Lane made a noise low in his throat and took a step away from where I was silently berating myself for being such a coward when I was younger. Sometimes it really sucked to run away from the things that scared you and could hurt you. I would much rather be the type of woman who stood her ground and faced that fear head on. But so far, history had proven I was much more likely to beat a hasty retreat when threatened.

“Everyone mount up. We’re gonna circle the corral for a few minutes to make sure everyone can ride in a group and to make sure everyone can handle basic control of their horse.” Cy’s voice seemed even raspier and rougher early in the morning and he didn’t appear to be amused by the crushing teenager, who was whining and grumbling that her stirrups weren’t the right length. Begrudgingly, he fiddled with the buckles and leather until she declared things a perfect fit. Someone needed to tell her that there was subtlety in the art of flirting, that when you tried to bash the object of your affection over the head with your feelings, it missed the point and only left the other person with nothing more than a splitting headache. Again, I was annoyed that the girl’s mother seemed oblivious to her child’s inappropriate advances toward a much older man. I knew that if it continued, I was going to have to break my promise that I would play nice with others and lay down some hard truths at the girl’s expensively booted feet. Honestly, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself. Someone had to save the poor girl from herself, and maybe I wanted to save Cy from having to be the bad guy as well. Something told me he was comfortable in that role. Even if it wasn’t one he necessarily wanted to play.

Left alone with Boss, I muttered nonsense words to him and checked the cinch on the saddle and the fit of the bridle. They were habits long unused but my hands skimmed over his soft, silver and black body like the big animal was an old friend. The gestures and the memories that came back from before I was afraid and from when I was more willing to take risks made me smile. It was nice to remember a time when I didn’t feel broken down and betrayed. I sighed and stiffened involuntarily when a pair of black boots—that were most definitely not cowboy boots—stopped on the other side of the horse. Cy’s big hand landed on the horse’s head between his twitching ears and the animal let out a nicker of greeting. The beast recognized the man and so did my stupid, out of control libido.

My breath hitched a little.

My skin felt like it tightened all across my body.

His rough palm grazed the back of my hand making my skin pebble in response as my spine tightened. It was like my subconscious was readying for battle or for bed.

My nipples pulled tight under the layers of clothing I wore, and places I thought would never tingle again more than tingled when my gaze locked with his storm-colored one over the polished leather of the saddle. Those tingling places pulsed deep and hard. They also fluttered in a way that no man had ever made them flutter before, and that made me blush. I felt heat work up my neck and into my cheeks. I pulled my eyes away from his unwavering and far too penetrating ones.

“He’s a beautiful horse.” My voice sounded like it did when I woke up in the morning next to someone I’d spent the night naked and wrapped around. Cy had that same effect on me, without any of the practiced moves or easy words other men used to arouse and seduce. If nothing more than his deep voice and steely eyes could make my body respond so fully and so effortlessly, I didn’t even want to imagine what the man could do if he actually put his mind toward being charming and getting a heated response.

“Boss is a good mount. He’s rock steady, won’t spook, and should give you an easy ride. He’s stubborn, though, so you need to stay on top of him. He wants to go his own way and he doesn’t like to stay in line with the other horses.” He sounded like he was proud of that fact.

I couldn’t hold back a little snort of amusement that had his dark eyebrows lifting up. It sounded like the big Appaloosa didn’t just have similar coloring to the man across from me. It sounded like they had similar temperament, as well. “I’ll keep that in mind. I’m good at staying on top of things that are a handful.” I made it clear I also wasn’t referring to just the horse. Because I said it loud enough that anyone and everyone could hear it, I hoped he knew I meant it.

Cy narrowed his eyes at me and patted the horse on the side of his neck. “Hop up and I’ll fix your stirrups, too. They probably need to be adjusted.”

It was my turn to lift my eyebrows. “I can get them myself. Like I mentioned last night, I used to ride. I know my way around a horse and the tack fairly well.”

His eyes narrowed even more and he stepped back so he could cross his arms over his flannel-covered chest. I tried not to ogle the way the motion pulled the checkered material tightly across thick biceps and his broad chest. Cy was a visual treat for sure, but the look on his face as we stared at each other over the back of the horse was anything but sweet and friendly.

“You might know your way around a horse but you and your friend were also the last to show up. You’re holding the entire production up by arguing with me, which means everyone is waiting on you, Sunshine. Get that cute ass in the saddle and let me help you with your fucking stirrups.”

Instead of thinking about the fact I really liked that he thought my ass was cute, I put a hand on the saddle horn, and one on the center of the saddle, and hoisted a leg into the stirrup hanging in front of me. I took a deep breath, told myself I could literally get back on the horse, and hefted myself up into the curve of the saddle. Boss whinnied and moved sideways toward Cy, which had my heart rate speeding up and a flashback of panic roaring to life inside of me. I grabbed for the reins and put a shaking hand on the horse’s glossy mane while whispering “Whoa, boy,” as softly and as calmly as I could.