“Do you wear a suit normally?” I look at the jeans and pearl snap he has on now, rolled up at the sleeves from the work he was doing earlier in the stables.
“Often. I don’t know about normally. Why?”
“I'm just curious about what you’d look like on a normal day. Or at a wedding, all dressed up.”
“Not a fan of Wranglers and cowboy boots?” He shifts his hat on his head and gives me a mock forlorn look.
“Oh no. They’re my favorite so far. I just feel like I need the full range of experiences.” I grin at him.
“All right, well…” He gives me half a smile like I’m making him nervous. “Speaking of tying the knot…” He holds up the rope.
“Right, back to the lesson at hand.” I nod, putting on my serious face and trying not to laugh when he raises his brow at me.
“I’m gonna tie you up if you keep being so damn sassy.” He pretends to come at me.
“Sounds like fun.” I tease him in return.
He shakes his head, but I see a flash of appreciation in his eyes.
“Gimme your wrist.” He holds his hand out. I eye him warily, but I offer mine left one up and allow him to take it.
“You wanna tie a solid knot, it’s easy as hell. You take it like this. Make a tree like so, and a little rabbit hole at the bottom. Then you take this side. The rabbit comes up through the hole, runs around the tree, and goes back down the rabbit hole again.” He explains it to me like I’m five years old, and I giggle until I feel him tighten the rope. He pulls me closer to the fence and wraps the other side around the rail. “See, you’ve got the tree here. Rabbit hole here. What does the rabbit do?” He looks at me.
“Comes up through the hole, runs around the tree, and then goes down the hole again.” I repeat his instructions back to him, and he follows them nimbly with his fingers, tightening the rope when he’s done.
“There. Now try to get away.” He leans back against the fence, crossing his arms as I try to pull away and find myself stuck. He grins. “See how you can’t just slip out?”
“Point taken. Now let me go.” I raise a brow in his direction as I watch him take in the sight. I can tell he likes it a little too much.
“Ask me nicely, and I’ll think about it.”
“Let me go, please.”
“Hmm…” He hums in contemplation, watching me squirm again. “I’ll think about it if you give me a kiss.”
“Now you’re changing the terms. You said you’d let me go if I asked nicely.”
“No, I said I’d think about it, sweetheart. And I did think on it, like I promised. I decided I want something in exchange for your freedom.” He rounds me, bringing his body close to mine as his eyes rake over me.
“This is becoming a real habit of yours.” My eyes lift to meet his, and he grins like he’s got an ace up his sleeve. I feel my heart do its favorite little flutter-and-flip routine in my chest. The one it can’t seem to stop doing in his presence.
“It keeps working out so well for me. Why would I stop?” He tilts his head, leaning down slowly until his lips are an inch away, and I can feel the heat of his body pressing close to mine.
I close the gap between us, kissing him like it’s our first time, and deepening it as his mouth explores mine. I reach forward while he’s distracted, snatching the other rope off his arm and looping it around his wrist. He looks down when he parts from our kiss, a questioning look on his face.
“My turn to try it. Practice makes perfect, right?”
“Right.” His eyes scan mine, heavy with desire, but he steps back. He adjusts his hat and unties my wrist from the fence, letting me stretch it and handing me the second rope.
I make quick work of the first knot on his wrist and the second on the fence. He clicks his tongue with a sound of approval and nods as I move to the next one.
“How did you say it went again? I’m trying to memorize it so I don’t forget.” I feign the need for his help, and he repeats the story about the rabbit for me as I follow the instructions.
“All right. First, I make the tree and put a hole in the side?” I look to him for clarification.
“At the bottom.” He nods, so focused on the way I'm tying the knot that he doesn’t see where I’m tying it.
“Oh right. At the bottom. Then the rabbit comes up through the hole, around the tree, and back in?” I race the rabbit through her last steps and pull her tight before he has time to question it. Grinning at my handiwork when I see the final product.
