Page 98 of Hot Ice, Tennessee

“Your house always smells so good,” he said. “The light scent of wood.”

“It’s one of my favorite scents,” I said. “When we used to go on trips as a kid, I’d always come back here and remember the smell of home. When you’re away for a while, it always smells stronger when you come back.”

I looked back at him, his tan skin glowing in the low light.

Thisman wanted to share a bed with me. Not even just for a hookup.

I didn’t know when I’d gotten so lucky, but I wasn’t in the business of questioning it anymore. After seeing him knocked out on the ground, I didn’t really have a doubt in my mind anymore about what my feelings were for him.

“I need to go check on the horses before I head upstairs,” I told him. “You can shower if you want, and change into any of the clean clothes in my dresser.”

“I’ll come out with you,” he said. “To see the horses.”

“You sure about that? I think resting might be the best thing right now.”

He was already walking toward the door. “I’m still trying to burn off some leftover adrenaline.”

“I won’t argue with that.”

He followed me out back and down the short path that led to the stables. The heat was finally starting to dissipate now that it was later in the night, and I listened to the soft sound of our shoes crunching over the dirt. The moon lit up the sky above the whole ranch, and every few yards we passed another one of my little solar lights along the path.

There was so much I wanted to say to him.

So much I felt like we needed to talk about, whenever the time was right.

But with each step we took, I was more and more certain that tonight, we weren’t going to talk about any of it. The silence between us felt more comfortable than any silence before, and strangely, it felt like I’d known Jesse for years.

What was thisfeeling?

It was like… the same feeling I’d had earlier in the car, where I didn’t feel like I was searching, for once.

Like everything I needed was here.

We walked close to each other. When we got to the horses, Jesse helped me check each of their feed and water buckets, which were plenty full after I’d seen them in the afternoon. He gave each horse some attention, particularly telling Maisie she was a sweet girl.

When we got back inside and headed upstairs, I asked him what he needed.

“A shower,” he said.

I nodded. “Coming right up.”

“A shower with you in it,” he added, giving me a quick look before turning and slowly stripping off each piece of clothing he was wearing. He left a trail of his clothes on my bedroom floor as he walked to my bathroom.

I followed after him. I took off my own clothes, then reached into the shower and turned on the water. As soon as we stepped inside, Jesse leaned over me, pressing his lips to mine. The water beat down on my back as Jesse wrapped his arms around me, gently guiding me until we both leaned against the shower wall.

“This is all I wanted,” he murmured against my lips. “Outside the bar.”

“Me too. We should have just kept kissing and let him punch us both into an unconscious heap on the floor.”

“Would be worth it.”

“I know.”

“Do you, uh, happen to remember what you said, when you were just waking back up?” I asked gingerly.

The steam of the shower billowed up around him in plumes. “I don’t remember much until we were in my car.”

I bit my lower lip. “You… told me to keep kissing you. While Kane was there.”

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