Chapter Five
The morning light slanted through the barn’s open doors as Ryan stepped inside, the rich aroma of her steaming coffee from The Everyday Grind warming her palms. She found Cull ambling down the center aisle. With a friendly nod, Cull raised his cup in salute.
“Good morning,” Ryan called.
“Morning, Ryan. You look wide awake today.” Cull chuckled, then frowned as Seth stepped through the barn door, his boots thudding on the straw-strewn floor. Cull looked at her. “You’ll go with me today.”
Ryan shook her head. “So he’s still pouting?”
“I don’t pout, Ms. Carroll,” Seth snapped, straightening his shoulders. He glanced at Ryan’s coffee cup. “Besides, it’s better if you go with Cull.”
“Because he’s not a prick,” Ryan shot back.
Seth took a step closer, eyes narrowing to slits. “If you don’t like it here, there’s the door.”
“Oh, no,” Ryan said, chin lifting. “I’m going to do my job, then I’ll leave, and I’m looking forward to it.” She turned back to Cull. “Horseback or UTV?”
Cull looked between them and, without hesitation, said, “Horseback.”
“Okay. May I take Pearl?” Ryan asked.
“Of course. I’ll saddle her for you.” Cull moved toward the tack room, but Seth’s voice followed them. “She needs to learn how to do it.”
Cull paused, strode back to Seth, leaned over, and whispered something into Seth’s ear that Ryan couldn’t catch. Seth huffed and walked away.
Ryan squared her shoulders. “Have a good day, Mr. Harrison.”
“Whatever,” he muttered, trudging past her.
She watched his retreating figure, throat tight. She called after him. “Two more weeks until you’re rid of me.”
He halted, turned, and regarded her with a cool half-smile. “Looking forward to it.” Then he strode out.
Ryan blinked back tears of anger. “Damn you, Seth Harrison,” she whispered, and turned to where Cull was cinching the girth on Pearl’s saddle.
“You alright?” Cull asked gently.
Ryan took a breath and squared her shoulders. “Yes. If he thinks he’s looking forward to me leaving, he has no idea how much I am.”
Cull’s eyes were sympathetic. “I’m sorry.”
“Why should you be? You’re not the prick.”
Once Pearl was ready, Ryan swung her leg over the saddle, feeling the soft creak of leather. Cull vaulted into his own saddle without stirrups, landing with perfect balance. Ryan smiled at the display, she’d seen Seth do it, too. and imagined her own graceless attempt.
“Your horse is beautiful, Cull,” she said, admiring the big Appaloosa. His coat was completely white with black spots all over it. He looked like a big Dalmatian dog, she thought with a smile.
“Thanks.” Cull nodded to her to follow.
“What’s his name?”
Cull glanced at her with a grin. “Spots.”
Ryan burst out laughing as they rode from the barn into the sunlit pasture, the horses’ hooves stirring dew from the grass. Together they made their way to the corn, its stalks just coming from the dirt as they reached for the sky.
As Cull walked along, checking the stalks, Ryan snapped photos. She glanced at the mountains in the distance. Montana was, without a doubt, beautiful.
That evening, the sky painted in lavender and rose, Ryan called her mother from her cabin. Ryan missed her so much, but she also knew that her parents were out on one of their road trips.
“How’s the trip?” Ryan asked, brushing loose strands of hair from her face.
“We’re in Wyoming now. Not too far from you. We might make Montana our next stop,” her mother said excitedly.
“I’d love to see you both. I miss you, but I won’t be here too much longer. We’ll get together once we’re all home.”
“We miss you too honey. Oh, we’re pulling into a rest stop. I have to visit the lady’s room. Talk soon. We love you.”
After the call, Ryan sank into a warm, lavender-scented bath, water swirling around her like a gentle hug. Still, every time she closed her eyes, Seth’s cold stare flashed before her. She climbed into bed under the soft quilt, heart pounding, and fell into a light, restless sleep.
The following morning, Ryan entered the barn to see Seth strolling toward her. Since their words yesterday, she knew Seth wasn’t talking to her, but she was going to make the first move.
“Are you taking me out to the fields today, or do you have other work calling your name?” she asked, her voice soft but edged with frustration.
He braced his broad shoulders against the barn’s rough-hewn plank wall. “I always have work to do,” he growled.
Ryan’s lips thinned. “You don’t need to bite my head off. I only asked because you keep passing me off to someone else. Mr. Beckett asked you to show me around so I could get photos, remember?”
