Page 30 of The Wrangler

As their hearts pounded and their breathing slowed, they remained entangled, sweat-soaked and sated. Jesse, still inside her, gently brushed the hair from her face, his expression softening.

“I love you,” he said, quietly.

“You don’t have to say that.”

“I do if it’s true, and you’d best tell me the same.”

She laughed softly. “And if I don’t?”

He chuckled. “I’ll spank that pretty ass of yours until you can’t sit down until sometime next week.”

“Well, in that case, I love you too, cowboy.”

He rolled from her, pulling her close. Keely lay against his chest, her fingers tracing lazy circles over his skin.

Jesse’s heart was still pounding, but for the first time in a long damn while, he felt… at peace.

She sighed, her breath warm against his skin. “I think I might be in trouble.”

Jesse tilted his head, looking down at her. “Why’s that?”

Her fingers stilled, her voice quieter now. “Because I don’t think I’m ready to lose you.”

Jesse felt the words like a punch to the gut. He tightened his grip on her, pressing a kiss to her hair, breathing her in.

“You’re not going to lose me,” he murmured.

Keely let her breath out slowly. “Promise?”

Jesse held her closer, his jaw tight. They had a war waiting for them tomorrow.

But tonight? Tonight, she was his.

And that was the only thing that mattered.

Jesse had never known a woman who infuriated and wrecked him in equal measure.

But Keely Malone had never been like anyone else. She was fire wrapped in silk, soft in all the places that made a man weak but strong enough to drive him to his knees.

And right now? She was his. When this was over, he’d have Reed to deal with, but Jesse didn’t care. He would never let her go.

Jesse had meant to keep his hands off her. He had meant to keep things controlled, professional. But that was before she had wrapped herself around him, kissed him like she needed him to breathe, and whispered his name like it was the only damn thing keeping her tethered to this world. Now, there was no turning back.

She lay beside him, her body flushed, her breathing deep and even. His fingers slid along her bare thigh, tracing slow, unhurried lines, watching as she shivered beneath him.

“You trust me?” His voice was rough, edged with something dangerous, something untamed.

Keely’s eyes fluttered open, her lips still kiss-swollen, her gaze heavy-lidded but clear.

“Yes.”

The word hit him like a bullet. He knew she had never trusted anyone—not like this, not enough to relinquish control, to allow herself to be taken, owned, claimed. He vowed to himself to never take that for granted. The minute this thing was over, he’d have a collar around her neck and a ring around her finger. Reed be damned.

Jesse wrapped a hand around her wrist, guiding it above her head, pinning it to the mattress. “No second-guessing. No trying to take control.”

Keely swallowed hard, nodding. His grip tightened, just enough to hold her still. “Say it.”

Her breath hitched, but she obeyed. “No second-guessing. No trying to take control.”

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