Page 86 of The Cowboy’s Intriguing Love

“What do you mean?” she asked.

He pressed another quick kiss to her lips. “I’ll tell you – I will, but first …” He glanced around. There was no one around, but he didn’t want to embarrass her.

He needn’t have worried – she was already rolling up onto her tiptoes. “First, you need to kiss me,” she said in the moment before their lips met.

He closed his eyes and held her close. She felt so right in his arms. He got lost in her kiss, so sweet, and yet strong. She was it for him, no two ways about it. Now, all he had to do was keep her safe. Sure, he wanted to take her home with him. But what he wanted most was for her to be safe and happy – whatever that looked like.

Chapter Nineteen

Ty sat on the sofa in Shayna’s apartment, looking out the window at the amazing view of the lake. Cash had gone into the house with Davin and Alexis, and Shay had brought him up here to show him around. They were supposed to go and join the others after she’d given him a tour – and they’d had the chance to catch up a bit. The plan was to go to The Boathouse for dinner.

Shayna was standing at the kitchen counter uploading some of her homework to the portal.

“Are you sure you want to go?” he asked.

He knew that she’d been planning to do more schoolwork tonight. Yes, it was important that they should all get their heads together and come up with a plan to keep her safe, but he hated that it would put her behind.

She came to him and when he pulled her down onto his lap, she grasped the front of his shirt. “It’s okay. Really. If it comes to it, I can request an extension. I know some people do that all the time, and it’s not a big deal. I don’t like to, but under the circumstances …”

He touched her cheek. “You’re awesome, you know. I bet people request extensions because they partied too hard and have a hangover, and you won’t ask for one even though you’re working seventeen jobs and carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

She laughed. “It’s not as bad as you make it sound.” She frowned. “Not usually it isn’t. I won’t ask for an extension justbecause I have a heavy workload, but I will when I have a convicted rapist who wants to take me home with him.”

She shuddered, and Ty tightened his arms around her. “He’s not going to take you anywhere.” He wanted to sayBut I hope I can.But she was stressed enough about everything without him adding to it.

“No, and going back to your original question, I really do want to go to dinner. I think it’s important to talk about what I can do. And I think it’d be all wrong for Cash to come all this way and have me say,Sorry I can’t come to dinner, I have to study!”

“He knows how hard you work. He doesn’t want to drag you away from it. It’s more that he doesn’t want to go brainstorming with Davin and Alexis about things that affect your life without you even there.”

She frowned. “What kind of brainstorming?”

He sucked in a deep breath; he was going to have to bring it up and there was no point in beating about the bush.

“How would you feel about coming to stay with me?”

She grinned – missing the point completely. “I’d love to! I’ve been Googling your valley – it’s so beautiful, Ty. I just have to figure out how to get the time off and … What?”

He kissed her forehead. “I don’t mean just for a visit. I mean to get you out of here – to keep you safe. Now that we know what we’re dealing with – who this asshole is – I don’t think we should take any chances.”

She just stared at him.

“I know you have your work to think about, and it’d be a huge deal to uproot you like that – I’m not taking this lightly. But I’m not taking the threat lightly either. If he’s got it in his head that you’re what he wants, then I don’t think he’ll stop until he …”

He shuddered. He couldn’t even think about what might happen.

Shayna was staring at him wide-eyed. “I … I can’t, Ty. I … my whole life … and these guys, and Booker and …” She shook her head. “I can’t just walk out on my life.”

His heart was pounding; he’d known that she’d need some time to wrap her head around the idea, but he’d hoped that she’d at least consider it.

He blew out a sigh. “I know, sweetheart, I’m not asking you to walk out on your life. Just to shift where you live it for a while. Cash already said that we can use the jet to get you back here to visit these guys as often as we can, and there are plenty of jobs around the ranch and at the lodge that need filling and …” He stopped and ran his hand through his hair.

“I’m not ignoring what you’re saying, Shay – even though it sounds like I am. I’m just trying to make you see that it might not be such a bad idea. I wouldn’t pressure you just to be with me – to get you to come live with me. Although, I won’t lie, either – that’s my end goal. If I’m putting pressure on you, it’s because I’m scared, sweetheart. I’m scared that if you stay here, having someone with you every waking moment will get old – for you and for the rest of them. All it takes is letting down your guard one time and …” He didn’t want to finish that sentence – he could see that he didn’t need to.

“Shit! I’m sorry. I’m not trying to scare you.”

She shook her head slowly. “I know but … I don’t know, Ty. I can’t imagine. I’ve never lived anywhere else. I’ve never even met your family. What kind of jobs are you talking about? I …”

Her words gave him hope – she was considering what it’d take, not flat out dismissing the possibility.

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