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He collapsed on her for a brief second before he pulled out and rolled to his side to dispose of the condom.When he rolled back, his voice held concern.“Are you okay?I didn’t mean to be so rough.”
She was so relaxed that it took a real effort to turn her head and look at him.His hair was boyishly mussed and his eyes held concern.She had seen that look in his eyes before.Like when she’d had too much of Mimi’s elderberry wine one New Year’s Eve and showed up at his grandparents’ house acting a fool and looking for Jace.Decker had taken her keys and walked her home.Then she had just thought he was a weird kid who acted too much like an adult.Now she saw him for what he was.
A hero.
Her hero.
She smoothed back the lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead and smiled.“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Sweets.I should be thanking you.That was ...unbelievable.”
She smiled.“It was pretty awesome, but I wasn’t thanking you for the sex.I was thanking you for not letting me jump out of the hayloft when we were kids.And for taking my keys when I was drunk.And for coming to my rescue when Major bucked me off in the Fourth of July parade.And for always watching out for me even when I never paid you any attention at all.”
He leaned in and brushed a kiss over her forehead.“That’s not true.You paid me the best kind of attention.You accepted me without pitying me.To you, I wasn’t the orphan who’d lost his parents and had to come live with his grandparents.I was just Jace’s weird cousin.”
“Well, you were kind of weird.I mean, when you first got here, you dressed in polo shirts, khakis, and pristine white sneakers.You were scared of bees, spiders, and even butterflies.It took months before I could get you to say ‘y’all’ and even longer to get you on a horse.”
He smiled.“See, you did pay attention to me.You made sure I spoke and rode like a true Texan.”
“I just didn’t want you getting beat up after Jace left for college.”
“Then I guess I should be thanking you too.”He rolled on top of her, framing her head with his perfect forearms.“So how should we go about thanking each other, Sweets?”
She looped her arms on his shoulders and slid her fingers through his hair.“I think we can figure it out.”
ChapterEighteen
Life was sweet.
Or maybe life was Sweets.
Decker felt like he hadn’t really started living until Sweetie had come home.For the last week, he’d woken up every morning feeling like he’d won the lottery and gone to bed every night feeling the same.He would have loved to hold her hostage in his house and never venture out into the real world.But he had to work and she had to help her sisters untangle the financial mess the ranch was in.
He had known things weren’t good at the Holiday Ranch.But he hadn’t known how bad they were until Sweetie had told him.He wished he could help her and her family out, but he’d spent most of his savings on buying his grandparents’ house.Still, he had offered what he had.In the last week, he had come to realize that he would give Sweetie anything to keep her here ...including his heart.
She had refused both.
His money she had refused with words.His heart she had refused with actions.No matter how passionate her lovemaking or how tenderly she held him afterwards, she never stayed the night.He hated the moment when he had to walk her to her car and say goodbye.He never complained or begged her to stay.He refused to smother her and make her leave sooner.But it was becoming harder and harder not to think about her leaving and to just enjoy the time they had together.
A piece of hay brushed over the bridge of his nose, pulling his attention to the woman who lay next to him in the hayloft.Her hair was mussed and littered with hay and her eyes were sated from their lovemaking.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about?”She ran the piece of hay over his bottom lip.
“I’m thinking about how itchy my bare behind is.”
She laughed a soft laugh that made his stomach feel all light and airy.“And here I thought the prissy city boy was completely gone.”
He rolled on his side to face her and lifted his eyebrows.“Prissy?”
“That’s what I said.Hardy country folk don’t mind dealing with a little itch.But if you’re too soft, I guess we just won’t tumble in the hay again.”
He growled and pulled her to him, giving her a long, deep kiss before drawing back.“I can deal with a little itch.”
She looked up at him with twinkling eyes.“Well, I can’t.”She reached down and scratched her butt cheek.“Next time, I’m bringing a blanket.”
“Here, let me scratch that itch for you.”He pushed her hand away and filled his palm with her soft flesh.
“That’s not scratching.That’s squeezing.”
