Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
He’d taught me the basics of riding, and he’d finally deemed me good enough for a trail ride, just the two of us. I was already scheming about what we could do once we got out to the far edge of the property all by ourselves. We could give the horses some time to graze, and I’d take some time to enjoy my man where his brothers couldn’t hear us.
Pumpkin followed my commands. It had taken a while for us to reach an understanding, but I’d learned to be firm without trying to force her to do as I said, and she’d accepted me as someone she was willing to listen to. It wasn’t unlike my relationship with Rhys. We both stood our ground when something really mattered, but we knew forcing things wasn’t going to work. Unless we were in bed, and then…
I sighed, and Rhys glanced back at me. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“TJ.”
“I’m just thinking about how much I love making you surrender.”
Rhys scowled at me. “No.”
“I do, and you love it too.”
“I mean, no, this is an actual trail ride to see how you handle Pumpkin. This isn’t an excuse to get somewhere private.”
“Don’t tell me you don’t want me to make you scream.”
“We’ve talked about lesson time and—”
“Yes, yes.” I waved at him. “I know I promised to behave, but this is more of an… outing than a lesson.”
“No. It’s a lesson in trail riding.”
I huffed as Rhys turned back around and sped up to a trot.
Rhys
TJ followed me, doing an excellent job of matching my pace and keeping Pumpkin focused on the trail. I really was proud of how far he’d come. After we’d cantered a bit and slowed to a walk once more, I dropped back so we could ride side by side.
TJ glanced over at me. “I can’t decide which view I like best.”
I looked ahead of us at the blue sky and puffy white clouds over the gentle hills. “I know. This side of the ranch is gorgeous, but I love looking out over the pasture from the house.”
TJ snorted.
“What?”
“I meant watching your ass sway on the horse or seeing you beside me smiling because you love riding so much.”
Heat filled my cheeks. I still wasn’t used to the way he enjoyed watching me. “I want to be annoyed, but that’s…”
“You like it when I watch you.”
“Yeah. I guess I do.”
“You know, if we had our own place, I wouldn’t have to spend so much time scheming to get you somewhere private.”
“TJ, I’m not leaving the ranch.”
He shook his head. “I would never ask that. I meant I could build us a cabin of our own here on the property.”
“You could build it, like you were Pa Ingalls?”
He glared at me. “Sure. Why not?”
“Do you have any idea how to build a cabin?”
“No, but I’ve got a lot of time on my hands to learn, and it won’t be worse than the shed you and Rogue claimed.”
I tried not to laugh at the idea of my big city mobster building a cabin with his own hands. “I was hoping for something significantly nicer, but I think we’ve proven that we’ll fuck anywhere.”
TJ studied me for a moment. “What if it’s not just for fucking?”
“You mean…”
“What if we moved there unless Grant needed us in the house for bodyguard duty? Let’s face it, we’re as loud as Grant and Jacob, and after months, you still can’t keep your hands off me.”
“I can’t keep my hands off you?”
“Since we can’t keep our hands off each other, and you can’t be quiet.”
I raised my brows.
“Okay, fine. We can’t be quiet. I think it would be best for all of us if we weren’t spending every night, or morning, or lunch, or late afternoon in the ranch house.”
My heart pounded. This shouldn’t be as big of a shock as it was—TJ wanting our own place. We’d declared our love for each other, and I knew both of us intended this to be an until-death-do-us-part, soul-mate kind of thing even if we hadn’t said those words, but somehow TJ’s suggestion still felt monumental.
“Rhys… if you don’t…”
“I want our own place. You just surprised me.”