Page 14 of Tin

I tug at Kirsten’s sleeve to get her attention. “Hey, give me your keys. I forgot something in the car.”

She frowns but hands them over anyway. “Don’t get lost.”

“It’s a straight shot between the barn and the parking lot. I think I can manage,” I say as she turns to catch up with Sophie who’s already inside. As soon as Kirsten is out of sight, I follow the same path Riker disappeared down.

When I find him, he’s standing at a gate sorting through a collection of halters.

“Are you and Sidney together?”

He spins around, startled by my outburst. I don’t blame him. I kinda scared myself a little.

“What, you following me now?” That sly grin begins to creep in.

“No, jackass. I was duped into coming here, as usual.” I walk up beside him. Next thing I know he’s dumped the whole load of halters into my arms, making it easier for him to untangle them. “I notice you conveniently avoided answering my question.”

He doesn’t break his focus from his task for even a second. “Why do you care? I’m not withyou.”

I forcefully cram the load of halters back against his chest. “I don’t care. About me. Or you. I do care if you’re cheating on some innocent bystander. I don’t want any part of that.”

His jaw grinds back and forth for a moment. Apparently, he needs to contemplate his answer. Which probably isn’t a good sign.

“I’m not cheating on anyone. And not that it’s any of your business, but you’re the only one I’m sleeping with.” He untangles the halter he was looking for and places the rest back over the fence post.

“Oh.” I’m not really sure what to say now. “Well, good. Because I’m not sleeping with anyone else either.”

He grins again. “Yeah. I kinda already knew that.”

I feel my face flush and hate him for it. “Keep it up and I won’t be sleeping with you either.”

Riker’s deep-blue eyes go dark as he lowers his head to be level with mine. He’s not grinning anymore, but he’s got the look in his eye. The look that turns my knees to mush and sends a sea of butterflies ripping through my stomach because I know what’s coming. And the anticipation is already killing me.

“You know, you really shouldn’t make threats you can’t deliver on.” The throaty rasp in his voice is enough to give me chills.

“You don’t know the first thing about what I can and can’t deliver.” My stubborn side is showing again, but the way I nearly stuttered while muttering my lame comeback, it’s probably not all that convincing.

Riker takes another step closer, his tall body towering over me, his face barely an inch from mine. “Quinn?”

“Yeah?” I can’t even swallow. I’ve forgotten how to freaking swallow.

“Don’t make me prove you wrong right out here in the open for the whole damn world to see.” His lips brush over mine as he speaks, taunting me.

I have to avert my eyes to even string together a coherent sentence. “I wouldn’t try if I were you. I’d only embarrass you.” The words have barely passed the tip of my tongue when his mouth comes crashing down on mine and I lose all sense of reason and responsibility.

By the time I become aware of my surroundings again, I’m straddling Riker, who’s sitting on a stack of hay bales near the fence line. His hands are in highly inappropriate places, as are mine, and I have to double-check to make sure I’m not completely naked. Because let’s face it, based on my previous experiences with the man, my clothes do tend to magically wind up on the ground without my knowledge of how or when.

“Fuck,” I gasp, breaking away from his kiss while simultaneously jumping out of his lap.

He smirks. “Later.” Then he stands up, brushing the hay from his jeans. He loops the halter around my back and brings me toward him, then bites my lower lip before sliding his tongue inside my mouth again. I’m about to melt into his embrace when he smacks me hard on the ass, slapping me back into reality. “Now stop being so damn difficult. There’s no need to complicate a good time.” He kisses the tip of my nose before he releases me and returns to the gate.

“You know, you’re pretty cocky for a thirty-something-year-old man who lives in a one-bedroom garage apartment and can’t seem to accomplish even the small tasks of adulthood like grocery shopping and the occasional load of laundry.” I have no reason to still be standing here hurling insults in his direction other than I’m not ready to walk away yet.

Leading a solid-looking red roan, he comes through the gate. “And yet you still can’t seem to get enough of me.” He keeps walking with the mare, leaving me standing here unable to even muster a solid response, desperate to fall into step behind him and follow him wherever he’s going next.

It’s like he’s got some sort of mysterious magnetic force pulling me toward him. Except it’s really not all that mysterious. It’s lust. Love’s ugly stepsister. That manipulative bitch is always doing whatever it takes to get her way, because she’s selfish and has a one-track mind that’s unable to formulate any thoughts other than, “What will it take to get laid again?” Stupid, stupid lust. I always thought I liked her better than love. I was wrong. Really wrong.

I take another thirty seconds or so to shake off the lingering effects of my new drug of choice before I sneak back up around the barn and do my best to fake a trip in from the parking lot.

“So much for not getting lost,” Kirsten says the second she sees me. “What on earth took you so long? And it better not be wearing dirty jeans and a backward baseball cap.”

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