Free Mating Seduction-epub by Bonnie Vanak Page A

assured and in control, she guided Diamond through the pattern, her smile wide as the Montana plains.
    How he wished she’d smile like that for him.
    One day. Maybe.
    On a horse, Lexie was a rodeo queen. Jackson wanted her to feel the same off her mount. He’d do everything in his power to show her exactly how special she was.
    He clicked the stopwatch. “Seventeen point seven seconds. You beat your own time.”
    As she slid off Diamond, beaming, he added, “Maybe last night motivated you.”
    He enjoyed the pink blush spreading over her sweet cheeks. His blood surged, thick and hot, as he remembered her flushed with passion, her gaze languid, her pouty lips parted in sexual satisfaction.
    That was nothing, darling. Just wait until later.
    “Again. But this time, don’t use the stop watch. I want to practice leaning into the turns to make them tighter.”
    “You practiced this morning, after I left the cabin. I saw you at dawn going into the stables.” He watched her cheeks color. “It’s okay, Lex. I figured you wanted to see Diamond, so I left the west door open for you.”
    “Thanks,” she said softly.
    I’d do more for you, if you let me , he thought, his chest suddenly tight. I’d do anything for you for the rest of our lives, if you agreed to be my mate.
    Sitting on the corral’s railing as she started racing around the barrels once more, he watched intently and scented a flood of heavy perfume wafting through the air.
    “Hi, Cora,” he said, not bothering to turn around.
    “How did you know it was me?” She climbed onto the railing and joined him.
    Could smell you several hundred feet away . “I have good senses.”
    “And many other assets,” she said in a sultry voice.
    Jackson fell silent, studying Lexie’s moves.
    As they watched her lean into the turns, Cora gave a little sniff. “She’s not bad.”
    “Lexie’s the best,” he said quietly. “She knows she’s good, but never brags about it.”
    Another noxious smell slammed into his nostrils. Bart Baker rode up on a ranch golf cart and stopped close to the fence.
    “Cora, stop lazing about and get to work.”
    “I’m not lazing around, Daddy. I’m watching my rival and then I’m going to practice my timing to beat her.” She pouted. “Jackson says she’s the best.”
    Bart left the golf cart and stood by the railing, watching Lexie race.
    “She’s good,” he admitted. “You teach her everything she knows, Jackson? Everything you’ve been teaching my Cora?”
    Sensing where this was headed, he hesitated. Last thing he wanted was Bart thinking that Jackson favored Lexie. The rancher would find an excuse to raise Big Boy’s stud fee and Aiden would be furious. He thought fast.
    “Not everything. Some stuff she learned on her own. Lexie’s got a natural seat with that horse. That’s why she’s skilled.”
    Cora sniffed. “She’s lucky, that’s all.”
    “Sometimes it does take luck to win,” he agreed.
    “You need some damn luck, Cora, then you wouldn’t be so slow. Hate paying for lessons only to see you move slower than a cow in winter,” her father said.
    A wounded look crossed Cora’s face, but it vanished quickly. Feeling sorry for his pupil, Jackson aimed a look at her father. “Cora’s doing fine. She just needs a little more practice.”
    Cora pouted. “Hard to find time to do that while working for Daddy”
    “Lexie gets up at the crack of dawn to practice.”
    “You don’t lock the stable?” Cora looked at him, frowning. “The main stable, that’s where you’re stabling Big Boy, with Diamond and the other mares not in season. And you let anyone walk in during the night?”
    “Lexie’s not anyone. We keep the stable doors locked at night.” Jackson curbed his irritation. “I get up earlier than she does, and leave the west door open just for her. Your stud is perfectly safe. He’s secure, in a stall  where no one can touch him.”
    Bart grunted. “Stop your caterwauling, Cora. Big Boy’s