She? Oops. She should have inspected the horse more closely. "Well, you can figure what you want. I don't care," she said, hating that everyone's opinion of her was so poor.
This man was going to drive her nuts - he was presumptuous and ill-mannered. If she could go riding with anyone else, she'd be much better off, but so far there were no other volunteers.
"This ride will take a while, Ms. Storm, so hold on and follow my lead." Colt walked over to an even bigger horse than hers, one who was pure black and seemed jittery as he - or she? - waited to be ridden. She really should ask what breed the horses were, but if she did, he'd probably look at her with that maddening gleam in his eyes that screamed "city girl."
As she wobbled in her saddle, Brielle started thinking that maybe she'd made a mistake, but then as they started out from the barn, the only thing she could concentrate on was trying not to fall off. She didn't have any more time to worry about what would happen if she couldn't manage to hold on.
Chapter Ten
When the open grass on the hills did nothing for him, Colt knew he was in a seriously bad mood. It was foolish, really - no, it was completely ridiculous - but watching Hawk flirt with Brielle had thoroughly pissed him off.
Yes, Colt knew logically that it had been harmless, and yes, he knew Hawk was even more afraid of commitment than he was, but still, he couldn't banish the jealousy. Hawk had been his friend since the first day of kindergarten, but that didn't mean they hadn't always enjoyed competing with each other.
Actually, an entire group of them really liked to push each other to the limits, to see how far they could take things. It was good for them and never before had jealousy been an issue.
Never before today.
Colt had practically seen red when he witnessed Brielle's reaction to meeting Hawk. But at least he had his answer on whether to sleep with this woman.
If he didn't, he had a feeling she wouldn't leave his consciousness alone. And she was something that he couldn't have haunting him for the rest of his days. He didn't want to be in a "relationship" with her. She was a city girl, a spoiled little princess.
But there was just something about her, something that was calling to him. She was on his mind all the time, and he didn't understand why or how.
Yes, he'd been seriously attracted to women before, but the second they left his sight, they also vanished from this thoughts. Women served a purpose, a very important purpose, but still just a purpose. A means to an end. And she had a cute little end …
Anyway, once his needs were met, Colt was fine with walking away, and then finding the next woman when his desires began to cloud his judgment again. If it looked as if a woman wasn't interested, which happened just about never, he would move happily on to the next.
If he wasn't sexually attracted to them, once in a blue moon they'd become a friend, but most of the time he just wouldn't strike up a conversation. Whichever way it went, it didn't affect him, didn't leave him with longing, didn't leave him in such a disagreeable mood.
After about ten minutes of riding out along the borders of Brielle's property, he decided he'd better get the air cleared up. He was supposed to be showing her the land, and he certainly couldn't point things out if he wasn't speaking to the silly woman. He had to hand it to her, though - she knew when to be silent.
That was a quality he could appreciate in a woman. … Damn. If his mama had ever heard him say such a crude thing, of course, she'd have smacked him in the back of the head. He almost flinched just thinking about it.
Yeah, Colt knew he could be an ass, but weren't all men at some point? Yeah, they were, he assured himself. Even if he knew he was full of bullshit, along with that whole boys will be boys mentality.
"It looked like you and Hawk were getting quite cozy back there at the store." Dammit. Colt wanted to kick himself for his words and the tone in which he'd delivered them, but it was now out in the open and he couldn't take the statement back, so he might as well hold his ground.
///
When Brielle whipped her head around, and her horse took a side step, most likely from the tension in the woman's legs, Colt didn't know what to think. Was she upset that she'd been caught drooling over his friend, or was she pissed at what he'd just said?
"What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, it didn't take you long to forget that we'd been making out in the changing room right before Hawk walked into the place." Again, he wished he could take the words back, but his brain seemed to be sending him messages just a few seconds too late.
"You know what, Colt?"
He waited but she didn't say anything. "What?" he finally asked.