51. Bull

51

Bull

There are some mighty fine sights in Texas. Sunsets. Cattle drives. A pitcher of ice cold beer.

But the sight of Lily’s perfect, round ass bouncing up and down in her saddle...that beat every last one of them. It was even better than when we’d been horse riding. Back then, I’d had to imagine what it’d feel like to have her bouncing on top of me. Now I knew and the memory of it made my cock rise every time I saw that tight denim hit the leather.

And now, we’d gotten rid of all the tension because she’d finally spilled her big secret. I should have figured it out on my own. What would make a forger so twitchy and nervous? Of course the FBI had been on her tail. I could fill in the blanks myself. They must have nearly caught her in New York and that’s why she’d had to skip town. It explained everything.

I even knew why she hadn’t told me. She’d figured—correctly—that I’d beat the hell out of anyone who tried to take her away from me. If I ever saw that Calahan guy again... .

“Your boss is definitely okay with this?” Lily asked over her shoulder. “I don’t want you getting in trouble.”

I shook my head. “He was eager to get me outta there. Truth is, I barely ever use my vacation time. I enjoy what I do, you know? Why would I want to sit around at home when I can be on the ranch?”

I was taking us in a different direction, this time, into some low hills where there was some greenery and a lake. Only a short ride—two, two and a half hours.

After only an hour, though, Lily was getting antsy. She was looking around at the desert scrub, clearly seeing something I wasn’t. “What?” I asked.

“There’s just...nothing,” she said. “No buildings. No roads. Not even a telegraph pole. I bet I don’t even have a cell phone signal.” She dug her phone out of her pocket. “I don’t.”

“That’s the general idea.”

“What if we run into a snake?”

“I’ll stamp on it,” I told her.

“What if the horses run off and we run out of water and die of thirst?”

“I’ll find us a creek.”

“What if—”

“You really don’t like the country, do you?” I asked, amused.

“I do like it. I mean, it’s beautiful. I like looking at it.” She gazed around, shrinking down in her saddle. “I’m just not sure about being in it.”

I rode closer and leaned sideways in my saddle so that our shoulders touched. We rode on like that for a few minutes and I gradually felt her relax.

We began to climb into the hills. We weren’t following any trail, but the route was clear in my mind. I’d ridden out here to clear my head plenty of times when some local girl had flipped out and raged at me, just because I’d slept with her best friend. It was weird, but I couldn’t imagine doing that to Lily.

It was starting to hit me just how little I’d cared about all of those girls I’d fucked, and how much I cared about the woman beside me now.

I thought of all the girls back in town. All those tight, toned bodies and those flicks of long, golden hair. Their giggling and bitchiness as they backstabbed each other, the way they thrust out their tits and slipped arms around my waist, cozying up to me before I even knew their name. And I didn’t miss them. Not for a second. I’d take Lily over any of them... all of them.

“Lily?” I just kinda blurted it out.

She turned and looked at me expectantly, brown eyes huge, black hair glossy and shimmering in the sunlight. We were just passing under some trees and, in the green dappled light, she looked like a goddamn fairy queen, soft and pale and perfect.

My words died in my throat. I only now realized what I’d been about to say: something along the lines of I love you. What? What the fuck? I’d already told her I was falling for her and that’d freaked her out for a while. If I unleashed the L-word she’d likely split and gallop right back to town.

At least, I told myself that’s why I was scared. Deep down, I was horribly aware of the real reason: I like to think of myself as an honest guy, at least in the sack. All of those local girls I’d bedded, and not once had I told them I loved them because it had never been true. The thought that it might be, with Lily...it was terrifying. Even for me, and I’m not scared of a goddamn thing. Except heights.

“What?” asked Lily, frowning.

I swallowed. “You want some water?” I asked. “It doesn’t do to get dehydrated.”

She nodded, took the bottle I offered and glugged some, and I tried to remember to breathe as I watched her chest move under her blouse.

“It’s just up here,” I told her. And rode on ahead before I said something dumb and messed things up. What I wanted to show her was just around the next bend and, as we got there, I looked back to see her reaction.

It wasn’t a disappointment.