Page 48 of Riding High

‘Jesus, Eden, when you look at me like that…’ he muttered, every word coated with a layer of frustration and desperation.‘I’m a man, not a goddamn saint!’

Lust retreated, just a little, enough to get the sparkplugs powering her brain working again.She couldn’t keep changing her mind; she wasn’t a kid.

Slipping her feet into her shoes, Eden picked up her phone and walked to his front door.Jed reached around her to open it, and Eden sighed.How she wished she could be spontaneous and live in the moment, to be brave.Not worry about the consequences.

She gestured to the kitchen, closed her eyes and pushed her fingers into her forehead.‘I’m sorry about…’Jeez.She swallowed.‘I’m sorry.’

He didn’t pretend to misunderstand.‘Me too,’ he said.‘I think we would’ve had some fun.’

His words were light, but his eyes held a load of regret and… was that curiosity?He knew there was more to her no than she was saying.She swallowed and tried to find a breezy, hopefully cool, way to say goodbye.A bit difficult when she didn’t want to leave him, when she was oh-so-tired of being on her own.

When all she wanted to do was feel his big arms around her, his mouth on hers, and have him sliding into her and making her whole?

But present pleasure wasn’t worth future pain.

‘Have you decided whether to get involved in organising the charity polo match?’he asked.

Her head whirled at his conversational one-eighty, as she’d been thinking about their hot-as-the-earth’s-core kiss the last time she’d stood here.

‘I am waiting for the first meeting and will decide after that,’ she told him.

‘I hope you do get involved because Mick will need the help, and you need something to do besides watching us practise.’

Jed made her sound like a K-pop fangirl.Not that there was anything wrong with fangirling, but she never thought she was the type to spend so much time watching a guy.On a horse.‘Is me watching you train a problem?’

His eyes narrowed.‘You’re hell on my concentration,’ he told her, his voice rough.He looked up at the sky, shoulders hunched around his ears.‘There’s no fun in being tempted by something that’s not on offer, Eden.So, please, for the love of God, find something to do.’

She wanted to protest and thought about arguing, but then realised she’d come across as being difficult and immature.She couldn’t drool over him and then bat him away.She wasn’t fifteen, for God’s sake.

Eden was about to walk away when Jed flashed her a dimmer-than-normal, but still knee-dissolving smile.‘By the way, if you still want pizza, there’s a couple in the freezer in Di’s pantry.Defrost it slowly, then blast it on high.’

Later, when she was tucking into his pizza, she thought that if Jed made love as well as he made pizza, then she should say to hell with worrying about complications, confusion and the future, and jump him as soon as she possibly could.

* * *

What the hell was he doing at this meeting?

He had a polo team to captain and manage, ponies to train and gym sessions to attend.Yet here he was, sitting in an ex-church, now village hall, waiting for his sister to roll in so that they could finally start the inaugural meeting for the charity polo match.

Why did he think this was a good idea?

Jed shoved his hand into his hair and leaned back on the rickety chair, placing his ankle on his knee.He was tired, pissed off and sexually frustrated, and the reason for his constant state of horniness sat directly opposite him, a pen and fresh notepad on the long steel table in front of her.Until today, he’d never realised how sexy a white t-shirt and a denim skirt could be.

Why hadn’t she just said yes when he’d offered to take her to bed?Their chemistry was off the charts, and they would’ve enjoyed a week’s worth of good sex, had she agreed.Instead, he felt like a rabid beast was gnawing on his insides and his skin felt too tight for his body.

He couldn’t figure out why she’d said no, and why she was avoiding him.Was it because he stated he didn’t want a relationship, that he was only interested in a fling at most?She was in her late twenties, surely she didn’t expect sex to equal a relationship?Was she turned off by his lack of commitment?Maybe.

And for the record, while he couldn’t commit to a woman, he was fully able to commit to everything else, his family, polo, his friendships, his carpentry projects.What was her problem?

Frustrated, he looked at his watch and decided he’d give Mick five more minutes and then he was done.Thankfully, the heavy wooden door opened…finally.Jed gritted his teeth as his half-brother strolled in, all polished confidence in navy chinos and an untucked shirt, his expensive watch peeking from under a silver and leather bracelet.Jed, in contrast, knew he looked like hell, unshaven, dirt-streaked, his polo shirt sporting God knew what.So far, Eden had yet to sneeze, and he was covered in horse dander and dust.Was her horse allergy improving?

He hoped so.He plucked his dirty shirt off his sticky chest.He still felt like the grubby peasant their father refused to acknowledge.

And it royally pissed him off.

‘The Duke of Dick,’ he said, on a snarl.‘What are you doing here?’

Henry briefly closed his eyes, and then, straightening his shoulders, he walked into the room, eyes locked on his.‘Jed.Can we please stop with the bullshit and have a beer?’