I turned to see Emma heading down from the house. Damn, that woman could wear a pair of jeans like nobody’s business. I hadn’t told her much, except how to dress, and I’d smirked when her chin jutted up as I delivered the order. But she’d complied. I could only imagine the running stream of curses that had probably come out of her mouth as she dolled herself up. Her blonde hair bounced with each sassy step as she walked toward me.
I shook my head. “I told you to pull your hair back.”
Her pout just made me more eager to get on the ATV and get out of sight so I could show her the other surprise I’d packed. I waited until she stood directly in front of me, and I spotted the elastic on her wrist. Pulling it off, I grasped her shoulders and turned her around, before smoothing her hair back into a ponytail and slipping the elastic around it. When I finished, she peered at me over her shoulder, brow furrowed.
“Why are you so good at that?”
I didn’t think she’d appreciate me telling her that it was far from the first time I’d pulled a woman’s hair out of her face … usually because I was about to bind her in other ways. I decided not answering was the wisest course of action. I also wasn’t ready to explain that it felt different with her. Hell, I could barely admit it to myself. This was nothing more than a little summer fling. That was all. It couldn’t be anything else.
“I think you’d be more interested in the other things I’m good at.” I spoke directly into her ear. She shivered, and I ran my hands down her arms. “Let’s head out so I can show you.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re not talking about the ranch?” she whispered.
“Because you’re a smart girl.”
I backed away and grabbed the helmet off the seat of the second ATV just before one of the big overhead barn doors slid open with a rattle of hinges.
TJ was standing outside. He studied us. “You gonna be gone long, boss?”
“Until supper. You think you can hold down the fort until then?”
He nodded, his eyes running over Emma’s form appreciatively. My fingers closed around hard plastic of the helmet, and it flexed under my grip. The words move along, cowboy rose up in my throat, but I forced them down. I had the right to say it, but not for the reason I wanted to. Still, I couldn’t stay completely silent. “Those cattle aren’t gonna check themselves, TJ.”
“Yes, sir,” he clipped, before finally dragging his eyes from Emma and heading into the barn.
Emma was checking out the ATV, so she hadn’t noticed the exchange. Once again, a smile spread over my face; she was running a hand across the seat with childlike wonderment.
“I really get to drive my own?”
“You do have a license, right?”
She tossed me a look over her shoulder. “Of course.”
“Then yes, you’re driving your own. I thought about putting you on the back of mine, and having your tight little body wrapped around me, but I wanted to make sure you’d have a good view of the ranch.”
Her smile turned a little shy. “Thanks, Ford. That was really thoughtful of you.”
“Oh, honey, I’ve put a hell of a lot of thought into today. Just wait until you see what I’ve got planned. Now let’s get your helmet on and load up.”
After I settled the helmet on Emma’s head and showed her how to operate the ATV, we took off. She followed me as I set an easy pace, but she grew more daring with every quarter mile we passed. Pretty soon, she was trying to race me, and I was having more fun than I could remember having in months—maybe even years. I wasn’t sure what it was about her, but that playful nature got to me. She was nothing like I’d expected when she stepped out of that truck. Not stuck up, not a bitch. Case in point, the woman had just deliberately splashed through a puddle and tried to get me wet—something she’d pay for when we stopped. She slowed up as we closed in on a more heavily wooded section, and I took the lead, waving for her to follow on the trail behind me. We headed to my favorite overlook—one that, luckily, didn’t require too treacherous of a climb. A quick check of my mirror showed that Emma was right behind me, with a grin still curving across her face, along with a streak of mud. Before this particular moment, I had no fucking idea how sexy mud could be—outside of a mudwrestling ring with some busty chicks rolling around in it. I forced my eyes back to the trail, or otherwise I ran the risk of clipping a tree and looking like a royal jackass.
A few turns later, we finally reached the clearing on the edge a foothill. Except in this part of Montana, a foothill rose up like an honest-to-God mountain. I groaned as I dismounted, because my hard-on had made itself uncomfortably known during the last couple of miles of the ride. Emma shut off her ATV and pulled off her helmet. If I thought she’d had an expression of childlike wonderment before, this must have been what she looked like on Christmas morning as a kid. She spun and took in the lush green meadow surrounded by tall evergreens.