Ranger Knox (Shifter Nation: Werebears Of Acadia Book 1)

by Meg Ripley

  Stepping out of the tub, she wrapped a towel around her and tiptoed to her bedroom in search of clothing. It was too warm for a bathrobe, so she opted for a strapless, azure blue sundress instead with an A-line fit and a hem that fell to mid-thigh. Now too revved up for sleep, she walked out onto the front porch, the lights from the training pen catching her attention immediately.

  “Damn,” she breathed, relinquishing all hope that her mind and body might settle down. “Out of the hot tub and into the fire,” she mocked herself dryly.

  The sexy cowboy was there with a different horse than the one she'd seen him and the young trainer with earlier that day. He had ditched the cowboy hat, no longer needing it to shield his eyes from the sun, and she could see that his hair was dark, left just long enough that it added to his rugged appeal.

  The horse was larger than the one from earlier and jet black without a single marking anywhere on its body. Its head was lowered slightly, waving back and forth from side to side, and its ears appeared pinned back, near his neck. It pawed the ground with his foreleg forcefully, and although Ava had no experience with horses, its body spoke volumes in a language that even she could understand. The horse was nervous, angry, untamed, and there was no one else there for it to vent its aggression on but the cowboy.

  It wasn't wearing a bridle or saddle, and the cowboy had no whip like the man she'd seen earlier. Noah appeared to have absolutely no way to get the horse under control but he also wasn't moving out of its way. Ava's pulse sped up, her breath catching in her throat. Instead of retreating, the man moved in closer, meeting the horse's gaze directly and speaking to it in hushed tones. Slowly, the animal's head stilled, its ears turned forward and slowly, it ceased pawing at the ground. The cowboy continued to speak quietly, his hand coming up to touch the side of the horse's head. He held his hand still for a moment and then stroked the horse gently.

  Ava hadn't realized she'd been moving forward until then, down the steps of the front porch and halfway across the distance that had been between them. She stopped, watching, mesmerized by the way the man calmed the wild animal. It was breathtaking. He moved along the length of the horse, talking all the while, and then steered the horse's direction with a single, firm push. It began to follow his rudimentary commands, obeying the cowboy, moving around the pen. He stopped each time the horse seemed to be getting riled up, calming him with only his hands and voice. Ava didn't know how long he continued; it could have been seconds or hours, she really wasn't sure. The cowboy stopped then, reaching for a bridle slung over the fence. Approaching the horse slowly, he fit it into place, though the horse began to paw at the ground lightly, increasing Ava's heart rate once again. But, as soon as the cowboy was finished, the pawing stopped.

  Stroking the horse's head with one hand, he reached into a container behind him, retrieving a handful of apple slices and feeding them to the horse one at a time. Patting the horse for a job well done, he turned then, spotting Ava right away. He looked at her for a moment, his hand moving to calm the horse who had begun to paw nervously again, noticing Ava's presence. As the pawing ceased, the cowboy started over toward her, and although she hadn't the slightest idea what to say—a rare occurrence for Ava—she moved forward, slowly closing the distance between them.

  “He's brand new here,” the cowboy spoke, saving Ava from having to delve deep for some witty remark. “I bought him from a man who was going to make him into a gelding, thinking he was too unruly to ever be manageable.”

  “But, you were able to train him,” she replied, disturbed by the thought of such an atrocity over an animal's natural behavior.

  He smiled then, “Not exactly. He'll let me near him, sure, and he'll even follow a command or two, but it will be a while before he's letting me ride him without bucking me off every chance he gets.”

  “How did you do it? I mean, Will was explaining how it works earlier, and there were ropes and whips...”

  “I just do things a little differently. The trick is to start off fully knowing the horse will respond, instead of trying to convince him to. He recognizes that. He trusts that you know what you're doing,” he said simply, opening the pen's gate and stepping out, closing it firmly behind him. “It's like walking into a room full of toddlers; you have to know you've got everything under control or they'll walk, run, skip, hop and jump all over you.”

