Shane (Remington Ranch Book 2) (11 page)

“Whatever you say.” He brought Cookie to a halt. “You do it like this. Hold the reigns and a handful of his mane in this hand—make sure you’re not pulling on him though. Then one foot in the stirrup.” He brought his foot up and swung his other leg over to sit. He smiled down at her. Cookie was a big boy, but so was Shane, it was easy for him. Cassidy was much shorter, he hoped she’d manage it. He swung his leg back over and dismounted. “Do you want to try?”

She nodded, a determined look on her face. Shane handed her the reins and waited. He loved that she took a moment to talk to Cookie first.

“Okay, Mister. He says you’re kind, so please be kind to me? If I mess it up, I’m sorry, okay?”

Shane had to laugh at her expression when Cookie nodded his head and then sniffed her cheek.

She looked at Shane. “He really gets it, doesn’t he?”

“He sure does. Told you he’s a smart guy.”

“Okay, I can do this.” She held the reins and grasped the front of the saddle as she brought her foot up to the stirrup. She looked thrilled as she swung her leg up and over and landed lightly in the saddle. “I did it! Did I do it right?”

Shane smiled. “You did great. Just one question. Why did you hold the saddle instead of his mane?”

“You noticed?” She hung her head. “I didn’t want to hurt him.”

Shane could have kissed her for that. So many beginners yanked on the horse’s mane in an attempt to scramble onto their back. Cassidy was already thinking about the animal ahead of herself. “Don’t worry. You won’t hurt him. The reason we don’t hold the saddle when we mount is that if the cinch isn’t tight enough you could pull the whole thing down and land yourself on your ass in the dirt and your horse with a saddle under his belly.”

“Oh. Sorry.” She looked so crestfallen he felt bad,

“No need to be. You did great. And it wasn’t a concern this time. I just wanted you to know why I asked you to do it that way.”

She nodded. “Thank you.” She did that lip chewing thing that was so cute. “I’m afraid I tend to like to think I know better.”

Wow, that was an admission and a half coming from her. “And I’m sure in a lot of cases you do. But this weekend, I’m going to need you to trust me. If I tell you to do something a certain way, there’s a reason. I’ll explain it if I can—if there’s time—but if there’s any danger, I need you to do as I say, as fast I say.”

“Okay.”

“I’m not trying to be an asshole, Cassidy. I…”

She shook her head rapidly. “I was thinking that I was being an asshole.” She gave him meek smile, it was so unlike her it was almost comical. “I’ll do whatever you say.”

He winked at her. “Anything at all?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but she was laughing. “No! If I’m going to give you my trust in the things that matter, you can’t abuse it in the things that don’t.”

“Fair point.” Joking aside, she was right. “Let’s get this show on the road then.”

Once he’d made sure she was all set and comfortable on Cookie, he mounted Lady and brought Teddy around. “Are we set?”

She nodded eagerly. “I think I’m going to enjoy this.”

Shane smiled. He knew he was.

Chapter Eleven

Cassidy was enjoying herself. She sat by the fire watching Shane tend to the horses. On the ride up here both he and Cookie had been everything he’d said they were—kind, good-natured and they’d taken very good care of her. When they’d arrived at the barn this morning she’d wanted to back out. She didn’t like to be outside of her comfort zone. At least not anymore. She pondered that. She used to thrive in a new environment, rise to any challenge, what had changed? She realized that she’d gotten used to feeling accomplished. She excelled at her work, she managed social situations well—even though she didn’t enjoy them. She’d set up a safe, if small, world and was used to being queen bee within it.

Coming on this camping trip with Shane put her in a very different situation. She was out of her depth, a clueless novice about everything she was experiencing, and yet she was loving every moment of it. She sighed, admitting to herself that it was all down to him. He was a great teacher—patient open to all her questions. More than that though, he seemed to understand her. He could see that she was uncomfortable being the follower rather than the leader, and he was doing his best to set her at ease.

He returned to the fire and sat down beside her with a grin. “How are you doing, Princess?”

She scowled at him. “I wish you wouldn’t call me that.”

He looked genuinely surprised. “I mean it in the nicest possible way.”

She laughed. “Yeah right. Every time you say it I think you’re calling me a stuck-up drama queen!”

“Hell no! I guess it all depends on how you think a princess behaves though, doesn’t it?”

She nodded. “To me they’re stuck-up drama queens in pretty pink dresses who’d cry over a broken nail. That’s not who I am, and I don’t want you to think of me like that.”

He laughed. “I guess I’d better find another name for you then. See to me a princess is a beautiful woman who knows how to carry herself with grace. She handles whatever is thrown at her and makes people comfortable. Everyone wants to know her, everyone wants to be around her.” He smiled. “And for this weekend at least, I’m the lucky SOB who gets to be around her.”

