Page 43 of Rancher's Return

“Yes,” she breathed.

“God help me,” he said.

He lifted her up off the ground, her legs wrapped around his waist as he started to carry her up the stairs.

“You know where my bedroom is,” she said.

“I’ll figure it out.”

He was resourceful that way.

“I don’t have condoms,” she said.

Everything stopped for a moment.

“I have one,” he said.

Just one. One he always carried in his wallet for emergencies, even though it wasn’t like one-night stands broke out without careful planning on his part. And there hadn’t been one since he had adopted the boys. But he made sure to religiously replace that one condom, so it never went past its expiration date and didn’t spend too long being exposed to the elements or anything like that.

He was safe.

“Oh,” she said.

“It’s a safety measure,” he said. “I wasn’t planning this. It’s just...”

“Right,” she said.

“Are you judging me?”

“No. I’m glad.”

“Good,” he said.

He claimed her mouth again, marveling at the fact that he could be thirty-eight years old and this on edge. That he could be this intent on having her.

That he could want her so very much.

He felt like a teenager. They were even having discussions about condoms.

He wanted her so much.

He brought her into the bedroom. He was certain it was hers. And because she didn’t protest, he knew he was right. It was neat as a pin, like everything else in the house, her bedspread an adorable gingham. He was going to strip her naked on that gingham and do unspeakable things to her.

He set her down at the center of the mattress and stepped away from her, stripping his shirt up over his head.

Her eyes went wide. “Damn,” she said.

“Thank you. That’s awfully kind.”

“It’s hardly kind. A simple damn doesn’t do justice to those muscles. I feel spoiled.”

“Not as spoiled as I feel. Believe me. Because you are... I don’t have any gentlemanly words for it, Marigold. I just know that I want you. More than anything. I can’t explain it. Because it’s something that goes beyond words.”

“I don’t need words. You can just show me.”

So he did. He stripped off his jeans, his boots and socks, everything, and let her see how hard he was for her. How much he wanted her. Her eyes kept getting rounder and rounder.

“It’s been a really long time,” she said.