Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
SIENNA
“Do you want to talk about it?” August said, and I could hear the smirk in his voice as I checked Charlie’s saddle. It was larger than I was used to, made for two people, and I tickled Charlie under his grey chin until he breathed out and I could cinch the buckle underneath him securely.
Had I been ignoring August ever since I’d cried in his arms and he’d kissed me senseless? Yes. Had August been infuriatingly smug about the whole thing? Also yes.
“Talk about what?” I patted Charlie’s side and murmured in his ear what a good boy he was. When I looked up, August’s cheeks were flushed and I raised an eyebrow. “Something on your mind?”
He looked away and it was my turn to feel smug. Did August want me to tell him what a good boy he was too?
I pushed a stepping stool into place and used it to swing up into the saddle, settling Charlie with a few comforting pats.
I’d much rather have been riding Tea, but Charlie was better equipped to carry both me and August — since there was no way in hell he’d be riding by himself just yet.
Once our horse was settled, I nodded to August, indicating he should mimic my movement.
The stool looked ridiculously tiny beneath his feet and he wobbled uncertainly before putting one leg over Charlie’s back and sliding into place. I gave Charlie a few moments to adjust to the new weight on his back, letting the reins fall slack in my grip.
“Put your arms around my waist,” I instructed and August moved in close, the heat from his front more than welcome against the chill air of the afternoon. “This is going to feel bumpy. Try and move with Charlie, okay? You’ll see what I mean once we start moving.”
“Okay.” The solitary word was a rasp in my ear and a shiver worked its way through me.
I gently squeezed Charlie’s sides with my legs and he moved forward at a slow pace that was fine for now, just to get August used to how horses moved.
I found the rocking motion soothing, the smell of horse and hay thick in my nose in a way that felt nostalgic, despite it not being that long since I’d visited Lavender Creek last.
“How’re you feeling?”
August’s hands had tightened around me and it should have felt uncomfortable. Instead, I wanted to stretch out and rub against him like Muffin had after a particularly good nap, revelling in his touch. “It’s… high.”
My laughter made Charlie’s ears twitch, and I rubbed his neck as I glanced behind me at the large red-head who clung to me like I was all that stood between him and death. He was sitting stiffly and I knew if he carried on like that he would hurt like hell tomorrow.
“Relax.” I slipped my hands under his and guided his palms down to my denim-covered hips. “Feel how I move.”
His chest rumbled against my back and I didn’t know if it was a laugh or a groan, his fingers spasming against my hips as I lifted and rolled slightly in the way Wyn had shown me in order to keep my seat and protect my ass.
“Who taught you to ride?” he asked, voice tight and when I leaned back against him so I could look up into his face, the muscle in his jaw ticked.
“Bronwyn.”
He nodded, relaxing slightly. “Good.”
“Glad you approve.” I raised a brow and his eyes burned into me.
“The thought of anyone else having their hands on you like this while you’re moving like that is unbearable.
” He growled the words so quietly I would have missed them if I hadn’t been sitting so close.
The rush of heat that followed, warming my centre, didn’t lessen when August’s hand slid from my hip to splay across my stomach, pushing us impossibly closer.
My breath caught and he chuckled, the tickle of his breath raising the hairs on the back of my neck.
“Do you want me to move my hips, Sienna? You can tell me if I’m doing it right. ”
I bit my lip and nodded, not pausing to think about all the reasons this was a dumb idea as August canted his hips and rolled them in answer to the rhythm of mine. He was thick and hard beneath his jeans and I wondered what it would feel like to have that solid length pressed against my underwear.
Charlie picked up the pace with a jolt that shook me out of my thoughts. This was not the time or place.
“Good,” I managed to say. “You’re getting the hang of it.”
His hands relaxed, holding me more loosely, but he didn’t pull away and I could hear the amusement coloring his voice when he said, “I have a good teacher.”
We continued on in silence, the sound of Charlie’s hooves and the rustle of the trees in the breeze all that I could hear.
It was soothing being out in the fresh air like this, even if it was a little cold.
The closest I’d got to this peace in New York was walking through the park, and even then I was surrounded by other people, fully aware of every eye on me at all times.
On the ranch, there was nobody here to stare at me, or sell photographs to the paparazzi, there was just the dirt under us and the sun weakly shining through the heavy clouds.
…And a cowboy in training rubbing small circles into my hips with his fingers.
I did my best to ignore the way my body narrowed in on every point of contact between us, but couldn’t help imagining those large hands sliding higher, up and under the hem of my jacket to cup my breasts—
“You’re quiet,” August said and I blinked, taken out of my daydreams. “What’re you thinking so hard about?”
You fucking me. “Nothing,” I replied, a little too quickly. “We’ll be at the lake soon,” I continued, changing the subject before August could press me for more details. “It’s easier to get there on horseback, it would take us about an hour, maybe more, on foot.”
“Are you saying you’re trying to avoid an hour in my company?” he teased and I rolled my eyes.
“No. Your company is… fine. But the longer it takes us to get there, the less time we’d have by the water before we’d have to leave. It gets dark so quickly now and trust me, if you don’t know where you’re going then it’s easy to get lost around here.”
Charlie huffed as if in agreement and followed the pathway around the corner.
The foliage was denser here, more trees making up a mini forest that sheltered the small trail from the sunlight.
Beyond the trees were the mountains, their size more abrupt the closer we came, and several different lakes and streams that cut through some of the ranch.
“It sounds like there’s a story there.”
