Hailey shook her head. “Uh-uh.”

“You can’t say no.”

“I believe there’s something in the Constitution about freedom of speech. I say hell no.” She folded her arms, mainly to hide the trembling.

“I think I remember you making a deal with me. What did we say again . . . ? Ah, yeah. You have to follow my orders.”

“Sue me.”

Ryder moved behind her, the scent of mangoes strong as his chest brushed her back. He settled his hands on her waist. “What’re you afraid of?”

Under any other circumstances, Hailey’s body would be jelly from having Ryder so close. But the feeling was already there, she was already wobbly, and no smooth-talking Genie was going to win her over.

“Dying,” she replied matter-of-factly. “It’s a valid fear.”

His chuckle slid down her spine like whiskey, though unfortunately with no alcoholic numbness. Her heart hammered inside her chest as she gripped the sides of her waist.

His hands covered hers. “This is the part where you have to take my commands, kid. Step up or go home.”

“Door number two.” She licked her lips, nerves fizzing under her skin. “Let’s go back to mine and do something else fun.”

“Ordinarily I’d take you up on that, but I suspect it’s a stalling tactic.”

“Gee, what gave me away? The fight-or-flight thing I have going?”

“Hailey, it’s not going to kill you.” His chin rubbed her hair and he squeezed her hands. “It’s only a horse.”

Easy for him to say. Hailey watched as the stableman led two huge brown beasts toward them. Their eyes were wild, and she swore smoke curled out of their nostrils.

“You must have ridden a horse in all those moves around the country.” Ryder’s voice rumbled into her scalp.

“Uh, no. My dad’s in the navy. Point me to a boat and I can sail it.” Hailey flinched as one of the horses sidestepped before being brought under control. “We don’t have wild beast tamers in my family.”

“Yeah, that one looks close to snapping the hand off the leader.”

Hailey would’ve smacked him if she dared move. She did not want to draw the brutes’ attention her way.

His hands smoothed back over her waist. “C’mon. Don’t be a wimp. Trust me, you’ll enjoy it.”

“I don’t think it said anything about riding horses in that list I read about casual sex,” she muttered. “Riding men, sure . . .”

He snorted.

The stableman stopped about two feet from them, a leading rein in either hand. His face was weathered from being out in the sun, brown despite it being almost fall. Of course, that might have something to do with the fact that Ryder had flashed them to Montana for their riding trip.

If he’d told her where they were going, she could have saved him the effort.

“This one here’s Misty,” said the stableman, who didn’t smell entirely unpleasant, though there was definitely a musty, manure scent to his clothes, “and this one’s Star. She’s real gentle.”

And about six feet bigger than Hailey.

That might have been a slight exaggeration.

As the horse puffed air out its nose and whickered, Hailey backed even closer to Ryder. She curled her hands into his jeans as she clutched at his thighs. Later she’d recall the muscular strength of them, the hard abs at her back, but for now she was more concerned with gaining extra space between her and it.

“She’s a bit nervous,” Ryder explained to the stableman.

The man raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know as I’m happy with you riding them alone if she’s a novice. But, with you, I s’pose it’s okay.”

“Thanks,” Ryder said drily. He peeled Hailey’s hands off him and took the reins from the man. “I’ll take it from here.”

“Have ’em back in a couple of hours, will ya?”

“Will do.”

Hailey shook her head again as Ryder held the horse’s reins out to her like a bouquet of flowers. “Nope. Have you seen the size of her teeth?”

He cast her a look. “C’mon, Chicken Little. Face your fears. Up.”

Her palms were sweating. “Ryder . . . I can’t. Please.”

His face softened at her terror, and he tossed the reins to the ground. As she watched they tied themselves together and anchored to something invisible to keep the horses from wandering off.

Ryder took one of her sweaty hands and stroked his thumb over the rapid pulse at her wrist. “What if I said you’ll like it once you’re up there?”

“I’d say I smell smoke and ask if your pants were on fire.”

That made him smile. “Maybe later.”

“Later could be now. I’m very motivated to make this afternoon a different kind of ride of your life.”

“C’mon.” He ignored her high-pitched offer. “It’s like riding a Vespa.”

She slid him a doubtful look.

He grinned. “Okay, then tell me the worst that could happen?”

“I believe I mentioned the whole death thing. Or I could be paralyzed, trampled, bitten, mauled—”

One hand covered her mouth. His sincere brown eyes stared down into hers. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Her heart skipped the next rapid beat. Hailey gazed up into his eyes. Something she saw in there gave her the courage to shakily nod.

“Atta girl.” He removed his hand and replaced it with his lips, one soft, warm brush that curled her toes in her boots. “Let’s do this.”

The breath she inhaled trembled as she turned to the so-called “gentle” Star. The horse and she eyed each other with equal wariness.

“Nice horsey.” Hailey managed a shaky smile and reached out to pet the side of its head. “Nice, gentle horsey.”

