Page 2 of Property of Legend

Ain’t I?I could just as easily be serious.His doubt is eating me up.“You ever think about me?”I ask, voice soft.

His hand drops from the saddle.

“All the damn time, Sophie Montgomery.”

The kiss comes like a strike, fast and hard.His lips crash into mine and I don’t hesitate, I don’t think.I melt into him like I’ve been waiting for this moment since the day he left.Since the day I stopped believing in happy endings.

He presses me back against the barn wall, one arm around my waist, the other braced above my head.His mouth is hot and desperate and tastes like dirt and sunshine and everything I ever wanted.

“You still kiss like a damn horse girl,” he mutters between breaths.

“You still kiss like you were born in a barn.”

He laughs.A rough sound that vibrates through me, making me tingle where I shouldn’t.

“I missed you, Horse Princess.”

“I missed you more,” I mumble, not wanting to admit it.

The heat rises between us, coiling low and tight like a summer storm about to break.My fingers slip into his hair, still damp from sweat, tangling at the nape as I draw him closer.His breath brushes mine, ragged and hot, and when our lips meet again, it’s desperate, hungry, like we’re trying to devour every second we’ve lost.

His hand slides to my backside, gripping like he means to keep me tethered to this moment.Against his hard erection.My nails scrape the back of his neck and he groans into my mouth, deep and low, the sound rattling straight through me.

I’m thinking about giving him everything.Right here in the dust and hay, under the slanted light of a barn we used to race past as kids.About letting go of every rule I was raised on.And hell, of seriously tearing off this life like a too-tight dress and losing myself in him.

I’m thinking about burning this whole damn legacy to the ground and building something wild and free with him from the ashes.

We break apart just long enough to breathe.He goes for the waistband of my jeans.

“Not here,” I say in a panic.“I’ll pack a bag,” I whisper.“We ride out before anyone notices.”

Did I just decide to run away with him?

“You’re serious,” he says, his whole face smiling.

My heart melts.I nod, slowly.

I am.

His thumb brushes across my bottom lip like he’s sealing the promise between us.“You sure?”

“I don’t care where we’re going,” I tell him, the truth finally pouring out of me.“As long as it’s not here.”

“I’ll finish saddling the mare,” he says, voice hoarse as he registers my resolve.“Meet you back here in an hour?”

I nod, already halfway gone.

He kisses me again, softer this time, like he’s memorizing me.Pulling away, he takes my hand and kisses my knuckles.Then he turns back to the mare, tightening the cinch strap with steady hands while my heart gallops in my chest.

I slip out of the barn, eyes burning with everything we just lit on fire.

And I don’t look back.

I run to the house, heart pounding, shoving things into a duffel.Jeans.Money.A flashlight.I don’t even remember what I pack.I’m just high on hope and hormones and the wild idea that maybe I can outrun this place with the boy who has always looked at me like I hung the moon.

I get back to the barn.I wait by Firecracker.

The hour passes.

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