“Yeah?” she countered. She should’ve stopped there, but she kept going. “I seem to recall you saying the same thing about Tex earlier. You gonna ride me around the arena to blow off some steam?”

  “You shouldn’t talk like that,” he growled as he pulled her against him. “I might take you up on it.”

  And just like that, the lips she had been fantasizing about all day were on hers once more as Trevor swept her up in his arms and kissed her. The kiss was a perfect collision of their two opposing forces. He picked up exactly where they had left off, and Sabrina was only too happy to be in his arms again.

  But familiarity with the moves didn’t put a damper on the exploration—if anything, it made it all the more exciting. Trevor knew exactly how to mold his lips against hers and how long to hold that electric pressure; he knew exactly when to pull back to change it up and start all over again. Soon she was more breathless in his arms than she had been getting the wind knocked out of her in the arena. Her knees quaked, and she clung to his shoulders. When she felt the first teasing flick of his tongue, she nearly came undone. The memory of what he could do with it whispered through her body, and she opened her mouth to him, aching for more.

  Trevor groaned and shifted closer, dropping Tex’s reins. Suddenly his hands were all over her, sliding up her waist, bunching the fabric of her bubblegum flannel shirt. His fingers found the small of her back and flared along its curve. Sabrina relished the sweep of his tongue, but she still felt unfulfilled. She needed him to claim every inch of her, inside and out, or she’d never be able to focus again. He’d lit a fire in her, and the only way to quench it was to let it burn out.

  Trevor’s hands retreated, and his mouth followed. Sabrina strained up on her tiptoes in halfhearted chase, but Trevor caught her chin to stop her. “Maybe…” His voice was a husky whisper that sent thrills down her spine. “Maybe you just needed a little inspiration.”

  “Maybe you’re right.” She twined her arms around his neck, her heart racing as fast as Tex’s hooves. “If I’m relegated to playing the ‘damsel,’ maybe I need help getting into character.”

  “You can trust me, Sabrina,” Trevor whispered. “If you give up control, and give yourself over to me—just like that—I promise I won’t let you fall.”

  “I know you won’t.” She flushed and looked down at the V of his collar, at the thatch of dark hair across his chest.

  “Give your instincts free rein,” he murmured quietly. “You can do this. I know you can. Just let your body—” Trevor’s hands moved back down her slender waist and took hold of her hips “—move how it wants to.” He rocked her gently back and forth, simulating the motion of the ride.

  It was the single sexiest motivational speech Sabrina had ever heard, and she would have liked nothing more than to interpret it in all the wrong ways, but the moment ended too soon. Trevor’s hands slid off her a second time, and he turned and jogged off to catch Tex. Sabrina touched her aching lips, but the pressure from her finger pads wasn’t enough. It reminded her only fleetingly of how it had felt to let Trevor Wild kiss her.

  “Coming back at you!” he called out to her. He swung himself up into the saddle and trotted Tex back to the start gate. “You ready?”

  “Ready!” she shouted breathlessly. Her body sang with adrenaline, but this time it was a wonderful rush. She felt no fear, no reservation, as man and horse galloped toward her. What had once seemed to her like a tangle of legs and hard, deadly hooves, was now much easier to follow. The world slowed.

  It was all familiar. It was all choreography. She could map her team’s movements the same way she mapped Trevor’s kisses. When his hand reached down to her, she took it and gave up control.

  Trevor hauled her up onto the saddle behind him. The moment he let her go to seize hold of the reins, Sabrina’s own hands shot out to grasp his belt buckle and hold on. The three of them completed the turn together and took off back toward the gate.

  She didn’t know they had made it all the way back until Trevor was sliding off the saddle. He reached up to pull her down with him.

  “Did we…did we do it?” she asked breathlessly. She cracked one eye open as soon as she touched the ground. Trevor yanked his hat off and threw it down between his boots. When he wheeled back around to face her, he wore a wide, elated smile—the purest expression of joy she’d ever seen on his face.

  “Are you kiddin’ me?” he exclaimed. “We crushed it! That’s the fastest I’ve ever pulled off a pickup! You repeat that performance, and I think we’ve got ourselves a winning team here!”

