Page 17

It’s an easy walk across the pasture. My boots squelch through the dew, grass wet at my shins, the coolness biting through denim all the way to skin. I walk slowly, drawing it out, not ready to head inside just yet.

The house sits at the far end of the yard, windows flashing in the early light. I slow for a minute, taking it in. The whole ranch is waking up, slow and loud at the same time. Birds cut shapes overhead, cattle echo across the hills, and somewhere way off in the distance is the faintest sound of a tractor starting up. It all feels so alive, so much more real than anything waiting for me back in L.A.

I shove that thought down. There’s a dull ache in my ribs that starts anytime I think about leaving here. The clock has started ticking. But I won’t let it ruin this. Not this morning.

Hank beats me to the porch, dragging his little wiggle butt up the stairs. I laugh at his silliness and stomp my boots on the mat.

Inside, the house is dim and quiet. Hank waddles over to the living room, and I hear him fumbling his way up onto the sofa.

Silas’s voice, low and clipped, rumbles down the hallway. There’s a rough edge to it, the kind he gets when business goes sideways or he’s dead serious. I slow down, moving carefully, letting the moment hang before I announce myself.

His office door is half-open, and I freeze, not wanting to interrupt, but drawn by the way his voice carries. There’s something raw and magnetic about it. The words echo around my mind on a continuous loop.

“I’m not letting her go.”

Silence from the video call follows his declaration.

Then Maggie’s voice cuts through the room. “So, you’re planning to just up and move to L.A.?”

Silas doesn’t hesitate. “That’s right. I’ll become a silent partner like Cole.”

The words hit me with the subtlety of a barn door slamming shut. My knees almost buckle, right there in the hall. Holy moly. I press my palm to the wall, steadying myself. That’s when I know.

I don’t want Hollywood. Not the show. Not the version of me who says the right lines and looks perfect in a camera-ready sort of way. I want now. I want here. I want this man, and this ranch, and the freedom that comes with it.

My hand moves without thinking. I push the office door open, hard enough that it bounces and announces me.

Silas spins around in his chair. Shock freezes his features for a single heartbeat, then fear tightens the line of his mouth before it all melts away into something so raw and hopeful my own breath catches in my throat. Nobody has ever looked at me that way.

I don’t let it scare me off. I ignore the others listening on the video app, walk straight into the center of the room, and plant both feet on the rug. I keep my focus locked on Silas, tuning out the peanut gallery.

“I need to talk to you,” I say. My voice is calm. Maybe even strong.

He doesn’t hesitate. He just reaches out, closing the laptop in a single, final motion that snaps the room to quiet. The computer fan hums a warning, then dies. Sunlight pushes in through the window, dust motes spiraling through the air. The chair behind the desk creaks as Silas stands up, never taking his eyes off me.

My mouth is dry, but I swallow and take another step closer. I don’t fidget. I don’t hesitate. I just hold his gaze and let everything I’ve been holding back rise to the surface.

“I heard you,” I say. “I heard everything. And I don’t want you to move to L.A.” I wrap my arms around his waist and hurry to continue. “I don’t want the show. I don’t want Hollywood.” I let him see the truth shining from my eyes. “I want you. I want here. I want every day on this ranch with you. I’ve never felt more at home. I love the ranch.” My cheeks burn, but I don’t blink. If I lose my nerve now, it’s all for nothing. I open my mouth to tell him I've been in love with him since the first moment we met, but he beats me to the punch.

“I fucking love you,” he growls, then his warm lips cover mine. It’s not a gentle kiss. He takes my mouth like he’s starved, lips crushing mine, velvet and heat, his hands carving around my hips and hauling me so tight to his body that there’s not a breath of space left. His cock presses hard against my stomach, thick and unyielding, and the thrill of it rockets through me. I open for him, greedy, desperate for every inch of this man.

My hands fist in his shirt. I pull him even closer, grinding my curves up against him, loving the rumble in his chest when I do. He pushes me back until my thighs hit the desk, the edge biting into me, and then he crowds in, bracketing me with his thighs, owning my mouth with hungry, filthy precision. I moan into him, wild and unashamed.

He tears his mouth away just long enough to drag in a breath, then he’s got both hands in the messy knot of my hair, tugging my head back so he can lunge in and devour me, tongue slick and demanding. I taste coffee, salt, and the pure high-voltage want rolling off every inch of him. I’m dizzy with it.

“Goddamn, Inez,” he rasps, voice so rough it vibrates straight through my clit, “you’re fucking perfect. All mine.”

He lifts me onto the desk in one savage motion. My knees fall open, inviting him in, as his hands yank my jeans and underwear down my legs in one movement, greedy and impatient. The air flashes cold on my bare thighs before his palms are all over me, rough and sweet all at once.

He keeps his hands on my thighs as he yanks his jeans low, then shoves them just far enough to free his cock. He’s so hard, the flushed head already leaking, thick and heavy as he presses it right up to my aching, soaked entrance. My pussy clenches in anticipation.

Silas doesn’t say a word. Just watches my face, that wicked smile barely hanging on. Then his hips drive forward, and the thick length of him stretches me open, deep, impossibly perfect, like my body was made for him and nobody else. I gasp, full-on, desperate, every nerve ending firing at once.

He pins me to the desk, nothing but raw, hungry motion, sliding all the way in until my body gives up and all I can do is hold on. His cock fills me, hot and swollen, each thrust sending aftershocks up my spine and making my toes curl in my boots.

I choke on a sob, then blurt it out, voice shaking but real, “I love you, too.”

The words detonate between us. Instantly, he shudders. Every muscle in him locks. The sound he makes is pure animal, low and lost.