Page 13

H onor inhaled deeply, letting the crisp morning air fill up her lungs and head with the scents of fresh hay and the pine she was beginning to associate with the smell of the mountains.

The open fields sprawling all the way to the mountains on the Black Heart Ranch provided the best view she could ask for this morning.

For the first time in days, a sense of contentment rolled through her.

She hadn’t seen a single sign of Sully. Neither had Felicity. And those security cameras captured every car, pedestrian or pet within a half-block of her sister’s house. She was pretty confident that if Sully had been in Willowbrook at all, he was long gone now.

There were no lurking shadows. No familiar vans parked on the street.

And that cracked window… Her mind wanted to make excuses for the incident, telling her it had all been a fluke, a mistake she forgot she made. But Gray would never get something like that wrong.

At least now she could relax a bit. With Gray’s security measures in place, she doubted anyone would try anything funny now.

As she stepped up to the barn door, she ran her fingers over the weathered wood. When she entered the dim interior, she almost slammed into the person coming out.

Gray’s sister tossed her long, messy braid over her shoulder and rubbed a gloved hand over her forehead.

Honor let out a chuckle. “Sorry, Willow.”

“No problem. Happens all the time. Actually, just this morning I ran right into Dutch, one of the vets in the program. I swear that man is always turning up in my path.”

Honor eyed her, wondering if that was strange to Willow, but she didn’t show any sign of it being anything but normal around the busy ranch.

“Are you and Gray going on the cattle drive this weekend?”

Willow’s question changed her thoughts onto another path. She was now being lumped in with Gray. Honor and Gray. Gray and Honor. Doing things together. Attending cattle drives.

“That sounds like a lot of fun, but we’re going to the festival.”

“Oh, how fun! I’ve been to that festival in years past. It’s big.” Her gaze moved over Honor. “Do you want to take the jet?”

She blinked in shock, rocking on her heels. “Jet!”

Willow shrugged, all casual, like taking a private jet was the same as taking an Uber. “It makes travel fast. No sitting in traffic.”

At that moment a shadow fell over them. Honor felt the warmth of the sun on her back fade but a different sort of heat flooded her.

Gray.

She pivoted to see his eyes narrowed on Willow. “We won’t be taking the jet.” He took Honor by the hand. “C’mon.”

She threw his sister a wave in farewell before he led her away from the barn, and apparently away from topics he did not wish to share with her at this time.

She wasn’t going to let go of the jet thing, though. “So you have a jet?”

“The security agency does. We need to get places fast at times.” His step slowed, and she caught the faint murmured curse under his breath.

“Gray?”

He stopped and faced her, expression softening. “I’m not upset. It’s just that…” He ran his thumb and fingertip over the brim of the Stetson that looked so damn yummy on him.

She waited for more.

“Carson asked me to join the security company. And I just said ‘we’ like I’m already in.”

She held his stare. “You don’t want to be in?”

He shrugged, big shoulders heaving like they could make the earth tremble if he moved too quickly. “Haven’t decided yet.”

“I see. Well, if you do, I’m sure you’ll be fantastic at it. After all, you ran the security at Felicity’s house with so much knowledge and professionalism.”

He squeezed her hand. With a little tug, he brought her a step nearer. When he cupped her cheek, liquid heat sank low into her belly. It had been a few days since they slept together. While he was at her home whenever she was, he hadn’t stayed the night there. Instead, his brother Colt—the family night owl, according to Gray—stayed outside in his truck in the driveway, keeping watch over her and Felicity.

At first, she wasn’t sure what had changed. When she got up the nerve to ask why he wasn’t staying, he told her a little hesitantly that it was because he had to work on the emails. And her heart had done a funny thing.

It didn’t just perform a little jog like it usually did around him. It plunged from a tall height and then rocketed right back up, soaring higher and higher. It didn’t take long for Honor to realize what that sensation meant.

She was falling for Gray.

Her heart did the same thing now, shooting like a star.

The rough pads of his fingers worked into the hair at her temple, sending new skitters of desire through her. Then he caught the lock of hair near her cheek in between his fingers and rubbed it lightly.

“I have an idea.” His deep voice stroked her nerves.

