Page 11 of Brothers Best Friend Cowboy

“No one? You mean like… no one, no one?”

She smiles. “No one. I’m one of those untouched bitches. The kind that people write songs about and make fun of in movies.”

The thought of being the first to see her naked, the first to touch her, the first to drag my tongue across her skin and thump into her tight core is overwhelming.

My cock thinks so too.

I draw in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I should get out of here. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She nods, her face downturned as she tucks into my flannel again, the fabric getting all the joys of being against her bare skin. I may never wash it again.

“I was thinking,” she says, her pitch high like she’s a little afraid to talk about whatever’s on her mind.

I sit on the edge of the bed and reach toward her. “What are you thinking?”

“Well, we have this chemistry, right? This like chemical thing where I know without a shadow of a doubt, I want you to grab me and touch me everywhere.”

My cock throbs. “Absolutely.”

“Well,” she sighs, “what if that’s all this is? I mean, when was the last time we had a real conversation? How do you know you like me?Me… not a fantasy version of me. I mean, what do you do all day? I don’t even remember how you like your coffee.”

“Black with no sugar or cream, and I spend most of the day wrangling horses and bulls. In the evening, I play with the dog, watch TV, and think about you.”

Her breath hitches.

“Me?”

“You,” I repeat, my hand on her face. “What about you?”

“I work at the diner, double shifts sometimes and… it’s hard and I get cranky. So, when I get home, I like to soak in the tub and read romance novels. You’d hate them. They’re mushy, sexy, over the top, and the men are totally unrealistic.”

I laugh. “Okay, but how do you like your coffee?”

“Frozen.” She laughs, leaning into me again.

“Where’s all this coming from?”

Her stare meets mine. “If we’re going to tell Dodge, we have to know what we’re doing. This has to make sense, and we don’t know if it does yet.”

I scrub a hand down my face. “What do you want?”

“You first,” she says. “I don’t want you copying.”

“Okay,” I laugh, “I want a ranch of my own. I would like to raise horses and sheep. A family, with as many kids as we can handle, and a wife named Maggie who I call sunshine because that’s what she reminds me of. Is that over the top enough for you?”

She huffs out a sigh and throws herself back on the bed, her breasts bouncing as she settles. “Yes, that’s perfect. That’s perfectly, perfectly, perfect. And it’s everything I want too, Emery. Except maybe add some chickens, a flower garden, and an apprenticeship at the tattoo shop.” Her breathing picks up. “But what if we have sex and then we don’t feel this way anymore? What if we go through all the trouble of hurting Dodge and then we’re just over it? What if the hormones leave with all the forbidden longing and that’s it? What if that’s all this ever was?”

“That’s not what this is to me, Maggie. Is it to you?”

She shakes her head. “No, but how do we know what our bodies are going to do. Hormones trick people. That’s their main function. They’ve been tricking people into making babies with the wrong people for eons. Why would we be any different?”

“Okay. So, what do you suggest?”

Her cheeks flush and her eyes dart away then back again. “What if we…” She shrugs. “I mean, it’s the sure-fire way to know the truth of what we’re feeling.” She holds back a smile and reaches for my hand. “If we still feel the same afterward, then we know it’s meant to be. Makes sense, right?” Her lower lip wobbles when she talks, like she’s scared of the proposition.

I lean against her small frame and cup her face gently. “I’ll claim you here and now. I’m happy to show you what this is, but I have to let you know that once I do… you’re mine. I don’t care what Dodge says. He’ll have to get over it, or step back, because I won’t give you away to anyone else.”

She clears her throat and draws in a deep breath. “I want you.”

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