Chapter 21
My cheeks puffout as I hold in my laugh. Garrison is so damn tense on Kip’s back that if he fell off, he’d pull a true Humpty Dumpty. The lead in my hand is rough against my palms as I walk Kip out of the stable. His rider is so obviously out of his comfort zone that it’s almost adorable how hard he tries to pretend otherwise.
“He’s not going to buck you off,” I say in an attempt to calm him. Other than showing Garrison that Kip listens well, there’s no need for me to even be leading him.
“You can’t know that.”
“I’ll make sure you’re safe, sweet cheeks. Don’t you worry.”
His responding scowl has me releasing my laugh. Kip shakes his head, his thick black mane whipping around. Patting his muzzle affectionately, I wink at Garrison.
“You’re not going to lead me around all day, are you?” he asks, eying my grip on the lead.
“Well, yeah, I was planning on it,” I deadpan.
His eyes flare wide, that scowl twitching. “I would appreciate if you did not.”
“Why, afraid of not looking intimidating for one moment in your life?”
He snares my gaze as he says, “No. I would just prefer not to have to stare at your gorgeous ass all day and ride Kip with a hard-on.”
My mouth goes dry, disbelief settling in. Neither of us says anything for a long beat, and then a smile cracks across his face. It’s bright and happy and impossible not to reciprocate. His laugh is a hoarse, deep sound. Beautiful.
“Luckily for you, I’m feeling generous and planned on riding beside you. Wouldn’t want to scare poor Kip,” I coo.
“Lucky me is right,” he replies.
I roll my eyes and slip the lead from Kip’s head. “Try not to run off on me while I get Honey.”
“Be quick,” he mumbles, fear straining his voice. My chest pangs.
Honey’s already waiting in her pen at the far end of the stable, ears perked and light brown eyes trained on me. I haul open her door and lift her saddle from its peg before moving to her side.
“Hey, pretty girl. Ready to stretch those beautiful legs?”
She buries her nose in my hair and sniffs loudly, pulling a laugh from my chest before I settle her plum-coloured blanket and saddle on her back and begin securing it. My hands move quick, muscle memory working perfectly, even as I rush. Darting my eyes toward Kip and Garrison, I ignore the tingly feeling behind my ribs.
I’ve always been a believer in judging a book by its cover. It’s easy to weed out the bad from the good that way, but until I met Garrison, I didn’t know just how tricky it could become to distinguish between the two. He hasn’t exactly been nice to many people since he got here, and yeah, I heard all about him both before and after he arrived, but I don’t think I’ve seen the guy everyone else has. At least not the entire time. Not in the moments we’re alone, away from curious, judgmental eyes.
Believing that either makes me willfully blind, or maybe, just maybe, he hides his true personality behind a mask of cruel arrogance, and nobody has bothered to pull it off him yet.
I’m too intrigued to let it go and leave that damn mask in place. I’ve seen slivers of the guy he hides beneath it that have me too curious for my own good. I want to explore the almost funny, sarcastic, and semi-sweet sides of him that I’ve seen. Foolish or not, I won’t deny myself that truth.
Honey sniffs again, and I sigh, finishing with the saddle. “I know, I know. I’m up to no good again.”
It’s a good thing horses can’t talk because I’m positive Honey’d be telling me how careless I’m being. Sleeping with Garrison is one thing—friends with benefits is a label that often acts as a separation between lust and love—but how long will I be able to keep my distance if I decide to dive headfirst into learning who he is deep down?
“Let’s just ride, Honey. Now’s your chance to show Kip who the better horse is,” I offer ridiculously, knowing she doesn’t care about much more than getting out of the stable.
She holds still and waits patiently as I swing up on her back and cluck my tongue to encourage her forward. Kip hasn’t moved an inch since I left him and Garrison. I make a promise to myself to grab an extra apple for him once we’re finished.
“You need to relax. Horses can sense your anxiety and fear,” I tell the stiff-backed man.
He looks at me over his shoulder, green-brown eyes sharp with anxiety. “He can buck me off if he chooses to.”
“Kip is the calmest horse I’ve ever met. It’s damn near impossible to spook him. But your fears are valid.”
His stare softens around the edges and follows me while Honey strolls to Kip’s side. I offer Garrison a soft smile and slide my foot from the stirrup to tap his heel with my toe.
“He also knows this ranch better than most of the people here do. You’re safe with him. And me, if that means anything to you,” I add carefully, my chest thumping hard.
“It does,” he says, voice an octave deeper than usual.
I grin, sliding my foot back in place. “This is the fun part now.”
“The riding?”
My pulse quickens as I shake my head, looking past Honey to the open fields. “I prefer to call it freedom.”
