but decided she’d be smarter to focus on her job and not provoke a conversation with this man. He had trouble written all over him.
“Are you the only one out here?” she asked.
“Not anymore,” he said, leaving the horse and approaching her.
Amber instinctively took a step backward. He took her arm, though, appearing indifferent to her balking, and guided her past the horse and deeper into the smelly barn.
“Now, tell me you don’t find him gorgeous,” he said, stopping in front of the last stall.
It was dark this far back in the barn, the only light streaming in through the two large doors opened at the other end. Amber jumped when the black creature in the stall lifted his head, meeting her gaze with a defiant look that gave her chills.
“Oh, my,” she whispered, unable to stop herself as she stared at the large, sleek-looking, inky black horse.
“Put your hand here.” The man reached over her shoulder, pressing his hand against the side of the horse. “Then calm, gentle strokes.”
Amber was overly aware of the man touching her backside, his hard body like a steel wall pressing against her shoulder and her hip. She shifted her attention from the horse to his arm, noticing dark hairs on his forearm that she bet would tickle her flesh if he pulled her into his arms.
“Like this,” he said, his soft baritone next to her ear when he took her hand in his and placed it on the horse. He kept his hand over hers, stroking the horse with her hand. “That’s how you make friends.”
She wondered if he meant with the horse or with her. “What’s his name?” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat, telling herself she should pull her hand from underneath his, but her body ignored the instructions. She wasn’t about to show any interest by asking his name again.
“I don’t know but can find out. Would you like to ride him?”
“I’ve never been on a horse,” she admitted easily enough. She wasn’t sure the thought appealed to her.
“We need to change that. It’s obvious he likes you. I’ll teach you to ride.”
“I don’t think—” she began, not seeing how riding a horse would help her to be a better social organizer.
“Don’t run from something because you don’t know about it,” he told her, tightening his hand over hers when she tried pulling free. “Especially when your fascination is so apparent.”
Amber yanked her hand from under his. The quick movement must have startled the horse, or possibly annoyed him. He raised his head, looking down at her with very large eyes. The whites of his eyes in contrast to his black coat made him look exceptionally pissed. She jumped back and the man wrapped his arms around her, stilling her.
God, the dark hairs on his forearms did tickle her, sending a rush of excitement over her body, while goose bumps traveled across her flesh just as quickly.
“Shh,” he whispered in her ear. “What most people don’t understand about horses is their intelligence level. Believe me, he reads you as well as I do. He just registered your fear when he moved, which confused him. And I’m sure he detects how aroused you are at the moment, too, which probably is annoying him because he’s stuck back here without a female horse to enjoy.”
“How dare you,” she snapped, struggling to get out of his arms.
The horse moved in his stall, stepping back and forth while making a sound in his throat. Amber wasn’t sure if the horse was agreeing with the dark stranger, who pressed against her backside, or announcing him an ass.
“Would you rather I lie to you?” he whispered in her ear, keeping one arm tightly around her waist while moving his other hand up her front. His fingers grazed over her breasts, causing them to swell, suddenly feeling heavy with need, while her nipples puckered painfully. “Would you not be interested in knowing how the first time I saw you I turned harder than stone? Before I said a word to you I ached to touch you, learn every inch of your body while exploring your mind at the same time.”
There was something interesting about his vocal inflection. He held on to a drawl, reminding her of a ranch hand who possibly spent his entire life around horses. But there was a New England, almost aristocratic edge to his words, too, barely detectable but coming through more noticeably as he whispered in her ear, torturing her flesh. He cupped her chin, turning her head so she was able to see how deep his dark blue eyes were. She swore if she stared into them long enough, she’d understand the very depths of his soul. One thing she noticed, as she slipped deeper into his compelling gaze, was there was more to this man than just a hired hand who lived his life caring for animals and doing menial labor.
It crossed her mind that her month on this island, carrying out a job she knew damn good and well she wasn’t qualified to do, might be more pleasant if she consented to a sordid affair with one of the servants. Especially one like this man with his powerful body and incredibly smooth way of speaking and manipulating her body so it was ready and eager to agree with his proposition before her mind could even wrap around it.
“No, I’m not interested in knowing that,” she said, the words slipping out of her mouth from years of habit kicking in. It was second nature to turn down the advances of any man who came on to her strong and fast. Any man like that was a guaranteed heartache. She reminded herself firmly that she didn’t have time for this, especially over the next month while she tried pulling off a job description that was more foreign to her than the damn horse who watched them with vague interest. Pulling off this job would give her enough money to put a down payment on a home, to finally own something. She ached to create roots, lay down a foundation, and quit throwing money away on rent.
Amber twisted in his arms, and was rewarded for her efforts when his cock stretched against her hip, hardening and throbbing while he continued staring down at her with his compelling blue eyes.
“I’ll let you go,” he informed her, although he continued holding her firmly against him, cupping her chin while his finger moved slowly along the length of her jawbone. “But first tell me why you’re lying to me.”
Amber smiled. Maybe being a social organizer, pretending to know what filthy rich people did for fun, was grossly out of her league. But handling this ranch hand, this rough and ready man, was definitely something she knew how to do. Just knowing he would willingly bend her over and fuck her right here and now should have her beating his chest, scratching and clawing until he let her go, and then running as far away from him as she could get. It was her pride, though, that had her relaxing in his arms, continuing to hold his gaze, and going as far as to lick her lips, although when he had her this close to panting, she couldn’t moisten her dry lips.
“I’m not lying. Just because you’ve successfully discovered I’m a healthy young woman who is capable of sexual reaction doesn’t mean I’m like that horse watching us. I wouldn’t fuck someone simply because they’re presented to me.” She licked her lips again, liking how he watched her, searching her face and then settling his gaze on her mouth while she continued speaking. “I’m sure your horses are as intelligent as you profess, but what makes them different than most people—or at least, from me—is in order for me to fuck someone, the attraction must be mutual, not just physically, but also emotionally. Now, let me go, please.”
He released her, although he didn’t look appropriately chastised. Instead, when he lifted his focus from her mouth to her eyes,
