Page 96 of Grit
“I don’t want you to say it back to me right now, because I’m a suspicious bastard and I’d probably think you were saying it to be nice, but I think you love me too.” He bent down and kissed her long and hard. “I think you love me, and I know I love you.”
She put her arm around his neck and drew his mouth to hers. Melissa kissed him long and slowly.
I love you, Miss Melissa Oxford.
I think you love me too.
Of course she did. That’s why everything was so scary. She drank from his mouth in long, slow sips as he spun her around and backed her to the bed.
“Were you finished with your wine?”
“Yes.” She unbuttoned his shirt at the neck. “You still need to tell me.”
“I love you.”
She couldn’t stop a smile from flashing across her face. “Not that.”
He frowned. “What?”
“You told me.” She kissed his chin. “Last week you said you knew what I needed.”
“Oh.” He pushed her back until her knees buckled and she sat on the bed. “Yes. I know what you need.”
“Which is?”
He hitched her up the bed, sliding her from the base all the way up to the pillows.
She gasped a little. “Damn, you’re strong.”
“I lift.”
She ran a hand over his shoulder, all the way down his arm. “Did you always?”
“No.” He lay next to her and cradled her face, taking her mouth before he reached for her thigh and drew it over his hip. “I started lifting when I started climbing. I needed to be stronger.”
“It worked.”
“Glad you like it.” He bit her bottom lip. “Now take off your shirt.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Melissa’s cheeksflushed and her fingers returned to the buttons on his shirt. “I thought I was taking yours off.”
“Leave it.” Cary shrugged her hands away and bent to her ear to whisper, “Didn’t I tell you that I know what you need?”
He could feel her confusion, along with more than a hint of anxiety, but he was hoping to wipe it all away. Wipe away the tension, the worry, the constant, constant pressure.
“Cary, I don’t understand what—”
“Do you trust me?”
She frowned. “Always.”
“Good.” He took her mouth in a hard kiss and unbuttoned her jeans. His hand spread wide and slid up her belly. He could feel the goose bumps on her skin. Her energy felt like a rubber band about to snap.
He released her mouth. “You are in charge of everything on your ranch, all the time, all year round. Am I right?”
“Yes.” Her voice was small.
