Page 73 of Wild, Wild Cowboy

I groaned, rocking harder. “Yes, that’s what I want.”

“Good. Then that’s what I’m going to give you.”

He thrust upward, hard and rough, again and again. His hands pinned me in place. All I could do was surrender as he fucked me senseless. I rarely had reason to use that word, but that was what this was. Fucking. There was no other word to possibly describe it.

And I loved every second of it.

I came crying his name, and that made his thrusts turn harder. Wilder. And just when I thought he might truly split me apart, he came, too. His body went rigid as he pulsed inside me.

We lay there for a moment longer, breathing heavily, and then I rolled off to use the bathroom. I didn’t want to look back on this gorgeous moment and think,yep, that was it. That was what gave me the worst UTI of my life.

When I came back, he was right where I left him, his eyes half shut, his mouth half smiling. I crawled back under the covers and rested my cheek on his chest, my body still warm and glowing from what had just happened.

It had been soeasy.

“I think I’m actually getting used to you being inside me,” I marveled.

Zack barked a laugh. “You’re a fast learner, duchess.”

I lifted my phone from the nightstand and took in the time, then sighed and put it down again. “It’s time for you to head back to Lodestar, although you could squeeze in a shower if you hurry.”

He nuzzled my hair. “I wish I could take you with me. I’m not ready to let go yet.”

I laughed and snuggled closer. “I know it’s going to be hard, figuring out how to see each other with me here in Aspen Springs and you at Lodestar. I’m open to ideas.”

“Well, you could marry me.”

29

HANNAH

“Marry you?” I squeaked. I pushed from his arms and frantically scrambled out of the bed. “That’s ridiculous. I can’t marry you.”

He eyed me from his position against the headboard, his expression wary. “Calm down, duchess. It just slipped out, that’s all. It’s not a real proposal. Come back to bed.”

“Thank goodness.” I pressed my hand to my chest, where my heart still thumped like I had run a marathon—or, since I had never run more than five steps in my life, a single mile. “You scared me.”

“Iscaredyou?”

“Yes, Zack. Of course you scared me. We barely know each other.”

I reached for my glasses on the bedside table and put them on just in time to see him recoil from shock. I pretended not to notice. I should get dressed, shouldn’t I? I needed to be at the library soon.

“What do you mean, we don’t know each other?” he demanded.

“It’s been what, a month? A month isn’t enough time to decide you want tomarrysomeone,” I said impatiently. It was ridiculous that I had to explain such an elementary fact to him. I marched to my dresser and pulled open the top drawer with shaking hands.

“A month might be enough time for some people,” he said from the bed. “Kinda like how five cats isn’t too many.”

I sniffed. What nonsense. I wasn’t going to dignify that with a response. I wiggled into a pair of clean underwear and a clean enough bra.

“It’s been a hell of a month, hasn’t it?” The bed creaked as he shifted.

“Where is that sweater?” I muttered, rifling through the middle drawer. It was here somewhere. I had worn it to the rodeo, but I had washed it before we went to the horse auction.

“Hannah, for fuck’s sake, will you stop getting dressed for a minute and talk to me?”

I froze, but I didn’t turn around. I felt weak and shaky, like I hadn’t eaten in days. “I have to get ready for work.”

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