Claimed! Read online

  “Great.” Nick glanced up as Jack leaned his forearms on the stall door. “Healthy as a—”

  Jack groaned, drowning out the rest of the tired cliché that had become a permanent family joke. Horses were a lot more delicate than they looked, and the smallest little thing, such as a bad batch of grain, could kill them in no time. Raising horses was much more of a challenge than running cattle, which might be one of the reasons his dad had gradually phased out the cattle to specialize in Paints, and then decided to train them as cutting horses. Jonathan Chance had relished a challenge.

  Nick ran a practiced hand over Calamity Sam’s neck and gave the foal a pat before closing up his vet bag. “This is going to be a money horse.”

  “I hope so.” Jack moved away from the stall door so Nick could come out.

  “Count on it.” Nick grabbed his hat from a hook and glanced at Jack as he put it on. “How’d it go with Josie this morning?”

  Irritation pricked his good mood as he pictured Gabe spreading the word. Jack hated having his private business made public. “Does every blessed soul on the ranch know about it?”

  “Pretty much everybody.” Something about Nick’s green eyes had always made him look as if he’d been up to no good, but they were especially full of the devil now. “Come on, Jack. You’ve been riding us hard for months. Don’t blame the guys for enjoying this.”

  “What do you mean by enjoying?”

  “There’s a pool going as to whether Josie will agree to take those riding lessons from you.”

  Jack blew out a breath. “And I suppose you’re in it.”

  “Hell, yes, I’m in it. I put in a long-distance call to Dominique so she could be, too. We both bet against you convincing Josie to do it.”

  “Nice. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Nick.”

  “Once you factor in the incident where you tried to deck her brother, it’s the reasonable bet to make.”

  “Everybody knows about that?” Jack’s eyes narrowed. “I’m gonna kill Gabe.”

  “Then you might as well go after Mary Lou and Mom, because they did their share of getting the word out. So, did she shoot you down? I have a twenty riding on this, bro.”

  “No, she did not shoot me down.” At least Jack had the satisfaction of proving the naysayers wrong. But suddenly lunch didn’t sound like such a good idea. On the other hand, if he didn’t show up, no telling what rumors would be circulated about him.

  “She went for it? I guess you haven’t lost your touch, after all.” Nick punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Way to go, big brother. It’s good to see you back in the game.”

  “I’m not back in the game, as you put it. I’m giving her riding lessons, period. Nothing more than that.”

  Nick smiled. “Yeah, sure. Strictly platonic.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, buddy. Keep telling yourself that.”

  Jack vowed that he would. He would show Josie—hell, he would show everybody—that Jack Chance could spend time with a woman and not have it be all about sex.

  5

  THE NEXT MORNING, Josie drove down the rutted dirt road leading to the ranch with her stomach in knots and Alex’s warnings ringing in her ears. Her brother had not been happy that she’d agreed to take even one riding lesson from Jack.

  Alex had volunteered to come along with her, but she’d convinced him not to. Before he’d left for another day of hiking, he’d cautioned her to be careful because this lesson was probably Jack’s evil plan to lure her back into bed.

  She couldn’t admit to Alex, and could barely admit to herself, that she almost hoped it was. She’d missed Jack, both in bed and out of it. He probably wasn’t good for her, but being celibate for months couldn’t be good for her, either.

  When she’d had virtually no contact for ten months, she’d been able to convince herself that she was better off without him. His stunt two nights ago had been ludicrous, and she’d done her best to put another black mark beside his name because of it. But then he’d come into her office yesterday bringing with him all that sex appeal and contrition. She’d fought the good fight, tried to be snarky, clever and dismissive, but in the end she’d caved.

  She’d been fascinated to hear him claim that sex wouldn’t be part of this arrangement, as if he had something to prove to her. Josie hadn’t told Alex that. He might have insisted it was a ploy to throw her off her guard.

  But none of that mattered now, because she’d arrived at the ranch. Her pulse rate jumped when she spotted Jack down by the barn standing beside two saddled horses tied to a hitching post.

