Page 29 of The Rancher's Unrequited Love

Her heart leapt to her throat when Ethan suddenly leaned forward, and she couldn't help rearing back as she found her body trapped between his arms.

Hazel eyes glittered down at her, and this time there was no mistaking the lust in his eyes.

"Tomorrow..."

Anah blinked.Tomorrow?

Ethan's lips twisted at the expression on Anah's face. She was probably wondering if he was serious about waiting for the next day, and the truth was, he had no fucking idea if he would be able to keep his word.

But for her sake...

For his Anah's sake...

If she had been anyone else, he might've been able to ignore the demands of both his conscience and honor. If she had been anyone else, he wouldn't have hesitated on taking her up on her offer, and he would've had his dick fully embedded in her pussy the first chance he got.

But because she was Anah, his little Anah, and she was the one girl who would never deserve any kind of pain from him—-

"If you still want me tomorrow, you won't even have to ask."

She deserved one last chance to get away from him with her heart still intact.

Chapter Thirteen

ETHAN'S FIRST KISS.

Anah had always wondered what it would feel like, if it were to happen. She dreamt of it in the days her heart was happy, but she thought of it even more in the days when her heart was breaking, knowing that he was with someone else.

Most times, she imagined his kiss to be ardently explicit. Other times, she would imagine it to be chaste and tender, just like how kisses were in fairytales. But one thing she had never imagined it to be was sweet...just so, so sweet that it threatened to break her heart into pieces.

From the moment his hands cupped her face to the way his breath fanned against her lips...just so, so much sweetness that her body shuddered the second his mouth brushed over hers.

Ethan's first kiss.

Her lips started to tremble at the very thought, and she squeezed her eyes shut as his mouth began to move over hers. Softly. Gently.Sweetly.Just so much sweetness, too much sweetness, that despite the carnal need still coursing through her veins, it was impossible not to drown.

Impossible not to cry.

Impossible not to know just how much Ethan cherished her—-

And the tears started to fall.

Ethan froze at the taste of her tears. "Anah?" His voice was raw.

But when he tried pulling back, her arms quickly wrapped around his neck—-

She smiled up at him tearily. "I'm crying," she explained tremulously, "b-because...it's t-toosweet."

Ethan's heart clenched.Oh God.She was so fucking wrong. So goddamn wrong. Didn't she realize - everything he knew of sweetness was what he learned from her?

"And I'm just so h-happy—-" Anah gulped back a sob. "It's f-finally...y-your first kiss..."

Ethan could no longer take it, his fingers driving through the silky locks of her hair as his head lowered. Her lips parted, her arms tightening around his neck...until finally, her mouth was his.

A shudder racked his body even as his tongue drove in to deepen the kiss.This...this was Anah's taste.He finally knew it. The taste of Anah's lips. Mouth. Tongue. And the sweetness of it was intoxicating, its taste drugging his senses that he could just...not...fucking...stop.

He devoured her tiny rosebud of a mouth. Sucked on her lips until they were swollen. Thrust his tongue in and out until he had tasted her most intimate depths.

He kissed her like a man dying of thirst, and it was her taste alone that could quench his need. He just couldn't seem to get enough, and only the sound of her gasping had Ethan forcing himself to pull away.

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