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Wilder and Wyatt are nowhere to be seen and I feel a flicker of satisfaction at having her to myself for a moment.
"Emrys, this is amazing," she breathes as she sets down the supplies. "We might actually win this thing."
"We will," I reply confidently, my eyes locking onto hers. "With you leading the way, how could we not?"
She blushes at my words and I feel a surge of pride at having made her feel special. I move closer to her, reaching out to tuck that strand of hair behind her ear like I've been wanting to do all day. My fingers brush against her skin and she shivers, her eyes fluttering closed.
I take a step closer, our bodies now inches apart, and I can feel the heat of her breath on my face as I lean my head down towards hers. I give her a brief moment to pull away if she wants to, but she takes me by surprise when she slams her lips to mine.
It's soft and tender at first, but then it deepens, becoming more urgent as we both give in to the fire between us. She's so responsive, melting against me, and I lift her up into my arms so she can wrap her legs around my waist.
I kiss her deeply, hungrily, as if I'd been starving for this moment since the last time I held her. Our tongues tangle, our hands roaming each other's bodies. The fort around us fades into the background as the only thing that exists is the two of us, lost in a world of our own, until reality slaps me in the face in the form of a crash outside the fort.
It takes every ounce of inner strength I possess, but I manage to break the kiss, breathing roughly as I grip her hair and gaze down at her darkened uniquely colored eyes.
"You and me. Tonight. Seven o’clock." My words come out low and gravelly and she peruses my face with her pupil-blown gaze as if searching for something, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.
"Okay," she whispers, causing my heart to jump in my chest.
I know I’m grinning like a fool, my heart full of her, and I can't help but lean in and capture her lips with mine once more. It's brief, my hand tangling in her soft hair, and then I'm pulling away once more.
"We better get back. We've got a competition to win," I wink, doing my best to not fall prey to the hunger that threatens to overtake me.
Kat nods, her red lips swollen and beautiful as she slowly disentangles herself from me.
I watch as she straightens her shirt and smooths her hair out. She's so damn gorgeous, especially post-kiss. I brush my lips across her cheek before turning to leave, ignoring the dark looks the other guys give me when I exit the fort.
It doesn't matter. Let them be jealous. Kat is mine.
Chapter 30
My gaze instantly zeroes in on Kat’s obvious kiss-bruised lips as she and Emrys surface from the damn fort. I shoot a glare his way, my face heating and chest clenching almost painfully.
I don’t do feelings. Not the real, deep ones anyway.
Yet, here I am, actually experiencing them for the first time since I was smitten with Alice back in the third grade. She stomped on my heart as surely as she stomped on the bundle of daisies I gifted her before offerin’ her a kiss. Of course, that’s probably not even considered real as far as relationships go in life. But little eight year old me sure thought it was and he vowed never to let a cootie-ridden girl hurt him ever again.
But Kat isn’t a girl. She’s a woman. The most beautiful there is. With just enough of a wild streak to get my blood pumping, and just enough of a level head to keep me grounded.
Since I was a boy, I’ve stayed on the wild side. I live for the thrill in life. Whatever is next to get that adrenaline rush. To feel more alive than most ever do. But I guess I never took into account what a real woman can do to a man.
I don’t think there’s anything more dangerous and reckless than fallin’ for a woman.
And of-fuckin’-course when I finally start to, there just has to be two others competin’ for the same catch. Yeah, I’ll admit it. Kat has started a fire under my ass. In my chest. Wherever these damn feelings are comin’ from. Whatever.
This is more than just a bet or a game now.
Kat is mine.
These two knuckle-fuckers are just another set of barrels to steer around. I don’t know what their endgame plan is, but I know mine now. I’m playin’ to win. I’m playin’ for keeps. I’m gonna win the girl and take her home to meet my momma.
She’d love Kat. And Kat would love her and my home. I can clearly picture her out on our ranch, wrangling the cattle and kicking that godawful rooster, Earl, in the stupid face when he gets all riled. That little shit refuses to die, and he’s a huge dick. Every other rooster we have only attacks when provoked. Earl will ambush you for absolutely no reason and he’s scrappy.
But I just know that Kat will handle him like a pro. Like she wrangles me effortlessly. Like she somehow stays poised and confident beneath the attention of three hot-blooded men who stare at her like we’ve been starving for weeks and she’s a perfectly grilled steak.
God, she’d look beautiful sippin’ sweet tea on the porch swing out front. Exquisite riding Buttercup out in the pastures. Damn heavenly in the morning sunlight peeking through the blinds of my bedroom window with her hair fanned out around her.
I don’t do anything half-assed. So, I suppose it’s only fittin’ that when I really want a woman, I’m already practically fixin’ to get down on one knee.
