by Meg Ripley
"Uh-huh," Layla said, still not feeling confident that she wasn't going to overwhelm the horse.
Roy stepped up closer to her and Layla saw the hint of a smolder in his dark eyes.
"You are going to be just fine. Trust me."
Layla nodded and the cowboy reached forward to take her hand so he could help her up into the saddle. She put her foot in the stirrup and swung her leg over. His hand came to the back of her lush hips and lingered even after she settled in place in the saddle. She wrapped her hands around the leather reins and looked down at Roy.
"I think I'm ok now," she said, her voice coming out softer than she had intended.
Roy's hand ran across her back and down her hip before he walked away from her horse and swung himself quickly and gracefully up onto the back of a massive black animal to one side. Gently tugging the reins to guide the horse to one side, he tilted his head as if gesturing for her to join him. They walked over to the building beside the general store and Roy called inside.
"Nathan?"
The other lovely cowboy Layla had seen by the corral the day before stuck his head out of the door.
"Hmmm?"
"Can you take care of those other horses for me? Layla here is the only one who showed up for my morning ride."
Nathan's eyes traveled across Layla and she saw the hint of a smile curve his lips.
"Absolutely," he said, "You have a nice time, Layla."
She liked the way her name sounded on his lips just as much as Roy's. This vacation was seeming like a better idea minute by minute.
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Layla watched admiringly as Roy's body swayed on the back of the black horse, the movement making his broad shoulders shift beneath the soft, light-colored plaid fabric of his shirt. They had been riding in silence for several minutes and Layla wondered if he had forgotten that she was trailing along behind him.
"So how long have you been working here?" she called up to him.
Roy's head tilted back slightly as if trying to catch her words.
"My whole life," he answered. When she didn't reply, he continued, "Nathan and I grew up with our grandfather. That's the man who drove you out here in the wagon. His daddy started this place when Pops was little."
"It wasn't like it is now, was it?" she asked.
As soon as she said it, she felt bad, but Roy chuckled.
"No. It was an actual ranch. They raised cattle in the fields that are a bit back behind the trees. I'm not sure what happened along the way."
Roy fell silent and Layla sensed a touch of something sad and even angry in the quiet. They went on for a few more moments with the only sound the thud of the horses' hooves on the ground and the distant chatter of birds in the woods that flanked the trail.
"Nathan is your brother?" she asked.
She knew the question was ridiculous, but she wanted to say anything to fill the stillness.
"A year older and he never lets me forget it," he said with a laugh.
"Wow. You must be close."
"We do everything together. So how are you feeling back there? Have you had enough of the nice, leisurely pace?"
"Sure," Layla said.
Without another word, Roy tapped his heels into his horse's sides and surged forward. In an instant, all Layla could see was the dust in front of her.
"Oh. That's what we're doing," she muttered and tapped her heels the way he had, trying to remember everything she learned in the exactly two times she had ridden a horse when she was younger.
Her body was bouncing wildly in the saddle and she was increasingly concerned about the resilience of her bra when Roy came back into view. He had stopped on a grassy patch by the side of the trail, but when she tried to stop her horse, it just kept right on past.
"You ok?" he called over as she finally managed to pull the horse to a stop and dragged it around to face him.
"Nothing but nailing it over here."
The horse struggled against her trying to lead it back toward Roy and she heard him laughing from where he sat casually on his perfectly calm, well-behaved horse.
"Shut up," she said, then leaned down to mutter at the horse, "Alright, that's enough. Stop being a little bitch and bring me over there to him."
That seemed to work and Misty walked obediently over to Roy where it dipped its head and started nibbling on the grass at the side of the trail.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," he replied, grinning, "Did you just call my horse a bitch?"
"Sometimes you just have to keep it real."
Their eyes met and they dissolved in laughter. Layla found herself feeling glad that Quinn and Eli had opted out of the morning ride, giving her the opportunity to enjoy the time just with Roy.
"I want to show you something."
Roy climbed down off his horse and came over to her. He placed one hand on her thigh and slid it up to her hip, then along her back. She felt him apply pressure to the other side of her hip so she started to slide down toward him. He scooped her into his arms with surprising ease, allowing her to glide down the front of his body as he lowered her off the horse and to her feet. Layla's breath caught in her throat as his hands moved around her hips and down to fill with her flesh and pull her harder against him.
His nose nudged hers and Layla nudged back, letting her hands rest on his arms. Roy leaned forward and kissed her lightly, opening his mouth just enough so he caught her bottom lip. Their faces parted slightly and an instant later their mouths were on each other again, lips parting as their kiss deepened. Layla was breathless when the kiss finally broke.
"Is that what you wanted to show me?" she breathed, laughing softly.
Roy shook his head.
"No. I just couldn't resist."
He slid his hand down her arm to intertwine with hers and pulled her gently further away from the trail. She hadn't noticed that the grassy section was actually a drop-off, leading down a steep cliff to a sparkling crystal pond beneath.
"How far do you say that drop is?" she asked.
"About 15 feet."
"And how deep is the water?"
