"Don’t lie to me." His voice is low, rough. "You can lie to everyone else. You can lie to yourself. But don’t lie to me."
I stare up at him, chest heaving, every nerve ending sparking.
"What do you want me to say?"
"The truth." He reaches up and cups my face in his calloused hands. His palms are cold from the rain, but they send heat flooding through my entire body. "Tell me you don't feel the connection between us, and I'll walk away right now. I'll give you the guest room and all the space you want."
Yes, I should say yes to that.
I should end this before it starts. I’m here for a day. I can't possibly be this deep. I can't want a life that looks nothing like my reality. I can't break myself against a man who has an entire world rooted in a ranch in Texas.
But when I open my mouth, what comes out is something else entirely.
"I'm terrified," I whisper. "I don't do this. I don't feel things like this. I watch people destroy each other in the name of love every single day, and I swore I would never?—"
"I know." His thumb traces my cheekbone. It’s so gentle it makes my chest ache. "I know you're scared. I'm scared too. But I'm more scared of letting you walk out of here without knowing what this could be."
"Walker…"
"Tell me to stop." His forehead drops to mine. "Tell me, and I will."
I don’t tell him to stop.
9
eliza
I grab the front of his wet shirt and pull his mouth down to mine. Our lips meet, and the kiss ignites like wildfire. His hunger steals my breath. It’s an explosion of want, and all of my logic goes out the window.
His hands fist in my hair, angling my head back and taking control. I moan against his mouth, fingers scrambling at his shirt, desperate to get closer. He pulls back just long enough to yank the wet fabric over his head. Then his mouth is on mine again. It’s hot and demanding.
I run my hands over his chest. The hard lines of muscle flex beneath my palms. When my nails drag down his stomach, he groans and grabs my hips.
"Do you have any idea how long I've been wanting to do this?" He walks me backward until my shoulders hit the wall. "Since the second you stepped out of that car. Couldn't think straight. Couldn't breathe."
"Then stop talking and do something about it." My breath comes out in a sharp gasp of need.
His eyes go dark. Feral. Something primal flickers behind them that makes my thighs clench.
"You want something, sweetheart?" His voice drops to a growl. "You're going to have to ask for it."
"Walker—"
"Ask." His hand slides down my pants and grips my thigh. "Tell me what you want."
I’ve never begged for anything in my life. I’ve built a career on control, on composure, on never giving anyone power over me. But with his hands on my skin and his mouth inches from mine, all that armor means nothing.
"I want you." The words tear out of me, raw and desperate. "Please. I want you."
"Good girl."
He lifts me like I weigh nothing, and my legs wrap around his waist on instinct. I can feel him rock hard through his jeans. He’s pressing exactly where I need him. When he rolls his hips, he grinds against my center, and a moan slips between my clenched teeth.
"That's it." He carries me down the hall, his mouth hot on my neck, his teeth grazing my pulse. "Let me hear you."
We make it to his bedroom, but just barely. He kicks the door shut behind us and lays me on his bed with a gentleness that contradicts the hunger in his eyes. Then he stands back and looks at me, spread across his sheets.
"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." His voice is hoarse. Reverent. "And I'm going to take my time with you."
