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A lump rises in my throat. “If you don’t want me, just tell me.” He stares unflinchingly, and I stare back. “I’ll go, Cole, leave the ranch, and you’ll never—”
And then his mouth slams to mine, kissing me with harsh, unrestrained desire. A soft moan escapes me before I can stop it.
Our bodies connect like we’ve been waiting for this for years. A rumbling groan erupts in Cole’s chest as he pins me against him. His mouth tastes like whiskey and sin. His big hands shift over my waist.
He kisses me so good I go weak in the knees, and I grip his broad shoulders to hold myself up. I feel so small and fragile beneath him, captured against his hulking chest, his body weight pressing against mine, and yet, I already know this man would never hurt me.
My hips roll into his pelvis. Cole breaks away, muttering, “Goddamn, Delilah,” and then his mouth is back on mine. A strong hand grips my jaw. He’s kissing me like he can’t get enough, like he’s trying to breathe me in.
I cry out, wrapping my arms around his neck as throbbing waves of heat pulse between my legs. I’ve never felt this way, never had these emotions. Different, it all feels so different, so much more intense than every man I’ve ever kissed.
He breaks away again, this time to glare at me.
“Now was that so hard, cowboy?” I pant for air. Holy shit, the man can kiss.
“Christ, Delilah, what’s a man to do?” His deep, frustrated rumble vibrates through me. The sexiest sound. Cole Weston with his guard down. “You’re looking so goddamn beautiful…” His jaw is so tight, like saying the words, like the kisses have killed him.
Maybe they have.
I restrain myself from attacking full force, trailing a hand along the trim waist of his jeans. “Why are we stopping?” I can feel him through his jeans. Big. Hard. Hot.
Air rushes out of him. His hand fits to the nape of my neck, big, hard-worn fingers tangling in my hair. “Gotta be in the saddle soon.” He looks like he wants to do anything but that.
“So?” My pulse hammers, and I grip the front of his shirt, wanting to bury my face in his broad chest, his masculine scent. “I’d be soft. I’d be sweet. I’d be fast.” I press up on tiptoe to nip at his throat and murmur, “I could dance for you, Cole.”
It’s fun to flirt with Cole. Tempt. Tease. But he has his own ways of driving me crazy. Most likely his cold shoulder.
“Not today, darlin’.” I see it in his face. That twitch of his strong jaw. Lust flaring in those intense blue eyes. He wonders what I look like when I dance.
“Then when?” I whisper. Already, I want more. I lean in, feeling the warmth of his breath only inches from my mouth. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to slam that headboard against the wall.”
His chest expands with a deep, resolute breath. His hands glide up the length of my torso, caressing, pulling me against him. “Baby, I’d fuck you like the man you deserve.” His harsh voice shakes my body, has my thighs pressing together.
“Then what’s stopping you?” I ask breathlessly.
“Don’t trust myself around you. What you do to me.” He sounds tortured. And yet, he doesn’t let me go.
“And what’s that, cowboy?” Unable to hold back my smile, I study the way his eyes drink me in.
He runs his thumb over the high arc of my cheekbone. “Damn, if you don’t make me want to give you everything.”
My heart overheats.
And then, there’s the slam of a screen door.
Cole and I pull apart. Ezra and Evangeline stand in the entryway of the ranch house.
Shit.
Evangeline’s eyes bug. Her gasp could be heard in the next county. “You had a sleepover?”
Cole covers his mouth with a large hand. “Uh.”
With a smirk, Ezra looks down at his daughter. “It’s personal business.”
“It’s not fair—I want a sleepover too.” Evangeline stomps into the kitchen, her gaze as stern as her father’s. “Next time you have a sleepover with Delilah, you tell me, Uncle Cole.”
Cole and I share an amused look at the finger she wags.
