Page 12 of Breaking Her In

He was hard, I know that. I could see the bulge, very visible, beneath his dirty jeans. His eyes were flaming as he raked my body with them, and yet hestillturned away like I’m some little girl who doesn’t know what she’s doing. Like I’m a mistake just waiting to be made.

But he’s wrong. He doesn’t know anything about me.

And I’m just dying to show him.

I’ve literallyfelthis gaze on my skin since I first arrived. I’ve heard him muttering things about me below his breath when he thinks I’m out of earshot. I’ve seen the way his fists clench tightly and his jaw flexes whenever he checks me out or I sass him.

Colt wants me. There’s no question about it.

So then why won’t he act on it? Is he just too stubborn to admit it? Is it some kind of gentleman-cowboy code that I don’t know about?

Well, if he won’t do something, I will. I’m tired of pretending there isn’t something going on between us.

I slam the barn door shut behind me so hard that the horses shift in their stalls, whinnying nervously. The morning sun is high, slanting through the windows in golden shafts that light the dust as I march past the stacks of hay bales and the saddles hanging from their racks.

I know he’s in here. I can feel him.

And sure enough, as I walk down the row between the stalls, I hear him. That low, gravelly voice, rumbling a curse at a broken feed bucket. The sound of his boots on dirty concrete. “Nobody else to get this goddamn work done,” he mutters, drawing a smile from my lips.

“There he is,” I say loudly, crossing my arms and smirking down at him where he kneels in the hay.

Colt looks up, and the second his eyes land on my body, I feel it. That raw, electric tugging sensation that makes the air too thick to breathe and causes my heartrate to skyrocket. His face is a storm of indignation–eyes narrow, brow furrowed–but behind it all, there’s something incredibly hot that pulls at me like gravity.

It’sneed.

“Lena,” he say slowly, his voice low and controlled, like I’m some spooked little barn cat he doesn’t want to scare off. “No more screwing around–”

“I’m not here to play games, Colt,” I interrupt, stepping closer.

He nods. “That’s good. Then turn your little ass around and march out of this barn and let me work.”

I pause, smile, and shake my head. “Sorry. That’s not happening.”

He stands up slowly. His shoulders look even broader in the shaft of light illuminating him like he’s on a stage, his white tee clinging to the sweat slicking his enormous chest. He chucks the feed bucket behind him with a loudclang, almost like he’s trying to intimidate me.

All it does is turn me on even more.

“I’m your boss here, Lena–”

“I’m tired of you acting like you don’t see me,” I snap, my emotions rising up in my chest. I’m hot, and my cheeks are burning. “Sick and tired of this strong, angry cowboy act you’re putting on. Youwatchedme last night, Colt. You looked at me like you wanted to throw me over your shoulder and have your way with me.”

A growl sounds low and deep in his throat.

“But then you turned away and ran off like I’m some little girl you’re too scared to touch because you might break her.” His throat tightens. His eyes darken. “Well, guess what, Colt? I’m not some little sweet thing that needs protection. No matter what you think.”

I’m right in front of him now, close enough to see the storm cloud raging in his eyes. His lips are a slim, furious line, and just to push him even further, I reach up and tap him on the chest with my index finger. Daring him.

“You want me,” I whisper. “Admit it.”

“Stop,” he rasps, looking away.

“Admit it,”I repeat, louder.

“Stop it, Lena,” he repeats, his voice dangerously tense.

I swing my face in front of his, forcing him to look at me. “Make me.”

His hands fly up before I can even blink. One snatches my wrist, the other presses against my hip, and suddenly I’m pinned up against the rough wood of the nearest stall with a force that nearly knocks the wind out of me.

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