How to Break a Cowboy by Daire St. Denis Read Free Book Online

any
indication.
    Thankfully, Dallas doesn’t notice my lingering gaze. He
whistles and the young stallion’s ears perk. His shiny black coat glistens in
the late morning sun.
    “Come on over here, you wily bastard,” Dallas calls.
    The horse responds to Dallas’s voice by tossing his head and
nickering.
    “Ah you big show off, get over here.’ He makes a clicking
sound with his mouth and the horse dances over.
    “He’s spirited, isn’t he? You ever ridden him?”
     “I broke him,” he says quietly. “But he’s Wade’s horse now.
I haven’t ridden him in months.” Dallas’s jaw clenches and his nostrils flare
and I’m pretty sure Dallas is talking about more than just the horse.
    The black  approaches and it’s like Dallas said, he lifts
his front hooves as if he’s prancing and showing off for me.
    “Come on, now,” he says and the horse sidles up to the
fence, sniffing and snuffling around Dallas.
    “Is this what you’re looking for, you greedy boy?” Dallas
gives him a handful of oats.
    The horse sniffs at his hand but before he can take a bite,
Dallas takes my hand and drops the oats into my open palm. I hold my hand out
to the horse. He shies away at first and I have an urge to tug my hand away too,
suddenly afraid the unpredictable horse might bite me.
    I love horses, I do. But they scare me a little; they’re so
big and powerful. I try to relax and focus on the way Midnight Run’s nose is
soft and how he blows hot air out of his nostrils as he sniffs at my palm. Then
his big soft lips extend out and snuffle up all the oats, leaving a bit of nose
and mouth slime on my palm.
    I laugh and wipe my open hand down the front of my jeans.
    “He likes you,” Dallas says as the horse sniffs my face and
stays close enough for me to pet him on the nose.
    “I like him too.”
    I glance at Dallas and find him staring at me with those
black, black eyes of his. My cheeks burn under his intense gaze.
    I smile hesitantly when suddenly I cry out because my hair
has just been yanked with a sharp tug.
    “Hey!” Dallas smacks the horse on his nose, making him
release the mouthful of hair he’s tried to snack on. Midnight bares his teeth
at Dallas and then sniffs at my hair again.
    “He thought my hair was hay,” I say. My heart is still
racing from the unexpected tug. Facing my fear, I hold out my hand to the horse
for him to sniff instead of my hair. “It’s okay,” I say, encouraging the big
black beast.
    While I’m focused on the horse, Dallas moves behind me and
takes my hair in his hands, smoothing it into a ponytail at the back of my
head. I don’t know what he uses to tie it with but his hands on my head and in
my hair make me shiver with unexpected pleasure.
    “Thanks,” I say, sounding a little breathless.
    “No problem.” His voice sounds even deeper and huskier than
usual. “I know what it’s like to have long hair get in the way. I used to keep
mine long. I cut it when my mom passed away.”
    “Is that like a spiritual belief?”
    “Yes,” Dallas says. “I’m Ojibwe.” He moves to stand beside
me again.
    Ahh, that would explain the high cheekbones and obsidian
eyes. “So you’re from out East?”
    “Yeah.”
    “How do you like the West?”
    “It has its pros and…cons.” His lips twist and I know he’s
making a play on Connor’s name. He’s looking over my shoulder and I glance
behind me to see Connor walking over with another man beside him.
    “Hey Dallas, can you take Doctor Green over to check on the
late springers?”
    “’Course.” Dallas nods at me and then walks in the other
direction toward the truck.
    “Dallas,” Connor calls. “Tess and I are going riding later.
Do you want to come along?”
    Dallas flicks his gaze to me and then back at Connor.
“Sure,” he says and I think I see that rare hint of a smile on his face. My
body’s reaction is instant. My cheeks flush in conjunction with my nether
regions.
    “What the hell is a late springer?” I