  “Come on,” he motioned for Ava to follow. “I'll show you.”

  “Sure thing,” she replied aloud. “But I bet you've got other tricks I'd love for you to show me,” she added silently. Though, she was genuinely interested in how the cowboy managed to control a horse so easily.

  “You haven't spent much time around horses,” he surmised accurately.

  “No, not once before today actually. I thought I was a city girl through-and-through, but I'm enjoying it here much more than I thought I would.” “Of course, the sexy scenery doesn't hurt,” she mused wordlessly.

  He led her beyond the barn to another corral, stopping briefly to ask a young man in the barn to bring out a particular horse. He opened the pen gate, motioning for Ava to step inside, and she did so nervously, not certain she wanted to come face to face with a wild animal like the one in the other pen. A moment later though, she breathed a small sigh of relief, the young man leading a much smaller, more docile-looking horse into the pen.

  Noah removed the horse's reins, patting its head and speaking quietly once again. He started moving then, signaling for the horse to follow—and it did. He stopped and the horse came to a halt.

  “Come here,” he told her, and she complied, feeling a bit like the obedient horse for a second.

  Taking her hand, he guided her fingers to the horse as a tremor of desire surged up her arm in response to his touch. He continued to guide her, stroking along the horse's head, and Ava did her best to focus on the task at hand instead of the cowboy's body, so close to her own. He released her hand then and she nearly sighed in disappointment, reining in her response at the last second. She continued to stroke the horse, surprised by the sleek, soft feel.

  “Now, tell her what you want her to do,” he told Ava, moving directly behind her.

  “I'd love to tell you what I want you do to,” Ava spoke, realizing too late that she'd spoken aloud, heat creeping into her cheeks once again.

  “I'd love to hear what it is you want me to do,” he responded easily, his voice huskier, just a hair's breadth from her ear. “But first, we should finish with Maggie, or she might feel jilted, coming out here for nothing,” he continued, but he was suddenly even closer than before, his lips lingering close to her ear while she could feel the heat radiating from his body, now less than an inch away from hers.

  She nodded, grateful the cowboy couldn't see her face at the moment, giving her a chance to regain her composure. “I want her to follow me,” Ava told him, turning her head as she spoke, finding his eyes bright with desire.

  Taking her hand, Noah showed her the command she'd need and then stood back just a step to let Ava take the helm. Feeling a little silly, she stood tall, summoning all the confidence she had, and motioned to the horse. Maggie started toward her instantly and Ava smiled, taking a step back to start moving around the pen.

  “Um, how do I tell her to stop,” Ava asked the second time around the pen, realizing that they might continue around in circles all night otherwise, Maggie appearing perfectly content to follow Ava's movements.

  Noah showed her from where he stood, leaning against the fence, watching her from the other side of the pen. She motioned for Maggie to stop and the horse complied instantly. Ava reached out her hand automatically, stroking the animal's smooth head, pleased with their mutual accomplishment.

  “That was amazing!” she beamed, having had no idea that working with a horse could be so enthralling. Though, it didn't hurt that the trainer could have been GQ’s sexiest man of the year.

  “Yes, you were,” Noah commented huskily, the combination of Ava's enthusiasm and her femi
nine curves driving him crazy.

  Since he'd started helping Will out, he'd made it a policy to keep his distance from the newcomers vacationing on the ranch. They'd show up usually more interested in bashing country living than learning about it, sticking up their noses at any task or ranch hand they felt was beneath them. Unfortunately, it usually didn't take them long to figure out who he was though, and then he was stuck fending off every uppity young gold-digger throughout the entire duration of their stay. But, there was something different about Ava, and he just couldn't help himself.

  Ava was quiet as Noah walked over to where she stood, still gently stroking the horse.

  “What do you say we let Maggie have a rest?” he asked, stopping just inches away from her.

  Ava nodded, wondering what he had in mind once Maggie was resting.

  “Then, tell her,” he told her, walking over to the gate and opening it up without attaching the rope the horse had worn when she was brought in.

