Chapter 8
Bronco
It was the kind of kiss that’s more than physical. It was two halves finding each other and becoming one whole. It’s the type of frantic energy you only experience in the middle of a hurricane. Powerful and raw, erotic and all-consuming.
But the moment I lifted my head from that kiss, I read the fear in her eyes. She looked like a little baby bunny about to run far, far away from me.
So like a desperate, selfish man, I grasped for the first excuse I could think of. Yeah, maybe it makes me a bastard. But if all Lauren will give me is scraps, I’ll take them happily. I’ll let them be enough. They have to be. There’s no one else. Never has been. Never will be.
Lauren manages to avoid me for the rest of the day. But she finally puts in an appearance when it’s time for dinner.
She joins me and the other guys around the campfire. She’s passing her phone around, showing them the photos she’s edited.
I don’t pay any attention to the photos. The only thing I’m looking at is the expression on her face. She looks so proud of herself but also a little bit sad. I’m not sure what that’s about.
She was afraid of the intensity between us after the kiss, yet she also seems upset that I gave her an easy out. I can’t make sense of this woman.
“You’re not supposed to make sense of them,” Ridge says. He claps me on the back, and I realize I must have said the words out loud.
“Women aren’t a mystery to be solved. They’re complex enigmas to be appreciated, meditated upon, and admired, but never fully understood.”
I stare at Lauren and flip another burger without even glancing at it. Enigma is definitely the word I would use for Lauren. I could spend the rest of my life trying to understand her, and I know I’ll never even come close to scratching the surface of who she is.
“Now that you have more photos up, what’s next on the agenda?” Flint asks her.
She wipes her face on a napkin. “Well, a lot of the people bidding on the cowboys are interested in seeing more videos of the farm and everyday farm life. One of the biggest requests I keep getting is for footage from a horse ride. But I’ve never ridden a horse before.
So maybe, I could get a lesson from someone here? ”
I don’t even have to look at the cowboys. They know better than to volunteer for a mission like that. It would not end well for them.
After a beat of silence, I clear my throat and say, “I could do it. I could give you a lesson on riding horses.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’re much too busy running the ranch,” she answers.
She fixes her gaze on Cord and opens her mouth.
I interrupt her. “No, I don’t have much going on tomorrow. I’d be glad to do it.”
She studies me for a moment, like she’s trying to figure out what I’m not telling her. Finally, she nods. “We can do that tomorrow morning.”
I agree with her already knowing that tomorrow morning can’t come soon enough.
By the time the next day arrives, I feel like a kid who’s waited all year for Christmas. There’s a spring in my step when I go to the barn to meet with her.
“Let’s get this over with,” Lauren announces when she arrives.
She’s not wearing her usual vintage dress today. She’s wearing blue jeans that she fills out perfectly. It takes all of my self-control not to grab those firm, juicy globes. I want to know what they feel like in my hands when I’m kissing her, holding her, satisfying her.
For today’s lesson, I’ve selected Princess, one of our oldest mares. She’s gentle and sweet. She doesn’t spook easily, and I know she’ll offer plenty of good footage for Lauren.
I’ve already got Princess saddled up. I lead her out of the barn, going slow so Flint, who is standing a few yards away, can appreciate the moment on his phone.
Lauren sees where my gaze is. “Smart. I hadn’t even considered that.”
“Stand here,” I tell her, positioning her so Flint can continue recording. “Now, you’re going to put your hand here on the horn. Grip it firmly and put your foot here in the saddle. Then you just swing up.”
“Swing up,” she repeats. Her voice is filled with doubt.
“You know how to climb on a bicycle. Same concept.”
“You mean straddle it,” she says, her cheeks taking on the slightest pink hue.
I have a sudden vision of her thick thighs straddling me. Of my cock coming to rest against her center as she eases down on me.
I have to swallow and try to think about things that don’t make me rock hard.
“Just give it a try,” I tell her. My voice is deep and rumbly, filled with all the unspoken longings.
She has one false start then manages to swing herself up easily. She gives me a triumphant look. “I did it!”
My heart swells with pride. She has no idea how proud I am of her every moment of every day or how much I want to tell her that.
She frowns. “Where’s your horse?”