She took a step back from the edge, letting her hand fall away from his.
"Too deep to know. Are you afraid of…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Layla had run forward and leapt off the edge, straightening out just before she hit the water so that her toes cut through the surface first. She came up laughing, the cold water making her feel awake and alive in the early morning air. Roy stared down at her incredulously.
"Are you coming?" she called up to him.
He seemed to pause for a beat to think about it, then disappeared from the edge before running forward and diving seamlessly into the water beside her. The sound that came from him when he emerged from the water was less joyous than hers and she saw him pull his arms close as he shuddered.
"It's cold!" he shouted and she laughed harder.
"Come on, cowboy. Don’t tell me you can't handle a little bit of cold water."
Roy swam toward her with two long strokes and gathered her in his arms. She pressed a kiss to his mouth, crushing her breasts to his chest so she could feel the warmth of his body through their cold, wet clothes. He touched his tongue to her lips, tempting them to part so that he could explore her mouth further. She complied, welcoming his tongue in against hers.
Suddenly she realized they were moving as Roy used one arm to hold her close to him and the other to paddle them toward the edge of the water. A few moments later, they were close enough to the bank that she felt the sand beneath her feet and could stand. Roy stood in front of her and took both of her hands to guide her along with him toward a smooth, flat rock beside the water, his mouth continuing to play against hers as they went.
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When they got to the rock, Roy ended their kiss so he could pull back to look at her. His fingers combed back through her wet hair and trailed down her neck.
&nbs
p; "You're beautiful," he murmured.
Layla shook her head.
"No, I'm…"
He cut her off, holding her head in place with his hand and staring directly into her eyes.
"Yes. You are beautiful. I was captivated the moment I saw you standing outside of the store."
"You were?"
"It took a bit of wrangling for me to get Nathan to let me guide the ride this morning. I thought the other two were coming along, too. I didn't realize I was going to be lucky enough to have you all to myself."
He kissed her again and Layla smiled against his lips.
"Maybe I'm the lucky one to get all of the instructor's attention."
"Well, if you are going to get the most out of your private lesson, I should probably tell you that I saw some problems with your riding."
"Oh, really?" she asked.
Roy nodded and took a step back to sit down on the rock. He put his hands on the back of Layla's hips and pulled her forward, guiding her to straddle his lap, and then easing her down onto him. She moaned softly when she felt the firm bulge of his erection hardening beneath her and he leaned forward to kiss the side of her neck.
"You need to get more comfortable in the saddle," he said, "Relax into it," he ran his hands down onto her thighs and pulled them apart gently so that she settled more deeply onto his lap. "Comfortable?"
"Mmmm-hmmm," Layla murmured in affirmation.
"Good. Now your instinct when you feel the horse move under you is to lift away from it. Instead, move with it."
Roy returned his hands to her hips and started to rock them, mirroring the movements with his hips so that they rolled together. The motion started building pressure deep in her center and Layla moaned, letting her eyes flutter closed so she could enjoy the sensation more fully. She felt Roy's fingers come to the buttons on the front of her shirt and work their way down until he revealed her body. He gave a groan of appreciation and ducked his head forward to press a series of open-mouth kisses down the deep valley between her breasts.
Maintaining the connection between his lips and her skin, Roy pushed her shirt off of her shoulders and away from her body. He moved his head back just long enough to discard his own shirt and then dipped down again, drawing his tongue across the ample swell of her breasts as he kneaded his fingers into her hips, rolling them against him harder.
"The better you move with your saddle," he whispered, raising his hands up to release her bra and peel it away from her, revealing her bare breasts to him, "The smoother your ride is going to be."
Roy flicked his tongue across the hardened peak of one nipple and Layla gasped. She arched to press her nipple into his mouth, burying her fingers in his thick, wet hair to hold him in place as he suckled her. After a moment, she pulled him back and stared intensely into his eyes.
"What if I like it rough?"
Growling deep in his throat, Roy stood, sweeping Layla up against his body with incredible strength and control and carrying her over to the rocky wall of the ledge. He lowered her to her feet, pressing her against the wall, and used one hand to unfasten her pants. She kicked off her shoes and he got on his knees in front of her to pull her pants from her hips and down her thighs. Roy kissed his way up her inner thighs, trailing his mouth up the soft curve of her belly and along her breasts until he stood in front of her. He crushed his mouth down onto hers and he flattened one hand onto her stomach and ran it down until it slipped beneath the waistband of her panties and cupped her pubic bone.
Layla cried out as Roy plunged two fingers deep within her, mimicking the motion with his tongue as he kissed her hard enough to force her back against the wall. The intensity with which he thrust his fingers inside her made Layla rise up onto her toes, parting her thighs to give him even more access. As she regained control of her thoughts, she moved one hand from where she had been gripping his back and brought it to the front of his pants, fighting to loosen the belt buckle even as his hand pushed her closer to the brink of madness.
She had just managed to release the buckle and was working at the button of his jeans when she heard a loud, high-pitched beeping sound. A few creative expletives spilled from Roy's lips as he pushed back from her to look down at his watch.
