Chapter 20 #2
Bad enough she felt it pressed against her stomach during our kiss, I couldn’t let her feel it again and risk her calling this whole thing off.
“Here.” The wrangler passed me a helmet and watched as I tightened the strap beneath my chin. “If you follow the path to the left, it’ll take you to a clearing. Best track to test this boy out.”
The wrangler attempted to hand Livi a helmet; however, she refused to let go of the reins. Her focus set hard in front of her, her shoulder muscles trembling, and her breath as even as waves in the ocean.
“Here, give it to me.” Taking it from him, I put the helmet on her and carefully reached around to clip the strap in place.
Her once uneasy breath ceased operation as my knuckles scraped her throat and fingertips gently touched her chin.
Goddamn, her skin was so soft. I resisted following the curve of her jaw, fighting the need to touch her everywhere.
Once I was sure the strap was clipped in and tightened, I let the irrational, risk-taking side of my mind take control. Running both thumbs down the column of her throat achingly slow, triumph and something too close to lust shot through me as a soft whimper passed her lips.
One little whimper that’s all it was. Barely a noise at all, and yet I knew I was going to be replaying that noise every moment I got.
Snaking my arms around her waist, her body shuddered against mine.
The horse wrangler tapped the rear of the horse and set him into motion. “Happy riding, you two.”
“There has to be a better way for him to say that,” Livi mumbled, adjusting her hips and testing my weaning restraint.
We followed the path as instructed into an open clearing.
Thankfully, Goliath remained on his best behavior. He trotted merrily along and seemed at perfect ease with us on his back.
Guiding us down the track, Livi slowly eased against me. Her grip loosened and her shoulders no longer tried to find a way to fuse into her jaw.
She broke the silence first. “It’s not fair, by the way.”
“What’s not fair?”
“Not only are you a doctor, you’re fluent in French, you enjoy reading, but you can also ride horses.
And that’s not even mentioning how unfairly attractive you are.
” She shook her head with a light laugh.
“I thought men like you only existed in fiction. You’re seriously like a real-life book boyfriend. ”
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or not?”
“Oh, trust me, it is. But I mean, c’mon, you’re not giving the rest of the male population a chance with all this.”
A chuckle gathered in my chest.
“Is there anything you’re not good at?” She shifted again, her ass rotating directly against my cock.
I stifled a groan, keeping my focus on trying to recall the last medical thesis I read and not on the torturous beauty grinding against me.
“There are countless things I’m not good at.”
Knowing when to walk away.
Knowing my own limits.
Twisting to look back at me, the sun caught her face, and it was like staring at a goddamn goddess sent down from the heavens to make me pay for all my sins. “Care to share a few of them?”
Shaking the flicker of negative thoughts away, I forced a smirk. “And shatter the illusion that I am, as you say, ‘the perfect book boyfriend’, not a chance, Peaches.”
“I think you’ll find I never said perfect.”
“Not in so many words,” I teased, “but you comparing me to one of the men in your romance books? Coming from you, I don’t think there’s a standard higher than that.”
“Oh, trust me, there’s always room for improvement.”
“Would you say that to Mr. Darcy? Because you’ve basically said we’re the same person.”
“?Oh, jódeme! I should never have opened my mouth,” she laughed. “Don’t let it go to your head, Dr. D.”
“Afraid it’s too late.”
She rolled her eyes. “In the future, I need to be more careful with my words. Wouldn’t want to inflate your ego too much.”
I poked her sides gently.
She squealed. “Don’t do that! I’m far too ticklish.”
“You don’t say.” Grinning from ear to ear, my hands worked quickly. Tickling along her waist, along her hips, under her arms, unable to resist touching her even if it was in the most innocent of ways and not how I really wished I could touch her.
“Elliott!! You’re so dead!”
“Is that so?”
“Just you wait!” Laughter and squeals of delight escaped her as she kept trying to move away but also trying not to spook Goliath. “The minute, the very second we’re back on solid ground, I will have my revenge.”
Leaning forward, my lips inches from her ear, I said, “Give me everything you got, Peaches.”
“I don’t think you couldn’t handle it.”
“Is that so?” My hands greedily felt around her waist, the tips of my fingers daring to dip to the top of her thighs. “Why don’t you prove it?”
Suddenly, her movements felt less frantic and more deliberate. Her hips swayed backward, her back cemented to my chest as she pushed the globes of her ass straight between my legs. Truthfully, my cock never stood a chance.
If she noticed, she said nothing.
Biting my bottom lip until blood coated my tongue, my grip on her thighs tightened. My whole body was alive, blood pumping violently between my ears.
“Truce!” she said without warning. “I call truce!”
I blinked slowly, my mind and body unable to cooperate.
Reluctantly taking my hands from her legs, I settled my arms back around her waist and kept her pinned against me.
I promised to never let her go atop of this horse.
I may have been a shit promise-keeper, but this was one promise I didn’t want to break.
“Dancing by the way,” I said after several strained beats of silence. “I’ve never been able to dance. My brother, Olly, used to say I have two left feet.”
Easing back into me, her head rested against my shoulder.
“And I’m a disaster in the kitchen. I set most things on fire. The only things I can make is instant noodles, grilled cheese, and tomato soup.”
“It’s hard to beat a good grilled cheese, and I won’t hear anything bad said about instant noodles. They were a staple for me during university.” She grinned up at me. “Thank you for saving my ass today.”
“Anytime.”
“I promise that once the four months are up, I’ll not bother you like this. Would hate to be seen as a needy ex-girlfriend.”
The corner of my eye twitched as I forced my smile to remain in place. “Even after this whole thing between us is done, I want you to know you can always count on me, Peaches.”
A knot formed between her brows. Her eyes scoured mine, searching for a hint or clue that I was full of shit. As she opened her mouth to speak, she shut it quickly. The smile on her lips wavered as she turned and stared straight ahead.
We rode back in silence.
Livi may not have believed what I said, but I meant it.
Whether it was fake or not, for the first time in far too long, I was starting to picture a life outside the mess I created.
And it didn’t take much to figure out why that was, not when the reason felt so near damn perfect between my arms.