Page 36 of When the Smoke Clears

“Yes, sir.” I barely manage a whisper. I’m flooded with arousal. With him treating me delicately these days, I don’t see a remedy for that anytime soon. Being near him is almost painful.

He pulls back enough for me to see that wicked look cross his face, before he grips my jaw softly in his hand.

“I’m positive you know what that does to me by now.” His breath skates across my lips. Despite his grip, I press my chin forward, trying to reach his perfect mouth. His grip tightens. The whimper that escapes me is all need, no pain.

“Don’t tease me, Cowboy.”

His smile precedes his lips ghosting against my own. I want more.I need more.

“You said we need to talk.” Like a flipped switch, he pulls back and slips one arm under my legs and one around my back, lifting me from the seat. “Don’t get any wild ideas. I don’t need you pulling a stitch and bleeding all over my truck.”

I’m glad he’s feeling comfortable enough to joke.

He deposits me gingerly onto the tailgate and lifts himself to sit beside me. With his weight back on his hands, he’s too kissable. Before he can protest, I straddle him, slip his hat onto my head, and glide my hands into his hair. His eyes flash.

“You know what they say about wearing the hat and riding the cowboy.” I tease him to disguise the pain.

He groans into my mouth, accepting my soft kiss. The next kiss is firmer, nipping his bottom lip as I pull back. His body is rigid beneath me.

“I feel a little like I’m taking advantage of you,” I whisper against his mouth.

Leaning his weight forward and sliding his hands up my back, he kisses my forehead. “It’s hard not to worry about you, especially when you don’t worry about yourself.”

“I’m okay.” My response is too fast, and we both know I’m lying.

His eyes darken and he studies every bit of my face. “I thought I might lose you before we got the chance to even start.”

My hands slide forward to cup his face, the stubble sending a welcome electricity zinging through my body. His steel eyes fall closed and he leans into my touch. “Sutton.” He reopens them, holding my gaze. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He shifts quickly, gripping my cheeks firmly between his warm hands and kissing me hard. A second one follows, which says so much more than we ever manage between us. It’s equal parts soft and strong, give and take. An agreement. A commitment. A need to heal something that’s been broken. To push away the fear and try to infuse some hope into our future.

It turns hungry without warning, and we’re all tongues and teeth and heavy breathing as our hands roam over each other.

Without warning, Sutton grips my hips and slides off the tailgate to stand, placing my feet on the ground. “We have a habit of getting carried away on this truck bed. One of these nights, I’m going to watch you come undone under the stars, but not tonight.”

I refuse to admit my disappointment when he shuts me down and starts me up at the same time.

“Tonight, I’m going to dance with you. We’re going to build new memories where we’ll build our home and our life. Is that ok?” His fingers tangle with mine as he waits for a response.

“Ourhome?”

His eyebrows dip momentarily. “Of course it’ll be ours. Why else do you think I brought you out here before?”

“I just thought you were sharing then.” Even as I say the words, they aren’t entirely true. I knew there was something he wasn’t saying before. A way he was assessing my response.

With our hands still clasped, he wraps both arms around my waist, trapping my hands behind me like he did after our first dance, and drops his chin, bringing his mouth closer to me. “Yes, I was sharing. Intentionally. I wanted to know if you wanted it, too.”

“Why didn’t you just say that?”

He exhales a silent sigh and one shoulder sags. “I didn’t want to push you. I never do. I want everything with you, Firecracker, but I don’t want to take it from you. I want you to want it just as badly.”

I untangle my fingers from his to place them against his torso. Stretching up on my toes, the pain of the movement eased by his supportive arms still around me, I place a soft kiss on his mouth. “I want it.”

“You want this ranch life?”

Why does he seem so surprised? “Yes.” I’ve thought on this considerably.

His hands return to my face, thumb tracing my lips. Something plays in his eyes and his touch stiffens. “That night, there was a moment where I thought the last thing I would hear was you telling me you love me.”

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