Page 81 of The Rancher's Secret Relationship

And then he began walking.

Towards his bedroom.

Oh.

He saw the flare of understanding in her eyes. "Scared?"

The slender arms around his neck slowly tightened. "Of you?" She shook her head. "Never."

And he could see that she meant it.

Blake's eyes widened when she saw the way Thornton's lips curved ever so faintly. "An almost-there smile," she blurted out, but even as his eyes gleamed with amusement, his lips didn't yield any further, and it was like having him silently tell her,Don't push it.

Thornton felt her body shaking with mirth, and he couldn't help thinking how this was another first that he only experienced with Blake. All the other women he had dated never felt the inclination to smile in his presence, much less laugh or giggle. They had genuinely wanted to fuck him, yes, and some he even had decent and occasionally interesting conversations with.

But he couldn't recall a single one of them laughing or, even rarer, have the ability to make him laugh in return.

It really was just Blake...

And that was why he could not, would not, and would never give her up to any other man.

He didn't know if that was how love worked, but what he did know was that he needed this woman and her alone in his life.

Chapter Fourteen

BLACK BOOK SHELVES. Wood plank floorings. A rusty clock hanging from a wall bracket, like those in old train stations.Blake could only snatch the barest impressions of Thornton's unit as they went further and further in. It was just so impossibly hard to think, with the way her heartbeat was pounding against her chest and the way her body couldn't stop tingling all over.

Once in a while, insecurities would manage to wriggle its way inside her brain -it's too soon, things are moving too fast, you're being too easy -but then she'd feel Thornton's own heart slamming against his chest, and she just knew.

Even without the words.

Even if it wasn't the same with him yet...

It would be.

One day.

He would love her, too.

But for now—-

Blake felt Thornton slowly lower her to his giant-sized bed, legs first, and then her bottom touching the black silk sheets.

Desire would make a very, very good start.

He started to reach for her, but Blake impulsively shook her head. "I can undress myself," she heard herself say even as she could feel her cheeks flaming with every word."But I'd alsolike to watch you..." Her voice awkwardly trailed off as shyness suddenly got the better of her, and Blake could only make a face when she saw Thornton's lips twitch.

"It's not funny," she protested.

"It is." His voice was its usual slow drawl. "But it's also cute." And this time, she did almost end up making him smile, with the way her whole face lit up. She was just so goddamn easy to please, it ironically left him feeling like he had no idea what was it he was supposed to do with her.

Fuck her brains out until she only knew to moan his name? Lock her up so she could only see him?

"Thorn."Her sweet voice was filled with longing, and Thornton sucked in his breath as he realized that was his answer.

What she would need from him in the future...was for another day for him to think of.

But for now.

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