Wow! She would never in a million years have guessed that was what he meant. “You’re shitting me, right?”

He laughed. “I’m not. Although that isn’t a very princess-like response!”

“Well, you shouldn’t expect one from me. I like to think I fit the description you just gave, but that’s not all I am. I’m also the hard-nosed, tell it like it is woman. I’m confident, some would say to the point of arrogance.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“And I know you don’t disagree. I just like who I am, and I won’t dial myself down just so other people don’t feel threatened.”

“I know that, but why?”

She shrugged. “Why should I? Why should anyone?”

Shane thought about it. “No one should have to, but most people tend to. Just in order to get along with others.”

“Exactly. I refuse to be less of me just because other people are insecure about themselves.”

He held her gaze. “I’m not insecure.”

“Maybe I just haven’t pushed the right buttons yet, haven’t threatened your male dominance.”

“Or maybe we’re two of a kind?”

She stared at him, thinking about it.

He smirked. “What? You don’t think I’m good-looking or confident or good at what I do?”

“Hmm.”

He laughed.

“I guess you are. But you’re a guy. It doesn’t threaten people in the same way. People expect a guy to be all those things and to be unapologetic for them. A woman is supposed to be more modest, more accommodating, more…I don’t know what, just more of everything I’m not.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re not. I like you just the way you are.”

She relaxed a little. “Thank you. I like you, too. Much as I hate to admit it.”

He pulled a bottle from one of the bags and poured two tin cups. “Here.”

She took it and sniffed it. “What the hell is that? It smells like apple pie!”

He laughed. “It’s apple pie moonshine; try it.”

She took a sip and then looked up at him. “It
tastes
like apple pie! I love it!”

“Just don’t get too carried away. It tastes innocent enough, and it’ll go down real easy while you sit there. It’s when you try to stand up that you’ll realize just how potent it is!”

She took another sip. “Hmm, warning heeded,”

He brought his own cup and came to sit closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him with a smile. He felt so good, such a big reassuring presence. She stared suspiciously down into her cup. Was this stuff working already? Since when had
she
ever wanted reassurance from a guy in any form? She turned to look up at him. The way he smiled down at her made her relax.
Sunny
—that was the word for him. He was warm and pleasant, he made you feel good. He was bright and funny and straightforward.

He gave her a questioning look. “What’s up?”

“Tell me about you? What makes you the way you are? I feel as though I might be being unfair to you. Painting you with someone else’s brush. I see a big guy, confident—with reason to be. A good-looking guy who knows it, and I guess happy-go-lucky is the right word for you. What makes you like that?” Part of her also wanted to know what would rattle him, what would cause the thunder clouds to roll across his usually sunny disposition.

He shrugged. “I’m just a natural born sweetheart, I guess.”

She laughed. “And modest, too!”

“Hey! You’re the one who says no one should have to deny who they are—how good they are. It’s funny. I was talking to Carter the other day and he said it’s because I’m the baby of the family. I hadn’t thought about it like that, but I think he’s right. I always got lots of attention as a kid—from everyone. My parents love all of us, but they especially seemed to look out for me. I thought it was because I’m special, but I can see now they were teaching my brothers about how to look out for people younger and smaller than themselves. My brothers took it on board and they’ve always made a fuss of me, too.” She loved the way his jawline twitched as he smiled to himself. “I’m lucky that I’m big and cute looking. My parents taught all of us to be kind, generous, and polite, and that makes everyone love you even more.” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve just lived a charmed life. I’ve never had anything horrible happen to me. Nothing has ever made me question the fact that life is inherently good or that I am inherently good.” He stopped and looked at her. “That’s why it’s so strange to me—such a challenge—that you seem to think I’m an asshole.”

She chuckled. “I can see that. It’s not that I think you’re an asshole so much as I know your sort.”

“Hmm. And here I was thinking that I’m a special snowflake, no one else like me on earth.”

“Maybe you are, but maybe you’re not, too. In my experience, guys like you—all big and strong and confident—crumble in the face of adversity and blame those around them because they can’t face the realization that they’re not nearly as strong as they thought.”

Shane gave her a puzzled look. “Are we talking one guy in particular?”

She shook her head. “I wish. But no, I’m talking about time and time again. You are my type, physically and everything else. I’ve made the same mistake over and over, that’s why I’m not prepared to do it again. Something within me apparently longs to be the little woman. Even now, sitting like this with your arm around me, part of me wants to melt into you and let you take care of me, surrender myself to your strength and protection.”

He grinned. “You want to surrender?”

