Page 109 of Bucked Hard

“I’ve watched you ride. This isn’t your first time in a saddle.” His sapphire eyes trace up and down, and I feel wherever they touch me.

“No, I rode growing up. Mostly flat seat and hunter jumper. Never did much Western. Even did some horse shows, had my own horse for a few years before I left for college. Thought about riding again once I graduated, but I’ve been so busy with work.”

“Uh huh,” he answers, but I’m not sure if he’s bored or disgusted. Or maybe I don’t speak cowboy. “You look a little young to be done with college.”

“I’m an overachiever.” I can’t help the smile that sticks to my lips, making my cheeks hurt. He must think I’m a simpleton, the way I’m half star-struck. “Never took summers off. Graduated faster than most.”

“Doesn’t surprise me.” He clears his throat and settles his hands on the horn of his saddle, and I think he might say more, but instead, the talk turns to business. “So, today we’re going to ride out up over the creek and herd about ten head of cattle that have wandered onto a neighboring property. You follow my lead, and we’ll be fine. You have any questions, you just ask, okay? Keeping you safe is the most important thing.”

I nod, feeling the sincerity in his words, and a cloak of safety calms me. “I’m ready. I want to have the whole Big Sky experience so I can let my readers know exactly what to expect for their money.”

Garrett murmurs and nods, then tips his head and eases his horse forward. I follow, taking in the width of his shoulders and the way his body shifts and moves with each step of the horse. The hint of hair peeking out under his hat is dark, with barely a hint of silver. I’ve never craved a man’s attention, but I admit the last few days I’ve spent a little more time looking in the mirror.

Checking my hair. Fussing with my tits in my bra, making sure they are at their perkiest. Wearing my tightest jeans. Debating the whole panties or no panties dilemma.

My common sense is evaporating, and I seem to be at a loss as to how to stop it.

He shifts in his saddle, tipping his head toward the meadow behind the corral. “We’ll ride out about a mile, to the west pasture. Hopefully, find the cattle still up there, then it will be about two hours to the north. We should be back in plenty of time for dinner. You eat a good lunch? Don’t want you getting hungry.”

I lie. “Yep, I ate fine.” I barely picked at my food, unable to swallow anything as thoughts of being with him today swam in my head.

“Good. Harriet likes to be sure guests enjoy the food here. If I do say so, with due respect, you fill out a pair of jeans nicely. Would hate to see that change.” He turns to give me a half smile and heat bursts onto my cheeks.

“You’re corny, but I guess I should say thank you.”

“Yes, you should, and yes I am. And you’re welcome.” His white teeth flash behind those lips I’m sure would be life changing to kiss. “Let’s go then.”

As we ride, I’m surprised to find us slipping into an easy conversation. Since I arrived here, he’s barely said a word to me. We talk back and forth about the ranch and my work. Garrett grew up here. His father and mother passed away within a week of each other a couple of years back, still living and working right here.

I tell him about my blog, and I’m taken aback when it takes a while to explain to him what a blog is. When I ask him if he has a cell phone so he can look at it, he laughs. Tells me he has an old flip phone back at the house. Harriet, the woman that works the dude ranch, is his sister, and she insisted he get a cell phone. He admits he never remembers to charge it, let alone take it with him.

As we go, the low rush of the creek carries on the wind. When the water comes into view, it’s running fast. Down and over boulders, hissing where it falls. There’s a mist hanging in the dip from the rushing creek, cooling the early summer air.

“Wow,” I half-shout over the noise. “That’s quite a creek.”

“Yeaup.” Garrett hitches his hat back on his head, resting one hand on his thigh while the other holds the reins balanced on the saddle horn. I see the muscle in his jaw tighten and move under his skin. “It’s a bit more than a creek.”

“Can we take a minute? I’d like to get some pictures.”

“Sure.” Garrett looks around quickly, then dismounts, leading his horse behind him. He steps toward me, retrieving my reins as I swing my leg over and bounce to the soft ground below.

He leads the horses toward some open grass, loosely wrapping the leather reins around some low branches before coming back toward the bank of the creek where I’m standing.

“They going to be okay there?”

He nods, running a hand down over his mouth and clutching his jaw before he answers. “Yeaup. They’re good horses. Might pull out and get into some grass, but they’ll stay put. They know the drill.”

I pull my phone out of my back pocket and shake out my legs. When I look up, Garrett is staring dead at me, his eyes darker than usual.

The fantasies I’ve had of him slipping into my cabin at night and taking me, hard and fast with a hand clamped over my mouth, flood back, and I’m flushed with embarrassment as though he can sense my thoughts.

As much as I try to deny the clear signals from my body, it’s impossible. These raw, lustful feelings I have for Garrett are unlike anything I’ve had before, let alone the scarlet fantasies he’s drawn from me. I’m ashamed of some of the things that have flashed through my mind the last two days.

Rough. Hard. Unapologetic.

Bordering on illegal.

I shrug a shoulder to my ear, trying to silence the tightening in my core before I combust and scare the life out of this wholesome rancher.

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