Getting Ahead (6 page)

“I’m holding you to that.” He moved to his horse, and climbed up. Following close behind, she pulled herself up into her own saddle but couldn’t help sneaking another glance at him. He winked at her, then took off back toward the main ranch at speed.

Chapter Four

Leaning against the wall, Colt gulped down half a bottle of water. The cool liquid made his throat ache. She certainly was a handful, but he’d always enjoyed a challenge. When she found out exactly why he was pushing her, she’d be pissed. In fact, he anticipated lots of screaming and yelling, maybe even a little hitting. The safer option would be to send her a letter from somewhere out on the East Coast. Better yet, maybe he could be on some tropical island somewhere that didn’t get phone reception. If he’d come clean up front, then maybe she’d actually give in and let him help her in a less psychotic fashion. Spiritual trips to a creek weren’t exactly the way he’d have gone about it years ago when he’d been the one hurt, but he always wondered if things could have been done differently if he had. Now, all he needed to do was keep anyone from blowing his cover until after her competition. Her focus already wavered; dealing with his secret identity certainly wouldn’t help.

“You think I could get some of that?” She reached out toward his water bottle and he handed it over, watching as she drank in some of the liquid, keeping the bottle just above her mouth.

“So what is on your training docket for the rest of the day?” He hoped her schedule would leave a little private time for the two of them. Putting her to bed alone the night before had nearly killed him. Now, after seeing her naked and floating in the water near him, his body was warning him not to let her get away again. This time she wasn’t drunk, so he wouldn’t be taking advantage.

“Is that seriously all you think about? Your life is so pathetic that you can sit around worrying about every little thing I do?” She set the water down on an old wood barrel next to the stables.

“I’m trying to help. Why do you have to make everything into some sort of battle? Can’t I help you?” If she’d shut up for two minutes, he might actually be able to get through to her.

He leaned in to pick up the bottle at the exact same time she did. As he took it, the tips of their fingers touched. It might’ve been his imagination, but he was sure she lingered longer than necessary. Watching her on the shore, doing everything in her power to ensure he didn’t get even the tiniest peek at her body had made him want to take it all in even more. Oh, he’d gotten to see plenty. Her arms could only cover so much space. Not that he’d tried to watch, but how was he supposed to look away when a sexy woman was standing right there in front of him, buck ass naked? Hell, if it would have been considered proper, he’d have taken her right there on the rocks, letting the jagged stone edges cut into his skin as he ravaged her until neither could stand anymore.

“I’ve told you before, I don’t need any help.” She took another step toward him.

He swallowed hard. She worn the same expression the night before: fixated and determined to get her target. “I can leave if you want.” He prayed she wouldn’t ask him to.

She shook her head. “I don’t want you to leave.”

He relaxed his body. No matter how much fuss she put up, he finally felt like he’d made some headway. “What do you want?”

She moved closer, her body only a short inch from his. With her outstretched arm, she placed a hand flat on his belly. “You.”

Instantly his cock hardened. “I thought—”

“No more thinking. I’ve done way too much of that.” She ran her hand up his torso, stopping when she reached his neck, cupping his chin in her palm.

His groin ached and strained against the seam of his pants. He wrapped his hands around her back and brought her close, her thigh rubbing against his cock.

She leaned toward him, brushing her lips over his. At first, she kissed him gently, lingering for a brief second after each encounter before pulling away, then returning. She refused to move her hands father down his body, instead keeping them firmly positioned over his cheeks. His own were restrained against her hips, afraid to journey any farther without her consent. He knew any situation with her was delicate. In a second, she could change her mind and walk away. Leaving him worked up and alone. The only thing he wanted was for her to finally sink her mouth into his and allow him to really taste her. Finally, she relented to his internal commands, pressing firmly against him, slowly parting her lips, her tongue darting across the edge of her teeth.

The instant she made her move, it was as though she’d given him permission to do anything he pleased. Hands free to wander over her curves, he moved up her body, catching her breasts in his palms. She breathed in deeply, thrusting her chest farther toward him. Growling, he ripped her shirt, popping off two buttons, then reached his hand inside and ran a finger down the edge of her bra. It felt lacy, something naughty he’d love to see her walking around his bedroom in. The kind women only put on when they wanted a man to watch them take it off.

As she leaned back, his hands moved up over her shoulders and held the edge of her face as his lips lingered along her neck. As he did, she panted, running her fingers up his back, the tips of her nails digging through the fabric. He dipped his head, licking along her collarbone until her body began to shake.

After freeing one hand from his shirt, she moved lower until her hand gripped his cock tightly, rubbing gently up and down.

“Wait.” He tried to pull her away, but something immediately brought him back to her lips. Finally, he gathered the self-control to move away from her for a moment. “Really. We can’t do this here.” There were too many people around the ranch who could walk in and catch them. The last thing he needed to do was explain to one of his employees why he was able to spend the afternoon fucking in the horse stables. He’d never hear the end of those jokes, and neither would she.

She answered by undoing his zipper and worked a finger into his pants, running the tip over his erection.

Closing his eyes, he tried to regain control of his body. “Amber.” He grabbed onto her hips, bringing them in closer to his.

“Hmm…” She released him and stepped back. “Did I do something wrong?” Her eyes widened.

