As Jack untied Bandit, he lowered his voice so only Josie could hear. “He’s sweet on Pam, but he won’t admit it.”
“Why not?” Josie was very fond of Pam, who owned a local B&B. “She’s wonderful, and they’re about the same age.”
“She’s also loaded, and Emmett has some very old-fashioned ideas about money.”
“That’s too bad.”
“They might work it out, yet.” Gathering the reins in one hand, he swung effortlessly up on his horse. “Ready?”
Oh, yeah. It wasn’t the prospect of a horseback ride that had her quivering like a bowlful of jelly. When she looked at Jack sitting astride that magnificent black and white Paint like some dark warrior of old, she was ready for whatever he had in mind. She sat there in total awe.
Jack’s horse danced around and tossed his white mane while Destiny simply stood as if planted in the dirt. Josie didn’t care a bit. She was content to watch Jack’s thigh muscles contract under the soft denim of his jeans. She could focus on that all day long.
“You have to nudge him with your heels to make him go,” Jack said gently.
“Oh.” Josie gave Destiny a little nudge with her heels. The horse headed in the direction he was pointed, which was toward the open barn door.
“Rein him to the right!” Jack called out.
Josie tried to remember how to do that, but for some reason Destiny just kept walking toward the barn door.
“Here.” Jack trotted over and took hold of Destiny’s bridle on the horse’s right side. “This way, son.” He steered Destiny away from the barn and kept a grip on his bridle until they were past the barn and moving across a meadow filled with wildflowers. Ahead loomed a dirt trail that led into the trees. The trail was only wide enough for one horse at a time.
Josie had no time to admire the wildflowers. She gripped the saddle horn with both hands. She’d looped the reins around one wrist, but no one would accuse her of directing this horse in any fashion. Her foot slipped out of the right stirrup and she used the toe of her boot to try and get it back.
“Let me.” Stopping both horses, he released Destiny’s bridle. Then he leaned down and held the stirrup until she had her foot back in it.
“I feel like a total klutz.”
“It’s your first time.” He grinned at her. “Go easy on yourself. After all, you’re a horseback riding virgin.”
She rolled her eyes. “And here I thought my virginal days were behind me.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.”
It was the sort of banter they’d specialized in when they’d been a couple, and they slipped into it naturally, maybe too naturally. Their ease with each other had been one of the most seductive parts of the relationship. She could be herself with Jack. She could let down her hair, both literally and figuratively.
But then he’d blindsided her by leaving abruptly last fall. She’d do well to remember that.
“Nudge him with your heels again,” Jack said. “I want you to ride down the trail ahead of me so I can observe your technique.”
Josie did as she was told and Destiny moved onto the trail ahead of Jack and Bandit. “You want to observe my ass, is what you mean,” she said over her shoulder. She probably shouldn’t have made that remark, but old habits died hard.
“Cut it out, Josie. I’m trying very hard to behave myself.”
She let go of the saddle horn with her right hand so she could get a better grip on the reins. “My brother thinks you set up this ride to seduce me.”
“Your brother would nail my hide to the side of the barn if he could.”
“I think so, yes.”
“I don’t blame him.”
A thrill shot through her. “Are you admitting you set this up to seduce me, after all?”
“No, just the opposite. You’re totally safe with me.”
Damn.
“And for the record, I didn’t set this up,” he continued. “I’m doing it because Gabe and Sarah asked me. But now that I’m into it, I promise you there’s no seduction plan.”
Double damn. She had to believe him, though. Jack might have acted like a heel by breaking up with her on the phone ten months ago, but he’d never lied to her.
“Then I guess you’d better give me some riding instruction, Jack.”
“I was about to. Keep your heels down if you don’t want your feet to come out of the stirrups again.”
She angled her feet so her heels were lower than her toes. “Better?”
“Much better. How’re you doing?”
“Okay.” She found the rhythmic motion of the horse to be quite erotic, but she chose not to tell him. If he could keep secrets, so could she. If a girl concentrated on a certain cowboy riding a horse directly behind her, and angled her pelvis a little bit forward, she might be able to get just the right pressure to… mmm. Nice.
“You’re leaning forward too much. Sit back in the saddle and grip with your legs.”
Spoilsport. It occurred to her that she’d neglected her sex life since the day Jack had ended their relationship. She’d found it easier to close herself off and enter a mental nunnery.
But Jack was back, even if he swore they wouldn’t be getting horizontal. His presence in her life had awakened her sleeping sexuality, and fantasies were swirling in her head. Did he still keep a condom tucked in the back pocket of his jeans? During their time together he’d never left home without it.
From the meadow, the trail entered a stand of pine and aspen with a little oak mixed in. Had Jack planned this ride so they’d be in a secluded area? The dappled sunlight and trill of birds would make a nice backdrop for two naked people pumping away on a blanket.
Wow, had she actually thought that? She needed to get off that train of thought immediately. Much more of that kind of fantasy and she’d be suggesting that activity to Jack.
He’d made it clear he wouldn’t try to seduce her, so for her to suggest getting naked would be wrong on so many levels. She’d come off as both needy and pathetic.
“You’re looking comfy up there,” Jack said. “I think you’re ready for a trot.”
“Isn’t that the bouncy thing?”
“Not if you sit back nice and easy and move with the horse. Nudge your heels into Destiny’s flanks and he’ll trot for you.”
Reasoning that a new challenge would get her mind off sex, she pushed her heels into Destiny’s ribs. The result was less than optimal. Instead of rolling along with Destiny’s ambling walk, she was suddenly sitting on top of a jackhammer.
She grabbed the saddle horn as her teeth clicked together and her fanny slapped repeatedly against the saddle. Spanking fantasies weren’t part of her repertoire, and she wasn’t amused. “I don’t like this, Jack!”
He sounded completely unmoved by her plight. “Sit back in the saddle and let yourself feel the rhythm of the horse.”
She tried, but she still bounced all over creation. “This… rhythm… doesn’t… work… for me.”
“Then bypass the trot and go straight into a canter.”
“How?”
“Nudge him again.”