Page 9 of Filthy, Dirty, Cowboy

Her brows narrow. “Really? I thought we like… hated each other?”

“I’m not hating you… right now. How about you?”

She shakes her head and stares back at the orange sky. “The guy I was dating… he was…ismy boss. I…”

“You were dating your boss? And you still work for him?”

“Yeah. Train wreck, am I right?” She purses her lips together. “The guy is a total dick. I get that some guys aren’t super emotional, but this guy was like next level. Emotionally abusive, physically abusive, the works. I stayed for too long because my job was tied to him. Eventually, I lost my mind and started shoving him back. I hate who I became with him.”

Blood boils beneath my veins and a shot of adrenaline twists my frame toward her. “He touched you? The man you’re currently working for, laid hands on you?”

“It’s over. We broke up last year and I threatened to go to the press if he fired me. I’ve been looking for another job since, but work is hard to find. Everyone is struggling right now.”

I can think of a hundred fucking jobs she could do that don’t involve answering to a man that put his hands on her.Fuck!I want to murder this asshole.

She sucks in a deep breath. “Besides all that, men are always trying to slow me down. I don’t want some provincial life. I want something big. Mrs. Robinson describes these men who are worth settling down for, but I think she may have gotten the last good one. The guys I know are all the same. They want women to fuck, be quiet about their emotions, and give them peace.” She laughs. “Sorry, not sorry. That isn’t for me.”

“I was always taught that a man should lead with intention.”

She glances toward me, tilting her head as she listens, her long hair tangling with the strap of her dress. “What do you mean?”

“As a man, and leader of the house, I think it’s my responsibility to know my partner and create a life based on that knowledge. If she’s anxious, I alleviate it. If there’s a disagreement, I’ll guide us out of conflict. If the fences need to be rebuilt, I build them. Never in a million years would it ever cross my mind to harm my wife in any way. I don’t see how a man ever gets respect back after that, nor does he deserve it. But maybe that’s old-fashioned.”

Her gaze widens. “No. It’s not. It’s ideal, but I don’t think it exists anymore. Not outside of here anyway.”

“Is here so bad?”

She takes a sip of beer. “It’s growing on me. Sorry if I overshared. I feel so dumb for wasting my time with that asshole. I always give people excuses, you know?”

“I get it. You want to believe people can change or become what you hoped they would be.”

She looks toward me, this time deeper as though I’ve gotten to a part of her that no one has seen, and she appreciates that. “Exactly. I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting this from you. You seem like a… I don’t know a—”

“Redneck?”

She smiles. “Kinda… but in a good way.”

“I take it as a compliment. No offense to you city folk, but I’m proud to be wild and free out here.”

She smiles. “Now you’ve got a conscience about insulting city people?”

“Well, now I’m starting to like you.”

She bites her bottom lip as the sun sinks behind the trees and the sky turns dim as though someone cued the lights. “I think I’m starting to like you, too.”

The moment is quiet, except for the sounds of crickets, frogs, and raccoons. Suddenly, the cool night feels hot and humid, and I realize we’re leaning closer toward one another. It’s not intentional. In fact, it’s the opposite. I’m trying to keep my hands off her because I know once I touch her, there’s no controlling what happens next. I’d be barbaric and territorial. I can already feel the inward snarl and I don’t want to scare her.

She tucks her hair behind her ear. “Are you one of those boys who need permission to touch a woman?”

I nod. “Yes, ma’am. But once I get it, it’s a lifetime pass.”

Her breath hitches and her lips purse gently.

“Do you want me to touch you, Portia?” My tone is low and graveled as I lean into her ear.

A faint nod and hum slides from her lips. “Yes. Touch me.”

My cock pulses at the sound of her sweet voice asking to be touched. I want to please her. I want to hear her sigh and know she’s safe in my arms. I cup her face and slide my hand to the back of her neck before pulling her in to seal her lips against mine. She pulls back for a moment as though she’s scared, but the second our lips touch, her body relinquishes the fight, and she melts against me.

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