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Jove gets a little impatient, so he guides him nearer to the shore, turns him towards the far headland and adjusts his grip on the reins.
‘Time to blow away the cobwebs. Ready buddy?’
Jove stamps his feet, desperate to stretch his legs. He taps Jove’s side and he picks up pace, faster and faster until the crashing of hooves in the sea drowns out all the screaming in his head.
∞
Chloe sits in the grass with her notebook on her lap, watching the man on his horse. He had more than piqued her interest when she saw him from her gran’s garden high on the cliff, but from the same level it’s a whole other story.
She’d visited the beach around six am for the last three days and for each of those days he’d made an appearance. So much for sketching the wildlife. Since the minute he appeared, nothing else around her had been able to hold her attention as much as he does. She’s still working on the same drawing she’d started when she arrived.
Chloe ducks down in the grass careful not to be seen. It looks like he beat her down here today. He’s already been for a swim and is walking at the water’s edge, followed by the enormous black horse. Not much of a horse expert, Chloe had been amazed how the horse followed the man along the beach like an overgrown dog. The man stopped, so did the horse. He walked and the horse fell into step beside him.
He comes out from behind the horse and faces the animal. Chloe smiles as he rests his forehead against the horse’s head and talks to it. Something about him is familiar but she can’t figure out what. She seriously doubts they’ve met before. There’s little chance she would forget an event like that.
Whoever he is, he’s breaking her heart. She’s seen him kick at the sand, watched as he rocked himself, his hands buried in his hair. Something is tearing him apart. Something happened or is happening that he can’t deal with. Something he can’t get through.
She feels terrible spying on him, but she doesn’t want to leave him alone. He’s suffering. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to him when he was alone down here.
He mounts the horse and it wades into the sea until the water is half way up the man’s legs. As the horse pushes through the sea, the man reaches over and runs his hand through the water. Chloe can’t take her eyes off him. Her heart is doing a crazy dance in her chest at the sight. She can’t think why. It’s just a gorgeous guy in the sea on his horse. Nothing to get excited about.
A slightly larger wave hits, soaking him, but all he does is laugh and brush his wet hair off his face. Nothing at all sexy about the image in the slightest. Just like there was nothing sexy about him emerging from the sea, waves crashing around him, the water droplets clinging to his toned chest and stomach that first day she saw him. Nope, not sexy at all.
All too soon, he guides the horse to the edge and gallops back down the beach and around the corner. ‘See you tomorrow.’
She gathers her pencils, stuffing them into her rucksack and walks back along the beach and down the path to where she parked the truck. She stops by her gran’s battered pickup and rummages in the bottom of her bag for the keys. As usual, they prove to be illusive, hiding among the pencils and pieces of paper.
‘Damn it.’
Chloe freezes when she hears a loud snort behind her. She grimaces and slowly looks over her shoulder. The black horse is standing on the path opposite the one she came from. The man is on its back and he’s even more breath-taking close up. A lot taller than she initially thought too. His dark blue eyes are serious as he looks down at her from the back of his equally large horse.
Instead of staring into his eyes, or at his face, or his broad chest, she looks down at his legs. His jeans are wet and covered in sand as are his boots. She can feel his dark eyes boring into her as she dumbly stares at his legs. She has to say something before this goes from just plain awkward to seriously awkward.
‘Hi.’ She looks up at his face but instead of responding he continues to silently look at her. ‘Sorry. I’m just looking for my keys.’
‘They’re on the ground at your feet.’
His deep husky voice is a perfect match for him, but does nothing to steady her school girl nerves. ‘Thanks.’ Chloe picks her keys off the ground and shakes the dirt off. ‘I know this beach is private, but it’s stunning. The beach I mean. Anyway, I am sorry for trespassing, but I couldn’t resist the scenery.’ She feels her cheeks burning. ‘The scenery around here it’s pretty special. Is it yours? I mean, is the beach yours?’
He frowns and slowly shakes his head. ‘No.’
Chloe blows out a breath. ‘Phew. So we’re both trespassing. That’s a relief. I won’t tell if you don’t.’ Oh dear god would you please shut up. She hears the words pouring out of her mouth but doesn’t appear to have any control over the embarrassing uncontrollable babbling.
‘I’ve got permission from the owners.’
She nods. ‘Ah. Right. Well that’s different. Can you please forget you saw me? I won’t come back. I promise.’
‘You’re not local.’
‘No. I’m here for a few months. My grandmother lives a few miles up the road. I presume you’re from around here. Unless you have a horse trailer hidden somewhere.’
He pauses and his frown deepens. ‘Yeah. I’m from around here.’
‘It’s a beautiful area. The wildlife is spectacular.’ She pats her rucksack. ‘I draw in my spare time. Well, I try to.’
He nods but doesn’t say anything. Instead of listening to common sense. She lets her mouth take control. ‘I mainly like to draw landscapes and wildlife, hence coming down here.’
‘Right.’
