Page 57 of Rough Ride

“Of course, I told him I didn’t need some man to protect me.”

He chuckled, enjoying the sassy smile curving her lips. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. He should know better. I can handle myself.”

He sighed. “But you’re still his baby girl. I just can’t believe he trusts me that much.”

“Oh, he doesn’t trust you that much. He wanted to know if we were sleeping together.”

Eli choked on his tomato soup. She pounded on his back as he tried to drink water.

“Are you okay?”

He nodded. “What did you say?”

She frowned. “I asked if you were okay.”

“No. To your father.”

“Oh. I told him we slept together once but thought it was best that we didn’t continue.”

For a second, he wondered how long it would be before Ham showed up to kill him. Then she started laughing.

“Oh. My. God. The look on your face. That was fantastic.”

It took her a few minutes to calm herself.

“Are you telling me you didn’t tell your father?”

“Of course not. My father still probably likes to pretend I’m a virgin.”

“So, you were just fucking with me?”

She shrugged, then started giggling. “If you could see your face.”

And with the rain falling on the roof, he looked at Crysta and gave up and fell in love. It wasn’t going to do him any good and, hell, he didn’t even know if they were compatible as Dom and sub. But, apparently, none of that mattered. He was in love with a woman.

He couldn’t resist. He leaned forward and brushed his mouth over hers. She stopped laughing.

“Eli,” she said, but he set his fingers against her mouth.

“No. I just had to kiss you.” Then he stood. “I’ve got some work to do.”

He took his bowl and plate to the sink, then headed down the hall. He had a lot to think about and he wasn’t too happy about it.

* * *

Crysta was in a mood. She had been all day, but after last night, no one should be able to blame her.

That little kiss Eli gave her had kept her up all night. She knew he’d slept like a baby. She’d heard him snoring when she’d gotten up to get a glass of warm milk. Butthead.

“That horse is going to get pissed and kick you if you keep brushing her like that,” Eli said from behind her. She turned and found him standing at the doorway of the barn, leaning against a bale of hay.

“I’m not in the best of moods.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I heard.”

“What do you mean by that?”

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