Wild (Wolf Ranch 2)

“I guess once a cowboy, always a cowboy, right? Those are skills you never lose?”

“Right.”

“Have you ever ridden a bull like Boyd?”

“No.” I snorted. “Boyd is the only show-off around here. The rest of us just cowboy the normal way.”

She grinned at me. “What’s the normal way?”

I shrugged. “Ride horses. Rope cattle. Mend fences. Throw hay bales.”

“I’ve never ridden a horse,” she admitted.

I moved and leaned against the island so she could see me while she worked. “Never?”

She bit her lip and looked up from her work. “Nope.”

Jackpot. This was something I could do with her. Without touching. We’d be separated by horses. In the open air. I’d be able to control myself.

“Well, sweetness, you get that cake all prettied up, and we’ll carry it down to the bunk house fridge. Then we’ll go on a horseback ride.” I leaned in, swiped a bit of frosting off the spatula and whispered, “I like knowing this will be your first time.”

She paused. “I’m not sure. I have to be back to help Audrey get ready.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you back in time. Besides, you’re leaving soon to go back to LA for school.”

Her eyes widened, and she swore under her breath.

“What’s the matter?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. You just reminded me I have to connect with my dad about the tuition. I’ll send him another text.”

With her mind clearly back off that random tangent, I said, “You’ve got to ride a horse while you’re here.”

She blushed, even though we’d done some pretty kinky shit and was far from innocent. “Okay.”

I had no idea why taking her for a horseback ride was what I wanted to do with her. No, I did. I’d show her around the property, see what life could be like living here. With me. And we’d keep our clothes on.

“Good girl.”

13

MARINA

* * *

I jogged down the stairs in my sneakers to meet Colton, breathless. I’d washed up and changed into a pair of jeggings so my bare thighs wouldn’t stick to the saddle and threw some sunscreen on. Audrey had warned me about the high-altitude sunburns, and that was the last thing I needed in wedding photos.

I couldn’t wait to go horseback riding. Actually, I couldn’t wait to spend more time with Colton. Yeah, he’d made it clear he was done with the physical portion of our time together. I’d come right out and said it, and he hadn’t contradicted me. He hadn’t thrown me down on the counter to smear frosting all over my body and lick it off. But I would swear he’d wanted to. I’d thought women were the ones to give mixed signals. He’d pulled back, that was obvious, but the way he looked at me…

I didn’t know what to think.

It had taken a while to finish all the decorative flowers on the cake, but Colton had chatted with me, but mostly sat quietly while I worked. Just watching. Again, the whole looking thing. I wasn’t sure if he was naturally patient, or it was a skill honed after years in the military. Either way, I liked that the silence had been comfortable between us. I just liked his presence.

It wasn’t that I’d never been the subject of male attention before. I had. Boys in high school. The engineering guys. Even some cute cowboys at the bar the night before. But I knew better than to get attached because guys left.

My father left… or never came around. The guy from college had ditched me for my lab partner. Colton was leaving. I knew it. He hadn’t fed me lies to get in my pants. I’d been the one to be sneaky. I’d gotten into his pants under false pretenses.

I shouldn’t be upset. I wasn’t. Okay, I was, but I couldn’t be at him. He’d done nothing wrong. In fact, he’d done exactly what I expected and maybe that was what hurt. I thought he was… more. Different. He was giving me everything I needed. Attention, devotion, ravenous affection, consideration. I had no idea I craved all of that, but now that I had it, I wasn’t going to be able to go back to less.

Except I couldn’t rely on him. Not for the long run. I’d leave and keep an eye out for a man who wanted to stick. With me.

Colton fit the profile of a real man more than any of them in the past. Only he wasn’t some trumped up fantasy to use with my vibrator. He was right here, very much in the flesh, and I’d thought he’d returned my interest. He did, but in a hands off, no sex sort of way.

Fine. We’d ride horses. There was no way I could jump him if he were sitting on a different horse, right?

When I arrived downstairs, he held my cake on the platter, examining it from every angle. “This truly is a work of art, Marina. Did you work in a bakery or something?”