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I lean against his chest as we ride back to the house; this time we go slower and he keeps one hand around my waist while he holds the reins with the other.
We ride in silence and I wonder if he is feeling as nervous, excited and confused as I am. Jax Decker is everything I have ever wanted and suddenly he feels so close, but so far away. He is my father’s best friend and I can’t help but wonder if that is where his loyalty will always lie.
CHAPTER 25
LUCIA
Matthias is waiting for us on the porch by the time we get back to the house. Jax helps me down from his horse then carries me inside.
“I can walk,” I protest but he glares at me, so I stop. Being held by him isn’t all that bad, after all.
“Let’s get some ice on that,” Molly says as soon as Jax puts me down. “Take off her shoes,” she barks to Jax and I smile at how he so easily complies.
He kneels on the floor in front of me, his head bent low as he removes my sneaker. This time when his hands brush over the skin of my ankle I feel tingles of electricity skitter up my leg. He looks up at me, a wicked glint in his eyes as his fingertips trail over my skin.
“Stop that,” I whisper.
He looks around the room. Matthias skipped after Molly to get ice and Cody is taking the horses to the stable. There’s nobody else here.
He dips his head low and presses a single soft kiss on my foot; it sends a surge of pleasure straight through me.
“Here we are,” Molly says loudly as she comes back into the room and hands me some ice wrapped in a dishtowel. “This is all I could find, sorry.”
“It’s perfect. Thank you,” I say with a smile.
“Let me,” Jax takes it from me and presses it against my skin. It feels so soothing against my inflamed ankle. I try not to look at him because then Molly will see that I’m completely besotted with him and that he just made me come in the middle of a field.
“Will you be able to walk soon, Momma?” Matthias asks as he sits beside me on the sofa.
“Most definitely,” I assure him.
Jax winks at me and I swear the rush of heat between my thighs almost makes me pass out.
The rest of the day is much more uneventful. Molly insists that I sit in the den with my foot up and watch TV while Jax agrees to take Matthias to see the horses. I know he’ll be teaching him how to ride but I try not to think too much about the possibility of him falling off. I know that Jax will look after him.
By suppertime, my ankle is much better and I can walk on it without much pain at all. I help Matthias wash up for dinner and I change into a summer dress because the evening is hot and humid. The ranch hands join us too, as well as Harvey. Jax sits at the opposite end of the table to his father and they barely make eye contact. Matthias sits next to Cody, who seems to be his new best friend, and that leaves a seat for me next to Jax.
Everyone is eating and talking when I feel Jax’s warm hand on my knee. I carry on my conversation with Cody as I try not to react while it slides between my thighs.
“So the Bulls or the Lakers?” Cody asks me.
I blink at him, so distracted by Jax’s wandering hand that my brain can’t form a word.
“Lucia?” he frowns at me and I remember that we were talking about basketball and the fact that I grew up in Chicago but now I live in LA.
“The Bulls,” I say. Glancing at Jax from the corner of my eye I see him grinning wickedly.
Cody starts talking about his high school record as Jax’s hand slides higher until his fingers brush my panties.
I almost choke on my own breath. How the hell does he expect me to maintain my calm here?
“Wow,” he mumbles and Cody and Molly look at him.
“I just didn’t expect it to be so hot and sticky is all.” He coughs loudly as he pulls his hand from beneath my dress. “The weather,” he adds but my cheeks flame with heat because that is so not what he meant and what if they know it, too?
Molly looks confused. “It’s always like this at this time of year.”
“Hmm,” he smiles to himself
