Page 87 of Cowboy Bull's Promise

Because I don’t know what she’s thinking now. I don’t know what those women told her at Max’s house, what truths they dropped into her lap like hand grenades disguised in casseroles and herbal tea.

She’s probably scared.

She probably should be.

Because I’m scared too, and I’m the one with horns.

I rake a hand through my damp hair and stare at the dirt I just worked with my own goddamn body, wondering what the hell any of it matters if she walks away from me.

The Rut is a fucking curse.

A ticking time bomb lodged in my DNA, waiting to detonate and strip away every last shred of my will.

I know what comes next.

I’ve read the legends. Heard the whispers.

Lose control. Lose your mind. Lose her.

And if that happens. If I become that creature? That beast that takes and can’t stop taking?

Then I’m no better than my sire.

I hate myself for even thinking it, but the words echo anyway.

Maybe I’m not good for her.

Maybe I never was.

My Bull bellows inside me, a deep, guttural cry of anguish that ripples through my bones and rattles my soul.

He mourns the very thought of losing her.

And gods, I feel it too.

Because all I want is her.

Not sex. Not a body. Not even the comfort of her scent in my bed.

I want her laugh.

Her spark.

Her stubborn, brilliant light.

And I am the last fucking thing in the world that’s good for it.

And still? I’d burn down the whole damn ranch just to be near her one more night.

“Boss says to go get washed and dressed,” Jed calls out as I walk away from him.

“What for?”

“Y’all are having dinner at his place. He says wear a button down shirt.”

I frown. Max might come from a rich fancy ass family, but the only button down shirts I own are flannel.

Oh well. It will have to do because once summoned by the Alpha, there was no backing down.

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