. He trailed one of them all the way down from her neck to her belly button. He leaned in, kissing the base of her throat. ‘You’re so gorgeous,’ he muttered against her skin, and her eyes fluttered shut.

It felt amazing, until he was slowly pulling down the strap of her bra, his breath warm against her neck, and she froze.