As she continued to stare up at him, he felt the ever so slight sway of her body toward his. That was all it took to send his good intentions right out the window and before he could stop himself, he leaned forward to cover Karly’s mouth with his. Soft and every bit as perfect as he remembered, her lips molded to his and when her mouth parted on a soft sigh, Blake’s heart took off like a racehorse out of the starting gate. He couldn’t have stopped himself from deepening the kiss if his life depended on it.
Tracing her lips with his tongue, he slipped inside to reacquaint himself with her silky inner recesses. Every one of his senses sharpened and his lower body came to full arousal faster than he thought was humanly possible. Her taste and the tiny moan that she couldn’t quite stifle caused him to groan with frustration. They were in a barn holding a horse by the reins. Not exactly the ideal situation to start something he knew damn well he wouldn’t finish anyway.
When he felt himself fighting the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her until they were both utterly senseless, he dropped his hand and took a step back. “You trust me, don’t you?”
Apparently as stunned by the intimate moment as he had been and just as reluctant to comment on that kiss, she stared at him for several long moments before she finally nodded. “Y-yes. But if you’re wrong about me and this horse, I swear I’ll come back and haunt you.”
He laughed out loud as much to relieve the tension gripping him as at the humor of her threat. Her quick wit was one of the things that he’d found so damn attractive about her. And he took her humor now as a good sign; she was becoming more relaxed with him again.
“If you want to score points with Suede, scratch her forehead and talk to her,” he said as he turned to go get Boomer out of his stall. When he returned, he was glad to see Karly had graduated to patting the mare’s neck.
“I think we’ve come to an understanding,” Karly announced as Blake saddled the gelding. “I’m not going to upset her.”
When she paused, he smiled. “It sounds to me like you’ve worked things out.”
Nodding, she added, “We’re both going to blame you if I do make the mistake of doing something she finds offensive.”
“Now, why doesn’t that surprise me?” he asked, grinning as he led Boomer over to where she and the mare stood.
“Probably because you’re the one insisting that I have to ride a horse,” Karly retorted as he handed the gelding’s reins for her to hold as well as the mare’s.
“Wh-what are...you doing?” she asked, her voice filled with panic once again.
“Don’t worry, Boomer is just as well behaved as Suede,” he called over his shoulder as he entered the tack room to get a rifle. They didn’t have a lot of trouble with predators, but it was always wise to take protection along on a ride just in case.
“Just remember—”
“I know,” he interrupted, returning to where she and the horses stood. “If something happens it’s all my fault and you’re going to haunt me for the rest of my days.” He couldn’t help but chuckle as he slid the rifle into the tooled leather scabbard attached to Boomer’s saddle, then took the reins from her to lead the horses out of the barn to the round pen. “I guess it’s fortunate for all concerned that I’m a damn good teacher.”
“It’s nice that you’re humble about it, as well,” she said, grinning.
Tying Boomer’s reins to the top rail of the round pen, Blake turned to face Karly. “No brag, sweetheart. It’s just a fact.” He nodded toward the mare. “Now let’s get you up in the saddle so you can start learning how to ride.”
Her apprehension was apparent when she put her boot in the stirrup. But her expression changed to relief when she shook her head and lowered her foot to the ground. “This isn’t going to work.”
“Why not?” he asked, wondering what excuse she was going to come up with this time.
“I can’t possibly climb up into the saddle with my knee under my chin,” she said, shaking her head. “I guess you’ll have to ride up to the pasture alone.”