Page 17 of In a Bind

Chapter Fourteen

Zane

Aidan's tiewas still dangling from the doorknob. I grabbed it in my fist, deciding it might be just what I need to go along with the other tie Raini had so stealthily used to bind me to the fucking chaise lounge.

I could see Aidan's naked ass in the bed and another long lump next to him, buried under the covers. There was an empty bottle of wine next to the bed. I stomped around looking for my sweatshirt and getting washed up in the bathroom, secure in the knowledge that nothing would wake my friend from his booze and sex coma. The woman next to him in bed didn't stir either. Staying out on the lounge had been a good choice, but it would have been less aggravating if I hadn't woken up in the middle of the pool area with my wrists tied together and an erection straining against my pants. My talented, fearless opponent had once again outpaced me. I'd fallen asleep last night wondering if the sputtering ending to the evening had doused some of her enthusiasm for the game. But it seemed that was not the case. And now my own energy for winning the match had been renewed.

I shoved both ties in my sweatshirt pocket. I was still armed with a handful of condoms from the night before. Invigorated by the early morning air and the notion that she had once again outsmarted me, I marched with fierce determination toward the barn. If she wanted a ride, I was going to give it to her so hard and so fast she was going pass up Sunday and go straight on to the next Friday.

I reached the barn and walked into the breezeway. Raini had just finished saddling up the second of two horses.

"There you are. I didn't ask but something told me you might need a beginner horse. Jumbly is slow and dependable."

I looked at the two horses and then at Raini. She was wearing skin tight jeans tucked into a pair of cowboy boots, a wardrobe choice that sent my pulse racing. But then it seemed everything she did sent blood surging through my veins.

"You actually meant a real ride . . . on horses."

She patted the side of a speckled gray horse and smiled. "Uh huh. What kind of ride did you think I meant?" Her coy smile, one that I already knew too damn well, made its appearance. She knew exactly what I meant and exactly why I'd thought it.

"Never mind. So, which horse is the slow and dependable one?"

She walked back to the chestnut brown horse. "This is Jumbly. I also picked him because his coat sort of matches your hair."

"Great, then we won't clash."

She lowered the ropes that held the horses in place in the barn aisle. Then she pulled the reins over Jumbly's head and handed me the end. She took her horse's reins, and Jumbly and I walked behind her out of the barn.

Raini gave me a quick lesson on how to get up in the saddle and then hopped onto her horse.

"Where are we heading?" I asked.

She smiled. "You'll see. Jumbly will pretty much follow Pepper so you won't have to do much except not fall off. How often have you ridden on a horse?"

"That depends, does it count when you're strapped in by a belt as a pony goes around a little circle?"

"Hey, ponies are horses. Trust me, they'd be the first to tell you that."

"Then once. I've been on a horse once at a county fair, and I only remember it because my mom kept the humiliating picture of my ride up in the hallway with the words Cowboy Zane written in glitter gel on the dusty frame. Aidan must have seen that picture a thousand times when we were growing up, but it never stopped him from curling over into a laughing fit."

"Aidan is the massively built guy with the dark blond hair and tattoo sleeves, right?"

Raini hadn't exaggerated about Jumbly following her horse. I basically just sat upright in the saddle as my horse followed obediently along next to hers. "Yep and Trey is the guy who looks like he belongs at the head of the table in a boardroom and on the front cover of a high end magazine. Chase didn't show. He's our fourth partner. We all grew up together."

"That's cool that you all stayed close and that you get along in business. That's not always easy."

"Yeah, we all went through rough times growing up, so we've always had each other's backs."

"Do you know how amazing that is? Most people go through life feeling lucky if they have at least one friend they can count on. You guys have three." Raini turned Pepper toward a grassy hillside and Jumbly followed.

"I have to admit the green pastures, country landscape and blue skies all look pretty amazing from the top of a horse. Maybe I should have followed my mom's dream and become Cowboy Zane."

She glanced over at me. "I personally think a black Stetson would look dashing on you."

"Have to agree. What about you? Have you found that one true friend you can count on? Or maybe it's your sister."

A laugh spurted from her mouth. Pepper lifted his head and stuck his ears back as if he was listening for a command. "As you might have noticed, Mindy and I are far from best friends. We're just too different." She pushed her legs against her horse, and he picked up his pace up the hill. Jumbly followed suit but only after releasing a grumpy snort first.

"I had a lot of friends growing up but none that I can pinpoint as that special person I could count on. That was my mom. She had been the friend I'd always counted on."

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