Page 10 of Her Grumpy Cowboy

I find myself getting lost in her eyes, in the way they sparkle with warmth and understanding. The firelight dances across her face, highlighting the elegant slope of her nose, the fullness of her lips. My gaze travels down to where my cowboy hat rests onher head, the brim casting a shadow across her face. It’s like it was made for her.

Fuck.

Everything about Jasmyn draws me in - her beauty, her kindness, her quiet strength. The way she is with Maisey, so patient and nurturing. The way she’s opened up to me tonight, shared a piece of her own story. I can’t remember the last time I’ve felt this kind of connection with someone.

Suddenly, the inches between us feel like miles. I ache to reach out and touch her, to feel the softness of her skin under my fingertips. To taste the sweetness of her lips. The air between us crackles with tension, with unspoken desire.

“Luke...” Jasmyn breathes.

And that’s all it takes. I close the distance between us, my hand coming up to cradle her face as I bring my lips to hers.

The kiss starts slow, a gentle brush of lips, but it quickly deepens into something more urgent, more passionate. Jasmyn’s hands come up to tangle in my hair, pulling me closer. I lose myself in the taste of her, in the feel of her body pressed against mine.

Around us, the bonfire crackles and pops, sending embers floating up into the starry sky. The laughter and chatter of the crowd fades away until it’s just us, lost in this moment, in each other.

When we finally pull apart, we’re both breathless, our chests heaving. Jasmyn looks up at me from under the brim of my hat, her eyes dark with desire.

“Wow...” she whispers, a slow smile spreading across her face.

“Yeah,” I agree, my heart pounding in my chest. “That was...”

“Amazing,” she finishes for me, her fingers playing with the hair at the nape of my neck.

I grin at her, feeling lighter than I have in years. “It was amazing. You’re amazing.”

I brush a thumb across her cheekbone, marveling at the softness of her skin. She leans into my touch, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment.

The firelight flickers across her face, casting a warm glow. She looks ethereal, almost magical, with my cowboy hat perched atop her dark curls. Like a dream I never want to wake up from.

We stay like that for a long moment, foreheads touching, breathing each other in. The rest of the world falls away until it’s just us, cocooned in the warmth of the fire and the depth of our connection.

“Jasmyn,” I murmur, my lips brushing against hers as I speak. “I know this might be fast, but I have to see you again. A real date, just the two of us.”

Jasmyn’s eyes sparkle as she looks up at me, a slow smile spreading across her face. “Luke Clayton, are you asking me out?”

“Darlin’, I’m asking you out, taking you out, and everything in between. I want to do this right. Dinner, dancing, the whole nine yards. What do you say?”

“I would absolutely love that,” she whispers, her fingers playing with the collar of my shirt.

My heart soars at her words. I capture her lips in another kiss, this one slower, deeper. A promise of things to come.

When we break apart, I rest my forehead against hers, savoring the closeness. “You just made me the happiest man at this bonfire.”

We settle into comfortable silence, my arm around her shoulders, her head resting against my chest.

In this moment, with Jasmyn in my arms and the promise of a future together on the horizon, everything feels right in the world. The struggles of single parenthood, the hard work ofrunning the ranch, the lingering pain of past heartbreaks... it all fades away.

All that matters is this incredible woman beside me and the happiness expanding in my chest. For the first time in a long time, I’m excited for what tomorrow might bring.

Chapter Five

JASMYN

“And right about here,”Luke points to a grove of trees in the distance, “is where Maisey once convinced me there was buried treasure.”

I laugh. “Buried treasure?”

“Yep. She had half my brothers out here digging for hours,” Luke chuckles. “She’s got imagination, that’s for sure. I gave her an old locket we found in the attic, telling her it was a family heirloom from a cowboy pirate. You should’ve seen her face.”

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