  “No way. No way!” Sabrina barely knew if she was protesting or agreeing with him. Trevor’s jubilation was contagious. Her spirits soared even higher when he held out his arms. She flew to him without thought or hesitation, and leaped into his open arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. One of his hands dropped down to cradle her ass. The other hand slid up into her hair, an echo of how she’d grabbed him during their first kiss.

  Sabrina grabbed his shirt, two firm fistfuls. For once, the damsel was taking charge of her own rescue. She crushed her lips against his, breathed in the tang of his healthy sweat. He smelled good, like fresh grass, and a little of horses. His fingers dug into the curves of her ass. Who’s complaining about my jeans now? Sabrina thought wickedly, before all thoughts scattered and flew out of her head. Once again, she was burning, lost in his arms.

  Trevor turned them around and thrust her up against the closed gate. He took hold of her thighs and spread them apart, and moved his hips in a slow, steady rhythm, grinding up against her, driving her mad. The friction was delicious, almost more than she could bear. Now the tightness of her jeans was working in her favor, letting her feel through the thin designer denim just how much he wanted her.

  Tex whinnied beside them. Trevor paid no attention, but Sabrina really didn’t want their current session to end with another wet horse nose thrust between them. She broke from their kiss and nudged Trevor’s shoulder to keep him at bay. “Let’s shut the lights down and put Tex in the barn,” she suggested.

  Trevor gazed back at her wordlessly. His dark eyes were hooded, as if she had only managed to half-rouse him from his lust-soaked stupor. He let her down slowly, reluctantly.

  “We won,” she reminded him as she snatched up Tex’s reins.

  “Yeah,” Trevor agreed. His eyes followed her in the darkness as she let herself out the gate. “But we still weren’t anywhere close to crossing that finish line.”

  They hadn’t been back in the stable for more than a minute before Sabrina felt a pair of hands seize her waist.

  “Hey!” she protested. She dropped Tex’s reins in surprise as Trevor maneuvered her out of the aisle. A clumsy, calamitous half-second later, and Trevor had thrust her into the freshly cleaned stall instead of his horse.

  “You don’t get off that easy,” he stated. He herded her back toward the shadowed back wall, and Sabrina allowed herself to be cornered. She couldn’t help the breathless laugh of excitement that escaped her.

  “Well, neither do you…apparently,” she teased in turn. Trevor pinned her wrists above her head and leaned in.

  “You have no idea what you do to me,” he growled into the hollow of her throat.

  “What…about…Tex?” she managed to gasp between heaving breaths.

  Trevor kicked the stall door shut behind him. “Don’t worry about him. He knows when to stay put and follow orders…unlike some.”

  Sabrina wondered if she had awakened a side of Trevor even more domineering than his daytime personality. The thought probably shouldn’t have excited her as much as it did. The heady scent of fresh hay and the claustrophobic darkness only heightened her awareness of him. They were both sweaty, filthy, and disheveled from drilling in the arena, but Sabrina had never felt more alive. The unbearable tension that had existed between them since they first met seemed about to fulfill its promise.

  Trevor’s teeth grazed along the vulnerable flesh of her neck. Sabrina raised her hips off the wall, and he pushed back forcefully. “You’re a good rider,” he whispered. “Those strong legs you got…” He trailed his lips up to her ear.

  “Though, how did you put it?” She turned her head and nipped his lip hard. “You ‘wouldn’t know it to look at me.’ Wasn’t that it?”

  “I knew you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen the moment I laid eyes on you,” he whispered into her hair. The compliment stunned Sabrina, and for a moment she forgot how to be clever. As if sensing his victory, Trevor leaned in, using his body weight to trap her in place. “Anyone with a pair of working eyes would,” he continued. “But when it comes to your riding skills, I’ll need to see for myself.”

  Trevor’s double entendre sent a dark shiver through her. She couldn’t get over seeing this side of Trevor, so different from his usual buttoned-down front. Like this, he was sexy, dangerous, tempting.

