CHAPTER 21
GRAYSON
I check my phone for the millionth time, shaking my head at myself when I feel a pang of disappointment at the lack of messages.
When the fuck did I become the guy that waits for a text from a girl with bated breath? That’s Hunter’s territory.
I move around the tack room, collecting the supplies I need to make an attempt at grooming Casper. I grab a bucket, throwing in sponges, a tail brush and some detangling spray. With his wounds fully healed, I can finally give the poor guy some long overdue TLC. One of the first things I noticed about Casper, besides the gnarly dog bites, was his matted tail and mane.
Over the past week, I’ve spent countless hours gaining his trust. Hand feeding him his favourite treats. Spilling my guts to him while he chomped away happily in his stall.
One of the most valuable lessons I learned from my father when it comes to working with the more untrusting horses is that consistency is key. They may not talk, but they are aware. They learn routine. If you show your horse that you’re gonna show up for them every day, you will gain their love and trust.
I round the corner and come to a grinding halt. Liv stands outside Caspers stall, her hand moving in a hypnotic rhythm as she strokes the usually skittish horse affectionately. I watch, enamoured, as he extends his neck over her shoulder and captures her long ponytail in his mouth before nibbling on the silky strands.
Liv lets out a girly giggle as she tugs her hair free and the sound floats down the alley of the barn, wrapping around me like a warm embrace.
The feeling is unexpected, and I clear my throat, alerting her to my presence. Liv’s head snaps towards me, her face flushed. “Hi.”
“He likes you,” I nod towards Casper where he still stretches his neck in a bid to capture Liv’s hair.
She turns to look at the horse with a beaming smile. “I like him, too.”
“You’re the first person, other than me, that he’s let get that close, let alone touch him.”
Her face is contemplative as she resumes her stroking. Casper leans into her touch, soaking up the attention and her eyes soften. “Maybe it’s a woman thing.”
I think about that for a moment. This is the first time he’s been around a woman. From what I could tell in the short time I was at the farm, there weren’t any females around, so it’s possible his distrust is mainly towards men.
“You might be right.” I take measured steps towards her, and she glances down at the bucket I’m carrying.
“What’re you doing?”
“Gonna try my hand at grooming him.” I say, reaching past her to unlatch the door. The hairs on my arms stand on end as her arm brushes mine, and I hold back an involuntary shiver that threatens to run through me .
“Oh, okay. I’ll get out of your hair. I just came by to ask you if you’d maybe be able to help me with something this week,” she nibbles on her bottom lip, and I fight against the urge to reach out and free it from her assault.
“What do you need help with?” I question.
“Bella is moving in next week and I promised her I’d help move some of her furniture over while she works.”
That piece of information surprises me. “Bella’s moving in with you?”
Liv nods excitedly. “Yep. Her contract on her apartment is up and I’m down a roommate so it made sense.”
I nod my head in agreement. It makes me feel at ease to know she won’t be alone in that house anymore. Although she’s only on the other side of town, the drive from the ranch still takes fifteen minutes if anything were to happen to her and she needed one of us. At least with Bella there, she isn’t so isolated from everyone.
“Why don’t you ask Noah for his help? I’m sure he’d jump at the chance.” I say distractedly as I slowly run a brush over Caspers back.
Liv watches me from the doorway, her chin resting on her folded arms atop the Dutch door. “What’s the matter, grumps? You scared of being alone with me?” she teases, a knowing smirk on her face.
I shake my head with a small laugh. “I’m alone with you right now.”
“No, you’re not. Casper’s here.” She points towards the horse, and he flicks his left eye to me as if to say, Yeah, dick.
I keep my face stoic as I look at her. Really look at her. At the way her eyelashes curl naturally without the help from mascara. The light dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. The way her lips always look like they have a layer of gloss on them.
Fuck, she’s so beautiful it hurts.
She watches me with hope in her eyes and I cave. “Fine. When?”
Her smile is blinding. She straightens and bounces a little on the spot. “Yes! Thank you. Is tomorrow okay?”
“I’ll be there.” I say with a resigned sigh, but the truth is this girl could ask me for almost anything in the world and I’d do it, as long as she keeps looking at me the way she is right now.
***
I must have been a bastard in a previous life.
That’s the only explanation I can come up with to explain why the universe is punishing me right now.
I hold back a groan as Liv bends over to deposit another box on the ground in her sinfully short summer dress. The creases beneath her ass cheeks call out to me, as if daring me to take a bite of what’s barely concealed behind the flowy scrap of material.
If I were a better man, I’d avert my eyes and give her some privacy. But I’m not. And I don’t. Instead, I observe her with a cocked head and uncomfortably tight pants.
I should’ve known being in close quarters and entirely alone with her was a dangerous game. I thought I was doing well at keeping my distance from her. In my mind I hoped that staying away from her would somehow dull the gravitational pull I feel every time I’m around her. That burning need that overcomes me the second her siren eyes latch onto mine.
The second I stepped a booted foot over the threshold of her house I was assaulted by her scent. By the memory of the night that I let myself in here using her spare key and found her pleasuring herself to images of me. The sound of my name falling from her lips as she threw her head back and came.
Clearly, I don’t know shit. Because as she stands and breezes past me, it takes every inch of willpower I possess not to reach out, grip her by the back of the neck and slam my mouth against hers.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to picture something less appealing to calm my overexcited dick down before I go back to the truck. I will not beat my meat in the bathroom of the girl I likes house like some inexperienced, hormonal teenager.
It takes several attempts to compose myself enough to go out in public again and once I’m confident I’m not going to give the neighbours an eyeful, I join Liv at my truck.
We make quick work of unloading Bella’s boxes, and the few items of furniture we managed to fit in the bed of my truck. Before we know it, the sun has begun to set behind the mountains, blanketing the front yard in shadows and causing a light breeze to chill the air.
My stomach growls at me as I climb the steps with the last few belongings, reminding me I haven’t eaten since this morning.
Liv leans against the front door, her face flushed from exertion.
She looks downright edible.
“You hungry?” She asks, already knowing the answer.
I rock back on the balls of my feet. “Famished.”
She spins on her heel, disappearing inside and I follow, taking a detour towards Bella’s new bedroom to drop off the last of her items.
I find Liv in the kitchen and almost fall over my own feet as I’m hit with a wicked sense of déjà vu. She’s bent over, riffling through her fridge. This time her dress has risen high enough to reveal the thin strip of lace that disappears between her legs, and I clear my throat, loudly.
She whirls around, brushing the hair away from her face as she does and when her eyes land on mine, a mischievous grin tugs at the corners of her lips. “See something you like?”
I take my time looking her up and down, letting her feel the heat of my gaze as it trails the length of her body. “Hmm. Just admiring your dress.”
She opens her mouth to retort, but I step forward. “Take it off.”
She audibly swallows, her brows furrowing in confusion as she looks down at herself and back up at me. “What?”
“Take. It. Off.”