Chapter 9
Ashley agreed to stay and work on the ranch with Grahm. They hadn’t kissed again, but she was really hoping that he did soon. They worked closely together a lot and the more she was around him, the more she wanted him to touch her like he had before. The look was there several times, but he never went through with it. All he had to do was ask, command it and she would do anything he asked of her.
“So do you want to go for a ride after you brush the last one? I have already fed all of them for the night.”
Ashley agreed. They had started riding every evening after they were through and it had quickly become one of her favorite times. She was comfortable enough to take her own horse now, just weeks after coming to the ranch, but she still wanted to ride behind him. There was something in the way he felt next to her and it was the only time of the day that he would touch her. Grahm avoided her when they got too close, but there was no way that he could avoid her when they were on the back of the horse.
He caught the devilish look in her eyes and worried that she was bound and determined to drive him crazy. He knew as well as she did that she could ride on her own, but she kept insisting they ride together. All the good he tried to keep her off his mind, he couldn’t deny that she was pushing for more. He wondered if enough time had passed since the unpleasantness at the commune.
“Why don’t you take out Dollie? We both know you are ready to solo ride. The only way you are going to get used to it, is to just do it.”
Ashley pouted for a minute, but recovered and smiled. She had wanted to feel his strong arms around her. “I was hoping that we could ride together. I feel safer when you are with me.”
Her voice was soft and he couldn’t have said no to her if he had tried. For someone who was always in control, Ashley made sure that she got her ideas out as well. “If I let you ride with me, you will have to promise not to wiggle as much.”
She nodded, but smiled in a way that made him swallow hard. Ashley was up to no good and he could see it in her eyes.
Grahm helped her up first and then waited until she had scooted up enough that he would fit as well. Her body nestled in against his and he closed his eyes to the feel of her round ass against him. That was what he feared more than anything, feeling and wanting her far too much. His arm went around her and pulled her up closer, hard enough to make her gasp before he dug his heel into the side of the horse and felt the animal take off with them.
Her head laid back on him and she didn’t have the same death grip she had had the first time that had rode together. Ashley also was used to the gait, her body moving with his and the animal, all together in one fluid motion.
Grahm stopped when his body was going to explode and they were at the top of the small ridge on his land. They sat down together and looked out at the sun setting. It had become their spot and Ashley was content to sit with him and watched the beautiful colors fill the sky.
“I am going to miss this place when I leave. It is so peaceful here Grahm.”
He nodded, but still didn’t want to think about her leaving. Before, he had stopped her by offering her a job, but he knew that he would have to bring more to the table if Ashley was going to stay long term. His mind reeled with what those possibilities meant, but he wasn’t ready yet. They weren’t ready yet. He was sure that there had to be more time, but he didn’t need it. Grahm knew that he always wanted her to stay.
“It is peaceful here. I have lived here my whole life and you have helped me to appreciate it more. I get to see it from your eyes.”
“I swear they don’t have sunsets like this back home.”
“Do you miss it?”
Ashley shrugged and then laid back to get a better view of the sky. It was like a changing painting and she could sit out there for hours. She looked over at him and smiled. “Sometimes. I am not looking forward to school, so I sometimes wish that summer would never end.”
“It doesn’t have to. California is warm most of the time here.”
She didn’t say anything. He had been slipping the future into more and more conversations. “I think I would miss the snow.”
“Then I could take you wherever you wanted to go. Go to the mountains and there is plenty all year long.”
Ashley giggled and then turned back towards the sky. “I have to go to school. I was already accepted back home.”
“What do you want to do?” Grahm lay down next to her, their arms touching.
“I don’t know, but it just seems like the thing to do. Do a little a little college. I was thinking of getting into sustainable farming, but I have lost my taste for it. I don’t think I can bring myself to go to another commune.”
“I can see that. So why are you so determined to go right away?”
“I guess because it was the plan for so long.”
“Plans are meant to be changed Ashley.”
She snuck a look at him and then moved to her side. “What are your plans?”
“I don’t make plans. Things never turn out the way they are supposed to, so why have any expectations? You were here for an adventure, how did that turn out?”
“You may have a point there, but I got to think about my future.” Future, now she was thinking about it as well. She sighed to herself and went back on her back. There seemed to be so much unsaid between them. “You ready to go back? It’s starting to get cold.”
He made a noise next to her. It was one of aggravation, but she tried to ignore it. He was the one that wouldn’t make a move. She didn’t know what to do to further it along, starting to think that they were destined to play this tug of war until she went back east. Ashley pretended that she didn’t notice and got back on the horse without his help.
“I see you have gotten used to riding. Are you still afraid of horses?”
She was shivering when he pulled her up against him, her insides trembling. “Not anymore.”