  “You’ve kissed me, haven’t you?” she whispered against his lips. “I think you should have some idea of this city girl’s prowess by now.”

  “Not nearly enough.” He took her mouth in a kiss that silenced any further sass, and pressed her back harder into the shadows. His weight squeezed the breath from her, and Sabrina’s head spun. She gasped and clutched the back of his neck as his broad, warm hands slid up beneath her shirt. He thrust his tongue between her teeth in the same instant he pushed her bra out of his way. His rough, strong fingers forked and caught her nipples between them. He massaged the hills of her breasts, gripping and pushing until it almost hurt. Sabrina relished the ache, and arched up for more. Her nipples tightened with arousal, and Trevor groaned into her mouth. The pads of his fingers stroked and teased the pebbled flesh until Sabrina thought she would come undone. She writhed and bucked off the wall, but he pinned her firmly with his hips and redoubled his pressure.

  The sensation of his rough hands exploring her body was too good to put words to. Trading passionate kisses was one thing, but Trevor’s hands on her bare skin kicked things up a notch. She had almost been able to fool herself into believing there was nothing between them—that their kisses were just their way of venting frustration—but her heart was beating so hard it felt like it would burst out of her chest.

  There was no going back from this. Sabrina wanted Trevor, and he wanted her just as badly. He was going to have her, right here and now. He owned every inch of Wildhorse, and soon he’d own every inch of her.

  One of his hands slid down to caress her stomach and continued past the waistband of her pants. Sabrina broke away and gasped wildly as he pressed into the heat between her legs.

  “Tex? What are you still doin’ out?” Pete’s voice inquired.

  Sabrina’s hand flew up to stifle her cry of frustration. Pete had entered the barn, but he didn’t seem to realize they were still there. Trevor crowded her back further into the shadows to keep them both out of sight as Pete took it upon himself to unsaddle Tex, muttering all the while. He led the horse into the stall across from theirs and closed him in for the night, then he departed as quickly as he had come, turning the lights off as he went.

  “I don’t pay that man enough,” Trevor remarked as he turned back to Sabrina. She saw his eyes flash and quickly put her hands out to hold him at bay.

  “Trevor, this isn’t a good idea,” she whispered. Only, she couldn’t quite seem to remember why. When Trevor slid his hand down, she didn’t stop him. He teased her through her jeans until she saw stars.

  “I mean it,” she groaned, and grabbed his wrist quickly. “What if Pete goes looking for you? What if he comes back? I definitely don’t want him to find us in…find us doing….”

  She couldn’t find the word she wanted, but Trevor seemed to understand. He slumped against her, the bulge in his jeans pressing against her leg. His hot breath came ragged against her neck, and Sabrina’s resolve nearly crumbled. She wanted to take back everything she had just said and let him have his way with her, right here and now. He wasn’t the only one having trouble not finishing what they had started.

  But she knew she needed to give her head a chance to catch up with her body. She needed time to remind herself what her priorities were before diving headfirst into this…this pulse-pounding, electric thing that kept rearing up between them at inopportune moments.

  “I’ll walk you back to your cabin,” Trevor offered, once he had collected himself.

  Sabrina wanted nothing more than for him to accompany her back across the moonlit property, which was exactly why she knew what her answer had to be.

  “Better not,” she murmured, hoarse with regret. “I can walk myself.” She reached up to grasp the back of his neck lightly, fleetingly. “See you tomorrow for practice?”

  Trevor turned his head away in the darkness, and she read it as assent. She didn’t blame him for feeling disappointed. She had never felt so unfulfilled in her life, and she only had herself to blame.

  She paused at the bunkhouse and turned back toward the barn. Trevor was still standing there, leaning on the fence. Sabrina shivered and turned away. She’d done the smart thing tonight—the cautious thing, the sensible thing, but she had a feeling her days of caution were done. Next time Trevor kissed her—if he kissed her again—her body would be the one taking the reins.

  9

  TREVOR

  Things were awkward with Sabrina, even now, on the day of the competition, when they should have been concentrating on their ride. Despite their efforts to keep up appearances, Trevor knew no one on Team Wildhorse could miss the tension that simmered beneath the surface, threatening to spark every word between them into grounds for a fight.