She leaned closer. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

Instead of inviting her to his bed—or even the nearest bale of hay—he totally caught her by surprise.

“Let’s go for a horseback ride.”

“Uh…”

“Come on. It will be fun.”

She wasn’t sure of that at all, but she let him take her by the hand and lead her to a fenced-in area behind one of the barns.

The horses were massive up close, all sleek muscle and deep, intelligent eyes.

That didn’t make her eye them less warily. “You expect me to ride that?”

“You scared?”

“Not scared. Cautious.”

When it was apparent he was waiting for her to elaborate on that statement, she sighed. “I have a healthy fear of riding anything that big. When I was little, Felicity and I went to the circus. She wanted to ride the elephants. I did not. But of course our parents stuck us both on one.”

He was smiling at her. “And it didn’t go well?”

“I couldn’t wrap my legs around the thing. I was terrified the whole time, sobbing, while Felicity was having the time of her life.” She shook her head.

“Well, good news is now you’re bigger. Your legs will fit around a horse.”

She’d prefer to wrap them around him instead, but the feeling that they didn’t know each other very well yet, the worry that it had taken her a very short time with Gray to feel the same way it took her months to feel about Sully, stopped her.

And that scared her. Could she trust her own instincts after making a bad choice before?

She pushed out a laugh. “That’s your argument?”

“That and you’ll be riding with me. You’re safe.”

Those words sent warm sparks through Honor’s chest. They sparkled like a firework and cascaded low between her thighs.

He leaned in. His leathery scent wrapped around her as he brushed his lips over hers in a tender caress. She pushed onto tiptoe to get closer. In a blink, she felt the tension between them rise, snapping with the natural chemistry that seemed to exist between her and Gray.

He gripped her hair, twisting the mass and angling her head to deepen the kiss. She moaned into his mouth and twisted his shirt front in her fingers.

A catcall echoed across the open yard.

Gray groaned and broke away from her. “This is the problem around here. Nobody minds their own business.” But he laughed, a carefree sound that lifted her heart with joy.

His happiness was contagious. She loved spending time with him. Maybe she would enjoy riding a horse with him too.

The instant Gray swung into the saddle behind her, she felt safe and secure in the wreath of his arms. When he gripped the reins, wrapping the leather around his palm, little shocks of desire rode along her nerves. She couldn’t tear her eyes off those roped cords of sinew and veins running up his forearms.

Settling against him snugly, she soon forgot they were moving on the back of a horse and drank in her surroundings. The colors of nature really caught her attention. The mixture of blue sky and smokier blue mountains, the deep green of the pines and the brighter hues of the summer leaves all excited her.

“You’re quiet,” Gray’s rumble came into her ear.

She shivered. “I was thinking about a new jewelry collection based off the colors on the ranch.”

“Really?”

She nodded, her hair catching on the stubble on his jaw. “I have all the supplies to get started on it. I can do that at the festival between customers.”

“I love how enthusiastic you are about your business.”

They continued on in silence, past a big golden willow tree. She mentally added the color to the jewelry collection. “I didn’t know there were willows in this area.”

He cleared his throat in a nervous way that made her twist to see his face.

“Uh…I planted it. For my sister’s twelfth birthday.”

“Really?” She was delighted and charmed by his kindness to his sibling. “You’re really a great brother.”

He coughed out a scoffing sound. “It was the only thing she asked for. My brothers said putting something else with her name on it would only give her a bigger head.”

Honor chuckled. “What do you mean by something else?”

“Willowbrook. When she was three years old, she was convinced the town was named after her.”

Her smile widened.

“I figured having a willow tree on the ranch wouldn’t be that big of a deal.”

“I bet it was a big deal to her.” She ran her fingers over the back of his hand, aware of her body rolling against his and how much it excited her.

Their horse plodded along at a steady pace down the trail carved into the land.

“Gray, can I be bold and ask you something?”

She felt him go still. “Anything, sugar.”

She melted at his endearment, which urged her on. “Do you think you could stay at the house with me tonight?”

“Are you and Felicity nervous about being there?”

“Not at all,” she rushed to say. “I just…wondered if…you could…we could…” She dragged in a deep breath and forced herself to stop floundering.

