Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 48446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48446 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
“We here?” I asked, sitting up and stretching.
“Yeah,” he said, sounding miserable.
I caught hold of his arm and pulled him close, our faces inches apart. “I don’t want us to fight no more. Let’s stop fussin’ at each other and kiss and make up.”
His smile was sweet and sad and happy all at the same time. “I would love that.”
I puckered up, and he started laughing. “So not hot.”
“No?”
He lost it, and I grabbed him and pulled him into my arms and kissed him until it wasn’t funny anymore. I made sure when he got out of the SUV, he was uncomfortable and squirming and cursing my name and promising retribution.
“Oh yeah?” I teased him.
“Oh, cowboy, you’ll be so sorry we’re not alone,” he threatened, eyes still cloudy with passion, his lips swollen and dark and bruised. He looked like I’d mauled him.
“Why’s that?” I asked, following him up the cobblestone path to the front door.
He grunted. “Because you are so going to want my ass, and I’ll be damned if you’ll get it.”
“Maybe it’s about time you had mine,” I said softly.
He froze.
I was proud of myself for not laughing, and when he turned to face me, mouth open, his eyes round with shock, I casually asked him what was wrong.
“You?”
“Me?”
“You.”
I grinned. “We’ve established this.”
“You—” His breath came out in a rush. “You said you’ve never trusted anyone enough to bottom.”
“That’s right.”
“So you’re saying what? You trust me enough?”
“That’s what I’m sayin’. Yessir.”
“Jesus, Weber,” he groaned, reaching for me, leaning hard, hands fisted on my chest, in the henley I was wearing under the new peacoat he’d just bought me. “Don’t tease me.”
“When have you ever known me to do such a thing?”
“Never.” He closed his eyes, inhaling me.
“So then?”
“Oh, baby, please let me have you,” he moaned hoarsely as I kissed his forehead. “I’ll be so… Weber, I’ll be your first.”
“And only, I suspect. Trust doesn’t come easy to me.”
He swallowed hard before opening his eyes and looking up into mine. “Do you have any idea how beautiful your eyes are?”
“Faded blue, like jeans, my mama used to say. They ain’t nothin’, not like yours, not brown and gold all mixed up together. Yours are somethin’ to see.”
He shook his head and then let his head fall forward against my chest.
“So now…” I chuckled. “Who’s gonna be sorry we’re not alone?”
“I really hate you.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“Cyrus!”
We both looked toward the front door, where Lyn was waving us in. She appeared a bit frantic.
“Hurry up!” she yelled.
He grabbed hold of my hand and led me toward the house. Inside, it was enormous, made to look like a giant hunting lodge, all river rock and logs, the only thing that didn’t make sense being the skylights.
“Cyrus, honey?” an older woman, who had to be his mother, called over to him.
There were a lot of people converging at once, and I was jostled away from him, but then my arm was grabbed, tight, and Cy eased me back to him, to his side, not letting me go, like a lifeline. He was not about to let us be separated, and damn if that didn’t make me feel special and wanted. He always found a way to do that. Whenever we met his friends, or people from work, acquaintances, anyone really—like earlier in the day when he introduced me to his cobbler—Cy always held on and made sure people knew we were together. Choked up a bit, I was glad when he started talking so I had a moment to take a breath.
“Everyone,” he began, his hand releasing my bicep only to quickly take my hand, lacing his fingers with mine. “This is Weber, he’s visiting, and I’m crazy about him, so let’s all be nice.”
I could have lived without all that. I might have groaned.
“What?” he asked me, eyes gleaming with happiness and mischief.
I shook my head at him.
“Web,” he continued, “this is my family.”
He was squeezing my hand, in front of everyone, showing them all how important I was to him, and really, it was hard not to love a man who made how he felt so abundantly clear.
Everyone looked a bit stunned.
I cleared my throat. “Nice to meet y’all.”
Instant smiling from all of them, and that was it for me. I needed air. And because Cy knew me so well—which, honestly, was amazing, given the fact that we hadn’t seen one another that many times—he let go of my hand and gestured for the open sliding glass door. I moved quickly and was outside on the back deck in under a minute.
I was taking deep breaths when the boys came into view, running around the backyard with two little girls and three German shepherds, two of the black-and-brown variety and one black.
“Weber!” Pip yelled, leading the girls over.
The dogs noticed then and ran toward me. I went to my knees to greet them, and the warning barking became the joyous kind with wagging tails, wet noses jabbed into my eyes, tongues on my face, and general happy whimpering and whining. Soggy tennis balls got dropped at my feet, and I worked the dogs hard while also playing tag with Pip and the girls. I kept an eye on Micah and Tristan as they climbed the big oak tree, and when I thought they were high enough, told them not to go up any more.