Page 72 of Every Single Vow
I lean my elbows on the pipe railing. “She’ll come around. When she’s ready.”
Dakota smirks. “Must run in the family.”
I slide my arm through the rail, snaking it around her waist. “Don’t worry. I can be patient with my girls.”
My girls.
She smiles. “I like the sound of that.” Then her plush lips meet mine.
Chapter forty-six
Dakota
I can sense Cooper’s glare on the side of my face as we pull into the Briar Bar Ranch.
“I don’t know why you’re so mad at me. You’re the one who insisted on tagging along.”
“For your safety,” he mutters.
“And I’m sure Ryder was thrilled you backed out on moving the herd.”
“We came to an understanding,” he says as he shifts in his seat.
“Well, you better be nice.” I narrow my eyes as we pull up to the arena. “He pays a lot of money for me to train this horse.”
Cooper mumbles under his breath as I put the truck in park. Truthfully, I was glad I had a client today. It got my mind off my father, and all the ways this whole situation could go south. Jefferson had multiple officers working on tracking him down. In the meantime, I just had to stay alert. Watch my surroundings. I needed to work, and the last thing I wanted while on horseback was worrying about Cooper and Dean Vickerson getting along.
When I climb out of the truck, Cooper has already managed to make it to my side. He crowds me against the warm metal, his cologne making me wish we were curled up in bed instead of heading into this arena.
His fingers grip my chin, before he tilts my head back. “You realize I’m not trying to be a dick, right? I just want you safe. If anything happens to you...”
“Hey.” I reach up and bring his forehead to mine. “I’m right here. Nothing is going to happen to me.”
He blows out a slow breath before he leans in, his lips pressing to mine. “I know.”
He kisses me slow, before I open, letting his tongue slide inside of my mouth. His leg wedges between my thighs, the pressure sending a warm sensation straight through my core. We hadn’t gotten another chance to repeat what happened in the hotel room since we’ve been back, but I’ve been aching to feel him again.
A whimper escapes my throat, my hips rolling as he slides his hand up to gently grip my throat. “Kota.”
“Mhm,” I hum.
“We need to stop.”
I nip at his lip, knowing he’s right.
“I’m about three seconds away from fucking you against this truck and over my dead body will Vickerson get to watch.”
When he says his name, I remember why I’m here.I’m a professional.I press my palms against Cooper’s chest, before I clear my throat.
“You’re right.” I smooth down my shirt. “Let’s get to work."
I slowly lope the beautiful paint mare around the arena, cooling her off. She worked hard today, and she’s making great progress.I glance over to the fence, but Cooper is nowhere in sight. He must have taken a phone call.
A slow clap sounds from the end of the arena, so I whip around to see Dean walking toward me. I nudge her into a trot, meeting him just at the entrance of the gate.
“Excellent,” he says, dropping his hands on his hips.
“I’d say she’s almost ready to start working with cattle.” I pat her neck.