"What the hell is that?" she asked breathlessly.
"My alarm." He kissed her, giving one final hard thrust with his fingers that elicited a sharp cry, and withdrew his hand, "We have to head back to the ranch."
"Why? It's not like there are any other guests you need to…guide."
Roy looked at her with slumbering eyes and kissed her again, groaning as if fighting within himself.
"No, but if there is one thing that Pops actually does right around here, it is safety. If we aren't back within 20 minutes of the time that we were supposed to be, he will be out here looking for us, and trust me, that man is fast and thorough."
"Twenty minutes is quite a while, though," she said coaxingly, curling her fingers through his belt loops to draw him closer to her. "There is plenty that I could do in that long."
"I'm very sure that's true," he said, running his hand down the side of her face and then tracing one finger across her mouth. Layla parted her lips to draw his finger in across her tongue and gave a gentle suck. Roy moaned and pressed his hips against hers so she could feel the rock behind her biting into her back, "But when I get you naked, I want you for much longer than that."
He pulled his finger carefully from her mouth and replaced it with a long kiss that held the promise that this was not the only time she would be in this position with him.
"And I wouldn't want him to have a heart attack out here on the trail if he found us," Layla said, reluctantly stepping away from the wall and reaching down to gather her clothes and put them back on, "Lord knows my horse would never get me out of here to get help."
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Eli was waiting for her when they finally arrived back at the ranch. Her horse had decided she was mortified by Layla's behavior and was simply not going to cooperate for the rest of the ride, so they had to meander their way back up the trail with the horses side-by-side and Roy gripping Misty's reins so he could lead them along. This gave her plenty of opportunity to lean across and kiss him as they rode. She was greatly disappointed when the trail ended and she saw Eli at the edge of the corral in denim cutoff shorts and a plaid shirt tied at his waist.
"You took off your loincloth," she said, climbing down from the horse.
"It's not exactly afternoon wear. Are your clothes wet?"
The sun had dried their clothes most of the way but her pants and shirt still looked damp and Layla knew her hair was a wet mess even though she had tried to tame it under a clip at the back of her head.
"I fell into a pond," she answered quickly.
Eli's eyes scanned Roy, who was visibly just as damp as he led both horses into the corral.
"I went in after her to rescue her."
"That was chivalrous," Eli called to him.
Layla couldn't get Roy out of her head for the rest of the day and that night she lay in bed sandwiched between Eli and Quinn, staring into the darkness thinking about him. Her body still hummed with the feelings he created within her. She was still thinking about him the next morning when she arrived at a field on the opposite end of the ranch from her cabin for an archery lesson.
She was yet again alone as Eli ran off to possibly contribute to the delinquency of a minor (he assured her that he was trying to sneak a look at the cashier's ID just to make sure) and Quinn went to have a self-prescribed meditation session with the pygmy goats in an effort to overcome her sudden irrational fear of farm animals. It was beginning to feel like her days of being picked last for kickball at summer camp all over again.
Her bitter feelings lifted somewhat when she saw Nathan ambling across the field toward her carrying a bow and quiver. He placed them on the stack of hay bales beside her and let his eyes, green rather than the brown of his brother's, trace over
her languidly.
"Good morning, Layla," he said, "Is anyone else joining us?"
Layla held out her hands in much the same way that she had when telling Roy she would be the only one riding.
"No. It's just me. Again."
"Lucky me," he said.
Roy had used the same sentiment to describe his time alone with her and Layla felt a tremble ripple through her. Nathan scrutinized her again and she touched the cotton skirt of her sundress self-consciously.
"You're wearing boots," he said with a hint of teasing in his voice.
"Quinn made me wear them, they are ridiculous, and I hate myself for putting them on," she said all in one fast rush, crossing her arms over her chest.
Nathan smirked and picked up the bow and quiver again. He stroked under her chin with the edge of one finger as he passed her and Layla trailed behind him with a smile on her lips. Summer camp was certainly looking up.
"Have you ever shot a bow and arrow before?" Nathan asked.
"No."
"Have you ever wanted to shoot a bow and arrow before?"
"No."
He chuckled and shook his head at her.
"Then why are you taking archery lessons?"
"I'm channeling my inner Robin Hood."
He cocked an eyebrow at her and Layla sighed, "Quinn planned out the entire itinerary. I just do what the laminated pink schedule she put in my luggage tells me to do."
"You are very compliant."
"I aim to please."
Nathan stepped up closer to her.
"I'll remember that."
Layla felt her mouth water at the subtle proposition, but a second later he handed her the bow and was instructing her on how to rest the arrow across the string. Her long nails made it difficult to hold both pieces in place properly and she fought to maintain control over the weapon. She felt Nathan step up behind her and wrap his arms around her so he could help her stabilize the bow. He helped her pull back the string and his hand grazed across her breasts, immediately causing her nipples to tighten in response.
They let the arrow fly and Layla felt a shiver of excitement as it burrowed into one of the hay bale targets across the field. He helped her load another arrow, and by the time she had gotten through most of the quiver, her shots were consistently hitting close to the bullseye.