Page 15 of Omega's Refuge

He chuckled. “You’re mighty judgmental.”

“Nah. Just observant.”

“Oh, really?” He twisted his lips. “Would it surprise you to know I read a lot? Or even that I can read at all?”

I smirked. “You mean like cereal boxes?”

“Very funny.” He narrowed his eyes as he watched me, and I felt a little pulse of attraction snap between us. “I’d be nice, if I were you, Tanner.”

“Why? You gonna tie me up and learn me a lesson in manners?” I asked with an exaggerated Texas drawl, having fun teasing him.

“Hmm.” He ran his eyes over my body and didn’t try to hide it. “Tempting idea.”

I snorted at how obvious he was being, but I’d have been lying if I didn’t admit his flirtatious tone excited me. “Tony won’t cross any lines. How about you?”

“Nah, you’re safe,” he said softly. “For now.” He gave his horse a gentle kick and he took off after a steer that was breaking off from the herd.

I blew out a shaky breath, trying to ignore how attractive I found Rex. He was the first alphaI’d been tempted to flirt with in years. There was just something about him. I’d felt it the minute we met. Then I’d had my little sexual fantasy about him last night too. He was definitely hard to ignore. When Steve suddenly rode up beside me, I jumped guiltily.

“I hate this place,” he announced, scowling at Rex’s back.

I immediately shut down my attraction to Rex. “What’s wrong?” I asked innocently.

“For one thing, I’ve discovered I hate horses and cows with a passion.” He screwed his face up in distaste. “And it’s dusty and smelly here.”

“You’re not enjoying this at all?” I gestured to the wide open space, and the gorgeous mountains that encircled us. “It’s breathtaking.”

He shot me a cynical glance and nodded his head toward Rex. “Don’t you meanhe’sbreathtaking?”

I flushed, but countered with, “Don’t start, Steve. You seemed to be enjoying Tony’s attention just fine.”

His face tensed. “He was helping me with my piece of shit horse.”

“Sure he was.”

His cheeks had a pink tint. “You’re imagining things, T. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Neither did I.”

He blew out a harsh breath. “Okay, good. So neither one of us is doing anything wrong. But I still hate it here.”

I gritted my teeth. “You do remember you picked this place, right? This certainly wasn’tmyidea.”

He looked irritated. “I know, but it isn’t turning out like I’d hoped.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. We can’t just have nonstop sex. You’re the one who signed us up for horses and cows. Now we’re stuck here.”

He lifted his chin. “Why don’t we leave early?”

I was shocked how much I disliked his suggestion. It sent a wave of disappointment through me that took me completely by surprise. Especially considering I hadn’t wanted to come to a dude ranch to begin with. “You want to leave?”

“Yeah. Why not?” His gaze was intent. “What’s stopping us?”

“But we just got here.”

He scowled. “So?”

I grimaced. “You… you already paid for the trip, didn’t you?”

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