Page 95 of Sunrise & Serenity

Chance bends over, laughing. “Oh my god.”

“Shut up,” I wheeze. My shoulder burns from hauling chains and fighting the current. Nothing I can’t deal with.

“You looked so pissed off when you were going in.” Chance starts laughing again.

Sterling stands over us, breathing hard, his expression caught somewhere between fury and relief. “What did I just say?”

I wipe water from my face. “That I’m your favorite?”

“That you’re both idiots.”

“Also true.”

For a second, he just stares at me. Then, unexpectedly, he laughs. Not much, just one rough, exhausted sound. But it cracks open the tension that’s been hanging around him all morning.

Chance grins. “There he is. Thought storm season had killed him.”

With a shake of his head, Sterling surveys the road, where water now flows cleanly through the culvert. “It still might.”

`***

The sun is low on the horizon, and I drum my fingers on the steering wheel as I drive a little too fast toward my cabin.

After a day like this, I should be looking forward to an early night, but sleep’s the last thing on my mind. Not with Sage waiting for me at home.

As I approach my cabin, I slow at the sight before me. Sage is sitting on the top of my porch stairs, her back against the railing and her bare legs stretched out in front of her. She’s working on her laptop, and from here, it looks like she’s dressed in one of my shirts and nothing else.

My dick swells in my jeans, and I pull up close to the stairs before jumping out. “You know what you’re doing waiting for me like this, City?”

She presses her lips together as she tries to hide a smile. “Maybe.”

I stalk up the stairs, pick up her laptop, and deposit it gently on a nearby chair. Then I squat next to her.

Her cheeks are flushed, her eyes bright. “Is this where I get to save a horse?”

I bark out a laugh. “How long have you been waiting to say that?”

“Too long.”

Her eyes flick up to my Stetson, the humor in her expression drowned out by heat.

Keeping my gaze locked on hers, I slowly lift my hat and set it on her head.

She looks so perfect here on my porch, wearing nothing but my shirt and hat. I graze my finger down the soft skin of her cheek. “Not so city anymore, are you?”

She tilts her face up to mine. “Never felt less like a city girl.”

I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and pull her in, taking her mouth in a kiss. Then I grab her hand and tug her to her feet. “Come on. I’m sure there’s a horse somewhere on this ranch that needs saving.”

She laughs as I lead her inside.

“How was your coffee?” I ask, noticing the mug turned upside down beside the sink.

“Almost perfect.”

I raise a brow. “Almost?”

Her eyes cut toward me, lips curving. “I like it better when you make it for me.”