  “Trevor, for the last time, no, I did not bring a change of jeans, so these are going to have to suffice!”

  Trevor didn’t think Sabrina could drive her fists into her hips any harder if she tried. His own body language was likewise broadcasting his discontent. His crossed arms and squared shoulders made him a formidable figure, but Sabrina didn’t seem cowed, and she didn’t back down.

  “And for the record,” she continued, “I don’t appreciate you fashion-policing me in front of our teammates!”

  She wasn’t doing much to keep their argument private. Pete, Lorne, and Rodrigo were all exchanging looks. The five of them had gathered along the outermost fence of the arena, near where their team’s designated area had been set up.

  The small rodeo—which featured mostly locals and their own mounts, rather than bulls and broncos off the circuit—was held every year on Frank Buckton’s property, which was about five times bigger than Wildhorse Ranch. Participants and spectators came and went, stopping to stroke the competing horses and chat excitedly with one another. One acre had been set up expressly for food trucks to park. The festive atmosphere presented a stark contrast to the storm brewing between Trevor and Sabrina.

  “You guys want to go grab a churro or something?” Rodrigo suggested.

  Pete and Lorne hastily jumped off the fence to join him. Once Trevor was certain the three of them were out of earshot, he rounded on Sabrina to set her straight, but she once again beat him to the punch.

  “Why are you so obsessed with my ass, anyway?” She stood within inches of his face, and only now had she decided to lower her voice to a fierce whisper. Now, when no one could hear her but him, anyway. The hot gust of her breath across his face made him shiver. It had been a week since he had gotten her alone in the barn, but the memories of her body pinned beneath his—and the sounds she had made—were never distant from his thoughts.

  “You damn well know why,” he growled in response. “But right now, that’s beside the point. What you’re wearing isn’t anything like the pair of jeans you were practicing in all week. It didn’t occur to you that material that restrictive might stop you swinging your leg over the horse?”

  “It didn’t occur to you I picked these jeans for comfort? They’ve got some stretch to them. I can ride just fine.” Her voice dropped an octave on the word ride, and her blazing blue gaze darted to his mouth. Clearly, thoughts of their interlude in the stable weren’t far removed from her memory, either. “Are you frustrated, Trevor?”

  Trevor didn’t deign to answer that. They both knew just how frustrated he was. But they’d both been too busy to blow off much steam, and their paths had rarely crossed beyond the time they’d put aside to practice. They hadn’t been alone after that first night. Pete and the other ranch hands, Lorne and Rodrigo, all competed every year in calf-roping and cutting, and were ecstatic that Sabrina had been willing to foot the bill for them to put together a legitimate team. They intended to rep Wildhorse in every event and take home the prize money, along with the gaudy gold trophy—if Sabrina didn’t find a way to lay her hands on it and upcycle it into something first.

  This was the first time Trevor had been alone with Sabrina in nearly a week. He wasn’t sure which was worse at this point: no time at all with the woman who fired up his deepest desires, or time only to butt heads and argue over her tight-fitting clothes.

  She’s frustrated too, he thought. She snaps when she’s frustrated. That’s why she’s doing this, why she’s being such a—

  “Kiss me,” she said suddenly, confirming his suspicions. Trevor was about to sweep her into his arms when the others returned, bringing with them a bounty of churros. Sabrina turned away from Trevor to accept the offered snack.

  “Thanks, Pete! I haven’t had one of these in forever!” She broke out in a wide smile, as if the only pleasure she sought in life was fair food, and her prayers had been answered.

  As if she hadn’t just offered herself to him to be taken in full view of everyone.

  Trevor was going to hit the roof if he didn’t get with her or get away from her. Either would do. He retreated to Tex’s side, double- and triple-checking the saddle placement and shooting occasional scowls over the horse’s back. Sabrina was chatting happily with his ranch hands, telling some story about a runaway pig. She was doing this on purpose, he decided, as payback for his comments on her jeans. She was making every aspect of his carefully ordered life absolutely unlivable.