Chelsea shakes her head.
“Josh. He sat by my bedside day and night until I woke up from my coma. I know he is a bit of a pillock, and at times he drives me insane. We aren’t related by blood, but I consider him more of a brother than Malachi and Gage. So, coming back to your previous question about whether I trust Josh or not, the answer is yes. With my life.”
Chelsea stills and finally I think I’m getting through to her. “Don’t give up on Jupiter,” she says softly, a sentiment I know my mother would share. I should have agreed to let my father euthanise Jupiter after the accident, but something, something always told me she was worth saving and worth fighting for. Maybe it’s this moment.
“Six months,” I say under duress.
Chelsea’s lip quivers. “What?”
“Jupiter is a wild horse, Chelsea. If you’re serious about breaking her in, then my terms are that you spend every day with her over the next six months. Six months of handling her, six months of getting her used to having a bridle on her face, a bit in her mouth and a saddle on her back. But no one is to ride her until she is ready and the six-month time period has elapsed. And the person who will be sitting in the saddle will be me. Together we will teach her to obey simple commands.”
I must be a glutton for punishment but the saying ‘get right back up on the horse’ springs to mind.
“Six months is a little excessive just to saddle-break her, don’t you think?” A frown washes over Chelsea’s face as realisation hits her. “Six months? I won’t be here then.”
I shrug. “Then I guess Jupiter will remain as she is.”
“You’ll have to do better than that if you’re trying to coax me into staying.”
“Oh, I’m sure I can—” I stop talking when Chelsea leans forward and places the daisy chain she made on my head. Such an innocent gesture.
I laugh and raise my hand to remove it. “Thanks, but this isn’t a good look for me.”
She captures my hand in hers. “No, leave it.” My focus shifts from the ridiculous flowers that dangle over my brow to Chelsea. Her face is alight with a smile as she looks at my daisy crown. “It looks good.”
We lean in to each other like the attracting ends of two magnets. Our gazes are fixed, her breaths silent, though her lips are puckered. I place my hand around the small of her back and pull her into me. Her chest is pinned to mine, our breaths gliding into one another’s.
“I’m going to kiss you now,” I say, closing any remaining distance between us, but instead of a kiss what I get is whipped in the face by long strands of her hair that are picked up by the breeze.
“This is one of the reasons you should tie your hair up.” I laugh and take a step back. I release the small of her back, and just like that the moment is gone. I take the daisy chain from my head, and for some bizarre reason I stuff it into my pocket.
Chelsea doesn’t move from the spot, and, taking a hair tie she has around her wrist, she reaches up and secures her long tresses into a high ponytail. “Better?” she asks and, looking down, shifts awkwardly from foot to foot.
“Much better,” I say, and place my hand around the back of her head. Her ponytail fits snugly between my fingers as I pull her into me. Our lips crash together. I’m walking forward, causing her to walk back until her back collides with a nearby tree trunk. My erection presses into her, leaving her in no doubt how much she is affecting me.
Her eyes are hooded and her lips red and swollen.
“You want me.” My words are not a question, but a statement.
Chelsea
Igaze into Lucian’s piercing green eyes. The way he looks at me takes my breath away.
I swallow the lump in my throat. I’m afraid he’s going to try to fix me. Put together all my broken pieces. The problem is he’s placed me on a pedestal and that means I have a long way to fall. As cowardly as it sounds, I don’t want to fall and break all over again.
I reach for Lucian’s hand, but I have no idea what exactly I want other than more of him and more of this. It’s been months—no, years since I’ve been this close to a man and felt a man’s desire. Everything inside me is charged and every nerve ending heightened.
“You’re mine.” He is standing so close to me that his words escape into my mouth, and it’s as though I absorb every syllable.
The leaves above rustle and sway in the soft breeze, causing shards of light to shine down around us like tiny laser beams. Pretty pink petals from the tree’s blossoms float down around us. Everything is perfect. Everything.
“You were mine from the moment I first laid eyes on you,” he says and, fisting my ponytail between his fingers, pulls me into him for a kiss. In my mind I’m telling him I don’t belong to anyone. But in reality, I say nothing. I leave all of my inhibitions behind and kiss him back with matching synchronicity.
Our bodies are so close, and it’s as though on instinct that he grinds against me. I meet his pressure with my own unspoken desire and push my hips forward, chasing his touch.
“You’re playing with fire,” he scolds.
“I’m not afraid of getting burnt.” My words are a lie. I’m terrified, and yet I can’t help but goad him.