Page 63 of Hold the Line

Cattle were visible in the far distance, and in a month or two, Caleb and the other ranch hands would probably move them over this way. There was a lot to take in—miles and miles of pristine land—and I was eager to show Deacon all of it.

“Next time, we’ll ride horses.”

He glanced my way. “Never done it.”

“Don’t worry. We have a lot of horses who go on trail rides with tourists. They’re so used to first-timers, they barely have to be guided.”

“I’m guessing you have your own horse.”

“I do, but that’s not unusual. At least half the kids we went to school with had horses at home.”

“Probably. Chris didn’t, but his uncle has stables, so he knows how to ride. What’s your horse’s name?”

“Princess.” His grunt made me laugh. “I know, not very creative, but I named her when I was seven. She’s an old girl now. I don’t ride her anymore. We can visit her before we leave, though. She’s supersweet.”

“Can’t imagine any animal of yoursnotbeing sweet.” He turned his head to peer at the land. “Glad you had this life. Sweet animals, gorgeous land, all this freedom. Glad it was you who got it.”

Reaching across the vehicle, I squeezed his thigh. “I’m pleased I get to share it with you.”

When we made it to the bank of the river running through the ranch, I parked the vehicle and hopped out, circling around the back to grab my bag from the open bed. Of course, as soon as I did, Deacon took it from me and slung it over his shoulder, taking my hand in his.

He stared out at the river. “Is the fun freezing our asses off?”

I snorted a laugh. Spring was in full force, but it was still way too cool to take a dip in the river unless…

“There’s a thermal seep at the bank.” I pointed toward the rings of rocks in the water. “A long time ago, my grandad put those rocks there to trap the hot water, and now we have natural mineral hot pools.”

He took a deep breath and exhaled. “I thought that was the cattle I was smelling. It's sulfur, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. That’s the downside, but you get used to it.” I tugged on his hand. “If you hate it, we don’t have to stay.”

He turned to me, scanning my leggings and baggy sweatshirt. Not my usual style, but easier to get in and out of than jeans and a sweater. “Are you going to be wearing a bathing suit?” I nodded, and he grinned. “Then I’m not going to hate it.”

At the water’s edge, he dropped our bag. I didn’t bother hiding that I was looking at him as he undressed, and neither did he. We stood a foot apart, stripping down to our bathing suits—his, a pair of black trunks; mine, a magenta, high-waisted, vintage-style two-piece. Our clothes at our feet, we looked at each other, long and slow. Goose bumps pricked my skin, mostly from the cool breeze but a little from having his eyes on me.

Deacon in his work boots, worn jeans, and snug T-shirts made me weak on a regular basis, but in swim trunks with all his ink on display? Oh, that was something else. I reminded myself he wanted to go slow, and we’d only been back together for a week, so my hands stayed at my sides, but they were twitching to touch him.

Especiallywith all the heat burning in his gaze. He was making no bones about appreciating what my full body looked like in very little clothing. When his gaze stopped at the apex of my thighs, where my bathing suit disappeared between them, I couldn’t resist rubbing my legs together. His eyes jerked to mine, then he grabbed my hand and tugged, striding into the river.

He had to slow down and release his hold so we could climb over the rocks, but once we were in the little natural pool, he grabbed me again and sank down, me practically on top of him.

The groan he released as the water lapped over his shoulders sent waves of satisfaction down my spine. His eyes locked onto mine, something like wonder softening them.

“This is natural?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Only the rock formations are man-made.”

“Christ.” His head fell back as he blinked up at the clear blue sky. “This land…do you get used to it? Or are you always amazed?”

I thought about his question and how I could respond in a way that didn’t make me sound like a spoiled, rotten brat. In a lot of ways, this was my backyard. It just happened to be thousands and thousands of acres. But I understood how vastly different my experience growing up here was from almost everyone else’s—especially Deacon’s.

“As a kid, I don’t think I ever thought twice.” I skimmed my hand along the surface of the water. “It was when I moved away and came back I was really able to appreciate all the beauty around me. There’s nowhere else on earth like this.”

“Yeah.” He rolled his shoulders and let out a long, low sigh. “Remind me to tell your grandad he’s a genius.”

I shifted in the water, my breasts skimming his chest. “Relaxing, right? The minerals are supposed to have healing properties too.”

He lifted his head to stare me down, then he captured me around the waist, plastering me against him. I opened my legs so I could straddle him, settling my ass on his thighs.

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