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“I’ll take her.” Declan reached for the rope and led the mare a few yards away.
Belle eyed the mare, a distrustful downturn to her lips now that she was closer to it.
“Not around horses much?” He let the horse grow accustomed to his scent before he ran his hand down her neck.
Belle’s lips tensed more at the corners. If he didn’t know how she looked in the throes of ecstasy with his cock moving inside her, he wouldn’t have noticed the change.
“No,” she said. “I own a horse.”
“You look a little nervous.”
She attempted a step closer, but she walked stiffly, as if forcing herself to move. “My family boarded horses. I can do horses…but I’m not a horse girl.”
He watched her, silently urging her to continue talking to him by giving her a listening ear.
The mare sniffed Belle and made a quiet noise.
“She likes you.” Declan smoothed his hand over her soft coat again.
Belle didn’t touch her, but she did pull out another bit of apple. “Okay, I fell off a horse when I was younger. They’re still not my favorite. I’ll brush manes all day. I’ll feed them carrots and apples.”
The horse took the apple but left a slick of saliva slime on her palm.
“Agh!”
“Here, I’ve got something for that.” He fished in his back pocket for a handkerchief he always carried for times like this. When he flicked his wrist to unfurl it, Belle reached to take the cloth.
The horse nudged her arm, and she dropped the handkerchief in the snow.
She bent to retrieve it, sinking her fingers into the layer of fresh snow and then straightened. She used the cloth to wipe off the saliva. “I’m used to mishaps that are a lot bigger. Stuff like that happens to me a lot.”
Several riders were already mounted up and setting out to the meeting spot at the trailhead.
“Declan!” someone called.
He looked around to see the ranch hand striding his way with another mount in tow.
Belle saw his dilemma, that he needed to take the horse but already had one in hand.
She inched nearer, slowly reaching for the lead rope. “I’ll just…”
He caught her gaze and held it. “You sure you’re okay with this?”
“Yes.” She pushed some force behind her words that sounded more like the Belle he’d first met at that party. The one who definitely needed something harder to drink than champagne.
He didn’t immediately release the rope.
“I’ve got it, Declan.”
With a nod, he relinquished the horse to her care and met the ranch hand to take the beautiful black mare. He also swept his gaze around the area to gain a feel for the group.
“The ride’s starting shortly. You’d better mount up if you don’t want to be left behind,” the hand told him.
“Got it, thanks.” He gave him a nod of appreciation and led the horse to Belle and her mare.
Belle eyed him and the larger mount.
He needed to be honest with her. Well, as honest as hecouldbe.
