He blows out a hard breath. “You’re welcome. I wanted everything to be nice so that when I abduct you and keep you here, you won’t mind so much.”
Snorting, I walk over to him. He opens his arms immediately, so I don’t hesitate to press myself against him, arms around his waist and cheek to his shoulder. I’m exhausted, suddenly, but I’ve also spent the day in airports. My skin crawls at the reminder.
“Can I take a quick shower?”
“Of course. Here.” He pulls me over to the bathroom to show me a fresh towel hanging next to a not-so-fresh towel, as well as an unopened toothbrush sitting on the vanity. “I put this stuff out for you, and you can use any of my things if you want. Do you need anything else?”
Mutely, I shake my head. Affection for him practically chokes me, making it hard to speak. I can’t remember a time anyone has put in quite so much effort for me.
“This is great, thank you,” I manage eventually, and Nate beams at me.
I feel better after scrubbing myself down, and washing away that distinct airport feeling. Hesitating over whether to be fully covered or not, I end up choosing the long-sleeved shirt and soft pajama pants. As much as I enjoy rubbing up against Nate, I’ve just spent the day rubbing against random strangers and I truly do need a break.
Nate’s reclined on the bed when I come out of the bathroom, one hand tucked behind his head and the other holding his phone in front of his face. When he sees me, he drops the phone and sits up, smiling. He too is fully coveredin pajamas, even though I doubt he’d be wearing them if I wasn’t here.
“Hey, I put your bag there.” He points to a chair pushed into the corner. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to unpack right away or tomorrow or?—”
“Tomorrow is fine.” Crawling onto the bed, I lie down next to him, making sure to keep enough distance between us. Rolling onto his side, Nate pillows his head on his arm and grins at me.
“I can’t wait to give you your surprise,” he says, looking gleeful enough that I’m wondering if this is something I should be nervous about.
“No cowboy hats,” I remind him.
“Nope,” he agrees, and scoots a little closer to me. “Can I kiss you goodnight?”
Trying to ignore the way that question makes me feel a little ashamed, I put a hand on his shoulder and lean forward to kiss him. Nate places his own hand on my hip, above my clothes, and doesn’t make any attempt to move that touch to skin.
My chest actuallyhurts—a weight pressing down on my lungs as though something is physically there, trying to suffocate me. I think I might love him.
17
Nate
I wakeup in the Montana version of heaven—early morning gold streaming through the east windows, the smell of coffee percolating, and Marcos the first thing I see when I open my eyes. He’s still facing me, unmoved from where we’d fallen asleep the night before, lips parted as he breathes softly. Both his hands are tucked under the pillow, and he’s got his knees scrunched up to his chest. It is, I realize, the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and that’s saying something, since I’ve got a foal waiting downstairs.
Speaking of, there is the very soft sound of movement from below, which tells me it’s time to get up and start the day. I barely lift my arm to slide the blanket off when Marcos opens his eyes. Sheepishly, I drop my hand back to the bed.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” Something occurs to me and I kick myself for not thinking of it sooner. “Oh my god, or did the horses wake you up? I’m so sorry, I didn’t think about?—”
“Nate,” Marcos says, clearing his throat and rubbing a knuckle into his eye. “Nothing woke me up, I just…woke up.”
“The horses aren’t loud?” Now that I’m awake, I can definitely hear them. I’m used to it, though, and they’re mostly quiet through the night—it’s only in the morning, when they’re hungry and ready to be let out, that they get restless.
“I haven’t heard them once,” he admits, lifting his head and squinting into the middle distance of the room as though listening hard. “Actually, they’re pretty quiet, huh?”
“Yeah,” I agree, relieved. “They hardly move around at all at night, and if they do it’s quiet enough that we can’t hear them up here. Actually, it’s when they’re super restless that you know something is wrong. A fox got in once and I only knew about it because the horses started fussing at one in the morning.”
“A fox?”
“Yeah. Poor guy was just wanting to get out of the cold, I think. He was more freaked out than the horses. Bolted as soon as I opened the door.”
Marcos huffs a soft laugh. “Do you have to get up? I’m assuming there are chores and shit that need to be done at some ungodly hour around here.”
“Ranching is, in fact, just an endless cycle of chores and shit.” He laughs again, and reaches out a hand to brush my hair back from my face. “But you, my beautiful man, get to lounge in bed and relax. No chores for you.”
“Oh no.” He sits up and scrubs his hands over his face. “I want to help.”
“You do?” I ask, excited. I’d been planning on completing morning feed at the speed of light, and crawling back into bed with him afterward. But if he comes along and helps, Iwon’t have to be without him at all, which is much more preferable.
