Page 63 of The Texas Sterling Collection
“What should I do?”
“Why don’t you come here and kiss me?”
Hands on my hips, I grinned. “You’re getting kinda bossy, aren’t you?”
Wyl stuck out his lower lip. “What…no kiss?”
I clomped over, wrapped one arm around Wyl’s shoulders and the other around his waist, bent him over backward, and leaned down to ravage his mouth with a deep tongue-thrashing.
Wyl’s hat fell to the ground as I held him in my arms and sucked face.
Kissing over, I pulled him upright, groaning at the stretch of my leg muscles.
Wyl blinked a few times and weaved, clinging to my shoulder to steady himself. “Wow.”
I reached up and dragged my thumb across Wyl’s bottom lip, removing a bead of spit. “Who’s the daddy now?”
A grin flashed across Wyl’s well-kissed face.
“Now gather the wood so we can end up in the love chamber thing.” I winked and sucked the moisture from my thumb.
Wyl snatched up his hat and rushed off to gather enough wood for a fire. By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, the roaring campfire warmed us both. We sat side by side on a tree trunk dragged up from near the spring.
“The ranch sure is peaceful.” Gazing at the night sky, I snaked my arm through Wyl’s and tugged him closer. “The number of stars is amazing.”
Wyl scooched nearer to me, the seat of his jeans dragging against the bark. “Having you with me makes camping more fun.” He reached for my chin with his free hand and pulled me in for a quick kiss.
I breathed a heavy sigh as I leaned into Wyl’s embrace, returning the kiss. I tugged at Wyl’s ear, pulling him out of our kiss. “If I had any idea sexy rancher camping was this much fun, I’d have found a sexy rancher long ago.”
“No other sexy ranchers exist,” Wyl said. “Only me.”
“Three hundred fifty million people in this country, and you’re the only sexy rancher?” Myyou’re shitting meface grinned at Wyl.
“As far as you’re concerned, yes.” Wyl untangled his arm and reached for his saddlebag. “You wouldn’t give me a second look if you already had a special rancher.”
I chuckled. “No other ranchers in my life. Besides, do you understand how much I wanted to touch you the first week?”
“I was the one who touched you first.” Wyl unbuckled the flap, dug through the bag, and handed a can to me. “You always acted all nervous and everything.”
“I was afraid you would figure out how tempting I found you.”
“I found you tempting, too.” Wyl handed me another can.
I inspected the two cans. “What’s this?”
Wyl set his saddlebag behind us. “Chow.” He grinned and nudged me with his elbow. “We’ll need our strength for later.”
“You got a steak or something in your saddlebag?” I glanced over at the saddlebags before inspecting the cans. “To go with the…um…pork and beans?”
“Nope.” Wyl tugged a pocketknife out of his jeans and pulled out the can opener blade. “We have beans for supper.” He held out a hand for one of the cans.
“Beans?” I handed him a can. “I thought Hollywood invented canned beans around a campfire.”
“So you believe television and movies about ranches, but you figured eating beans out of a can didn’t happen?”
“Uhm…yeah?”
“This is how the real cowboys eat when they ride alone or in pairs.” Wyl shook the can to mix the beans with the juice before running the opener around the lid. “Carrying much more than a coffee pot is extra weight on the horses.” With the blade, he pushed open the top and set the can in the embers at the fire's edge. Handing the knife to me, he motioned with his chin. “Open your can.”