  Ava panicked a little; it was one thing to guide the horse around an enclosed pen, but it was something else to be responsible for her out in the open.

  “Remember, all you have to do is know what you want, and you can have it,” Noah's voice was soothing but she was beginning to think he might also be an expert in double innuendos.

  Using the motions Noah had taught her, she focused her attention on the task at hand and lead Maggie out of the pen, through the open field and into the stable. Once there, Noah secured the horse in her stall and then turned to drape the rope over one of the hooks on the stable wall. Turning to follow his movements, Ava caught sight of the wall and her eyes grew large, noticing a multitude of strange and cruel-looking implements there, including a row of whips like the one John had been holding earlier. Noah recognized her response before she could cover it and he smiled devilishly.

  “They're not meant to harm the horse. At least, they shouldn't be,” he told her, lifting one of the whips off of its hook. “See,” he told her, letting the end of the whip dangle, sliding it slowly up Ava's arm, across her bare shoulders and down the length of her other arm.

  “That doesn't hurt, does it?” he asked, leaning close to whisper in her ear as he moved in slow circles around her wrist with the whip's end.

  “No,” she admitted, her whole body tingling with arousal. “But, I don't think that's how it's supposed to be used.”

  “Maybe not. But when something can feel good, why use it for anything else?” he asked, his eyes meeting Ava's gaze.

  She didn't think what Noah was saying had anything to do with horses anymore, and that was fine with her. “Two can play at this game,” she thought, a smile curving up the edges of her full lips.

  With her free hand, she moved to Noah's wrist, trailing her fingers up his arm slowly, across his broad, muscular chest and down his arm to the hand holding the whip. “But why use anything else? Wouldn't you rather touch me...wouldn't you rather feel me beneath your fingers?”

  “Let's find out,” he said easily, returning the whip to its hook on the wall. He started at her neck this time, allowing his fingers to slide down over her collarbones. He slowed as he reached the upper swells of her breasts, hovering there for a moment, and he watched as Ava's body moved, her chest jutting forward just slightly of its own volition, trying to spur on his descent. Instead, he traced the outline of her breasts, gliding down her sides to her hips.

  “I think you may be right, but I'd like to explore more to be sure,” he whispered against her ear before his hands started sliding upward. This time as he reached her breasts, he didn't detour, his palms grazing over her nipples, amplifying the arousal coursing through her and making her throb with desire. Noah leaned forward, his lips hovering just a hair's breadth from her own, so close her lips began to quiver in anticipation

  Voices sounded several yards from the barn, barely audible at first but growing louder as a group of four or five men approached. Ava closed her eyes fighting against a wave of frustration as Noah gritted his teeth, his hands leaving her body.

  “Noah? You in there?” one of the voices asked, the group now not more than three or four yards from the barn. “One of your guys came looking for you. Says there's a problem on one of your ranches.”

  “Damn!” Noah cursed silently. Not only had they interrupted at the most inopportune time, but they were hollering out information he didn't want Ava to have. Sure, his gut told him there was something different about her, but he wasn't banking two weeks of gold-digging on it.

  “Sorry, Ava. But I guarantee you they're going to come barging in here in about a minute and a half,” he smiled ruefully all the while his hands itched to touch her again, to explore all the areas he'd yet to discover.

  She nodded, looking around for another exit. Finding none, she looked up at Noah quizzically.

  “I don't suppose there's a secret door hiding in one of these stalls?” she mused aloud.

  “Sorry. Only one way out of here, but it'll be fine,” he assured her, having no doubt that every ranch hand knew of his no-fraternizing-with-the-vacationers policy.

  Nearly one and a half minutes later on the dot, the big stable door opened as four men of various ages walked in. They came to an abrupt halt, most of them eyeing her appreciatively while the eldest of the group turned a quizzical eye toward Noah. It was obvious that none of them had been expecting to find anyone inside with Noah, but he was already leading her toward the now-open exit. He stopped when he reached the group, casually telling Ava how to get back to the cabins before turning his attention to the group, talking quietly as she continued on outside.

