Page 23 of Midnight Surrounds Us

CHAPTER EIGHT

RYE

Damn.She’d felt good in my arms, and that kiss? Fucking epic. I literally took her breath away.

And now I had her comfy and cozy in the bed of my truck. It’s where I’d always wanted her, though, in my imagination, she was sprawled out beneath me, naked under the starlit sky, moaning my name and arching to my touch.

But now that we were here, the walls surrounding her heart had only cracked open the tiniest bit.

It was a start. A slow, small start, but I’d take it any day of the week.

“Wine or beer?” I asked as she sat across from me on the truck bed and crisscrossed her legs like a little girl.

“Water,” she said with finality.

“As you wish.”

“What I’m wishin’ for, Rye, is for you to tell me this plan of yours. What the hell can I do for you that’s worth five grand?”

I smiled. Anything she did for me was worth a hell of a lot more than that. I kept having to remind myself why she’d said yes and why we were really here.

But I couldn’t stop from teasing her a little. “I want you…”

Her eyebrow twitched and her eyes narrowed when I didn’t finish my sentence, but then I grinned, and she rolled those beautiful browns.

“I want you to help me convince my parents I’m capable of runnin’ my family’s ranch.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that, but how exactly do you see me doin’ that?”

“Well, you’re a business owner, a valued member of the community. My parents respect my Uncle Red a lot, and he respects you. It’s been a while, but they always loved havin’ you over, you know, back when you and Tommy?—”

Some kind of regret flashed in her eyes and she interrupted me. “I remember.”

“And, I dunno. Maybe you could talk me up a bit. Maybe then my parents wouldn’t doubt everything I do. God, you can’t know how ridiculous I feel even sayin’ that at my age.”

Aubrey laughed quietly, but she said, “Rye, I think you might be overestimatin’ the power of my influence.”

I studied the curve of her face, wanting to reach over and feel its softness and thinking she had no idea how she’d influenced me over the years. She’d kissed me tonight, but that had been about me seeing her, the real her.

It was a gratitude kiss. Nothing more. At least not to her.

“I’ll be plain, Spitfire. My mama won’t see me as a man until there’s a steady woman in my life. It’s sexist and stupid, but that’s how she views the world. And my dad won’t let me have any control until my mama tells him I’m ready. So I need you.”

And I want you. I wanna bury my body inside yours until my truck bounces to the rhythm of your pleasure, and when I make you come, I want you to scream my name while you dig your nails into my shoulders and draw blood.

Aubrey cleared her throat. “My eyes are up here, Ryder.”

“Huh?” I said, dragging my attention away from the open space between her legs. I could imagine how warm she was there and how good she’d taste.

“You’re droolin’,” she said sarcastically, but she couldn’t hide the smile curving the corners of her mouth.

As much as she wanted me to think she didn’t care about my attraction to her, I could see by the light in her eyes it excited her. And when she stared at my biceps or my lips or at the way my hungry gaze caressed every inch of her body, it was easy to see I wasn’t the only one feeling…something.

If we’d been here a year ago, things would’ve been a lot different. She still would’ve been closed off and mourning a love that was so much less than she deserved.

But it wasn’t a year ago. The time was now. Tonight, and she was opening up right in front of me. The realization that I might have a little something to do with that made me happier than I’d felt in a long time. It also made my dick so hard, it throbbed.

“So you think if you take me home and show me off, your parents will magically change their minds about you? I think that plan is a little flawed.”

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