Page 28
My teeth were grinding together like I was trying to crush a damn rock. Carson wasn’t working. No, he was too busy ogling Eleanor. I’d caught him not once, not twice, but more times than I cared to count, his eyes glued to her ass.
To be fair, Eleanor wasn’t making it easy to ignore her. She was leaning against one of the stall doors, chatting with Stet, her perfectly curved figure on full display.
Carson had no business staring at her like that. Not that I was any better. But I was different. I wasn’t some clueless idiot biting my lip like I was living out a fantasy in broad daylight. My skin prickled with anger, bubbling beneath the surface.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I pushed off the wall where I’d been leaning and strode toward Carson, who was still leaning against the gate. His eyes were still glued to Eleanor like she was some damn pinup.
“Carson,” I said, my voice low and dangerous.
He flinched, standing at attention like a soldier caught slacking.
“Take your damn eyes off her. Do you hear me?”
He swallowed hard, the sound audible even over the rustling hay and distant snorts of the horses. “Sorry, yes, sir.”
“She is not to be looked at like some kind of badge. You leave her be.”
Carson nodded again, frantic and hurried.
“Good. Now get the hell out of here. And take the rest of them with you.” I waved him off. Underneath the heat of anger was a tight ache I didn’t want to admit. It was jealousy that surged too.
Carson didn’t hesitate. He practically tripped over himself as he turned, gathering the rest of the ranch hands with a few rushed whispers. Within moments, the stables were empty, leaving just Eleanor and me.
She straightened from her spot against the stall, arching a brow as she turned to face me. “You didn’t have to clear the whole place out just because you’re in a mood.”
“A mood?” I shot back, folding my arms across my chest. “You think this is a mood?”
Her lips quirked into that infuriating little smirk of hers. “If it isn’t, then what is it? You being territorial, maybe? Possessive?”
I stepped closer, just enough to close some of the distance between us. “If I wanted to be territorial, you’d know it.”
“Is that so?” she asked, tilting her head, daring me to elaborate.
“Yeah,” I said, my tone sharp. “And trust me, Sunshine, I can be quite possessive.”
Eleanor nodded, a faint “hmm” passing her lips. I wanted so badly to reach out and pull her to me, feel the curve of her ass in my palms, but I clenched my jaw again and pushed away the urge.
“Since everyone is now gone, thanks to your uproar, what do you say we get started?” Eleanor sauntered away to a bale of hay that was the perfect height for her to lean on. “What is one thing you require all your ranch hands to do?”
I thought for a moment, widening my stance and crossing my arms.
“Tacking up a horse is pretty standard,” I replied. She nodded and unlocked her phone, jotting some things down.
Then she stopped typing and paused. Eleanor glanced up at me, her head tilting.
“What does that look like?” She leaned forward a bit, her back straightening, which made her breasts prominent. There was a gleam to her eyes that I recognized well. That was the same look she had in the parking lot before I’d taken her in the back of my truck.
Maybe sending everyone away was a smart idea.
I took a slow, predatory step toward her, my voice dropping a few degrees. “Would you like me to show you or tell you, Eleanor?”
Chapter 12
Eleanor
“SHOW ME,” I purred, my voice dripping with challenge. Watching Colton full of jealousy earlier had set my body ablaze and my libido into overdrive. Carson’s lingering stares had been obvious, but what had burned hotter was Colton’s reaction.
There was something primitive about it, something primal. A man staking his claim. Jealousy wasn’t just a green flag for me—it was a requirement. Knowing I could push Colton Stone to that edge, that I had that kind of power over him, made it impossible not to indulge.
