I reach for her, one hand threading into her hair as I close the last of the space between us.

“And if I don’t kiss you right now, I swear I’m gonna lose my fucking mind.”

She swallows, and I move.

I kiss her.

And it’s not gentle.

It’s not soft.

It’s teeth and tongue and heat and hunger.

It’s a growl deep in my chest as her lips part and her hands fist in my shirt like she needs something to hold on to.

She tastes like fire and sweetness.

Like danger and salvation.

Like every goddamn dream I didn’t let myself have.

She gasps into my mouth when I pull her into my lap, her thighs straddling me like they belong there.

I grip her hips, guiding her down, letting her feel exactly what she’s doing to me.

Her moan? Fuck.

It rips straight through me, waking up every inch of my Dragon.

The kiss deepens. Darkens.

My tongue claims hers, slow and possessive.

Her fingers tangle in my hair, pulling just enough to make me groan.

When I finally tear my mouth from hers, I press my forehead to hers, both of us breathing like we’ve run miles.

Her voice is barely a whisper.

“What is this?”

Her hands clench over my heart and fuck, it’s like she’s dug beneath my skin and is holding the thing in her hands.

But isn’t she, though?

“This,” I murmur, brushing my lips across her jaw, her neck, the shell of her ear. “Is something I can’t fight anymore.”

And then I kiss her again.

And again.

And again.

Until the fire’s the least dangerous thing burning between us.

CHAPTER TEN-CASEY

I came to the Motley Crewd Ranch hoping to shake some of the loneliness that’s been clinging to me like a second skin.