I rolled onto mine so we could look into each other’s eyes. He reached out and gently traced the lines of my face with his finger.
“You’re really, really beautiful,” he said softly. “I love looking at you.”
“Thank you.” I wanted to blush but he’d already seen me naked and been inside of me. Frankly, I thought it was delightful and romantic that he found me beautiful. “I think you’re incredibly handsome as well.”
“Thank you.” His eyes twinkled but I wasn’t sure what was funny.
“What?” I asked. “Should I not tell you I think you’re handsome?”
“Sure you should. I just think it’s funny we’re sitting here getting down and dirty in a cottage on your grandfather’s land, even though we can’t do it at the main house.”
“We’re not supposed to be doing it here either, but it happens. The boys—Mac and Finn, anyway—still bring girls here late at night. Merrie’s good about coming to change the bedding.”
“What about you?” he teased.
“A lady never tells,” I said with a laugh.
“Fair enough.” He reached out to run a hand along the curve of my hip. “Do we have time to go again or should we start heading back?”
“We should probably head back,” I said reluctantly. “I’d love to spend the afternoon here in bed, but the horses need to be tended to and we’ll need to shower and dress for dinner.”
“The seriousness of the situation at the house has now become critical,” he said slowly. “I never really thought about the no-sex rule, but now…” His voice trailed off, and I chuckled.
“Believe me, we all hate it. Granddad is a good man, but he has his quirks.”
“So we’re going to have to get a hotel room to do this again?”
“That or we can come riding every day.”
Our gazes locked and I nearly squirmed with need at the look in his eyes. It was like he wanted to eat me alive, and I couldn’t wait to let him.
“We can get a hotel room,” he said, “but to be honest, your grandfather scares me a little, so I don’t want to do anything overtly disrespectful.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll think of something.”
We cleaned up and got dressed. Dax packed up the remnants of our lunch and wine while I went out to check on the horses and dry off the saddles. I rubbed Sassy’s nose and spoke softly to her.
“Sorry I left you out here so long,” I said to her, nuzzling her. “But I’ve waited a very long time for Dax and me to get together. You understand, don’t you?”
Sassy nuzzled my shoulder, pushing me back a bit, as if giving me a hard time about being left in the rain while I had sex, and I laughed.
“We ready to go?” Dax asked, joining me by the horses.
I smiled over at him. “I’ve wiped down the saddles, so we can head back to the main house. I’ll get them settled in the barn and you can go shower.”
“I’ll help you do whatever you have to do with the horses,” he said. “I’m happy to do my part. Aladdin and I are buddies now. Aren’t we, big guy?” He rubbed Aladdin’s neck before putting his left foot in the stirrup and swinging his right leg over Aladdin’s back. Dax was strong and moved easily, even with something he wasn’t used to like horseback riding. It was sexy to watch and had been even sexier when he’d been touching me. Kissing me. Making love to me.
“You’re a natural,” I told him, swinging up onto Sassy’s back and trying to distract myself.
“I’m just a natural athlete,” he said. “If there’s physical skill required to do it, I’m going to figure it out. It’s part of how I’m wired.”
“I can see that.”
We took the trail back toward the main house and I glanced up at the sky. It was going to rain again, so it was good we were heading back, even though I’d hated to leave the privacy of the cottage.
“I didn’t realize how late it was,” Dax said after a moment. “I thought it was maybe midafternoon. I didn’t realize it was already six.”
“And dinner’s promptly at seven, so we need to shower and change right away.”
“What about the horses?”
“I’ll rub them down quickly and Phay will take care of the saddle and such.”
“If you show me how, I’ll help.”
“You don’t have to.” I met his gaze.
“But I want to. In case you haven’t noticed, I like spending time with you, Isla.”
“Oh, believe me. I noticed.”
8
Dax
We took care of the horses and then parted ways to rush to our rooms, shower and change. I pulled on jeans and a polo shirt since tonight was casual, family only, and slid my feet into deck shoes. This was different for me because I wore flip-flops and running shoes most of the time in the off-season in Vegas. I spent at least half the season in suits and dress shoes, so in the summer, I kept it casual. It was different here, though. Not just because the Campbells were a lot more formal, but it was also a lot cooler. It was still in the fifties and sixties during the day, unlike the hundred-degree days we were getting in Vegas.
I stepped into the hall and ran into Isla’s youngest brother, Finlay, or Finn.
“Hey, how’s it going?” I asked him.
“Good.” He grinned at me. “How was your ride this afternoon? Did Aladdin behave for you?”
“He was a perfect angel,” I said, grinning.
“And Isla? Did she behave?”
I chuckled. “You might have to define ‘behave,’ although I probably wouldn’t tell you if she didn’t.”
He laughed. “That’s not what I meant at all—gross. I don’t want to think about my sister shagging anyone.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said with a straight face. “That’s not allowed here and I would never break the rules.”
We both laughed as we made our way to the dining room, where Isla
