Between the Pines (Black Springs Ranch, #1)

by Amber Palmer

But red was my favorite color, and I had a stubborn streak a mile long.

“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’?”

She protested as I gripped the bottle, draining the last few drops, but those protests died on her lips as I placed my hand behind her neck and kissed her.

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’d never considered myself a smart man. I’d made a lot of mistakes and fucked up more times than I could count, but the smartest thing I’d ever done was kiss the beautiful dark-haired tornado that swept into my bar.

“Josie, do something for me. Look me in the eye and tell me you felt nothing. Tell me it was all in my head. There was something between us last year that neither of us could explain.” “Lincoln,” she began, but I cut her off. “And I know you felt it, too. I know you felt that familiar tug, the familiarity between two strangers that neither of us could explain.”

“I was gonna ask if you’d waited for me like I’d been waiting for you.”

“Break up with that piece of shit you call a boyfriend, and I’ll tell you every sordid detail. Then, when you’re writhing underneath me, just like you are right now, I’ll make good on every word I said.”

“Just don’t leave me waiting out in the cold too long, yeah? Be fair to my heart in the way I’m trying my damnedest to be to yours.”

All I know is some things are certain—the sun will set, it’ll rise again, and you’re it for me. That’s just the truth.” I took a deep breath and laid down my last card. “And I think you feel it too—otherwise, you wouldn’t have told your sisters it would always be me.”

“Because I may be a gentleman right now, but make no mistake, darlin’... When I fuck you again, you won’t be able to walk straight the next morning. You’ll remember exactly what it feels like to be worshipped by a man who cares about your pleasure. I’ll happily spend hours with my tongue in your sweet, little cunt to prove my point.”

But there was one universal rule that went above all others. If you wear the hat, you ride the cowboy. His jaw ticked as he watched me set it on my head.

“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.”

“Sometimes, you’re a pain in my ass, but I love you, Lincoln Carter. I love you in a way that is terrifying because I know you could destroy me if you wanted to, but oh god, I wouldn’t have it another way.”

“I want you inside me when I come. So, you’re going to let me take your dick out, and then you’re going to fuck me.”

“You know, I used to think it only took me five days to fall in love with you, but honestly… I fell in love with you the moment you walked into this little bar tucked between the pines.”