Page 49 of If You Loved Me

When he was done, he palmed the back of my neck, his grip tightening slightly right before he spun me around, my front becoming flush with his. Our breaths were heavy as his forehead came down to meet mine.

“Don’t ever forget what you are, Sarah.” He grasped the pendant between his thumb and forefinger. “I hope this reminds you of your strength and that no matter what anyone else thinks, your dreams are worth chasing after.”

His stormy eyes were hooded as I looked up at him through my lashes. Without a second thought, I grasped the back of his neck, weaving my fingers through his long curls, and pulled his lips to mine.

Nothing else in the world mattered in that moment. It was just us, completely lost in one another. His knuckles skirted down the center of my back until his open palm grazed my backside. He gripped me firmly, lifting me with ease until I wrapped my legs firmly around his center.

I could hardly breathe with the feel of his hands cupping my ass, his thumbs digging into me with hungry need. He moaned as I ran my tongue along the edge of his bottom lip, giving it a gentle tug with my teeth.

“Careful with that bite,” he growled. “I don’t think thetownsfolk would take kindly to me tainting their favorite good girl in the middle of the apple orchard.”

“But what about what I want?” I breathed, not fully recognizing my own voice. “It’smybirthday.”

He nipped my earlobe as he gave my ass a smack on one side. “Sugar, when I claim you we’ll need to be miles away from anyone else so they can’t hear you scream my name.”

I whimpered, feeling the heat building in my center. My body ached for him and I couldn’t help myself as I ground against his stomach in a desperate attempt to find friction against my aching clit.

“I want that, Ranger. I can’t tell you how badly I want that.”

A loud cat-call rang through the orchard right as our lips met again. We pulled apart, but he still held me tightly against him as he shifted toward the entrance of the row where Willow and Johnny were smirking at us.

“Oh my God,” I groaned, dropping my head against Ranger’s chest to avoid him seeing me turn tomato-red. “I’m going to kill her.”

His breath was warm against my neck as he laughed before he gently lowered me and my feet met the ground. He bent down and whispered so only I could hear, “I’m not finished with you yet, sugar. Don’t you worry.” Then he smacked my ass, jutting me forward with a yelp.

Hand-in-hand, we strode toward my best friends. Willow had a wicked gleam in her eyes and I knew she was about to put Ranger through the ringer.

Chapter 21

Ranger

A large thunderstorm had started to roll in, so we sought out shelter in the orchard’s farmhouse building. There was so much concrete—the floors, the block walls, the checkout counter—that I had to remind myself that I wasn’t back in prison. I was free with a wonderful woman tucked under my arm.

I hated that I still struggled with the feeling of being trapped. It was like my brain had a hard time differentiating between my past and present.

We headed toward one of the picnic tables where two other people were already sitting. Sarah and I had been alone in the orchard, right before drops of rain started falling from the sky.

I recognized both of them. A petite blonde woman with striking blue eyes sat cuddled up against Johnny Moore—the town’s veteran hero who also owned one of the best archery equipment stores in the Southeast. I remembered Johnnyfrom school. He was a few years younger than me, but he was always scrappy in gym class and had a knack for getting in trouble just like I did. His fiancé, Willow, had always been the quiet one. That was until she made a big fuss in the town after going from an orphan to the richest woman living amongst us.

The first year I was out, I didn’t get around town much, but Miles and Callie Rose would fill me in on all the town gossip.

“Guys! We already got some donuts and cider. Come sit!” Willow called us over.

“Ready?” Sarah peeked up at me through her lashes, a tinge of pink from the cold dusted her cheeks.

I kissed her hair. “Ready.”

We sat on the bench across from them as Willow laid napkins in front of us and opened the box of cinnamon cider donuts. The smell was amazing, but it still didn’t hold a candle to the spice and sugar aroma that seemed to always cling to Sarah’s skin.

I grabbed a donut for Sarah, placing it on her napkin before I reached for my own.

“Thank you.” She rubbed her hand up and down my thigh. My dick twitched in response at just how close her hand was moving to my inner thigh. I looked at her and could see the mischievousness flickering in her eyes.

The little devil knew exactly what she was doing, so I buried my face in her neck and whispered into her ear, “If you want me to lay you on this table so I can get my fill of you, sugar, just say the word.”

When I pulled away, her chocolate eyes were wide. The rose color of her cheeks deepened. And when she tried to pull her hand away from my thigh, I grasped it, planting it right back where it belonged.

“So!” Willow’s voice cracked through the air like a whip. Sarah and I both shifted our attention to her. “What is your intention with my best friend, Ranger?”

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