Sawyer (Lucky River Ranch, #3)

by Jessica Peterson

For the wild ones. May the cowgirl in you be alive and well, always.

Motherhood has shown me that many things can be true at once—you can love being with your kid, and you can love getting a break from them too.

“Sounds kinda dirty when you say it like that.” I step forward. He steps forward, too, so that our faces are mere inches apart. “I’ll make it as dirty as you want, Ava.”

Leaning in, I brush my scruff against her cheek. “You’re a fuckin’ knockout, you know that?”

“My wild’s not turning you off?” “Hell no. Your wild is the hottest thing about you.” She grins. “So is yours.”

“You’re good, cowboy.” One side of his mouth kicks up. “And I ain’t even kissed you yet.” “Let’s get that out of the way, then.” I down the contents of my cup before setting it on a nearby table. “So I can show you exactly how well I ride.”

“You best not be playin’, pretty girl.” “I’ll play with you all I like, cowboy.”

“Fucking fine. You win. You suck dick like you mean it. You greedy fucking girl. I’mma give you what you want. You want me to put this dick everywhere, don’t you? You want me to fuck your pussy, and then you want me to shove my dick down your throat. Bet you’d like me to fuck your tits, too, yeah? Come all over you?” Who am I and since when do I do dirty talk like this? I blame Ava. Honky-tonk queen. Barrel racer. Long-legged slayer of men.

Hard to be fun, to have any kind of freedom, when you’re a parent. Much less a single parent.

So Ava likes the dirty talk and the gentle caresses. The vicious neck bites and the sweet, simple way our fingers are tangled. She’s hungry for it all, and that makes me feel at home—at peace—with my own hunger. Like I’m not some deviant for wanting her the way I do. For saying the things I’m saying. Goddamn, a man could get addicted to this feeling. I could get addicted to Ava.

“Just.” He blows out a breath. “You. So fucking pretty when you smile. I can’t—goddamn it, Ava.”

I think I’ve been dying of thirst for a while, but being with you makes me feel like I’m dancing in the rain. Water is suddenly everywhere.

“And you like the backward baseball hat. Noted.”

You’d be stupid not to like the backward baseball hat 🤣

“I’m relatively certain almost every woman with a pulse likes guys in backward baseball hats.”