Page 18 of Let Her Buck

Right.

What I want to do to her has nothing to do with words. But I nod. Because I’d follow her anywhere right now.

“Lead the way,” I say, and she slips her fingers into mine again.

Damn if this girl isn’t my undoing.

Laney’s apartment is just a few minutes walk from the stable. The place is small, but cozy. Warm. A little cluttered in the corners, like she’s been too busy living to care about keeping everything in perfect order. And hell if that doesn’t make me like her more.

She closes the door behind us, and we just…stand there.

A beat of silence.

Then another.

I rub the back of my neck, feeling every bit like a man who doesn’t belong here, who doesn’t know what to do with the way his heart is thudding against his ribs.

What do I do with this feeling?

“I—uh…” She swallows nervously, then clears her throat, gesturing down the hallway. “The bathroom’s this way.”

I nod and follow her through the narrow hallway, her shoulder brushing mine as she passes me the towel. She doesn’t meet my gaze when she does, and I can’t tell if it’s nerves or something deeper.

Maybe both.

She points to the door, then steps back. “Hot water works. Mostly.”

I nod again, my voice not quite ready to work. “Thanks.”

Inside, I try to breathe. I strip off my clothes, step under the spray, and brace my hands against the cold tile.

She’s getting under my skin.

Scratch that. She’s already under it. Deep.

And now I’m stuck here, half-wrecked by a girl I barely know but already want too much. I shouldn’t be thinking about her like this. Not with her ghosts. Not with mine. Not with the way I’ve been drifting through life like nothing matters…

And now suddenly she does.

I close my eyes, reveling in the sensation of the water streaking down my body.

What the hell am I doing here?

Suddenly, the door creaks open.

I turn my head just in time to see her slip inside the bathroom, soft and bare and—God help me—completely naked.

My chest tightens, and the air punches out of my lungs like I’ve been hit.

Laney. In the flesh.

AndJesus. She’s gorgeous.

No, she’s more than that…she’s a fucking vision. A dream made of curves and soft golden skin and legs that go on forever. My eyes rake over her, helpless, my body going hard so fast it almost hurts.

She steps closer, steam wrapping around her like a veil, dampening her hair, making her skin glow. Her eyes lock with mine, and I swear she sees everything. Every jagged edge. Every scar.

“What’re you…?” My voice comes out hoarse. Weak. “Laney…”

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