Free Love Me Like No Other by A. C. Arthur

direction before downing its contents.
     
    Was it just her or did the sun shine extra bright today?
    Jade inhaled deeply letting the not-so-fresh airfill her lungs. She stood in front of the stables watching while the stable boy saddled a caramel-colored mare for her. Linc saddled his own horse. She stared as the muscles in his back rippled and bulged with his motions. The horse stood perfectly still as if he knew that Lincoln would tolerate nothing less.
    That’s how it was with Linc. She noticed that everyone around him seemed to operate on command, not doing or saying anything that he hadn’t personally requested for fear of what his reaction might be. The stable boy hadn’t made any attempt to retrieve Linc’s horse or saddle him for that matter. In fact, the young man had waited patiently for Linc to instruct him as to which horse she would ride.
    “Saddle up Lily. She’s mild tempered,” Linc had finally instructed.
    Jade bristled at the comment. “Does that mean you think I need a mild-tempered horse? I’ll have you know that I’ve ridden a horse before.”
    He’d given her a curious look, one that was becoming quite familiar to her. One that made her wonder what he was thinking. “You’ve never ridden in this terrain and you’ve never ridden prize horses.”
    “Are you afraid I’ll hurt your precious horse?” she asked sarcastically.
    What he said next was a complete surprise.
    “I’m more afraid of what will happen if they decide to hurt you.”
    That hadn’t sounded like the Linc she knew so she’d been at a loss for words.
    Linc didn’t seem to notice as he lifted a leg to swing effortlessly into his own saddle. She had to crane her neck to look up at him and wished she hadn’t bothered at all. He was beautiful. They were beautiful together. Lincoln dressed in black jeans and a black T-shirt, his dark complexion framed by the golden sunlight and the majestic ebony creature he sat astride. That horse was made just for him, with a huge build and its shiny coat that said he was well taken care of. It exuded the same power that oozed from Linc. For a brief moment she wondered…just imagined what it would feel like to be so perfectly matched with someone that way.
    “Chad, help her up,” he directed the stable boy.
    Tearing her gaze from him with a heaviness in her chest she couldn’t explain Jade looked at Chad. “I can do it myself.”
    Chad looked from her to Linc, clearly unsure of what to do next. Neither man moved or said a word as she stuck a foot in the stirrup. She grabbed hold of the reins and attempted to hoist herself up as she’d watched Linc do just moments before.
    Her thigh slid unceremoniously down the back of the horse.
    Okay, so she wasn’t smooth enough to get it right the first time, but that was no reason to quit. She tried again…and again until she felt hands go around her waist. Looking over her shoulder she confirmed that it was Linc although the heat soaring through her body had already alerted her to that fact.
    “Don’t be so stubborn,” he said, his warm breath brushing over her ear. He lifted her effortlessly and placed her in the saddle.
    Again, she was speechless.
    Linc mounted his horse again and trotted past her slowly. Her mare began a slow trot and she frowned at his retreating back. “I am not stubborn.”
     
    Jade’s mood was sour. And she didn’t know why. Okay, she had an idea why. For eight years she’d had only the memory of Linc. And that memory was of a careless, selfish coward. That memory was easy to live with.
    In the last two days she’d begun to see something else. Something that she despised even more. He was a gentleman. He obviously loved his family. And he wasn’t totally careless. These things were much harder to swallow.
    In fact, there was no use in listing Linc’s good points. They didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but the fact that by the end of this week that debt would be cleared. She had to focus on only