Page 70 of Burned & Bound

Even from where I stood, it was clear Betty was wary of West’s presence when he entered the corral with her. Her hooves beat against the ground while he talked to her. My heart lurched into my throat when her display grew more irate.

“He’s going to get himself hurt,” Warren warned.

“I trust him,” I replied.That didn’t make it any easier to watch.

Within minutes, West had her calm and nuzzling against his hand. He tested her responsiveness, moving around and snapping his fingers to see how well she followed him. She chased after him eagerly, even when he pushed her to a trot. I was fairly certain that mare would do any damn thing he wanted her to.

His way with horses was nothing short of captivating.

“So, he went away and came back a horse whisperer?” Warren asked.

“Nah, he’s always had a way with horses,” I said.

When West tried to leave the corral, Betty was at his back with her snout over his shoulder. That smile on his face did wild things to me, and I’d do whatever I could to keep it.

“Well, I guess we’re buying Betty,” I announced. There was no way in hell we were leaving here without her—not that West would let us.I was pretty sure he’d come back and steal the goddamn horse if we didn’t.“How much do you want for her?

“For Betty?” Warren scratched at his scruff, making a face as if I’d asked him a tough question. “I mean, you sure you don’t want one of the others? One that don’t got so many issues?”

“How much do you want for her?” I reiterated. At his continued hesitance, I said, “Either we’re leaving with that horse or West will be sleeping in your stables tonight.”

He laughed like I said something funny, but he had no clue just how serious I was.

CHAPTER 49

west

He bought me agoddamn horse. I still couldn’t believe it. Even when I told him that I could buy Betty on my own, Jackson insisted. By the time she was comfortably put away for the night, he had me feeling some kind of way that I couldn’t explain.

Fuck, if that didn’t describe my entire relationship with Jackson.

I followed him up the steps at the end of the night. It’d taken him three attempts to get me out of the stables before damn near threatening me. Betty was fine. She was more than fine. She was content and almost happy with her new setup. Not that I blamed her. Our stables were better than the Kents any day.

“She’ll be fine, West,” Jackson said for the umpteenth time.

“Maybe I should’ve stayed out there,” I replied, closing the door

“West.” The slight uptick of annoyance in his voice wasn’t lost on me.Fuck.

“Sorry, I just—”

“West,” he repeated, turning. He closed the distance between us, his arm wrapping around my waist as he dragged me to him. His mouth brushed against mine in a slow kiss. My eyes slid shut as I gave in.

I met him kiss for kiss, feeling each one down to my very core. My heart pounded violently in my chest. I grabbed onto his shirt to keep my knees from giving out.

When his tongue swept along the seam of my lips, I opened. The taste of him flooded my mouth—something soft and spicy that I wanted more of. I knocked his hat off and curled my fingers in his hair, kissing him harder. Needing more.Of what exactly? That was a damn good question.

His warmth, his strength, his intensity. I liked the way he felt pressed against my body. I was painfully aware of just how much I liked it as my cock thickened in my jeans. The foreign feeling was unsettling, but I tried to push that thought out of my head.This was normal.

I could do normal.

Strong hands anchored on my hips as he dragged me across the room with him. When his knees hit the couch, we toppled over. His hands tightened, and I landed on top of him.Hard. I adjusted quickly to alleviate the way my weight pinned him to the couch, and my hips settled between his.

“I’m too old for this shit,” Jackson half-groaned, half-laughed. In the dark, I couldn’t see his face but I could hear the smile in his voice. I shut him up with another kiss. His laughter faded completely, and I swallowed the moan he let out.

His hips thrust upwards against mine. The thickness of his dick rolled across my own, sending a shockwave of sensations through my body.Good? Bad? I couldn’t tell.

I was a fucking livewire—a bomb ready to detonate. Every touch did wildly unpredictable things to my body. Things I hadn’t known possible.But they were things I couldn’t identify as good or not.My skin crawled and tingled, making my brain glitch.

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