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Whoa.
I’ve never had these kinds of thoughts for anyone but Wyatt. I’ve never…
“N-no, sir,” the man says, swallowing hard. “I had no idea she was taken.”
My rugged cowboy folds his arms across his chest and I watch as the muscles in his back ripple beneath his shirt. My?
I’m just playing the part of his girl. Nothing more than that. I wonder if he’d be interested in me playing that part in the bedroom. Or maybe a dark hallway. A closet. Anywhere. Wherever he goes, there I am.
I’ve always thought that Wyatt was the only person to dredge up these kinds of thoughts. I’ve been proven wrong by a rugged cowboy in the town I’ve avoided for years.
“You do now.”
Each word that leaves his mouth sounds like a warning shot. Tread carefully, they seem to say. Preferably away from here if that man knows what’s good for him.
He sputters something, mouth opening and closing like a landlocked fish until finally it closes for good and he slinks away.
I glance at the hands of my rugged savior, opening and closing. Flexing. I’ve never seen hands so big. And I’ve never thought a pair of them could turn me on until now.
Thoughts of them on my body, gripping my waist and traveling anywhere this man sees fit, rush through me as my mouth dries. My heart slams against my ribcage as I allow my gaze to drift elsewhere. Along his thick arms and even thicker back.
Did he get taller? A little wider? Did someone turn down the A/C? Are the fans still on? Why is the room spinning like a merry-go-round?
Every question that rises in my head remains unanswered as the man turns, removing his hat from his head, and levels me in a single glance.
Oh. My. GOD.
I try to swallow but I choke on my saliva and start hacking up a lung as Wyatt leans toward me and pats me a few times on the back.
“Are you okay, angel?” he asks, his gruff voice rolling over me.
Okay? I don’t even know how to begin to answer that question.
“I-I’m—” screwed as I stare into the mossy green eyes that haunted my dreams since Wyatt strolled into my parents’ house so long ago. We’d only lived in Whispering Winds for a few months by then. I’d heard Damon talk about Wyatt, but I’d never seen his new friend, but when I did it changed the entire trajectory of my life.
I was in the kitchen when Wyatt and my brother came back from football practice or maybe baseball. Some kind of sportsball—I don’t know. The point is that Wyatt’s hair was the kind of messy that made my stomach flip. His eyes had the kind of clarity that made me feel naked and unable to breathe. And when he smiled at me? I was hooked, tied to him with an invisible string I’d failed to sever after all these years.
But never reeled me in. Never even attempted to. He hardly looked my way after that. After a single sentence from my brother.
This is my little sister, Mia.
Off. Limits.
My parents and I left Whispering Winds after my brother graduated high school. They couldn’t deal with the weather but my brother loved everything about the town. He stayed, working at the lumber yard. I’d thought over the years that my feelings for Wyatt had waned, but I know now that’s a lie I told myself.
“Fine,” I say after collecting myself.
There’s that smile. Dear lord, it’s better than I remember, and his scent? A rich musk of spice and whisky and man. I haven’t had anything but water to drink, but I think I might become tipsy from his scent.
“Good,” he says as he slides his hand on the small of my back and then leans in. “I hope you don’t mind, but I think it might be wise to play the part.”
“Oh?”
I have no idea what he’s saying. He could be speaking a different language and I’d understand him just as poorly. It’s a miracle that I’m able to mutter something intelligible as Wyatt’s touch short-circuits my brain as it electrifies my body.
And with his lips so close? I can’t help but wet mine and stare at his as they curl into a smile.
“The part of a doting boyfriend.” His throat bobs as his gaze trails down my neck and arm. “I’d say husband, but there’s not a ring on that finger. Or mine,” he adds, his voice a little gruffer.