  Ava padded back to the cabin, tiptoeing up the steps of the front porch. The last thing she wanted was to have to explain herself to Christie. She entered the cabin, opting for a night on the living room sofa rather than disturbing her friend in the shared bedroom. Every inch of her body was revved up, still sensitive even to the brush of the sofa's canvas-like fabric. The rub, so different from the feel of the fingers that had grazed over her skin just moments before, reminded her of the whip Noah had wielded. God, that was naughty. She'd never been much of a whips and chains kind of gal, but the way he had teased her with it—that was unlike anything she'd ever experienced before.

  Breathing deep, she tried to cool down, knowing she wasn't getting a moment's sleep in her current state. She contemplated taking matters into her own hands, letting her fingers graze along her thighs, but it wasn't her own hands she wanted to feel touching her body, and so it only served to intensify her frustration. She debated sneaking back out to the barn to pick up where they had left off, but she figured she'd just come off as the desperate, sex-starved city girl. Besides, the guy probably had a whole flock of women at his beck and call; Ava had just been within convenient proximity at the time. By now, he was probably long gone, crawling into bed with one of his eager followers.

  “Arghhh!” she fumed, shifting to try to find a more comfortable position on the sofa.

  It wasn't that Ava was a glutton for sex; she had resignedly accepted that her studies didn't provide her with a whole lot of time for a romantic life outside of the occasional weekend fling. It was the damn, sexy cowboy that was throwing her hormones out of whack. Burying her head beneath one of the sofa's throw cushions, she squeezed her eyes shut, forcing pictures of the latest runway designs to fill her mind and drown out the images of the too-hot wrangler. Finally, sometime before the sun began to lighten the sky, Ava's body succumbed to sleep. In slumber, though, she lost command over her thoughts as wild and wanton fantasies filled her dreams, making the night about as restful as a marathon.

  She awoke before Christie the next morning; she'd forgotten that her friend could sleep eight hours through an earthquake and still squeeze in a nap during the aftershocks.

  “That girl sure loves her sleep,” Ava mused silently as she rubbed her shoulders trying to ease the tension that had built over night from her heated dreams and the makeshift bed.

  She tiptoed
to the bathroom, not wanting to risk even the slightest chance of facing Christie just yet, she started the shower and hopped in, letting the cold water cascade down her body and cool her overheated flesh. Wrapped in a towel ten minutes later and hoping her luck would hold, she grabbed her suitcase from the bedroom quietly, bringing it out to the living room. Pulling out one of her favorite dresses, she slipped it on the near-replica of the iconic Marilyn Monroe dress. It was a white, halter-style with a tight-fitting bodice that plunged low, revealing ample cleavage. The ruffled skirt fell to her knees and made her feel like a movie star every time it blew in the wind. Sure, it wasn't the most practical choice for a day on the ranch, but it was just Ava's style, whether she was sketching her newest idea or walking around training pens with the sexy as hell Noah.

  She'd just finished brushing out her long locks when Christie sauntered out into the living room. She had to hand it to her friend; she hadn't seen her wearing a smile before noon since Michael Duncan waved at her in the gym at a senior year pep rally in high school. She really did love it here on the ranch.

  “Good morning, Sunshine,” Ava chirped, trying to join in on Christie's good mood.

  “Morning Marilyn,” Christie teased, looking over Ava's outfit. “I didn't think you'd be up already. I figured you'd be sleeping through every minute you could,” she smiled.

  “Nonsense. I've come to find a thing or two here that makes getting out of bed worthwhile.”

  “Oh? And does that thing happen to be the hot guy who was checking you out yesterday?” Christie asked with a grin.

  “What would make you say that? Couldn't I just be happy to be here with you?” Ava feigned exasperation.

  “Sure, you could. But if he had been checking me out, I'd be a hell of a lot happier getting his attention than yours,” she smiled in jest.