Page 65 of Reckless

I’ve resigned myself to being satisfied with snuggling on the couch. To holding this gorgeous girl. To hugging her. To keeping things PG when all I want to do is carry her back to my bed, strip her bare, and fuck her into nextweek.

Not that there’ve been many opportunities. But that hasn’t done anything to curb my craving for her, which has only grown since I’ve been witness to her patience with me. To her commitment to understanding where I’m coming from and being an amazing friend. To her unwavering affection for mychildren.

It’s the bottom of the ninth when Tori yawns sleepily. “Gonna take a shower and go to bed. I’mwiped.”

I pull her into a hug, careful to avoid making eye contact because it only takes one glance into those wide golden-green eyes to make me question why I’m holdingout.

She wiggles closer. “Don’t stay up too late. You have that client coming over tomorrowevening.”

I love how much of an interest she’s taken in the ranch. How much she cares. Logan and I talk shop every day with her, explaining what we do and how we train the horses. She never looks bored or annoyed. Always asks questions and perks up with curiosity when she’s in the barn. We even managed to squeeze in a lesson on Stargazer. Tori was fantastic up on that horse, her obvious love of the animal a damn delight tosee.

“I’m turning in soon. I promise.” I breathe in her sweet scent. “Night, baby. Sleeptight.”

She kisses my cheek and shuffles out of the room. I stare after her, wondering how we’ve somehow turned into this old married couple after skipping the part where we bone like our lives depend onit.

Not that Allison ever watched baseball with me. Or liked tosnuggle.

It fills me with a strange satisfaction that Tori and I have slipped into such an easyfriendship.

It’s not as though our attraction has dimmed. I see how her eyes eat me up when I come in from the barn, sweaty and hot with my t-shirt stuck to my skin. How she studies the ink on my arms. How her face breaks into a sultry smile when she sees me checking her out. Which, by the way, isoften.

I’ve probably broken my record for the number of times I’ve jerked off in the last fewweeks.

Sitting in the dark, with longing and lust in my heart, I wait for the desire to become manageable. For the urge to charge after her and make her mine tosubside.

Once I can breathe again, I reach for the remote. I’ve just flipped off the TV when her unmistakable voice pierces the quiet with a bloodcurdlingscream.

My heart stops in my chest.Tori.

And then I’m inmotion.

Racing to her room like my life depends onit.

I fling open the door to find it empty. Steam billows from the bathroom where the door sits ajar, but another scream has me bolting forward before I can question whether I should go darting inthere.

The shower curtain is open, and her eyes widen when she sees me, but she makes no effort to hide her nudity. Water splashes off her slick body and out onto the floor. But that’s not what concerns me. What has me tilting my head is that she’s flailing and jumping around so much in the stall I’m afraid she’s going to slip andfall.

“Spider!” she screams, smacking at her very bare, very wet skin. “Spiiiiiiiiider!”

Now that I know she’s not being murdered by a serial killer, I take a deep breath, because, damn, she scaredme.

That’s when my lizard brain homes in on all that water sluicing down her perky, lush tits. How it runs in rivulets along her tight little body. How ethereal she looks with that wet hair and steam billowing up aroundher.

But before I focus on what I know is a bare expanse of skin between her thighs, I force myself to stop and lookup.

She waves her hands at me. Imploring. Angry.Agitated.

“It rappelled down onto me like a goddamn ninja.” Shivering, she smacks at herarms.

I let out a chuckle, one she obviously doesn’t findamusing.

“Don’t laugh, Ethan! How would you feel if a spider tried to terrorize you when you were wet andnaked?”

That’s all I can focus on. Those words.Wet andnaked.

Swallowing, I ignore the erection in my jeans that would also love to get wet andnaked.

Because there’s a whole lot of naked rightnow.

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