She heaved a heavy rock into the water with a grunt, pissed off that she’d taken this chance with Flame by coming down the steep hill. She knew better, but Flame was a sturdy Arabian stallion, and at fifteen hands high, he had the most powerful hindquarters she’d ever seen. Flame’s reaction time to commands and his ability to spin, turn, or sprint forward was quicker than any horse she’d ever mounted. His short back, strong bones, and incredibly muscled loins made him appear indestructible. When Flame stumbled, Jade’s heart had nearly skipped a beat. He’d quickly regained his footing, but the rhythm of his gait had changed, and when she’d dismounted, he was favoring his right front leg. Now she was stuck with no way to get him home without hurting him further.
Damn it. She bent over and hoisted another heavy rock into her arms to heave more of her frustration into the water. Her hair fell like a curtain over her face, and she used one dusty hand to push it back over her shoulder, then picked up the rock and—shit. She dropped the rock and narrowed her eyes at the sight of Rex Braden sitting atop that mare of his.
The nerve of him, staring at me like I’m a piece of meat. Even if he was every girl’s dream of a cowboy come true in his tight-fitting jeans, which curved oh so lusciously over his thighs, defining a significant bulge behind the zipper. She ran her eyes up his too-tight dark shirt and silently cursed at herself for involuntarily licking her lips in response. She tried to tear her eyes from his tanned face, peppered with stubble so sexy that she wanted to reach out and touch his chiseled jaw, but her eyes would not obey.
“What’re you looking at?” she spat at the son of the man who had caused her father years of turmoil. When she’d first come back to town, she’d hoped maybe things had changed. She’d ridden by the Braden’s ranch while she was out with Flame one afternoon. Rex and his family were out front, commiserating over an accident that had just happened in their driveway, resulting in two mangled cars. She’d tried to see if they needed help, to break the ice of the feud that had gone on since before she was born, but while his brother Hugh had at least spoken to her, Rex had just narrowed those smoldering dark eyes of his and clenched that ever-jumping jaw. She’d be damned if she’d accept that treatment from anyone, especially Rex Braden. Despite her best efforts to forget his handsome face, for years he’d been the only man she’d conjured up in the darkest hours of the nights, when loneliness settled in and her body craved human touch. It was always his face that pulled her over the edge as she came apart beneath the sheets.
“Not you, that’s for sure,” he answered with a lift of his chin.
Jade stood up tall in her new Rogue boots and settled her hands on her hips. “Sure looks like you’re staring at me.”
Rex cracked a crooked smile as he nodded toward the water. “Redecorating the ravine?”
“No!” She walked over to Flame and ran her hand down his flank. Why him? Of all the men who could ride up, why does it have to be the one guy who makes my heart flutter like a schoolgirl’s?
“Taking a break, that’s all.” She couldn’t take her eyes off of his bulging biceps. Even as a teenager, he’d had the nervous habit of clenching his jaw and arms at the same time—and, Jade realized, the effect it had on her had not diminished one iota.
“Lame stallion?” he asked in a raspy, deep voice.
Everything he said sounded sensual. “No.” What happened to my vocabulary? She’d been three years behind Rex in school, and in all the years she’d known him, he probably hadn’t said more than a handful of words to her. She narrowed her eyes, remembering how she’d pined over each one of his grumbling syllables, even though they were usually preceded by a dismissive grunt of some sort, which she had always attributed to the feud that preceded her birth.
“All righty then.” He turned his horse and walked her back the way he’d come.
Jade stared at his wide back as it moved farther and farther away. Damn it. What if no one else comes along? She looked up at the sun making its slow crawl toward the sky, guessing it was only six thirty or seven. No one else was going to come by the ravine. She cursed herself for not carrying her cell phone. She wasn’t one of those women who needed to be accessible twenty-four-seven. She carried it during the day, but this morning, she’d just wanted to ride without distraction. Now she was stuck, and he was her only hope. Getting Flame home was more important than any family feud or her own conflicting hateful and lustful thoughts for the conceited man who was about to disappear around the corner.
She shook her head and kicked the dirt, wishing she’d worn her riding boots. The toes of her new Rogues were getting scuffed and dirty. Could today get any worse?
“Hey!” she called after him. When he didn’t stop, she thought he hadn’t heard her. “I said, Hey!”
He came to a slow stop, but didn’t turn around. “You talking to me? I thought you were talking to that lame horse of yours.” He cast a glance over his shoulder.
Jerk. “His name is Flame, and he’s the best damned horse around, so watch yourself.”
His horse began its lazy stroll once again.
“Wait!” Goddamn it! She gritted her teeth against the desire to call him an ass and shot a look at Flame. He was still favoring his leg, which softened her resolve.
“Wait, please.”
His horse came to another stop.