“Anyway, I’m dying of thirst. Do you have anything to drink?” She bends to unzip her tall leather boots and glances around my cabin. Correction—the foreman’s cabin. It technically isn’t mine, but I’ve lived here going on ten years now. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean and comfortable.
“I’ve got beer, water, and some questionable orange juice.”
“Let’s go with the water.” She wrinkles her nose and sets her boots aside. “By the way, this is exactly what I expected.”
“What is?” I grab two bottles of water from the fridge and frown.
“Your place. You’re so no-nonsense and straightforward. This is, too.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She laughs softly as she strolls into the living room that’s just big enough for a sofa, a chair, and a small table, all in front of a stone fireplace. “It means you live like you behave. I like that.”
“Some would say this place is boring. And they’re probably right. I’ve done what I can to make it home, but it’s not, nor will it ever be.” Every building on this ranch belongs to her brothers. I’d tried to make it mine, but the bank couldn’t help me, and the ranch’s previous owner couldn’t give me the time I needed to make it happen.
Tessa glances up with an almost sympathetic smile when I join her in the quaint room. “I don’t think it’s boring, and you know damn well I don’t think you are either.”
I hand her a bottle and sigh. “Someday I’ll have my own place. For real.”
“I’m not judging you on where you live.” She twists the top off the water and takes a sip, her eyes never leaving mine.
“Then why are looking at me like that, sweetness?”
A playful smile flickers across her lips as she recaps the bottle and sets it on the side table. “Just wondering how much small talk is required before we get to the real reason I’m here.”
I laugh. “You really don’t play games, do you?”
“I’ve missed you.” She takes a step forward while her words hit me in the gut. She didn’t mean for them to sound so intimate—like she missed me in a way a woman might a man she cares about—but I feel them that way, nonetheless.Friggin’ fool. You’re gonna get hurt.
“Yeah? Anything in particular?” I reach up and trail the tips of my fingers along her hairline and around her ear.
She shivers, closes her eyes, and leans into my touch. “No. Just you.” She puts her hands on my chest, gently smoothing out the cotton of my shirt before she curls them around the back of my neck. “Is it crazy that I just like being with you?” she whispers, slowly opening her eyes.
“Maybe.” I’m not going to lie to her. This pull between us, no matter how strong, can’t last. I don’t know a single couple who has made a long-distance relationship work. I doubt we’d be the exception.
She nods and bites her lip. “I know. It’s just… I think about you all the time. And I wonder…”
“Wonder what?” I slip an arm around her waist, pulling her close.
“It’s driving me crazy not knowing if we slept together.”
Ah. We left Vegas without pinning that down, didn’t we? “What if I told you I remember?”
“You do?” Her dark eyes widen.
“Yeah, sweetness.” I nod. “I remember most of what we did.” How the hell could I forget?
“And?”
I chuckle and dip my head, hovering so my lips are a whisper above hers. “You begged for me. Abso-fucking-lutelybegged.”
Her cheeks flush pink, and her thick lashes flutter over hazy eyes. “Did you give me what I wanted?”
As much as I would have loved to, I wasn’t about to fuck her, knowing she wouldn’t remember. I’m not that kind of guy, and she sure as hell deserves better than to be used like that.
“Nah, beautiful.” I brush the tip of my nose against hers. “I wanted you to remember the first time I slid inside you. The first time I made you scream.”
Her whole body shivers against mine, and she grasps the collar of my shirt. “Dean…”