She slapped his arm. “Be serious for a minute, would you? It’s my biggest flaw. I want to feel that way, even though I don’t
need
to. So I end up with guys like you. You have to be big and strong. But sooner or later—usually sooner—it turns out that
I’m
the one who’s too strong. I’m seen as a threat. Like I said, guys want small and sweet and don’t know what to do with strong and smart, especially when it turns out to be stronger and smarter than they are.”

“I do feel as though you’re painting me with someone else’s brush. I don’t need to be smarter, I don’t need to be stronger—at least not emotionally. I’m not sure I could handle a woman who’s physically stronger than me.” He laughed. “She’d have to be a really big girl, and I’d probably be scared of her! But I’m happy enough with me, I don’t need a woman to feed my ego by making me look better than she is.” He thought about it for a minute. “If anything you feed my ego by being
so
smart and
so
strong and still being interested in little ole me.”

She shook her head at him. “Don’t mock me, Shane. I’m just trying to be honest about why I don’t want to get involved with you.”

His face fell. “You don’t? I thought that’s what we were doing?”

She shook her head. “Nah, we’re just having some fun.” Her heart sank as she said it, but the more time she spent with him, the clearer it became that this was a friendship she didn’t want to risk. She’d rather keep him as a friend—hopefully with benefits when it suited them both—than try for something more than that and end up hating each other.

His arm tightened around her shoulders. “Just fun, huh?”

She looked up into his eyes. Yes, it was for the best. She could fall for him way too easily otherwise. “Just fun.”

He laid her back on the blanket and kneeled above her. “Starting now?”

She laughed as he caught her hands and pinned them above her head with one of his own. “Starting now.” She closed her eyes wondering what his free hand was about to do. Whatever it was she was willing. She parted her legs. She kept her eyes closed as his breath came closer, was he going to kiss her? In one swift movement his fingers found their target—under her armpit tickling like crazy! She squirmed to get away, laughing uncontrollably. “Let me go!”

“No way!” he laughed. “This is what you want. This is fun!”

“It’s not going to be much fun for you when I get free.” She managed to say between her giggles. “Shane!”

“Yes?” He carried on tickling mercilessly.

“You’re going to pay for this!”

He laughed. “Not until you prove that you really are stronger and smarter than me. That’s the only way you’re going to be able to escape.”

“You…!” She couldn’t get any more words out, she was laughing too hard. She wasn’t going to let him win though. She began to move her hips underneath him and soon felt him respond. He tried to remain focused on keeping her hands pinned and tickling her, but his body was paying more attention to her movements than her hands. She smiled as he thrust his hips against her; he felt hot and hard between her legs. His tickling slowed and he looked down into her eyes. She made the most of his distraction and pulled her hands free, ready to push him off her and roll on top. He was faster than she gave him credit for though. He caught her hands again and smiled at her as he pinned them back above her head.

“Sorry, Princess. I didn’t realize you meant that kind of fun.” He clamped both of her hands in one of his and smiled as he knelt between her legs, spreading them with his knees. With his free hand he unfastened her jeans and pulled them down along with her panties. The feel of the cool night air between her legs heightened her arousal. She watched as he deftly unbuckled his own jeans and pushed them down over his hips. She found it incredibly sexy the way he took himself in hand as he smiled down at her. “Is this the kind of fun you had in mind?”

She nodded. Longing to feel him inside her. She struggled to free her hands, wanting to touch him, to guide him to her entrance and let him take her. He didn’t let go of her though. Instead he surprised her by grasping her wrists tighter and lowering himself onto her. Her breath was coming fast as she felt him pushing to be inside her. She struggled again to free her hands but he only grasped tighter still. This
was
fun! She tried to bring her legs together, fighting him in a different way. He shook his head and used his knees to keep her thighs spread. His fingers joined his cock, pressing at her, teasing her clit and then dipping inside. She struggled harder and almost got a hand free. That had the effect she’d hoped for. He brought both hands up and pinned her wrists on either side of her head. Now neither of them could delay his impatient cock from thrusting its way in to where it wanted to be. She gasped as he filled her. He was so hard, so hot. He moved with such determination. He was carrying her away and there was nothing she could do to stop him—physically or emotionally. He was taking possession of her body, and while he did so, something inside her wanted so badly to let him take all of her. She wanted him to carry her along, take her where he wanted to go and fill her with pleasure as he did. Her hips bucked underneath him as he drove into her over and over. He showed no mercy, and she didn’t want any! She tried one more time to free her hands, but he tightened his grip, spread her legs wider and thrust harder, making her scream. The tension in every cell in her body was building and building. His movements quickened, and then he tensed.

“Cassidy!” the way he breathed her name took her over the edge. His orgasm triggered her hers, their bodies melding frantically together giving and seeking more and more pleasure as they reached a crescendo. He freed her hands and she reached up, pulling his head down to kiss her, their tongues coupling in the same way as their bodies, intensifying the connection.