“Found myself a damsel in distress,” Walker says solemnly, like he's not currently carrying a grown woman over his shoulder. “Had to rescue her from a deadly serpent.”
“It was a bullsnake!” I protest, still dangling upside down, blood rushing to my head, between my legs, everywhere all at once.
“Details.” He bounces me slightly, and I squeal. “Very dangerous. Very scary.”
“You're the one I need rescuing from now!” I say, wriggling in his grip.
And then Walker swats me on the ass.
Not painfully hard. But firm enough that the sound cracks through the air. Firm enough that my flesh tingles everywhere his palm landed and I feel it reverberate all through my body.
Especially between my thighs.
“Quiet, princess,” he growls, and there's something dark and promising underneath the playfulness. “You're my war prize for defeating the serpent.”
Heat floods through me that has nothing to do with the Montana summer sun.
Jonah cackles with glee, bouncing around us like an overexcited puppy. “I'll save you, Sadie! I'm the strongest knight in the whole entire world!”
Walker finally sets me down on the porch, letting me slide down the hard plane of his body. When my feet hit the groundmy knees feel like jelly. I barely have time to catch my balance before he turns to his son with an exaggerated scowl.
“That means I must defeatyou,” he growls at Jonah, “before I can devour my princess.”
The hot, hungry way he's looking at me when he saysdevour, I'm thinking he's not joking.
Jonah shrieks with delighted terror and takes off running.
“Better run, darlin’,” Walker says, turning that predatory grin on me. “The beast is hungry.”
I flee.
Chapter 12
Hypothetical Boyfriend
SADIE
Saturday evening, I'm in my room getting ready, phone pressed between my shoulder and ear while I dig through my closet.
“What are you wearing tonight?” my friend Cassidy asks through the phone speaker.
“Don't know yet. Something I won't sweat like a pig in, I guess. This heat is brutal.”
“Just pick something cute. You deserve a fun night out.”
I pull out a lavender dress, hold it up to the light. “Yeah. I guess I do.”
There's a pause. “You okay? You sound weird.”
“Just a long day with my mom.”
I’d visited her earlier today to make sure her dialysis machine was working right, her pantry was stocked, and her place was clean.
In exchange, she sat in her chair and smoked, only pausing to tell me that rumors are going rampant all over town thatWalker Rhodes has a pretty little live-in and she's keeping his bed warm.
“Say no more.” Cassidy's voice softens with understanding. “All the more reason to let loose tonight. Have a drink, flirt with someone who's not your boss.”
I told Cassidy about the vibes between me and Walker, wanting to know if she had any advice or insight. She knows the Rhodes family well, but Walker is a decade older than us and he was already hotly pursing his career by the time she started spending a lot of time at Wild Rose Ranch.
