"We need to talk," she blurted out, her gaze down as she jammed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and tapped her foot in the dust.
"Talk away." Magnus pulled another burr from the horse's mane and dropped it on the pile already on the ground beside him. "You have my undivided attention."
"I thought you didn't do business out here?"
"Normally, no. But Killer here has a date with a lovely young mare tomorrow, and he wants to look his best. Judging by the tangles in his mane and tail, it's going to take me awhile, so we need to talk out here or leave it for another day."
Kate turned to scan the area.
"There is no one else within hearing distance at the moment if that is what you are worried about," Magnus said, coming around to her side of the horse. Kate stiffened and stepped back. "What is it you want to discuss?"
"You know what it is," Kate snapped. "You have a deal, but I have to have your promise on something before I sign the papers."
"And what would that be?" Magnus turned to face her.
"You can't tell anyone what I am doing." Her voice softened as she shredded a piece of grass between her fingers. "I don't want Tilly to find out. It would kill her."
"Fine, anything else?"
"No, no that's all apart from having it in writing, the water part anyway," she stammered. "You don't need to put anything else in the agreement. I won't go back on my word."
"That's nice to know. I'll have my lawyer draft something up and give it to you to look over. Will tomorrow suit you?"
"For what?" Her face blanched, and she backed away from him, her eyes huge and Magnus felt a stab of guilt.
"To come and look over the papers, Kate."
"Um, yeah that would be fine," she said. "Um, when do you, I mean, should I..."
"I will let you know when, Kate." He cupped her chin and lifted her face until her gaze met his, his stomach lurching at the uncertainty in her eyes. "When you come to my bed, it will be because you want me as much as I want you."
"That's never going to happen," she said, whipping her chin away from his hand. "This is a business deal, and that's all it is. Don't go getting any fancy ideas that I'll fall for your charms and you can get everything for nothing."
"I wouldn't dream of it, Kate. Be here tomorrow at two o'clock. I'll have the papers ready for you to sign." Magnus turned back to his horse and picked at another tangle.
Kate shuffled her feet, unsure if she should stay or go. Finally she turned and strode back to her truck, her breath hitching in her throat as if she had been given a stay of execution. As calmly as she could, she drove home, only giving way to her nerves when she turned off the key. Her body shook, and her eyes filled with tears. I expected him to drag me into his bed when I arrived and had psyched myself up for sex.
Now that it hadn't happened, the floodgate of emotions burst from her, leaving her weak at the knees. When she had some semblance of control, she got out of the car and saddled her horse for some much needed alone time while she checked the fences for breaks. A few hours in the saddle would calm her nerves and help her sleep easy tonight.
* * *
When Kate arrived the next day, she found Magnus in the corral beside the stables. He was wrapping padded guards around the old stallion's legs while Jock held the lead rope. Killer was whinnying to the mare being restrained by two men on the other side of the coral. This was the mare that Magnus had been holding when she first met him, and it was obvious he was going to mate the pair.
Magnus caught her looking his way, nodded, and gave his attention back to the horse. Kate climbed up on the rails of the fence and sat quietly while they walked the stallion to the mare that was calling for him. Killer quickly mounted his mate. She watched as the joining progressed, never failing to wonder at the magic of the new life that was being made in the paddock in front of her. A natural part of farm life now took on a different meaning when her gaze found that of the man who wanted to possess her body.
She clung to the fence railing with both hands. The heat raced over her body as his dark gaze bored into hers. Her breath caught in her throat, and her body ached with need, a feeling she had never before experienced. The coils of molten fire lurched and twisted through her stomach down to the junction between her thighs. Her tongue brushed over dry lips as she desperately tried to drag her gaze from his, but he held her until his attention was taken with the stallion pulling away from the mare. Killer staggered, his head hanging down with fatigue after a fast and furious coupling.
Kate dropped from the fence and rubbed her sweaty hands over her jeans as she walked away before Magnus could stop her. She sat on the hood of her truck, the sounds of the farm in the background as her body continued to hum with the passion that had threatened to overtake her.
When Magnus found her, Kate was laying back on the hood, her eyes closed against the sun and her hat low over her face.
"That certainly went well," she said with an enthusiasm she didn't feel.
arms out for balance, she rose up to a sitting position. She tipped her hat back so she could see him. "She should have a nice foal out of that."
"That is the general idea. I have
