Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 112903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
I close my eyes, tears leaking out of them left and right. I let him open my mouth with his tongue, his lips. His heat.
This means yes, right? This means that Wyatt wants more too?
Holy shit, I can’t believe Wyatt wants what I want.
I can’t believe he’s not running.
Actually, I do believe it. After everything he’s said to me, the things he’s confided, the things we’ve done, I do believe Wyatt is the kind of man who stays.
This is what a healthy relationship feels like. I’m allowed to be myself, and I’m getting what I want because I’m free to just…be.
I’m free, and I’m wild.
I fall into him, fisting my hands in the denim shirt that peeks through his vest. Relief pours through me, a steady, potent warmth that is such a shock to my system after the nerves and the confusion I’ve felt since leaving the ranch that I get dizzy.
I hold on to Wyatt for dear life until we’re both gasping for air, my lips throbbing, my body tight.
“I’ll be your guy.” He nudges my nose with his. “If you’ll be my girl. I want so much more than just sex, Sally. I was full of shit when I said that, and I’m sorry.”
An effervescent rush fills my rib cage, like champagne is being poured into my veins. In reply, I yank him toward my bed, and together we tumble awkwardly onto the mattress. Biting back a laugh, I freeze when the bed frame groans beneath our combined weight.
“Sally?” Dad’s voice sounds from downstairs. “That you? Everything all right?”
“I’m fine!” I shout back. “Sorry, just got in bed to read!”
“Okay. Dinner’ll be ready soon.”
“Okay!”
Wyatt rolls onto his side and bends his elbow, leaning his head against his hand. “We do this, we’re gonna do it right. No more sneaking around. I wanna tell your parents.”
I’m on my side now, facing him. My bed is so tiny that we barely fit. “Tell them we’re dating?”
“Yes.” His gaze is piercing in its clarity. “I respect the hell out of your mom and dad, and telling them we’re together is the right thing to do.”
“Okay. Yeah.” I finger the top button of his shirt. “I think that’s a good idea.”
I press the button through its hole, but Wyatt catches my wrist. His grip is like iron.
“Nuh-uh. You want me to fuck you in this cute little bed?” He pins my wrist to the mattress and rolls on top of me, running his nose up my throat. “Then I’ll fuck you in this cute little bed. But first, we come clean to your mama and daddy. Last thing I need is John B catching us and putting a rifle in my face ’cause he thinks I’m just messin’ around with you.”
I scoff. “Dad wouldn’t put a rifle in your face.”
“Let’s play it safe, yeah?”
“Fine.”
“I also wanna take you on a proper date before we…”
I grin. “Go all the way?”
His eyes dance. “You make it sound like I’m taking your virginity.”
“If only you had.”
“I wasn’t ready for you then. I woulda fucked it up.”
“Really? I don’t know if I agree with that.”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “It’s what I gotta tell myself, Sal.”
My pulse skips. There’s a confession in there—something he’s trying to say—and while I’m ravenously curious to know what it is, I also feel the need to be gentle. Patient. There’s so much happening right now as it is.
So I make a mental note to circle back to his thought and run my finger along his jaw, determined to stick to what’s necessary in this conversation.
What’s necessary is a discussion about the future.
“And we’re not fucking it up now? I mean, do we talk about the fact that I’m leaving or…”
His jaw tics again against my fingertip. “I don’t know what the right call is, Sunshine. I think we just gotta be brave and keep talkin’ to each other. I think we live in the moment. Enjoy the time we got. And then we see what happens. Obviously, timin’ is not ideal, but is it ever? All I can promise is that I’ll do my best to make the most of every second I get with you, whether that’s a month, a year, whatever.”
A year.
Wyatt is talking about being together for a year.
I dig my teeth into my bottom lip, just to make sure I’m actually here and this is actually happening.
Of course my mind leaps twenty steps ahead. Would Wyatt come to New York with me? Is it right to even ask him to? His entire family is in Hartsville. He has deep roots here. And he absolutely loves what he does.
As far as I know, there are no cattle ranches in upstate New York. Even if there were, no cowboys could ever match the Rivers boys for skill, dedication, and heart.