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Authors: Kat Murray

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BOOK: Taking the Reins (Roped and Wrangled)
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But as the seconds passed, the amusement faded and uncertainty crept in, invading the cocoon of pleasure she’d been so comfortably wrapped in. Was she supposed to head to her own bed now? Wait for him in his bed? Go pose provocatively by the table? Pretend that she was asleep and let him choose?
Damn sex and it’s post-orgasmic complications. Why did something so good in the moment feel so confusing the next?
Time to move to her own bed. Spending any length of time stretched out next to him, naked, wouldn’t foster the “This is the only time” vibe she was looking for.
And oh God. Peyton shifted to sit up and let her face fall into her hands. She’d just slept with her trainer. A man in her employ. Who in the name of Hades would respect someone after that? She’d turned into exactly what every male who avoided doing business with her thought she was.
An emotional, illogical female.
Oh shit. She was her mother.
The very thought had chills running down her spine. She rubbed her arms to ward off the goose bumps, but it didn’t help. So she tried reason.
Red wouldn’t say anything. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Wasn’t a big talker to begin with, but he just didn’t seem the type to need to brag about any conquests.
Was she a conquest? Another sobering idea.
Cowboys still talked though. Everyone thought women were the worst with gossip, but men could be just as bad. To them, it was “shootin’ the shit” and it was conducted around the tack room or in a pool hall. Which made it all seem more manly. But stick them under a pair of hair dryers and a spade was a spade. Gossip was gossip.
And she’d just done something gossip-worthy. Marshall residents could chew on this for a year. Her mother sleeping with the trainer? Old news. Expected, even. But Peyton Muldoon?
“You gave up the reins.”
She jumped, losing her grip on the sheet. Grabbing the bedspread to cover her breasts again, she looked at him. “What?”
Confident, at home in his own nakedness, Red lounged against the wall leading to the bathroom. “You’re thinking loudly over there. It’s amusing, but you’re spinning out.”
“You can’t know that.” Could he? “And anyway, not your problem.”
“It is, actually.” As she started to step out of the bed, he strode over and nudged her back in with his knee. “You agreed to let me take care of you.”
“I did agree, and you did take care of me. And it was . . . nice,” she finished lamely. Nice?
He snorted, clearly as unimpressed with her word choice as she was. “It was more than nice. But we’ll let that go for a minute.” He hovered over her, caging her in with long arms and legs. “I’m not done with you yet.”
“Maybe I say you are.”
“I’m taking the reins. So you need to get over it. For tonight,” he clarified, when her eyes narrowed at him. “One night, not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.”
She pushed at his shoulder, budging him exactly zero inches. “It is to me. I already made the mistake once.”
Something crossed his face—was it hurt?—before he smirked. “I wouldn’t call that a mistake. What are you so worried about?” He studied her face a minute. “Are you afraid I’ll look at you differently?”
Her silence was easily interpreted.
“Because I won’t.” He nuzzled into her neck, over her cheek, kissing her nose. “Peyton, I tried my damndest to stay away from you. But you chased me—”
She gasped and pushed at him again.
He grinned, knowing his joke hit a nerve. “And I gave in. So that’s the end of it. I figure we earned this one night to let things ride. And in the morning, when we get back to the ranch, nothing happened.”
She watched his face, looking for a twitch, a smirk, anything that might hint he was lying. But it seemed he was telling the truth, at least about the morning after.
And really, she’d already given in to temptation once, right? It was like a diet cheat day. If you’re going to go, go big.
Cupping his face with her hands, she let the bedspread slither down her body. “Fine. But tomorrow, I’m taking the reins back.”
“Gotcha.”
Hours later, Red’s warm body was wrapped around hers from behind and his arm was draped over her stomach. One of his knees had settled between hers, and his chin was resting over the top of the crown of her head. He had, in effect, completely enveloped her. And it felt so secure, so safe, that for just a moment, she let herself picture coming home every night after a long day, climbing in bed and feeling this secure and safe.
Then, she realized her cheat day posed one massive problem.
Fire begets fire. All this night had done was fan the flame of her need for him. And she couldn’t afford the time to put it out.
Chapter Thirteen
R
ed pulled the rental up to the dirt patch in front of the main house, thankful they were finally home. The silence on the way back to the ranch had been deafening. And scariest of all, she hadn’t even put up a fight when he’d said he would drive the rest of the way. A woman like Peyton didn’t give up control like that unless there was a reason.
He stepped out of the Jeep, grateful to see a few hands walking up to help unhook the small trailer.
“Where’d this one come from?” Tiny asked, patting the hood of the rental.
“Silver went to that big scrap heap in the sky a few hours into our commute.” Red watched Peyton from the corner of his eye as she slid down from the passenger seat.
“Congratulations on the good week, Peyton.” Steve hurried to start unhooking the trailer. “Trace gave us a rundown of the rodeo. Sounds like M-Star had a great showing.”
“We did.” Peyton grabbed her suitcase from the backseat and let it flop to the ground, ignoring the dust it stirred up. When the hands waited, she shrugged. “What?”
Tiny spoke first. “That’s all we get? No stories? No color commentary?”
