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I nod, glancing at him.
“That man, he’s a good one. He’ll take care of you in ways you could never imagine. The world out there, your options are slim for a man that’ll change the way your heart beats. Go out, do what you want to do, but be sure of your choices before you give him up.”
With that, he walks off.
These men.
I swear.
I could stomp my foot I’m so frustrated with them saying what they have to say and walking off before I have the chance to answer.
I exhale and turn back to go to the main house.
I have a lot of thinking to do.
A lot of choices to make.
Choices I didn’t think I’d be faced with, yet here we are.
It’s now or never.
“I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR you all day,” I say, huffing and puffing as I walk into the barn later that afternoon after a morning of kayaking and fishing.
Lake is unsaddling his horse.
The sight is something else entirely.
His jeans are muddy, streaks of it travelling up and down.
His shirt is crumpled and unbuttoned halfway down, rolled up at the sleeves, showing those delicious forearms.
His hair is tied up at the back, with a few strands having released themselves from the band.
I scan my eyes over him, wanting to go over there and run my tongue over every inch of his body. I don’t take my eyes off him as he takes the saddle, hauling it off the horses back and putting it on a stand. The way his back moves. Oh boy. My insides are turning to liquid and it’s in the moment, I know my decision is the best one.
“What do you want?” he asks me.
“Firstly, I want you to look at me and stop with the attitude. I’m here to talk to you.”
He doesn’t look at me as he finishes up with the horse, only when he’s done does he turn and face me, arms crossed over his chest.
“Talk.”
I take a calming breath, because I know he’s upset right now and I’m not going to make things worse by aggravating him any further. I’ll be the bigger person this time.
“I was thinking about what you said.”
He nods, sharply.
“I like you too, Lake. I want to see where this goes, believe it or not, but I have things I need to do. So...here’s how it must go if you want this. I need to find Davina, I need to close that door of my life. I need your help to do that. I want to travel, I want to live a little, but I want you, too. I want to come back here, I want to help you, I want to be with you. I want you to come with me...”
He stares at me, for so long I wonder if my words have penetrated.
“Lake?” I say, feeling a little stupid after my confession, especially when he’s staring at me like that.
“You want to travel?”
“Yes,” I answer with a nod. “I spent a good part of my life in prison. I want to see the world, without restraints. I didn’t have a good upbringing, I never had nice things. I haven’t been on a vacation...ever.”
That causes him to jerk a little. “Never?”
I shake my head.
“You want to come back here after? Live on the ranch?”
I nod. “I like it here, but mostly, I like you. I can be here, I can do this, but I need to do what I need to do also.”
Nothing.
He just stares at me again, arms still crossed over his chest.
“God dammit, Lake, I need you to say something because I’m going to scream if you don’t.”
He takes a step forward.
I hold my breath.
Then he reaches out, grabs my arm, and hauls me against him. Laughing, I throw my arms around his neck and find his mouth, kissing him with a ferocity that nearly knows me off my feet. He growls and picks me up, legs going around his waist as he carries me to the closest stable. He presses me against the railing, kissing me so hard and deep everything inside me comes to life.
I tangle my fingers in his hair, loving that he smells like he has been working all day and that crossed with his masculine scent is enough to drive me wild. I could kiss him all day, without so much as a second thought, dirty or not. I moan into his mouth when he grinds against me, rubbing his cock against my pussy as I whimper, desperate for more.
“First thing we’re doin’,” he growls, “is gettin’ you on the pill. I don’t have a condom and fuck, I need to be inside you.”
“You don’t have a condom,” I pant. “You bring one into the wilderness, but you don’t have one now?”
He chuckles and bites at my lip. “I only had one because it was already in my jeans.”