  A few other cowboys were in the area, but Josie couldn’t seem to focus on anybody besides Jack. He’d worn her favorite black shirt—she’d told him it made him look like a gunslinger, especially paired with the black hat he loved. As always, his lean hips were tucked into a worn pair of jeans that she knew from experience would be soft as a baby’s blanket from being washed so often.

  Jack made quite the picture standing beside his large black and white Paint, but she needed to stop ogling him and get this show on the road. A couple of pickups were parked beside the barn, so she drove her Bronco down there and pulled in next to them.

  She’d dressed with care for this riding lesson. Fortunately she had all the right clothes. Despite knowing nothing about riding, she’d wanted to fit in with the cow boy culture and had bought boots, jeans, western shirts and even a hat that lay brim-side up on the seat beside her.

  Early on she’d learned that cowboys—and cowgirls—cherished their hats and were particular about how they were treated. No self-respecting cowboy would leave his hat for long brim-side down. A good hat belonged on a rack or brim-side up, to protect the shape the owner had given it.

  Picking up her gray Stetson, she left her keys in the ignition and climbed out of the Bronco. She settled her hat on her head as she walked over toward Jack. Jack the horseman. Amazing though it seemed now, she’d never seen him ride.

  Picturing him mounted on that black and white Paint, his snug jeans defining all his attributes as his thighs gripped the saddle, Josie grew faint with desire. At that moment, she realized that Jack would have to be the gatekeeper when it came to forgoing sex. Faced with his manly self in full cowboy mode, she simply wouldn’t have the willpower.

  His dark gaze gave nothing away as he glanced at her. “You’re right on time.” He gave no indication that he’d noticed she had on her sexiest jeans and a fitted shirt.

  She’d chosen the outfit carefully, because whether he made a move or not, she hoped he’d want to. If he wanted to and exercised great restraint, that was kind of an exciting prospect. She liked being forbidden fruit.

  “I told you I’d be here.” She sounded crustier than she felt. Inside she was one gooey marshmallow of unsatisfied need.

  “Okay, then.” He pulled the brim of his black hat down over his eyes. “We can start in the corral if you want, but Destiny’s a very calm gelding, so I think you’ll be fine if we go out on the trail.”

  She managed to tear her gaze away from Jack long enough to look at the horse he’d chosen for her—a tall brown and white Paint with a white blaze down his nose. “So his name’s Destiny?”

  “I chose him for his disposition, not his name. He’s twenty-two, and both Gabe and Nick learned to ride on him. He’s as close to a pet as any horse on the ranch.”

  “Who named him Destiny?”

  “I did, but don’t hold that against me. I was ten and into dramatic names.”

  “Okay.” She should know better than to assign sentimental motives to a guy like Jack. “What’s your horse’s name?” She couldn’t believe she didn’t know after all the time she’d spent with him.

  “Bandit.”

  At the sound of his name, the horse turned his head and displayed the reason for it. The pattern of black and white on his face made him look as if he wore a mask.

  “I see,” Josie said. “What a perfect horse for a gu
nslinger. Thanks for wearing my favorite black shirt, by the way.”

  “It happened to be clean.”

  She didn’t believe that for a minute. “I’m sure that’s true, Jack. Heaven forbid you’d wear a certain shirt because you know I like it.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” But there was a definite smile in his voice. “Okay, what do you say we get this party started?”

  “Fine with me.” She looked up at the saddle, which seemed fairly high above the ground. “How do I get on?”

  “From the left. Put your left foot in the stirrup, grab the saddle horn, and swing your right leg over.”

  Josie did as she was told and found herself astride a horse for the first time in her life. She was reminded of her first time on a chair lift at a ski resort—beginning something new was both scary and exhilarating.

  “Take your feet out of the stirrups for a minute. They’re a couple of inches too long.”

