Page 104 of Forever To Me

His eyes linger on mine for a beat too long. Something shifts in my chest.

Maggie shouts from the sidelines: “Go get 'em, sugar!”

Walker groans. “Maggie, your paperwork’s officially getting sent in for the nursing home.”

Maggie just winks. “Hurry up! We want to see if Cami and Jack kill each other. They’re up next.”

The announcer lifts his hand. “Ranchers vs. Townies—GO!”

We take off, our legs tangled and steps uneven, already doomed. Walker wraps an arm around me to keep our balance, but it distracts me and makes me lean into him and glance at him, making me almost trip. Then it doesn’t help that I can feel his body heat where we’re connected.

Walker tries to match my stride, but his ridiculously long legs have me practically hopping to keep up. His fingertips hold me steady, but we’re already a mess of limbs.

“Damn it, Violet—move your leg!”

“You move your leg, Walker!”

Geez, who knew Walker was so competitive?

We lurch forward, limbs flailing, like a drunken octopus trying to run a marathon. We both laugh but stumble and almost fall.

Behind us, Cami and Poppy wipe out spectacularly, landing in the dirt in a tangled heap.

I cackle—but that laugh costs me when I lose focus. Walker yanks me forward, his hand gripping my waist, and my heart skips a beat.

“Eyes on the finish line,” he growls. The sound of his voice sends a traitorous shiver down my spine.

“What finish line?” I gasp. “All I see is my impending death.”

Walker laughs, and damn it, that deep, rich sound does something wild and dangerous to my pulse.

“Just keep moving, Red,” he huffs.

Somehow, miraculously, we find a rhythm. His thigh brushes mine with every step. Heat rolls off him, amplifying the leather, soap, and sweat smells and mixing with the dust in the air.

I glance at him. Grinning. Breathless. “We might actually win this thing.”

And that’s when we step in a pothole.

We go down. Hard.

The ground rushes up to meet me, and I land with a bone-jarring thud. Walker’s half on top of me, his arm braced by my head, his body heavy, warm, and solid as hell.

The crowd erupts in laughter.

Mack is howling. “You were so close!”

I groan. “So very close.”

Walker lifts his head. He’s propped on his elbows above me, his face inches from mine. I go completely still. His weightpresses against me in all the wrong—or maybe right—places. His breath fans against my cheek.

God help me, this man smells like a sin I want to commit twice. His eyes drop just for a second to my mouth, and everything fades. The crowd. The dust. The entire town shouting in the background… they all disappear until it’s just us.

The heat between us is impossible to ignore. My skin tingles and my heart races. I feel his breath and his muscles tense. His thumb brushes against my hip. I lick my lips. His eyes track the movement. His jaw tightens. His fingers flex. His gaze turns molten.

God. We’re one wrong move from a full-on public indecency charge.

And then?—

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