That’s when it hits me. He wants me to get on a horse with him.
I’ve never ridden a horse.
He drops my hand and grabs my shoulders. “Hey, you’re scared. It’s okay. Talk to me.”
“I’ve never ridden a horse, and Van Gogh is huge.”
“Sugar, one thing I’d never do is put you in danger. Ever. If I didn’t trust Van Gogh, we wouldn’t be going on a ride. He’s gentle, easy-going, and listens very well. He knows this ranch and where we will be going. It will be like driving a car on auto-pilot. And he isn’t easily spooked, either. You won’t have to worry about that. I wouldn’t put you in a dangerous situation. Ever. You’re telling me my badass tornado-chasing mate is afraid of Van Gogh?”
Well, when he puts it like that, it does seem a little ridiculous. Eyeing Van Gogh, he chews on the bit in his mouth and flicks his tail, then bends down so he can reach the grass. He seems harmless.
“Here.” Oklahoma takes my hand and guides it to Van Gogh’s face. “Let him smell you. He knows you’re important to me.”
“How?” I screech when he blows hot air on my knuckles from his nostrils.
Oakley chuckles, and it’s a sound I want to listen to for the rest of my life. “He smells me on you.”
Right at that moment, Van Gogh stretches his neck and bumps my stomach with his nose. His ears perk up, and a loud neigh leaves him, echoing across the Oklahoma plains.
“He can sense you’re pregnant too. You’ll be safe,” he explains, easing my worry. “There you go.” He must feel when I relax.
Those damn emotions.
“Ready to get up?”
“What… What do I do?” My eyes widen, and Van Gogh suddenly seems so much taller than he was a second ago.
“My girl will never do a damn thing.”
I squeal, not expecting him to pick me up so fast, and set me on the saddle. I grip Van Gogh’s neck when I look down, which was a mistake because wow, I’m high up. Too high up. I don’t know if I can do this.
Oklahoma is behind me; his presence calms me. The strength of his wide chest presses against my back, his steadfast nature sinking into me.
“I got you, Nariko. You’re doing such a good job. All I need you to do is keep your legs tight against Van Gogh.”
I swallow, hoping it coats my dry throat. My hands shake from how nervous I am, and we jostle from left to right as Van Gogh starts walking.
“Woah!” I hold onto the horn of the saddle, getting a good grip so I don’t fall, but Van Gogh stops. I glance left and right, then turn my head towards Oklahoma. “What happened? Why isn’t he moving?”
“You said ‘woah’ so he stopped. You have no reason to worry, Sugar.” He kisses my shoulder, his lips soft, the scruff of his trimmed beard tickling my warm skin.
I do as he says and take a deep breath in, then out. Oklahoma isn’t going to let anything happen to me. I lean back, needing to be near him to feel safe.
An ear-piercing whistle rings in my ear from him, and Van Gogh starts walking towards the pasture gate. Was the whistle some kind of language? Because Van Gogh listens immediately. My hand slaps Oklahoma’s thigh, and I curl my fingers into the firm muscle.
My vampire’s hands grip the reins. I focus on every digit, how thick and calloused they are. The veins in his forearms protrude when he tightens his hold, and a wave of arousal warms my cheeks.
I try to focus on something else. Anything else. The picnic basket hangs over the left of Van Gogh’s shoulder, a rope tied to the saddle horn keeping it from falling.
Nothing distracts me enough, especially when he buries his nose in my hair and inhales.
“I can’t get over how good you smell. You’re my favorite scent.” He continues to make me swoon.
I’m in love, pregnant, and mated. I can’t swoon any harder.
“I love that I get to spend an eternity seeing your hair blow in the wind and carry your fragrance to my lungs. I don’t think you know how obsessed I am with everything about you. I didn’tknow this is the life I wanted because two hundred years seemed like a long time to tend to a damaged heart like mine. Now, I can’t imagine anything else but you. My life before you was a constant storm, the kind that brings a ton of rain and it never stopped—until you—you chased those stubborn clouds away.”
I just fell more in love with him.
