Unsuitable

Everything inside me halts.

Then, suddenly, it sparks back to life, setting my nerve endings on fire.

There’s something so darkly sexual about his words. And it thrills me.

Though I’m not willing to admit that to him.

Somehow, I find my voice. “Th-that’d be sexual harassment.” I curse the stammer in my words.

His eyes stay fixed on mine, and if possible, they get darker. “You’re right; it would be.”

He leans in closer, so there’s nothing left but air between us. My belly flutters and clenches in anticipation.

“And I would never do something like that. Unless you asked me to, of course.”

Holy…

What. The. Freaking. Hell?

I’m riveted. And a little wet.

Okay, a lot wet.

His eyes yank from mine. “Now, do you want me to help you get on this horse or not? Because, aside from me going to get you a stepladder, this is the only way to get you on.” His voice is back to normal, like nothing just happened.

I’m still gasping for air.

Trying to find my balance, I look away from him. “It’s fine. Just give me the boost up.”

I feel him give a firm shove against my bum, so I push my foot off the floor. Then, I’m up and swinging my leg over, finally seated on Butterscotch.

Bloody hell, it’s high up here.

I feel a little dizzy. Or maybe that’s just from my little interaction with Kas—which I’ve decided to pretend never happened.

“You hold the reins like this.” He hands them to me, showing me how to hold them. He doesn’t look me in the face once.

And I’m trying to ignore that I can still feel the heat from his hands on my bum.

Leaving me, he goes over to Danger. He picks up a helmet from the floor and pulls it on. Then, gathering up the reins of his horse, he gets on Danger with ease.

“I’ll go up front,” he tells me. “She’ll follow on. But, if she stops for any reason, squeeze your heels into her sides.”

“Won’t that hurt her?”

“No.” He smiles, shaking his head. “And, if you want her to stop, just pull gently on the reins.”

“Okay.”

He gives me a nod. Then, he says to his horse, “Move on, Danger.”

The horse obeys, and as Danger moves past us, Butterscotch starts to walk, following behind them.

It’s a weird feeling at first, riding on a horse, but I get used to it soon enough.

We ride in silence. The only sounds are the occasional cars driving past and the birds chirping.

Kas leads us along a path around the side of the paddocks, heading in the direction of the forest.

“You doing okay back there?” Kas asks.

I nod my head and then realize he can’t see me. “Yeah, I’m doing good. Thanks.”

“We can try trotting in a bit if you want?”

“Maybe,” I say, not feeling wholly sure about that.

He must hear the uncertainty in my voice because I hear him chuckle.

His laugh makes my insides light up. I equally love and hate how easily his laugh so quickly affects me.

“Is Danger your horse?” I ask him, trying to distract myself from my inner turmoil.

Kas slows Danger down until we’re side by side.

“He is. I got him three years ago.”

“He’s beautiful.”

Kas nods. “He was a rescue horse. He’d been badly treated by his previous owner. It took a long time for him to trust me.”

“Understandably. God, people can be complete wankers. Honestly, I just don’t get people like that. I mean, who the hell could hurt a beautiful creature like him?”

“There are people who get a kick from hurting others, Daisy.”

“Yeah, well, they’re sick bastards, and there’s clearly something missing inside them—like emotions.”

“Emotions can be what drives people to hurt and maim…even kill.”

“Maybe…but I don’t understand those kinds of people, and I’m glad I don’t.”

“Wouldn’t you like to hurt your ex-boyfriend for what he did to you?”

“That’s different. That’d be revenge. It wasn’t revenge, what Danger’s owner did to him.”

“No, you’re right; it wasn’t. But wouldn’t you like to get revenge on your ex-boyfriend?”

Exhaling, I shake my head. “No. Don’t get me wrong; when it all first happened, I spent many hours thinking up all the different ways I would cause him pain. But I quickly got past that when I realized it wouldn’t change anything. Hurting Jason wouldn’t alter what happened. Yeah, I’d probably feel better for a minute or two. But then that minute would be over, and I’d still be here, in the same situation. Revenge isn’t for me. All I care about is the future, getting back what I lost.”

“Jesse.”

“Yeah. He’s all that matters now. And I won’t do anything to jeopardize getting him back.”

“You’re a better person than most.”

“I don’t think I am. I’m just a person dealing with the hand that life dealt me. It’s all any of us can do.”

Kas is silent for a long time. Instead of heading into the forest, he veers us along the back of the paddocks and around, heading in the direction of the stables.

“Was Butterscotch a rescue horse?” I run my fingers through her mane.

“No. My mother got her as a foal when we first moved here. She trained her.”