of humor escaped. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but you’re turning me into quite the country boy.”
I clasped his nape and tugged him almost onto my lap. “Oh, you ain’t even close to being country yet. There’s an initiation process you have to pass before we can do away with this city slicker persona you got goin’ on.”
“Careful. You get all jumbly mumbly with your hick town edge, cowboy. It’s hard to understand.”
“I’m serious.” I tugged him down so we were both lying on the rock’s surface, Lachlan on top of me.
Our lips brushed together once before he asked, “So what kind of initiation am I looking at? I mean I’ve got the boots, the jeans—”
“Those jeans are too fancy. Don’t even try to weasel by with them.”
He smiled. “What do I need to do to join the country boy club?”
I kissed him, but my unbreakable smile made him laugh into the kiss. “Come on. Tell me.”
“Gotta find yourself a cowboy to ride.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmhm.” His tongue slipped inside my mouth, and all traces of humor vanished, replaced by serious indulgent kissing. Hands roaming, Lachlan ground his growing erection against mine, setting my nerve endings on fire.
“Ride a cowboy?”
“Yep. I’ll go gentle on you since it isn’t your area of expertise.”
He pecked my lips again, grinning. “Okay. I’ll agree on one condition.”
“Name it.” Another thrust. Another tantalizing kiss.
“You bottom for me too on another day.”
“Deal.”
The rocky ground wasn’t an ideal place to make this happen, even though I’d come prepared with lube and a condom in my saddlebag—just in case. I’d been working up to convincing Lachlan to let me fuck him all week, knowing I needed inside that perky ass of his, if only once.
We made out for long enough to get our blood pumping and hearts pounding. Lachlan knocked his elbow on the hard ground when he lost his balance grinding against me, and he sucked in a breath of pain.
“Shit that hurt.”
“Come on. Before I tear up that ass right ’ere. I can’t wait another minute, but this ain’t the most ideal spot, despite the scenery.”
“Agreed. Where did you have in mind?”
I stood and held out a hand, tugging Lachlan to his feet as well. Adjusting the uncomfortable strain in my jeans, I thought about the best place to go. The house was too occupied. Percy wouldn’t even be in bed yet.
“I got it. C’mon. We gotta head back down the trail.”
“Great. Like riding wasn’t a pain in the ass enough, now I have to do it with an awkward hard-on. Can’t wait.”
“Careful, city, you’re getting’ sassy, and your prudishness is showin’. Us country folk ain’t like that.”
He shoved me, and I stumbled toward the horses, laughing.
The ride back down the mountain carried an aura of anticipation. We shared glances but didn’t say much. I was giddy, like when I was a teenager discovering sex for the first time. My heart cantered along with Bella’s steady pace, knocking my chest and reminding me what we were about to do.
It was silly. We’d fooled around lots. I’d been with other men. Yet, with Lachlan, somehow, it felt like a first all over again. He’d cracked my heart wide open. Something no other man had been able to do. And of all people, the risk with him was huge.
I felt like I was tumbling head over heels and was powerless to stop it.
For the first time in my life, I handed over my heart to a man who had the power to destroy it if he wanted to.
“You’re quiet, cowboy.”
The fading light glistened in his eyes, making their usual green almost midnight black.
I couldn’t tell him where my mind had strayed. It wasn’t something I was ready to own out loud. We hadn’t known each other long enough for that.
“Just undressin’ you in my head and doin’ naughty things to that incredible body.”
“Eager?”
“You have no idea.”
Lachlan said nothing.
“You nervous?”
“No.” He winked.
When we emerged from the trailhead, I encouraged him to follow me. Instead of heading to the yard, I took the long road to the storage barn.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere private.”
“East?”
“Just follow.”
He didn’t speak again until I drew the horses to a stop outside the barn.
“You are not fucking me in a barn. I’m putting my foot down. You have a perfectly good bed in a house with sheets and pillows and cleanliness.”
“And a nosy eight-year-old and a father under the same roof.”
“Your point? We’ve done other stuff while they slept downstairs.”