Page 11 of Paper Horses

Saying her name tugged at my chest, and I scratched my cheek as I watched a myriad of emotions shift through her eyes. With a huff, she bent to take her heels off. I caught a flash of cleavage and looked away. I didn’t need any temptation. Not from her.

But I couldn’t keep my eyes from slipping back to her and watching her gingerly take each heel off, dropping her down a few inches and reminding me of all the times I’d towered over her, lifted her chin, and kissed her.

Those hazel eyes jumped to mine as if she’d read my mind, and I rolled my neck, hardening myself to the beautiful temptation in front of me. The lethal one.

I grabbed my coat and hat from the hook and thrust the coat at her when the other boot was on.

“I have a jacket,” she said, pointing to the fancy one she’d brought in with her.

“That’s not a coat. Put this on. The weather’s turning early this year. We’re due for a storm.”

Shit, I snatched my phone from the island and pulled up the weather. It hadn’t changed since that morning. I glanced up at her, contemplating if I should have dumped her on Russ and Bridget after all.

“Hudson?” God, my name on her lips took me back, sending prickles over my skin.

I cleared my throat. “There’s a storm heading this way. Should be here tomorrow.” I looked at the time. Eleven-thirty already. “Damn, that’s really all you brought to wear?”

“Yes,” she said, her head going back. “I’m the COO of a billion-dollar company. This is what I wear.”

“Long way from the T-shirts and jeans you once wore,” I muttered, tossing my phone back on the island. “Put the coat on, Olivia. When I get done taking you around, I’ll take you into town.” She winced before her mask went up. “We’ll grab something to eat at the diner, and then you can spend that money getting some useful clothes.”

She crossed her arms, her eyes turning a fiery blend of hues.

“I’m not wearing hick clothes.”

“I can’t very well have you wearing my clothes to tend to the ranch.” No, seeing her in my shirt like she used to do with her sweet ass cheeks peeking from where her panties hugged it was the last thing I needed. I turned, hating the reaction that thought caused in my pants. “There’s a storm coming, and your brother stranded you here with me. I’m going to take advantage of the extra hands.” And try not to take advantage of any other part of her. She was dangerous.

“Put the fucking coat on, Olivia.”

I threw the door open and stalked out, staring at the storm clouds in the distance. Storms this time of year weren’t unusual, but this wasn’t snow. It was rain and with an anticipated fall of several inches an hour for the next two days, it was a storm to worry about. Just my luck, the woman I detested yet still harbored emotions for would be locked up with me until it passed.

I heard her grumbling behind me and peeked back at her. My coat engulfed her. I’d always adored how tall she was with legs that seemed to go on forever, but I still towered over her. I fought my smile as she tromped past me toward the barn.

What had I gotten myself into? Selling the ranch I’d spent every dime on, facing disinheritance, turning my back on my family legacy to pursue my own dreams, and now saddled with the one woman I’d told myself I hated for what she’d done to me. No matter who I’d been with, it was Olivia Icinda who continued to cage my heart. Inaccessible, frozen over, waiting for the right woman to thaw it, but there never had been one after her.

“Do I have to start walking slow and moving slow because I’m in the country?”

Then she went and reminded me she was no longer the woman I’d loved. This spoiled, demanding rich thing was nothing like my Olivia. Yet there had been flashes of her back in the house, and that was what worried me as I stalked past her to the barn.

Both horses needed tacking up, so I gathered the equipment we would need to prepare them for riding.

“You take Ivy. Get her saddled while I ready my horse,” I told Olivia, throwing open the stall door for my horse, Honey. There was no way I’d admit that was her name because Olivia would recognize it immediately. No one else understood the meaning behind it, but she would, and I cursed myself for being sentimental that one time.

I peeked back at her, expecting to see her getting to know Ivy, but she stood outside the stall with her arms crossed.

“Saddle the horse, Olivia.”

Hazel eyes that almost melted my hard edges met mine. Her finely manicured brows pulled together.

I scratched my cheek, the scruff of too many days without shaving rough against my fingers.

“What now?” I asked.

“I don’t ride.”

My jaw hit the floor. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

She cringed. “Don’t use that language.”