He’d made a joke out of how much the liniment had helped, but apparently it had. Either that or great sex loosened up a guy’s muscles better than anything else. He was more than willing to believe that.
Jack had left him alone to saddle and bridle Destiny, which he appreciated. After practicing so many times yesterday, he remembered what to do. Accomplishing it by himself and swinging up in the saddle made him feel like a semi-proficient rider.
Once Destiny started to move, though, he discovered a few twinges that hadn’t bothered him until now. Yeah, he was saddle sore. Not incapacitated, though.
Jack rode up beside him. “Nice work.”
“Thanks. Which horse is that?”
“This here’s Ink Spot. Bandit’s not up to a trail ride yet, so I’m giving this boy some exercise. How’re you feeling?”
Michael nodded. “Good.”
“You’re looking good, too. More relaxed and loose. I always say there’s nothing like a—”
“Jack, I don’t want to talk about it.”
That typical Jack grin appeared again. “You don’t have to say another word, buddy. But just know that I’m happy for you.”
“So we can drop the subject?”
“Absolutely. I can tell by the look on your face that you’re a very satisfied man this morning. No discussion necessary.”
“Glad to hear it. Now let’s—”
“And Keri looked like a very satisfied woman, too.”
“Jack, for God’s sake.”
“Just making a comment.”
Michael sighed and waved a hand at Jack. “Okay, you’re obviously very proud of yourself and need to have your say. Go ahead.”
“Matter of fact, I am proud of myself, and I’ll tell you why.”
“I’m sure you will. Just don’t get graphic or I’ll have to punch you, and then I’d probably fall off this horse.”
“Nothing graphic on my mind. Just an observation.” Jack rested both hands on the saddle horn and sat back, almost as if he’d taken a spot in one of the porch rocking chairs. “When I met you at the airport, you were a man living in his head. I can imagine why that is. You’re a writer, so a lot goes on in that head of yours.”
Michael adopted Jack’s posture, hands resting on the saddle horn, butt sitting easy on the saddle. It felt...right, as if he was supposed to be sitting in that saddle talking to Jack on this bright August morning.
“The thing is,” Jack continued, “to be a cowboy, you have to live in your body, too. Riding is great for that. But good sex is even better. In fact, the two have some things in common. You have to feel the motion of the horse when you’re riding the same way you sense the motion of a woman when you’re making love to her.” He paused and looked at Michael. “Your jaw’s kind of tight. Is that too graphic for you?”
“You’re skating on the edge, my friend.” But Michael understood exactly what Jack was saying, and he was right. Having a vivid imagination was both a blessing and a curse. Michael could conjure up stories like nobody’s business, but sometimes he forgot to come down from the clouds and experience reality.
“That’s about all I had to say, anyway.” Jack sat up straighter and gathered the reins in one hand. “I’ll make a prediction, though. You’ll find being on the back of a horse a much easier proposition today, and not only because of the practice in the corral yesterday.” He clucked to Ink Spot. “Let’s ride.”
Michael hoped that prediction would be true, but when Destiny broke into a trot, he bounced the way he had before. He thought about what Jack had said, and then he thought about the effortless way he and Keri had moved together in the king-sized bed.
There had been nothing intellectual about that experience. They’d communicated on a purely physical level as they explored different rhythms and found the one that worked. Wow, had it worked.
The heated memory of what he’d shared with Keri cushioned the jolting discomfort of Destiny’s trot. And sometime later, Michael realized he wasn’t bouncing anymore. Instead, he was moving with the motion of the horse. His body knew what to do if he stopped trying to think his way through the problem.
Once he could relax and enjoy the ride, he paid attention to his surroundings. Dry grass warmed by the sun smelled faintly like the old books in his family’s library. They rode past a stand of evergreens, and he picked up the crisp scent of pine and the warble of songbirds flitting among the branches. The creak of leather and the steady beat of hooves had a lulling effect.
