Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24601 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 98(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
"Wha—?"
That's as far as I get before I'm in his arms and his lips are on mine. He doesn't kiss me like he did the day I got here. He kisses me like a man on the edge, all heat and hunger and greed.
I can't even pretend that I don't kiss him back the same way. I do. God, I kiss him like I'm going to die if I'm not breathing his air right now. My hands tangle in his long hair, holding him to me as he sucks on my tongue, his hands planted on my ass.
I feel the hard ridge of his erection against my belly, and my whole body ignites.
"Fuck," he growls, nipping my bottom lip before he pulls back just enough to rest his forehead against mine. "Jesus, Calamity."
"That's not my name," I whisper, my voice shaking.
He palms my ass in response, yanking me closer. His breath pelts my lips in a rough chuckle. "Believe me, baby, I'm aware. But it suits you."
"Calling me a disaster is rude, Blaze."
He tilts my head back, meeting my gaze. "You aren't the disaster, baby. It's losing you that would be a fucking catastrophe."
"I…" I gape at him, at a loss for words because he means it. I see the truth painted across every stark line of his face. It glitters in the softness of his eyes, too.
He dips his head, brushing his lips across mine. "Get some sleep, baby."
I stumble out of his room when he releases me, my mind reeling. No one has ever said anything like that to me before, not and meant it.
But he did.
"What is happening to me?" I groan, pulling the covers up over my head as soon as I'm in my bed in the small guest room. I think I know the answer, though. And it's the same one that made me stay when he called this place my home.
Itoss and turn all night, my mind and body refusing to relax into sleep. As soon as I'm almost there, the way he kissed me comes surging back to the front of my mind, and my whole body clenches.
Eventually, I give up trying to ignore it and slip my hand into my panties. I'm soaked, my sex dripping. I bury my face in the pillow, desperately trying to quiet my moans as I get myself off, replaying the way he touched me and the way he kissed me.
I pretend it's his hand between my legs, his fingers inside me.
And even with my face in the pillow, part of me hopes that he hears me when I shatter, whimpering his name into the dark.
Before I finally drift off, I think I hear the floorboards outside my door creak.
When I wake up, Bishop, a giant of a man covered in tattoos, is already gone. But Blaze is in the kitchen, drinking coffee.
I stop in the doorway, my stomach clenching at the sight of him. Was he outside my door last night, or did I just imagine the sound? I'm not sure.
"Morning," he says, grinning at me.
"Morning," I mumble, pulling my hair back into a ponytail. "Where's Bishop?"
"Some of the cows are on the lam, so he went to wrangle them up."
I stare at him. "Seriously? They ran away?"
"It happens," he chuckles. "They find a weak spot in the fence and get loose. We try to wrangle them back up before they cause problems." His blue eyes twinkle. "A herd of cattle roaming free is chaos waiting to happen."
"I bet," I mumble, shaking my head. Ranch life is wild. It's also kind of beautiful, too. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"What am I supposed to do here?"
He eyes me over the rim of his mug. "What do you want to do, Morgan?"
I shrug helplessly. "I don't know, but I feel like I should do something."
He nods thoughtfully and then drains his cup before setting it in the sink. "You want breakfast?"
"No?"
"Come with me," he says, striding for the door.
I hesitate for a minute, then shrug and follow after him.
He leads me out to the cow barn, purpose in his steps.
I hang back, watching warily as he gathers a bucket and a stool before approaching a white cow with a black splotch on her side.
"This is Bertie," he says, gesturing at her. "We're going to milk her."
"We…seriously?"
"Yep." He grins. "Get your pretty ass over here, baby."
I hesitate for a split second and then shrug, striding forward. He helps guide me onto the stool and then kneels beside me, coaching me through it.
I think Bertie has something against me, though. She produces milk just fine for him. But when I try, I get nothing…at least not until he leans closer, trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong.
I get milk then. It sprays right in his face.
Gunner and another cowboy see it and end up on the barn floor in hysterics.