Page 108 of Wilde Ride

Leaning down, I kissed her softly. “I’m sure. You’d better leave before I decide to go home with you.”

Emeline turned and opened her car door. I held it open as she slid inside. Once she started the car, I shut the door and she rolled the window down.

“You don’t have to come, you know.”

Leaning in, I tapped her nose with my finger. “I know. I want to. I have a feeling once my father pulls me into the vet clinic full time, I’m not going to have a whole lot of extra hours, so if we can spend any together now, I’d like to do that.”

She smiled, then let out a sigh. “I guess this is goodnight, then.”

“Goodnight, Em.”

She looked at her steering wheel, then back at me, and laughed. “I feel like a schoolgirl who doesn’t want to leave her new boyfriend.”

I let out a groan. “Monday I’m going to start looking for a place to move into.”

“Even still, I’m not sure how comfortable I’d feel staying at your place with Rhett there.”

I frowned. I hadn’t even thought about that. “That’s true. I don’t want to confuse him.”

“Is he okay with this?” she asked.

Laughing, I said, “Trust me, he’s okay. He asked me when we’re going to get married. I had to explain to him that wasn’t how it worked.”

Emeline covered her mouth with a hand as she laughed. “Poor guy. He’s been through a lot, and I don’t want to add any stress to his life.”

I took her hand and brought it up to my mouth and kissed it. “Thank you for that, Em. You’ve been something good and positive in his life.”

“Okay, I’m really leaving this time.”

Leaning into the window, I kissed her once more. “Drive safe, sweetheart.”

“I will.”

I stepped back and watched her back down the long drive…and tried like hell to ignore the sudden emptiness I felt.

Emeline

There was nothing better in this entire world than the smell of hay and horse manure. That was a hill I would die on. I whistled as I mucked out Apollo’s stall. Nothing made me happier than being around the horses. As much as I loved the camps, this was my one true passion.

“Need some help?”

I smiled and glanced over my shoulder to see Levi leaning against the door of the stall. He looked so handsome it took my breath away. He was dressed in black cowboy boots, jeans, a light blue T-shirt, and his ever-present black cowboy hat.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” I said with a wink. “Did you come ready for hard labor?”

He held up his hands. “Put me to work.”

A deep pull of desire in my lower stomach nearly caused me to drag him into the stall and have my way with him. Instead, I dropped the rake and walked over to him. Lifting his hat some, I stretched onto my toes and kissed him.

The kiss quickly turned passionate; it was all I could do not to crawl up his body. When we broke apart, Levi closed his eyes.

“Fuck, Em. I want you.”

I smiled. “The feeling is mutual.”

“Has the guy come to look at Apollo yet?”

“He came first thing this morning. And by first thing, I mean by the ass-crack of dawn, he was buzzing the front gate. My father called me and told me I’d better hustle to the barn. When I informed my father he wasn’t supposed to be there until 2, he asked who was going to be the one to tell him to come back.”