“Sex,” he supplies when I pause.
“Precisely.”
He steps so close to me our bodies touch. Zings of heat zap between us. His fingers brush my hair away from my ear and his head dips close.
“I’ve spent the last year waiting to see you again.” His husky whisper kisses my ear and washes deep down into my soul. “And next time we make love, it’s going to be in a bed so I can explore every last inch of you.”
My breath hitches. His woodsy smell fills my nostrils. My stomach does summersaults.
“That’s more like it!” My sister screams through the door.
I jump away from Cole and spin in a circle to shout at her. I run face first into a log post.
Chapter Nine
COLE
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“STOP MOVING.”
Maggie leans back. “I’m fine.”
“The lump on your forehead suggests otherwise.” I tangle my fingers in the back of Maggie’s hair and press the towel of ice against her swollen skin. “Stay still.”
She sighs loudly. Her shoulders slump. “Are you always this bossy?” Her gaze slides to mine with raised eyebrows. She tries to wedge her fingers under the towel.
“Yes. And I’ve recently discovered I’m also known as the town’s growly grumpy rancher.”
Her lips threaten to curl upward. She catches them, but she can’t hide the delight in her eyes. Her fingers fall to her side.
“I’ve never known you to be grumpy. Maybe a little growly, but never grumpy.”
“Maybe you bring out the best in me.” I peek behind the towel at the swelling. A small goose egg size bump has formed.
“We were on the verge of ripping each other’s throats out last year in the prize room.” Her fingers play with the hem of a coral colored blouse.
