Page 55

“Yes, thank you. It wouldn’t have happened without you,” Greyson adds.

“What?” I ask, looking down at her.

“It was nothing.” Dakota waves it off with her free hand.

“Nothing short of a miracle,” Wyatt adds. “The sponsors didn’t want anything to do with Wallace here either after what happened last year.”

“But then Dakota called them all personally and told her how much he’s changed and wants to be a part of the community,” Ella adds proudly.

“You did?” I ask. I know my eyes are wide with disbelief as I look down at her.

“Really, it was nothing.” There’s a pink to her cheeks that looks so adorable right now; I can’t take my eyes off her.

She looks away with the corner of her mouth ticked up in a shy smile and it’s then I know that I’ll do absolutely anything for her. For this woman who signed up for all my bullshit when she really didn’t have to. For the one that took the initiative to make sure Greyson was given a second chance in the community when she had nothing to gain from it other than being a good friend to Ella.

For the one that has risked everything to save me.

Now I know I’ve been doing this all wrong. Everything. The way I run my ranch and my life. Thinking that I never needed anyone at my side to do all of this with. Maybe that was because I never knew anyone like Dakota before. Someone who could challenge me while also turning me on more than anyone I’d ever met before. Maybe it was because I’ve always had my head so far up my ass that I’ve never even bothered to look.

When I look at Ella and Greyson now, I realize I want that, but I only want it with Dakota.

“Sorry, do you mind if I steal Dakota for a second?” I ask, not waiting for a reply.

I cover her hand with mine on my arm and lead her out of the suite. She smiles but I can see the million questions racing through her mind as her eyes meet mine.

Pulling us around the corner into a deserted hallway, I back her up against the wall and press my body to hers.

“Chance, what…?”

I don’t let her finish her question. I lift my hand and cup her cheek before crashing my lips to hers. She clutches at my shirt, going back and forth between pushing me away and pulling me closer until she finally gives in and melts into me.

I push her further into the wall, letting my hands roam over her body and into her hair. I grind my hips into her, letting her know what she does to me. What she’s always done to me.

“Chance, we can’t...”

“Yes, we can,” I answer, trailing kisses down her neck.

She slides her hands around my neck, playing with the hair there. She’s the only one that’s ever done that, and it’s such a fucking turn on. Her having her hands on me at all does things to me I didn’t know were possible.

But here she is, doing the impossible every day. Like making me want things I never thought were meant for me.

“Someone could see us.”

“Then let them see. We are engaged, after all.”

“Chance!” She pushes me off her, leaving us both heaving for breath.

“What’s wrong?”

Tears fill her eyes, and I honestly don’t know what to do. The euphoria of having her in my arms is quickly replaced by panic as I look at her on the verge of crying.

“I can’t do this.”

“Can’t do what, Dakota?”

“This! Us!” She wipes a tear from her cheek. I take a step towards her, but she puts a hand up, stopping me. “Don’t.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”