Across the meadow, the snow-topped Grand Tetons rose against a blue sky. A hawk wheeled overhead, probably searching for breakfast. No wait, that wasn’t a hawk. Michael shaded his eyes and looked up. White feathered head, big wingspan. A bald eagle.
Michael looked at Jack ahead of him on the trail. Jack was watching the eagle, too.
“Do you see many of those?” Michael called out.
“We have a pair of them nesting on the edge of the property. A woman named Naomi Perkins is camped out there while she studies them. That could be one of them. I’m sure there are others in the area, too.”
“I’ve only seen pictures of them.” Michael had expected to see wildlife while he was out here. He hadn’t expected to be dazzled by it. He watched the eagle until it was only a speck in the sky.
Meanwhile Destiny, who’d picked up on the fact that Michael wasn’t paying attention to him, had stopped to munch on the dry grass beside the trail.
Jack was several yards ahead of them by now. He turned in the saddle. “Pull his head up. Don’t let him eat like that.” Jack continued along at a good clip.
“Right.” But Destiny was a deeply stubborn animal who wouldn’t give up his snack easily. By the time Michael wrestled him away from the grass, Jack was more like thirty yards away.
Nudging Destiny’s belly with his heels, Michael clucked at the horse the way Jack did when he wanted to get the animal moving. Destiny’s ears pricked forward and he seemed to notice for the first time that he was lagging behind.
Michael nudged him again, and a quick walk turned into a trot. They weren’t catching up, though, so Michael made that clucking sound to speed up the process. Destiny surged forward in a rolling gait that covered the ground much faster. After the first shock of the faster pace, Michael discovered he loved it. He didn’t know if they were galloping or not, but this was how he wanted to ride, rocking gently in the saddle with the wind in his face.
Jack turned in the saddle, flashed a quick grin, and took Ink Spot’s speed up to match Destiny’s. “How do you like cantering?” he called over his shoulder.
“This is cantering? I thought we were galloping.”
“Nope. Galloping is much faster, and we won’t be doing that.” Jack slowed Ink Spot to a trot, and finally to a walk. “We’ll head back now, and walk them in.” He turned Ink Spot in a semicircle, cutting through the grass to head back the same way.
“Works for me.” Michael guided Destiny along the same route and paid attention so Destiny didn’t pause to chew on grass now that they were moving so slowly.
Jack regained the trail and swiveled in his saddle. “Congratulations, cowboy. You’ve ridden a trot and a canter. It wasn’t always pretty, but you stayed on. I think by the time you leave you’ll be good enough to fool them during the video.”
“I guess.” Michael had forgotten all about the filming. He’d been immersed in this experience for its own sake, testing himself to see if he could hack it. So far, he’d done okay. And this was only Wednesday, his second full day of lessons. He might have the makings of a cowboy, after all.
“You know what?” he said. “Let’s not worry too much about what skills I need for the video. Just teach me everything you can in the time we have.”
Jack pivoted in the saddle again. “You want to learn how to pen cattle?”
> Two days ago, Michael would have been too intimidated to even try something like that. But that was two days ago. “Do you have time to teach me?”
“I can show you some of the basics. I can’t turn you into an expert in two days, but the cutting horse does most of the work, anyway. We can start this afternoon, and we’ll have all day tomorrow. You’ll get the idea.”
“Then yes, I’d like that.”
“All righty.” Jack smiled. “After you get comfortable with it, like maybe tomorrow afternoon, you should invite Keri down to watch. It impresses the hell out of women.”
“That wouldn’t be my motivation, Jack.”
“Maybe not, but when it comes to the ladies, a cowboy uses all his tools.”
* * *
DURING LUNCH, KERI noticed that Michael seemed more relaxed around the other cowhands. His riding lesson with Jack this morning seemed to have gone well, judging from the way Michael was joking around with everyone. Yesterday he’d seemed worried that he wouldn’t make the grade, but he’d gained confidence in the past twenty-four hours.
