"I don't know yet. But when I figure it out, I'll let you know."
She got out of the truck, but before she could close the door, he caught her hand.
"Vanessa?"
"Yeah?"
"I meant what I said back there. When I get you in a bed, I'm not letting you out until you're boneless and satisfied and absolutely sure about what you want from me."
Her cheeks flushed, and she squeezed his hand once before heading inside, leaving him sitting in her driveway hard and aching and wondering how long he could last before he made good on that promise.
Because somewhere between her front door and this moment, he'd stopped running. He'd stopped looking for the next rodeo, the next eight-second ride, the next place to crash for a few weeks before moving on.
He'd stopped wandering. And what he'd been searching for looked like a blonde woman with green eyes who made him want to be better than he'd ever thought he could be.
It looked like Vanessa.
And tonight, he was going to lie in bed down the hall from her, listening to her move around in her room, and think about all the ways he was going to make her his.
Chapter 7
Vanessa
Vanessa stood in her bathroom late at night, staring at her reflection and wondering when she'd become the kind of woman who kissed cowboys in horse barns. Her lips were still swollen from Dustin's mouth, and every time she touched them, she could taste him. It made her throb in places she'd been trying to ignore for two weeks.
Two weeks. She'd known him for two weeks, and she was standing in her bathroom thinking about the way his hand had felt on her breast, the way he'd promised to taste every inch of her.
The way she was pretty sure she was falling in love with him.
She'd been pacing her bedroom, listening to the sounds of him moving around in his room, knowing he was probably as wired as she was. The kiss had changed everything between them, crossed a line they'd both been avoiding since the day he'd moved in.
And God, what a kiss it had been.
She'd never been the kind of woman who made impulsive decisions, especially when it came to men. But the way he'd looked at her in that barn, like she was brave and beautiful and worth wanting, had made her throw aside every careful plan and take what she'd been craving since the moment she'd opened her front door and seen him standing there.
Now she was paying for it with sleepless desire and the knowledge that he was down the hall, probably thinking about her mouth and her hands in his hair and the way she'd pressedagainst him like she was trying to get as close as physically possible.
Like she wanted to crawl inside his skin and live there.
Her phone buzzed with a text message, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Can't sleep either?
Dustin. Her pulse kicked up as she typed back:No.
Want some company?
She stared at the message, her thumb hovering over the keyboard. This was it. The moment where she either played it safe and pretended the kiss had been a momentary lapse in judgment, or she opened her door and let whatever was building between them burn through the walls she'd built around her heart.
Living room.
She changed out of her conservative pajamas into shorts that showed more leg than she usually revealed and a tank top that hugged her curves in ways that made her feel sexy instead of practical. No bra. If she was going to do this, she might as well commit to it.
Dustin was already waiting when she padded barefoot into the living room. He'd changed too. Jeans hung low on his hips and a t-shirt that emphasized the broad line of his shoulders. His hair was mussed like he'd been running his hands through it, and when he looked up at her, his gaze tracked over her body in a way that made her skin burn.
She watched his eyes darken when he realized she wasn't wearing a bra. Watched his jaw clench. Watched him grip the arm of the couch like he was holding himself back from reaching for her.
"Hi," she said, suddenly uncertain now that they were face to face without the romantic backdrop of horses and sunset.
