The Black Sheep and the Hidden Beauty. Donna Kauffman

at the moment, I’m thinking I was right.”

      His lips curved. “You may have a point.”

      For a suave hard-ass, he had no qualms about making fun of himself. It was far too charming. “In cases like this, it’s okay to step ahead of the horse and lead. As soon as she starts walking, though, shift back. She’s used to this routine—she knows where to go.”

      “And if she doesn’t start to walk?”

      “You can encourage her.” She made a clicking sound with her tongue. “Like that, or just cajole her a little. That shouldn’t be a stretch for you.”

      This time she knew she hadn’t imagined the flash. “Are you saying you think I have experience cajoling members of the opposite sex?”

      Elena smiled. So, she was officially flirting, and he was definitely flirting back. But it seemed that the most innocent conversation between them was going to have mixed overtones, and she wasn’t sure how to stop that. And to be perfectly honest, she didn’t really want to. It felt good. She had no business engaging in it, but that didn’t make it feel any less pleasurable. Maybe even more so because it was taboo. “I was saying that you’re probably good at getting them to do whatever you want them to.”

      “Unless they happen to be my riding instructor.”

      If you only knew. It wasn’t lost on her that he hadn’t denied her characterization of him, either. She really needed to stop the banter with him. Really.

      With a little pat and a few softly spoken words Elena couldn’t hear, Rafe walked forward, and Petunia fell into step beside him. He gave her a half shrug when she silently applauded, which was cute and endearing and had her turning away before she opened her mouth and something else completely inappropriate popped out.

      Rafe and Petunia made it to the other aisle without further incident, and it didn’t take long to run him through the procedure of putting her in cross ties. She kept it all business, at least outwardly, and shortly afterward they had the horse saddled and ready to mount.

      Despite having no idea what was expected of him in this situation, he kept his motions steady and his tone smooth at all times. Which was working like a charm with Petunia. Unfortunately, it was working with her as well. She already knew, despite his apparent qualms, he’d be a natural on horseback. He had an easy rhythm to his stride and was comfortably in command of his body. He would adjust to the rhythm of the horse’s gait easily, as he had just walking Petunia over, neither letting her lead nor rushing her.

      Which naturally led her to imagine how equally skilled he’d be at putting a woman at ease during sex. And God, she really wished she could be thinking about anything other than mounting and riding at the moment.

      “So, chief, is there enough time left to take a trip around the ring? Seems a shame to waste all this preparation. Not to mention that we’ve gotten Petunia’s hopes up now.”

      He had a point. Petunia looked at her and blinked a few times, looking quite winsome. It’s okay, she wanted to tell her. I’d want him to ride me, too, if I were you. “Okay, okay,” she said, relenting. “Take the rope.” She instructed him on how to unhook the cross ties, then said, “Lead her out to the paddock.” She didn’t wait for him, but turned and headed in that direction.

      He didn’t say anything about her defection. A quick glance back showed he just went to work. Attempts to throw him off stride were clearly not going to work, just as he was making it very difficult not to like him, or at least respect him. He spoke his mind, and didn’t necessarily agree with her methods, but beyond that he’d followed her instructions and done as she’d asked.

      Figured.

      Once out in the paddock, she walked over to the fence and waited for them. “Drape the rope over her neck,” she told him, using hand gestures to show how he should do it. “Then hook it around, so it makes one big loop. You’ll use that as your reins.”

      “I don’t need a bridle thing?”

      “Not with Petunia.”

      His expression was wry. “You gave me the easiest horse here, didn’t you? Did you think I’d be that bad?”

      “I thought you’d prefer things not to be any more difficult than they had to be.”

      “Well, you might have a point there.”

      She tried not to smile, tried to think business, but as she closed the distance between them and walked around to where he stood beside Petunia, she felt a pull just this side of magnetic. Being close to him made it hard to think clearly. She shifted her focus to the horse, and only the horse, and pointed to the stirrup. “Hold the pommel with your left hand, left foot in the stirrup, and up you go. Right leg over the back end, one smooth lift as you push up on your left leg.” She held her hand up when he went to do as she’d directed. “Talk to her first.”

      If she thought he’d roll his eyes or give her grief, she was wrong. Instead, that wry curve reappeared at the corner of his mouth as he casually leaned forward and stroked his hand down the side of Petunia’s neck. “What?” he asked, amusement clear in his tone.

      She realized she was staring at his hand, the way he was stroking the horse’s neck, and quickly pulled her gaze away.

      But not before he said, “I’m not entirely green. I do understand the benefits of putting my partner at ease before I, you know…” A twinkle entered his eyes that was either a trick of the sun descending in the sky, just low enough now to send its rays slanting into the stable interior…or utterly wicked. She went with the former, but only until he added, “Mount up.”

      Had he really said that? Or had she just mentally filled in the blank? She resisted the urge to fan herself. Or look at his hands again.

      “You did say we were going to be partners, right?”

      “What?” she asked, faintly.

      “Petunia and I,” he clarified, clearly enjoying himself. “You said I should think of it as a partnership.”

      “Yes. Right. Exactly.”

      With that half smile playing around his mouth, and that devilish light still in his dark eyes, he turned his attention to the horse, leaning forward and whispering something too low for her to make out.

      Petunia’s ears twitched forward and back and she dipped her head a little, as if agreeing with whatever he’d said. She was a sweetheart of a horse, easily the most agreeable mare on the farm, but it seemed to Elena that there was a bond forming there that she didn’t normally see, especially with first-timers.

      “Probably seduces any member of the opposite sex, without even thinking about it,” she grumbled beneath her breath.

      “I’m sorry, what?” he asked, ever-so-innocently while looking anything but.

      “I said you don’t want to think about it too much, just do it.”

      “What do you know—that’s my motto, too.” And then he flashed her a grin that shot her pulse directly into the red zone, turned, and popped up on Petunia’s back as if he’d been riding his entire life.

      She scowled. In some ways, he probably had.

      She looked up at him, shielding her eyes against the setting sun, to find him staring back at her from behind a pair of black sunglasses he’d slid on.

      He touched the brim of an imaginary Stetson. “Once around the ring, ma’am?” His southern drawl was atrocious.

      And adorable as hell. She wouldn’t have thought adorable was going to be an issue where he was concerned. As it was turning out, everything was going to be an issue with him. Breathing was an issue.

      Rather than respond directly, she stepped up and showed him how to use the looped rope as a set of reins. “Balance your weight, center it. Feet in the stirrups.” For the first time, she noticed he was wearing rather beat-up hiking boots.