Chapter 17 #2
“I can and I do blame you, especially when you do something so foolish as to leave the house when you know you’re among supernatural creatures,” I admit, wanting her to at least acknowledge that what she did was stupid.
It’s a miracle the horse has behaved this long.
Gods forbid she find what else is being kept on the property.
She goes still at that, and finally, quiet.
The sun breaks through the canopy of trees above the dirt lane, sending sparks shimmering over the red of her hair, that I can’t help but notice barely reaches my pectorals as it curls in a haphazard way across the white of my shirt.
“Wow, the willow trees are massive,” she remarks.
The tension lining my shoulders leaves by a fraction when the red and white stable comes into view, the small pond and willow trees I planted the first summer we arrived creating an idyllic backdrop.
Situated in the back corner of the property and away from prying eyes by design, Brom’s paddock usually has him bolting in the other direction, but today it’s as if he’s a different animal altogether.
A sharp exhale comes from her before she slumps against my chest, as if to use me as a recliner.
“What the devil are you doing woman,” I bite out, and the frown creasing my brow deepens when she only snuggles closer.
“Be quiet, you’re ruining my fantasy of galloping across the hillside with a man who likes me,” she mutters and slaps at my hand playfully.
I can’t help when a laugh escapes me, probably surprising us both.
“How long have you been keeping Brom secret?” she asks.
“For as long as I can remember,” I reply.
“Well, you can’t be that much of a tool if you’re keeping Brom safe.”
The words have a knot forming in my chest. That this small insignificant human would make such a remark after being here barely a day, when no one ever has once thanked me for the protection I provide here.
They all see it as the duty it is, as this place was borne out of survival, created to have a sanctuary to live amongst us without fear of discovery from the outside world.
I glare down at the hellish woman in my lap.
One human hardly counts as discovery, or so I tell myself.
“He sets the fields on fire when he doesn’t get a daily ride,” I say, digging in my heels to set him to a quicker pace.
Far be it from me to ruin the lady’s fantasy when my afternoon has been so derailed it hardly matters now.
Her laugh floats through the air as she begins to bounce when Brom lengthens his stride.
A sharp squeal peels from her when I urge the horse faster.
I don’t dare let him go as hard as he can but let him have the reins, realizing I worried for nothing when he acts the perfect gentleman for the female, running just fast enough to be deemed a gallop.
Her laughter fades as we slow and she sucks in a hard breath.
“Shoot, I think I have straw in my shoe,” she mutters, her head bending as she moves to toy with her foot.
I glance down at her footwear, wondering what her reaction will be when she finds the tracking device I planted there. “I need to get Brom back to the stable anyhow. I’ve spent enough of my day pandering to you two.”
We make it to the front of the stable and I pull him up to a short stop, spreading my hand wide across her front and middle to keep her from falling head over horse.
Jumping from the saddle, energy crackling from my palms, I force myself to be stationary as she grins at me from where she sits on Brom, looking very much like a beast tamer of old.
The pink of her cheeks makes her pale skin glow almost ethereally in the afternoon light, something I hadn’t noticed before.
A smile spreads across her lips as she raises one dark red brow. “Who isn’t at least a little upset when they don’t get their daily ride in,” she says cheekily.
With no time to react, I catch her when she suddenly throws herself into my arms and wraps her arms around my head, planting my face squarely between her large sweater-covered breasts.
My lungs seize at the sweet smell of orange blossoms blazing across my brain, but before I can act on my baser impulses like I want to do, I force myself away from her, thanking my lucky stars when she doesn’t resist my prying her off my person.
I shoot her a glare of reproach when a smug gleam flickers in her gaze where it rests firmly on my slacks, where they’re currently raised as if my dick can burst through the tailored seams by will alone.
“Behave,” I tell her, my words a growl as I grip her soft shoulders and step away.
She gives a shake of her head and twirls in place before moving toward the largest stable building. “What else are you hiding around here Mr. Stein?” she asks, excitement clear in her tone.
I glance back at Brom, who hangs his head to eat at a trough filled just that morning with fresh apples and snow peas and notice how the reins are brushing the ground.
I wave a hand off at him, knowing if the horse were fussed, he could take the damned thing off himself. The mind boggles at what feats the short-statured chit can do in such a short time. I turn and find her missing, the side door to the stable open wide.
“Where are you?” I bellow when I enter the barn, knowing I won’t quickly find her among all of the stacks of hay.
“Here,” she replies, the sound of her voice closer than I imagined her, “I’m not going to wonder off far when I know things like Brom exist.”
“There are more animals, though none quite like him,” I reply, her genuineness twisting my insides and somehow making me want to tell her more.
Filled with both natural and manmade light, the inside of the stable is two stories high, with vaulted ceilings and more than thirty stalls, all for Brom.
Built and rebuilt over time, the last stable interior was manufactured and shipped to order by humans and set up by ghouls.
So far, this one has been the longest standing, even if it has only been upright a month.
“Where are the other animals kept?” she asks, raising on the tiptoes of her shoes as if this will allow her some great height to see from.
I think back to how she leaned down to pet Brom Bones, a creature so fearsome not even the hardiest of ghouls will try him on, but she rides him like she was born to it.
This woman who seemingly hacked into my company for nefarious purposes, something men have been trying to do for decades all for greed, stands here begging to see animals instead of bleeding my accounts dry.
A sharp frown creases her brow when she finds nothing in the next small room. She won’t find anything, not here.
I almost want to laugh at the peculiarities of this human. “To see above the stalls, you’d need to find stilts.”
“Was that a joke Frank?” she gasps, putting one hand to her chest in dramatics, walking further into the building. “Seriously, growl all you want, we both know you’re a softy.”
A softy?
I watch as she meanders down the room and pokes her head above every door, hoping to see another creature of Brom’s ilk. “How do you know I keep animals here and not in my evil lab?”
The expression on her face is comical as she prances back, hobbling on one foot, a wide grin spilling into her green gaze. “So, you do have an evil lab.”
“Fix your shoe woman so we can go.”