Eternal Brand Read Free Page B

they were stuck. While they’d been in the stables, the rain had started to come down with a vengeance, soaking the ground. The notion of taking a leisurely walk back to the house was off the table. They’d have to bolt for it.
    No less than what he deserved, Jet figured. He needed a drenching with freezing-cold rainwater to douse his lusty reaction to Emily Irving. While she’d given him the rundown of what needed to be done and introduced each horse by name, he’d been surreptitiously checking out her assets. She had a luscious ass, round and full, and a rack that could easily fill both his hands—which he knew he shouldn’t picture doing but did anyway. Even the way she caressed the animals, how they snickered into her palm as she spoke to them in soothing tones, had somehow been sexy.
    He, who’d given horses a wide berth since Mule had kicked him when he was twelve, was turned on by watching a woman stroke her hand down a stallion’s flank. He’d developed a healthy erection that Emily had been, luckily, too focused on the horses to notice.
    â€œWe could wait it out,” Emily suggested.
    Wait here with you and a persistent hard-on? Too dangerous. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to ease up. I think we should run.”
    â€œYeah, I know. After three?”
    â€œAgreed.”
    They counted to three in unison, then launched out of the protection of the stable. The rain lashed them in sheets, soaking Jet’s shirt and obscuring his vision. He dodged puddles when he could, but avoiding them all was impossible. When Jet found a puddle that went deeper than he’d expected, he landed awkwardly and pain shot through his ankle. His balance was toast, and he tripped.
    Landing face first in the mud.
    â€œJet! Are you okay?”
    Jet wiped the mud from his face, spat some from inside his mouth. He didn’t look up, afraid of what a ridiculous picture he would make. “I’m fine. You go.”
    â€œNot without you. Come on.”
    She put out her hand for him to take. As if he wasn’t embarrassed enough. Jet waved her off and stood on his own. At least the rain that fell in torrents did a pretty good job of cleaning him off. He followed Emily’s lead from then on, stepping where she stepped until they made it back to the porch without further incident.
    â€œWow, that’s really coming down,” Emily remarked once they were under the overhang. “Are you sure you didn’t hurt yourself?”
    â€œOnly my pride,” he said, ignoring the tenderness in his ankle. He must have twisted it when he fell. Not a big deal.
    â€œIf you’re sure. You fell pretty hard.” She glanced at his muddied state and quickly looked away, biting her lip as though to keep it from curving.
    â€œYou’re laughing at me, aren’t you?”
    â€œOf course not.” But her voice trembled with the effort of trying not to. “It’s not funny at all, watching a grown man fall face first into the mud. Laughing would be a horrible thing to do.”
    She was peering at him from beneath her lashes, looking so adorable Jet figured he’d have a hard time denying her anything. Even a laugh at his expense. He made a circular motion with his hand. “Go ahead. Let it all out.”
    She covered her mouth but the act didn’t stifle her giggles. It was such a melodic sound, so enchanting that Jet couldn’t help the way his own lips curved. Pretty soon, he was laughing too, a laugh he felt deep in his gut.
    â€œIt’s not funny,” he wheezed after a few moments when his guffaws and hers started to ebb. “I picked the wrong day to wear a white shirt.”
    â€œI did offer you a rain jacket, but you refused because you’re such a tough guy.”
    â€œI refused because nobody looks good in yellow.” Except you , he silently added, noticing how even the shapeless waterproof coat she wore didn’t dim