Propositioning Mr. Raine (Riding the Raines Book 1) Read online

  Trina admitted to herself that she was attached to Navarro way too deeply, and also faced the fact that she was letting herself feel too much for him as she put her head down, listening to his heartbeat again. It was slow and steady as he slept. She loved lying on top of him, being wrapped around him, and decided that being skin to skin with him was pure heaven.

  One week had passed, leaving seven more of them to look forward to. In less than two months, Navarro wouldn’t be hers anymore.

  An ache settled in her chest, knowing she was going to get her heart broken. That fact slammed into her brain hard. She was falling for a man who was only with her to save his ranch—a contract made up by a lonely woman looking for good sex with a man who needed money.

  She squeezed her eyes closed, knowing in that moment that falling completely in love with Navarro was going to be unavoidable—unless she stopped seeing him immediately. The only reasonable decision to make was that, next week, she wouldn’t come back.

  In his sleep, Navarro moved, wrapping his arm around her waist, and his large hand slid down, gripping a handful of her ass. One of his thighs shifted her legs, pushing between. His other hand moved to rub her hip.

  “Thanks,” he mumbled.

  She smiled. Maybe I could stay two weeks and still be able to leave with my heart intact. One week more can’t hurt, right? Then I’ll end it before I get too wrapped up in Navarro to walk away without it tearing me apart.

  She drifted to sleep listening to the sound of his heart.

  Chapter Six

  “Nav? Hello? Wake up.”

  The body on top of Trina’s tensed, waking her. But she didn’t want to wake, so she burrowed tighter against the warmth above her. She realized at some point their positions had changed, since now Navarro was sprawled on top of her. He moved slightly and then cursed.

  “Shit. Get out and give us a minute, Ryder.”

  Trina opened her eyes as some of her sleep fog cleared, remembering where they were instantly, the barn rafter above her a good clue. Navarro was pinning her down and his head was turned to look at something near their feet.

  Ryder? She let her mind search for why that name was familiar, and then it hit her.

  She tensed before lifting her head to stare over Navarro’s shoulder at a longer-haired version of Navarro, only his skin was a lot darker. His eyes were a piercing dark brown, and his features were just a little harsher. His black hair was loose and ran down the front of his tank top almost to his waist. His eyes met hers.

  “Who is this? Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Ryder smirked with amusement.

  “Take a walk and give us some privacy.” Navarro sounded irritated.

  “Do you bring women to the barn often, Nav? I never pictured you for the kinky type.”

  Navarro almost growled. “Damn it, Ryder. I said take a walk. We’ll join you outside in a minute. Willow had a rough birth and we slept here because of it. Now take a hike or I’ll get up and kick your ass.”

  The man peered over his shoulder, glanced at the stall, and his amusement left. “Did Willow do okay? Is the foal sound?”

  “Yeah. Now leave.”

  Ryder turned his attention back on Trina. “I’m Ryder.” He grinned and held out his hand, bending a little at the waist as he reached for her. “I’m his younger brother, and the better-looking one.”

  She waved, avoiding his hand. “It’s nice to meet you but could I shake your hand when I’m dressed?”

  He grinned as he dropped his outstretched hand, straightening to his full height. “I prefer you didn’t. What’s the fun in that?” He chuckled. “Being dressed is overrated, and I prefer naked chicks myself.”

  “Get the fuck out,” Navarro gritted. “On the count of five, I’m going to carefully get up so I don’t flash Trina’s body and then I’ll kick your perverted ass out of the barn the hard way if you don’t move. One. Two.”

  “Spoilsport.” Ryder spun around and walked away.

  Irritation was clear on his features as Navarro stared down at Trina. “Sorry about that. I guess my brother’s band is on a break. I told you they never call before they show up.” He carefully got to his feet, extending his hand to pull Trina up. He turned, finding their clothes, and handed Trina hers. “Get dressed fast. He’s a pervert and it wouldn’t surprise me if he walked back in, trying to catch you naked.”

  She laughed as she started to dress but frowned a few seconds later, searching the area around the bakery container. “My bra is gone.”

  Navarro shoved into his jeans and cursed. “Damn Ryder.” He focused his attention on her chest for a second. “I’ll get it back. He loves to pull pranks so he probably swiped it before he woke us.”

  She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. My shirt is thick and loose enough to mostly hide that I’m not wearing one. He can’t laugh about his prank if you ignore what he’s done.”

  Navarro watched her, grinning. “I see.”

  “I grew up with six boy cousins tormenting me as the only girl, and the best way I found to deal with them was to pretend I didn’t notice what they’d done. I once wore a dress with two happy face stickers stuck to my butt. It drove them nuts that I wouldn’t remove them or give them the satisfaction of acknowledging they were there.”

  He laughed. “What else did they do?”

  “The usual shit. They decorated my dolls with trash, they painted my bike black with spray paint, and I just thanked them and told them they looked better that way. It pissed them off. I guess I was supposed to pitch a fit or cry. I got my revenge plenty though when they hit their teens. They discovered girls and I discovered getting even.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  Trina laughed. “My cousin Marty was the worst and had a mean streak. When he was fifteen, he was all into this girl named Becky and I saw them at the diner together. I figured if there was ever a time to get even, there it was, so I walked up to the table and asked him if that rash on his privates was any better, mentioning my mom could whip him up a new cream if it was still itching like crazy and oozing green goo. You should have seen his face and hers.” Trina giggled. “Oh, I thought he was going to kill me, but he was afraid to mess with me after that. You can bet he didn’t get anywhere with her, with his supposed nasty boy rash. I had my own mean streak.”

  Navarro chuckled, reaching out to cup her face, lifting her chin until she was staring into his eyes. “Thanks for last night. I’m sorry about Ryder. Adam wouldn’t have come in here, seeing your SUV still parked outside.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “This wasn’t how I planned our night.”

  “It’s really all right, and I’m glad it turned out this way.” She waved toward the stall. “Watching a foal being born was amazing, and so were you.”

  He pulled her closer. “Why don’t I make it up to you tonight?”

  Temptation was there but she shook her head. “Your brother came home and you get two days to yourself. I’ll see you on Sunday, right? Eight o’clock?”

  “I’d like to see you tonight.”

  “You don’t owe me for last night, Navarro. Seriously.” She went on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Your brother is waiting.” She dropped to her heels and then spotted the container. “Oh. I hope you don’t mind but I was bored yesterday so I baked.” She pointed. “I’ll get going.”

  A hand shot out to grip hers, his intense gaze locked on her while his fingers played with her wrist. “I would like you to come over tonight. It’s not about making anything up to you.” He moved closer. “I want you.”

  There was no missing the passionate look, and she responded to it. “Okay.”

  “Come hungry at six o’clock because I’m grilling steaks. You eat them, right?”

  “I love them.”

  “Now let me introduce you to Ryder…and expect to get hit on. He loves blondes and the guy never misses an opportunity to try to get one into his bed.”

  Outside, it wasn’t just Ryder waiting but Adam wa