Page 28 of Ghosted Cowboy
"I love you," I murmured, already half asleep.
"Love you too, baby." His arms tightened around me. "Sleep. I've got you."
And for the first time in five years, I did. I slept deeply and dreamlessly, his heartbeat steady under my ear. Strong. Solid. Here.
He was here, and he wasn’t leaving.
My lover had finally come home.
Chapter Six
Ransom
Gray morning light filtered through Rainey's bedroom curtains, the kind of dim October dawn that made you want to stay in bed forever. Saturday morning, and we'd overslept—something I hadn't done in years. The alarm clock on her nightstand read 8:05, which meant she'd have to hurry to make her nine o'clock rehearsal at the theater.
I traced my fingers along the curve of her spine, watched goosebumps rise in their wake. She stirred, pressing closer against my chest, mumbling something that sounded like "five more minutes."
"Baby, you need to get up." I kissed her shoulder. "Rehearsal's at nine."
Her eyes flew open. "Oh God. What time is it?"
"Eight oh five."
"Vivian's going to kill me if I'm late." She tried to sit up, but I caught her waist, pulled her back down for just a moment.
"You've got time if you hurry."
"Ransom—" But her protest died when I nuzzled into her neck, finding that spot below her ear that always made her sigh. "That's not fair."
"All's fair." My hand skimmed down her side, over the curve of her hip. "Especially when you look like this."
She was beautiful in the morning—hair wild across the pillows, skin warm from sleep, those green eyes still heavy-lidded. Made me want to keep her here all day, forget the world outside existed.
"I really have to go." But she was already leaning into my touch, her breath catching. "They're rehearsing the scenes you're not in. I can't miss—"
"You sure?" My thumb brushed across her ribs, felt her shiver.
"No." She grabbed my wrist, stilled my hand. "But yes. I have to. And you have ranch stuff with your dad, remember?"
Right. The blueprints. Dad wanted to go over the improvement plans this morning—new fence lines, updated equipment, modernization that would finally make the operation profitable again.
I groaned, rolled onto my back. "Being responsible sucks."
"Welcome to adulthood." She kissed me quick, then scrambled out of bed before I could grab her again. "I'm jumping in the shower. Can you make coffee?"