“Right here,” I swing up behind her.
The moment I’m behind her, all of the tension bleeds from my body. There’s just something so right about being this close to Lauren. She’s warmth and sunshine, the one place I feel at home.
But even as the tension bleeds from me, she sits ramrod straight. “Bronco,” she hisses, glaring at me from over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“Relax, the cameras are watching,” I tell her. And as soon as I say the words, I hate myself a little bit.
She loosens her posture and relaxes into me, but it still doesn’t feel natural. It’s not the same as when she melted into me during our kiss.
If I could go back in time, I don’t know what I’d do differently. I wouldn’t take back that kiss. I can’t wish that moment away. It’s one I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.
I want to have both sides of Lauren, the sweet girl who is my best friend’s little sister and the sultry woman that I have fallen in love with. It breaks my heart
“What now?” She asks. Her head brushes my shoulder and I can’t get over how right it feels. I want a thousand more lifetimes just like this with Lauren in my arms.
“Now we’re going to give her a gentle nudge.” I explain how to do the gesture to get the mare moving.
Princess starts off at a gentle pace, slow and steady. Her previous owner who surrendered her when he could no longer care for her on his farm said she’s always been like this.
“Oh wow,” Lauren says. “I didn’t expect it to be such a smooth ride.”
“With me, it always will be,” I answer.
“Bronco.” She calls my name softly. It’s a warning, it’s a plea. It’s both of them mixed together. I don’t know how to answer when all I want to do so desperately is just kiss her.
We ride together slowly. I’m aware of every breath she takes, every slight movement she makes, every time she leans into the ride. It’s a special kind of torture.
After we’ve gotten some good footage, I think the ride is about to end. I’m braced for her to call it quits, but Lauren flashes me a mischievous grin. I see the playful side of her that I’ve been missing since our kiss.
“Will she gallop?”
“She’ll go as fast as you want.” I nudge Princess, and she speeds up.
“Faster,” Lauren insists until we’re going at a full-blown gallop. We race through the open fields, exploring miles of the farm without so much as a word. There’s only the sound of hooves, Lauren’s soft chuckles, and the thrum of my body around hers.
Finally, I nudge Princess and she slows to a trot. “Let’s go into the woods. I want to show you something.”
We ride together a few minutes in silence and even though we don’t have an audience anymore, she’s still relaxed. Which is more than I can say for my dick. He’s rock hard, and we’re both pretending not to notice.
“Look up ahead into the clearing,” I tell her when we finally get to the right area.
She gasps at the sight of the big pond. The water is rippling from the movement of the wind and fish swimming just underneath the surface. Ducks quack happily as they waddle along the banks, enthusiastically catching up with each other on the day’s latest gossip.
“Oh,” she breathes out the words softly. “It’s so pretty. I want to walk down by it.”
I gesture for the horse to stop and hop off. I help her down, reaching for her hips to steady her when she wobbles. Electricity passes between us, but I drop my hands. Remind myself to behave and stop breaking her heart.
She clears her throat. “This is beautiful, your own personal piece of paradise.”
“It’s the kind of place you go when you need to clear your head.”
“How deep is it?”
“Pretty shallow, maybe five or six feet deep. It does connect to several other waterways in the county.” Much of Courage County is marshlands so there’s plenty of rivers, streams, ponds, and even a few waterfalls in this town.
The smile she gives me is the only warning. The next thing I know, she’s tugging off her clothes. She shimmies her body as she does, probably not intending to give me a show. Something about seeing her beautiful body jiggling has my cock going to stone.
The sight of her white panties clinging to her pussy lips, damp from her arousal has me grabbing the front of my jeans and trying desperately to make room in them. It’s no use. My cock is a horny bastard, furious he hasn’t been allowed entry into her heaven.
I could lay her out on the bank right now, give both of us the satisifaction we need. As if she senses my thoughts, she gives me a come-and-get-me grin and wades into the water.
I do the only thing I can think to do. I grab my boots and haul them off. Tossing them carelessly on the bank beside the rest of my clothes, I go in after her.
That grin hasn’t faded from her face. “You didn’t have to follow me.”
