Page 28 of Tangled Kisses
The words hang there, charged, as one thought circles my brain.
I want to kiss her. Kiss away every doubt, every belief that she’s not good enough.
But one kiss wouldn’t be enough. Not by a mile.
And she’s already confirmed I’m not an option.
Time to get my head on straight. Both of them.
“Come on, darlin’. Let’s go.”
She shoots me a mischievous glance before popping to her feet. “Should I be worried?”
“Around me? Never. This is special. And it’ll only be here for a couple more days.”
“Lead the way.”
I drive the four-wheeler to the highest bluff on the property. Besides my cabin, it’s my favorite place on the ranch, and tonight Mother Nature is showing off—the sky painted in fierce strokes of orange and pink.
Reese’s look says everything as she climbs off the ATV, her face bathed in the glow. “Griffin, this is unreal.” Awe softens her voice. Then her lips curve—those lips I’m fighting the urge to taste—as her gaze dips to the fields below. “Sunflowers and lavender. My favorite flowers. What are the chances?”
What are the chances indeed—that my soulmate shows up when I least expect her? I’m already gone for this woman, hopelessly smitten, and I know it’s only going to get worse.
She moves to the edge of the bluff and leans against an old oak tree, her hair catching the last streaks of sunlight. “Isn’t it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”
“Beyond.” But I’m not looking at the horizon. I focus on her. Reese is the only view I want.
Chapter Eight
Reese
Iawaken with a start, the last moon rays spilling across my window before surrendering to the sun. The house is still, with a heavy silence that only comes in the early hours, when even the floorboards seem reluctant to creak.
Griffin and I returned to the ranch after that magnificent sunset, but I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t on my mind the entire night, dancing through my dreams with his easy smile and charm.
It figures. He’s gorgeous, kind, funny, and romantic—about a million more adjectives. He’s everything I never knew existed, and he’s completely off-limits.
He fucks women, lots of women, and they pay him lots of money for the pleasure.
While I don’t judge how people earn their keep, the thought of him in another woman’s bed makes me ill.
Shaking my head, I push thoughts of Griffin to the periphery. No sense pining for someone I can never have. Time to get to work.
The shower steams up quickly, scented faintly of cedar from the old wood in this place. When I finish, the silence greets meagain, broken only by the distant clatter of pots from the kitchen. Chowder is nowhere to be found, no doubt curled up with Piper, his belly full of treats as he sleeps off a catnip binge.
My cat is seeing more action than I am.
Thirty minutes later, I descend the steps into my clinic, the faint smell of disinfectant and lavender soap wrapping around me. Capri gave me a pass yesterday, letting me explore the ranch and burn off five days of road dust. Today, though, there’s a pile of work waiting.
Capri is a stickler for safety, ensuring her residents get their regular screenings. But they’ve been without a nurse on staff for the past month, ever since the last one left for a family emergency. That meant every resident had to trek into town for testing—a hassle for everyone.
But with me here, it changes.
It frees up the residents’ time for what they’re here to do. And of course, my twisted imagination picks that moment to serve up a visual of Griffin doing exactly that—with someone who isn’t me.
Images of him flash through my brain—always balls-deep in some faceless woman, every one of them screaming his name as he satisfies her every fantasy. I bite back a groan, nausea twisting hard in my gut at the picture.
My brain is a sadistic asshole.
