Right now, though, I’m distracted by something else entirely.
I’ve been watching Piper for the past twenty minutes, charming the hell out of this family while their kids debate between trees like it’s life or death. She kneels down in front of little Dougie Fletcher, whose bottom lip is stuck out because his sister keeps picking trees he thinks are “dumb.” The patience in her voice and the way she helps smooth out their squabble is like watching some kind of kid whisperer work their magic.
“She’s great up here, isn’t she?” Preston drawls, sidling up next to me, his gaze following mine to where Piper’s crouched with the kids. “Got that natural way with people.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “She does.”
“You know something?” Preston leans against the fence next to me. “When you get to be my age, you start seeing life in these big, defining moments. Like when I was twenty and met Ivy. The woman scared thehell out of me, but damn if I didn’t know right then she was the only girl I’d ever want.”
“Yeah?” I glance his way, brow lifted.
“Her folks hated that some rough-around-the-edges ranch hand was sniffing around their daughter.” He turns to me, those mirrored sunglasses catching the light, his white mustache twitching with a hidden smile under that worn cowboy hat. “You know what we told everyone who tried keeping us apart? We told them all to go fuck themselves.” A laugh tears out of my chest before I can stop it, and Preston claps me on the back. “Dead serious. The best thing I ever did was tell that crusty old bastard I was marrying his daughter, whether he liked it or not.”
“You’re a lucky man, Preston.”
I’ve been falling for Piper for months when I should’ve been running in the opposite direction. Do I think whatever we’re doing is going to end with her feeling anything close to what I do? Not a chance in hell. I’m just a man in his forties with nothing to offer except maybe thirty good years if luck’s on my side. She’s got her whole life stretched out in front of her, and it feels cruel to consider staking a claim on that.But if I can have this slice of her, right here, right now? If I can carve out this moment—a few days that I’ll remember as the time when I had everything—I’ll take it.
“Not too late for you to tell people to go fuck themselves either.” Preston’s mouth tics like he’s fighting a grin. “Pretty sure she’s already done that part.”
“It’s messy, Pres. Too fucking messy.”
“Ain’t nothing in life worth having that isn’t a little messy. And you don’t owe anybody a damn thing. She sure as hell doesn’t either after what Travis did to her.”
My head snaps up. “She told you?”
“Didn’t need to.” His jaw tightens, and I can hear the disgust in his voice. “Saw it with my own two eyes. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what kind of man puts his hands where they aren’t wanted, especially with the attitude he’s been carrying around his whole life.”
“Jesus, where did I go wrong?”
“You didn’t go wrong, son. You just never got a chance to get itright, and that ain’t on you.” He grips my shoulder, and that touch says more than a thousand words ever could. “We can’t choose our blood, but we sure as shit can choose our happiness.”
Right now, my happiness is wrapped up in a woman half my age with a filthy mouth and the kind of fire that makes me want to burn the whole world down just to keep her warm.
“Speaking of happiness, Savannah made me carrot cake. Don’t tell Ivy—she’s been bugging me about cutting sugar.”
The corner of my mouth tilts. “Your secret’s safe with me. But you better make sure there’s a slice left for me.”
Preston chuckles and starts making his way back to the barn to check on the horses, leaving me alone with my thoughts. But only for a second because I catch a flash of movement, and my entire body comes alive when I spot Piper heading my way.
“Wow, they are some indecisive kids.”
“Did they finally pick a tree?”
“Eventually, although one wanted the biggest one, the mom wanted small and cute, and the other kid didn’t care so long as it was fluffy, whatever the hell that means.” She’s smiling at me, and it’s like the goddamn sun just came out. “Are you okay if I take off soon? I’m working tonight.”
“Do you need a ride?”
“You don’t mind?”
“Course I don’t mind. Besides, if I take you, that means I get to come pick you up, and if I come pick you up, it means I get you back in my bed.”
“You haven’t had enough of me yet, cowboy?”
The truth is, I haven’t even scratched the surface of how much I want her. Not even close. Because even now, standing here in broad daylight, all I can think about is pressing her down into that fresh powder, spreading those perfect thighs of hers, and burying my face between her legs until she’s writhing and moaning and leaving the dirtiest snow angel this mountain has ever seen.
I step closer, wrapping a strand of her raven hair around my finger as I drop my voice low against her ear.
“Get in the house. Strip from the waist down and bend over thekitchen table. You’ve got five minutes to be bare and ready for me because when I sink into you, I’m not stopping until you’re shaking and so full of my cum it’s dripping down your thighs for the rest of the night.”
