Page 20 of More Than a Fling

“Really?” she said breathlessly.

“Really.” He dipped his head again, burying his fingers in her thick hair as he took her mouth. He slid a hand down her back to pull her tighter against his pelvis. She could feel his hardness against her pubic bone. “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

“Let’s,” she agreed.

He looked deep into her eyes, the intensity stripping away any barriers she might have put between them. Taking her hand, he interlaced their fingers and led her out to the parking lot. Before opening the door, he backed her against the side of his truck and kissed her again. As he pressed against her she clung to him, wanting more.

“Gabe,” she whispered against his lips.

“God Annie, what are you doing to me?”

He covered her mouth again and sensuously inserted his tongue inside her warmth and plundered. Their tongues danced until he captured hers and sucked on it gently. He reached for her breast and she gasped as he found her nipple and tugged on it through the thin fabric. Holding the weight in his hand he massaged and kneaded until her knees were weak. She clung to him, arms wrapped around his neck, not wanting their kiss to end.

He raised his head and let out a ragged breath, brushing his lips across hers one last time. “We’d better get on the road; it’s getting late and if we don’t rein it in now, we might pass the point of no return.”

“The voice of reason. You’re right of course. I need to get back to the dogs and it is almost midnight.”

He opened the truck door and she climbed in. As he pulled his door shut, he looked at her and reached across to caress her face. “Know this, I don’t really want to listen to that damn voice of reason, but I know it’s steering me right.”

“I agree. No reason to rush whatever this ‘thing’ is that we have.”

“I don’t want to rush it Annie—you’re way too important to me.”

They held hands the entire way home and Annie snuggled up against him with her head resting on his shoulder... Annie could barely keep her hands to herself. She had never desired a man so intensely as she did Gabe. Her very nerve fibers hummed with excitement.

“I feel like a schoolboy with a massive crush,” Gabe admitted, confirming for Annie that he felt it too.

“I’m glad I’m not alone.”

He pulled up the drive and left his truck running while he walked Annie to the door. They made another date for a trail ride the Sunday after her friend’s wedding. She could hardly wait.

After letting the critters back in, she washed her face, flossed and brushed her teeth, then crawled into bed. Her phone pinged signaling a text message.

Gabe: Thank you for the best night of my life. I’ll see you in my dreams, meet me by the Big Dipper in five…

Annie: Give me fifteen…Night

Smiling she turned off her lamp and snuggled into the soft down pillow.

10

Gabe had finished turning out the herd and was heading to his office when Slim approached with a young man following closely behind.

“This here is the feller I was tellin’ ya about the other day. He wants a job,” Slim said.

Gabe studied the young man who appeared to be in his early twenties, strong and fit. “What brings you here to Parker Farms?” he asked.

“I recently moved to town and was asking around about job opportunities. I was raised around horses and was working for a horse ranch in Kentucky since I graduated from high school,” he said.

“Come on into my office, we’ll talk,” Gabe said. “Do you have a resume on you?”

“No, not on me, but I have one. I can drop it by this afternoon if you think I have a shot at a job,” he offered.

“I’d certainly have to see it before any formal decisions are made but if everything checks out, you’re hired,” Gabe said.

“That’s great. I’ll be happy to drop it off. By the way, I’m Cal, Cal Smith, pleased to meet you,” he said, smiling warmly.

“I’m Gabe Hunter, I manage the place, and I train and give a few lessons here and there in my free time. What brings you all the way to Michigan from Kentucky?”

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