Page 67 of The Pieces We've Lost

“Faster, please,” I gasped as he slammed into me. “Ah, fuck!” I was nearing my climax as the angle got deeper the more I clenched my legs around him.

“I’m going to come, baby,” he rasped as he gripped my hips and pounded into me harder, which I didn’t think it was possible.

“Ah, Colter,” I moaned, never taking my eyes off him as we both unraveled.

For the first time, I wasn’t worried about the future. It didn’t matter what happened tomorrow or even in a week. He was mine and I was his, even if just for this weekend. He wasmineand nothing had ever felt so right.

“You are so perfect to me,” he murmured, after we had finished and he had discarded the condom, before pulling me close to him and drifting off to sleep.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

colter

Sunlight streamed through the shades as I pulled Ellison closer to me. She snuggled against me, and my mind went back to the previous night. How it felt to finally have her lips on mine, to feel her wrapped around me, but also knowing that we didn’t feel the need to rush, despite our desire to be close.

I wanted to bottle up that memory and drink it every day for the rest of my life. With her, I was comfortable, content. I was convinced the universe had created her especially for me, flaws and all, and I would be damned to ever let her go. I might not have felt worthy of love, especially not Ellison’s, but she sure as hell was worthy of mine.

My plan for the day was to take her riding—on horses, although who knew what would happen later. I was open to all of the possibilities.

I knew she loved to ride, and I was sure she was probably missing it, since she was away from Texas and her ranch. I was also a little selfish and wanted to see if she was willing to try her hand at roping with me later.

I rolled out of bed, got dressed as quickly and quietly as I could, careful to not wake her, and slipped outside to catch Bullet so I could bring him over to the trailer to saddle him.

It was a beautiful morning. The sun painted the horizon with an incandescent glow that contrasted perfectly with the blue sky. There were only a few clouds streaking across the horizon, and there was a gentle breeze. Perfect for riding.

Bullet was in the pasture with a few other horses, and it wasn’t difficult to catch him with the lead. He was looking forward to this.

I had started walking Bullet back to the trailer when I saw her step out of the house wearing bootcut jeans and one of my Wrangler sweatshirts. God, she was beautiful. Her hair was slightly messy and she looked a little sleepy, but she had a giant grin on her face.

“Are you ready to ride this morning?” I called out to her.

“Both of us are going to ride on that one horse?” she asked sarcastically.

I knew she knew better than to think we were going to double up. She’d been around horses enough to know that shit only happened in the movies and cheesy romance novels.

“Of course not. What kind of cowboy do you think I am? There’s no way in hell. I’m not risking injuring my horse or either one of us. You’ve got to go catch your own.” I nodded my head toward the pasture where the other horses were.

“You’re going to make me catch my own horse too? Wow, romance must be dead,” she joked when she passed me, her hips swinging as she walked away.

Ellison Wilson was going to be the death of me.

She came back with the horse I told her to grab, Trigger, who was one of my other roping horses, and started tacking him up. She hummed a little as she brushed his back, but we didn’t say anything as we worked.

The thing was, I could sit in silence with Ellison forever if she had asked me to. We didn’t need to speak. Being in the same space as her, breathing the same air, was more than enough. And I think she felt the same.

Minutes later, we were riding side by side out in the country, nothing but open fields ahead of us. There were hills way off in the distance, but for the most part, eastern Montana was really flat. I didn’t mind it, though. It felt like you could look out on the horizon forever, with nothing blocking you in.

“I can see why you love it here,” Ellison murmured, almost too quiet for me to hear.

Truth was, I liked it more becauseshewas here. We could be anywhere in the world right now and it would be my favorite place because of her.

“What’s your favorite place in the world, Blaze?” I asked. I knew I had already asked her this question before, but I didn’t care.

“That field we drove to back in Texas. Haven’t you already asked me this before?” she answered warily.

“Have I?” I replied, waiting for her to take the bait.

“Yes, you did ask me, because you said yours was the rodeo arena.” She eyed me suspiciously.

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