Page 55 of Broken Player

She leaned against me, her back leaned up against my side while she kicked off her boots and grabbed a bottle of water and a sandwich. "You know, in all the years I've lived here, I don't think I've ever had a picnic out here," she mused.

"Glad I could be your first," I flirted, hoping she'd let me be more than one first by the time we'd figured everything out.

She just hummed against me as she ate her sandwich, the vibration carrying up my arm. I had an ulterior motive for this picnic. I wanted to know what her hopes and dreams were so I could help make them happen, and I planned to ask her all about them. I knew she didn't want to be stuck on this ranch for the rest of her life. "Hey, Freckles?"

She turned and looked up through her sinfully long eyelashes, her wide doe eyes captivating me and making me forget what I wanted to ask. "Yeah?"

"Uh…" I frantically searched my mind, trying to remember where I was going with this. "What do you want out of your life?" I finally asked, breathing a sigh of relief that I managed to come up with something and not make a total fool out of myself.

I watched as her eyebrows drew together, and an adorable little wrinkle formed between them on her forehead. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, where do you see yourself in the future? In a couple of years? Do you still want to be here doing this?" I wondered, scanning the miles of green grass spread out in front of us.

"I don't know," she mumbled around her sandwich, dropping her eyes down to the blanket.

I turned so that we were facing each other and she had to look at me. "That's not true, Freckles. I think you do know, but you're too afraid to admit it."

She huffed out a breath and finished swallowing her bite before lifting her eyes to meet mine. She stared back at me with determination and fire, which was one of the things I loved most about Ryan. She didn't cower or cry or pout. She owned her shit, and she worked hard to make it happen. I respected the fuck out of her.

"Fine. That dream I had? The one I told you about where I wanted to be a cop? I never let that go. I don't want to be stuck out here in the middle of fucking nowhere completely miserable and wasting away as my body slowly breaks down. And for what? So people can have their steaks and hamburgers? I fucking hate it, okay?"

She was breathing hard, and I was a little bit stunned at the way she just put it all out there. I didn't think I'd ever heard her talk like that before, but I liked it. I scooted closer to her andrubbed her arm with my hand. She was shaking underneath my palm, so I pulled her against me and wrapped her up in my arms. I couldn't keep my distance no matter how hard I tried.

I also hadn't missed that her dream of getting the fuck out of here and becoming a cop hadn't mentioned one thing about her future husband. I filed that away to analyze later. I figured if I brought it up now, she'd shut down, and that was the last thing I wanted.

"You can do anything you want, and I'll be right beside you to make sure it happens," I vowed, my words slightly muffled as I talked into her hair. But I didn't want to let her go.

She pulled out of my grasp but still held onto my hand. "I want to help people. I feel called to it in every cell of my being. Watching what you went through, Mad… It did something to me. I'll never forget how your face used to look when you'd show up at my window." My jaw clenched as the memories threatened to pop up, but I focused back on her, refusing to acknowledge my past right now.

The stormy determination shining in her eyes even inspired me. It made me want to be better,dobetter. "You were always my safe haven, Freckles. You'd make an excellent cop," I assured her. "But what's stopping you?"

She looked around and sighed, her shoulders slumping. "This place. It's like a chain around my neck. I can't let it go because it's my parent's dream. It's the only home my dad's ever known. But if I don't do something, I'll never get out."

"I can help with that, you know," I volunteered, but she shook her head.

"I can't let you do that. This is my mess, and I have to figure it out." She finished her sandwich and stood up, dusting off her hands. "Ready to get back to work?" I hadn't missed the change in subject when I offered to help, or how she said she neededto figure it out. I'd learned a lot at this lunch, even if she hadn't meant to give much away.

First, Ryan still held onto her dream of being a cop. Yates didn't seem like the kind of guy who was interested in anything other than a trophy wife, so I wondered how she figured she'd pull off convincing him to be okay with her plans.

Second, she hadn't mentioned anything about her soon-to-be husband in her future or any plans to start a family.

And third, and probably most important, she was actively looking for a way to get out of here. To free her of this place so she could follow her dream. And if she was so eager to leave, why wouldn't she take me up on my offer to help? Did she already have plans in motion? And was that what she was doing with the jackass she was marrying? Nothing added up.

My mind raced with so many thoughts, I hadn't heard Ryan talking to me. "What was that, Freckles?" I asked, my attention completely focused on her again as I silenced my thoughts. I'd figure all that shit out later. Right now, she was what was important.

"I asked you why you've been sort of distant this week. Did I do something wrong?"

"No. But you know where I stand, and I don't want to keep feeling like I'm pushing you somewhere you don't want to go. I'm here, I'm around every single day because I'm trying to show you that you can count on me. I'm not going anywhere. And I haven't made it a secret that I hope you'll call off the wedding and give me a chance." I reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to me so that we stood chest to chest. I smoothed her hair back out of her face and rested my palm against her neck, feeling her pulse racing under her skin.

"But make no mistake. If you come to me? It's game fuckingon.I have no problems finishing whatever you want to start, Freckles," I promised with a dark chuckle.

"Oh, no?" she whispered, her lips brushing against mine before we crashed together. I wrapped my arms around her, tangling one of my hands in her hair as she pushed her tongue into my mouth. I walked us backward until I pinned her body up against a tree. I reached down and grabbed under her thighs, picking her up so her legs wrapped around my waist, and I groaned at the feeling of her perfection pressed against me.

I kissed her long and hard, neither of us wanting to be the first to let the other go. She gripped me between her thighs, so I moved one hand up her hip and under her shirt, caressing the silky skin of her stomach. My fingers danced up her body until I rubbed my thumb across the hardened nipple poking through the thin lace of her bra.

I swallowed her moan as she arched into my hand, silently begging for more. Moving my hand, I slid it underneath the thin material and pushed it up out of the way so my fingers could play with no barriers between us. I ran my thumb across her again, and she threw her head back and cried out. Lifting her shirt, I lowered my mouth, blowing my hot breath against her stiff peak before swirling my tongue around it.

When she pressed her pussy against me, I nearly lost it. It didn't matter that we both had multiple layers of fabric between us. I wanted to rip every fucking piece of cloth off our bodies and lay her down right here and claim her as mine.

---