Page 66 of Chasing Home

“She’s gorgeous,” I whisper, shifting my touch lower down her neck before scratching gently.

“Are you sure you’ve never even seen a horse before?”

“Never up close like this.”

He makes a low sound in his throat before offering her his hand. The traitor seems to like him as much as she supposedly does me. One sniff and she’s shoving her face toward him too.

“She likes you too, apparently,” I say bitterly.

“Joker will be jealous when she smells her on me.”

Seems Joker and I have a lot more in common than I thought.

“I can’t say that I blame her for that.”

“And why’s that, Rory?” he asks, attempting to poke into my head.

I feign nonchalance. “No reason.”

“Come on, talk to me?—”

“Ripley’s over here, Johnny,” Jill says.

I straighten my spine. “Duty calls.”

The heat of his body is what I feel first. His breath on my ear comes next. “This conversation isn’t over.”

I refuse the shiver that tries to ripple through me and keep my eyes trained on the horse. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s right.

The moment we leave this place and he has me trapped back in that truck, I’m his to command, and we both know it.

22

JOHNNY

We spend the longest two hours of my life on the Kollers’ ranch. Every minute that passes with Aurora giving me the cold shoulder feels like an eternity. She’s completely closed herself off to me, and it upsets me nearly as much as it turns me all the way on. I’ve been walking around with a rock-solid cock from the moment I realized she was upset because of Jill.

Because she’s jealous over me.

It’s uncomfortable standing in front of Jill’s father and one of Wade’s closest friends with a boner, but for Rory, I suck it the hell up.

“Wade didn’t mention wantin’ that one,” he grunts, his scarred hands set on his hips.

I keep my chin up, matching his intimidating stance with one of my own. “I know. I’m making the call to add her. You’ll get paid whatever she’s worth, along with the other two.”

“She ain’t from the same stock as the others. And hell, maybe I’ve already got another buyer lined up.”

“I don’t care about her stock. And you don’t have another buyer lined up. Even if you did, you’d give us priority anyway. You know that as well as I do.”

“I don’t remember you having such a heavy set of balls on you the last time you were here,” he mutters.

“Stop playing hardball, Dad. The Steeles will take good care of her,” Jill says, standing close to me again, her hand on my arm.

A glance over my shoulder at where Aurora leans against the side of the horse trailer, her arms crossed and eyes shooting hellfire at Jill’s hand, has me nonchalantly leaning away.

I didn’t want Rory here for this conversation, and I damn well know that asking her to stay by the trailer added fuel to her fire. It wasn’t because I don’t want her close but because I want to surprise her with something, and the only way I can do that is if she stays out of hearing distance.

“My girl likes her, Rich. That’s all that matters to me.”