Dirty Player(38)

Her eyes jumped wide as she gingerly reached out and took the handles from me.

I slammed the trunk closed and her brows furrowed.

“Don’t we need to take those inside?”

“No. We’ll get them later. I have something else planned first. Now open your present.”

I flashed her a wicked grin as I said the word, knowing exactly what she’d be thinking of.

“I’m not sure I’m ready for another one of your presents.” She gave me a timid grin before she peered into the bag like I’d loaded it with rattlesnakes. Then those brown eyes popped open and her grin widened.

“Boots?”

“Yup.” I nodded and took the box out of the bag for her. I’d also made sure to include thick socks so she didn’t get blisters on her soft feet. “These are yours, for when you’re here with me. I need to run inside and grab mine while you put them on, and then we’re going for a ride.”

“On the horses?” she gasped, clearly surprised.

I smirked. “I could ride you another way, but I thought you’d like the horses first.”

She bobbed her head energetically. “I do. I want that. The horses.” Her cheeks burned hot pink and she winked. “Then later, it’s going to be me riding you.”

We’d see about that. The thought made my dick come to life in my pants, though, so it wasn’t an altogether bad idea. I bent down and wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her to me. Her fingers instantly entwined behind my neck when I tilted my head. My lips brushed against hers and I slid my tongue inside her parted lips, tasting her slowly. She responded immediately, letting me take control the way I enjoyed it. She tasted like heaven and mint, soft and sweet in my arms. God. I was falling fast for this woman. “Get your boots on,” I said when I pulled away. I smacked her ass before I stepped back and grinned. “I’ll be right back.”



***



Lee had already pulled out Ralph and Winne by the time I’d changed my clothes and grabbed the lunch I’d had him ask his wife, Sue, to make for us. The small cooler was slung over my shoulder and I hurried to the fence where Lee and Shannon were talking.

“A picnic, too?” she asked, brown eyes sparking in the sun when she saw the cooler.

“My wife made it for you,” Lee chimed in, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. “Thrilled when Oliver asked her to. Can’t remember a time when he’d asked for a picnic lunch. To Sue, it was like Christmas, so excited she danced and sang in the kitchen all morning, preparing a feast for you two.”

I glared at him, but it lacked heat. “Tell Sue thanks.”

“Will do.” He tipped his hat to me and winked. “Now you two kids don’t do anything I wouldn’t do today.”

Next to me, Shannon giggled, and I waved him away. “Scram, you old coot.”

“I’m going, I’m going. Be back Monday.”

I kept an eye on Lee as he climbed into the truck, and when he’d turned and driven down the driveway, both of us waving goodbye to him, I turned back to Shannon and arched a brow. “You ready to ride?”

Her eyes lit with unabashed excitement. “I can’t wait.”

“Let’s go then.” I took her hand and pulled her through the gated fence. Winne and Ralph danced a bit before settling down when we walked up to them. “You’ll sit on Ralph because he’s calmer and won’t throw you.”

“Wow, you know how to calm a girl’s nerves.”

“Just preparing you,” I said, smacking her rear end. “I’ll take Hulk out later and exercise him, but he’s too ornery for a slow ride, and I didn’t want him getting the other horses excited. Next time, when you’re ready, I’ll put you on Winne. She’s a bit more feisty, but something tells me you’ll be able to handle her in no time.” I brushed my hand down Ralph’s crest to his shoulder until I knew he was calm. “Ready, boy? Be good to her. She’s new to this.”

As if he understood, he neighed and dipped his head and met Shannon’s gaze.

“Hey, Ralph,” she whispered, reaching out to touch his neck. “You’ll be nice, right?”

“He’ll sense your nerves,” I warned her. “So he might be jumpy at first, but hold on tight and sit with your back straight, centering your balance, and he’ll calm once I’m on Winne. When I get on her, I’ll take your reins and guide him for a bit, okay? All you have to do is hold the pommel of the saddle.”

I pointed to where I meant on the saddle and waited for the sign that she was ready.

