Page 74 of Ride Me Cowboy

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Page 74 of Ride Me Cowboy

Nash nods. “Plus, Beth wants to do it.”

My heart drops to my feet at how selfish I’m being. She’s spent the last few years married to some jerk of a guy who robbed her of everything. Her independence, safety, security, her trust, her sense of self. And here she is, trying to forge that anew, to buildher life up and put herself back together, to dive into a project she’s passionate about, and I’m going to be the one standing in her way? Not fucking likely.

“Okay,” I say, on a slow exhalation. “Let’s do it.”

Beth’s eyes hang on my face a beat, like she’s trying to see every angle of me, to understand what changed my mind, so I intentionally look away then stalk into the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. I don’t look at them as I take the first sip, and Beth resumes the meeting, outlining what she wants to film that day.

So, this is really happening then. That fast.

“Sunset would be amazing,” she says on a sigh. “Down by the creek.”

I ignore the way her words fill me with a desire to repeat last night, the sound of the creek forming the backdrop to what we’d done. I open the fridge hard, pulling out some bread, corned beef and mayo, making a sandwich as she keeps talking. I feel her eyes flick to me, every now and again, but don’t look her way.

I can’t shake the feeling she’s feeling sorry for me, for us, and it’s the last thing I want.

“You’re annoyed at me,” she says, when the others have left, and I’ve hung back in the kitchen rather than head out with them. I said I had to check a couple of emails, but it’s an excuse, and we both know it.

“This was an ambush, plain and simple,” I say, bracing my hands on the countertop. I know I should tone down my voice. After everything Beth’s been through, I wonder if treating her with kid gloves is the way to go, but at the same time, I remember whatshe said last night. She knows I’m not her ex. She knows she’s safe with me, even when I’m pissed off, like now.

“You’re being paranoid.”

“Don’t do that,” I say, taking my plate and putting it in the sink. “Don’t pretend we don’t both know what just happened.”

“Okay, fine, yes, it was an ambush. I didn’t trust you to push your pride out of the way long enough to see that my suggestion is the best option you’ve got, other than the offer I made last night.”

“Don’t,” I say, not wanting to have her throw Christopher’s money at me again.

“I wasn’t going to. But this is a way you guys could earn enough to get ahead. It’s not as quick, and it’s not guaranteed, but at least it gives you a chance, and it’s something you can do without interfering with the ranch operations.”

“I’ve already said yes, haven’t I?”

“You said yes, but I want to hear you mean it.”

I glare at her, the difference nuanced but important.

“I didn’t do this to hurt you.”

I close my eyes, because I know that’s the truth, yet it still doesn’t sit right with me. “You didn’t trust me to make the right decision.”

“What would your decision have been?” she asks, and now she’s right in front of me, staring up into my face, so I have to fight to hold onto my anger, to remember the point I’m trying to make.

“Cole? Tell me what you would have said if I’d come to you with this.”

“I’d have said no. I’d have said leave us to ranch.”

“Exactly.” She jabs a triumphant finger at my chest and keeps it there. “I had no choice but to rope them in.”

I glare down at her, but she returns the look with the same intensity. “You really can be your own worst enemy sometimes.”

I let out a short laugh. “All I ever do is work this place,” I mutter. “Saving it is my number one priority, the biggest goal I have. I wake up thinking of ways to undo the damage he did…”

“So why keep fighting me on this?” she demands. “This isn’t charity, Cole. It’s diversification, and it makes good business sense. Get your head out of your ass long enough and you’ll see that.”

“For God’s sake,” I groan, and then, for no other reason than she’s there and I have this spitting fire of angry need in my chest, I pull her to me and kiss those glorious lips of hers. I kiss her to stop us from fighting, to stop me from saying something I don’t feel, something I’ll regret. I kiss her until I’m pretty damned sure we’ve both forgotten whatever it is we were arguing about. I kiss her so long and hard that her hands are up behind my shirt, pressed to my back, and my cock is hard, right up against her, my knee nudging her legs apart. I kiss her until all I can think about is lifting her and carrying her to my bed, so neither of us hears the door open, or the moment Mackenzie walks into the room.

It's only her soft, “Holy shit,” that penetrates the sensual fog in my mind, and I break away from Beth, staring down at her like I’m in a whole other vortex or dimension or something, before I glance at Mack and work out what the hell to say.

Beth whirls around, lifting a hand to her lips, her face paler than I’ve ever seen it. Her angst is obvious.


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