Page 66 of Close Quarters

“Their friendship is pretty strange, isn’t it?” he asked with a frown, steering his horse carefully. As we neared the large outcropping, the ground became littered with larger rocks and more treacherous.

“It’s Riley,” I said with a snort. “I’m pretty sure he could charm just about anyone.”

“Didn’t work too well with me, did it?”

“Yeah, well, that’s because you don’t know the right way to express yourself when you’re upset. So it all comes out as pissed off. I’m sure if you’d told him about your grandma?—”

“No,” he said, bringing his horse to a stop as we reached the edge of the outcropping. “I’m not using that shit as an excuse. He doesn’t need to know.”

“Yes, because God forbid you should tell probably the most understanding guy on the planet why you decked him for winning a wrestling match,” I grumbled as I dismounted. Honey gave me a slight bump with her head, making me laugh and scratch the side of her muzzle. “I know, right? We can’t have someone showing compassion or understanding!”

“Stop talking shit to your horse like I’m not standing right here,” Reno grumbled, frowning at me. “What would be the point anyway.”

“Babe,” I said, peering around Honey’s neck. “Riley is like, hands down the most understanding guy on earth. If there were anyone that would hear that and understand completely, it would be him.”

“Babe?” he asked, wrinkling his nose. “Don’t do that.”

“Okay,” I said, walking away from Honey and Reno’s horse, Eclipse. They were definitely from the stock of horses that were the best trained. We didn’t need to tie them off to keep them from wandering. They seemed perfectly content to stay in the shade of the mini-mountains and wait for us to come back. Max might be an antisocial dick at times, but I had to admit he knew his horses, and these were good girls. “What about honey?”

“Fuck off.”

“Snookums?”

“Elliot.”

“Huggly wuggly, cuddly snuggly, boo boo bear with whipped cream and sugar on top?”

“You know, this is the perfect kind of place to kill someone and leave the body to the elements.”

“Fair,” I told him as we climbed carefully. The mini mountains weren’t nearly as treacherous as actual mountains but they could still be dangerous if you weren’t careful. “You seem more like a manly nickname person.”

“God, don’t.”

“Stud.”

“Jesus.”

“Stud muffin!”

“I hate you.”

“Nah, I don’t…” I began, only to feel my footing give way under me. I wouldn’t have fallen far, but I would have probably earned myself a clinic visit and a few lectures on watching where I was going. Thankfully, I managed to fling myself closer to the rock in time for Reno to appear above me, grabbing my loose arm and yanking me to my feet.

“This is what should happen when you talk so much shit, the universe reminding you to shut up,” he growled, but I saw the way his eyes darted over me nervously.

“As I was saying,” I began, not caring that he glared at me as I wrapped my arms around his middle and drew him closer. “Nah, I don’t think you hate me. My hero.”

“You…are so cheesy,” he said, trying to grumble, but this close, I couldn’t miss the slight color in his cheeks. It was funny seeing someone as rough as him turning various shades of red when he was embarrassed, especially when there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

“A little,” I admitted, running one hand up and down his back. The humidity had waned since the storms a few weeks ago, so we weren’t covered in layers upon layers of sweat. “But when you get saved by the Beast, you get to be a little Disney about it.”

“You realize that would make you Belle, right?”

“Hey, I could pull off that yellow ballgown like nobody’s business! Do you think we could get Mona to sing for us while we danced?”

“Never mind,” he said, and I yelped as he pushed me backward, hard enough that I would have gone over the edge if it wasn’t for the fact that he still had a firm grip on my arm, leaving me to dangle. “I’m going to let you get maimed.”

Despite being startled to hell and back from having half of my body dangling over a fifteen-foot drop to hard rock, I swallowed my fear. I knew how strong he was, and so long as he had a good grip, there was no way I’d fall. And even if there were an accident, I would have a slightly better chance of landing more gracefully than before.

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