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She grins. Sun catches the gold in her hair and, for a second, I lose my train of thought. I want to run my tongue along the sweat-damp skin at her collarbone. I want to take her right out here in the sage, fuck her until she can’t remember her own damn name.
Instead, I clear my throat, trying to reset. “Maggie’s my twin. I’m older, but she will tell you that means absolutely nothing. Of course, it pisses her off anyway.” I glance over and catch Inez’s reaction.
She’s got those big green eyes on me. Her tongue darts out, wetting her lower lip, and my blood roars in my ears. My cock’s been hard since we left the barn, but right now, it’s an iron bar jammed against my zipper. Jesus.
“She’d say she’s the smarter one,” I add. “More ruthless, too. But she likes to meddle in my business when she thinks I’m not paying attention. She can smell a lie coming off me from a mile away. She’s three minutes younger, but spends every waking moment trying to catch up. I let her think she does, sometimes.”
Inez laughs, soft and sweet, the sound twisting heat through my gut. “Maggie sounds fierce,” she says, shaking her head.
“She is.” I laugh. “She had to be to deal with all of us.”
Inez goes quiet, her profile sharp and beautiful against the dying sun. “It must be nice. Having that kind of loyalty.”
The words twist something deep in my chest. For a second, I can’t answer. All I can do is stare at the way her hair glows copper in the bright sunlight, the determined angle of her jaw, the softness in her eyes.
Fuck, she’s perfect.
I crowd my horse up next to hers, so close her knee brushes my thigh. She tilts her head back, sunlight hitting her cheekbones. Pure hunger spikes through my veins. My cock’s gone diamond-hard in my jeans, and all I want is to haul her off her horse and pin her to the nearest patch of grass.
I make myself breathe.
“It wasn’t always easy,” I say, voice tight. “But no matter what, we had each other. That’s what loyalty means out here. You don’t leave anybody behind.” Her eyes go even softer, almost shimmering green. I want to drown in that look.
She reaches out and tucks a sweaty strand of hair behind her ear, uncertainty flickering across her face. “I never really had that. Everybody says my family’s close, but honestly, they’re all doing their own thing. You’re lucky, Silas.” I open my mouth to say something, but the sky above us cracks in half. Thunder rolls so loud it shoves the air through my chest, then the rain comes down like someone just flipped a switch.
Fuck. It’s instant. A wall of water, drenching everything. In two seconds flat, shirts are pasted to skin, jeans glued to thighs. I glance over, expecting her to shriek, but Inez laughs and tips her head back, wild red hair turning dark and heavy as she’s blasted by the downpour. Her grin sparks right through the storm.
“Move!” I shout, snapping the reins. She’s already ahead, legs tight around Dolly, leaning low and fast. I kick Barnaby straight after her, mud splattering my boots, hooves eating up the ground.
We tear down the trail, water stinging my face, visibility shot to hell. I push us harder, ignoring the burn in my legs, just wanting her safe and dry. She rides like she was born for it, all instinct and nerve, and I fucking love her for that.
By the time we make it into the covered barn aisle, both of us are dripping, breathless, and soaking wet. She swings down, cheeks flushed, raindrops sparkling at her lashes. That laugh bursts out of her again, bright as daylight, and it’s all I can do not to drag her into my arms and shut the whole world out.
CHAPTER SIX
INEZ
Rain pelts the barn roof like a fistful of nails, so loud it’s all I can hear for a second. The sharp, metallic slap of water on tin echoes through the empty air, drowning out my heartbeat, which is honestly impressive, given how hard it’s trying to break free from my chest.
My boots hit the ground with a squelch so juicy it’s basically obscene. I can’t help but bust out laughing when water pools on the threshold, then comes with me in sheets down my jeans, flooding into my boots, and soaking my socks straight through. Silas is right behind me, shoulders squared, every line of him asking for trouble. We’re both dripping, with mud streaked up to our knees, shirts and denim plastered to every inch of skin.
“Joe, Chris, come here,” Silas calls out, voice sharp enough to slice the storm in half.
Two ranch hands materialize from the far aisle, moving quickly and purposefully. Joe is older, with that permanent summer tan and a ball cap that doesn’t look like it’s ever left his head. He takes one look at me and blinks twice, like he’s seeing a ghost. Chris, younger and taller, grins like this is the best entertainment he’s had all week.
Silas doesn’t waste a beat. He hands them the reins, rattling out orders. “Get these two dried off. Blankets, extra hay, the whole nine.” He’s already off, shoving Barnaby’s lead into Joe’s hand.
Chris tosses Silas a salute, then leads Dolly away, boots thudding down the aisle. The horses vanish into the blue-dark haze at the far end, their hooves beating time with the thunder until the sound fades to nothing.
Now it’s just Silas and me.
My hair is pasted flat against my cheeks, the back of my neck… Basically, I’m a wreck. My top is a lost cause, soaked through and clinging to my chest so tight I can see the outline of my bra and every single goosebump, even in the dim barn lighting. I wrap my arms around myself, not even pretending it’s for modesty. The cold is a full-body experience. My teeth are chattering like wind-up toys.
Silas turns and takes me in, head to toe, that dark stare eating up every inch of the mess I’m offering. His jaw ticks, then he jerks his head toward the house.
“Come on. Let’s get dry.” The words are simple, but the tone is pure command, and it does something to my insides that has nothing to do with the weather.
I nod, then instantly regret it as a stream of rainwater sluices off my hair and down my spine. Holy moly, that’s cold. My knees threaten to fold, but I force myself forward, following Silas out the side door and into the yard.
