Between the Pines (Black Springs Ranch, #1)

by Amber Palmer

“Maybe if you’re good, I’ll tell you my name.” “Oh yeah?” he asked, dropping his voice. “And what’s your definition of good, darlin’?”

I was a simple man with simple beliefs. I’d never held much stock in that lovey-dovey bullshit people clung to, talking about soulmates and destinies. It was just a way for folks to feel better about their lives. But this woman? Something told me she could make me a believer.

“Yeah, actually… I’m thinking about what it would be like to fuck this pretty mouth. How I’d want to see it dressed in some pretty color only to fucking destroy it and then proudly wear the remnants around my cock so I could see precisely where you’d been.”

I wanted this woman, and I wanted her now.

If I knew it wouldn’t utterly obliterate the shaky truce Josie and I have come to, I’d gladly lay his ass out.

It’d only taken one look, though… One look and I knew I hadn’t been making shit up in my head, and she was mine.

“I’m not gonna break her heart,” I mumbled, glancing back at the table. “But I’m afraid she’s gonna break mine.”

Stools scraped against the concrete floor, and footsteps thundered as the crushing weight of Ellis’ body was gone. I stumbled back, looking up in time to see Lincoln’s fist collide with Ellis’ cheek. With one blow, my ex went tumbling into the tables next to us.

“If you say you’re sorry one more time, I can’t be held responsible for what I do next,” he growled. “I don’t ever want those words to leave your lips, especially not for taking what you want.”

“The thought of him touching you. Of him thinking he has any claim on you, when you’ve been mine since the moment you walked into Frank’s last summer.”

“I may die if you don’t at least kiss me, Lincoln Carter.”

There’s only one thing I’m looking for, and it’s non-negotiable.”

“That hat on your head means you’re mine, Josie. There are no takebacks, not as far as I’m concerned. So, don’t do that to me and then take it away. Don’t fucking tease me, baby. I can’t take it.”

Hell, you can turn into a fucking worm tomorrow, and I’ll still love you. You’re—fuck—you’re it for me, baby.”

“Get the fuck out, and don’t come back until I say so. In fact, tell everyone this barn is off fucking limits until tomorrow.”

I’d been dreaming of this day since I'd laid eyes on her, and now she was mine. Mine to love, mine to fuck, mine to do whatever I wanted with.