Page 64 of Relentless Hearts
He nodded.
She dragged in a deep breath. “I love this house. So much. The history, the family memories, all of it. But there’s a lot of adults with a lot of strong personalities under this roof. I’d love to have a big house like this someday—to fill it up with our own kids, make our own memories. But not here. Not surrounded by six brothers who’ll have opinions about every parenting decision we make.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Do you have a location picked out for that dream home?”
She looked at him for a long moment, wondering if he already knew the answer. They’d spent so much time together over the past months, working with the horses, riding across the property. He paid attention to things most people missed.
“You know where.” She snuggled closer.
“The south field.”
“Yes.” Relief flooded through her that she didn’t have to explain it, didn’t have to justify or defend her choice. “The view from there—you can see the whole valley and the mountains in the distance. I’ve stood on that rise so many times, just looking out at the land, imagining what it could be.”
“I know.” He grazed his lips over her brow once, twice. “I’ve seen you up there. Sometimes you’d watch the sunset, and the light would catch your hair, and I’d have to remind myself to look away before someone noticed I couldn’t stop staring.”
The admission made her heart squeeze. “You were watching me?”
“Always.” His hand cupped her face, thumb tracing across her cheekbone. “Even when I couldn’t let you know it, I was always watching you.”
“We could build something beautiful up there.” Her dream took shape as she spoke. “Big windows to see the view, a wraparound porch, maybe a barn close enough that we could hear the horses in the morning.”
“A garden,” Decker added. “You’ve always wanted a garden.”
Stunned, she drew back to study his face. “How do you know that?”
“You mentioned it once, when you were checking on that mare with the injured leg. You said something about wanting to grow your own vegetables someday, have fresh herbs right outside the kitchen door.”
The fact that he remembered such a small, throwaway comment made tears prick her eyes. This was what it felt like to be truly seen, truly known.
“It would be ours,” she whispered. “Just ours. A place where we could be ourselves without anyone else’s expectations or needs pressing in.”
“Then that’s what we’ll build.” He spoke with absolute certainty. “When you’re ready. There’s no rush.”
But suddenly, there was a rush. She wanted that future with a fierceness that surprised her. Wanted to wake up in their house, in their bed, with their view of the Black Heart Ranch spread out before them.
Wanted to build something that was entirely theirs.
“I love you, Decker.” The words felt inadequate for the depth of what she felt.
“I love you too.” He kissed her then, soft and sweet and full of promise. “And I’m going to build that house for you, Willow.”
“For us,” she corrected.
“For us.”
She kissed him again, deeper this time, her hands sliding over the warm planes of his chest. The conversation had stirred something in her—a hunger not just for his body but for the future they’d just painted together.
“Show me.” She nipped at his lips. “Show me what it’ll be like when it’s just us. No brothers down the hall, no family obligations, just you and me.”
He didn’t hesitate. His hands moved over her with renewed purpose, and she arched into his touch, losing herself in the sensation. This was their beginning—not just sharing a room in her family’s house, but building toward something entirely their own.
Heat coiled low in her belly as he swept his hands down her sides, his rough palms dragging over her curves like he already owned them. She threaded her fingers through his hair and kissed him harder, drinking in the taste of him, the certainty of him.
When his hand slid beneath her top, she gasped against his mouth, the brush of his callused thumb teasing the underside of her breast. Every nerve in her body sparked to life.
“Decker…” Her whisper came out half plea, half dare.
He growled softly in answer, tugging her shirt up and off, tossing it aside without breaking the kiss. His mouth slanted over hers, greedy now, and she clung to his shoulders, her nails biting lightly into muscle.
