Page 35 of Eyes Like a Hurricane

Noah’s mouth tilts up on one side, and before he can respond, strong arms wrap around my waist from behind. The scent of cedar and leather hits my senses. I close my eyes and lean into the body behind me.

Lachlan drops his face into the crook of my neck and kisses my collarbone. My skin erupts in goosebumps as he whispers, “I’ve missed you.”

I've waited all day to hear those words. Butterflies fill my stomach as I spin in his arms. His hands stay firmly on my lower back. I tilt my head upward, and his eyes meet mine. Bending down, our mouths connect, and like Tesla’s coil, my skin ignites with an electrical charge. I feel his tongue move against my lower lip and moan into his mouth. He takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He tastes like mint and chocolate. I grab onto the back of his neck and pull him closer. A throat clears, and we abruptly end the kiss.

Before I regain all my faculties, I blurt out, “Did you just eat mint chocolate ice cream? Because you taste amazing.”

I quickly cover my mouth, and my cheeks feel like they are on fire. Noah chuckles, then covers it with a cough.

“No, there were some Andes mints in the breakroom, so I jammed two in my mouth when I heard your car pull up,” he says sheepishly.

“I think we should invest in Andes mints,” I whisper before clamping a hand over my mouth again. As I regain my composure, I make direct eye contact with Lachlan and calmly reply, “I fully approve of that form of welcome.”

He grins down at me and goes to open his mouth before a voice from behind sarcastically replies, “I will keep that in mind, Aislinn.”

Mortified, I turn and see Noah striding toward the barn.

I squeak in protest as Lachlan growls, “Only I can greet her this way.”

Noah does a backward wave but continues to the barn door.

“How was your day? I am relieved to see you aren't limping anymore.” Lachlan sighs in relief.

“Overall, pretty good. The clinic is stocked well, and it looks like July 1st will be a realistic start day. I stayed on top of my ibuprofen, and I made sure to ice it twice today. It hardly hurts, so riding Hurricane shouldn’t be a problem. But I must admit, leaving you was hard this morning. My day just got better,” I say, wrapping my arms tighter around his waist.

“Mine too, Hurricane. I’ll get your horse saddled and ready, though I will be sad not having you in front of me. You ready to see the mine in better lighting?” he asks.

I nod, and we make our way into the barn.

Chapter 32

Lachlan

We are approaching the last turn on the trail for Topaz Ridge. “Are you sure Ingrid doesn’t mind watching Chloe? From the sound of it, she didn’t seem very happy,” Aislinn whispers.

I wince. “Sorry, it wasn’t you she was mad at today. She was angry at Callum because he told her it wasn’t safe for her to go to the mine. Even though she is a co-owner of the ranch, twenty-eight years old, and has been riding since she was three, he tends to treat her like a little kid. I told him she would be fine, but he insisted she stay in the office. Kept talking about paperwork she probably needed to do. I’m not sure what's going on between those two, but it’s driving me crazy. They fight like an old married couple,” I mutter.

I glance over at Aislinn, who is completely silent. I see her pursing her lips together with a mischievous glint in her eye.

“What?” I ask and immediately look around to see where she is looking.

A huge smile breaks across her face before she replies in a cheery voice, “Oh, nothing. I’m sure you will see soon enough.”

Well, that's beyond cryptic. I hum because I am not sure whether that is a positive or a negative. Before I can respond, she clicks her tongue and urges Hurricane to catch up to Callum and Noah.

As we round the corner, I hear her gasp. “I don’t think I will ever get used to this view. No matter how long I live with this setting, I will always be mesmerized.”

I smile. I like the sound of that and don’t complain. We all dismount, and I announce, “Make sure your horses are tied to a solid tree, as we don’t need a repeat of last night’s horse-shoving excitement.”

“Brings a new meaning to nuzzling, doesn’t it, man? I vote we term it the Nuzzling Catastrophe,” Callum chides as he arches his hands across the sky as if there were a neon sign announcing our mishap.

“Shut up,” I mutter half-heartedly.

He shoulders me as he walks by, lifting his eyebrows up and down. I try not to smile, but it’s hard keeping a straight face around him. He removes his hat and runs a hand through his sweat-slicked blonde hair, pretending to primp while making kissy faces at me. I turn toward Aislinn, ignoring his antics. He is the type of guy who thrives on attention. Ignoring him is key. Or trying to, at least.

Aislinn steps up and links her arm through mine. Going up on tiptoes, she whispers into my ear, “I preferred the nuzzling we were doing before Hurricane decided to put her two cents worth into the conversation.”

I smile, and in a low voice only she can hear and reply, “Can we nuzzle some more? Later today?”

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