Page 13 of The Runaway and the Rugged (Dusty Meadows #1)

EMELIA

“ I need to pick you up,” he said it for a second time, and still, I couldn’t process what he was saying.

After giving him the reassurance that this was my decision, I wearily followed behind him until we were standing beside his horse, Ella. It wasn’t that I was scared, but more so unsure of being around an animal that size.

“Wait, what?” I peered back over to Garth who was running a soothing hand down Ella’s back.

He sent me a sharp, frustrated look.

“In order to get on the back of Ella, I need to pick you up.”

My eyebrows pulled together. It seemed a bit unnecessary and overkill. Wasn’t it similar to getting on a bike? A much bigger bike?

“You don’t think I can manage to get on her myself?” I asked, doing the logistics in my head. One foot onto the stirrup and swinging my leg over the horse. In my head, it didn’t sound all that difficult.

Definitely manageable.

But according to Garth’s reaction, my answer was nothing short of comical. His petting on Ella halted as his head fell forward on a disbelieving shake.

“By all means, give it a try, Outlaw.” He stepped back from Ella, giving me the space I needed. “Easier for me anyway.” He shot me an arrogant grin that sent ripples of butterflies throughout my stomach.

Jesus, he was infuriatingly handsome.

“I will,” I grunted, uncrossing my arms while firing a glare in his direction. My dress suddenly felt a hundred pounds heavier as I began to calculate my next move. And why the hell did Ella look bigger?

“Well, come on then, we ain’t got all day,” Garth encouraged with amusement layered in his tone.

I was tempted to throw something at him, but instead of making a fool out of myself again, I opted to tune him out. With slow, steady steps forward, I cautiously approached Ella. With each step, more uncertainty followed.

“Hi, Ella, I’m Emelia,” I spoke in a soft, hushed tone, careful not to spook her. “Hope you don’t mind me riding you.”

A low, masculine laugh erupted from Garth’s direction.

Bastard.

Ignoring him entirely, I kept my anxious stare focused on Ella. Assessing her behavior and body language before I closed the remaining distance between us.

“That’s it,” I praised before carefully extending my arm out to brush her dark mane. I was nearly there, trembling hand and all, but just before I bridged the gap, she shifted her head to the side. “Oh!” I gasped, my body flinching before realizing she wanted me to touch her.

“You’re all right, Outlaw,” Garth reassured, but I was entirely too engrossed in the fact I was petting a horse. Soft, silky hair enveloped the bottom of my palm as I rubbed up and down her mane. A rush like no other flooded me, sparking a smile to lift my mouth.

“Such a pretty girl.” I continued to caress her neck, getting lost in the moment before the sound of Garth clearing his throat ruined it.

“Time to put your money where your mouth is.”

I hated that he was right. That I couldn’t stay here and pet Ella all day no matter how much I wanted to. Part of me was hoping he’d show me some sympathy and let me, but I knew better than that.

“I’m getting there,” I grumbled, before reluctantly withdrawing my hand. I knew if I gave him any sort of reaction, I’d either say something stupid or lose all the unexpected confidence I somehow had bursting through me right now.

Then shifting myself toward the back saddle, I glanced down at the stirrup.

Okay, that’s a little higher than I anticipated.

Up and down, my eyes moved from the saddle to where I was supposed to put my feet. I was still figuring out the most sensible plan of action, when I suddenly remembered I had heels in my hand.

No way was I getting on Ella with only one free hand.

I was seconds from asking Garth if he could hold them, but before I could, I felt the heat of his body directly at my back. He wasn’t touching me, but the warmth radiating from him sure as hell felt like he was.

“Hand 'em over.” He reached beneath my elbow and grabbed a hold of the heels before I could protest.

“Thanks,” I whispered, feeling the moment he retreated from behind me, leaving a mess of goosebumps in his wake.

Once I knew Garth was a safe enough distance away from me, I took a long, steady breath before placing my bare foot onto the stirrup.

Jesus, that's high.

The skirt of my dress immediately became a problem. I had no room to move, to swing my other leg over, and in order to do that, I needed to lift it damn near mid-thigh.

“Shit,” I mumbled to myself, desperately trying to steady myself with both palms holding on to the saddle. Everything was wobbling. The stirrup, my feet, Ella. The confidence I had earlier slowly disappeared with each passing second.

I was sure Garth was loving this.

“Need any help there, darlin’?” he teased, obvious enjoyment laced in with his amusement.

“No,” I growled, extending my right hand to reach for the hem of my dress, but ultimately failing.

A pathetic groan escaped from the back of my throat, fueling my movements to turn careless.

Irritation, embarrassment, I wanted to crawl into a hole and never leave.

Then with one wrong shift of my foot, I was slipping.

Falling back.

“Crap!” I shouted, preparing myself for a painful landing, but it never came. Instead, I was grabbed at the waist, saved at the last second by a pair of strong, steady arms. Garth groaned in response as I fell against him and once the initial shock of it faded, he carefully placed me onto my feet.

“You all right?” he asked with his fingers lingering on my forearms, stabilizing me.

Heart hammering, the only thing I could do was nod.

“Good.” He bobbed his head in return. “Tried it your way, Outlaw, now it's my turn.” Without permission, without thinking to ask, he grabbed a hold of my waist and spun me around until I was facing Ella. The whiplash it gave me had me struggling to retaliate.

“Foot in the stirrup,” he demanded from behind me, sending an unwanted chill down my back.