It rolled through her like it did every time I suggested something outside her comfort zone. It was usually about sex, but her nerves brightened and then evaporated much the same way now as she blew out a breath.

“Okay. I’m ready.”

I told her how to hold on to the saddle of the horse and helped her up, holding on to Ralph’s reins around his throat to keep him steady. He wiggled a bit once she was on, and I saw her eyes flash wide when he sidestepped, pulling me toward him a bit, but he quickly settled back.

“You good?” I looked up at Shannon and the force of her smile hit me like a meteor straight to my chest. It made my lips part and my ribs burn as she grinned down at me, so fucking excited she could light up the sky.

“Ready, old man.”

“I’ll show you old man,” I grumbled teasingly and hoisted myself onto Winne. Once I was saddled, I reached over and took Ralph’s reins. Shannon’s giggle echoed through the air every time Ralph moved in a way she wasn’t suggesting.

We took two laps around the large ring while I helped her with her balance and gave her basic instructions for digging her heels in and how to pull on the reins to make him stop or slow down.

The entire time, her grin kept her lips spread wide and she continued that sweet giggling sound even though I knew she was focused on paying attention and learning too.

She was like Beaux in that moment, enjoying the hell out of life while at the same time focused on doing her best.

For the first time since I could remember, it made jealousy burn deep inside me. That both of them lived like that. Carefree and focused. Kicked back but paying attention. I’d been so focused on one thing for so long, I hadn’t realized until that moment with Shannon how much I’d forgotten to have fun along the way.

“Thank you,” I said, walking Winne next to Ralph until I could reach over and place my hand on Shannon’s thigh. “Thank you for doing this with me today.”

I let my sincerity shine in my eyes, hoping like hell she could read everything I felt in that moment. It was perfection. Something I wanted to remember forever.

“I should be thanking you,” she said, her voice awed and soft. “For teaching me this. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had so much fun.”

Neither did I. Something told me this wouldn’t be the last time I had this much fun, though. Not with Shannon next to me.

“Ready to hit the trails?”

“Trails?”

“Yup. You didn’t think we’d stay in the ring all day, did you?”

She frowned a bit and then shook her head. “Well, yeah. Sort of, but let’s do it.”





Chapter TWENTY-ONE





SHANNON



I was on a horse on my way through a wooded trail with Oliver on my left side, and we were going to have a picnic lunch.

It was not what I was expecting us to do the minute we arrived. I figured it’d involve seduction and fucking and lube and butt plugs.

I hadn’t determined if I was disappointed by this or thankful. Apprehension had chilled my skin when he’d first sent the text telling me to remember the plug. I could practically see the glimmer in his eye as he’d sent it, knowing what that one sentence would do to me. Yet I hadn’t hesitated in packing it either. What he wanted involved a certain amount of trust, and while we hadn’t been together long, Oliver was showing me that he was the guy who could be trusted with everything I had to give him.

I was falling for him, against my original plans of moving to Raleigh to make something of myself and figure out who I was without a man. Oliver didn’t detract from those plans, though. With his obvious interest in my day and in my business and in his appreciation for my work, plus his sexy, alpha side I saw all the time when we were together, he was proving to be a man who could stand at my side, supporting and encouraging me in equal measure to what I gave him.

Yeah. I was falling—falling fast and hard, and I didn’t even care about having a safety net.

Next to me, Oliver led us to the left a bit farther and then pulled the horses to stop at the tree line.

I gasped as I saw where he’d brought us.

“Wow.” I sighed. “This is beautiful.”

In front of us was a small lake that jutted up against the tree line except for the small, beachy area where he had led us.

We were surrounded by trees, the sun high in the cloudless sky. Cerulean blue and emerald green filled my vision as my gaze wandered around the water until I was looking at Oliver. In the bright sun, the baseball cap he generally wore was turned backward. His eyes were as bright as the trees.

“This place is beautiful.”

“I come here a lot,” he said, dismounting from his horse. “Helps me think after a shitty game.”