She tosses me an apple, and I snag it from the air before it falls in the mud.
I jog around the side of the house and call in my sweetest voice. “Winnie, I’ve got a treat for you.”
Winston’s ears perk, and he snorts happily as he shuffles toward me, his little tail ticking back and forth excitedly.
Tripp circles behind him, moving slowly, eyes locked on the pig.
I crouch and extend the apple to him. “That’s it, buddy. Come here.”
He lets out a happy little grunt and starts nibbling at it with enthusiastic chomps.
Tripp edges closer.Closer.
Winston’s little tail slows, like he can sense the trap closing.
Then he lunges, scooping up Winston in one swift movement.Winston immediately lets out an ear-piercing squeal, shrill enough to make my teeth ache.
Tripp winces. “Jesus Christ.”
Winston kicks and squirms as Tripp hauls him back to the barn, and I follow behind.
I swing open the stall gate, and Winston lets out one more squeal as Tripp sets him down. Once he’s on the ground, he bolts into the corner to root around in the straw like none of this just happened.
Tripp shuts and latches the gate, cleaning off his muddy hands on his jeans before removing his hat to wipe the mixture of sweat and rain from his brow.
“Thank you,” I say as I double-check the latch.
He nods, his eyes skating down my wet T-shirt where my nipples are pebbled from the cold rain. “You know, for such a good girl, you‘ve got a bad habit of going without undergarments.”
I smirk, giving him a slow perusal in return. He’s dripping wet and covered in mud, and still somehow the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. The way his shirt clings to his skin makes my mouth go dry.
“Had I known I’d be out in the storm chasing a pig, I would’ve worn a bra.”
He clucks his tongue and steps toward me, voice low and rough. “I like you this way, Quinnie,” he rasps, fingers sliding beneath the hem of my shirt to trace over my waist. “Dirty. Messy. A little undone.”
My breath hitches as his hand slowly ghosts over my ribs. My skin pebbles and my heart takes off in my chest. His touch lights me up like the sun lights the sky.I revel in the way his steadfast reverence makes me feel, like he’d spend every spare second tracing the map of my body just to memorize each inch.
“You’re so damn pretty like this.”
His thumb brushes the small curve of my breast, slow and teasing, and I arch into him without a second thought. I don’t care that we’re in the barn, don’t care that anyone could come in here. It only adds to the rush, making it feel dangerous. Forbidden.
“Somebody could walk in,” I whisper, my fingers tangling in his shirt.
He shoots me a crooked grin. “Which is why your nipples got even harder. You like it, don’t you? The risk of being caught, of someone stumbling in and finding us out.”
My pulse thunders in my ears as he backs me into the gate. My legs shake, and I let out a breathless laugh. “I give you my list, and now you think you have me all figured out, huh?”
He cocks his head to the side and slides his thumb over my nipple. The delicious scrape of his callouses on my sensitive skin drags a gasp from my throat.
“Not completely.”
“You know enough to be dangerous.”
I grab his shirt and pull him toward me, capturing his lips in a kiss that makes the ache between my thighs impossible to ignore.
I want to be consumed by him, filled by him. To feel every inch of him pressed against me.With Tripp—I’m always hungry for more.
He palms my breast under my shirt, hands slick and hot on my skin. He smells like rain and leather and something undeniablyhim. His teeth nip at my lower lip, and I moan, my fingers curling into his side.
