Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28678 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 143(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28678 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 143(@200wpm)___ 115(@250wpm)___ 96(@300wpm)
I’m overwhelmed with an urge to beg her to stay. I want her by my side, bringing me sunshine for the rest of my life. The longing is so strong that it feels like a physical ache and I know that I have to get her out of here. I want her all to myself for a few hours.
6
SIERRA
“You were smiling tonight,” I say to Colt as we leave the bar. We’re walking down Main Street, enjoying the evening air. His truck is parked a few doors down, but I don’t mind the walk, especially not when I can feel the heat radiating from his body. I want so badly to lean into him. I wish he’d wrap an arm around my shoulder and pull me close. I wish we could walk down this street like a couple.
“Not on purpose,” he answers quickly. The spring breeze ruffles his hair and gives me a tantalizing whiff of his shower gel. I smell like him too since my shower and for some reason, that little secret delights me.
“No one would ever accuse Colt Winters of such a silly thing as smiling on purpose.” I can’t resist teasing him. Maybe it’s the warm spring air or the feeling of safety he provides me with or just the hot dog that I ate at the bar. It’s the hotdog. It definitely has to be that.
To my surprise, he chuckles. He’s not acting like himself tonight. He’s a little more carefree. I’d blame it on the alcohol but both of us just sipped root beers all night long.
“You’re kind of handsome when you relax,” I tell him just as we arrive at the truck. It’s not true of course. He’s handsome all the time. Those silver streaks in his hair and his deep growly voice. Yeah, he’s always handsome.
He moves to unlock my truck door because it’s one of those old ones without the remote and I take advantage of the moment. I lean into him, letting my body relax against his.
Instantly, his hand goes to my hip. When he speaks, his voice is dark and laced with danger, “What are you doing?”
“Testing a theory,” I answer as I turn around to gaze up at him. We’re still standing so close that our breaths are mingling. Tonight while we were playing darts, he touched me, and I swear it felt like we were electrified. If the way he jerked his hand away from mine was any indication, he felt it too. Maybe I’m crazy but I think my dad’s best friend might just be attracted to me.
I lean up on my tiptoes and hear his sharp intake of breath. I wait for him to push me away, but he doesn’t.
Slowly, I brush my lips against his and that’s all it takes. Instantly, Colt takes over. He slides his hand to my lower back, urging me closer while he grips my neck with his other one. He angles my head, deepening the kiss. His tongue traces my lips until I’m opening to his invasion.
We’re pressed together, his hardness against my belly. It creates an answering ache in my body, and I groan when his tongue touches mine. That little noise seems to snap him back to reality and he immediately drops his hands.
He takes two steps back and stares at me for a long moment. I expect him to tell me it was a mistake or that we shouldn’t be doing this. But he doesn’t. Somehow, his silence is louder than anything he could have said to me.
He moves to his side of the truck and gets in. I don’t understand what just happened, so I get into the truck and try to think it through. He didn’t seem to mind the kiss, not if his arousal was any indication. What did I do wrong?
Colt starts the ignition, and he won’t look at me as he turns off Main Street and onto the long road that will take us back to his ranch. Am I a terrible kisser? Is he angry that I tried that? Should I apologize?
My thoughts are all jumbled together. I’ve never kissed anyone and that was incredible. Or at least it was until Colt ended it abruptly.
Neither of us say a word the entire way back. Even when he pulls his truck onto the dirt driveway, he still doesn’t say anything. Finally, I sigh when he cuts off the truck. “Are we going to talk about this?”
“No.”
He leaves the truck and takes the steps to the porch two at a time. Why is this man so frustrating? If he doesn’t like me and thinks I’m such a pain in his ass, why is he putting up with me? Surely, his loyalty to my father doesn’t go that far.
Inside the house, I retreat into my bedroom and sit on the bed with my knees pulled up to my chest. Maybe I should leave after tonight. But where am I going to go? I know I could stay at a women’s shelter but that’s not a permanent solution. I need a job, a way to make money and a place to crash.