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“Taste,” she commands again, looking at me earnestly.
With a chuckle, I comply, willing my cock to play dead as I take a bite of the apple. Sweet. Crisp. It makes me think of Ruby and has my dick aching even more.
“Good?” she asks, looking at me from beneath long lashes.
“Good.” I dip my head, drawing her closer. “But this is better.”
And then my lips hit hers. Ruby’s breasts crush against my chest as she winds her slender arms around my neck. I inhale, feeling closer to heaven every time I breathe her in. My blood simmers as need, fierce and desperate, threads its way into my veins.
When we finally tear away, we’re both panting.
Face dazed, a sexy little gasp pops out of her mouth. “Better,” she echoes, her eyes glassy.
I press a kiss to her brow. “You feeling okay today?” I ask, scanning her pretty face. She’s pale and has dark circles under her eyes. The last few nights, I’ve woken up to find her downstairs, curled up on the couch in a blanket.
“Just fine,” she says in a silvery little breath, but her attention drifts to the window. “How was your day?”
“Sprayed some weeds up on the north side of the ranch. Bastards are making our cattle sick.” I pull the stack of bills toward me. “Now paperwork.”
“You like paperwork or ranch work more?”
I bust out a laugh. These days, I’m getting used to them.
“Darlin’ I’d rather haul manure any day of the week than deal with paperwork.”
She leans in and sniffs my chest. “Well, you smell good to me.” Her fingers curl into the neck of my T-shirt as she tugs me down for a kiss. “Maybe this is my sunflower of the day. Your shirt still warm from the sun.”
I pull her into my arms to remind myself what a lucky man I am.
There’s something about a long, hard day on the ranch and coming home to Ruby. The angel kiss she lays on me the second I walk in the door. Sharing a cold beer on the porch after the hard work’s done. How much light, warmth, and energy she’s brought into my life.
The doors and windows of the cabin are open, and a soft breeze blows in off the mountains. Her flower pots take up all the available real estate. Three small pots of violets on the counter, and two cascading ferns on top of the fridge. She put the sunflowers I gave her in the kitchen so they can eat up the sunlight from the front window. I’ve never seen my place so cheerful.
The last two weeks, we’ve fallen in to our own little groove.
I fucking love it.
There’s no chance in hell she’s moving back into her cottage. Even though we know DVL is behind the attack, and what they’re doing, I’m not taking any chances. We’ve beefed up security, alerted our neighbors and the sheriff. If they come again, we’re ready for them. And Ruby’s safe with me. Her being here takes away the guilt over her getting hurt in the first place.
I’ll never be able to do enough to protect her.
“How about you?” I nod at her open laptop. “What have you been up to?”
“Oh, I’ve been up to a lot.” She stands, bouncing into me. With flourish, she slides a paper folder my way. “Here. More paperwork.”
I band an arm around her waist. “What’s this?”
“Your social media calendar planned out through the end of the year.”
I flip through the calendar she’s put together. It’s impressive. No bullshit marketing blather. Ruby’s telling our story in the most authentic way she can. Our local vendors. Our employees. That we’re family, and this ranch means something.
Suddenly, there’s a knot in my throat I can’t unstick.
This intelligent woman worked her ass off to understand Runaway Ranch, and it shows. She gave a voice to our ranch, our employees, our town. She’s not some stranger in another city on a computer blowing smoke. She’s in the shit with us. I’ve never been more proud.
“This is a printout, but I’ll send you a digital file for whoever you get to take it over,” Ruby chirps, dragging me from my thoughts.
“Take it over?” The air’s sucked out of me.
