Page 56 of If You Loved Me

I saw my distorted reflection in her eyes. Fear dancing in my irises. Lips drawn into a tight line. Because the one thing that I hadn’t told my friends was that I wasn’t just worried about telling Ranger the truth or that my mom might take her revenge out on my business. It was also about that little girlin me finally having a moment when her mother was proud of her for doing the ‘right’ thing and now I was going to take that away from her—from myself.

Deep down, I was still that child who wanted nothing more than her mother’s approval. And I was about to do something that would most certainly warrant herdisapproval.

Chapter 24

Ranger

Sarah was a cowboy’s dream dressed in tight bootcut jeans that hugged her ass so tight I thought the denim might be painted on. She wore the necklace I had gifted her and her long dark hair was curled and bound in a pink bow, the tresses draped casually over her shoulder. I wanted badly to wrap my hand around her hair while I buried myself deep inside her. She was so fucking beautiful it almost hurt to take in the sight of her. My cock twitched and my chest ached. I’d been used to the former experience as I’d only ever sought out physical connections with women.

Call it mommy issues or whatever.

But Sarah churned something deep within me and I found myself willingly giving more and more.

“It’s stunning out here.” Her breath clouded in front of her as she walked from her car to the barn entrance. I watched the sway of her hips as she sauntered up to me, her gaze dancing around the pastures on both sides of the barn.

“I’d argue that my view is better.” I winked at her.

Stopping toe-to-toe in front of me, she placed her hands on her hips. “Is that so, cowboy?”

I slid my hand behind her lower back, drawing her closer. Her pink lips parted with a breathy sigh that struck me to my core as I kissed her. She softened into my touch, hiking one leg up around my own so her middle was flush against my thigh. My hand wove through the bottom of her hair, settling just beneath her ponytail. My instinct was to reck it, letting her chestnut strands fall loose from the bow that secured them. But I restrained myself, knowing we’d have plenty of time for things to get wild.

I lost myself in the sweet taste of her lips and how her tongue melded against my own. There was a banging in my chest, not only from my raging heartbeat but from the awakening that only Sarah brought out in me. That zest for life I’d once had, but the world stole from me. It was a kernel of hope that her presence and touch watered into something more.

I could kiss her forever, but I promised her a surprise. Absence filled the space between us as I broke the kiss and let my hand fall from the back of her neck.

“Is it too soon to say that I’ve missed you?” she whispered, eyes bright under the fading sun.

“I don’t think anything is too soon for us.” And it was true. The rational part of me had shriveled into dust when it came to my feelings for her. It didn’t matter that we’d barely had time together. She was mine and that was all that mattered.

She smiled at me and I tucked her under my arm, guiding us through the hall of the barn.

“Did you build the barn?” she asked.

“I like to think I helped a little bit, but the true answer is no. My grandfather built it after the old one burned down from a lightning strike. I probably hammered a nail or two, but it was mostly him and my dad.” I caught the emotion feeling heavy in my chest, but not bearing quite the same weight it usually did when I spoke about my dad.

“The woodwork is incredible.” Her head tilted back against my shoulder as she looked up at the exposed wood beams running along the ceiling.

I shifted my eyes upward to study them as she did. “Yeah, it really is.”

“So, do I get to know what we’re doing today?”

I stopped in front of one of the stalls where my sister’s buckskin mare was peeking her head over the door. “I thought I might take you for a sunset ride along the river. But I have to let you know that I don’t have any one-legged saddles with me, so you might have to ride like a man,” I teased, remembering how she talked about her parents not approving of any unladylike behaviors.

She pinched my side making me pull away in a laugh.

“I can ride perfectly fine with my legs on either side, just so you know.”

My mind flashed with the image of her straddling me while riding my cock and as I took in the flame of her cheeks, I wondered if she might have imagined a similar image.

Sarah cleared her throat and asked, “Which horse do I get to ride?”

I turned to the stall behind me and patted the mare on her forehead. “You get to ride Honey Blossom tonight. She’s gentle and doesn’t like to take her riders on misadventures.”

“Hi, Honey. Aren’t you beautiful?” Sarah crooned as she let the mare smell her before rubbing her hand over her snout. She turned to me, eyes glowing with excitement. “Is she yours?”

“She’s my sister’s.”

“Oh.” Something like worry had her brows crinkling together. “Does she know I’ll be riding her horse?”

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