Page 71 of The County Line
Colt snickers, shaking his head. “Crazy bastard. Nothing could stop him when he wanted something.”
We spend the rest of the morning like that—laughing, swapping stories, bringing Maverick back to life through our memories. We trade tales, filling in the gaps of our shared lives.
Colt tells me things I never knew about my brother, moments from their childhood that light up the corners of my grief. And I tell him what it was like growing up with Maverick as my older brother—how he protected me, teased me, and always had my back. At one point I end up laughing so hard I spit my coffee out into the fire and Colt just smiles. It’s a genuine one that I haven’t seen on him in years.
It’s exactly how Mav would have wanted us to spend the morning after his funeral. No tears, no heavy silence. Just laughter, teasing, and the easy camaraderie of two people bound by the same loss and a plethora of happy memories. I wonder if Mav always knew Colt and I would reconnect someday and I wonder if he’s happy that our protector is still protecting me.
I think he would be.
As the fire dies down and our plates empty, Colt turns to me. His hazel eyes are warmer now but still serious.
“I know he wasn’t around near the end,” Colt says, his voice steady, “but Mav would’ve wanted me to look out for you, Molly. And I’m making you a promise right now: you’ll never have to worry about anyone hurting you again. Not as long as I’m here.”
His words hit me like a balm, softening some of the ache in my chest. For the first time in days, I feel a glimmer of hope. And for the first time since Maverick’s left, I feel like I’m not alone. Though I know I never really have been since Colt’s always been in my world.
I wet my lips. “I know. I trust you.”
I want to ask him what this is. Whatweare. I’m still his parole officer, and I’m sure this is breaking every ethical rule in the book and putting my career at risk. Even though the chief said it only mattered if I was married to a client, I doubt he felt the need to specifydon’t sleep with them eitherbecause that should be an obvious condition. But here I am, and here we are. There’s no stopping what’s been started or undoing last night. No, that memory is burned in my mind for eternity.
Colt’s voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts. “What do you want to do for the rest of the day?”
I know what I want. I want Colt—inside me, around me, holding me. I want him to make me forget everything else, and I want to help him remember what it feels like to be cared for, to be loved and wanted again.
My eyes must give me away because before I can respond, he’s already standing. His hands find mine, and he gently pulls me to my feet, turning me with a firm but soft touch.
“Bend over for me, baby.”
My heart skips, and I comply, feeling his hands gather the hem of the black t-shirt I borrowed from him. He bunches it up around my hips, leaving me completely exposed to him.
His palm caresses the curve of my backside before sliding up to my breast, kneading it with a possessive touch that sends shivers through me. His fingers roll over one of my nipples, teasing and tugging until I arch into his touch.
“Touching you feels so good,” he growls, his voice deep and gravelly. “I dream about you, Molly. Morning, afternoon, evening, and late at night. You consume my thoughts. All the ways I plan to take you—here in the RV, in my new house onceit’s built, out on my property by the creek. Every fucking inch of it.”
A shiver races down my spine, his words as intoxicating as his touch. No man has ever made me feel like this—confident, desirable, safe, utterly consumed. Not even Jordan, and he’d been my world once. Colt’s confidence, his dominance, it undoes me completely, and the evidence of my need pools between my thighs.
His fingers trace down the smooth skin of my back, pressing lightly at first and then harder, guiding me until I’m exactly where he wants me. Vulnerable, exposed, and aching for him.
“Good girl. Now spread your legs wider for me.”
I widen my stance as far as I can go as his feet nudge me further apart. His hands move between my thighs and through my slick entrance, still warm from the orgasms that he planted inside of me early this morning before I fell back asleep.
“Hold on to the arms of the chair tightly. I don’t plan on being soft today.”
My fingers grip the edge of the wood, doing my best to steady my shaking legs as he teases my slit with his hand then drops to his knees in the gravel. His warm tongue moves across my opening in a lick then towards my clit where he pulls it between his lips and sucks hard.
“Fuck, Colt.”
His other hand steadies my hips, holding me still before plunging two fingers deep into my pussy, pumping in and out.
“You’re so perfect. So beautiful. Think I love this view from my knees between your legs the best.”
With steady strokes, he pumps in and out of me, lips sucking on my clit in soft gentle pulses and fingers pumping, bringing meto the brink of release before he stops, stands up, yanks down his pants and then thrusts into me without warning, planting himself all the way to the root.
“Fuck…” my breath hitches as I steady myself, arching my back harder into him.
He pulls out completely, dragging his cock up over my ass then back to my clit, smearing the evidence of our joined arousal all over me.
He grabs a fistful of my ass then spanks it gently as I let out a gasp.
