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“Beautiful, Anna. Fuckin’ prettiest thing I’ve ever seen in my entire twenty-eight years of living. A far cry from just fine,”
But you were already knockin’ down those walls plank by plank with every one of your sweet smiles and understanding touches. Even that smartass mouth that I want to kiss more often than not had me all twisted up inside. It was only wasted time not takin’ that step sooner, on my own. I knew you’d accept me for all I am long before tonight, Anna. You’re too good a woman not to.”
“And tonight? You could have asked me to come with you. I would have. I’m pretty sure I’d go anywhere with you,” I admit, not ashamed of my vulnerability.
“And I’d go anywhere with you. Should have asked you to be my date. I’d have arrived with the prettiest one out there.
It’s been torture enough not kissin’ you since I watched you handlin’ my horse with more care than I’ve ever seen anyone do other than me.
“I like Sky almost as much as I like you. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to like her more when you go and say such beautiful, honest things like that to me. She’s just a horse at the end of the day,”
“And what am I?” he asks, nearly groaning the question. Digging into the well of my confidence, I answer, “My man.”
My man. Her man. Hers, hers, hers. It’s the most important title I think I’ve ever had.
Never loved the feeling of a woman in my arms as much as I do this one.
“You keep lookin’ at me like that and it’ll give me a complex,” I warn before grabbing her by the waist and perching her on top of my jacket. “Looking at you like what?”
“Like you want to lay claim to me,” I groan, curling my fingers in the heavy silk of her dress. It falls open at the movement, and a glance down at her lap has my cock kicking in my slacks. She sucks in a breath that draws my eyes from the bare expanse of thigh exposed from the high slit of her dress and back up to her deep brown ones. “I do. So, so badly.”
“Go ahead. I’m aching to do the same fuckin’ thing.”
“Tell me to stop at any time, Anna. I mean it. Refuse to cross any lines with you, but I have to touch you now. Can’t wait any longer.”
“So soft,” I breathe. The higher I climb, the hotter she gets. “So hot and smooth.” She hums low in her throat, forehead falling forward to rest on my chest so she can watch as I explore. “You forgot something.” “What’s that, sweetheart?” I still my hand, waiting for the answer. Nothing prepares me for it. “Soft, hot, smooth, and very, very wet.” “Christ,”
“Don’t rush me. Want to explore you and learn what makes you scream. What will have you drippin’ down my wrist.” “Brody.” It’s the most beautiful my name has ever sounded. “Been a long time comin’, baby. I want to devour you.”
“I make you come, Anna, you’re mine. No more goin’ in circles. You’ll be my woman.”
“Tell me you understand me. Let me give you that relief,” I beg, curling my fingers on every thrust. “I’ve wanted to be yours for weeks. Take me,”
“Hope you know what it means to be mine, Buttercup,” I warn lightly, half out of breath. “I could say the same thing. I’m not an easy woman.”
“Never liked easy.” “I get jealous. Often. I hate shaving my legs and avoid it at all costs. There’s an entire drawer in my nightstand that’s full of candy and chocolate bars because I’m a late-night snacker, and finally, I turn into a massive bitch when I’m on my period,”
“Before tonight, I wouldn’t have considered myself a jealous man, but one look at you out there and I knew I would have fought every single person who thought to come up and ask you to dance. Body hair hasn’t ever bothered me. You already know I prefer salty to sweet, so as long as you make a bit’a room for me in that drawer of yours for some chips, we’ll be peachy. I grew up around stallions and bulls, so trust that I can weather a few days of attitude while you’re hurtin’.”
I’m confident I’d have an answer for every argument she threw at me. Anna’s mine, no doubt about it. I’m positive I’m making the right choice here.
right now, right here with this gorgeous woman in my arms, her staring at me like I’m the goddamn king of her heart, body, and soul, nothing else matters. Only this.
“There’s not a damn thing you could say that would change my mind,” I declare. She twists her lips deviously. “You know what this means, right?” “Tell me,” I murmur, my eyelids drooping, lips brushing hers. “I’m going to need my own pair of cowgirl boots now. Since I’m going to be spending so much time with you at the ranch and all.” Her cheek-splitting smile steals the breath straight out of my lungs. “You’ll send me to an early grave in a pair of your own boots, Anna. But fuck if I’m not going to take you shopping anyway.”
I don’t need anyone else gawking at him once we leave. That’s my job, and I plan on being employee of the month.
“If you kiss me again, we’ll miss dinner completely,” I warn him, dropping my hand to finish fixing his shirt. “I wouldn’t mind eatin’ you instead of whatever they’ve got out there.”