  Holding tight to the leather saddle horn, she glanced down at Jack as she slipped her feet out of the stirrups. He messed with the buckle on the left stirrup and kept brushing her leg in the process. She could have moved it out of the way, but she chose not to. His touch gave her the kind of shivers she hadn’t felt in ten months.

  He finished with the left stirrup and walked around the back of the horse to repeat the same procedure on the right one. Josie could swear his breathing had changed.

  “Try that.” His voice was as calm as ever, but he didn’t look at her.

  “How’s it supposed to feel?”

  He glanced up at her then, and his gaze was a lot more intense than it had been earlier. “It should feel…” His voice grew husky. “It should feel good.”

  Her breath caught. “I don’t know what good feels like.”

  Groaning softly, he squeezed his eyes shut. “Damn, Josie.”

  “I’m talking about the saddle.”

  He opened his eyes and looked into hers. “No, you’re not, and neither am I.”

  Heat sluiced through her.

  “Maybe we should stay in the corral,” he said.

  “Sounds boring.”

  “Sounds safe. You’ve never ridden before, so walking around the corral is probably the best—”

  “I’d rather ride on the trail.”

  He gave her a long look. “All right. Then let’s check your stirrups so we can get going. Stand up. There should be daylight between the saddle and your…and you.” He swore softly again and looked away. “You know what I mean.”

  “Yes.” She pressed the balls of her feet into the stirrups and rose up. “How’s that?”

  “Fine.”

  “You didn’t look.”

  “Yeah, I did. You just didn’t see me.” He untied the reins from the hitching post, knotted them together, and lifted them over Destiny’s head. “Hold these in your left hand.”

  She took them from him and their hands brushed. Once again her nerve endings played “The Hallelujah Chorus.”

  As if he needed some distance, Jack stepped back to deliver further instructions. “This horse neck reins. That means you lay the reins on his left side and he’ll veer right, and vice-versa.”

  “Got it. How do I make him stop?”

  “Say whoa and pull back gently and evenly on the reins. It won’t take much. He has a soft mouth.” Then, as if he couldn’t help himself, Jack looked up at Josie’s mouth.

  Acting without thinking, she ran her tongue over her suddenly dry lips. Jack kept staring at her mouth, and she found herself leaning forward.

  No telling what might have happened next if a rugged-looking cowboy who appeared to be in his late fifties hadn’t called out from the doorway of the barn. “Hey, Jack, I’m going to run into town and pick up a couple of new shovels.”

  Jack blinked and gave his head a little shake before turning. “That’s fine, Emmett.”

  “Oh, and have a nice ride, Josie,” Emmett said. “You’ll like Destiny. He has an easy gait, like sitting on a rocking chair.”

  “Thanks, Emmett.” Josie recognized him now. He was Emmett Sterling, the ranch foreman. Every once in a while he came into the Spirits and Spurs for a beer, but he usually kept to himself so Josie had never had a conversation with him.

  “I doubt I’ll be back in time for lunch,” Emmett said. “Unless you have an objection, I’ll stop by the Bunk and Grub on the way home and check out a drainage problem in Pam’s vegetable garden.”

  Jack smiled. “No problem. Have fun.”

  “It’s not like that, Jack. I’m just being neighborly, is all.”

  “I understand, Emmett. We surely don’t want Pam thinking we’re a bad neighbor. I’m glad you’re on the job.”

  Emmett snorted and waved a dismissive hand before heading for one of the two trucks parked beside the barn.

  As Jack untied Bandit, he lowered his voice so only Josie could hear. “He’s sweet on Pam, but he won’t admit it.”

  “Why not?” Josie was very fond of Pam, who owned a local B and B. “She’s wonderful, and they’re about the same age.”

  “She’s also loaded, and Emmett has some very old-fashioned ideas about money.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  “They might work it out yet.” Gathering the reins in one hand, he swung effortlessly up on his horse. “Ready?”

  Oh, yeah. It wasn’t the prospect of a horseback ride that had her quivering like a bowlful of jelly. When she looked at Jack sitting astride that magnificent black and white Paint like some dark warrior of old, she was ready for whatever he had in mind. She sat staring at him in total awe.

