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“Hmmm… See, I was right in that he cared for you deeply. I think it’s wonderful he thought about you in his will.”
“Come on. There’s somewhere I want to show you.”
“Where you lead, I’ll follow.”
I couldn’t help but glance at him over my shoulder. “Then come on. Let’s see what you can do.” I pressed my knees against my horse, the beautiful creature immediately responding. As she galloped across the field, I couldn’t help but laugh as I looked over my shoulder, seeing how difficult it was for the large man to keep up. “Come on. You can do it.”
“I’ll get you for this.”
Seeing his playful side wasn’t what I’d expected at all.
I kept going until we neared the spectacular location, finally allowing him to catch up.
“You’re one bad girl. Do you know that?” he huffed, allowing himself to laugh.
“I am and I take that as a compliment.” I slowed Black Magic down even more.
As we slowed to a walk, I noticed he was shaking his head, constantly glancing at the mountains.
“Just perfect,” he said.
“Yes, they are.”
As we approached my favorite setting, I couldn’t help but chuckle from seeing the strange look on his face, his body stiffer than before.
“Doing okay over there, sport?” I asked, allowing the big man to experience my brazen amusement. He’d certainly enjoyed making me uncomfortable before. It was my turn. We’d ridden for almost an hour, mostly in silence, the quiet between us unnerving.
He’d asked a few questions along the way, including about the various employees. The change in his personality, the fact he’d been all business understandable, yet I hated feeling such strain between us. We’d been lovers but nothing could feel any more awkward than it did at this moment. That’s why friends should never cross the line because sex did change everything no matter what anyone said.
Even if we weren’t friends and never would be.
I’d taken him to my favorite place on the ranch, the smaller body of water not usually frequented. It was a place of peace, a location I usually came to by myself, a respite from my life that I so desperately needed. Why I’d brought him here instinctively was beyond me.
Thunder’s aggravated whinny brought me back to the moment. I bit my lip as I turned my head, studying just how uncomfortable my companion seemed, even though he was doing his best to act as if he rode every day.
Sebastian shifted his six-foot-five-inch frame back and forth on the saddle, pulling on the reins a little too hard in trying to make Thunder stop moving. I couldn’t help but notice his knuckles were white and I’d seen a couple of beads of sweat rolling down from his brow, but he was the kind of man who refused to acknowledge he was utterly terrified.
That made teasing him that much juicier and so very satisfying. I easily pulled Black Magic to a stop, waiting as Thunder reared back given Sebastian’s far too tight hold. The bumpy ride had been more uncomfortable than usual, a reminder that the brute of a man had given me a hard spanking just the night before. When I shifted myself, trying to get more comfortable in the saddle, I noticed he was watching me, wearing the same evil grin on his face he’d become famous for, at least in my mind.
“What?” I barked.
“Are you doing okay over there, Big Red? Or is the feisty girl finally realizing she met her match? Maybe I need to give you another little reminder that I’m in charge.”
“In your dreams, big man.”
When he was inexperienced enough to try to jerk Thunder at an angle he wasn’t ready to head to, the giant horse reared up on his two back legs.
“Whoa, Thunder. Jesus Christ.”
“You need to stroke a horse just like you do a woman, with tender loving care or they won’t respond with anything but sass.”
Thunder finally thumped down, shaking his head as if in admonishment of his rider. “What if the lady prefers it a little rough around the edges, a little shove against the wall?”
For all the snappy comebacks I could toss out with the best of them, the man also had the ability to keep me tongue tied.
He studied my reaction, and the way he continued to watch me kept one wave after another of tingles refreshing the constant heat. “You’re terrible.”
Laughing softly, he got off the horse with ease, his long, muscular legs making it impossible not to watch him as well. I hadn’t realized I’d dragged my tongue across my bottom lip for the umpteenth time until he narrowed his eyes. “Now that’s something you like about me.”
