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Ryan closed his eyes for only a moment, though it felt like an eternity. When he opened them again, I sucked in a breath at the emotion I saw in his gaze. He took a step closer and cupped my face in his hands.
“Morgan, I never meant to hurt you that morning. I was fighting my own feelings for you at the time, because I thought it was the right thing to do. You were in college, I wasn’t sure how Blayze would feel about it, and a million other stupid reasons were going through my head. I never, for the rest of my life, want to see that look of hurt on your face again.”
“It’s okay. I acted like a child, and I only want to be open with you about how I feel now to let you know that I’ll be okay if you don’t—”
My words were cut off when Ryan’s mouth pressed against mine.
The kiss started off slow, but when his tongue swept over my lower lip, I opened to him. The feeling of his tongue against mine caused me to moan into his mouth and grab his forearms. Every bone in my body felt as if it had turned to molten liquid. Ryan deepened the kiss and turned me so that I was pushed into Tay’s side, who remained steadfast.
When he finally eased back, we both gasped for air. Ryan leaned his forehead on mine and closed his eyes. He drew in one deep breath after another—and so did I. That was the most amazing kiss of my entire life.
Then he started to speak, and my heart nearly beat out of my chest at his words.
“You take my breath away, Morgan. Your smile, your laughter. Your take no prisoners attitude. The way you love so deeply. And when you look at me…fuck, when you look at me, I want to tell you how it makes me feel.” He placed his hands on either side of me, pinning me against Tay. “When you look at me, it’s all I can do not to pull you into my arms and kiss you senseless. Yesterday morning, waking up with you in my arms? It felt so goddamn right, and I wanted to tell you that. Then last night, in that dress—I was sure you could see all over my face how much I wanted you.”
I blinked back tears as I looked up at him. “You really want me?”
He let out a humorless laugh. “If I thought I could take you right now, I would.”
I licked my lips and smiled provocatively. “What’s stopping you?”
Groaning, he dropped his forehead back to mine. “My first time making love to you is not going to be out in a field.”
My stomach clenched with a desire so strong it stole my breath. Lifting a hand, I slid my fingers through Ryan’s hair and closed my eyes. In the midst of all the crap that had happened since I’d moved into my apartment, something beautiful was rising up out of it.
Tina and Bobby insisted that we stay for lunch. It was nice to visit with them, and even though Ryan and I tried not to let how we felt about each other show, it was obvious his parents were picking up on it.
After Ryan had packed up a few things and put them in his truck, Tina hugged me goodbye. “You take care of him.”
“I think it’s going to be the other way around,” I said with a soft smile.
Tina grinned. “I’ve never seen my son look at anyone the way he looks at you, Morgan. I’m glad he finally woke up and realized it.”
I frowned. “Finally?”
Tina waved her hand at me. “Please, that boy has had a thing for you for as long as I can remember. Just ask your mother. We both saw it years ago.”
He’d mentioned having feelings for me two years ago, but… Blinking rapidly, I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. I was too stunned.
Tina chuckled. “Don’t look so shocked. Now, you be careful—and keep your eyes and ears open.”
“I will.” I hugged her again and then kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you for lunch.”
“Anytime,” Tina said, making her way over to Bobby.
“Don’t worry about us, everything will be fine out here,” Bobby was saying to Ryan. “We’ve got three horses leaving this week and no new ones coming in, so take it easy, son. You deserve some time off.”
“I need to come back and check on my brew,” Ryan said.
Bobby laughed. “Don’t trust me to do it?”
“You’ll drink it all,” Ryan said in a totally serious voice.
I looked at Bobby then at Tina for confirmation. She simply winked.
“You’ll call me if you need anything?” Ryan asked his parents.
“Ryan, you’re only fifteen minutes away. How do you think we managed when you lived in town?” Tina asked.
