Confined with the CEO and the Bodyguard

possible way to make a connection. As I hold Cookie’s bridle for her to dismount, I wonder, what is it about this woman that draws me?
From the moment I set eyes on her, I wanted her. The two weeks of physical separation only heightened my need to touch her. Kiss her.
Oh, man. I am in so far over my head.
“Kick your feet out of the stirrups,” I instruct as though being near Sadie hasn’t fried my brain. “Now, bring your leg over the horse and slide down.
Sadie tries. Her long legs are slim. She winces and sits back down. Cookie blows out a tolerant sigh. “Ow. I didn’t realize it would make me sore like this.”
On her second attempt, Sadie makes it. But she doesn’t stick the landing. Instead, she crumples and would have fallen if I hadn’t dropped Cookie’s reins to scoop her up.
My heart hammers against my ribs. Sadie’s heavier than I expected, pure bone and muscle. But when her wiry arms wrap around my neck, there is no mistaking the sweet press of her breasts against my chest.
Oh, I am so fucked. I want her so badly.
“Dakota,” she says in a husky voice. “Thank you for the lesson. And for rescuing me.”
I’m confused by what she means. We hold on to one another for a little too long. Then, my Horse 101 training kicks in and I abruptly let go of her. Disappointment flashes over her face as Sadie turns away to remove her helmet. I retrieve Cookie’s reins.
“You didn’t need rescuing,” I tell her. She must have meant how I kept her from falling when her knees gave out. “Riding uses different muscles. I should have warned you. Eventually, you get used to it.”
I do not miss the way she glances at my thighs. Heat rushes through me. The imprint of her body against mine is burned into my skin.
“Would you like to come and help me put Cookie away?” I ask.
“Sure. I’ve never been in a barn before,” Sadie says. She glances around curiously.
Long-suffering, patient Cookie plods behind us. Sadie and I walk the aisle, our bodies inches apart. Tension crackles in the air between us like static electricity ready to zap the first person who makes contact. My fingers are unsteady as I remove Cookie’s tack and hang it on the post outside her stall. Sadie is looking at the dappled gray gelding in the stall across the aisle.
“What’s this one’s name?”
“Diablo.”
She laughs. “Why did you name him ‘devil’?”
I close Cookie’s stall door and lean against the jamb. “Because he’s a pain in the ass. His first owners thought to breed him, but changed their minds. Most horses are gelded before they exhibit problem behaviors. Diablo lost his nuts a little too late. Still thinks he’s a stallion, don’t you, boy?”
Diablo is my horse. I rub his nose. It’s velvety soft. He seeks my hand, knowing I often give him a treat. When he doesn’t find one, he jerks his head away.
The tension between us is thick. Sadie stands close to me. I’m not sure which of us moves first, but my hand brushes the indentation of her waist and her palm rests lightly on my bicep. Our eyes meet. Her pupils are black and dilated, her lips softly parted. Her breath is warm on my cheek.
“Sadie,” I say in a low, hoarse voice. “I want you. I’ve wanted you for weeks.”
Her response is to kiss me.
Our lips meet, eager and seeking, exploring the precise contours of each other. With a husky gasp, she presses against me. Her breasts pillow and press against my chest. She feels like silk and steel. Her hips are hard planes but the flat expanse of her stomach is pliant beneath my touch. I want to strip her naked and explore every inch of her exquisite body.
I pull back. Sadie shudders, her shoulders twitching with tremors. “Come inside and see the house.”
There’s no way I’m going to fuck her in a barn. Not for the first time, anyway, and it’s clear that’s where things are headed. We need a bed, now.
She nods once, her sharp chin bobbing decisively. “Show me.”
In the two weeks and two days—not that anyone’s counting—since Sadie’s arrival, neither Beau nor I have taken the time to show her around the ranch. I lead her up the hill, with my arm draped over her slim shoulders, adjusting my stride to match hers. We move in lust-hazed unison. My stomach is a cage full of agitated butterflies.
We kick off our boots at the entrance and wash our hands in the outdoor spigot.
“Welcome to the Big House,” I say. Our footfalls are soft on the polished brick herringbone floors.
“The vigas are beautiful,” she says, scanning the barrel ceilings overhead. Before I moved here, I didn’t know the wood beam design was a part of traditional adobe architecture. I just liked the way they looked. But she would know, if she grew up here.
How is it possible to fall in love with a woman you’ve barely talked to? It was instant. Yet I can’t keep her for myself. Beau and I already have an agreement.
I don’t like to think about what Sadie would think if she knew.
“I first learned what they were when I came here,” I tell her. I should have said when I bought the ranch. There’s no real reason why I don’t. It’s habitual, that’s all.
“From Chicago?” she asks.
“Yeah.” I’m not sure how she knew this about me. Beau must have told her.
“I’ve never been. Spent most of my life here in New Mexico,” she says. “Dakota, can I be honest?”
“Please.” I pretend to bow, which I quickly regret due to the bulge in my jeans. I want them off my body. Fortunately, my green-eyed guest has the same idea. She stalks toward me, barefoot. I notice that her toes are long and carefully painted hot pink.
“I’m not here to see the architecture.” Her voice is husky, but there is nothing teasing about it. She is