Page 42 of Chasing the Wild
Fuck, definitely straight to hell.I scrub my hand over my mouth.
This girl is a walking temptation for me, and I’m dreading the thought of what tomorrow’s bonfire is going to be like. It’s why I couldn’t put off teaching her to fire a gun any longer. If there’s going to be any hope of her surviving the next six weeks up here when I can’t keep an eye on the girl every minute of the day, she’s going to have to be able to deal with any jerk-offs who come sniffing around. The Pierson brothers are my biggest concern.
Something tells me they’re not going to stop until they add Layla to their trophy collection of unsuspecting victims.
“Where to first, cowboy?” Layla smiles across the cab at me as we reach the outskirts of town. Her brightness only amplifies the scowl I’m wearing.
She’s a ray of fucking sunshine, and I’m the thundercloud about to unleash all hell at any moment. My temper is already frayed just coming down here.
The place is full of vehicles and noise and people.
It’s exhausting, and I can’t be fucked dealing with idiots.
“I’ll drop you at the store while I unhitch your car round at the mechanic’s.”
“You don’t need me to come? I mean, it is my car, after all.”
No. I really, really don’t need those grease monkeys leering at her ass or trying to chat her up in front of me.
“You start getting all the things on that list. It’ll be quicker if we split up.”
She twists her lips and studies the hardware supplies we need to collect. “What if I don’t know what something is?”
“You’re a smart girl, aren’t you?”
That makes her cheeks turn a little pink, and she looks like a fucking wet dream whenever I compliment her. Christ, I must be sick because I keep doing this to myself.
Right now, she’s in the passenger seat of my truck, and all I want to do is drag her into my lap and unzip her jeans.
My cock twitches, and I’ve never been more relieved to pull up outside the hardware store in my life.
“I’ll be back soon as I unload the trailer. Just grab a cart and start loading, anything you can’t find I’ll help with when I join you.”
“Got it.” She bites her lip and slips out the door.
As she rounds the hood of the truck, I watch the way her ass fills those high-cut jeans to perfection, and the cropped sweater she’s got on skims the waistband showing off all her curves before she shrugs into her coat.
Fuck.
I roll my window down. “Layla,” I call after her, and she spins around.
“Did I forget something?” She frowns and slips her phone into her back pocket.
Shit. I absolutely did not think this through, but I’m sure as hell not going to let her walk in there like that.
“Come here.” I hop out the door quickly and look down at her, before casting a quick glance up and down the empty sidewalk.
“You’ll need this.” I take my hat off and drop it on her head. It’s a little big for her, and even though she looks gorgeous in anything, fuck me, the sight of her wearing my jet-black hat sends a rush of blood to my dick.
She reaches up to touch the brim, readjusting it slightly on her head, and her green eyes sparkle.
Which is why I don’t even bother trying to explain why I just did what I did, yet still hop back in the cab feeling like a fucking king.
Even if she’s not my girl, I can at least lay a claim on her so no asshole around town dares to look twice her way.
Turns out,having two people to tackle the list of supplies and picking up hardware and groceries makes it a fucking breeze. Especially when that person is the girl beside me loading the last of the bags and boxes into the truck.
We’re done a good couple of hours earlier than I expected, and while the sun has already dipped behind Crimson Ridge, the forecast for tonight is clear. It should stay above freezing, too, which means the road will be fine for my truck to get back up the mountain.
