Page 46 of Beautiful Distraction

Without waiting for my reply, he grabs my hands and guidesme while telling me their names and recalling how he got each one of them.

I try to listen, but all I can think about is his fingers onmy skin, the heat of his body, the strength emanating from him.

“This is Brenna,” Kellan says. “She’s the quietest, mostpatient quarter horse I’ve ever had.”

“She’s beautiful.” I stroke her muzzle, almost expectingBrenna to bite or otherwise express her displeasure. To my surprise, she seemsto like it.

“You should ride.”

“I can’t,” I say.

“Can’t or won’t?” Kellan asks.

“I can’t ride,” I say dryly. “You, being the expert, havealready figured that out.”

“You’ll pick it up in no time.” He looks up at the sky andfrowns. Dark clouds are gathering in the distance, but it doesn’t look likeit’ll rain soon. “Wait here while I get a saddle.”

I wait until he’s out of hearing distance before I turn toBrenna. “You seem to know him well. You won’t tell me too that I should sleepwith him, will you?” She gives a snorting sound, and I laugh. “Exactly myopinion. He’s hot, but just because someone’s hot, that’s not enough of areason to bed him.” I reach over the fence to stroke her neck when I noticesomething moving.

The barking carries over too late.

I turn around the moment Kellan yells from a distance,“Sniper, no!”

But it’s too late. All I see is the blur of a rich black andtan mutt before paws settle on my shoulders and I tumble backward, landing onmy backside. The impact is softened by the blanket of mud reaching up to mycalves and now covering half of me. But I don’t have time to digest the factthat I’ve just landed on my backside in front of the hottest guy in history– oh, the mortification.

“Sniper, no,” Kellan commands. “Get off her now.”

I stare into the softest brown eyes. Sharp, exposed teethare barely inches away from my face, but there’s also a pink tongue that hangsout.

“Ava, don’t move,” Kellan whispers, the undercurrents of hisvoice filled with worry and—

Fear.

From the corner of my eyes, I watch him inch closer veryslowly, palms slightly raised, his voice whispering soothing words to theGerman Shepherd.

Oh, he can’t be serious.

I roll my eyes and struggle to sit up as I push the largedog aside. “Good boy,” I praise and pat his oversized head.

“No, don’t touch him,” Kellan says.

Seriously, he really sounds panicky.

“Why not? He’s such a sweetie.”

And he is.

The dog licks my wrist and leans into me, almost throwing meback into the mud. His enthusiasm and excitement are contagious, and I findmyself laughing.

It takes me a while to rise to my feet and look up all theway into Kellan’s eyes. His gaze is strange, filled with a heat so scorchinghot it burns my skin.

No one’s ever looked at me like that.

“He likes you,” Kellan says, taken aback. His voice carriesa mix of admiration and respect, but his face shows something else. “Do youhave a dog?”

“No, my parents never let me have one.” I look at Sniper, who’sjumping up and down, begging me to rub him in his dog language. “Why?”

He shrugs. “I was just wondering. This dog doesn’t likeanyone but me.”

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