Page 110 of Moonlit Colorado

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. “Don’t say that,” I whispered. Because I struggled to believe this was really happening. This was a messed-up dream, and I was torn between wanting to wake up and wanting to stay here forever.

“I’m still doing it. Not telling you everything. Here’s the truth. Since the minute you agreed to come to New York with me, I’ve been trying to figure out how I could keep you.”

My pulse drummed in my throat. “Colorado is home for me. That’s not going to change.”

“Then I’ll make it my home too.”

“Just like that?” I asked incredulously.

“Yep. I’m a decisive guy. Also, let’s be honest, I can afford to have what I want most of the time. Things that money can buy, anyway.” His gray eyes slid away from me. “I’ve never told you why I really bought the resort in Silver Ridge.”

“Why did you?”

“Part of it was envy, maybe, that Ashford had the kind of meaningful life there that doesn’t have a price tag. And part of it was remembering trips to the mountains when I was a kid. How much it had meant to my mom. I just wanted to find something that truly mattered tome. Well, you’re it. You’re what I was looking for.”

All I could do was blink at him. No one had ever said these kinds of things to me. “What about your mom? And Margot?”

“Leave those details to me. What you need to know is this. I’m in love with you. I’m in deep.” He laughed softly. “It’s a bit of a problem. It’s been keeping me up at night, plotting ways to make you love me back.”

This infuriating man. He’d pushed me into taking this trip with him. Pushed me into feeling things,wantingthings, that I’d thought were impossible.

I had only just gotten used to the fact that I wanted to take a chance on him. I’d finally felt confident that I had my feet underneath me.

And now he was sweeping them out from under me. Once again.

My throat was thick, eyes tearing up again. “Don’t do this to me, Dane. Not today. I can’t take it.”

“I’m sorry, gorgeous. I love you.” He kissed a tear as it fell. “I love you.” He kissed another, repeating those words again and again. Finally he asked, “What do you say?”

“That I think I’m falling for you too. And itreallyscares me. But it’s also the best, most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Dane wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close, kissing me breathless.

For the first time in two weeks, he wasn’t being hesitant with me. His lips and tongue danced with mine, giving and taking. Making me feel exactly how much he craved me.

Then he pulled back, muttering, “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking about your injuries.”

I grabbed the collar of his shirt in my fist. “I have had aday, Dane Knightly. All I want is for my man to do filthy things to me. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”

“Are you hurting?”

“Not more than I can handle. You know I trust you. But I need you to trust that I knowmyself.”

I thought for a moment he might deny me again. But instead, he tugged me roughly against him and claimed my mouth.

I straddled his lap, my hands seeking out his warm skin beneath his shirt. My fingers traced his happy trail and ran through his chest hair.

Dane’s masculinity was such a turn on. The strength in all those muscles. But in the past several weeks, his body had become a new comfort zone too. I’d never imagined that the very thing that excited me, got my heart racing, was also the place that I felt the safest. Right in his arms.

But I was beyond ready to have him inside me again. To have him push my limits, the way he had at the beginning of this trip. To feel the intense kind of pleasure that no one else had ever given me.

Dane broke our kiss long enough to yank his T-shirt off, then my own. I got rid of my bra myself and pressed my body against his, my hard nipples rubbing over his broad chest. Dane’s eyes flashed with lust, and he grabbed my hips, thrusting himself against me. It was such a rough and dirty move, and I loved it. I felt how thick and hard he was despite the layers of clothes between us.

We really needed to do something about that.

He clearly had the same thought, because I was suddenly on my back on the couch, bouncing against the cushions. Dane unbuttoned my pants and pulled them down, then went to work on his own.

I went to take off my panties, but he shook his head. “No. Those are mine.”

---