I shrugged. “Not really. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Haven, Wyn, and Ryder took me out here swimming in the summer and I got a little turned around in the trees.”
That was probably playing things down a little, it had taken me over two hours to find the trail that led back to the houses, thanks mostly to the wet footprints the others had left on their way back.
I’d wanted to leave early because the heat had become so overwhelming I’d thought I was going to puke and I’d assured everyone several times that I knew the way back.
Maybe it was the sunstroke, or maybe I’d just been overly confident, but I’d immediately become lost with everyone none-the-wiser until they’d arrived home before me.
“Besides,” I said, nodding to Charlie’s left flank. “We would have had to carry all the picnic stuff if we’d walked.”
August glanced over and, almost on cue, his stomach growled. “I could kiss you right now.”
I shot him a look and found only dry amusement curling his lips and heating his eyes.
“I didn’t say I was going to share.” He stuck out his bottom lip in a ridiculous pout that had me caving in five seconds flat.
“Fine. But only because I don’t want your trainer to yell at me for letting you starve. ”
“He’d have to catch us first.”
We laughed and by the time we reached the gap in the trees that offered a glimpse of blue, I was feeling lighter than I had in days.
I led Charlie through the foliage and then dismounted, watching closely as August mimicked me, and then secured Charlie so he wouldn’t go wandering and leave us here to walk back.
There was a small dip where the dirt gave way to water. The lake looked dark, reflecting the gray clouds back across its surface, and August came to stand beside me as we looked out at the water.
“The summer before last, this was heavenly.” I sat down on the shore, clasping my knees to my chest as a wind kicked up that made me shiver.
The velcro bag crackled as I pulled it open and handed August a sandwich.
“You could see right down to the bottom, the water was warm… We brought beers and snacks and Joe got sunburnt,” I said, fondly reminiscing.
“It was one of the best summers of my life.”
“What were the others?” August sat down too, and I wondered if I would come back and sit here once he left — remember this very moment and the soft look in his eyes.
“I travelled a lot, usually because my dad was on tour. Australia and Paris were my favourites, I actually got to spend time with him there — we even went to McDonalds. He bought me so many McNuggets that I puked in the hotel foyer.”
He laughed. “McDonalds? Really?”
“I was eleven,” I deadpanned and then grinned.
“Honestly, it could have been a lot worse if the ice cream machine had been working.” My smile faded as I remembered all the other summers, the ones where I’d been foisted off onto babysitters until, eventually, I was old enough that I didn’t have to go on his trips.
“What about you? What’s your favorite summer? ”
“Hmm.” August leaned back, putting his palms in the dirt as he stretched out his legs with a huff of breath that made my cheeks warm.
“Probably the road trip River and I took when we were like, seventeen? River had just got his license and school was out for the summer and we had the brilliant idea of a road trip to Vegas so we could try out our fake IDs.”
I gasped in mock shock, grabbing hold of his arm and dropping it quickly before I squeezed the bicep. “You rebels. Fake IDs? Really?”
“Yep. Worked a treat.” August snorted and shook his head. “Except we didn’t make it to Vegas, not even Atlantic City. We were geographically challenged, young and dumb… Guess where we got to before turning around.”
I bit my lip. “Where?”
He pressed his lips together before choking out, “Fort Lee,” and dissolving into laughter. “We barely made it out of New York, let alone to Nevada.”
My laughter joined his and when we stopped, breathing heavily and wiping our eyes, the quiet was comforting. “Well, you’ve left New York now.”
He smiled, eyes crinkling and dimples flashing until I had to look away. “I’ve travelled a bit since then, though not as much as you I’m sure.”
“Lavender Creek might not be Nevada,” I said, digging my fingertips into the dirt.
“But if there’s one thing we know how to do the best, it’s summers.
Swimming in the sun, grilling in the evening, wine on the porch as the sun sets.
” I swallowed past the lump in my throat and smiled. “There’s no place I’d rather be.”
“Can’t wait,” he said, smirking like it was a done deal, and I was relieved when his phone vibrated in his pocket so I didn’t have to respond.
“It’s River.” He didn’t seem surprised and the worry brought a bitter taste to my mouth as I considered how often he might have been talking to his brother since we’d arrived.
Had he already decided when he was leaving?
“I’ll call him later,” he said and disappointment unfurled even as I nodded.
Why did he keep drawing me in, playing with me when he acted like he was staying here as a permanent fixture, if he knew we had an expiry date?
I stood, brushing dirt off the back of my jeans.
“We should probably get going before it starts to get dark.” He seemed surprised by my abrupt need to leave, but what did he expect?
I wasn’t sure what I wanted from August, but I knew I didn’t want to keep doing whatever this was if he was just going to kiss me and then run again.
Even if I was technically the last one to run away.
“You survived your first horse ride. Ready to get back on?” I tried to smile, like everything was fine and I hadn’t just made the lamest joke ever.
“Sure, but I mean, there’s no rush if you want to stay longer and talk some more—”
“Nope.” My foot fit in the stirrup and I pushed hard to swing my leg over before leading Charlie over to a large rock and gesturing for August to use it to climb up. “I’m good.”
He settled behind me and I tensed when his hands landed on my hips so I scooted forward in the saddle as I tried to maintain some distance.
Sure, we flirted. We kissed a couple times. But that was it. If I wanted any chance of moving on after August goes back to his life in the city, then I needed to remember to guard my heart. Otherwise, I’d have it broken.