“I’d follow you anywhere,” I say, and I fucking mean it. She could ask me to go to the ends of the earth with her, and I would. I’d follow her just for the chance to kneel at her feet and swear my allegiance for all time.
“But can you catch me?” She asks, swimming away.
“The problem is, once I catch you, I’m keeping you,” I call, letting her stay just out of my reach. Years of training for combat missions means I could easily overpower her. But the chase is half the fun, and I let her think she’s winning. Until the moment I don’t.
She splashes me, trying desperately to fight back, but there’s no real intent behind it. She’s not trying to resist me as much as she’s putting on a show.
“You caught me,” she breathes when she’s finally exhausted herself.
“I did.” She’s in my arms, carefully tucked against me. Her bountiful tits heave against my arm with every breath she takes. Her nipples are sharp points that I want deep in my mouth.
Her gaze flicks to my lips, like she can hear every filthy, depraved thought in my head. “I don’t want to be mad at you anymore.”
“How about we just agree I’m an idiot?”
“Friends again?” she asks.
“I never stopped being your friend, never will,” I answer.
Something passes between us. This is the moment to lean in and kiss her again, but I see the fear on her face. There’s no magic thing to say to erase the fears in her head, so I pull back instead. She looks disappointed, but it’s for the best.
The ride back to the ranch is a silent one, my earlier good mood evaporated entirely. Maybe the time is never going to work out, and I should accept that I can’t have Lauren. The thought sends a crippling pain behind my ribcage.
As soon as we’re at the barn, I dismount easily.
I turn to help her like I did at the pond.
She’s already trying to get down, only she catches her foot in the stirrup.
I manage to catch her before she can fall to the ground, but her pained noise tells me she wasn’t uninjured despite my quick reflexes.
I yell for Colt who appears from the barn and glances at Lauren. “Is she okay?”
“I’m fine,” Lauren says. “Just tripped a little getting off the horse.”
“Can you get Princess squared away?”
“Yeah,” he grabs the horse’s reins. “Should I get Ridge?”
“No, I don’t need a doctor,” Lauren protests. “Let me try putting some weight on it.”
The moment she tries, she makes another whimper, and I decide she’s done trying. I can’t stand here and watch her in pain. I’m not that man. So, I scoop her up and stride into my house.
I carry her to the living room sofa and set her down gently. Then I lift her leg and put her foot on the coffee table, propped up on a blanket. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
From his place on his bed next to the fireplace, Menace makes a little noise like he can sense she’s injured and wants desperately to comfort her.
“Don’t worry. She’s going to be fine,” I reassure him before leaving to find supplies.
I grab the first aid kit from my bathroom. Settling on the coffee table next to her leg, I ignore the creaking wood beneath me. Carefully, I unlace her sneaker and remove it.
She doesn’t make a noise, but I don’t miss the flicker of pain in her expression. I press gently along her ankle. It’s already beginning to swell. “Doesn’t feel broken.”
“See?” She gives me a grimace that she’s trying to turn into a smile. “It’s fine.”
“You should still stay off of it for a little while. Why don’t I make you some lunch?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
I growl deep in my throat, my limit finally reached. “Dammit, why won’t you ever just let me take care of you?”
“Because maybe I like it too much,” she says. Her eyes widen like she didn’t mean to let the words slip out.
I think about a little girl who watched her mom walk away, about a sister who lost her brother three years ago. “I’m not leaving you.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“Did you ever think that maybe I want to be there for you? That maybe I want to take care of you?” Why can’t this frustrating woman see that all I want is to protect her, provide for her, and pleasure her? I don’t want anything in return but her sweet smile for the rest of my days.
“I can’t be another one of your rescue dogs, Bronco.”
“It’s not like that!”
“What’s it like?” she taunts.
“It’s like this,” I answer, knowing the only time we haven’t been fighting lately, we’ve been kissing. So I kiss her passionately, holding her tight against me until her hands are gripping my shoulders, her nails digging through the material of my faded flannel.
When I finally break the kiss long enough to suck in desperate lungfuls of oxygen, I study her. Her lips are swollen, and her pupils are dilated. She looks as drugged out on our chemistry as I am.
She presses shaking fingertips to her lips then whispers. “Was that theater too?”
“There’s no audience,” I answer before kissing her again.