Page 23 of Cowboy Stole My Heart
“Laugh all you like, but there’s nothing I would change about your riding or his capabilities.”
He saw her smile and knew she liked the compliment.
“Don’t go getting a big head, just ride him and talk to him.”
She did exactly that, and he had no idea what she told the horse, but he cleared the grid beautifully, his timing perfect, his legs tucked neatly under him, his ears pricked. Even when he landed he didn’t try to rush off.
“Perfect!” he called out.
Mia slowed him to a trot then a walk, loosening her reins and letting the horse stretch his neck out. She did a big circle before coming over to him, but her smile was gone, replaced with a deep frown as she stretched her leg out, foot out of the stirrup as she flexed her ankle.
“Shit,” she swore, dropping her reins as she went to dismount.
“What?” he asked. “What happened?”
“Ugh, cramp in my calf,” she moaned. “It’s bad.”
“Stop,” he ordered as she went to wriggle down. He placed his hands on her leg, pulling her long black leather boot off.
Mia stayed still, leg stretched out as he dropped her boot and started to massage her muscle, pushing his fingers hard into her leg. He rubbed back and forth, knowing exactly what that kind of cramp felt like.
“Better,” she murmured as he kept working, not about to stop now that he knew it was helping.
Sam glanced up at her, saw the relief on her face, eyes shut, face tilted up to the sky. He smiled and kept kneading, wishing his fingers were on her bare skin instead of through her riding pants.
“Thanks,” she said, flexing again, and he took his hands off her.
“No problem. Great riding out there.”
It was hot, the sun unrelenting, and her face was pink and gleaming when she smiled down at him. He noticed the long braid she had hanging down her back had become messy, wisps escaping and sticking to her neck. She looked more gorgeous than ever, and he diverted his eyes, not about to let his mind go there again.
Mia swung her leg over and he glanced at her boot just as she came flying toward the ground. Sam acted fast, grabbing her around the waist, his hands firm to her body as he caught her and stopped her from landing.
“Boot,” he muttered as she gasped.
Mia froze in his arms, and he slowly let her go. Her hands landed on his shoulders as she turned, standing on one leg, laughing as she tried to hop to her boot and failed.
“You’re completely useless when you’re not on a horse,” he said with a laugh.
Mia was laughing too, and he kept hold of her as she bent to retrieve the boot, pink-socked foot pointed out at a weird angle as she tried to keep her balance.
“Thanks, you’re really great with compliments, you know that?”
Sam held her around the waist as she went to put her boot on, steadying her when she wobbled. He hadn’t expected her to forget all about putting her boot on and stare up and him instead.
“What?” he asked, voice low since they were standing so close.
It would have taken only one movement to have Mia’s body close up against his, her torso to his, her slender body butted right up to his chest. But instead of moving, he stayed rock still, not getting closer, not letting anything more happen.
“Before. In the tack shed,” she murmured, tilting her face up. “You stopped something before it was about to happen.”
He sure as hell hadn’t expected her to bring that up. But now she had, he could hardly lie and pretend that it hadn’t happened. He was plenty of things, but liar wasn’t one of them.
“I did.”
“Why?” she asked.
Sam groaned. This was not a question he wanted to answer. She raised her mouth, expectantly, and he stared down at her, swallowing hard. This was not going to happen. His heart beat faster, hands warm against her sides.
