Cowboy Up(25)

The quiet ticks around us. I’m entranced as much by it as I am with the man holding me. That is, until the horse takes a step to the side and I turn into a mess of arms and legs as I attack my savior while basically trying to climb inside his body. His chest moves in what I hope is laughter, and he adjusts his grip on me while allowing me to settle. I somehow manage to turn myself completely within his strong arms and wrap all of my limbs around him like some kind of deranged spider monkey. I realize my mistake the second his hands settle on my butt and the heat of his hold radiates through my thin shorts.

I swear, I stop breathing right then and there.

I lift my chest back from his, that rush of heat on my bottom making me feel fearless and the shyness that normally hinders my every move in life falling to the wayside as I look into his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I gasp. “I’d get off you, but I’m terrified to move.”

His lips tip at the corners in the tiniest of fractions and his eyes get warm.

“Not complaining,” he rumbles softer than a man his size should ever be able to speak.

“If you could just help me get down and then maybe point me in the direction of where we came from, I’ll get out of your hair. Or . . . off of your body, I guess.”

He shakes his head. “That’s not gonna happen, darlin’,” he answers, his tone leaving no room for me to disagree. Even if I wanted to, though, the expression on his face is enough to kill any complaint I might have voiced. I wasn’t argumentative to begin with, but the second he stops talking and inches his face closer to mine, I’m held captive. “I like you lookin’ at me like this a whole lot more than I like you doin’ it with fear in your eyes. And I like this softness in your eyes a fuckin’ helluva lot more than seein’ you with tears, baby.”

Oh. Wow.

“You want me to take you farther away from whoever put those tears on your beautiful face? Or do you want me to bring you back to your friend so she can do it? Either way, Caroline, I’m not leavin’ your side until I know you’re okay.”

Call me weak. Call me the very thing the woman I was running from had accused me of being years ago. But don’t call me a coward anymore, because right now I’d do anything in the world if it means I get to keep having this man look at me like I’m the most important thing to him. Doesn’t make a lick of sense, seeing as we don’t really know each other—apart from in the biblical sense and all—but that doesn’t seem to matter. My heart feels like I’m finally safe.

“Please don’t take me back there,” I whisper.

His head moves in one strong, sure nod. He takes one hand off my bottom as the other shifts so one huge palm is now directly between my cheeks, fingers spread wide to support me. I gasp, unable to keep from wiggling, when two of his fingers brush against the most sensitive area under my shorts-covered center. He doesn’t bring attention to how close he is to my entrance; instead he holds my gaze, his face softening even more when a puff of air escapes my lips.

“Are you gonna be okay if I let Dell move again?”

“Dell?” I frown.

“My horse.”

“Right.” I look around us but jolt when I realize just how far off the ground we really are. Especially now that I’m not just on a horse, but even higher after I just used Clayton’s body like some weird human pole.

“I won’t let you fall,” Clayton promises, his voice low and calming.

It could easily happen though.

“No, it couldn’t.”

My eyes widen when I realize I said that out loud, thankful he didn’t realize I wasn’t talking about the horse in the least.

“You’re safe with me.”

I take a slow, deep breath. “Don’t let go of me,” I tell my dark cowboy.

“Not sure that’s gonna be possible, sweetness,” he oddly answers, then makes a clicking sound. He doesn’t look away from my eyes, not when we start moving at a slow walk. Not when we start to trot a little faster. He holds me captive while I trust not only him, but also the animal carrying us. I should be terrified at what his words make me feel. I shouldn’t allow myself to think they mean something that should be impossible, but with my body plastered against his and his breath mingling with mine, I find myself melting into this man who is as much of a stranger as he was two months ago.

Only now that stranger has a face and a connection to my life through my friendship with his family. That means today won’t be the last time we see each other, even if those seven words don’t mean what my heart thinks they do. This isn’t the end of Clayton and me.