They drove back slow to avoid hydroplaning the truck. Justin pulled up next to the barn, and he could see three figures running and squatting off in the distance. Chris and his girls were probably catching frogs. Blythe flung her door open and darted out toward them.
“See you in a bit!” she called over her shoulder.
Justin wore a smile as he watched her run off. Could she be any cuter? He strode into the barn to check on his horse and clean up whatever mess was made. He finished with one stall, then moved to the others. Whoever had been assigned his old chore wasn’t taking care of things properly. He turned with a shovel full of manure to dump it in the wheelbarrow sitting in the middle of the row. His eyes widened as he saw Blythe walking straight toward him—soaked to the bone, muddy as hell, and beaming as bright as any star he’d ever seen in a night sky.
She’d worn overalls to the parade that morning, with her lace up boots that were now one hundred percent destroyed. Her hair was flattened with chunks of mud scattered throughout. He’d never seen a more beautiful woman on earth. He looked past her and could see Chris herding his girls into the house through the screen door. Justin dumped the manure into the rest of the pile.
“What are you going to do with those muddy clothes, sugar? It’s not my job to clean up after you anymore.” He rested his forearm on top of his shovel, one side of his mouth hitching up with a playful look on his face. She would have a comeback. She always did.
“So, what? If I stripped down and threw my things over one of these stalls, you’d tattle on me?” She popped a hip, her arms folded in front of her—conveniently pushing her breasts up to peek out of her top at him. Fuck, this woman… He tried to play it cool but failed.
“Sugar, if you stripped down naked right here in front of me, I’d have to do muchmore than tattle on you.” His look turnedserious, because he was. If she said the word, he’d throw her over his shoulder and lay her down right there. He dropped the shovel, hearing it smack the ground. Striding to her, he used his arms to pick her up and wrap her legs around his waist, with one strong hand clutching her thigh in place. Their eyes were locked and her breathing started to stagger.
“It was just a joke, Justin…” Her voice trailed as he lifted a finger to move a loose piece of hair that had fallen across her face.
“I know, but I wasn’t joking. When I touch you, look at you, even think about you—I feel my soul shift.” He moved a hand to the back of her neck. “I would never force you to do anything you weren’t ready for, but I’m yours. The moment you give the word, there won’t be anything stopping me. Do you understand?” She nodded her head. “But I need you to know, this isn’t casual for me—I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”
His chin tilted upward, and his lips draped over hers. He felt her fingers threading through his hair as he kissed her. Her touch was like heaven, and the way her legs tightened around him told him she wanted him just as bad as he wanted her… At least, he hoped she did.
Justin let go of her legs and let her feet drop to the concrete—her body sliding down his front, now covered in mud, too.
He didn’t care.
He knew it was obvious, but he still wondered if she could feel how serious he was below his belt. Shit, it was painful to let her go. Pulling her close, he kissed her one last time, used his thumb to wipe a dot of mud from her cheek, and told her to go inside—with one more slap on the ass for good measure.
She screamed into her pillow. Why? Why couldn’t she just be a regular person and have a relationship with all the freaking bells and whistles, huh? She wanted to. Damnit, she wanted to. Justin was everything… She knew he would give her everything. This had nothing to do with him—she just couldn’t bring herself to give that part of herself to anyone yet.
She’d only known him for just over a month. It felt like much longer, though. Her soul shifted around him, too.
But she still couldn’t make peace with the fact that she had shit for brains and made such a poor decision with Max. This wasn’t just about giving herself to him physically. Sex was deeply emotional and vulnerable—she didn’t know how she could open herself up to another man that way.
She still couldn’t forgive herself for being so naive, and she refused to look foolish or weak. The betrayal was real. Not only from Max, but from herself. Her heart, her mind, her innocence betrayed her. And Justin would just have to wait. She needed more time. She’d saved herself with Max out of propriety, because her mother had drilled that into her. The way thingsturned out, she was so freaking relieved that she’d never let him touch her.
She removed the pillow from her face and slammed it against her thighs.
This wasn’t about propriety anymore. To hell with that. This was about her own messed up issues that she couldn’t just man up and pummel to the ground. Maybe she needed a freaking therapist. Justin making love to her in the barn would’ve been magical…and itchy, with all the hay, and uncomfortable, and messy, and they probably would’ve gotten caught, and then she would’ve really looked stupid.
Shut up, shut up, shut up!
Her thoughts were spiraling down a rabbit hole. There was no way she’d be falling asleep easy tonight. The whole thing was trash, and for a second, she thought Justin deserved someone better. Someone older, more experienced, loose, carefree… All the things she was not.
After hours of tossing and turning, she chucked off her covers—the fatigue she felt giving her the courage to do something spontaneous. She could be carefree. She could sayfuck itto her fear…at least, a little part of it. She picked up her keys off the dresser and quietly padded down the stairs and out the door. The headlights came on and she put the vehicle in reverse, slowly backing up and turning down the long drive to the main road outside the ranch.
JUSTIN
Justin felt the loneliness hit him like a brick wall. Bear was lying on his dog bed by the couch. At least he had his trusty friend. Since Blythe walked into his life, he felt even more lonesome than usual. The night they’d fallen asleep together had started it. It was like he got a taste of what it would be like to have her there with him, cooking dinner, watching rom-coms, eating popcorn, and crashing on the couch with her tucked into his side—and then it was ripped away.
They were official now, but some days he didn’t even see her. He had his own work to do shoeing horses all over the damn county, and she lived at Silo Springs.
He was thirty years old, and he was either going to live the life of a bachelor—just him and his dog—or he wanted a damn wife. He wanted Blythe. And if he had a wife, he wanted kids, and if he had kids, he wanted everything that went with them, too.
He reached down and petted his hound, still fast asleep. Bear was getting old, and dogs didn’t live forever, but he wasn’t going to think about that now. He sauntered to the fridge to grab a cold bottle of water. Even in his melancholy state, he never wished for alcohol.
He sat back down on his couch next to Bear and covered up with the blanket there. He wasn’t going to sleep well. He was restless and tired from such a long day of festivities. But then there was his pretty little poison, the woman he wanted so bad he could punch something.
A loud knock on his door made him jump and nearly roll off the cushion—he’d fallen asleep. He snatched his phone and clicked the side button to turn on the screen.
Twelve AM.