His jaw clenched, the muscles in his neck standing out. “I told Ash I’d help where I could, but I’ve got horses to train. I can’t drop everything just to babysit you.”
“Babysit me?” Her eyes flashed. “I’d rather go with anyone else than you, you—” She cut herself off, but the word hung between them anyway.
They stared at each other in silence, the dusty morning light filtering through cracks overhead. Seth inhaled, turned, and marched from the barn. Dust puffed around his scuffed cowboy boots with each determined stride.
Ryan tried to count to ten, one… two… three, before she stormed out, following him across the yard. She watched him vanish inside his house, the door slamming so hard; she was sure the windows rattled.
“Oh, no you don’t,” she muttered, climbing the stairs two at a time. She rapped sharply on the door. When it swung open, she shoved past him into the kitchen.
“I didn’t invite you in,” he growled.
“Enough of this,” she snapped, planting her hands on her hips. “I am tired of you treating me like shit. I have a job to do whether you like it or not, and I’m doing—”
“Well, I don’t fucking like it,” he snarled, pivoting toward the door and opening it. He nodded his head, a silent command for her to leave.
Ryan crossed her arms. As soon as he took his hand off the knob, she reached over and slammed the door and turned to him. “We’re sorting this out right now.”
He scoffed. “I need a shower. Unlike you, I’ve been working since five this morning, and I have paperwork to do. Get out.” His tone was icy, final.
She advanced. “No. I want to know why you hate me so much.”
He shrugged, voice low and harsh. “I don’t hate you. I just don’t have time for you.”
She sneered. “You are such a prick.”
“And you are a big pain in my ass,” he shot back.
Her hand whipped up and slapped him across the cheek. The crack of skin echoed in the room. Seth’s green eyes darkened, pupils dilated, the anger rolling off him in waves. He caught her wrists, yanking her close until she had to stand on tiptoe.
“Don’t ever hit me again,” he rasped, and shoved her away. He turned to leave, but she grabbed his arm, spinning him back around.
He paused, chest heaving, his gaze shifting from her eyes to her lips and back again.
Then, without warning, he slammed his mouth to hers.
Surprise and desire merged in her chest. He kissed her fiercely, tongue pressing, exploring.
His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her flush against his hard body.
Ryan’s fingers tangled in his hair, her body humming with heat as she felt him respond. Every nerve in her being ignited when she realized how solid he felt against her.
He lifted her easily, her legs wrapping around his waist, and strode through the living room in a heady blur of lust. The carpeted hallway muffled his footsteps as he carried her down a hallway and into the bedroom.
He settled her on her feet, then shed his clothes in quick, sure motions until only his boxer briefs clung to him.
She watched, heart pounding, as he reached into the nightstand and withdrew a condom. He ripped it open, the packet’s crinkle sharp in the hushed room. He shucked his boxer briefs, rolled it down his length with slow deliberation, as he stared at her.
His hands framed her face, thumbs brushing her cheekbones. “You are so fucking beautiful,” he murmured, voice rough with need.
He slipped his fingers under her T-shirt feeling the curve of her waist, the soft rise of her breasts.
He cupped one breast, thumb teasing her nipple until it peaked, and she groaned.
He quickly stripped off her clothes, leaving her naked, then he picked her up again, placed her on the edge of the bed, kneeled at the foot of the bed, eyes locked on hers and gently pushed her legs apart.
When his tongue brushed her sensitive flesh, her breath hitched. He sucked at her clitoris, patient and insistent, until her back arched and a startled cry tore from her lips. She came hard, her body trembling beneath his ministrations.
Panting, she reached for him, but he rose, ordering, “Move up the bed.” Obedient, she slid against the cool sheets. He climbed between her legs, trailing kisses along her inner thighs. When he hovered above her, his cock nudged against her.
“Open your eyes. Look at me,” he demanded softly.
Her eyes fluttered open, and his gaze smoldered as he guided himself in. She bit her lip, as he continued to thrust. The rhythm was slow at first, but it quickened, bone and muscle moving together until the headboard tapped against the wall.
“Seth… please,” she moaned, her nails grazing his shoulders.
He withdrew and plunged in again, harder, deeper, driving her against the mattress in urgent waves. She wrapped her legs around him, matching his pace, her hips lifting to meet his.
Every stroke sent sparks through her veins. She cried out his name as she chased another orgasm, squeezing him with trembling thighs. He slid a hand between them to her clitoris, rubbing in time with his thrusts, and she shattered around him, crying out as pleasure washed through her.