She couldn’t help wondering if his high spirits came partly from his new relationship with her. She hoped not. His remark about destiny bringing them together continued to worry her. They might need to have a discussion about that tonight, just to make sure they understood each other before they got in any deeper.
Thinking about what else might happen tonight made her hot and bothered, so she shoved those thoughts away. When Michael said hello, she returned his greeting with a casual smile. Jack might know what was going on, but the rest of the crew didn’t need to find out. They probably wouldn’t, though, because everyone was focused on the upcoming wedding on Saturday.
Keri couldn’t believe it was Wednesday already. She had the upstairs in good shape, though. Once Sarah and Pete brought home the new sheets, she’d make up the beds for the wedding guests, who were mostly Pete’s friends.
Meanwhile the ranch hands were making minor repairs to the barn and the corrals so the place would look perfect by Friday afternoon. On Saturday they’d set up the tents and the dancing platform for the outdoor reception. The wedding itself would be held in the ranch house living room.
Keri wouldn’t be in charge of creating that venue. Jack’s sister-in-law Tyler Keller was a professional party planner, and she in turn would get plenty of help from Sarah’s daughters-in-law when it came time to decorate. Keri just had to make sure the area stayed clean.
That reminded her that Sarah had asked for every last bit of soot to be cleaned out of the fireplace, because they planned to fill the cavity with greenery and flowers. As she helped Mary Lou clear the lunch dishes, she asked for some tips on how to do it.
“Don’t use the regular vacuum cleaner,” Mary Lou said. “Let me go get the old wet/dry vac from the laundry room.” She set down a load of dishes and left the kitchen. In a few moments she was back with the canister and a hose. “Go ahead and get started. I can finish up here.”
“Okay.”
“And change out of that white shirt. You’re going to get filthy. Do you have something old to wear?”
Keri paused to think.
“Never mind. I have an old shirt you can put on. I use it whenever we repaint.” She left again and returned with a button-up shirt covered in paint splatters of various colors. “It’s ugly, but it’s clean.”
“Thanks, Mary Lou.” Keri took the shirt and the vacuum cleaner and left the kitchen. Michael and Jack and a few of the hands were still in the dining room, and as Keri walked by she heard enough of the conversation to gather they were talking about cutting horses.
That made sense. The Last Chance was famous for their well-trained cutting horses. She’d watched a demonstration this summer and had found the maneuvers fascinating but tricky. She doubted that Michael was up to that kind of riding yet, but maybe he planned to watch someone else do it.
After dropping off the vacuum in the living room, she climbed the stairs to the second floor. In her room, she pulled off her white T-shirt and put on Mary Lou’s shirt. It hung on her, but that didn’t matter.
As she started out of her room again, she heard boots on the stairs. Adrenaline sent her heart racing—only one person had a reason to come up here.
Michael topped the stairs and came down the hallway toward her. “Interesting outfit.”
“It’s Mary Lou’s shirt.” Her breath hitched at the heat in his eyes. “I’m going to clean out the fireplace.”
“I wondered. I went looking for you and found the vacuum cleaner, but you were gone. I decided to see if you were up here.”
“You were looking for me? Why?” Silly question. His expression told her exactly why.
“Because I was going crazy all through lunch.” He stepped closer. “I needed this.” He drew her into his arms.
She told herself that she should resist, but being held in those strong arms felt like heaven. “I’m not sure we should—”
“Just one kiss. I have to get down to the barn. Jack’s going to start teaching me how to ride a cutting horse.”
“He is? Listen, be careful. That’s tricky.”
“That’s why I want to learn.” His head dipped. “I like tricky.”
Well, she liked this—his warm, clever mouth seducing her, his tongue teasing her with promises of what he’d do to her later tonight, his hand slipping under the hem of the loose shirt to cup her breast....
Before she realized what he had in mind, he’d flipped open the front catch of her bra and was stroking her nipple with his thumb. His kiss deepened, and he pulled her against the hard ridge of his penis.
