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With the horse’s hooves still, she could hear his breathing and her own. The forest was utterly silent, the way it only got in the depth of night in winter.
“Do you hear anything?” she asked.
He didn’t react, his arm steel bands around her as he listened. His chin brushed her hair as he swiveled his head, moving his ears like a wolf.
“I’d shift,” Aiden said, “but that’s not a good idea.”
Was something out there in the night waiting for them? She was so sick of being afraid.
He slid off the back of the horse. “Give me a second.”
“Aiden!” she whispered as he took off through the woods. She wanted to cast the spell for light, but that would give away her position.
The horse shifted again.
“Whoa,” she said sharply. The horse tossed his mane, and she gulped. “Look, I don’t like this any more than you, buddy. But if nobody does anything stupid, we’ll both be safe in bed real soon.” Did horses have beds?
Four minutes later, Aiden jogged up from the opposite direction, startling her and the horse, but he soothed the beast with a hand on its nose.
And now she was jealous of a horse.
“It’s nothing,” he said. “Probably a mouse or something.”
“So we’re alone?” she asked, just to be sure.
He smiled. “Except for the mouse. And Bonanza.”
She hitched her leg over the saddle and slid to the ground with a grunt. It was a much bigger drop than she expected.
“Oh shit,” he said and dove for her.
“I’m fine.”
He held her by her elbows as he helped her up. “How did you fall? I’m sorry I left you alone. And brought you here. This whole trip was a stupid idea.”
He thought she’d fallen. He didn’t understand yet what her most recent idea was. And yes, it was supremely stupid.
But the voice of reason wasn’t quite enough to overcome her craving. She stepped up to him. She didn’t want to go back to his empty, expensive house. She didn’t want to go home to her empty loft over a garage filled with other people’s furniture.
He stepped back and said, “Whoa,” exactly like he was talking to his horse.
She knew that she was high on adrenaline and had been manhandled one too many times today. She wanted to take that power back, and this was one of her primary sources of power. Men wanted her.
She wanted this man. She wanted him on his knees. She wanted to be enveloped by the scent of him and forget this day and remember this day all at once.
She pushed her lips to his, feeling his beard tickling her chin.
He pulled away far too easily. “What are you doing?”
“I’m knitting a sweater. What do you think I’m doing?”
“This is not a good idea,” he repeated.
She yanked back. “Are you married?” And why did the prospect devastate her?
“No!”
“Dating? Committed?”
