Page 34 of A Forever Kind of Rancher

Chapter Six

Wendy couldn’t keep her eyes off his bare chest. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. He always had been. Even with her doing her best not to examine the fine architecture of his body, she had noticed.

How could she not?

He was so glorious. So utterly perfect. And shirtless, he was... He was a phenomenon. He was the kind of stunning that could only be compared to a mountain range, looming in the distance, glorious and transcending all other natural wonders. Broad and brilliant, the musculature of his shoulders, his chest, his stomach...

She had always known the desire between her and Boone went somewhere beyond mere physical attraction, but for the moment, she just marinated in the absolute masculine perfection present before her. For he was something else altogether than she’d seen in person. That was for sure.

She was almost startled by the visceral reaction she had to him. By the wave of need that washed over her. She wasn’t a stranger to sexual desire, or arousal. She enjoyed sex.

But it had never been like this. It had never been all-consuming. It had never been a driving need that washed out everything else, washed out her fear. Because she was the kind of woman who had been raised from a place of fear, because her mother had known she would need it in order to make her way in the world. Because her mother knew that a woman had to suspect everything and everyone. That a woman could never fully place her trust in another human being, because the moment she did that person could take advantage of her.

Yes, she had always been afraid. And so nothing had ever been able to carry her away, not completely. She had left herself fairly unprotected in her marriage, but even now, she’d known exactly how she would get away. And she had already made sure she and her girls didn’t end up on the streets. And perhaps she was giving herself a bit too much credit when Boone deserved more of it, but still, she felt confident saying she had never let herself get lost entirely in any sort of passion, anytime, anywhere.

Except now.

There was no logical thought. Nothing rational or reasonable about this. It was just need. Raw and aching and torn from the depths of her soul.

She was empty, and she needed, more than anything, to be filled by him.

She leaned back on the bed, looking up at him.

His grin... That edgy, wicked grin she had always longed to have turned on her.

And nothing was holding her back now. Nothing whatsoever.

It was freedom, the kind of freedom that made tears prick at the backs of her eyes, the kind of freedom that made her feel like she might be on the edge of a cliff.

And normally that would scare her. She was afraid of heights.

But not here. Not now.

Everything about this man said he would catch her.

She could jump. With all the wild abandon she never let herself feel, she could jump.

Because he was more than strong enough to catch her.

Because he was more than strong enough to make good on every promise the arousal he built inside of her created.

Yes. He was the man who had engineered this desire, and he was the man who would answer it.

Because Boone Carson was a man who kept his word.

Even when they were words he didn’t speak with his mouth.

He moved his hands to his belt buckle, and everything in her stilled. He began to undo the leather slowly, and her body rejoiced.

He pulled the belt through the loops on his jeans, and methodically set it on the edge of the bed, right next to her. He kicked his boots off, the movements there slow as well, removing his socks and placing them next to the boots. He was doing this on purpose.

Because he didn’t hurry to get up here, and now he was taking his time. She couldn’t even be angry, because it was the single most erotic thing she’d ever experienced. An echo of the denial they’d been experiencing since they had first met, and yet now with the promise of that desire being satisfied.

His hands went to the button on his jeans, then slowly lowered his zipper. His pants and underwear came off as one, and the extreme pulse of desire that rocked through her core when she saw the full, masculine extent of him made her mouth dry. He was glorious. The most beautiful naked man she’d ever seen, even though she’d only ever seen one other in person.

He was perfection. He was everything.

She couldn’t help herself. Or maybe she didn’t want to. She licked her lips.

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