Free Love All Out - The Complete Series (A Stepbrother Romance) by Alice Ward Page B

you,” Matt said as I walked into the barn. “I’m going to head home. I hope you brought a book or something, I got all the chores done already.”
    “All by yourself?” I asked with wide eyes.
    “Don’t look so impressed. Things have been running smoothly since Renee started working here. I did all the daily stuff, but there was nothing that needed to be caught up on.”
    “Okay… I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
    I hugged Matt goodbye, grabbed a paperback from my office, and pulled a folding chair into Glory’s stall.
    “Let’s find a name for you little guy, shall we?” I asked the colt.
    “What about Blaze? He could be Blaze of Glory.”
    I was startled by James’s voice and nearly fell out of my chair. I looked up and saw him grinning down at me from the other side of the stall door.
    “I wasn’t expecting you to be back so soon,” I told him.
    “The guys we took riding were real city slickers. A copperhead slithered into camp last night. I killed it with a shovel, but I think that freaked them out even more. They weren’t interested in hanging out around camp this morning. When your dad and I woke up, they were already packed and ready to go,” he explained with a laugh.
    “Your mom is off today, if that’s why you’re here,” I told him. I turned my attention back to my book, hoping he’d realize he was being dismissed.
    “I know she’s off… that’s why I’m here.” He opened the stall door and stepped inside. “I just spent the last two days with a bunch of overweight, sweaty men. I needed to see something beautiful.”
    I glanced down at the colt. “He is beautiful, isn’t he?” I asked innocently.
    “He’s a good looking horse, but I wasn’t talking about him. And I think you know that,” James answered, his naturally deep voice growing more sultry.
    “Look, James. I appreciate the compliment, but I have work to do. You should go home. I’m sure your mom is waiting to hear all about the first overnight ride.”
    I thought he’d get the point that I didn’t want him there, but James was undeterred.
    “Mom’s not expecting me home until after dark,” he told me. “And that cot over there looks much more comfortable than the forest floor. What do you say we test it out… see how much action it can handle before the legs collapse?” He stared at me and I knew he was picturing me naked.
    “I say that’s a waste of a perfectly good cot,” I replied. I wanted him so badly, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that.
    “Come on, Willow. You know you want to.” He stepped closer to me and crouched down next to my chair. He pushed my hair back from my face and then lifted my chin, turning my face until I was looking at him. “I felt those spasms that rocked through your body when we were together. It’s all I could think about when I was sitting in front of the fire last night. Let me see if I can make you feel even better than last time.”
    I dropped the book and studied James with narrowed eyes. “I don’t know if you’ve picked up on this, but something’s going on between our parents. The last thing we need to do is sleep together again. With the way things are going, we may be related soon.”
    “Nothing’s going on with my mom and Cole,” James said with a snort. “My dad will always be the love of her life. She’d never get involved with someone else, especially your father.”
    “And just what the hell is wrong with my father?” I snapped.
    “Nothing,” he replied with a shrug. “But he’s the complete opposite of my dad. He’s not her type.”
    “Well I don’t think she’s his type either, but that doesn’t change the fact that something’s going on between them,” I insisted. “Didn’t you see the way they were laughing together Friday night… and all of the touching?”
    “Mom’s an affectionate person, that’s all. And even if you’re right, things will never get serious between them. There’s no reason you and