Page 24 of Easy Rider
I grasp her hand, drawing her away from Tweeter.
“What?” She gives me a sly grin. I run my thumb along her perfect cheekbone, bend down, and kiss her. Its gentle and firm, short and sweet.
“I just wanted you to know, I’m notbusylike that anymore.”
She laughs. “Is that right?”
I nod, tilting her chin up with my thumb and kissing her again. “The only person I want to be busy with is you.”
Her eyes are a sparkling bright blue in this light, like she has a tropical island paradise hiding in there. I can’t stop staring.
“God Bless Texas!” knocks us out of our trance. “God Bless Texas!” The song blasts from her phone again.
“Oh God, sorry.” She laughs, looking at the screen. “It’s Dad,” she whispers, as though he might hear. “I should probably take this.”
“Take it,” I say, pointing to a patio chair. “Go ahead, I need to add some water to Tweeter’s trough anyway.”
She nods and brings the phone to her ear. I watch as she bobs her head, talking, strolls back to the patio, and takes a seat on one of my lounge chairs. Looking like a supermodel, she crosses her beautiful legs and leans back. And the only thing I can think isFuck Texas.
Every minute Emma’s on the phone brings me another step closer to the fact that she’s leaving.
The dread stays with me while I carry the hose to the trough and turn on the water. What the fuck am I going to do without her? By the time I finish filling the container, Little Miss Sexy saunters back, looking all soft and feminine with the sun glinting off her hair.
I take in the full picture. My house behind her, the rolling hills and mountains behind that. The flowers bordering the path she’s walking on. The green fields surrounding us. Us.Mine.A strong pull, down deep in my gut, makes me think that Emma might just belong here, permanently.
“Welp.” She shrugs. “My dad’s getting anxious. He wants me to send over my notes. Apparently, there’s Wi-Fi on his ship. And Misty texted me while I was talking to him. We planned a girls’ day. I’m sorry,” she says, lifting her gaze to me. “We made plans before we... I mean, you and I—”
“And you’d like a ride back to Boondocks to pick up your car.”
“Not really.” She props her hands on her hips, and makes a half turn, eyeing the property. Then her expression softens. “What I’dreallylike is to stay here, with you.” She shakes her head and struggles for a beat. “But Misty had to jump through so many hoops with her mom for her to babysit Carter. And my dad’s deal is the reason I’m here. No matter how much I want to stay here, I can’t.”
It took damned forever to get Emma back in my arms. And she can be skittish, as she proved so well the last time she was here.
But I don’t want her to feel any worse than she already does. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll drive you to your car on one condition.”
Emma’s eyes flash with concern. She inhales a deep breath and scrunches her forehead. Then she reaches up on tiptoe and kisses me.
In an instant, I tunnel my fingers through her hair, and I taste pancakes and Pepsi, and us. Our tongues pick up where they left off an hour ago. Heat roars through my bloodstream, and I’m back to wanting to tear her clothes off.
“There.” She breaks from the kiss and giggles. “Deal?” She moves to step back, and I grasp her arm.
“Not so fast.” I pull her back to me and kiss her again, because... because I fucking can’t help it. “Come to Shane’s birthday dinner tonight.”
Emma gives me a good long double take. I can see her wheels spinning.
“Jenny’s having all of us over to her place.”
“The whole crew, huh?” She’s trying to act nonchalant, but I can tell by her nervous laugh that she’s not sold on the idea.
I bend, making sure she can’t avoid me. She casts her eyes down. “What is it? Does my family scare you?”
“No.” She lifts her gaze, cracking up. “It’s nothing like that.” Emma hesitates, as if she’s searching for the right words. “I just didn’t expect to be included in, you know, family gatherings and such.”
“And such?” I chuckle. “Yeah, I know, tough break about me not being a one and done. Pick you up at seven?”
She throws her head back, laughing, and flashes those sparkling blues at me. “I’d love to come to Shane’s birthday party. But would it be okay if Misty just drops me off on our way home from shopping?” Emma turns, glancing out to the field behind the corral, in the general direction of Jenny’s place. My siblings and I share the property. “We’ll be driving right by on the way home.”
“Deal,” I say, drawing her in for a hug. Burying my nose in her vanilla hair, I bend close to her ear. “Although, Emma,” I whisper, “if I could have it my way, I’d keep you right here in my arms forever.”