Now she really should resist. But instead of pushing him away, she’d somehow shoved her hands in the back pockets of his jeans and urged him even closer.
His kiss turned from a full-on assault to soft nibbles. “If I don’t let you go right now, I’m going to drag you into my bedroom and strip you naked.”
She gulped for air. “That would be bad. You’d never hear the end of it from Jack.”
“That’s for sure.” He squeezed her breast. “But it would almost be worth it.”
She forced herself to slip her hands from his pockets. “Let me go, Michael.” Her voice didn’t carry much conviction. “I’ll see you tonight.”
He groaned and leaned his forehead against hers. “That’s hours away.”
“But then we’ll have hours together.” She rested her palms on his chest and felt the wild beat of his heart. If she pushed gently he’d probably release her, but she couldn’t make herself do it. His warmth made her want to nestle closer, not pull away.
“Okay, I’m going to be strong.” Drawing in a shaky breath, he stepped back and gazed at her, his eyes the blue-gray of storm clouds. “I’ll be upstairs as soon as I can possibly get away tonight.”
“Me, too.” She trembled, still not in control of her impulses. “I think Sarah knows.”
“I think so, too, but she doesn’t seem to disapprove. If anything, she seems happy about it.”
“Well, she won’t be if I start slacking off.” She said that as much to remind herself as to inform Michael.
He took another deep breath. “And I have to get down to the barn.” Reaching out, he brushed a finger over her cheek. “See you tonight.”
“It’s a date.” She waited until he’d started down the stairs before she reached under the shirt and hooked her bra in place.
Her body was moist and achy from his touch, and she was honest enough to admit that if he’d tried to maneuver her back to his bedroom, she’d probably have let him do it. He tempted the hot-blooded Irish lass she kept hidden most of the time. When that side of her cut loose, no telling what might happen.
10
MICHAEL HAD TROUBLE sitting through dinner with Sarah and Pete tha
t night. And it wasn’t only because he was eager to get upstairs and be with Keri. He ached all over, and the longer he sat, the more his muscles stiffened. In his zeal to practice riding a cutting horse, he’d stayed in the saddle way too long this afternoon.
He’d admitted to a few aches and pains, and Pete had been generous with the Scotch. The liquor had helped, but he still hurt. He hoped to hell his enthusiasm for riding hadn’t ruined what promised to be another night of great sex.
When dinner was over, he winced as he rose from the table.
Sarah noticed. “I recommend a long soak in Epsom salts,” she said. “And tomorrow you need to tell Jack to ease up on you.”
“Jack’s not to blame.” Michael hobbled to the doorway. “I’m the damned fool who wanted to stay out there. I was having fun and didn’t realize what I was doing to myself.”
“I’m glad to hear you were having fun, at least.” Sarah gave him a sympathetic smile. “Epsom salts, plenty of liniment and a good night’s sleep. You’ll be better in the morning.”
“I’m sure I will be. See you both for breakfast.” He made his way down the hall and climbed the stairs with effort. He knew Keri wouldn’t be in her room yet. If the meal had just ended, Keri would be helping Mary Lou with the cleanup.
That was okay with him. He’d soak in the tub and hope that it restored him to vibrant manliness. He wanted to be a tiger in bed tonight, but at the moment he felt like a slightly drunk pussycat.
Not long afterward, he slipped into the warm, salted water with a groan. Yes, this was going to help. He put a rolled-up towel behind his neck and slid as far into the water as he could, considering the length of the tub and his six-two frame.
Closing his eyes, he drifted in the soothing water and his tortured muscles stopped screaming at him. He didn’t want to go to sleep, but the combination of the warm water and the lingering effects of the Scotch tugged at him. Maybe just a little nap....
The water had cooled by the time he slowly came awake. But that wasn’t what had roused him from sleep. Although he lay still, the water rippled around him, and something wonderful was happening to his cock. So nice. He hated to open his eyes, in case he was dreaming the sweet massage and opening his eyes would make it stop.
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