Thunder Canyon Homecoming / A Thunder Canyon Christmas. RaeAnne Thayne

she stopped trying to anticipate the horse’s movements, she didn’t jolt up and down so much. In fact, she could almost enjoy the steady, easy rhythm. Lulled by this discovery, she closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against Corey’s back, breathing in the heady scent of leather and horse and man.

      She felt the familiar stir of desire low in her belly, and a tingling warmth between her thighs. Obviously as her worry lessened, her awareness heightened. With every step the horse took, her breasts brushed against Corey’s back, and she was suddenly aware that her nipples had tightened into hard points that were straining against her bra, aching for much more intimate contact.

      She wanted his hands on her, stroking over her bare skin, touching her everywhere.

      He glanced over his shoulder. “Ready for more?”

      She wondered, for a moment, if she’d said something out loud, but then she realized that he was referring to the horse’s pace, and she nodded.

      A nudge of his knees against the horse’s flank and the animal moved from a jog to a canter—if she was remembering the terms correctly—and suddenly every nerve ending in her body was on high alert. She’d never found the experience of being on horseback anything but scary and awkward and painful, but with Corey it was exhilarating and incredible and sensuous.

      It had been obvious to Corey that Erin had some apprehension about getting up on a horse again, so riding with her seemed like the perfect way to ease her worries. It had worked with his sister, Rose. When she was little, she’d fallen off the back of her pony and had been terrified to climb back up again. But she’d trusted her big brother, and riding with Corey had given her the courage to overcome her fears.

      It didn’t take a minute for Corey to realize that sharing a horse with a grown woman was a very different experience than doing so with his six-year-old sister. And when that woman was soft and sexy and snuggled up behind him, it was sheer torture.

      Only for a few trips around the paddock, he promised him self, then she would be ready to handle Jax on her own—or Jax would be ready to handle her. The horse had a gentle nature and was well-trained, both essential qualities for the mount of a novice rider. He didn’t know where Erin had gone for her lessons, but for her to have thrown in the towel after only two sessions, she’d either been given a difficult horse or had a horrible instructor. He was determined not to let that memory prevent her from enjoying the day.

      He wanted to share this experience with her, to introduce her to pleasures that no one else ever had. And he wasn’t just thinking about what they could do on horseback.

      And while he tried to keep a tight rein on his thoughts, it was next to impossible. He was all too aware of her arms around him, of her soft breasts pressed to his back, rubbing against him. Though he was sure he couldn’t actually feel the hard nubs of her nipples through the layers that separated them, he imagined that he could. He wanted to touch her, all of her. He wanted to strip away her clothes and—

      He managed to lasso the runaway fantasy before it took him to the point of no return and, after another torturously slow turn around the paddock, he said, “Let’s see what you can do on your own.”

      They headed out at a leisurely gait. Surprisingly, after half an hour in the paddock with Corey and Jax, Erin felt a lot more comfortable on the back of the horse than she had at any time during her two lessons. She had a moment of panic when they headed away from the barn, but Jax was so strong and steady beneath her that it was gone as quickly as it had come.

      Lucifer wasn’t nearly as complacent, and though Corey didn’t have any trouble controlling the spirited stallion, it was obvious that the animal was eager to run. His feet danced impatiently and he tossed his head excitedly, but Corey held him in check and continued to keep pace with Erin and Jax.

      When they broke through a stand of trees to yet another open field, Erin said, “Why don’t you let him run?”

      Corey looked over his shoulder. “I don’t want to leave you.”

      “Well, I would appreciate it if you came back.”

      He grinned at her dry tone. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

      “I’m sure,” she said. “And I’m guessing that you crave the speed as much as he does.”

      He didn’t deny it. “We’ll be back.”

      She knew they would. And truthfully, she didn’t mind letting them go. In fact, it was a pleasure to watch them streak across the fields. Horse and rider—two beautiful beings—so closely attuned to one another they moved as if they were one entity. As they raced off into the distance, Erin sighed.

      What was she doing? She had no business being here with this man, no reason to think that getting involved with him could end up in anything but heartache. He was from Texas, she was from California, and it was only a coincidence that their paths happened to cross in Montana. She didn’t even know how long he planned to stay in Thunder Canyon—or even how long she did.

      But why couldn’t she enjoy his company so long as he was here? For once in her life, why couldn’t she be impulsive and irresponsible and just let things happen?

      She heard them returning before she saw them. The thunderous pounding of the stallion’s hooves in the distance made her turn just as they plunged through a copse of towering pines. The horse raced ahead, wild and reckless, and the man on its back looked every bit as dangerous. But it wasn’t fear that made Erin’s heart pound in her chest—it was excitement. Anticipation. Lust.

      She wanted him. It was ridiculous to continue to deny it. It was also ridiculous to imagine that she could ever have him for anything more than a very hot, very short-term fling.

      And what would be so wrong about that? her clamoring hormones demanded to know.

      As he drew nearer, her heart pounded even harder.

      What would be wrong, she reminded herself sternly, was that she didn’t even know the man. Aside from the fact that he was Dillon’s brother, she knew almost nothing about him. And she wasn’t in the habit of falling into bed with men she didn’t know.

      Corey reined in the horse, reducing his pace to a canter, then a trot and finally slowing him to a walk as they approached Erin and Jax. She turned her mount around and began to head back, but she was less successful in redirecting her thoughts.

      “You both look as if you enjoyed that,” Erin said.

      “I don’t think there’s anything I love more than exploring the great outdoors on horseback.”

      “This is beautiful country,” she agreed.

      “The prettiest in the whole world, apart from Texas, of course.”

      “Of course,” she agreed drily.

      He grinned. “Although I hear the West Coast has some good stuff, too. Like California girls.”

      “Are you going to break into song now?”

      “I only ever sing in the shower,” he told her, “so if you want to be serenaded—”

      “Not necessary,” she assured him.

      Corey chuckled.

      “So what did you think?” he asked a few minutes later. “Not just of the ranch, but the ride.”

      “I think I could learn to like this,” she admitted.

      “I knew you would,” he said confidently.

      There was that arrogance again—but it definitely suited him.

      “You’ve probably been riding since you were little,” she guessed.

      “Since I was knee high to a grasshopper, to hear my mama tell the story.”

      She made a point of tilting her head way back to look up at him. “I can’t imagine you were ever knee high to a grasshopper.”

      “I