She was a grown woman. She considered herself to be a confident one too. She owned a business. She could ask Gray for what she really wanted.

She bit the proverbial bullet and said it. “I want to be with you again, Gray.”

His arm banded around her, warm and strong. When he dipped his head to her ear and nuzzled it, desire whipped at her.

“I’d love nothing more.”

She squeaked as he set his teeth against the soft flesh of her earlobe and nipped it gently.

Shudders of pleasure rolled through her. Then she did something she never thought she’d do on the back of a big animal.

She twisted in Gray’s arms and kissed him.

* * * * *

Gray barely kicked his bedroom door shut before Honor was on him.

Her hands twisted in his shirt. His hat went flying. And their mouths crashed together in a hungry, raw kiss. He backed her up one step, then two.

When he pinned her to the door and claimed her mouth in deep passes of his tongue, she stifled a moan. All of her soft curves molded against his much harder body, but god, they were a perfect fit.

He let out a growl as he dragged her hips into his so she could feel the full, steely length of his desire.

“Gray!” She kissed him deeper, fingers moving through his hair now, yanking him down for more and more.

The world outside these four walls ceased to exist. There was only her sweet flavor and the way she fit against him. Like she belonged there.

He pushed off the wall and turned for the bed. But somehow they only hit the wall beside the door. She tossed her head on a laugh, and he captured the sound with another hungry kiss that went on for endless moments.

Cradling her plush ass in his palms, he lifted her. The soft noise of want she made in the back of her throat propelled him to the bed. He had to get inside her. Now.

Passion volleyed between passes of their tongues. Gray never expected to feel this way about any woman. When she stumbled through asking him to take her to bed, his chest damn near exploded with want. Hell, his heart hadn’t stopped thundering all during their return trip to the paddock. Luckily, Crew had been in there, and he was able to hand off the horse’s care to him so he could do what he really wanted to do.

He yanked Honor’s pussy into his throbbing cock and took three steps to the bed, where he tossed her onto the mattress. Surprise flashed across her beautiful face, and she laughed in that carefree way he was growing to need like a hit of a drug.

His personal drug had long wavy hair and wore jeans that flared at the bottoms.

With his blood pumping hard and fast, he went for her clothes. Peeling off her top, divesting her of her lacy bra and then yanking those jeans down her hips. Her panties slid down along with the tight denim, and he kept on pulling until she was completely naked.

Wrapping his palms around her thighs, he parted her legs for him.

She panted, eyes wide and fixed on his, waiting to see what he’d do.

He tore off his shirt, ripped open his fly and barely gained enough of a grip on his control to remember to pleasure her before he took his own.

He dived between her legs, tongue flicking over her hard clit.

She went wild, bucking into his mouth. Soft moans filled the air with a music he never wanted to end.

Trailing two fingers down her soaking seam, he swirled his tongue around her clit. In one drawn-out push, he filled her with his fingers and began to fuck her.

Hard. Fast. Curling the tips against her inner wall and dragging them through the slick heat, reading her body, how it bowed and tightened whenever he hit a certain spot.

She flooded, and he tasted her bliss as he drove her to a furious orgasm apt to shake the house apart.

She planted both hands on the back of his head, hips rising and falling as release tore through her. He flicked a look at her lovely face, watching the ecstasy bloom like roses on each cheek and part her lips in a silent scream.

Slowly, he raised his head and eased his fingers out of her even more unhurriedly. A shudder rolled through her body. He prided himself on being good in bed, but never did he have a woman respond the way Honor did.

Maybe it was the way she looked at him, blue eyes glimmering with stars that seemed to dance in the sky.

Christ, he could fall for this woman.

He could fall hard.

Maybe he already had.

He’d watched his brothers with their significant others. They couldn’t seem to keep their hands off them. Hell, two days ago he damn near walked in on Colt and Aspen in the barn after dark. Only a soft giggle had saved them all from that embarrassment.

Now here he was locked up in his room with Honor in the middle of the afternoon. And damn if he didn’t want to keep her in his bed until dawn broke over the sky.

He kissed a path up her body to her mouth. The quiet moan she made filled him, the urge to thump his chest like a primitive beast.

He smiled down into her eyes.

The blue depths took on a playful gleam. “My turn.”