Read Spurred On (The Quick and the Hot) for Free Online Page B

drive, her heart racing out of control.
    The ranch truck was parked there as promised, the engine idling.
    Night was falling, the shadows stretching, eating up the ground. She hoped no one had noticed her taking a walk or Hayden leaving. Of course it could be construed they were meeting for a tryst.
    Which after that kiss might be right. Damn, the cowboy was a fine man. Every flip of his tongue had sent her higher and higher up the steep cliff of want. The kisses she’d experienced in the past had been fumbling compared to his confident caress.
    He’d taken control of her mouth, commanded her every movement. Without thought she’d responded and longed to give him more.
    The warmth between her thighs grew. Since he’d kissed her she’d been soaking wet. Even fingering herself to two shuddering orgasms in the bathtub before dinner hadn’t eased her.
    She quickened her pace to reach the passenger door of the truck. The logo on the side reminded her where she was—the Cole Ranch. Her father’s land.
    Dallying with Hayden wasn’t a good idea. Still when she hitched herself onto the bench seat beside him, she couldn’t stop her smile.
    His eyes sparked. Just as quickly his expression grew grim.
    Her heart flipped and dropped into her stomach. Tangling her fingers together, she stared out the windshield. “Thanks for doing this.”
    “We both know it’s a risk.” He slipped the truck into gear and headed down the driveway. They’d cut across a main road leading through the ranch, then set off into the field right to the calf.
    She swallowed hard. While the calf was on their property, the tag in its ear stated clearly who it belonged to.
    “My guess is that Joseph Michaels left it to die because of its deformity.”
    Hayden cut a hard look at her. “That’s a serious accusation. Any rancher worth his salt would put that animal out of its misery. It can’t thrive out in the open as the other cows do, and it’s obviously sick.”
    “Yeah, well, I see our neighbor for what he really is even if my father doesn’t.”
    He stared at her openly, not bothering to glance at the road as he guided the truck down the straight stretch at a slow pace. The weight of his gaze prompted her to speak.
    “Daddy sent me up to Joseph Michaels’s place with a load of feed. His shipment was late or something. When I pulled into the yard, I saw Joseph with horse reins in his hands, doubled over, and whipping his dog.”
    Hayden’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He directed his attention to the road once more.
    “The animal was bleeding and yipping. And well, I jumped out and confronted him.”
    He sucked in a sharp breath. In the fading light, his eyes were strangely brighter in the same way grass seemed greener when twilight descended. “He didn’t try to hurt you, did he?”
    The harshness in his voice ripped through her senses and warmed her insides. She shook her head. “No, he stopped hitting the hound, and it ran off.”
    “Did he try to explain himself?”
    “Not at all. It was as if he had the right to do such a thing, and he spoke to me without a hint of guilt on his face.” She shivered at the memory. Joseph Michaels might be her father’s comrade, but she’d never call a man who could draw blood on his animal a friend.
    “Well, some of the old-school guys, they were raised to treat dogs that way.”
    “There’s more.” Her words fell between them, a quiet but ticking bomb.
    Hayden reached across the seat and placed his hand over hers. She realized she’d been twisting them. She let them drop to her lap. His hand remained, warm, dry fingers moving over hers in the faintest caress that lit her soul on fire.
    “I don’t need to hear more. Not right now. Let’s just get this calf.”
    In silence they bumped up the driveway. When he put it into four-wheel drive to head into the field, he removed his hand from hers. The loss left a pit in her belly.
    If they hadn’t been on a mission, the drive might