Page 7

Maggie’s smile is bright enough to rival the Texas sun as I help her out of my truck. Her hair bounces with her steps, and her body looks every bit as delicious as the porterhouse steak I just ate.

As I walk her over to her SUV, her luscious curves call my name, and I'm not about to resist. I grab her and pull her against me, and she's solid and warm and so fucking perfect that it takes every bit of self-control I have to stop myself from dragging her into the backseat.

I pin her against her SUV and press my lips to hers. The kiss is hot and messy and ten years in the making. Her arms wrap around my neck, pulling me closer, and I'm completely lost. I'm kissing her hard and deep and way too fucking much, like a man who doesn't know when he'll get the chance to do it again.

She kisses me back with the kind of enthusiasm that makes my brain short-circuit. It's so familiar. So right. So fucking overwhelming that my only thought is to keep doing it until the heat between us melts every last piece of our clothing. But there's something different, too. Her mouth is confident and curious. Her tongue slides past my lips, and I nearly lose my goddamn mind. My hands move from her waist to her hair and then lower, finding their favorite old places and relearning new ones. She's holding on to me like I'm not the asshole who broke her heart, and that's all the encouragement my body needs. My cock is so hard, I could drive nails with it.

I groan and force myself to pull away. I rest my forehead against hers. It's the closest I can get to continuing the kiss without actually doing it. We're both breathing hard, and her lips are red and swollen and begging for round two.

She tilts her head and smirks at me. "Holy cow."

The woman might as well have my heart on a string. All she has to do is tug at it, and I come running. I don't bother trying to hide it. "You can say that again." I pull back enough to look into her eyes. "Can I see you tomorrow?"

"I already have plans to work the Silver Spoon Falls Spring Festival tomorrow. Tanner runs it and makes all of us participate."

I bite my lip to stop myself from groaning. I'd forgotten all about the damn festival. But Maggie’s worth dealing with all four of her brothers and whatever the hell else the Carrington clan throws at me. I'll suffer through anything if it means being with her.

She takes a step back and adjusts the strap of her dress. "Meet me at four at the front ticket counter. That's when I get off-duty. We’ll see how much trouble we can get into." She wiggles her eyebrows, and my cock almost tears a hole in my jeans.

“I’ll see you then.” I give her one more quick kiss on the lips and step back so she can hop up into her vehicle.

The way she looks at me as she drives off has my stomach in knots and my mind racing. I climb in my truck and grip the steering wheel tightly as my need for her courses through me.

I can do this. I just need to pace myself. Play the long game. It might take a little longer to make her mine again. But it's going to happen.

* * *

I get to the festival fifteen minutes early, which is fortunate since the parking sucks. I end up parking on a side street half a mile away and jog to the festival grounds. I’m hot and sweaty, and the smell of kettle corn assaults me as I reach the ticket booth.

The festival is in full swing. Pop music blares from loudspeakers, and the whole place is decked out like a red plaid tablecloth factory threw up all over the place. A huge Ferris wheel looms in the distance, tents are strung with fairy lights, and I’m practically swimming in a sea of cowboy hats and boots.

As I make my way through the crowd, a hundred faces I don’t recognize dart glances in my direction. I’m used to the attention, but today, the only person I give a shit about seeing isn’t anywhere to be found.

Then I see a familiar face. Tanner Carrington stands a few feet away, grinning like he just got a huge present. I shove through the masses to get over to him. The smirk doesn’t falter, and that pisses me off even more.

“Todd Sharp,” Tanner drawls with a raised eyebrow. “Nice to see you hanging out at our little festival.”

I grunt something that’s supposed to be a greeting but probably sounds more like I’m grinding rocks with my teeth. “I’m looking for Maggie. She was supposed to meet me at the ticket booth at four,” I say, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. “Any idea where I can find her?”

“Try over on the other side of the Ferris wheel.” He shrugs, pointing his thumb in the general direction of flashing lights and screeching metal. “She's probably running behind. The kissing booth is the most popular attraction at the festival.”

“Kissing booth?” My voice shoots up three octaves. My blood instantly heats to boiling as I wonder how much time I’ll get if I murder some asshole for kissing my girl.

“She’s the most popular kisser.” Tanner crosses his arms, looking like the cat who just ate the canary.

My vision goes red, and it takes everything I’ve got not to wipe that smirk off his goddamn face. Maggie, my Maggie, letting other guys line up for a taste? Over my dead fucking body.

The thought of Maggie’s lips on another guy’s sends fury coursing through my blood. I can’t breathe right, my head’s spinning, and I swear to God my heart’s about to explode from my chest.

Tanner is watching me with a look that says he knows he just threw the knockout punch, and I don’t have time to deal with him right now. I have to rectify this goddamn situation right fucking now.

Letting her go was the stupidest thing I ever did. I never let myself think about the consequences of walking away so she could live her life. But now, I realize I left my soulmate open to some other asshole’s seduction. Fuck that.

I turn from Tanner without another word. If Maggie’s at this kissing booth, she won’t be for long. I don’t care how many guys are in line. I’ll throw them all out on their asses if I have to. Maggie’s mine, always has been, and I’ll fight every son of a bitch in Silver Spoon Falls to prove it. My hands are fisted as I charge toward the Ferris wheel, weaving through the bustling crowd.

She might hate me for it, but I’ll be damned if I lose her without a fight.

It’s a wall of plaid and denim and expectant faces, and I’m a heat-seeking missile locked on its target as I plow through the festival crowd. She won’t see it coming, and she’ll either kill me or kiss me.