“He’s ready to go faster!”I shout back at Garrison.
“I’m not!”
My laugh is loud, but the warm wind stifles some of the sound. Honey trots ahead of Kip, trying to urge him to follow her antsy pace through the field. Trees line the fence on our left, thick enough to block the view of the gravel road that I know leads back to town. The branches are no longer barren, now growing thick with green leaves. Cherry blossoms will soon bloom on the bushes nearest the main house, Eliza’s favourite. Spring came quickly this year, and I’m more than ready for the first look at swaying wheat fields and green grass mowed down by cattle in pastures. Horseback rides hit different when you can feel the sun on your bare arms and the wind isn’t nipping at your cheeks but caressing it instead.
Garrison took to riding quickly, like he had excelled at it in a past life. He might not think he’s comfortable enough to pick up the pace, but I beg to differ. It’s almost too easy for him to sway with Kip’s body and lead him as if he has done it a thousand times. He’s somehow connected to him in a way that should be unnatural but seems anything but.
I want to see how far out of his comfort zone he’ll go. He loves control, but so do I. Nearly as much as I love to see him hand it over to me.
“Are you too scared of a bit of speed?” I call over my shoulder. His answering growl is feral, making me shiver.
“Keep pushing me, honey. Will you be ready for the consequences?” he asks, sounding closer than a moment earlier.
Anticipation has my stomach swooping. I hold Honey back from going faster, wanting him to catch up to us.
“I was born ready to handle men like you, Garrison Beckett!”
I tighten my thighs around Honey’s sides and roar a laugh when she picks up speed in an instant, happy to finally be given the go-ahead to leave them in our dust. Hooves slap the grass as we move, and a long, excited neigh cuts through the air behind us. It’s the only warning I get before Kip takes off. One look over my shoulder and I see Garrison gripping the reins and leaning forward in the saddle the way I instructed him to earlier. His legs aren’t clinching Kip’s sides, just resting comfortable around his body even as he fidgets with his posture.
A natural.
Kip races toward us, and Honey flicks her blond tail in his face when he gets close enough for her to play with him. I giggle at the sight and then grow quiet.
Garrison doesn’t care about Honey or Kip right now. How could he when he’s so utterly focused on me? My heart stalls before beating out of tempo. He grits his jaw like he’s angry, but the soft gleam in his eyes tells another story. One of surprise and something too warm and gooey for me to comprehend in this moment. All the tension that was in his muscles before we left the stable has melted away. He looks human now, instead of the angry robot he portrays every day.
Kip takes Honey’s tail flicking as a taunt and pushes faster, bringing him and Garrison to run at our side. I drop my head, tucking my chin to my chest as my cheeks flush. An unusual sense of shyness fills me, and I almost like it.
When was the last time someone made me feel like this?
“Well, are you going to tell me what my consequences are?” I ask brazenly.
With a light tug on Honey’s reins, I sit back in my saddle and signal for her to slow her pace. She responds instantly, earning a pat on the neck.
Kip slows a beat later, Garrison having followed my lead and movements. I watch him rub Kip’s neck softly and mutter something to him that I can’t hear but wish I could.
He’s a bit off balance as Kip falls into a trot beside Honey, but he doesn’t falter or ask for us to stop so he can have a break. His thighs have to be burning at this point, muscles he didn’t even know he had screaming with the uncomfortable movements they’ve just endured. That pain won’t stop coming for a long while.
“You have nothing, do you?” I taunt him.
His lips part on a dirty grin. “Keep talking.”
I wiggle my fingers at him, knowing exactly what I’m doing. “You’re talking enough for the both of us. That’s all it is, isn’t it? Talk and no action?”
“Come on, don’t stop there. I’m quite enjoying the hole you’re digging,” he urges.
“Want to grab a shovel and help me go deeper? Or are you afraid of getting your perfectly manicured nails dirty?”
He huffs a laugh, licking his teeth. “Is that all you have?”
“That depends.” I shrug.
“On?”
“On how many spanks I’ve earned since we started this little game.”
His smirk is cruel as his grip on Kip’s reins tightens. He keeps still so the horse doesn’t feel it. “A spanking isn’t a fitting punishment. You’d enjoy it far too much.”
“Oh? What is my punishment, then? Surely you have one chosen already.” I’m far too intrigued and so fucking excited.
As if he knows exactly that, he doesn’t respond. Instead, Kip shoots forward, Garrison having urged him forward, leaving Honey and me in the dust. The arrogant ass even has the nerve to wink at me before we take off after them.
There’s no stopping my cheek-splitting grin as we chase after them. Not even the tiny, nagging voice in my head that tells me I’m running the wrong way makes it budge.