“Is that so?” The crinkle in his lip as he struggles to rein in his ego exposes a set of dimples I hadn’t noticed before.
“Uh-huh,” I reply, unconsciously bringing myself closer to him. “A less disciplined man wouldn’t have eaten a heart-clogging breakfast to start his day the right way.” I lift my eyes to his, the desire unmissable. “He would have eaten me.”
Any chance of harnessing my rampant horniness is lost when Alex groans, “You’re more dangerous to my heart than anything I’ve ever eaten.”
He hooks his finger in the loops of my jeans to tug me closer. His yank is rough enough to bring our mouths within an inch of each other, but not strong enough to answer every silent plea pumping from my eyes.
“You play dirty, Rae.”
Our breaths intermingle when I jest, “Only because that’s the way you like it—”
I take a fumbling step backward when a deep, barreling voice grumbles, “Do I need to call the vet? The amount of testosterone pumping in this room reveals someone needs neutering.”
When Alex’s hands dart out to catch me midfall, my dad’s eyes narrow even more dramatically. His eyelids are so close together, I can’t see a smidge of his green irises that are identical to mine in every way.
“Daddy, what are you doing back here so soon? You’re usually milking the cows for another hour.” With my dad’s dislike of Alex well known, I had planned for us to be out and about before he returned.
My dad heads for the fridge, the sneer on his face as muddy as the boots he failed to remove. “You don’t come home often. Figured I’d spend some time with you while you’re here.”
“Ah. . . that’s real nice of you—”
“More like utterly ridiculous. She’s a grown woman, Hayden. She doesn’t want her dad tagging along on her date,” my mom interrupts, entering the kitchen too quickly for someone who wasn’t spying.
“Date? I thought they werefriends?” my dad retorts as his even more slitted gaze drifts between Alex, mom, and me.
When the room falls into silence, my dad’s grip on the orange juice carton tightens. “Rae—”
“Mom’s right. I’m a grown woman who doesn’t need her dad rushing in to save her.” Ignoring his disgusted gasp, I seize Alex’s wrist and pluck him from his seat. “I’m going to give Alex a tour of the farm. . .” When my dad steps closer to us, as if he’s ready to join in on our escapades today, I quickly add on, “Alone.”
I watch his anger rise from his stomach to his cheeks before he growls, “You’ve got no means of getting around. The tracks are bogged with mud from the recent rain.”
He looks two seconds from taking my mom over his knee as she was hoping when she throws a set of keys in my direction. “I filled the Jeep last week. She’s good for at least two hundred miles.”
“Sally Wilcott-Myers—”
“Oh, don’t you dare Sally Wilcott me. You were moody for a week when I said I wanted to hyphenate our names. Now you’re using it against me.Please.”
My mom shoves my dad out of the kitchen, her strength inspiring.
The smile making my cheeks ache fades when I hear my dad’s faint whisper, “What if she gets hurt?”
The worry in his voice isn’t the only thing dampening my joy; it is my mom’s reply. “He won’t hurt her any more than she’s already been hurt, Hayden. Look at her. I haven’t seen her smile like that in nearly a decade.”
Up until now, I thought I was doing a good job of hiding my pain from the world. Clearly, my acting skills aren’t as top shelf as I thought.
My eyes stray from my feet when a pair of white sneakers pop into my peripheral vision. Only someone as slick as Alex could pull off Van shoes in a country environment. Just as he did last night, he offers me comfort without strings attached. He cups my jaw, his fingers so long they weave through my hair and caress my whitening cheeks at the same time. Within a few strokes, the color returns stronger than ever, the heady lust bristling between Alex and me ramping up my libido.
“Are you ready to head out?” Alex asks, watching the worry vanish from my eyes. “I’m dying to find out if a roll in the hay is as appealing as it sounds.”
I laugh at the humor in his voice. He’s confident enough in his own skin, he can pull off any act. This morning, he was an eat-you-alive alpha. Now he’s the jokester who’ll spear your heart as effectively as he’ll have you in stitches.
I was apprehensive about coming to Texas. I shouldn’t have been. There is an immense amount of healing occurring, but for once, I don’t feel as if my heart is being shredded in the process.
Alex and Luca are nothing alike—but in some ways, they are identical. Both whittled their way into my heart in an extremely short amount of time. They are both confident, alpha-oriented individuals. There is just one difference. Luca destroyed me. Alex hasn’t been given the chance yet.
That thought should fill me with fear. It doesn’t—not in the slightest. I’m not the same girl I was eight years ago. I’m fierce, and I am strong. But more than anything, Alex can love me like Luca couldn’t. I just have to decide if that’s what I want.
Realizing I’ll never summon an appropriate response with Alex’s hands on me and my parents’ spying eyes watching my every move, I take a step back from Alex. “You should reconsider your shoes. They won’t look so gleaming once I’m done with you.”