Moving toward her, he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. “No. Why would you think that?” There was something she wasn’t saying, something she was hiding from him.

“Why do you want to stop?” She shrugged her shoulder back.

“I don’t.” He reached his hand out again, hoping she’d take it so he could reassure her.

She stared at his outstretched arm, bit her lower lip, then inched closer to him until she could place a hand on his chest.

“We’re out in the open. People might see us. Let’s go back to my place so we can finish this properly.” People were mostly his employees.

“And you’re embarrassed to be seen with me?” She put her hand down and stared at the ground.

“No, I would simply prefer not everyone on the ranch know exactly what I’m doing with my spare time.”

“Well, I don’t think that will be a problem. You aren’t doing anything.” She stepped back and buttoned her shirt, her cheeks bright red.

“Don’t say it like that. Let’s go back to my place where we can finish this in private.” He took her hips in his hands.

Amber wrenched herself away. “This was a one-time-only opportunity.”

“I doubt that. You’ve already offered twice in the last twenty-four hours.” The words slipped out before he’d thought them through.

The edge of her mouth tightened. “I’ll see you aren’t inconvenienced again.” She stormed off.

He watched her walk away, mouth open. How stupid could he be? A beautiful woman stands in front of him practically begging him to make love to her, and he manages to screw it up.

***

Amber lay on her bed, facedown on her pillow. How stupid could she be? After all the times she’d been turned down, she still thought someone out there would like her exactly the way she was. Facts were facts, and she simply wasn’t the type of girl that handsome cowboys fell for. The rest of the women on the circuit managed to make their way through many of the men. The male riders were nearly always hanging around, but they were after the pretty girls, the ones with a little fashion sense and the ability to apply makeup without looking like a clown. She could ride, but her skills pretty much ended there. All the training she put in gave her a firm advantage over many of her competitors, but they won out anywhere social skills came in.

Now she just felt like an idiot. She’d let him know exactly how she felt, and put herself out there, only to be turned down.

Before, she was only afraid to get up on Black Lightning and start working again; now, she needed to overcome that fear while trying to stay out of his sight. Like that would be possible. He always seemed to be hanging around, ready to give her unwanted advice.

Well, he certainly wouldn’t be getting any more advances from her. He’d taken her far out by the creek, a place where no one would catch them. The minute she was ready to actually allow him a chance at her, all he wanted to do was hide her away so no one could catch them. How dare someone discover that the rugged ranch hand had taken a liking to the plain barrel racer who could barely get on her horse?

Rolling over, she wiped her eyes on the edge of her sleeve. She was too tough for this crap. Nothing before had ever stopped her from training. Everything in her life was built around making this career work. It’d never been easy and hadn’t always been fun, but she’d do anything for the rush, the thrill that shook her body in the seconds before she took off toward the first barrel. It was a feeling nothing else in the world gave her. At least until she met Colt. A similar excitement raced through her body the first time he’d leaned in to kiss her. Little sparks traveled through her body, awakening bits of her that had been dormant far too long. More than one of her colleagues had gone downhill once they fell for a man. She’d never understood the attraction, the ability of a person to suddenly stop caring about one thing and focus their attention on another. Running her tongue over her still-swollen lips, she realized how easy it would be to let her emotions and hormones get the best of her. She’d been right all along. Men were nothing but a distraction.

Distractions were exactly what she’d come here to get away from. No man, even Colt, was going to get in the way of her goal. She got up, put her boots back on, and headed out to the stable. This was why she couldn’t be in a relationship. Her thoughts were filled with images of him, which was not conducive to making her best rides. Her mind needed to be clear; the only thing she could focus on was getting the turns right. Nothing else mattered.

Pulling Black Lightning back out of the stables, she started walking him around the barrels, whispering encouragement to him as they went along. A few times, he turned and nuzzled her, as though he knew all was not right. She tried to make him focus, but it was difficult when her own thoughts were elsewhere.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Colt approaching. Why did he have to make things harder? All she wanted was for him to leave her alone. At this point, she’d wasted nearly two days with him. There wasn’t time for this crap. What she needed right now was time to get her head together.

“I handled that poorly. Can we go somewhere to talk?” He stood a few feet away from her, his voice hushed.

She bit the inside of her cheek. Her gut was telling her to say no and walk away without looking back. Her heart, on the other hand, was tugging at her, giving her permission to at least hear him out. “Fine, but keep it short. I need to train.”

“I only need a couple minutes.” He didn’t move. “Can we go somewhere?”

She sighed. More time away. Still, she couldn’t ignore her instincts. Amber tied Black Lightning’s reins to the fence and followed Colt back into the stables. Simply being in there with him again made her body twitch. Keeping her distance, she crossed her arms tightly across her chest and waited.

“You need to know something about me. I’m not a ranch hand here.”

She held her breath. Who the hell was he? She’d been following around a guy who didn’t even work there? Suddenly aware that he was standing in front of the only exit, she took a couple steps back, trying to plot out an escape.

“I own the place. I like doing the actual work and hate all the managerial crap, so I hired someone to do it for me. It’s not really a secret, but it isn’t something I like to advertise either.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet.

His confession explained so many things. Why his quarters were larger than everyone else’s and why he didn’t have to work every second of the day. What it didn’t explain was why he’d pushed her away.