Chapter 25: Stolen Kisses In Between I

As Ivette rode on the horse beside Cian, she couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement and exhilaration coursing through her veins. Her long hair whipped behind her in the wind, and her eyes sparkled with joy as she leaned forward in the saddle, urging the horse to go faster. Her head snapped left when she noted Cian catching up and she rammed her foot into the horse's side, yelling an unintelligible word that had Cian barking out in laughter.

The horse galloped across the rolling hills, kicking up dust and sending rocks scattering in its wake. Ivette's heart raced with each powerful stride, feeling the raw strength and energy of the animal beneath her.

Beside her, Cian's grinned with an unholy light in his eyes, sharing in her excitement at the challenge.

She knew he was holding back his speed with the horse to match hers. His eyes followed her every move, taking her in with looks she recognized. It was the same way he'd looked at her the night they had met. Awe. Fascination. And something else she had never been able to understand.

Together, they rode on, carving a path through the rugged terrain of the ranch and revelling in the freedom and adventure of the moment. It wasn't just a ranch. It was a forest as well. Kept and cultivated for rides such as these. They had passed by a few onlookers, but she suspected they had gone farther than most.

Normally, she would be worried about getting lost but she knew Cian was well acquainted with the land.

Her gaze shot in his direction and she caught him still watching her. The sun shone down upon him, casting a warm glow over his face as he laughed and he let out a shout as he rode ahead of her, leaving her to eat dust.

She chuckled, following after him.

An hour later, Ivette stood, leaning against a tree bark, laughing and panting. "You're an asshole!"

Cian chuckled, tying the horse's reins loosely to a branch that could easily be pulled off like he didn't want to bind them to the tree and let them run loose either. "Doona fault me for that, lass. You very well said you could keep up."

Ivette plucked out a leaf from her hair. The fourth leaf. She scowled, even if her eyes were filled with laughter. "I could! You didn't have to push me off to find out."

Because the man had leapt on her horse at the last minute, causing them to roll off its back and land on the moist soil. Her body still tingled from the rush of riding and falling atop him. It had only been for an instant but their bodies had melded together in the right places.

Though they were joking around now, she could still feel the tension between them. That strange pull. The heat that had pooled between her legs when her chest was flush against his, and his groin had ground into hers unintentionally.

She needed to get him and her nasty thoughts out of her head. She needed to... sleep with him again. For her own sanity. It had been a while since she got laid. That was probably why it was all she could think about these days.

But could she simply tell him, "I want to get laid by you so I can stop thinking about you?"

Fucking hell, she needed help.

He walked back to where she stood, extending a bottle to her and she accepted it, not quite meeting his gaze. She downed the contents of the cool liquid, quenching her thirst and livening up her dry lips.

She let out a breathy sigh and licked her lower lip unconsciously. His eyes tracked the movement and at the hotness in them, the water went down the wrong hole. She began coughing and laughing at the same time, eyes watering.

Cian took the bottle from her, patting down gently on her back as he murmured, "Sorry, lass."

"You do this every year?" Ivette asked, wiping drool off the side of her lips.

Corking the bottle, Cian shrugged. "I have never actively participated. This...is my first time."

Ivette felt her cheeks redden and she looked away, needing to change the topic in a different direction. "I'm sorry for earlier," she whispered.

Cian looked at her funny. "The lass knows how to apologize!"

Ivette laughed again. She had been doing a lot of that in the past two hours. It felt odd. Like she didn't have the right to do it. Like she was betraying people by smiling. Like something bad was going to happen to jinx it. It sobered her up quickly.

" 'Tis a yearly tradition. Self-imposed. I let myself mourn them for three days in a year." He swallowed, looking out into the horizon, lost in a distant memory and the signs of grief flickered over his face. "Tis hard. They were my world. However, I canna let myself grieve. They look up to me. They want me to be happy. I have to be happy. For them."

Ivette's fingers slipped through his and peered down at their entwined fingers before flicking his gaze to hers. "Are you though?"

His grip on her hand tightened and he jerked her forward into him, chest colliding. "I could be," he whispered against her nose, tongue flipping out to tease the tip of it.

Ivette's heart hammered, and her knees trembled. Her entire body shook and he held her in place as his arms banded around her torso. "Cian..." she whispered in protest, but her body had melted against his, chest rubbing against him enticingly.

His hand slipped around her neck to cup the back of her head gently and his thumb pushed back slightly to tip her head back for easier access.

Her brain began to melt into a puddle. Yes! Finally! She had been waiting a damn long time for this. For him. Her body hummed with anticipation and her fists clenched and unclenched with the need to touch something.

"Be mine, Ivette."

But she couldn't be. It didn't matter what she felt. It didn't matter that the very air between them was static with unseen electricity. It didn't matter that her entire being gravitated towards this man.

It was against everything she had worked for. There was no future with him that didn't mean the ruination of her family name and business. There was no future with him that didn't ruin her. She came here to escape, and not get herself into another mess.

She couldn't be his.

Her lips parted to tell him that, but he lowered his head and silenced her with a kiss. Her fingers rose to cup his wrist, either to pull him closer or push him away. She wasn't sure which, but the moment his tongue touched her lips, she stopped thinking.

Ivette groaned and plunged her fingers into his hair, dragging clean nails lightly through his scalp.

Cian growled and the sound went straight to her core, turning it molten. She wasn't sure what happened next, because her back suddenly hit the tree bark, ripping air from her lungs.

The forest around them was quiet, save for the sound of their harsh breathing and her moans as Cian's fingers dug into the leather pants she had gotten from the fair.

Burning.... shit.

She was burning. She was flying. She was drowning.

****

Passion spiked through Cian as Ivette's tongue danced hotly against his. He had her against the tree before he knew it and he grabbed her calf, wrapping it around his waist.

A sharp sigh escaped her and she held his shoulder, humping against him like she couldn't help herself. Like she couldn't stop herself. The motion drove him mad and he had his hands slipping into her white shirt to cup the fullness of her that had teased him every day with those miserable dresses she had domed.

Perhaps he would burn them all when he got back. They jiggled every time she moved and it had been so hard to keep his gaze and hands off them.

Then there was that smile that had his heart skipping like a lass's.

He squeezed lightly and he was unable to stifle the groan that escaped him at the softness of her and the nipple that grazed his palm.

He was hard as a rock and it hurt so much, being stuck in his pants. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself within her folds and taste her wetness—he let out a growl when she palmed his hardness and squeezed on it at the same time her tongue touched the roof of his mouth.

He jerked, hands bracing against the tree as his legs shook. She made him weak-kneed.

Her lips slid down the column of his throat, and she dragged the skin softly between her teeth, earning a moan from him. He panted, kissing her neck feverishly, murmuring against it the things he could never admit to himself.

He gripped her tighter and nibbled on her neck that smelled so good. Her small hands found the buckle of his pants and he jerked again, this time, out of her reach.

They stared at each other, panting. Her hazel eyes were wide, and her full lips were swollen. She was flushed, and she had never been more beautiful. Her chest heaved and it took all but three seconds before she lunged for him, kissing him hard enough to take his breath from him. "I can't anymore," she whispered.

"Cannot what?"

"Stay away."