Page 40 of The Cowboy's Second Chance Bride

ChapterFifteen

CAL

Iwas caught between a rock and a hard place. No pun intended. I squirmed in the saddle, trying to give my crotch more room to breathe.

The natural canter of the horse meant we continued to bounce against each other. If I had the horse book it back to the ranch, then at least we would get home quicker and end this torture. But going fast meant less chance of controlling our body contact. Yet if we took a leisurely ride, my body would probably explode from all the building pressure.

And it wasn’t just pressure in my pants that was building. This was just pressure on top of already mounting pressure. The pressure to stay one step ahead of my dad meant fighting a constant headache. I could feel in my bones that all we’d experienced thus far was equivalent to a predator baiting his prey, and the shitstorm was about to blow into town. The distraction of Sabrina in my lap was one I didn’t need.

My hands were on the reins, bringing my arms to circle around her, my forearms rested on both my thighs and part of hers. My hands were close to her knees. And though I was touching her, I wanted to really touch her. My hands itched to rediscover her curves and valleys. Christ, I missed her. And for all the times I’d internet searched her or heard stories from Jace and gotten those pangs of longing, they were nothing like what I was feeling at the moment.

Total gut punch.

Back then, I’d reasoned that as long as there was space between us, and our last time together had been that awful breakup, she was safe from me and my family, and I was able to balance my wants and must dos.

But hell, must do had taken on a whole new meaning. As in, I must do anything to keep her near me. I must do anything to protect her. And my favorite—I must do her.

She looked over her shoulder, her lips turned down.

“What?” I checked my appendages to make sure they hadn’t gotten a mind of their own and started feeling her up. Nope, all good.

She leaned back and turned a little so I could hear her better. “I thought your dad would come at me about my career, not my dad. I’m still kinda reeling, to be honest.” She straightened and faced forward.

I leaned toward her. “I don’t know what you want me to say. You won’t let me apologize.”

Her ponytail was near my cheek—I was that close—and I drew in this new warm scent of her. She was sultry and mysterious, and as much as I knew her, I also knew I didn’t know her at all. This was a new Sabrina, and I liked it. Is her favorite kissing spot still right behind the earlobe? If I turned my head ever so slightly toward her, I could brush…

I ground my teeth together. Brush nothing. I needed a cold shower and a punch in the nose. This was Sabrina, and she didn’t deserve mixed signals.

“He knows I’ll do everything to protect you.” I hadn’t meant to say it. Something about the slow canter, our synced rhythm, and her being technically in my arms had short-circuited my brain, and I’d forgotten there were things I didn’t want her to know.

She gave me a curious look over her shoulder. “That’s stupid. Our breakup was ugly, and we haven’t seen each other in over ten years. Why would he even think that?”

Pressing my lips together to keep any other revealing statements from flowing out, I looked over her shoulder, not meeting her eyes.

“Cal?” She shifted so she could turn more, and now her sweet ass was rubbing against my thigh.

Why did we have to travel so far from the ranch? I wondered if it might be worth walking the rest of the way.

“Calvin!” she snapped.

“What?” I gave her eyes a quick drive-by, hoping she’d take that as enough eye contact.

Sabrina grunted in frustration, then as if performing acrobatics on a horse, shuffled in her seat, swung her legs around, and before I knew it, she had turned herself around to face me, riding backward.

“What are you doing?” I asked. This was not going to go well. I could feel that in my gut. We were either going to fight or do something far more stupid.

“What are you not telling me?” She narrowed her eyes.

“Not telling you about what?” I was going have to play the long game here and hope she gave up.

She shook her head. “You forget that I know you, Cal. So don’t think I’m going to play the deliberately obtuse game with you. Why would your father assume you would protect me? It’s been a decade. We haven’t seen each other, or even spoken one word to each other, in years.”

Her new position put her closer. Her legs were over the tops of my thighs, and I could see down her shirt… if I wanted. She was that close. Does it not bother her to be like this? Is she not acutely aware of the attraction that remains between us? She’d told the reporters it was restrained passion, and to me, that had been a perfect summation. Walking away from her had been an exercise in restraint. Sitting here, touching her, watching her—it was all restraint. It was enough to break a man.

She gripped the side of the saddle and looked ridiculous bopping up and down in rhythm with the horse’s canter, a scowl on her face. My arms were still around her, holding the reins, our canter slow and lazy. Seducing us. Or maybe that was just me.

But this situation needed a quick shift, and I was the man to do it. Her position gave me an idea. In hindsight, it might not have been a good one.

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