She smiled a little, though Red could see the strain behind it. “I’ll have a full report later, maybe after work’s done. I’m a day late though and I need to get back to it.”
The younger hands didn’t notice any difference, but Red watched Arby give Peyton an assessing glance from a distance. Then his gaze slid to Red and he would have sworn the older man’s scowl deepened. But he didn’t say a word, just turned for the barn and ambled back.
Well, crap. Not only was Peyton ticked—for what reason, he didn’t know—but now Arby was going to be on his case.
“Steve.” He tossed the keys at the hand. “When you’re done unhitching the trailer, take someone with you and return that in town to the rental place.”
“Got it.” Steve tucked the keys in his pocket and went back to work.
Red watched as Peyton headed toward the barn, alone and in an obvious mood that told others to give her a wide berth. She could see him from the corner of her eye, he knew it. But she didn’t turn to look at him. Didn’t wave, didn’t call him over for a few words or to ask a question like she always would have before . . .
Before.
Was she right? Had that one night completely ruined their working relationship?
It’s only been a day. Calm down. It’s not a big deal. Things will settle back into the way they were and you can both move on. You got it out of your blood, satisfied the curiosity, so you can move on.
Only he wasn’t a stupid man. Satisfied wasn’t what he was at all. Their one night together had only heightened his desire for her. And not just for some physical pleasure, though that could hardly be discounted. The woman attacked sex like she attacked work. Single-minded intensity and focus. God bless her for it.
But in the morning, when they waited at the rental place for the paperwork to be processed and to be given their vehicle, he’d had the strongest urge to grab for her hand and hold it for a while. Nothing about that was sexual at all. More like a comfortable, easy romance. More like exactly what Peyton would have hated.
Hated? Hell. He snorted to himself as he hefted his own bag and started toward his apartment to unpack. She would have snarled at him like a wild animal being caged.
He’d taken three steps when a truck, a complete rust bucket worse than the rig he and Peyton had left for parts somewhere in eastern Wyoming, crept up the packed dirt drive and parked by the barn. And out popped Bill, the teen from the feed store, surveying the setup cautiously, staying back and out of the way. Smart kid. Seeing that Trace was just finishing up with Lad, he walked over.
“Here for Peyton?”
Bill jerked like he’d been shot, checking around guiltily before finding Red. Hands stuffed in his pockets, he wandered over to meet him. “Yeah. Summer break’s coming up, and I’m hoping she will have something for me.”
Red sat on that a moment, watched as the boy’s eyes lit up while a hand led one of the horses to the hotwalk area. He scratched his chin. “Just wanting some summer cash? Or you interested in the livestock?”
“I’m interested in the—hey. Is that Trace Muldoon?” The boy’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Jay-zus. I used to watch him all the time on TV.”
“Language. And yeah, that’s Trace. Hey!” he called, waving a hand. Trace headed over, Lad’s lead in his hand.
“What’s up?”
Red hitched a thumb to his side. “You’ve got a fan.”
“Always got time for one of those.” Wiping a hand on his jeans, Trace held it out to shake with the tongue-tied Bill. “Here to watch?”
“Ho—hoping for a job, actually. Sir.”
Trace laughed. “Just Trace. And aren’t you a little young for a full-time gig?”
“Oh, it’s just for the summer. The last time Peyton was at the feed store she mentioned that I should come by for the summer and see if she had work. You know, mucking out stalls and stuff. Taking care of the tack. Whatever.”
Red would have thought the same thing, to give the boy a few easy jobs, shit work nobody else wanted to do. He was eager enough—and likely hungry enough—to do it all without complaint. But now Red had other ideas. “Why don’t I take you ’round a little, show you the place before you decide if you want a job.”
Bill scoffed, like not wanting the job wasn’t even possible, but followed along easily enough. “Sure.”
They started at the arena, then wound their way past the garage and the pasture before ending at the barn. As Bill greeted each horse by name—going by the nameplates on the doors—and with a scratch, Red made up his mind.
“How were your grades this year?”
“Huh? Oh.” Bill looked over distractedly before going back to inspecting Ninja. “Won’t get official grade cards for another week or so. They come in the mail. But I’m expecting all As and Bs. One C, I think.”
“A C? In what, gym?”
Bill laughed. “English. I hate all that analysis crap. Can’t a guy just read a book and say if he liked it or didn’t? Why do we have to talk about the theme and what the author meant and all that?”
Red laughed, remembering his own thoughts in high school being similar. “Can’t argue there. But they say it’s important. So my suggestion is to bring that grade up next year. Or there might not be a place here next summer.”
“Yeah, I can do that.” Bill nodded. “So do I have the job?”
“You’ve got the job.” Bill whooped, and Ninja gave him a look that suggested what he could do with his whoop. “Sorry, bud.” With a final scratch, Bill followed Red out of the barn. “So what should I do first? Any errands to run? Hay to load?”
“Slow down there. We’ll get to it.” Red headed back to the arena and his office, Bill chirping the entire way about his excitement. Taking his keys from his pocket, Red went to unlock the door and realized it was propped open. He nudged in and asked Bill to wait outside.