“Searching for compliments now, are we?” “From you? Absolutely.” My chest flutters. “You’re the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on, let alone had as my own.” “Now you know how I feel every time I look at you.
all I know is that you’re my woman now, and I don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks about it.”
“It’s easier for me to talk to you than it is to write. It’s one of the first things I realized when we first met, both via text and in person. Was easy to talk to you. Easier than it’s been to talk to anyone for months.” I nip at the inside of my cheek, fluttering my lashes. Pride blooms in my chest. “Good.” “Good,” he repeats, his voice a breathy, surprised sound, as if he’s in awe of my simple answer. “Yeah, good. I’m glad we’re on the same page because I could happily talk your ear off every damn day.”
“It would be my honour to sit with you tonight, sweetheart. All you had to do was ask,”
“Find a chair, Brody. Before I use your face as mine.”
“The crowd awaits,” Anna breathes, spinning in my arms to face me. The encouraging glint in her eyes hits me right in the gut. I don’t know if I deserve her. Too bad I’m gonna take her anyway. “Not yet. Not until I’ve danced with you first.”
The photos of you two at the table can be easy enough to brush aside, but dancing with her out there won’t be. This is going to be a PR nightmare.” She’s already texting on her phone before the final word lands. “It’s a good thing that I don’t want to brush her aside, then. I’m dancin’ with my woman, Rita. End of conversation.”
“Are you hintin’ that not all of my songs are good, Annalise?” I tease. She wiggles her brows. “Oh no, you brought out the full name. Did I brush a nerve, Brody?”
“Nobody brushes my nerves the way you do. I don’t let them get close enough,” I admit. “Yet here I am.” I release a breath heavy with the weight of my thoughts and nod. “Yeah. Here you are.” To stay, if I have anything to do with it.
Sending her off in her brother-in-law’s SUV was like having my favourite dessert drifted beneath my nose and being told I couldn’t take a bite out of it. Except I did have a taste, and it was delicious. Still taste her two days later.
“I don’t have it in me to do things just for the purpose of bein’ nice, sweetheart. You’re here with me ’cause there’s nothin’ else I’d rather do today than spend time with you,”
“She loved horses. Loved them more than I thought possible. We bonded over that shared love and passion. There wasn’t a day we didn’t spend out in the stables together. Every day after school, she’d be waiting by the fence to ride alongside my bus up the ranch road.” “She sounds incredible.” “Yeah, she was. Sweeter than cotton candy but a rebellious risk taker. She loved horses a little too much. Wanted to heal the broken ones, even when they didn’t deserve it.”
“This is one of my official Passenger Princess duties, babe. I’m at your service for the next two hours,” she sings, beaming proudly. “We should get a little sign for my seat so everyone knows what’s up whenever you’re out without me.”
If I never had to leave Cherry Peak again, I wouldn’t. And when the time comes that I do, I’ll be leaving half of myself here. With her.
“What do you think? Do you like them?” “I’m thinkin’ that I want to toss you over my shoulder and haul you back out to my truck. I’m thinkin’—” His large steps eat the distance between us. “That for some fuckin’ reason, I got lucky enough to call you mine.” I try and steady my breathing, but it’s a useless effort. “I’ve never been carried over someone’s shoulder before.” A slow lift of his brow. “Don’t tempt me, sweetheart.”
“I’ll come over. But not under the pretense of just dinner. I’ll take dessert too.”
“Never been prouder to be seen with a woman than I have been with you. That’s the truth, Anna. I’ve just been tryin’ not to scare you.” “It’s a good thing I don’t scare easily, then.”
She feels like heaven, soft against my hard. Warm to my cold.
“I think that if I’m not careful, it would be so easy to love you.”
“It’d be easier to fall in love with you, Annalise Heights. And I’ve never been a fan of careful.”
“Then I’m comin’ back until I know what comes next. Until we’ve decided what to do next.” “As in us? You and me?” “Yeah, us, sweetheart. You and me. I don’t want to say goodbye once I go back. Plan on keepin’ you as long as I can.”
“Do you think long distance will work?” I ask calmly. Maybe too calmly. His expression is tense, so damn concentrated. But those blue eyes are sincere, settling some of my nerves. “I know it will. For you, I’ll make it work. We have a lot to figure out, but we still have time. Today isn’t for that conversation, though. I want to just be here with you. Spend the holidays with my woman. I’m confident enough in us to ask you to let me do that.”
Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that I’d do just about anything to be with him. Long distance included.
I love Anna. Deeply and all consumingly. In a way that should terrify me but doesn’t. It settles me. Completes me. I’m whole around her, my missing pieces clicking back in place.
She’s everything I never knew I needed. The laughter that fills my quietest moments and the finishing notes in a melody I’ve always thought would be left incomplete. Fuck. She’s just . . . everything.
