“You sure about that?” I ask, voice low.
She shrugs one shoulder. “You gonna make up for lost time, cowboy?”
My hand finds her waist before I can think better of it. She’s warm under my touch, solid and real, and when she leans just slightly into me, I’m done pretending.
“I’ve been trying not to,” I murmur, brushing my knuckles along her jaw. “But damn if you don’t make it impossible.”
She breathes in, shaky. “Then stop trying.”
And I do.
My mouth crashes onto hers, all heat and frustration and months, years, of wanting something I convinced myself I couldn’t have. Her hands fist in my shirt, pulling me closer, and everything inside me fractures. She tastes like sweat and sunshine, something sweet and stubborn that’s uniquely Avery.
We stumble back until her spine hits the barn wall, and I cage her there with my arms, one hand buried in her hair, the other gripping her hip like she mightdisappear. She moans against my mouth, and it wrecks me. Completely.
Her legs hook around my waist like instinct, like need, and I press closer, grinding into her until she gasps into the kiss. My control slips by the second.
“I can’t think when you’re this close,” she whispers, her forehead resting against mine.
“Good,” I growl. “Stop thinking.”
I kiss her again, deeper, slower, and this time it’s less about fire and more about need. About the way she feels against me, the way she fits. I trail kisses along her jaw, down her neck, and she shudders when my teeth graze her collarbone.
“Cash—”
I pull back, just enough to meet her eyes. “Tell me to stop.”
She doesn’t. Instead, she yanks me closer, lips parted, breath ragged. “Don’t you dare.”
Then her mouth is on mine again, and the last bit of restraint I had burns to ash.
The tension snaps like an overstretched rope.
Her hands are already under my shirt, nails skimming up my stomach, and I groan into her mouth. She pushesthe fabric up and I yank it off, tossing it somewhere behind me without looking.
Her palms are hot against my bare skin, her body molded to mine like she’s always belonged there. Every part of me is wound tight, and when her lips trail down my neck, I nearly lose it.
She leans back just enough to pull her shirt over her head, hay catching in her hair as it falls around her shoulders. For a second, I forget how to breathe. She's stunning like this, half-wild, glowing in the sunlight, and mine, if only for the moment. The lacey bra comes off next. She's gorgeous, All I can do is stare.
My chest tightens, not just with want, but with something quieter. Something dangerous. Because this isn’t just lust anymore, it’s her. Her eyes search mine, daring me to look away. I don’t.
“Still don't want me to stop?” I rasp.
Her only answer is a tug on my belt, fingers trembling with urgency. “Not even close.” She can feel the throbbing hardness trying to escape the zipper. The tension crackles between us, heavy and hot, as she presses closer and I feel the full weight of her need mirrored in mine.
I kiss her hard, hungry. My hands roam over her, soft skin, strong curves, nipples as hard as pebbles, the lines I’ve imagined in the quiet dark too many nights to count. She arches into me, her breath catching when I slide my hands over her breasts, first one and then the other with my mouth to follow. My hands slide under the waistband of her jeans.
We fumble with buttons and denim, laughing once, breathless, urgent, when I nearly fall backward into the hay. She drags me down with her, and suddenly we’re tangled in golden straw and heat and want. Every kiss is a promise, every touch a confession we haven’t spoken out loud.
Her thighs wrap around me again, pulling me close. I grind against her, and her gasp sends a jolt straight through me. She grabs my face and kisses me like she needs this more than air.
“Now,” she whispers, breath hot against my ear. “I need you, Cash.”
I don't make her wait. I settle on top of her.
We meet together in a rush, a blur of hands and mouths and whispered names. It’s desperate and messy and real, nothing polished, nothing planned. Just us. Herhands find me throbbing and my hand finds her wet and ready.
She moves with me, meeting every thrust like a challenge. Her nails dig into my shoulders, her body trembling beneath me. I kiss her temple, her cheek, her lips, anything I can reach.
