Page 75 of My Cowboy Trouble
I lift her off the fence and set her on her feet, then spin her around so she's facing the rails. "Hold on."
"What are you—oh."
I press against her back, my hands sliding around to unbutton her jeans. "Still want this?"
"Yes. God, yes. Please, Asher."
I slide my hand into her jeans, finding her already wet and ready. "You've been thinking about this."
"Since this morning. Since you looked at me like I was worth keeping."
"You are." I work her with my fingers while kissingher neck. "You're worth everything, Kenzie. Worth the risk, worth the pain, worth whatever happens in nineteen days."
I work her clit, wet and juicy, and ready. She comes apart quickly, my name on her lips, her body shaking against mine. Before she can recover, I'm undoing her jeans, pulling them down just enough, just below the smooth flesh of her ass.
"Someone might see," she says, but she's pushing back against me, open and wanting.
"Good." I undo my own jeans, pressing against her. "Let them see how good you look when you're mine. Let them see that you chose us. Chose this."
I slide into her slowly, savoring her gasp, the way she grips the fence rails. Then I'm moving, one hand on her hip, the other tangled in her hair, and she's meeting me thrust for thrust.
"Harder," she demands. "I want to feel you tomorrow. I want to remember this."
"As if you could forget."
I give her what she wants, what we both want, until she's crying out, not caring who hears. When she comes, I follow, her name spilling out of me.
We stay there for a moment, breathing hard, still connected. Then she laughs, soft and satisfied but also sad.
"The gate's still broken."
"The gate's perfect." I kiss her shoulder. "Everything's perfect."
"Nothing's perfect. Perfect doesn't exist."
"This moment is. Right now, right here, this is perfect."
We fix ourselves, stealing kisses and touches, and eventually get the gate actually repaired. But something else is broken now—the wall I've kept around my heart.
I watchher walk back to the house, her hair a mess, her clothes rumpled, a smile on her face that's pure satisfaction mixed with something else. Melancholy, maybe. Or resignation. She looks back once, winking at me before disappearing inside.
I stand there like an idiot, tools in hand, realizing I'm completely fucked.
Not just physically, though that was incredible. But emotionally. Completely. Thoroughly fucked.
I'm in love with Kenzie Rhodes.
The realization doesn't hit like lightning. It settles over me like morning mist, slow and inevitable and impossible to escape. Of course I love her. How could I not? She's everything I never knew I wanted and everything I was afraid to need.
It's not just the sex, though that's amazing. It's not just her smart mouth or the way she challenges me. It's the quiet moments. The vulnerability. The way she didn't pity me when I told her about my mom, just heldmy hand and made snarky jokes to lighten the mood. The way she hums when she's happy. The way she's carved out a place here without even trying.
It's the way she looks at me like I'm worth knowing, worth keeping, worth loving.
"You look like someone just hit you with a two-by-four."
Gavin's leaning against the barn, that knowing smirk on his face. But there's understanding in his eyes too.
"Just thinking."
