The Front Runner (Gold Rush Ranch, #3)

by Elsie Silver

What she doesn’t comprehend is I’ll do almost anything she tells me to at this point.

“Are you telling me you’d rather take me to your family reunion than your dildo?” She laughs and shakes her head. “Consider yourself the front runner in that race.”

“I’ll be better company than a dildo. I promise.” She shakes her head again and swipes her kit off the ground. “Doubtful,” is her reply as she walks away. I can’t help but appreciate the way her cargo pants hug the round globes of her ass. The things I’d do to that ass. “Bet I can make you come harder too.” She laughs, a girlish laugh. Not her usual throaty husk. “I’d like to see you try.” Challenge accepted.

“Good. Because I want to make myself abundantly clear.” We’re so close. I can feel the entire length of his body covering mine. He teases me with the lightest brush of his lips against my ear as he drops his voice and holds me captive. “You are not the pawn, Mira. You are the prize.”

Shaking my head, I marvel at how the more confused she is about me, the less I am about her.

I’ll take it slow. I’m a patient man, and I think she’ll be worth the wait.

“Keep it casual. You already don’t look like my type.” I almost laugh. We’ll see about that. As she brushes past me, I murmur conspiratorially, “Is it because I’m not purple and made of silicone?” And I swear I see her blush.

My Nana looks him over and smirks. “He’s blond.”

“Challenge accepted. But I’m not going to fuck you until you’re begging for it.”

The world swirls around us, but we stand still, lost in each other. And damn, it feels good. I knew we’d be explosive, but this is mind-altering. This is like a drug.

This woman is about to be my undoing. And I’ll do almost anything to prove to her I’m deserving. I’ll burn it all down to make it happen.

“I’ve told you before . . . I’m not the villain you think I am.” “Or maybe you’re exactly who I think you are, and I like it.”

I guess I can’t blame him. We left the event early, and now I’m wedged up against Stefan in the middle seat rather than leaned against the opposite door staring out the window while he played Mario Kart. Yeah, I saw that. And he’s fucking terrible. He obviously needed the practice, so I just left him to it so I could disappear inside my head for a bit.

What if she dies saving everything that she thinks is dear to me without knowing she is everything to me? I love you. I love you. I love you.

When she wakes up, I’m never walking away from her again. I’m going to bask in being stuck with her. No matter what it takes. And I’m going to tell her I love her. Over, and over, and over again.

“I’ve never considered myself a particularly good man. I never thought I was a bad man either. I was just a man with a sad past and no one to love. And then I saw you. It only took one look and I swear some part of me knew.” Her free hand cups my cheek lovingly. “I knew my life would never be the same. You didn’t treat me like I was a bad man. You didn’t always treat me like a good one, either. But you made me want to be a better one. You make me want to deserve you. And I have every intention of spending the rest of my life trying.”

“This fire almost stole you from me. I almost lost you. And that’s a mistake I never intend to make again. I intend to cherish you like the treasure you are. This fire burned everything else away. My anger, my vendettas. The only things that mattered to me I pulled out of it. And so, I’m taking this as a fresh start. Everything else is ash—dust in the wind. And now I realize that the only thing that matters is what made it out. You and me.” I pause here, watching my love reflected at me in her eyes. “Mira Thorne, would you do me the incredible honor of being my wife?” She falls to her knees before me in one swift motion, hands cupping my face. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Nothing would make me, or my aunt, happier.”