His mind immediately went to Peyton, as the only other person with a key to his office. There were any number of reasons why she would need to get in there. Paperwork and his computer with files, all things she might need access to. But she wasn’t inside, and there were no notes or anything to indicate she’d been in there looking for him. And he was pretty sure she would have locked the door behind her, if that’s how she’d found it.
Not to mention, after their little blowup over his apartment, he doubted she’d give him any reason to come after her again with questions.
He took a quick survey of the room, saw everything still appeared to be in place, and resigned himself to going through it all with a fine-tooth comb later in the day. Damn, not what his day needed.
“Bill, hey. Didn’t hear you drive up.”
Speak of the devil. Red heard her voice echo inside the arena.
“Hey, Peyton.”
“You come here looking for work? Or are you here about a horse?” she teased, and he finally saw her edge into his view from the office doorway.
“I was here for a job, but Red already hired me!” The boy’s excitement was infectious.
“Did he?” Peyton’s voice was silky, not a hint of sour. But Red could tell from the way she tilted her head, she wasn’t pleased. “I didn’t know he was hiring.”
Aw, shit.
“Well, looks like we’ve got another mouth to feed.” Peyton batted playfully at the bill of the teen’s baseball cap. “Why don’t you head home for today and tell your mama what you’ll be up to this summer. Come back tomorrow at seven and we’ll get started.”
Bill started to trot off but she called out, “Hey, Bill! Grades?”
“As and Bs and one C,” he yelled back on his way to his truck. “English!”
“Work on it,” she advised, just like Red had known she would. And with that, his doorway was filled with pissed-off woman.
Surprisingly, the look she shot him didn’t do a damn thing to douse the hard-on he was sporting under his Levi’s.
“What was that all about?”
Red shrugged. “Billy’s a good kid. Eager. Wants some summer work. Thought he’d be a good addition.”
“Yes, I agree with all that.” She scowled. “But since when were you hiring around here?”
“Okay, look, if it’s the cash you’re worried about, I’ll pay the kid myself.” Since Red had intentions of using Bill mostly as an assistant or apprentice, it was logical anyway. Not that money was ever really a problem for him. Not with the paychecks he was able to demand.
“The money isn’t the issue.”
“So then . . .” He had no clue what they were even arguing about.
“This is exactly what I was worried about.”
“Wait, what?”
“You know, from the other night.” At his confused look, she glanced behind her, then hissed at him, “When we . . . you know.”
“Ah.
You know.
Yes.” He stifled a laugh. But she wasn’t fooled, and stepped fully into the office before closing the door behind her.
“Yes. You damn well do know. And now you’re thinking you can make decisions that are my job. This is exactly why I knew from the start it would be a bad idea to get involved.”
Red held up his hands to ward off the lecture he knew she was about to start in on. “Hold on now. I hired Billy because I knew you’d already talked to him. Maybe I jumped the gun a little on hiring him. But I knew you’d already suggested he come work for you. I overheard you two in the feed store that day. I already know he’s a good kid with a good heart who could use the extra bucks. And I think he’s got potential as a horseman, with some encouragement. So, I just went for it.” He paused, then judging the temperature of the room, added, “I’m used to making decisions on my own.”
“Would you have done this at another ranch? With another owner?”
Fair question. But . . . “I don’t know. The fact is—”
“The fact is, you haven’t slept with anyone else, so you don’t feel that connection with anyone else.”
“No.” He kept his tone as even as he could, despite his own rising temper. “The fact is, I don’t know because not all my employers have been as easy to read as you.”
She scoffed.
“I already explained I understood there was a background there between you and Bill. I know the kid myself. Those things combined made this a situation I felt like I could call. I made a decision. I would have done it whether you were an eighty-year-old man or the hot handful you are now.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t chastise him for the joke.
“And I know you’re a total softie.” Yeah, that had her pokering up. She would hate that. “Play the badass owner all you want with other businessmen. I know you’re total goo when you want to be with the horses, with the staff when they need it. And that nephew of yours? Don’t think I haven’t seen you outside with him before on that quilt, cooing and making faces at him.” The memory had him smiling.
“So I like animals and kids. Sue me.” Arms crossed over her chest—a motion which made her breasts strain at her front buttons and had him thinking once again about dark rooms, soft beds, and low moans—she shook her head. “I don’t like this. I don’t like second-guessing myself now because of what happened.”
He shrugged. “So stop. If you don’t like something I’m doing, tell me. I might not listen . . .”
Her lips twitched, holding back a smile.
“But what man does?” At that, he knew he had her. She smiled and dropped into the rickety metal chair in front of his desk.
“I meant to ask, just out of curiosity, but were you in here earlier looking for something?”
“Earlier? No, not today.” She glanced around. “I meant to tell you the office looks good. Organized, sort of. At least I could find something if you weren’t here. Nylen was a slob.”
Red couldn’t argue. Though he wasn’t OCD-neat about things, he liked order. It was just good business. And as much as he wished his entire job was simply about the horses, he had paperwork like any other guy.
BOOK: Taking the Reins (Roped and Wrangled)
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