God, that sounded… No. No, I am not going there.

Reluctantly, I followed his instruction, lifting and placing my foot once again in the stirrup.

“Good,” he muttered softly. “Promise I’m not trying to cop a feel, or get a peek.”

Huh?

My head turned to the side, trying to figure out what exactly he meant by that, but when he lowered himself to the ground, it all started to register.

“Uh, excuse me? What the hell are you doing?”

Panic began to set in, but instead of him acknowledging my unease, he did the exact opposite and started to hike up my dress.

Oh my god.

“Garth!” I snapped, throwing a hard, angered glare over my shoulder.

Has he lost his mind?

He’d lifted the fabric just above my knees, not near as high as it certainly felt, but still, I couldn’t believe he had done it. With my head still turned, and my bare legs on full display, I searched for the rancher behind me, and what I captured was something I hadn’t expected.

His head was facing away from me.

Away from my legs while his stare was concentrated elsewhere.

“You’re not looking,” I stated the obvious, mentally kicking myself for repeating what I was thinking.

A mix between a laugh and a scoff rumbled out of Garth. Deep and gravelly, I was wrestling with myself to stay mad at him.

“You upset about that?” He rose to a standing position, keeping one hand holding my dress in place while the other went to the curve of my waist.

All the while keeping his head turned and eyes focused elsewhere.

God, I’ve been more intimate with this man in the past five minutes than I have with Nathaniel our entire relationship. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but it sure felt like it with the way his hands had yet to leave my body.

“Of course not.” I snorted, my gaze getting lost in tracking the contours and bends on his face.

Even his profile was rugged perfection.

Ugh.

Tearing my eyes away, frustrated at the fact I was so easily distracted by him, I focused on the task at hand.

“All right, what do you want me to do next?”

The weight of his palm resting on my waist became heavier. More noticeable. His entire hand engulfed nearly one whole side of my hip, and just when I thought it couldn’t get any more uncomfortable, his fingers shifted.

“Gonna apologize firsthand for what I’m about to do.” He cleared his throat, obvious discomfort heavy in his tone as my heart began to flop around like a fish.

“What are you going to do? Why can’t you…” I started to argue, but before I could finish, the hand he had on my dress lifted high and found the fold between my ass and thigh.

“Swing your leg over,” Garth ordered, hindering any plans I had of responding. Shock pulsed through me, but my reaction was quick and my leg was hoisted over the saddle with the assistance from Garth.

Just as quick as his hand was on the curve of my ass, it was gone.

“Whoa,” I whispered as my eyes adjusted to the fact I was mounted on Ella. Bunched up dress and all.

Ella shifted forward, sending my hands grappling in a panic to steady myself.

“What do I hold on to!?” I screeched, laying both palms onto her mane, not realizing Garth’s hand was still propped on my hip.

“Relax, Outlaw, you’re fine.” He chuckled. “Just grab onto those straps right there.”

My body was stiff, unmoving, but I managed to shift my hands to the side and grab onto the leather straps.

A long, relieved breath fell past my lips.

“See, you’re all right,” Garth reassured. “Ella won’t let you fall off.”

I wasn’t sure if I believed him or not, but I didn’t have much of a choice now. Moments later, I felt Garth hoist himself onto the back of Ella. His movements were flawless, practiced as if he had done it a million times prior.

Of course he has, Emelia, he’s a cowboy.

Once he settled in behind me, his hard front pressed against my back, I suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

To find any air.

The man radiated heat, so much heat that a bead of sweat began to pool down the center of my back. I hoped to God he couldn’t feel how sweaty I was.

“You good?” His drawl danced over my shoulder like a delicate caress, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.

Was I good?

In a physical sense, yes. I was safe, I was in good hands, but as my stare fell downward onto the pair of large, muscular thighs that were hugging my hips, I realized I may have been in more trouble than I thought.

“Can I… Is there some way I can ride a different way?” I asked, knowing I looked as ridiculous as I felt. My underwear felt seconds away from making an appearance and the last thing I wanted was to flash Garth.

“If you swing your left leg back over, you can ride sidesaddle.”

Easier said than done.

“Okay,” I mumbled under my breath, bracing myself for another awkward movement I was hardly equipped to handle.

“Let go of the reins and I’ll steady you,” he reached both arms around me and took a hold of the reins. Not only were his legs securing me in place, but I now had the additional comfort of his arms.

I then carefully lifted my leg while attempting to hold my dress in place. It wasn’t easy, as each sudden maneuver the fabric insisted on rising. Luckily, with the cautious swivel of my butt and gentle shove from Garth, I had successfully guided my leg onto the other side.

It took me a second to readjust, smoothing out the bottom of my dress, finding a comfortable position, and giving Garth enough space between my shoulder and his brawny chest.

I thought we were close before, now I couldn’t even breathe without him seeing the expression on my face.

“Better?” he asked.

Was I more comfortable? Yes. But was this better? Not exactly.

“Yes, thank you,” I lied, putting my best smile forward.

With my eyes trained ahead, I noticed that Garth was still holding my heels. The strap of the reins and the straps of my heels dangled from his thick fingers and laid down the side of Ella.

“I can hold those now.” I nodded toward my shoes, afraid to lift my hands from the safety of my lap.

I wasn’t going to risk the chance of falling off.

“I got ’em, Outlaw. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

My heart thundered, then with a swift jerk on the reins, we were off in a blur of motion.