Page 82 of The Wildest Ride

He stretched luxuriously, long arms reaching high, his shirt lifting at the hem to reveal hints of rock-hard abs and defined hip muscles. All somehow guiding and directing the eye back to the proud centerpiece, AJ in his full glory. He sauntered over to his saddlebag, the very definition of shameless.

Lil was equally torn between laughing and meeting his dare head-on. She was a coward, though, so she laughed.

She didn’t laugh at him. How could she? He was beautiful. Close to perfect. No, she laughed because he made the whole thing light and free. A power that’d always eluded her.

He pulled on his jeans slowly, and she enjoyed the view.

Today’s button-up was emerald green, by far the loudest thing she’d seen him wear all circuit.

“Think they might miss you from far away?”

AJ snorted. “Nope. I just want to make it easier for them to film me coming in first place of course.”

“You mean us.”

AJ grinned over his shoulder. “Sure.”

Lil scowled, reality intruding. He was teasing, but it was also the truth. She’d do well not to forget.

“Speaking of, do you think the camera van is looking for us? By day they can probably track our GPS.”

He looked thoughtful. “Maybe? They seemed like they were having trouble with the rocks yesterday. I wouldn’t be surprised if they settled in for the night and plan to catch up today.”

“Them and us both.”

AJ turned around, finishing up with the top buttons before tucking his shirt in his jeans and around his still rather obvious erection.

He followed her gaze and his smile turned predatory.

He said, “Don’t you worry about me. I’ll settle right out after a few hours in the saddle.”

Lil burned red but didn’t shy away. “I’d expect as much. Nothing much different about you from any other mammal.”

He just laughed and pulled his boots on.

Lil headed over to get dressed herself. If her movements lacked her usual grace, they made up for it by not being unbearable.

She pulled her jeans on, followed by a simple button-up with a paisley pattern and classic Western piping. The print and accent color were both a dark peach and the buttons had an opalescent sheen.

AJ made sure he noted its fanciness with a raised eyebrow, but otherwise made no comment. Lil could hear his thoughts anyway, and they just made her puff out her chest.

Once dressed, she began to finger comb through her curls. A glance his direction told her AJ was watching, attention rapt on her fingertips.

Her hair bounding free, was riotous and thick despite her undercut. It sprang every which way, defying and escaping her hands before it ultimately submitted to her will.

They packed up camp and saddled up together in quiet, letting the sounds of the morning prairie wash over them while the cows grazed drowsily, evidently not in any rush to get moving to greener pasture. It was companionable in a way Lil hadn’t ever experienced, not even with Piper—the first and only employee Granddad had let her hire on. Piper’s room and board was included as part of her salary, and she didn’t make much, but that Lil’s grandparents had let her stay, a young woman fresh out of the penitentiary without a ranch skill to her name, that they let that young woman be the one Lil chose to bring on and pay when resources were so scarce had been no small act of trust.

These days Piper knew the ins and outs of the ranch well enough to be trusted with working it while Lil was away and had started a fledgling horse breeding program at the ranch that she hoped would one day bring supplemental income, though it was still in its infancy. Or rather, not quite in its infancy, but in its gestation.

Piper’s pride and joy mare, Reckoning, was pregnant. Piper had the touch with the horses, and Lil loved her to pieces.

There was a different peace with AJ, though, and she realized it was full trust. He might act lighthearted and carefree, but he was serious about the things he loved.

Lil turned her horse toward the back of the herd.

“Oh no. Where do you think you’re going?”

Lil nodded toward the cows. “Was planning on taking flank to start out with before doing a stint as drag.”

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