Page 5 of In a Bind

Chapter Four

Zane

Aidan was having justa little too much fun watching me help Mindy with the chairs. She had found me almost instantly in the party crowd, one of the hazards of having an unusual hair color. Aidan lifted his drink up as I walked by the massive hot tub where he was sitting with not two but three women. I continued through the pool area, following the boss as she led me through the gate and out on the patio. If carrying chairs was Mindy's idea of flirting, then it was easy to see why she was still single and why her dad was working so hard to match her up with someone. The thing that was especially annoying was that I'd had to ignore her sister's far more appealing invite down to the swimming hole.

As I set up the chairs in the location Mindy had pointed out, she got sidetracked by something that was happening in the kitchen. I finished my task and decided to slip out of her reach before she had me doing something extra sexy and flirty like carrying out the garbage.

I headed back out to the pool area. Aidan spotted me. "Zane, join us. I'm outnumbered here."

"Not right now."

I glanced out toward the pastures and acres of green that surrounded the ranch. Raini was just pushing a bicycle out of the shed. I looked back the way I'd just come. There was no sight of Mindy. I was pissed that I would have to worry about angering her now, which, in turn, would anger her dad. I hadn't wanted any part of this, but somehow I was stuck in it.

My gaze shot across the grass again. To hell with it. I headed out the back gate of the pool area and hurried along the path leading to the shed.

Raini was just throwing her long leg over the bicycle when I got within shouting distance.

"Raini!" I called.

She looked up. She had braided her long dark hair back, showing off the feathery tattoo running behind her ear and along her neck. It stopped at the hollow near the base of her throat.

I ran to catch up to her. She looked past me, I supposed to see if Mindy was behind.

"I don't need any more grief from my sister, so if you have something going on with her—"

"I don't. I mean your dad was sort of hoping for us to get together."

When she tilted her head, it only added to how cute she looked. "You're not helping your case. I don't need any grief from him either."

I shrugged. "All right. I got the impression you were a little more rebellious and daring than that, but you're right, I don't want your dad and sister to be angry with you." I turned around casually, but I was totally disappointed. Just like Aidan had joked, my weekend was fucked.

"There's a gray bike inside the shed," she called to me. I turned back. "It's my brother's, so it should fit you." She lifted her foot to the pedal. "Hurry up."

I raced into the shed and found the gray bike. I had to knock the cobwebs off the handlebars, but at least the tires weren't flat from lack of use. I pushed it out of the shed. Raini was standing over her bike, pedaling and giving me a nice fucking show as her ass wiggled with each shift from side to side. I hopped on the bike and took off, working hard to catch up to her. The thick grass didn't make that easy. I pulled up beside her panting and puffing.

She laughed as she looked back behind us. "Just checking to see if you're dragging a wagonload of bricks or something."

I finally caught my breath. "You had a head start."

"Uh huh, thought I'd give you a nice view of my ass. Did you enjoy it?"

"Not going to lie. I did. I enjoyed it." There was nothing coy about Rainsford Bonneville, and I liked that about her, among other things, including the nice ass.

We rolled down a small hill and reached a dirt path that looked as if it was a trail used by trucks and horses on the ranch. "How far is the swimming hole?"

"Why? Are you tired?"

"Nope. Just making conversation."

"It's just up ahead." She took off along the dirt, once again standing over the pedals to go faster and provide me with that same nice view. This time I pictured that same ass as I bent her over the front of my desk. Something told me she was the type of woman who would be up for an office lunch break fuck. I managed to make my own ride that much more strenuous by adding an erection into the mix.

Raini squealed as her bike rolled over the top of a ridge and disappeared below in a cloud of dust. I pumped hard to catch up to her, worried that she had fallen or dropped over a precarious edge. I reached the ridge and stared down as Raini raced down at top speed with her legs out to the sides and the bike handlebars wobbling in her hands. I could hear her laughter all the way down.

I took off over the ridge and torpedoed down after her. I felt like a coward after squeezing the brakes several times to slow down the descent. Raini's long, dark braid, swung back and forth like a pendulum across the green fabric on the back of her shirt as she pedaled toward a copse of trees. The musty smell of shade covered water wafted through the spindly branches of the oak trees.

Raini disappeared into the trees and I followed. In the center of a clearing, surrounded mostly by shrubs and trees, sat an oval shaped pond.

I stopped my bike next to hers. "It's a far cry from your dad's crystal blue pool, but I like the fact that this one isn't filled with people."

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