Page 4 of Freeing the Wild
But this other cowboy, the one who came riding in out of nowhere just before I fell?He’s skidding into the dirt beside me.And he isn’t looking at me like Dusty was.No, this cowboy just looks plain pissed off.
“You got some sort of a death wish, ma’am?”Cowboy’s deep tenor sounds as I flip myself over onto my back.
“Haveyougot a death wish calling me ma’am?”I ask trying to sit up though my head is spinning.
“Whoa.Easy now, I think you hit your head,” he says gruffly.Warm fingers slide through my hair as he checks my head for damage.I rest on my elbows and try to bring my heart rate down.The cowboy invades my personal space, and I breathe in his scent involuntarily.He smells like clean soap, spice and cedarwood.Which certainly isn’t terrible.
“Calling me ma’am and … talking to me like I’m your horse?”I mutter with a shaky voice.“Youdohave a death wish.”
He makes a grunting sound as he gently helps me into a sitting position.
I let my eyes focus on him fully for the first time as he swipes my hair off my forehead and assesses me.
Well, damn.I must have hit my head because I’ve never found mustaches appealing until right this second.With his straight, masculine features and wide-set, deep blue eyes in his tanned face, that mustache along with the scruff of his strong, unshaven jaw justworks.
I quickly realize that this cowboy isn’t like the one I easily bewitched.He’s rugged, big, tattooed andgorgeous.All-American gorgeous.Dark blond wavy hair peeks out slightly from under his worn, tattered cowboy hat.That Superman-worthy jaw flexes as he focuses on me.“It might be a good idea for you to stop shit-talking me for a few seconds so I can make sure you don’t have a concussion, yeah?”he bites out, looking into my eyes with his face only inches from mine.My ears have a bit of an odd buzzing in them as he holds a finger up.
“Follow with your eyes, okay?”He moves it back and forth to watch the way my gaze follows.I probably should be focusing, but I’m a sucker for a man’s big hands and his don’t disappoint.They’re rippled with veins, strong and sculpted.Working-man hands.
“Hey,” he snaps, bringing my eyes back to his finger.Focus, Cass.
“Are you feeling dizzy at all?Nauseous?”Cowboy asks.
“No … I think I’m fine.”I avert my eyes to get out of this temporary trance, then try to stand.He echoes my movements,standing with me.But the moment I get to my feet, my body has other ideas and I collapse, headed right back down in the dust before two strong arms catch me.
“I knew you weren’t fine …stubborn little…” I hear him trail off under his breath before he scoops me right up with ease, cradling me into his body.My arms naturally move up to wrap around his thick neck as I stabilize myself in his grasp, trying to push the feel of his warm, sturdy shoulders from my mind.This is not the time to think with your lady bits, Cass.
“You can put me down.I can walk myself …” I try to sound convincing, but he isn’t having it.
“With all due respect, Princess, I’ll put you down when your own legs can hold you.And right now, that just isn’t the case.”
Heat immediately rushes through my blood.Ihatewhen people call me “princess,” and I get more than my fair share of it.As if I’m just a high-maintenance diva who looks pretty and has everything handed to her on a silver platter.
“I don’t need a hotshot cowboy with a hero complex to rescue me,” I say, looking into his eyes.He looks down at me and my breath does an annoying hitching thing.His eyebrows lift and he lets out a low chuckle,
“For someone who doesn’t need my help, you sure seem to be making yourself pretty comfortable in my arms right now.”
I am?
Shit.Iam.I instantly stiffen under his hold.
“Don’t flatter yourself.I don’t know you, is all.You might be a weakling so I’ve got to hold on for my safety.Just until I know you aren’t gonna drop me.”
Cowboy tips his head back and lets out a deep laugh as a broad smile takes over his face.It’s sort of breathtaking.And totally wasted on such a smug personality.
“The only way I’d drop you is if you annoyed me to death.”His smile vanishes as he deadpans, “So maybe you should keepyour pretty mouth closed until I can set you down, ’cause if I’m being honest, you’re getting damn close.”
I decide to do what he says since he’s the one carrying me, and we cover the short distance to the barn in seconds.In truth, it feels like he could carry me all day without even breaking a sweat.I’d never say it out loud, but this cowboy obviously isn’t weak.
He sets me and my dirty hat down on a bench just inside the barn and Dusty comes running in after us, making his way down a hall and reappearing in seconds with an ice pack in his hand.
“She said she could ride, boss.And fuck, I believed her,” he says before turning his attention to me.“You said you could handle an unruly horse.Your daddy raised ’em and all that?Were you just making that up?”
Guilt floods my chest.“I’m really sorry,” I say genuinely.“I didn’t make it up.I used to be a good rider.Guess that was a long time ago.”
I reach up to touch the side of my head and wince.Ow.
“What the hell are you riding Outlaw for, anyhow?”Cowboy asks, taking the ice from Dusty.
