Page 39 of Country and Clove
Aaron held back the complaint that was aching to make itself heard. Graham opened his mouth and Aaron gave him a quick glare that saidzip it. Graham let out a string of Scottish curses under his breath, but held back whatever he’d been planning on voicing before. Tawny headed inside the barn and the three of them followed.
The rest of the group stayed behind, their faces lit with grins. Aaron shook it off and swallowed his pride. He would gladly take a little farm humiliation if it meant getting in Tawny’s good graces and returning to Gideon with the pack secured as allies.
The barn was massive, with a good two dozen horses inside. They walked down the rows as curious eyes followed their movements. Aaron couldn’t help but notice the way the horses reached out to Clove as she passed, their necks lengthening with the desire to be close to her before retreating. She was smiling, her hand reaching out to brush their noses as they passed.
“The horses like you, sugar,” Tawny commented, noticing the animals’ behavior. “How about you lead them out to pasture and we’ll let the boys take care of the mucking.”
“Female favoritism,” Graham complained.
“Oh please, you look like you were built for hard labor. You’ll have the stalls cleaned and bedded before breakfast.” Tawny tossed a pitchfork to each of the boys and a lead to Clove. “Work fast now. Breakfast will be ready after sunup and you’ll wanna get it while it’s hot.” She walked by with a poorly hidden smirk on her strong features.
“Enjoying yourself?” Aaron asked in a low voice as she passed.
“What ever could you mean, dear nephew?” Her smirk split into a full grin as she called over her shoulder, “Chop, chop. You’re wasting daylight.”
“It’s still dark outside, you crazy ginger slag!” Graham yelled back.
Clove unlatched the first stall, bridling a tall palomino and guiding it outside. The mare nuzzled into her neck as they walked. Clove’s laughter floated back toward Aaron and he smiled. The others whinnied in protest as Clove disappeared from sight.
“I’ll be right back!” she called out to them. She took a pair of Appaloosas next. The two horses nearly bowled her over in an attempt to get close. Her laughter only grew louder. “Come on, you two,” she chided, but he could hear the smile in her voice. Animals were some of the purest judges of character. The way they treated Clove made something flutter to life inside him.
“Stop ogling and get to work, you worthless arse,” Graham grumbled.
Aaron moved into the first stall, but couldn’t stop himself from glancing out each time Clove walked by with another horse in tow. His eyes were drawn to her, always hunting for the spot where she was entering or leaving. He and Graham made quick work of the stalls. The Scottish lycan worked with a silent deference that was only broken when he stepped in an unseen pile of horse shit in the hallway.
By the time they were finished, the sun was peeking over the horizon. Aaron took a second to admire it. With so few trees here, the sunrise seemed to go on for miles longer than the ones back home. Clove stood with her back to him, soaking in the sky in front of her. She must have been able to sense his eyes on her because she glanced back over her shoulder. Aaron was momentarily dumbstruck by the intensity in her green and gold gaze. Her face was framed by the colors of the rising sun. Why did she have to be so impossibly beautiful?
Breakfast was served on the front porch of the main house. They gorged themselves on sausage and eggs, and the second they finished, Tawny had them up and headed out into what was fast becoming a hot-as-hell Texas day. She pointed to a mass of hay bales and then an empty flatbed trailer. “Load ’em up.”
They got to work, hauling the bales into the trailer one by one. Aaron looked over at Clove. She was holding her own, but he knew she must be getting tired. She may have been a lycan, but she was still a fair bit shorter, and far less heavily muscled than he and Graham were. Something about watching her struggle beneath the heat of the sun made his wolf huff unhappily. It wanted her inside, sitting in the AC, drinking lemonade, her belly round with his pups.
Aaron froze. That was the first vision his wolf had sent him in days. The animal snapped at him irritably.I get it, I get it.
He strode forward, gripping Clove’s bale and hauling it into the back. “Why don’t you take a break.”
“I’m perfectly capable of—”
“I know you are. But we got this. I don’t like to see you working so hard. So why don’t you just step back, darlin’, and let us do the heavy lifting.”
Clove cocked an eyebrow at him but took several steps back and sat on a partial bale nearby.
“Oi, lad. Does it bother you to watch me working under the hot sun too?” Graham gave him a grin as he chuckled deeply.
“No,” Aaron said tersely. It felt like Graham was invading every private moment in his life. He could barely think when he was around Clove. Having Graham breathing down his neck didn’t help. Aaron ditched his shirt as the sun rose high in the sky.Just like old times.
* * *
Sweat glistened down Aaron’s toned body. Clove couldn’t help but let her eyes rove over the impressive swell of his muscles. He picked up another hay bale and tossed it onto the flat. His muscles flexed as they worked to lift the heavy load. Aaron’s jeans hung low and his defined V muscles peeked up over the waistband. Clove’s mind drifted back to the only other time she’d seen those carved areas and what lay beneath. The memory of his flesh on hers under the beaming glow of the moon was branded into her mind. His eyes, his scent, the way he’d made her body sing like no one before. She squeezed her thighs together as a rush of memory-induced lust traveled through her.
Aaron tossed the next bale up and stiffened. He turned slowly, his whisky eyes glowing ever so slightly. His gaze raked across her skin and she held her breath. He stalked toward her, leaning down to speak in her ear. Aaron’s smoky, sweet scent hung heavy around his bare, sun-kissed skin.
“Mind out of the gutter, pretty girl. If you let Graham catch the scent of your arousal, I might just have to kill him.” He pressed his lips to the flesh just beneath her ear. She let out a breathy groan and he moved back. A dirty smirk pulled up one side of his mouth, revealing the dimple there.That kind of smile should be illegal. Honestly, what were the gods thinking making someone so horribly handsome and disarming? He turned and walked away, leaving Clove’s entire body burning with a heat that had nothing to do with the weather.
All three of them were sweaty and exhausted by the time they walked back to the farmhouse. A young blonde woman named Lila met them at the door with ice-cold tea and turkey sandwiches. “Tawny had to take care of some things but she’d like you to mend the back fence of the longhorn pasture. The materials are already onsite. It’s a ten-minute ride east.”
“Great,” Graham muttered, stuffing an extra sandwich into his pocket.
“She said after that, you’re done for the day.” Lila gave them a sweet smile. “The pack took a bunch of the horses with them but Tawny tacked up a few and left them behind for y’all.”