  Jack’s horse danced around and tossed his white mane while Destiny simply stood as if planted in the dirt. Josie didn’t care a bit. She was content to watch Jack’s thigh muscles contract under the soft denim of his jeans. She could focus on that all day long.

  “You have to nudge him with your heels to make him go,” Jack said gently.

  “Oh.” Josie gave Destiny a little prod. The horse headed in the direction he was pointed, toward the open barn door.

  “Rein him to the right!” Jack called out.

  Josie tried to remember how to do that, but for some reason Destiny just kept walking toward the barn.

  “Here.” Jack trotted over and took hold of the horse’s bridle on the right side. “This way, son.” He steered Destiny around and kept a grip on his bridle until they were past the barn and moving across a meadow filled with wildflowers. Ahead loomed a dirt trail that led into the trees. The trail was only wide enough for one horse at a time.

  Josie had no chance to admire the wildflowers. She gripped the saddle horn with both hands. She’d looped the reins around one wrist, but no one would accuse her of directing this horse in any fashion. Her foot slipped out of the right stirrup and she used the toe of her boot to try and get it back.

  “Let me.” He stopped both horses, then leaned down and held Josie’s stirrup until she had her foot back in it.

  “I feel like a total klutz.”

  “It’s your first time.” He grinned at her. “Go easy on yourself. After all, you’re a horseback-riding virgin.”

  She rolled her eyes. “And here I thought my virginal days were behind me.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be gentle.”

  It was the sort of banter they’d specialized in when they’d been a couple, and they slipped into it naturally, maybe too naturally. Their ease with each other had been one of the most seductive parts of the relationship. Josie could be herself with Jack. She could let down her hair, both literally and figuratively.

  But then he’d blindsided her by leaving abruptly last fall. She’d do well to remember that.

  “Nudge him with your heels again,” Jack said. “I want you to ride down the trail ahead of me so I can observe your technique.”

  Josie did as she was told and Destiny moved ahead of Jack and Bandit. “You want to observe my ass, is what you mean,” she said over her shoulder. She probably shouldn’t have made t
hat remark, but old habits died hard.

  “Cut it out, Josie. I’m trying very hard to behave myself.”

  She let go of the saddle horn with her right hand so she could get a better grip on the reins. “My brother thinks you set up this ride to seduce me.”

  “Your brother would nail my hide to the side of the barn if he could.”

  “I think so, yes.”

  “I don’t blame him.”

  A thrill shot through her. “Are you admitting you set this up to seduce me, after all?”

  “No, just the opposite. You’re totally safe with me.”

  Damn.

  “And for the record, I didn’t set this up,” he continued. “I’m doing it because Gabe and Sarah asked me. But now that I’m into it, I promise you there’s no seduction plan.”

  Double damn. She believed him, though. Jack might have acted like a heel by breaking up with her on the phone ten months ago, but he wasn’t a liar.

  “Then I guess you’d better give me some riding instruction, Jack.”

  “I was about to. Keep your heels down if you don’t want to lose your stirrups again.”

  She angled her feet so her heels were lower than her toes. “Better?”

  “Much better. How’re you doing?”

  “Okay.” She found the rhythmic motion of the horse to be quite erotic, but she chose not to tell him. If he could keep secrets, so could she. If a girl concentrated on a certain cowboy riding a horse directly behind her, and angled her pelvis a little bit forward, she might be able to get just the right pressure to…mmm. Nice.

  “You’re leaning forward too much. Sit back in the saddle and grip with your legs.”

  Spoilsport. It occurred to Josie that she’d neglected her sex life since the day Jack had ended their relationship. She’d found it easier to close herself off and enter a mental nunnery.

  But Jack was back, even if he swore they wouldn’t be getting horizontal. His presence in her life had awakened her sleeping sexuality, and fantasies were swirling in her head. She wondered if he still kept a condom tucked in the back pocket of his jeans. During their time together he’d never left home without it.