Page 55 of Sunrise & Serenity

I wet my lips. “It was on both of us, then. I shouldn’t have given up on myself so easily, and he should never have expected me to.”

Holden’s gaze searches mine, his eyes almost black in the darkness, as if he’s trying to read between the lines. I don’t look away. And in the silence, energy charges the air between us.

Those dark eyes drift down to my mouth, and a muscle in his jaw flexes as his body goes taut. Once again, I’m flooded with images from my half-remembered dream: his lips on my skin, his muscles beneath my fingertips, his body against mine.

My breath catches, nipples beading against the thin material of my top, and a low sound rumbles in his chest.

Don’t do something stupid. Don’t do something stupid. Don’t do something stupid.

After Graham, the last thing I need is to distract myself with a man, even if it’s only for a short time.

Especially a man like Holden.

Especially a man whose family owns the ranch where I’m working.

We both move at the same time. He pulls back as I step to the side. Cool air rushes in to fill the space that heated up far too quickly.

My gaze darts over his face, and I clear my throat. “I should probably go back to bed. Now that I know a cat isn’t being murdered.”

His nod is slow, his attention still fixed on mine.

With a shaky breath, I turn and beat a hasty retreat to my cabin. But as I’m climbing the steps, he calls out to me. “Did your parents ever tell you?”

I pause with one hand on the banister and look back. “Tell me what?”

“That they were proud of you.”

A quiet ache spreads beneath my ribs. I shake my head, then give him a small smile. “There’s still time, though.”

Then I keep going, his gaze burning between my shoulder blades until I close the door behind me.

CHAPTER 14

HOLDEN

Cozy shifts under Sage before she’s ready for it, but instead of fighting for control the way she would have a few lessons ago, she adjusts. She’s improving, though she’s still too in her head, still trying to be perfect instead of just feeling it.

“Loosen your grip,” I tell her, arms crossed over my chest.

She exhales, fingers easing on the reins, and Cozy settles again almost immediately.

“Like that?” Her green-gold eyes dart toward me.

“Yep.”

I pivot to follow them as they circle me in the pen. She’s actually riding now, not just sitting on Cozy’s back.

“Don’t think about it so much,” I call out.

She lets out a short laugh. “That’s easy for you to say. You think riding bulls for a living is a good idea.”

I step closer, focused on Cozy as she shortens her stride, picking up on the tension that’s creeping back into Sage’s hands.

“Keep her moving,” I say. “You slow down, she will too.”

Sage adjusts, nudging Cozy forward again.

The mare responds cleanly but then breaks into a trot before Sage is ready, sending her listing to the right. Not much, but enough that a vision of her sliding out of the saddle flashes before my eyes.