Page 31 of Curvy Nanny for the Cowboy

“Don’t be,” I insisted. Loving a widower meant getting comfortable with hearing about the person he loved first, possibly still did. “Tell me about her.” Part of it was curiosity, and another part was my desire to make sure Hunter knew about his mother.

His eyes took on a faraway look, and a wistful smile curled up the corners of his lips. I couldn’t deny the way my heart squeezed at the emotion welling up within him as he thought about his wife. “She was strong as hell and just as feisty. Sara never really belonged here on the ranch, though. I’m not sure if we would’ve made it if she’d survived.”

His words surprised me, but I kept my expression carefully neutral. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do. This place is my life; it’s where I belong.” Colton held my gaze as if he wanted me to know just how important McCall Ranch was to him, but it was unnecessary.

“This place is wonderful, Colton. Truly. But I can tell how much it is a part of you; it practically pulses through your veins.” The truth was that I couldn’t picture him anywhere else or doing anything else. Unlike boyfriends past, where I could see them living their full potential, becoming more than what they were at the moment. But with Colton, he was already where he was meant to be, doing exactly what he was meant to be doing.

“You really like it here?”

I nodded eagerly. “I do. I wasn’t sure about it at first; it was just a way to get away from the city and have a full-time nanny job. But this place is magical. The scenery and the peace, not to mention the goats. Life should always feature goats.” I couldn’t help but smile because every word I spoke was the truth. There was something slightly magical about being here, something that just allowed me to shrug off all the crap in life that weighed me down and prevented me from being happy, and forced me to find ways to be happy.

A gorgeous smile lit his face, and if there was ever any doubt about how I felt about this man, it vanished in that moment. I knew I loved him, that I wanted to make this ranch my home with him. That I wanted him and his little boy and all the ranch hands to become family to me.

It was an impossible dream, of course. Someday soon, Hunter would start school, and shortly after that, I wouldn’t be needed anymore. I would outlive my usefulness, and once again, I’d be on my way. I wanted to believe that wasn’t entirely true, but Colton had given no indication that this was anything more than a relationship of convenience, so I couldn’t let my heart and my mind run away with fairytales and fantasies.

“Hey,” he called with a frown. “Where did you go?”

I smiled far too brightly and shook my head. “I was just thinking about dessert,” I lied easily because the alternative was to spill out the contents of my heart to him and risk rejection.

“Dessert?” His brows lifted in question, and a heartbeat later, his gaze darkened. “What’s for dessert, Molly?”

“Either homemade chocolate sauce or you.” My heart galloped in my chest, and I leaned forward, letting him see the naked lust, the white-hot longing, the love I felt for him in my eyes, and then I smiled. “Or both.”

“I choose both,” he growled as he stood up, knocking his chair back as he reached across the table and hauled me over his shoulder like a caveman. I didn’t mind at all; I just held on tight as he carried us up the stairs and back to his bedroom, where he absolutely and completely ravished me.

Twice.

I fell asleep with my head resting on his chest, the steady beat of his heart sang me into a deep sleep where my dreams were filled with the life we could have together.

If only everything was completely different.

* * *

“You want me to dowhat?” I sat up in bed and stared at Colton with my mouth hanging open.

He licked his lips and removed his shirt, tossing it over his shoulder as his mouth stretched into a smile. “Based on your reaction, you heard me clearly.”

Good God, why was his voice an octave deeper and infused with honey right now? My nipples beaded tight, and my breath caught in my throat. “Yeah, but I’m gonna need you to say it again. Slowly.”

“Okay.” He reached forward and circled his thumb and forefinger around my ankle before giving it a sharp tug. His smile returned when I gasped in shock at the commanding—and hot—move. “What I want, Molly.” His hands slid up from my ankles to my thighs and then my waist, gripping the hem of my shorts and tugging them down until I had no choice but to lift my hips. “Is for you to spread those lovely legs and let me see how you please yourself.”

Yeah, that’s what I thought he’d said. I blinked, and my brows dipped into a frown. “But you’re right here,” I pouted and reached out to rub my foot over his obvious erection. “Hard and ready.”

“I’ll still be hard and ready after I watch you sink those fingers knuckle-deep into that sweet pussy of yours. She’s already wet for me, isn’t she?”

I nodded, suddenly breathless and even more turned on by his dirty words. My legs fell open, revealing myself to him. “This is what you want?”

“It is,” he answered and watched the slow trek of my hand between my breasts and down my belly.

I stopped just at the mound and smiled. “Will this make you happy?”

“It will make me fucking ecstatic.” The truth of his words was written all over his gorgeous face. Those hazel eyes blazed gold with desire.

I swallowed down my nerves and let my fingers move a little further south until I felt the moisture seeping through my folds. He was right; I was completely soaked just by his words and his touch. Two fingers slipped down, and I opened myself to his gaze, the sounds of our breathless pants mixed with the sound of my wetness. “Oh, God.”

Colton grunted, and when my eyes fluttered shut, his nostrils flared and his jaw clenched tight. “More.”

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