Page 143 of Knot Her Cowboys
“Be good.” Cooper stroked Grizzy’s muzzle. “I’ll bring you an apple a day for the rest of forever as a thank-you for protecting Riley, but she doesn’t have any more on her right now.”
“Do you think she would be offended if I went to check on Buttons and Bluebell?”
“Undoubtedly,” Cash replied with a laugh. “She’ll forgive you by tomorrow, though.”
I kissed Grizzy’s cheek, taking a few seconds just to hold her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t come see you sooner, sweet girl.”
She nickered softly and sniffed around my belly to beextrasure I had no secret apples.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? And every day after that.” I waited for a few more minutes, letting her decide when our interaction was over, before following my pack to where Bluebell and her mama had moved since their little barn was ashes.
“We’ll get the barn rebuilt,” Dakota said quietly as he walked by my side, his hand in mine. “We have a cabin that will be empty for the rest of the season, and we’ll block that off for my family to stay while they work here.”
“That’ll be nice to have extra time to get to know them.” I squeezed his hand, swinging it gently.
The main stable was huge compared to the barn where Bluebell had been born. Cooper flicked on one set of lights and a bunch of the horses peeked out of their stalls. Ranger called to him and Cooper went right over to give him some attention.
I gave some love to the ones that I recognized, but an excited whinny summoned me to the far end. “That sounds like my precious angel baby!”
Bluebell ran a delighted circle around her pen, almost crashing into her mama when Buttons came to the gate to greet me.
“Hey there, Mama. How are you enjoying life in the stables? I’m sorry you had to deal with a fire. That must’ve been so scary, but I bet you were so brave.”
Dakota appeared at my back, passing me an apple. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the rest of my pack distributing treats to the other horses.
Buttons munched down her snack and I slipped inside the stall so I could kiss all over Bluebell’s sweet little face. “You’re so big and I wasn’t even gone that long. Quit growing so fast.”
Bluebell showed off with another prance around the pen.
“I think shemightbe excited to see you,” said Levi when he joined us.
“She’s so fucking cute I just wanna pick her up and jiggle her like a snow globe.”
“I don’t think your back would appreciate that,” said Cooper from a few stalls down. “Mine certainly didn’t enjoy having to haul her out of the barn.”
“Sounds like you need a hero medal too. You’re just out here rescuing baby horses from fires like it’s nothing?”
IlovedCooper’s blush. It was one of my favorite things about him being a redhead because it always broadcasted his feelings like neon lights across his cheeks.
I got all jittery with the urge to chomp him, and didn’t hold back on the compulsion, crossing the distance between us so I could hop into his arms and devour his mouth before my teeth made a home for themselves on his throat. Cooper braced me against the stall gate with a groan, his fingers shaking where they dug into my hips.
“Fuck,” he whispered sharply, his whole body tense. “Youjustfinished the heat, but if you’re after getting railed in a stable, you’re definitely pushing me in the right direction.”
I purred, planting a line of kisses up his throat before I nipped his ear. “It’s not my fault you were standing there looking so delicious. Can’t blame a girl for wanting to take a bite.”
“You’re supposed to be resting.” He protested, still flexing his hips into mine. Even when he was chastising me, he couldn’t help how much he wanted me, and that was an ego boost I’d never get tired of.
“I rested all day.” It took no prompting to guide his mouth to mine. My heat might be over, but I was always going to crave Cooper all over me. His affection for me in the bond was like slipping into a warm bath where I could sprawl back, cozy and cradled. Getting to have that kind of connection with himwas something I’d wanted forever. As the years had passed, I’d accepted it would never happen, no matter how much the craving to be his had never truly left me, but now he was mine.
My Cooper.
I breathed him in and caught the others on the air too. They watched me, like they were waiting for permission to join in, and I wasn’t about to deny them. Cash slipped in behind me, Dakota and Levi leaning at my sides so I was fully contained by the sweetest men in the world.
My Cash.
My Dakota.
My Levi.