Star huffed but allowed Hailey to stroke her. Her hair was a little rough to the touch, like the mane that flowed over one side. With Hailey’s heart thudding, she glanced across at Ryder who’d tamed his and now sat astride in the saddle. He looked as natural up there as a proper cowboy. Which was how she’d often pictured him.

“You’ve done this before,” she said, continuing her slow petting.

“Leo and I used to live near horses.”

“I thought you said you grew up in New York.”

Something shadowed his face. His jaw hardened as he looked away, his horse snickering beneath him as if it sensed the sudden tension. “Not since birth,” he said.

Clearly a touchy subject. She was tempted to press him, since he was making her do this, but there were the rules. She wasn’t allowed to pry or to try to make their connection deeper than physical. The subject dropped.

She was wondering how she was going to get on the damn horse when he spoke again. “We were adopted.”

Sympathy slapped any instinctive need she had to recite the rules out the park. Besides, she hadn’t pried; he’d volunteered. Like a friend would.

“How old?” she asked softly.

“Thirteen.”

“A trying age for any parent.” She tried a smile.

His answering one made the tenser muscles loosen, except for the fact she was standing next to a wild beast whose eyes kept rolling back toward her.

“Cam and Jeannie must’ve been crazy,” he agreed.

“They’re your adopted parents?”

“Yeah.” Love molded the word. Then his eyes shifted, his lips pressed together. With a quick glance at her, he said in a bland tone, “It was a car crash. When we were ten.” He shrugged as if it was no big deal.

Three years before being adopted. Poor, poor Ryder.

And now he was the one with the sad eyes.

Hailey exhaled and gave in. “All right, all right. I’m getting on the damn horse.”

His dimple emerged as he flicked his reins. “You think I’m manipulating you?”

“No. Which makes it even harder to refuse.” Hailey smiled at him until his horse sidestepped, ramming her heart into galloping again.

She shuffled away and eyed Star’s stirrup. She grimaced. “How am I supposed to get up there exactly?”

* * *

It took some doing, and Ryder eventually had to lift her bodily onto it—apparently he couldn’t individually flash her onto the beast and even if he could, it’d scare Star into bolting anyway, which Hailey was very much in favor of not happening—but finally she was mounted.

With great determination, Hailey avoided looking down at the ground, which was miles beneath her dangling feet. Rivers ran from her palms and the nape of her neck.

A hat appeared on her head and Ryder slid her feet into the stirrups. “Buckle up.”

She felt better with the hat on, but she still could’ve done with more. Suit of armor maybe. Kevlar.

“Don’t worry,” Ryder repeated as he saw her face, probably white as paper. “I won’t let anything happen. Now, we’re just going to walk through the fields.”

“I can’t steer this thing!”

The remaining sadness disappeared under a wave of amusement. “She’ll follow mine.” He mounted and clucked to his horse, did something with his feet, and they were off.

Hailey froze in her position as the beast followed its friend. The breeze kissed her cheeks as Ryder led them out of the paddock and into open areas with the ground very hard and very far away.

After about fifteen minutes of idle chatter and nothing bad happening, Hailey slowly began to relax. It was kind of nice, actually. Swaying along, it almost felt like being on a boat, except for the nodding head in front of her. The sun beamed down on them in between clouds in a picturesque way.

And there was Ryder, the ideal companion, joking, smiling, talking nonsense to keep her mind off it. Not to mention, she felt some kind of energy, as if magic bubble-wrapped her. So sweet. And, it had to be said, he was so damn sexy as a cowboy, his lounging frame just natural in the rhythm. His hips followed the horse perfectly.

“Having fun?”

Hailey turned her head to Ryder with a rueful smile. “I am, actually. You were right.”

“Always am.” He grinned at her sour look. “Riding’s relaxing. I still try to ride a couple times a month, get away from it all.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere. Texas, here, sometimes abroad.”

She sighed. “It must be so great to be able to travel anywhere in the blink of an eye.”

“It doesn’t suck.”

“Does your brother still ride?” Hailey stiffened as their horses splashed through a little stream, only relaxing when they made it to the other side without capsizing.

“Not as much as me. He . . .” Ryder stopped, shrugged. “He doesn’t like to think of the past.”

“You do?”

“Sometimes. I think it’s right to remember.” Ryder cast her a strange smile. “Let’s talk about something happier.” He glanced ahead. When he looked back, he had a glint she absolutely did not trust. “I’ll race you to those trees over there.”

“That’d be a no. In fact, it’s a hell no.”

“That’s what you said about riding.”

She scowled at him. “I like this pace. It’s soothing.”

“Well, for what I’ve got planned after this, I want your blood hot.” His grin was lazy, his gaze sinful as he smoothed it over her.

Everywhere he looked burned. “Oh.” At least, she meant to say that. It came out more mphs*^Sg.

He winked. “Hold on.”

She barely had enough time to suit action to instruction before he took off at a speed that made the earth blur as Star leapt to follow.

Her scream was probably heard in Antarctica.