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Hugh nodded. “I think they’d benefit from some richer grazing land. You take them over the ridge to the other side of the mountain?”
“That’s right.”
“Make it happen. The sooner the better.”
He considered the logistics behind that order. He and Ash often did the cattle drives between this ranch and the summer pasture. Normally, this wouldn’t raise an issue, but Sylvee was here. He didn’t want to waste a single second of time he could be spending with her.
An idea lit inside his brain—she could ride along. She grew up around horses—they all did. She could handle the ride.
Plus, it would give them all more time alone. She’d be stiff and her muscles sore. He and Ash could spend time working out all of her kinks, and introduce her to a few new ones too.
A dark swirl of need in the pit of his gut urged him to make the call without even a blink of hesitation.
“We’ll go today.”
* * * * *
Ash stared at Sylvee’s straight back and the way she held herself in the saddle. She hadn’t lost her touch with horses. The minute she mounted, she showed off for him and Piers, sending her horse into a little sidestep dance and then a turn.
She was a sight to behold in the saddle. His gaze dropped over her straight spine clad in a rugged plaid coat, down to her rounded ass. The roll of those perfect cheeks on the leather had him aching for the past hour that he followed behind her.
Hell, his erection hadn’t gone down since the minute he woke up with her beside him. In fact, it was growing more painful to ride by the mile.
He guided his horse into a faster pace, drawing abreast of Piers. “I’m calling for a break.”
Piers twisted his head to look at him. What he saw in Ash’s face made his eyes hood, all the response he needed.
They trotted along the path for a bit longer. The land pitched up an incline and then leveled off. Piers circled the herd, driving them into a small plot of ground next to the gravel track they rode on.
Sylvee guided her mount up next to Ash. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. “What’s Piers doing?”
“We’re stopping for a while.”
He’d found her a tan cowgirl hat to wear on the drive, and it suited her features so well that since the minute she settled it in place it was difficult for him to picture her without it.
“Goddamn, you’re a beautiful woman, Peachy.”
Her lips parted. She met his gaze for a heartbeat before glancing away. “You always flattered me too much.”
“No such thing as too much.”
Piers issued a low whistle that redirected their attention. The place they’d stopped had a small patch of low grass and was hemmed in on three sides by trees. That meant they only needed to watch that the herd didn’t roam past one border.
When Piers guided his mount toward them, his chiseled body rolled with the movement of his horse. The way his Stetson dipped low over his eyes made Ash’s gut clench.
Sylvee issued a soft sigh. “Now that’s a beautiful man.”
“Damn straight he is.”
“So are you. I’d like to—” She broke off.
Drawing his gaze from Piers, he fixed it on Sylvee’s face to find her chewing her full bottom lip. He’d always felt close to her, but since last night when he was moving inside her, that feeling was amplified.
“Why don’t you get off that horse and show me what you’d like to do?”
Her jaw dropped, which pulled a low chuckle from him. He swung his leg off his mount and slipped to the ground. When she did the same, he was already at her side, hands on her waist to guide her.
Without hesitation, he spun her to face him, cupped her face and kissed her. The soft brush of lips quickly faded to the rich passion that whipped through him like the spring thaw ravaged the land.
