would put my fears and insecurities at ease. There wasn’t a damn thing I could think of doing to assuage my doubts. Peyton was capable of lying, and so was Avery. I didn’t think I would ever believe anything either of them tried to tell me about what had happened between them back in Avery’s crazy days. Did Paisley even know?
At the same time, I could easily recognize the ugliness inside of myself, just like Peyton had pointed out. It wasn’t fair for me to judge her in this manner. There were probably many more people I’d be more shocked at her sleeping with than one of my brothers. And yet that was ugly, too, judging her for it. She was right. It was her job. And I was letting her job get in the way of the horse rehab project.
At least, I was letting it get in the way of the business meeting we were supposed to be conducting right now.
“Okay,” she said. “Open your eyes. Turn around.”
I turned around slowly, and Peyton was standing in front of me, completely naked. My mouth dropped open immediately. I knew a gentleman would turn away, or at least avert his eyes from the display, but I was rooted in place, helpless to the magnificence that was Peyton Crow divested of every distracting fabric layer.
She was just as lithe and athletic as I’d thought she would be — even if I hadn’t realized until now that these were things I was actively thinking about. Peyton’s body was perfectly proportioned, long and lean and devoid of anything that didn’t matter. What at first I thought was a dark birthmark in her bikini area turned out to be, upon closer study, a small tattoo of a galloping horse, its mane and tail unfurling forever in a wind perhaps only Peyton felt. How many men had seen that small expression of her soul and truly understood it? How many hadn’t noticed it at all, preferring to lose themselves in the pleasure she offered them? Was I in danger of losing myself to her, too, becoming one more body in the trail she left behind?
I gulped and forced my eyes to meet hers, trying to convince myself that she wasn’t totally nude in front of me, that everything was normal.
We stared at each other for a few long moments, as if each of us was waiting on the other to make a move, and then Peyton smirked.
“What?” I asked, my voice sounding strange to my ears. “What’s funny?”
“You’re funny,” she said. “It’s like you’ve never seen a naked woman before.”
“That’s not true. I’ve seen plenty of naked women —”
“In person?”
I tried not to snap at her, tried to hold back on how badly that offended me. Just because I was the hardest worker out of all of my brothers didn’t mean that I never had time for company with the fairer sex. I wasn’t a virgin. I just didn’t have that many partners in my past. I hadn’t cared to. I had other pursuits on my mind — namely, the success of the ranch and the following of my dreams.
“I’m only teasing,” she said, doing a cute little pose that did absolutely nothing to relieve my anxiety. “What can I do to help you relax? I have a couple of things in mind. Do you have any suggestions?”
“You could put your clothes back on and we could talk business,” I said.
“Oh, now you want to talk business?” she asked, arching her eyebrows. “No, no, no. That’s just not going to be possible right now. We have some issues to work out, you and I, and they aren’t going to work themselves out. Strip.”
“Peyton, this is ridiculous —”
“Strip.”
What was ridiculous was that I couldn’t resist her. I found myself out of my shirt and unbuttoning my jeans before I second guessed what I was doing, but then it was easier to just go ahead and comply. When a woman like Peyton Crow told you to get rid of your clothes and join her in your most natural form … well, you fucking did it.
She smiled at my erection, but it was an appraising smile, not a mocking one. It should’ve made me feel insecure, but it didn’t. She
At the same time, I could easily recognize the ugliness inside of myself, just like Peyton had pointed out. It wasn’t fair for me to judge her in this manner. There were probably many more people I’d be more shocked at her sleeping with than one of my brothers. And yet that was ugly, too, judging her for it. She was right. It was her job. And I was letting her job get in the way of the horse rehab project.
At least, I was letting it get in the way of the business meeting we were supposed to be conducting right now.
“Okay,” she said. “Open your eyes. Turn around.”
I turned around slowly, and Peyton was standing in front of me, completely naked. My mouth dropped open immediately. I knew a gentleman would turn away, or at least avert his eyes from the display, but I was rooted in place, helpless to the magnificence that was Peyton Crow divested of every distracting fabric layer.
She was just as lithe and athletic as I’d thought she would be — even if I hadn’t realized until now that these were things I was actively thinking about. Peyton’s body was perfectly proportioned, long and lean and devoid of anything that didn’t matter. What at first I thought was a dark birthmark in her bikini area turned out to be, upon closer study, a small tattoo of a galloping horse, its mane and tail unfurling forever in a wind perhaps only Peyton felt. How many men had seen that small expression of her soul and truly understood it? How many hadn’t noticed it at all, preferring to lose themselves in the pleasure she offered them? Was I in danger of losing myself to her, too, becoming one more body in the trail she left behind?
I gulped and forced my eyes to meet hers, trying to convince myself that she wasn’t totally nude in front of me, that everything was normal.
We stared at each other for a few long moments, as if each of us was waiting on the other to make a move, and then Peyton smirked.
“What?” I asked, my voice sounding strange to my ears. “What’s funny?”
“You’re funny,” she said. “It’s like you’ve never seen a naked woman before.”
“That’s not true. I’ve seen plenty of naked women —”
“In person?”
I tried not to snap at her, tried to hold back on how badly that offended me. Just because I was the hardest worker out of all of my brothers didn’t mean that I never had time for company with the fairer sex. I wasn’t a virgin. I just didn’t have that many partners in my past. I hadn’t cared to. I had other pursuits on my mind — namely, the success of the ranch and the following of my dreams.
“I’m only teasing,” she said, doing a cute little pose that did absolutely nothing to relieve my anxiety. “What can I do to help you relax? I have a couple of things in mind. Do you have any suggestions?”
“You could put your clothes back on and we could talk business,” I said.
“Oh, now you want to talk business?” she asked, arching her eyebrows. “No, no, no. That’s just not going to be possible right now. We have some issues to work out, you and I, and they aren’t going to work themselves out. Strip.”
“Peyton, this is ridiculous —”
“Strip.”
What was ridiculous was that I couldn’t resist her. I found myself out of my shirt and unbuttoning my jeans before I second guessed what I was doing, but then it was easier to just go ahead and comply. When a woman like Peyton Crow told you to get rid of your clothes and join her in your most natural form … well, you fucking did it.
She smiled at my erection, but it was an appraising smile, not a mocking one. It should’ve made me feel insecure, but it didn’t. She
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