Page 40 of Wild

“What’s the matter?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. You just reminded me I have to connect with my dad about the tuition. I’ll send him another text.”

With her mind clearly back off that random tangent, I said, “You’ve got to ride a horse while you’re here.”

She blushed, even though we’d done some pretty kinky shit and was far from innocent. “Okay.”

I had no idea why taking her for a horseback ride was what I wanted to do with her. No, I did. I’d show her around the property, see what life could be like living here. With me. And we’d keep our clothes on.

“Good girl.”

13

MARINA

I joggeddown the stairs in my sneakers to meet Colton, breathless. I’d washed up and changed into a pair of jeggings so my bare thighs wouldn’t stick to the saddle and threw some sunscreen on. Audrey had warned me about the high-altitude sunburns, and that was the last thing I needed in wedding photos.

I couldn’t wait to go horseback riding. Actually, I couldn’t wait to spend more time with Colton. Yeah, he’d made it clear he was done with thephysicalportion of our time together. I’d come right out and said it, and he hadn’t contradicted me. He hadn’t thrown me down on the counter to smear frosting all over my body and lick it off. But I would swear he’d wanted to. I’d thought women were the ones to give mixed signals. He’d pulled back, that was obvious, but the way he looked at me…

I didn’t know what to think.

It had taken a while to finish all the decorative flowers on the cake, but Colton had chatted with me, but mostly sat quietly while I worked. Just watching. Again, the wholelookingthing. I wasn’t sure if he was naturally patient, or it was a skill honed after years in the military. Either way, I liked that the silence had been comfortable between us. I just liked his presence.

It wasn’t that I’d never been the subject of male attention before. I had. Boys in high school. The engineering guys. Even some cute cowboys at the bar the night before. But I knew better than to get attached because guys left.

My father left… or never came around. The guy from college had ditched me for my lab partner. Colton was leaving. I knew it. He hadn’t fed me lies to get in my pants. I’d been the one to be sneaky. I’d gotten intohispants under false pretenses.

I shouldn’t be upset. I wasn’t. Okay, I was, but I couldn’t be at him. He’d done nothing wrong. In fact, he’d done exactly what I expected and maybe that was what hurt. I thought he was… more. Different. He was giving me everything I needed. Attention, devotion, ravenous affection, consideration. I had no idea I craved all of that, but now that I had it, I wasn’t going to be able to go back to less.

Except I couldn’t rely on him. Not for the long run. I’d leave and keep an eye out for a man who wanted to stick. With me.

Colton fit the profile of a real man more than any of them in the past. Only he wasn’t some trumped up fantasy to use with my vibrator. He was right here, very much in the flesh, and I’d thought he’d returned my interest. He did, but in a hands off, no sex sort of way.

Fine. We’d ride horses. There was no way I could jump him if he were sitting on a different horse, right?

When I arrived downstairs, he held my cake on the platter, examining it from every angle. “This truly is a work of art, Marina. Did you work in a bakery or something?”

The pale pink and white flowers daintily circled the base of each layer, then spread like a garland up one side. At the top, two larger flowers were the centerpiece. It did look nice. A tad rustic without the smooth fondant often seen on some wedding cakes, but Audrey’s wedding was in a barn. I thought it matched well, and so did Colton.

I shrugged, but I felt my cheeks heat from his praise. My girlfriends always raved about the cakes I made for their birthdays, but this was the first wedding cake I’d done. Somehow, Colton’s words meant more to me than anyone else’s. Besides Audrey’s, since this cake was for her and Boyd.

“Nope. I’m self-taught. I’ve always loved to bake.”

He studied it for another moment, rotating it in a circle, so he could see it from all sides. “It really is a talent. Let’s get it in the fridge before it melts or slides off the plate or something.”

He carried the cake with as much or more care and reverence as I would out of the house and down the drive. I walked beside him, opening doors, so he didn’t have to do anything but carry the cake. God, if it dropped now...

Once we’d safely stowed the cake in the bunkhouse refrigerator—and told Johnny and the other guys not to touch it or deal with Audrey—Colton took me out to the stables and introduced me to a pretty pinto mare. “This is Lucy. She’s a doll. She’ll be perfect for you.”

I knew nothing about stables, but I guessed this one held twenty or so horses based on the number of stall doors. The space was long with open doors on both ends to let in the natural light and fresh air. While the pungent scent of horses was unmistakable, the space was clean and clearly well-maintained.

I came up to the animal’s nose, and I had no idea how I was going to get on top of her. “Oh, she’s beautiful. May I pet her?” I looked to Colton who was watching me. He nodded and gave me a smile. He set his hand on her flank first, stroked her soft coat.

“Sure.” Colton took my hand and placed it on her neck. “Nice and easy, like this. Are you nervous?”

“No,” I lied. I was, but I didn’t want to be. “Horses are so big. And she’s watching me.”

“She knows a pretty girl when she sees one.”