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“Hey, Sweetheart,” he whispers softly, looking into my eyes, “did you miss me?”
I look over my shoulder to see if Casey is near us and almost fall flat on my face, so instead, I worry about keeping my ass on the horse. “You good?” He looks over at me as I grip his jacket in my hands. “Wrap your arms around my waist, Sweetheart,” he urges softly, and when I do, he looks over at Casey. “We’re out,” he says as he moves over to the three guys who are at the end of the clearing. “Hey,” he says to them, and they look over, “this is Zara.” The younger one smirks at me as he chews a piece of hay. “That’s my father.” He points, and I wave at him. He’s so different from Gabriel. Where Gabriel has pitch-black hair, he has blondish-brown hair, but their eyes are the same.
“We met a couple of times,” I tell him, “at the family vacation one year. I’m Matty’s sister.” I smile at him, knowing full well he isn’t going to remember me, especially since there were a million people there.
“How are you doing?” he asks with a big smile. “How long are you here for?”
“Couple of weeks,” I admit and feel Gabriel go stiff in front of me.
“You have to come out to the family barbecue.” He smiles at me. “Let everyone make you feel at home.”
“That sounds like fun,” I lie to him. I mean, it sounds like fun, but now that things went too far with Gabriel and we have to hide it and lie about it, I’m not sure it is going to be as much fun as I say it is.
“I’m taking her riding,” Gabriel tells him. “See you guys later.”
He turns the horse around while the other two shout, “You didn’t even introduce us!” I can’t help but laugh, which makes Gabriel look over his shoulder at me.
“I’d hold on if I were you, Sweetheart,” he advises and kicks the horse. The horse takes off, giving me no choice but to hold on to him. He makes his way back to the forest, following the trail. The wind blows in my hair as he does it, and I close my eyes just taking it in. The way the peace rushes over me almost leaves me breathless. I put my head to the side on his back and just take it all in. Living in the moment, seeing the light from the blue sky trying to peek into the trees but the fullness of the trees keeping it out.
He slows down when we come out of the clearing. “Where are we?” I ask him.
“The barn,” he answers as we make our way over. “We’ll get you saddled up and on a horse, and we’ll go for a ride.”
“I’m not going on a horse by myself!” I shriek. “What if the horse takes off with me on it?” I can just picture me being thrown like a rag doll off the horse and breaking different parts of my body.
He chuckles in front of me, before coming to a stop. “I’m going to get down first and then I’ll help you down.” He lifts himself off the saddle to get off and I pull his jacket back down, stopping him.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” I say, freaking out. “Like, what if the horse doesn’t like me and he bucks me off?”
“Chopper would never.” He leans down and pets the side of his neck. “Right, Chop?” He then looks back at me. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Sweetheart.”
“Yeah,” I mumble as he grabs my hands that are on the sides of his jacket, holding on for dear life.
“Got to let me go, Sweetheart.” I open my hands so slow that if the horse moves even one centimeter forward, I’m ready to clutch him in my hands again. In one fluid movement, he’s off the horse but holding on to the reins in his hand. “You okay?” He laughs when I shake my head side to side, not saying a word, but my eyes are on the horse’s head, making sure that he’s not pissed off or spooked.
“I changed my mind,” I admit to him, “I don’t want to go riding.”
“You’ll love it.” He runs his hand up my leg. “Now give me your hand.” He extends his hand to me. “I promise you, Sweetheart, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I don’t know if it’s his smooth voice or the fact it’s the fresh air, but I feel his words in my soul. I turn toward him and he grabs my hips and helps me down. When my feet are on the ground, I smile up at him. “I did it,” I say proudly.
He nods, taking off his cowboy hat and holding it in his hand. “I told you that you were safe with me.” He bends his head a bit, his lips hovering over mine. My palms get all sweaty as I look into his blue eyes. “And I meant it, Sweetheart.”
14
GABRIEL
She looks up at me, her hair now flying into her face and my hand itching to push it away from her eyes. But instead, I take off my cowboy hat and hold it in my hand because in ten seconds I’m going to be kissing the shit out of her. “I told you that you were safe with me”—my lips hover over hers—“and I meant it, Sweetheart.” My lips slowly cover hers, she inhales right before, giving my tongue a chance to lick her bottom lip before sliding into her mouth. It’s a soft wet kiss and gets my cock up, ready to slide into her again.
My horse whinnies beside us and Zara laughs and backs away. “Apparently, your horse does not like to share you.” I tuck her hair behind her ear. “Don’t worry, big guy, I won’t take him from you.” She walks over to Chopper and pets his neck, who just turns to look at her. “He’s all yours.”
“Now wait a minute,” I cut in, “I think I can speak for myself.” She softly giggles and that has to be sexier than her laughing, which is high on my list of what I like about Zara.
I point at Chopper. “You, stop flirting with my girl.” He glares at me, this fucker. “You.” I point at Zara. “Come with me and let’s see who you bond with.” Turning on my boot, I put my cowboy hat back on.
She jogs a bit to catch up to me. “Who I bond with?” she questions when she gets beside me. “I don’t think I bond with anyone.”
We walk into the stable at the back and she gasps as she looks down the hall where five stalls are located on each side. “This is my Uncle Quinn’s place,” I tell her as we slowly walk down the concrete hallway. “They have all been rescued and are ready to start working with people.”
